Dedicated to Mom - Awesome Song

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NovCNFS1O1M

Blink - Thoughts in a flash !!

I am reading this book called ‘Blink’ by Malcolm Gladwell. It is a book on decision making based on thin slicing, in common parlance often referred to as ‘split second’ decisions. The book attempts to investigate the ‘blink’ decision making phenomenon through a series of real life examples. It makes a case for quick decision making as an acquirable ability. I guess I need to read the book once more to get a firm understanding of the idea it conveys.

The book has however set my thoughts rolling on a hypothesis for decision making. Decision making is a circumstantial act. But it’s driven by a lot of factors which occur before and during the event itself. I can think of the following drivers for decision making: genetics, experience, environment, priming and improvisation.

The base template for our decision making lies in genetics. By genetics, I refer to the long line of traits, characteristics and attitudes we humans at a fundamental level and individuals at a specific level have acquired from our ancestors. They store the combined experiences of actions which have enabled survival and also the instincts which sense danger. The disparity here has to do with the level of experiences and difficulties our ancestors faced. Our genes store the broad framework for the way we are ‘expected’ to act. This sets the starting point. But genes alone are not the deciders. There is interplay between genetic information and external environment. Modifications to genes based on information acquired in one generation are likely to be embedded in the succeeding generations. This sets the process for sequential learning which is overwritten, modified by more recent generation’s experience. I am tempted to call this a ‘genetic moving average’

The second important factor is environment. By environment, I refer to the condition in which we have grownup. Our family values, social circle and people influencing our life are some examples of the environment. This shapes the context in which we base our decisions. Environment plays a particularly important role in childhood, teen and youth periods of life. That is the time when impressions are developed, stereotypes are built and mindsets reinforced. What we decide during this period about ourselves and the rest of the world forms the basis for the way we see the world and the way we want the world to see us.

The third factor is experience. Experience refers to specific significant events which shape our outlook. Over time we have experiences which impact the way we see a similar situation. Inherently, we acquire the idea that a similar event is going to have a similar outcome and we start making decisions accordingly. This is why bad experiences are more often than not termed as psychological scars for the imprint they leave. A lot of times, this results in people expecting life to turn out in a particular way and eventually that’s what they end up getting. It’s not so much as life is such and such. It is more like, I did this and this happened as a consequence.

The fourth factor is priming. Priming refers to an immediate event which precedes the time of decision making. It is a situation which alters the state of mind and sets different expectations from the event at hand. For eg. a bad start to the day gets you into a mode where you start to see bad things happening for the rest of the day. This makes you have a foul mood which only makes things worse off. Or you witness something which keeps you expecting for that to happen to you. They dont have to be a conscious effect. Priming in most cases are subconscious influences but because they are the most recent in memory, the decision is most impacted by the priming.

Finally, coming to the fifth factor i.e.improvisation. Improvisation refers to the actions which are enacted while the event is in progress. These actions are the sum total of all the other factors embedded in a person acting in consonance with the reaction of the counter-agent (which maybe another person, environment etc.). What this means is that your response is shaped to match the ongoing response from the counterparty. For eg. the way you drive on the road here in India is not entirely rule based. It is more an act of improvisation. You see how the person ahead, on the side and behind you is driving and anticipate their next position and automatically evaluate where you ought to be. All this is done subconsciously. This is done dynamically by each person by evaluating future positions constantly, so much so that you know intuitively as to when to brake, when to accelerate etc. When one person messes up the dynamic evaluation, you know what happens.

In conclusion, what we do is based on many things and how we decide is based on many factors. While we tend to simplify and say such and such is the cause and so is the effect, decision making happens as a complex web of interactions which cannot be broken down into parts. The next time you want to attribute a cause or blame, make sure you think through the situation in its entirety :)

The haunting question

I was having dinner this evening and it so happened that an old man selling his wares came to hawk his items to those present there. He was carrying some packets of biscuits and chips and earnestly pleading with people over there to buy something saying he was out of money for dinner. It was quite clear from his face that he had not eaten properly in a long time.

Sad part was no one in that place including me were willing to buy anything. Mostly out of lack of any necessity and also because of the fear of eating some low quality stuff whose source we are not aware of. That old man was almost in tears. He came to the hotel cashier and begged him to give something to eat. But nothing happened even then. I was eating all this while and watching him doing nothing. Actually I felt nothing all that while. Then while leaving, he looked me sorrowfully in the eye and then looked at my plate and left without a word.

I did not need anything to be told any louder. It struck me then. No man should lose his dignity and self respect over food. Feeling very guilty about the whole thing I wanted to go after him and give him some money to eat. By then he had moved a couple of places ahead and was standing in front of a couple. They were giving him some money. I got to see what they had given him. One rupee. That man was respectfully placing it away. I had the biggest lump in my throat seeing that. What can u get for one rupee these days. In my eye that was the ultimate humiliation to suffer.

I went to him and gave him a 20 rupee note hoping it would be enough for that night's meal. Definitely nothing to help him for life. But it kind of made me feel and ask a lot of questions about life. Why do some people suffer more than the rest? Why are some born the way they are? What is the point of this living? Yes. there is a law of karma. And probably thats what drives everything. But it is one hard fact to digest that while one man makes a killing, the other man is killed trying to earn.

The Life of Drudgery

By the window, I stand and stare,
watching wearied traveler's full of care
forlorn creased brows they wear,
living their life, like a daily nightmare

for some, it is the life they choose,
for others it's something they cannot refuse,
whatever maybe each one's excuse,
there is little to win and a lot to lose

you are too busy writing your own tragedy,
furtively watching a trippy censored comedy,
soulfully listening to yet another hyped up melody,
mournfully contemplating that life's just a parody

and so will your time come to pass,
doing the usual things, and following the mass,
when all this will be seen through the looking glass,
it will appear to be an unbelievable farce

of what worth is this life which is so rare,
when you don't have the time to stop and stare?
at the infinite bounty nature has to share,
and feel the rain and breathe the fresh air

The thing about conference calls...

The first time I sat through a conference call i was quite amazed and overawed by the setting. A group of people sitting on either sides of the call. Round table. Possibly, men in suits and speaking sophisticated terms. Part of big institutions we hear about in the news. There was a thing about conference calls that made me nervous.

Here were two groups of people, probably never seen each other before. Maybe they had spoken or prior occassions, maybe not. I don't know. Sitting through the call, I used to watch the seniors talk, make gestures, type out things to be spoken and those not to be spoken. I am sure similar things happened on the other side as well. Mind you this was a teleconference call. Not a video enabled one. So, one did not know what the other side was doing. Were they sleeping. Did they understand the message. Was their reaction positive? The only thing available was the voice and tone. Ok.. i know. Not too many people will think so much about a small matter. But for me, feedback is essential. Is my communication accepted? Am I getting my point across consistently? What is their perception of me? None of this is possible without visual aids.

More than this, i used to wonder how people could talk into the phone and at the same time be monitoring what other people had to say. How did they stay focussed without losing continuity. I know my answer now. Practise. Since the time I sat through the first call, I have moved on to participating more. I know a little more about how fast i should be. How to evince feedback and know more about audience attention. When to pause. Those little things which go unnoticed.

More than all this, i have conquered the fear of having to face unknown people. I guess, all this is a part of growing up. There was a time when I used to shiver to read news in front of the school assembly. Now i don't fear con calls.