Be rational, think before you do, what are you doing, what was you thinking, and on and on. These are few specimen questions that we were asked or told and in turn we ask or tell others. The simplistic thing to say but hardest to thing to do. Sometimes I wonder we as human society are so very eager to come to conclusions or base judgments. But are we all correct, do we all think, are we all rational.
May be yes, but I guess to a very minute level. How & why, are the foremost things that people ask me when I argue that there is a very minual part of our brain that is rational, and I guess rest is all irrational driven by feeling, wants and something that can be called an inner desire.
I am sure this might not match with your worldview (The way you view your world around you and including you). As it does not match with a lot of people whom I interact on this subject. Ok, let’s take some example (I can assure you that this will not be long as I need to sleep) - which restaurant you go to, what brand you wear, where do you go out for coffee, which car you drive, which house you live or plan to buy, and so on. Just think about these minute things and tell me are you rational. Most of us (I am taking the liberty of generalizing) “prefer” to eat at costly places that offer ambience – but are we eating the ambience or food, are we giving the money for food that we intend to eat, or the ambience – are we rational, as the main aim is to have food. I am sure the pops’ and mom’s restaurant may serve you equal or may be better quality food, light on stomach, less rich, fresh, etc. however we will still prefer to eat with the “ambience”.
The all coffee “experience” at Starbucks is amazing. I am sure I will agree with you all as I love having coffee at Starbuck whenever I am in States. But I am sure I am not drinking coffee alone and I am not being rational to have a coffee more expensive in the store. One may even get a better brew right at the door step of the store. Just imagine, if you are sitting in the store and having the coffee then you are a bit rational but incase you are just taking it away then you are not even enjoying the experience. So are you rational?
By now you must started to guess where I am heading towards. However just for my writing curiosity let me take another example. A Car, (I know it is the easiest one to associate with) most American prefer big comfy cars, most Indian wants a luxurious car, and so on. But what is a mean of having a car – isn’t is to travel from point A to point B. But then are be rational to spend $50000 on cars, which will be expensive to maintain, not good for environment, not fuel efficient, etc. So are we “rational”.
I might be controversial here and ready to any open comment(s) but I believe that the most irrational thing that a lady can do is to a give a birth to a child. Labor pains for 9 month, life and death situation while delivery, need to nurture the kid for good number of years to come, educate him\her, and may be allow him\her to kick her (mother\father) out once he\she is old enough to handle things on their own. So are mother rational when they give a birth to a child.
Most of these things are associated with our inner wants and feelings. You know surprisingly human beings needs (even in today’s world) are very limited to food, water, air, cloth, house, (I guess). Rest is all wants. Big car to roam in (aspiration), big house to live in (aspiration), someone to love (feelings), big a member of a renowned club (desire or want of association – aspiration), and so on.
I am sure a lot of you may think that while I am articulating this I am not rational. I can tell you that I am not. But I am using this personal (my) space to articulate the facts that people may not be rational, as we are not, people may not have reasoning, as we don’t have, people may not think before doing, as we don’t.
So are we rational or are you? Or do we just expect that people other than me should be rational, and I should be blessed with the mighty power of being judgmental without even being rational. Before I end, I would like to say that most of us are rational on our convenience – “convenient rationalism”. The time we have to do any irrational thing we can, however “must” advice others to be rational at all time.
Think about it and it is also good to accept that we are irrational. I am sure that people back in post independence era must have done a lot irrational things like giving life for country, leaving families to fight the freedom movement, and so on, due to which we are in a state of rational Independence .
Rational, a word that most of us say, but most of us don’t do. So this weekend do something irrational, like helping someone you don’t know, work for free, bringing smile to anyone you might be meeting for the very first time, waiting for your love that has gone far, wishing for someone’s happiness beside…………. ;)
Well I plan to do some irrational things this weekend, do you?
Have a Happy (irrational) Week!
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