Would you like a Paradox?

Paradoxes are a fun thing to ponder upon when you have nothing else to think about. Simply put, a paradox is a statement or logic that is inconsistent with itself. These paradoxes have been a subject of discussion among the intellectual as well as the bored minds since time immaterial. We have been quoting statements that turn out to be paradox long before we knew the meaning of this word! Statements like, “I know that I know nothing” make perfect sense to us but upon further reflection, we realize that this statement does not make perfect sense!

There exist a lot of paradoxes but few really capture your attention. Consider this. A crocodile steals a child and promises to return it to his father only if the father can accurately guess what the crocodile intends to do, and the father, being a smartass, says that the crocodile won’t return the child! Now if the crocodile doesn’t return the child, didn’t the father guess right? Food for thought!

So yeah, there are many more such situations, which come in really handy when you wish to leave the other person clueless. One more such paradox is the Pinocchio paradox. Remember Pinocchio? The guy whose nose got longer each time he told a lie? I have told a few harmless lies too but thankfully, my nose is still the same!

So consider this, what if Pinocchio said, “my nose will grow now.” NOW what? If he’s telling the truth, then according to him, his nose should grow. But Pinocchio’s nose doesn’t grow when he’s telling the truth! So he’s just as stumped as our poor crocodile!

One thing that must be noted that paradoxes have no ‘conclusive’ solution. Usually a solution is given which is then widely accepted because it seems feasible. So a solution can always be improved upon or a new one can be proposed altogether. So I’ll try to provide some “feasible sounding” solutions to this paradox!

This one sounds a little far fetched but whatever. Let’s give it a go! Pinocchio’s nose grows only when he tells a lie, not what he believes to be a lie, so it basically depends on what he knows will happen! If he actually expects his nose to grow, then he’s telling a truth, and it won’t grow! If he expects it to not grow, it will. Being wrong about something is not lying. This logic would continue on indefinitely, meaning that he can’t determine if his nose will grow or not, & so he won’t know. Since he doesn’t know, he can’t lie about it, so it won’t grow!

Another, relatively simpler explanation is there too. You can’t lie about something that will happen in the future, only make predictions. Since Pinocchio’s nose only grows when he tells a lie, it won’t grow! If Pinocchio had said, “My nose just grew” when it hadn’t then that would be a lie and would cause his nose to grow!

Now, chances are you don’t agree with me. And you might be absolutely right too. But hey, give me some credit! Minds much smarter than mine have brooded over this paradox too. So you’re welcome to expound on my theory. And do tell me if you think you’ve found a “conclusive solution” to this problem! Take care!

Just hitch up those jeans, will ya?

Now this I can say with utmost confidence, I’m not the only one who is often in disagreement with his parents. I mean, if parents and children agree with each other, its almost like going against the basic laws of nature! Ever wondered why kids and their grandparents get along so well? (Wink!)

Now, as a kid, I remember that only my parents could find faults in me; as far as other adults were concerned, I was an angelic child (that’s probably exaggerating it a bit, but you get the sentiment). Parents, it seems, have a firm opinion that if their child is not doing what they asked him to, he’s probably doing something wrong! My parents are still probably thinking that I’m wasting my time “facebooking” over the laptop when I should be doing something useful. It’s a miracle when two generations are in accordance!

Now, this difference is opinion is kind of like the weather; criticize it all you want, but it’s not going to change in your favor! It took me some time to figure this one out, but I’m starting to understand why parents behave the way they do. Now I might be very wrong, but this is just my opinion!

I would like to believe that our parents trouble us so much just to take revenge on our grandparents! A pretty simple philosophy, and leaves you with hope that someday you’ll be able get even with your parents! But a tiny corner of my brain, one which houses reason and common sense, knows that it’s not true. Our parents only want what’s best for us (shit). But the problem is a complex thing called ‘generation gap’. Or maybe, it’s not complex at all! There’s always going to be differences between two generations. For every teenager, there’s going to be an old man wondering what the hell is wrong with him! Differences are not only between parents & children; both the generations often differ in opinion with each other! It’s just that this difference is much more pronounced and prominent between parents and children.

For me, my parents are still the greatest source of advice. But in some ways, they have been molded by the limitations of their time, so they probably can’t accept a new train of thought as easily as I can; in many ways, our parents will always be more conservative than we are. But this is a necessary evil; this conservative mindset helps keeps a bubbly mind like ours in order. We are naïve, and they know this, and hence they protect us from the world. But sometimes, just in the process of shielding us, they go overboard and don’t really let us become self-sufficient. Girls have it even worse than boys. Though our parents understand that they would have to let us be independent someday, their protective instinct clouds their wisdom!

And most of us have been rude to our parents at some point. What we must realize is that an argument is just as frustrating for them as it is for us! This difference of thought is absolutely natural! Very rightly has this been quoted, “By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong!"

This is not an issue where one generation can be blamed; both the age groups have their shortcomings. Our parents have faced the hardships of life and its only natural that they want to protect us from that, but they forget that someday we have to learn to take care of ourselves; and even though we’re a naïve generation today, if you entrust us with something, we just might surprise you! And you have to understand that times are always changing! That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in another!

And we, for our part, must understand that our parents came from a different time, they’re pretty set in their ways; this doesn't mean that they are not capable of changing, it’s just that change for them comes gradually and very subtly. Sometimes, our parents have to be handled as if they are kids! Be patient, don’t force your thoughts on them & give them time, and you’ll be surprised at their reactions too! After all, at some point of time, they were in your position too! Mark Twain famously quoted, “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant that I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he’d learned in seven years.” Same is the case with most of us; as we get older, we start realizing how right our parents were! And even if a disagreement arises between the two of you, just realize that they have been around here a lot longer, so you have to gently persuade them to hear your views.

And don’t ever think that you've already done so much more than the previous generation; after all, it was a generation that had no Google or Facebook, yet they still turned out pretty good right? And to all the parents out there, please stop talking about the new generation as if you have no hand in raising them (shows tongue). If you remember, your parents were just as concerned about you, and you turned out pretty well too! There’s nothing wrong with today’s teenager that 15 years can’t cure! So both of the generations, just think about it. See Ya!

Wanna fight? Bring it on!

So basically, we all have fights every now and then. Or basically, they are mindless arguments, which we like to label as "fights". Now if we lose that argument, we feel frustrated and angry and in the unlikely case that we DO win the fight, we feel a hollow sense of smugness while the other person then feels angry. Now what exactly is gained by this futile argument other than a chance to smirk at somebody?

So yeah, I thought and thought a lot about why people fight (I have a lot of free time), and the only reason I could think of was- because we have nothing better to do! Actually, I think ego problems and misunderstandings might also come into the picture somewhere, but the fact that we do it to keep our mind occupied seems more plausible, and definitely less stupid!

Now, I have been in my fair share of “fights”. They are, in my case, just verbal arguments that started off over some silly topics and snowballed into a something much more intense! I mostly argued with my parents, (the advantage of being fluent in sarcasm is that you can usually insult the other person and walk away with your head held high while they try to comprehend what you just said; sadly, the case is not the same with parents) and after a few minutes into the argument, we don’t have any idea what were we initially arguing about; but since both of us feel stupid to admit that, we keep on arguing till we actually get tired! After which we just get back to our own amicable self. But that’s just how we are; we know we were being stupid and we just laugh at the issues and resolve to work at them. But I’ve seen people who severed years of friendship over some tiny argument. Looking at them, I really feel quite mature and intelligent!

I used to get pretty flared up too. As I kid, I would not tolerate any attack on my ego, (that’s not to say that I’ve grown up and become wiser now; but still I can tell when I’m being stupid) so the simple conclusion, a large part of time was spent on being a recluse. I thought that if people grew up, they’d become wiser, more mature. But then seeing adults behave the same; argue and crib just as childishly, I realized that people don’t really get mature, they just learn to pretend! So yeah, letting your ego mar the relationships is not really a smart choice. Sometimes, you just have to let go; compromise with your ego and adjust a little! I was really surprised that ever since I started doing that, people more or less started bending too; they agreed to what I wanted, and futile arguments were avoided!

Fistfights are even stupider. Verbal arguments get escalated to physical fights just because of the inflated ego of the people! And the funny thing is, just because two idiots are fighting, their friends join in too and make it some kind of “gang war”. So it circles back to people having a lot of free time.

People think backing away and running away are one & the same thing, and that’s plain foolish! What they don’t know is that any idiot can fight, but only a sensible fellow walks away from an argument with an idiot. It’s a great quote that I read somewhere “never argue with an idiot; first he’ll drag you down to his level and then he’ll beat you with experience!” Words of wisdom, those are!

And I’m not talking about an intelligent debate where both the people listen to each other’s views and have a reasonable discussion over it. I’m talking a purely mindless argument where the only focus is on proving yourself right!  It has been rightly said, “Scholars assert, idiots argue!”

So yeah, next time if before I get into a fight, I’ll think if it’s really worth fighting about. And if I do get into a fight with a friend, I’ll admit that atleast I was acting stupid, irrespective of what the person thinks. But then, that’s just me, isn’t it? (Wink!)

What's with the New Year?

So yeah, happy New Year to you all, and I guess 2013 is pretty special, because the Mayans weren’t anticipating that we’d get this far (cheers all!). But now the pleasantries have been exchanged, let me ask you this simple question (I’m a very inquisitive person after all), what IS it about New Year that excites us so much?

Okay, we usually get a day off on the first, and who wouldn’t like to celebrate a nice chilly winter morning by lazing around in their bed? And although there’s no harm in hoping that we’ll have a nice(r) year this time around, but seriously, there are some things about a New Year that I simply don’t get.

The biggest one is New Year resolutions. The way I see it, it’s just a reason for people to keep procrastinating. Okay, its good that you decided to start living a healthy lifestyle from first of January, but more or less, you're going to stuff yourself bad right upto the first. And we all are glad that you decided to quit smoking on the New Year, but you also need to watch the sudden spike in your smoking frequency until the New Year approaches. And isn’t it rather stupid, not to mention a bit sad, that we resolve to turn our lives around the next year. I mean, what’s wrong in doing that from right now, right from today (okay, it IS the first of Jan today, but you get the point!). And anyways, unless you are blessed with exceptionally good will power, chances are you won’t be able to cope up with such a sudden change in your lifestyle. You have to ease into it, gradually. And there’s no time or age to learn something new, so you don’t really have to wait until the next year for that.

The second thing I can’t understand is social protocols. Okay, if someone wishes me a happy new year, politeness dictates that I wish him or her too. And in a way, New Year greetings are a good way to catch up with old friends. But it’s really strange that I have to wish my every acquaintance a happy new year. Dude! I’m human, I forgot. And we didn’t really talk. Like ever. So why do I need to wish you? And it’s hilarious that some people don’t even wish each other on the 31^st or the 1^st as the call rates and message rates are higher on those 2 days. So basically, aren’t we greeting each other for the heck of it? We can’t even spend a few pennies on a phone call?

And finally, why does everyone tend to diss the year that’s about to leave? I mean, it couldn’t have been THAT bad, right? So don’t just focus on the bad and stop saying “good riddance” to the old year and assuming the next one’s going to be grand… That’s putting a whole lot of pressure on something that hasn’t even begun properly yet. Be optimistic, but at the same time, a little realism won’t hurt either.

In short, the clock striking midnight is not some a magical spell which would restart everything wonderful and happy. Chances are, you WILL have things that are hard to deal with and you will DEFINITELY have wonderful things happen to you, things that make you smile. Regardless, don’t tip the scale at the end of the year and I hope 2013 is a memorable one for you!