MEN WANTED for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.
- Ernest Shackleton
So, ran the advertisement for the proposed Arctic expedition by Sir Ernest Shackelton. The ship was aptly named ENDURANCE, and a test of endurance it was.
The motherland at war, the impenetrable ice, months of darkness, frustration, resentment, lack of food, utter boredom, isolation and bitter cold. Not to mention moments when some to be left behind while some embarked on a journey about 1000 miles in a 22 foot long boat, even then sailing towards a destination with few means to check the direction !!
Shakelton's Expedition - Read the Entire Story !
That's what We as a people are capable of, of Unbelievable Endurance. But Endurance by itself is not enough, it's an act not the reason. It's our reason which make us endure, our reasons which keep us going.
We as people are born to explore, be it a life-threatening adventure , for the survival of our loved ones or just for the sheer fun of it. We, as one people, are meant and even built to explore and to push ourselves further and further, as they say, "To infinity and beyond " but I believe that it's more like To Infinity Or Beyond; we don't have an option with exploration. This is what we are meant to do. Period.
What we choose to do is only the form of it, only the action we take because of our values and intrinsic drives. At the moment I am not talking about "What" we do as in arts, mathematics, physics, acting, poetry or even enjoying communicating with people, anything at all !
We are not talking about the "What's " but the "Why's". I mean, think about it an artist would hardly be a good one, if she doesn't practices or a musician can be expected to be a master of an instrument if she doesn't practice, if she doesn't put in long hours to understand the trade. And we can only put in honest effort if it pleases us, if it gives us joy !!
We are meant to explore and exploration does not necessarily has to mean walking to such and such place, it's about our insatiable curiosity with the unknown, that's what exploration is. So, be it sculpturing, be it painting, it's all the same and is governed by the same "Why".
We enjoy "exploring" at a primal level, it's a basic instinct of our species. Think about it !! I believe that the only thing that separates people who leave their mark on history is their comfort in being uncomfortable and their relentless drive to explore. We only need comfort to be able to explore and be uncomfortable again, sounds paradoxical doesn't it ?
What about drive and being good, how long does it take and why do we have to wait so much ?
Yes, that's a good question;P
I think that any skill that we master or even those which we try out is a combination of 3 basic things.
Curiosity + Motivation + Domain Oriented Knowledge
That's it , these are the things that it all boils down to.
Curiosity governs our drive to Explore, Motivation gives us our Endurance and it is only through deliberate practice that we can attain a good Domain Oriented Knowledge.
This Domain Knowledge is what separates the painter from a sculptor or a physicist. The difference between Genius and Mediocrity lies in the fact that the former is most likely to continue with the one's exploration in a domain which she loves, she gets a kick out the very act of doing it whereas one would never go beyond Mediocrity if one fakes it, one is chained by comfort. You can't fake love, can you ?
Domain knowledge is quite different from our basic and intrinsic Creativity Drive, it's all basicually just a lot more specialized words that's all. It all comes down to analogies and everything should be explained in terms of every day events, that's the entire point of dealing with abstractions, as we have discussed in the last post.
This reminds me of an incident related to me by a friend, it's about S. Chandrasekhar, one of the few truly ingenious minds which were born in the country. When asked about people who seem to have an "Intrinsic Motivation" as opposed to more "Extrinsic Motivation", he mentioned two people. The first one being, Eklavya ( a mythical character from the classical times) and the other one being Sir Roger Penrose.
If you don't know about either one, it doesn't really matter. What matters is the "Intrinsic" vs the "Extrinsic" motivation part that was being discussed.
I don't think that it entirely dependent on Natural Talent, I find it to be too simple an explanation of why the Bernoulli Family produced brilliant Mathematicians ( amongst other things ) one after another ? No, it's not really a question of Natural Talent or even the upbringing, we are far too complex beings for such a simple explanation. What matters is, I believe, the inspiration that sparks our pursuit. For some it's a question to looking good all the time, to others it's a question of being a good communicator, being a mountaineer and for others still it's about trying to understand Nature, how it works and what mysteries it shrouds.
How this is all related to Mathematics ?
- Ernest Shackleton
So, ran the advertisement for the proposed Arctic expedition by Sir Ernest Shackelton. The ship was aptly named ENDURANCE, and a test of endurance it was.
The motherland at war, the impenetrable ice, months of darkness, frustration, resentment, lack of food, utter boredom, isolation and bitter cold. Not to mention moments when some to be left behind while some embarked on a journey about 1000 miles in a 22 foot long boat, even then sailing towards a destination with few means to check the direction !!
Shakelton's Expedition - Read the Entire Story !
That's what We as a people are capable of, of Unbelievable Endurance. But Endurance by itself is not enough, it's an act not the reason. It's our reason which make us endure, our reasons which keep us going.
We as people are born to explore, be it a life-threatening adventure , for the survival of our loved ones or just for the sheer fun of it. We, as one people, are meant and even built to explore and to push ourselves further and further, as they say, "To infinity and beyond " but I believe that it's more like To Infinity Or Beyond; we don't have an option with exploration. This is what we are meant to do. Period.
What we choose to do is only the form of it, only the action we take because of our values and intrinsic drives. At the moment I am not talking about "What" we do as in arts, mathematics, physics, acting, poetry or even enjoying communicating with people, anything at all !
We are not talking about the "What's " but the "Why's". I mean, think about it an artist would hardly be a good one, if she doesn't practices or a musician can be expected to be a master of an instrument if she doesn't practice, if she doesn't put in long hours to understand the trade. And we can only put in honest effort if it pleases us, if it gives us joy !!
We are meant to explore and exploration does not necessarily has to mean walking to such and such place, it's about our insatiable curiosity with the unknown, that's what exploration is. So, be it sculpturing, be it painting, it's all the same and is governed by the same "Why".
We enjoy "exploring" at a primal level, it's a basic instinct of our species. Think about it !! I believe that the only thing that separates people who leave their mark on history is their comfort in being uncomfortable and their relentless drive to explore. We only need comfort to be able to explore and be uncomfortable again, sounds paradoxical doesn't it ?
What about drive and being good, how long does it take and why do we have to wait so much ?
Yes, that's a good question;P
I think that any skill that we master or even those which we try out is a combination of 3 basic things.
Curiosity + Motivation + Domain Oriented Knowledge
That's it , these are the things that it all boils down to.
Curiosity governs our drive to Explore, Motivation gives us our Endurance and it is only through deliberate practice that we can attain a good Domain Oriented Knowledge.
Just because we have a different name for a thing doesn't mean its different in essence, rather, just that we have a set of different words for to express what it deals with. At the bare most level everything that these fields talk about can be understood in terms of Real World and Every Day analogies, though their are certain exceptions like trying to visualize an N dimensional space or some such but even when we are dealing with these the basic ideas are still from the Real Life.
This Domain Knowledge is what separates the painter from a sculptor or a physicist. The difference between Genius and Mediocrity lies in the fact that the former is most likely to continue with the one's exploration in a domain which she loves, she gets a kick out the very act of doing it whereas one would never go beyond Mediocrity if one fakes it, one is chained by comfort. You can't fake love, can you ?
Domain knowledge is quite different from our basic and intrinsic Creativity Drive, it's all basicually just a lot more specialized words that's all. It all comes down to analogies and everything should be explained in terms of every day events, that's the entire point of dealing with abstractions, as we have discussed in the last post.
The main impact of creativity, it's strength is to find abstract from the apparent and vice versa.
This reminds me of an incident related to me by a friend, it's about S. Chandrasekhar, one of the few truly ingenious minds which were born in the country. When asked about people who seem to have an "Intrinsic Motivation" as opposed to more "Extrinsic Motivation", he mentioned two people. The first one being, Eklavya ( a mythical character from the classical times) and the other one being Sir Roger Penrose.
If you don't know about either one, it doesn't really matter. What matters is the "Intrinsic" vs the "Extrinsic" motivation part that was being discussed.
I don't think that it entirely dependent on Natural Talent, I find it to be too simple an explanation of why the Bernoulli Family produced brilliant Mathematicians ( amongst other things ) one after another ? No, it's not really a question of Natural Talent or even the upbringing, we are far too complex beings for such a simple explanation. What matters is, I believe, the inspiration that sparks our pursuit. For some it's a question to looking good all the time, to others it's a question of being a good communicator, being a mountaineer and for others still it's about trying to understand Nature, how it works and what mysteries it shrouds.
How this is all related to Mathematics ?
Courtesy - XKCD
For a Mathematician, there isn't much hope for glory, certainly not in near future. But perhaps only when, an artist, biologist, an architect or some physicist figures out how to use the equation does the Mathematics really becomes mainstream. But still new discoveries are being made all the time in the field with people who know that the journey is tough, appreciation is low and, well, Gimli the dwarf summarizes it best...
Explorers are fundamentally different from the crowd, they keep in touch with their childish urge to explore. Be it Mathematics, Skydivers, Field Biologists and so and so forth, these are the unsung heroes and they don't really resent it. The journey is the reward in itself. The intrinsic light is the strongest within these odd ones for the pursuit is much more truer to the journey.,
Most of the careers that we think of, offer instant recognition, wide-spread popularity and "celebrity aspirations ", but when we think about it, there have been so so many exceptional people in History. The first man who decided to walk out of Africa, the viking who decided to cross the Atlantic well beyond the extent of the known world, the man who experimented with the trees as medicines and countless such other explorers. We don't remember them !
It's a recent phenomena that we seek to remember people in our folklore, to make them celebrities out of recognition, this didn't exist 99% of our History. But there is no injustice done to our "Good Ancestors ", to all our unsung heroes for the journey is the prize in itself. You know, "The is magic in fighting battles beyond Endurance " !!
The more widespread a field is, the most "fame-oriented" it is and is perceived to be all the more approachable. I am sure that there is a great deal of Hardwork involved in acting, in photography but the results in these fields are almost instant, people either like it or they don't !
And in sciences and in many other fields this is not so. These sciences rarely offer fame in a lifetime.
This post has been somewhat incoherent but I hope that I have somehow managed to get something important across. We are explorers by our very nature, we are not meant to build a fort and be comfortable, we are meant to push the boundaries and tease adversity.
It's important to keep one's creativity alive and to seek constant motivation. For our education system does it's best to stifle and murder both. Well, what do you expect when such a large part of our education is led by dinosaurs for the children of the age of internet, when these Domains are introduced to us by utterly bored people. You know, never before has the generation gap so wide as it is now, never before the butterfly effect been so apparent. But here we are !!
For a Mathematician, there isn't much hope for glory, certainly not in near future. But perhaps only when, an artist, biologist, an architect or some physicist figures out how to use the equation does the Mathematics really becomes mainstream. But still new discoveries are being made all the time in the field with people who know that the journey is tough, appreciation is low and, well, Gimli the dwarf summarizes it best...
Explorers are fundamentally different from the crowd, they keep in touch with their childish urge to explore. Be it Mathematics, Skydivers, Field Biologists and so and so forth, these are the unsung heroes and they don't really resent it. The journey is the reward in itself. The intrinsic light is the strongest within these odd ones for the pursuit is much more truer to the journey.,
Most of the careers that we think of, offer instant recognition, wide-spread popularity and "celebrity aspirations ", but when we think about it, there have been so so many exceptional people in History. The first man who decided to walk out of Africa, the viking who decided to cross the Atlantic well beyond the extent of the known world, the man who experimented with the trees as medicines and countless such other explorers. We don't remember them !
It's a recent phenomena that we seek to remember people in our folklore, to make them celebrities out of recognition, this didn't exist 99% of our History. But there is no injustice done to our "Good Ancestors ", to all our unsung heroes for the journey is the prize in itself. You know, "The is magic in fighting battles beyond Endurance " !!
The more widespread a field is, the most "fame-oriented" it is and is perceived to be all the more approachable. I am sure that there is a great deal of Hardwork involved in acting, in photography but the results in these fields are almost instant, people either like it or they don't !
And in sciences and in many other fields this is not so. These sciences rarely offer fame in a lifetime.
This post has been somewhat incoherent but I hope that I have somehow managed to get something important across. We are explorers by our very nature, we are not meant to build a fort and be comfortable, we are meant to push the boundaries and tease adversity.
It's important to keep one's creativity alive and to seek constant motivation. For our education system does it's best to stifle and murder both. Well, what do you expect when such a large part of our education is led by dinosaurs for the children of the age of internet, when these Domains are introduced to us by utterly bored people. You know, never before has the generation gap so wide as it is now, never before the butterfly effect been so apparent. But here we are !!
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