Monkey Business!

It is an experiment that runs like a story.

Once upon a time there were four monkeys chosen for an experiment. These four monkeys were placed in a cage and a bunch of banana was tied at the top. Instinctively, a moneky tried to jump and take hold of the banana. At this time water was splashed on monkey and thus prevented from reaching banana.

Any time a monkey tried to reach the banana, water was splashed and all the monkeys 'learnt' that there is danger in trying to reach for banana.

Now, one monkey was removed from the cage and a new monkey was replaced in the cage. Knowing not the danger the new monkey tried to reach the banana. This time water splash was also not there. Yet the new monkey did not get the banana. Why?

Apparently, the three old monkeys prevented the new one to reach the banana. They sensed the danger and "taught" the new one to not try to reach the banana.

Next, another monkey was removed from the cage and a new monkey was replaced in its place.

Now, this monkey was prevented from reaching the banana by all the three (two old with experience and one new without the experience). In this manner all the four monkeys (who 'learnt' about the danger) were replaced with four new monkeys.

Lo and behold, all the new four monkeys had fear of banana even though they did not directly percieve the threat to them.

This is the conditioning of the mind of the monkeys.

Now, for the conclusion:

All of us are also like monkeys - having belief systems that are not part of our own experience. It is based on someone else's experience. It is either 'some one said so' or 'elders said so'. We would not take the risk to find out!!

Those who question this belief system have taken that additional risk and hence have a rich experience of life.

"Indecent Proposal"!

Frederick Soddy, who won a Nobel prize for his study of isotopes, is better known for his research on circles and a poem he published in Nature in 1936.

The Kiss Precise by Frederick Soddy

For pairs of lips to kiss maybe
Involves no trigonometry.
'Tis not so when four circles kiss
Each one the other three.
To bring this off the four must be
As three in one or one in three.
If one in three, beyond a doubt
Each gets three kisses from without.
If three in one, then is that one
Thrice kissed internally.

Inspiration

The lights of stars that were extinguished ages ago still reaches us. So it is with great men who died centuries ago, but still reach us with the radiations of their personalities.

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On Improvement through generations of works

From the Manual of Warrior of Light by Paulo Coelho

"The warrior of light is always trying to improve.

Every blow of his sword carries with it centuries of wisdom and meditation. Every blow needs to have the strength and skill of all the warriors of past who, even today, continue to bless the struggle. Each movement during combat honours the movements that the previous generations tried to transmit through the Tradition.

The warrior develops the beauty of his blows."

This is so similar to the oft-quoted statement of Sir Isaac Newton

"If I have seen farther, it is by standing on ye shoulders of Giants" in a letter to Robert Hooke.

Dilemma in Decision Making Process

What would you do in this situation?

There are two railway tracks passing by a city. One of them being in use and the other in disuse. Further, a train can change track to the track that is not being used in emergency.

On a bright sunny day kids have come out to play and are playing on the tracks. There is one kid playing on the track that is in disuse. But there are ten kids playing on the track that is being in use.

A train is fast approaching towards children but the kids are unaware of it (you may wonder how, but let us believe it is so!) and the train cannot be stopped within the distance available. You cannot blow whistle and warn them as unfortunately the whistle has stopped working!

The driver of the train has two options and you have to help him decide on this dilemma:

1: Go on the track that is in use and kill 10 kids OR

2. Shift the track to the one in disuse and kill only 1 kid.

Will you help the driver decide providing justifications for the option you choose?