Do you remember watching the Bournvita Quiz Contest? The television show's host, Derek O' Brien, would grill a group of Dilberts and Dexters :-) with a barrage of questions. As the show would progress you would see participants going through every possible emotion in the book. Its impact went straight through the bulky CRT screens of those times (I had a Sony 29" at my place), right into the consciousness of Indian middle class households.
Parents started expecting their children to become wizards-who-know-all types. If I put my brain cells to a bit of exercise, I remember few of the bestsellers such as "Who was the first president of India ", "When was the first world war fought", "Where is the deepest point on Earth", "What is the height of Mt. Everest" and the list could go on and on......The Ws : What, Where, When, Who ruled the roost. Their domination of the language we spoke was unquestionable.
But amidst all of these superstars there was a loner also; the underdog - "Why". Its answers were difficult to get and lacked the succinctness which came naturally to its friends in the elite circles. The question that mesmerized and enlightened the philosophers, scientists and artists for centuries slowly lost its appeal.
The schools and colleges today, more often than not, pay a premium for knowing the facts rather than arguing the reason behind them. Education is delivered as a bagful of facts for students to cram-up. (Supposedly) logical people working in corporates straightaway make a strong impression about a candidate based on how much he knows and answers in interviews rather than his inquisitiveness and willingness to learn or his ability to reason the logic. Intelligence is measured by the number of facts you know and not by your ability to apply them.
I wont say that its totally unfair since every "Why" requires a background in "Whats, Whens and Wheres" before it could be understood, explored and answered. My only point is that a lot could be improved by not limiting ourselves to just the surface questions. A culture which promotes Why from an underdog to the elite status would usher in more creativity and innovation, required desperately in this era where the population is ever growing and the resources are shrinking.
Parents started expecting their children to become wizards-who-know-all types. If I put my brain cells to a bit of exercise, I remember few of the bestsellers such as "Who was the first president of India ", "When was the first world war fought", "Where is the deepest point on Earth", "What is the height of Mt. Everest" and the list could go on and on......The Ws : What, Where, When, Who ruled the roost. Their domination of the language we spoke was unquestionable.
But amidst all of these superstars there was a loner also; the underdog - "Why". Its answers were difficult to get and lacked the succinctness which came naturally to its friends in the elite circles. The question that mesmerized and enlightened the philosophers, scientists and artists for centuries slowly lost its appeal.
The schools and colleges today, more often than not, pay a premium for knowing the facts rather than arguing the reason behind them. Education is delivered as a bagful of facts for students to cram-up. (Supposedly) logical people working in corporates straightaway make a strong impression about a candidate based on how much he knows and answers in interviews rather than his inquisitiveness and willingness to learn or his ability to reason the logic. Intelligence is measured by the number of facts you know and not by your ability to apply them.
I wont say that its totally unfair since every "Why" requires a background in "Whats, Whens and Wheres" before it could be understood, explored and answered. My only point is that a lot could be improved by not limiting ourselves to just the surface questions. A culture which promotes Why from an underdog to the elite status would usher in more creativity and innovation, required desperately in this era where the population is ever growing and the resources are shrinking.
