Our choices and their consequences

"Choice" is a very loaded word, we use it in many contexts. In our lives, we need to make many choices, almost every moment offers us a choice, and even in instances where we feel there is no choice, we do make a choice, knowingly or unknowingly. Apart from genetics and a few other things we need to make some choices daily, and our choices have consequences. The choice can be as simple as how many spoons of sugar to have to as complicated as who to marry or which job offer to select among the multiple options. Based on the results (consequences) of our choice, we decide whether it was a good or a bad choice. That is, most of us grade our choices based on their consequences, as it is always easy to connect the dots backward. 

However, I feel that there are some choices where you may experience unfavorable or bad consequences, but are still worthy to make, not because of the consequences we face but because of the stand we take and the impact it may have. Being right or being nice and saying no to various requests from our dear ones are two of the choices many of us hate to make. It is easy to say no to a stranger, but it is not easy to say no to friends and family or even to colleagues. We always struggle to value our own time and say yes to many things we don't want to do just not to hurt the feelings of our dear ones. We hesitate to reject requests that demand our time, attention, and resources, even for the right reasons. But, the ability to say no is very important for our well-being and personal growth. And if people really care for us, they should understand the reason behind our refusal, after all, what type of relationship it is if it cannot offer personal space to each other and the ability to say no. Similarly, it is not easy to decide which battle to pursue and where to yield, especially when we deal with our family members or when someone we know is being a bigot or racist and needs a reality check. It is easy to question or stand up against racism or discrimination when someone we don't know is doing it. It is easy to advocate for change in someone else's life and target some big and powerful organizations or celebrities for their objectionable behavior. But we hesitate or ignore the same behavior when the person is someone close or known to us, for example, our parents, friends, or partners. We try to downplay such incidents or find some reason to justify them as harmless acts. This makes us a hypocrite person, a person with double standards, but we are more comfortable being a hypocrite than being uncomfortable. Again, this is a choice we make. Being a hypocrite, bigot or racist is a choice and we do these things not only by doing such acts but by ignoring or supporting them.

It is easy to have principles and propagate them, but it is hard to live by them. It is easy to have standards, but it is hard to apply those standards to ourselves and evaluate our own behavior. It is easy to advocate for change, but it is hard to be the change. It is easy to criticize others, but it is hard to be a self-critic. Some choices are hard, but are necessary, especially if you have some principles and believe in them. If you believe in gender equality, you need to stand up if you witness gender discrimination. If you are against racism, speak up against racist behavior. It might sound easy to stand up against wrong things, after all, who doesn't want to do this, but it is not always that simple, especially when no one else is doing anything. People may hesitate to speak due to fear of losing a job, a relationship, or any other loss. If you choose to stand up, the chances are that you may find yourself standing alone. Being alone sucks, it is not easy to challenge institutionalized things like discrimination alone, and even standing against a powerful person or your own family and friends is not easy. There are consequences, loneliness is one of them, and that's a choice we need to make. Do we have our values just for display, or they are also for practice? Do our principles mean anything to us, or they are just topics of debate and discussion? If they do really mean something to us, then we should choose accordingly. Of course, consequences will follow, but then that's the choice we make.

Thank you for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

Vinay can be reached at thevinay2022@gmail.com

All scientific knowledge is uncertain, and that's why it's of a great value

Prof. Richard Feynman said that all scientific knowledge is uncertain. When I read this statement for the first time, I really didn't understand its meaning, but when I started conducting research in the field of chemistry I understood the importance of uncertainty in the field of science. Actually, uncertainty is what makes scientific knowledge different than any other field. The possibility that anyone can challenge any hypothesis, anyone can propose any rule, anyone can experimentally prove or disprove any theory, makes the field of science interesting and unpredictable. Anything, no matter who proposed by whom or how long ago can be proven wrong by anyone with enough data. This non-hierarchical aspect of science makes research a fun and exciting endeavor. Scientists are used to dealing with doubt and uncertainty, otherwise, how can one dare to solve a problem which has never been solved before? How can one propose some new rule or predict some new theory? How can one try to find a cure for something untreatable before? This is why experiences with doubt and uncertainty are very important for any scientist or a science student. Science is as much about asking new questions as it is about finding answers to unanswered questions, this is an inherent feature of scientific knowledge. 

When Feynman called scientific knowledge uncertain, he did not even remotely mean that it was unreliable. Uncertain doesn't mean unreliable in this context, it just means that it is subject to change and nothing is fixed in stone. Now, this concept might be difficult to digest at first. How can something be uncertain and still be reliable at the same time? However, this can be the case, and if we look at the process of generating and evaluating the data in science we can very well understand how and why. Here, the uncertainty is not because of the content, but due to the process by which it is generated. The process has an inbuilt mechanism to challenge the status quo, encouragement to improve things and push the lines, start new frontiers, take up new challenges, and finally, try to prove things wrong, and this is what Feynman meant by calling scientific knowledge uncertain. Scientific knowledge is not static, it's in continuous flux. Once I understood this uncertainty, I really enjoyed my research and learned a lot from the many failures that I faced while conducting it. Failures, actually, many of them, are an integral part of every researcher's life, and acknowledging the inherent presence of doubt and uncertainty makes the journey more enjoyable and rewarding. Remember, this uncertainty is what stops from scientific knowledge becoming dogmatic. So, embrace the uncertainty and enjoy the journey of exciting scientific pursuit.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Problems associated with "blind faith"

"Faith" has been always a very interesting subject for me. Mostly, "faith" in a general sense is used to describe religious beleifs of a person or group. People can have faith in anything without verifying the truthfulness of that thing. Faith is an emotion and like other emotions and can manifest in various forms and it can play a major role in developing the personality of many of us. For many people, their 'faith' is an integral part of the day to day life. It helps them in many ways and for many it has become a necessary thing for their survival, it offers them the reasons for their existence. Like many other emotions faith also is being heavily commercialized emotion and there are various products in the market of faith to fulfill various needs of people who are interested in faith and its related aspects. Religion is one of the oldest and the most popular product which is ruling the market of faith for the longest time. Faith helps people to get over many difficult situations and offers some answers to many of their questions. Whether these answers are true or false, logical or illogical is not a matter of concern for all those who put all their faith in those answers. So it seems that this phenomenon called 'faith' can do wonders in some cases. We can see many people doing admirable social work or philanthropic work inspired by their faith. This is all good and desirable side of faith, but at the same time we can also see people killing innocents in the name of their faith. This is another extreme where people are so blinded by their faith that they don't hesitate to engage in heinous and gruesome acts.

Why do people react so differently while following the same faith? Why some are extremely kind and some extremely violent, but they both claim to have faith in the same ideology? What makes some perform extreme noble acts and some take the path of gruesome violence while claiming to follow the same faith? One can only say that maybe the problem lies in the inherent blindness associated with faith. Any product used without knowing about all its effects and side effects is bound to produce undesirable side effects. Some of its side effects can be bad or even fatal and this is the main reason why blind faith in holy books or religions produces such an extreme response exposing the good as well as bad side of the human behavior. Someone might argue that faith is always blind, as whenever people put their faith in something they generally don't question it. Maybe this was true in the past but in today's world we are trained to question everything, and we should question as many things as possible, including our faith. Questioning is the only way to move forward, inquiry is the first step in the direction of solving any puzzle or problem, no matter how complicated it is. If any faith or discipline forbids questioning beyond a certain point, then it means that it doesn't have answers to those questions, and the worst part is, it doesn't even want to seek answers to those questions. This attitude is the main reason for the inherent blindness associated with faith. Any discipline or religion that can allow questioning can cultivate what I call a 'rational or logical faith,' which is exactly the opposite of 'blind faith.' The difference between 'rational faith' and 'blind faith' is that in one case people believe in something by recognizing the fact that their beliefs can be questioned, and challenged and there can be some problems associated with that which they should try to resolve. This system is much less dangerous than the system which commands 'blind faith' in anything.

I don't have to go into more detail to describe the problems we are facing today because of blind faith in today's world, issue of terrorism is just one of them. Many of these problems can be resolved or at least their impact can be minimized if people from the same 'faith system' take the initiative to reform their faith to stop such a blatant misuse of their faith. Emotions like faith are here to stay, as humans we cannot get rid of these things as they play the role of support system for many, but we all can definitely work to make these things better and I think the time has come where we all need to challenge the system of 'blind faith,' no matter which discipline or which religion. We need to challenge it as misuse of this system has the potential to harm entire humanity.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Internet and religion

Various religions ruled this world for many centuries unanimously and without any serious threat or challenge (apart from conflicts between each other). The empire of religion grew as it became more and more organized. As it became organized, it also became very powerful, it associated itself with rulers and legitimized its prosecuting powers. It became so powerful that it was very easy for them to crush any opposition in the name of blasphemy. It became a big enterprise, more like today's cell phone market. As everyone needed this gadget called religion different versions of it became available depending on the time and needs of that particular place. Some survived and some perished as they couldn't compete. Very few philosophies survived who dared to challenge the concept of religion and God. The empire of religion has ruled the world unanimously for so many centuries. But it seems there is one thing that is threatening the empire of religion like no one ever did before, it is not any organization or any new philosophy but it is an open and free information source called the "internet." The Internet is a recent discovery but in the last 20 years or so it has changed the way people collect information and the way they communicate with each other. It has changed the way information is generated and shared. This has provided access to a vast amount of information to almost anyone with an internet connection on any electronic device. Ignorance and lack of access to reliable and verifiable information were the major reasons for the stronghold of all religions on people's minds. People had many questions but no answers and religion easily filled that vacuum by providing them some explanations that people couldn't verify but believed as there was no other alternative.

Today people can get answers to most of their queries by using any search engine on the internet. They can find different views and opinions about any given topic. Readers can choose how much information they want, they are no longer limited to only one-sided views or arguments about any topic. This has challenged the propaganda run by different religions for centuries. Many people with open minds and a lot of questions use the internet as a more reliable source of information. Before it was very difficult to get hold of a book or a person who could provide some reliable information about many questions because of limited resources in many parts of the world but now it is not that difficult to access reliable and verifiable information. I can say these things based on my own personal experience. I started questioning religious practices and concept of god when I was in college, but no one bothered to answer those questions rather I was told that it was wrong and insulting to ask such bad questions. But fortunately, I had access to libraries and I started reading books based on such subjects during my college days. I was lucky to have access to the library and I am glad that I utilized that, but not everyone is that lucky. Those books challenged my beliefs, questioned my faith, and forced me to rethink, they forced me to raise questions even though no one was willing to answer them. I found some of the answers in those books and others during my journey as a scientist. The next level was attained when I came across the phenomenon called the "internet." It gave me access to a lot of information and connected with many individuals. I used to think I was the only one who found many problems with the way religion is practiced but I realized that many are raising these types of questions. The Internet helped me to educate myself without help from anyone. I was able to read a lot and collect a lot of information, some was useful and some wasn't but it was my choice what to accept and what to reject. That information cleared a lot of my doubts and also provided me a platform to share that information with others, this blog is a result of that effort. In this amazing journey on the internet, I also got connected with many people whom I would not have met otherwise. It was a really great experience to interact with them and get to know their views. It enriched my thinking.

I have no doubt that the internet is going to be a major force to challenge the authority of all religions. After realizing its potential and reach all religions are also using the internet as a tool to propagate their faith and many of them are doing it very effectively but at the same time, it has provided a platform to all who always faced threats and intimidation from powerful religious institutes. Religions can't execute people on the internet for blasphemy, and they can't intimidate them like they used to do in the past, this is still not a level playing field, but at least there is a field for others to challenge religion, such a field never existed before. Many people are getting more vocal and assertive with their views against bad customs and rituals from every religion which was not possible without risking their own life just a few decades ago. I am glad to see that slowly but steadily this alternate voice is forcing religion to change its attitude and modify its stance on many issues. I am sure this is just the beginning and we are going to see more tolerant forms of religion in the coming years. Destruction of faith or religion should not be a motto but to make it more tolerant and flexible should be the purpose of challenging it. Religion has to realize that it has to change its intolerant attitude or perish slowly. I am sure it will prefer to change rather than to perish, after all, who would like to destroy such a vast empire built over centuries at the cost of defending a few lines from some ancient books. Thank you internet, for giving us the space to raise our voices.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. Why the Internet is slowly strangling religion