Some pithy sentences/phrases, likely to be unpopular

‘Hope sits at the center of what makes healing possible’ – Hammad Khan

But, hope alone is not sufficient to heal. That is, hope perhaps is a necessary condition but is definitely not a sufficient condition, my mathematical mind tells me.

We hoped that my mother-in-law would come back from the hospital and occupy her rightful place in our living room, the couch. It did not happen. The doctors were trying to infuse hope in us, and some of the patient’s relatives (yours truly not excepted) took the doctor’s statements, if not at face value, at least as hope-inducing. But, that hope did not “make healing possible”. Yes, my assertion is empirical and anecdotal. But, it does not gainsay the general statement I have given at the beginning.

‘It’s terrible – and counter-productive – to make people feel idiots for working hard for you’ – Anthony Bourdain

I am not sure I will ever find a boss, at whatever level who would agree with the above! “I am hopeless” is the self-assessment a boss cherishes from every one of her subordinates. Is there any statement other than, “You are good for nothing,” that a boss says? I dare say Jeff Bezos knows no other sentence in English! It is a measure of control, induced through fear. Terrible it may be, but necessary it is, the management schools must be teaching.

‘To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought (or) measured with money’ – (Sir) M(okshagundam) Visweswaraya

I do not have to say this, but say it, I will. Sir Mokshagundam’s “something” translates into “Value”. OK, Sir Mokshagundam, whoever that is, may not ring a bell with you; I will take you to a fictional situation that surely would, a scene and a few words in the James Bond flick Spectre. “...for the sake of democracy, whatever the hell that is.” The words, said with utter contempt by a person with a serious authoritarian streak, lead me to the next item.

But, before that ... yes, just as democracy cannot be measured, whatever management people say, value also cannot be measured, but it is reality, unmeasurable reality. The sooner managementese accommodates this word in its vocabulary, the better we would all be. Then, the word “service” would enter our daily life more meaningfully.

‘It is the mark of a superstitious, authoritarian age that it confuses expertise with infallibility, and dismisses experts if they are not infallible’ – Tabish Khair

This will take me to “five sigma”, one sigma less than what Jack Welch supposedly delivered at GE, the industrial behemoth. But, five sigma is what was required and achieved at CERN to “prove” the existence of Higgs Bosons. Understand this: CERN’s expertise is unmatched but is never infallible. This gap, created by the enterprise of science to maintain its integrity, is what enables superstition and authoritarianism to continue to exist. There is a society of flat earthers. And climate change is not proved. In an academic setting I heard an old faculty member proclaim loudly that “Darwinism has been proven wrong”, but the congregation remained moot. Why? Because natural selection by evolution has not, and indeed cannot, ever fill in all the gaps. Those of you who are aware of Zeno’s Paradox would appreciate this.

‘If you've got a religious belief that withers in the face of observations of the natural world, you ought to rethink your beliefs – rethinking the world isn't an option’ – P Z Myers

Myers does not understand. “Ought to” withers in the face of “Shalt not”! Be it the Ten Commandments or any activity or thought proscribed in any scripture of any religion carries implicitly the word “Shalt not”. Religious beliefs cannot be “unlearnt” (I hate to use this faddish word, but my lack of facility with English compels me).

Now, the last words of this meandering post: If you would notice, except perhaps for Sir. M. Visweswaraya, no one else would be in the list of anyone’s rolodex of “People to be quoted”. That list is for professional writers, and I am but an amateur.

Raghuram