Quotes/Poems
A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it, is committing another mistake.” – Confucius
To the man with only a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail.”
This quote is about thinking only in one particular way. That people have blind spots.
An engineer will often think in terms of systems by default. A psychologist will think in terms of incentives. A business person might think in terms of opportunity cost and risk-reward. Through their disciplines, each of these people sees part of the situation, the part of the world that makes sense to them. None of them, however, see the entire situation unless they are thinking in a multidisciplinary way.
Here’s another way to look at it: think of a forest. When a botanist looks at it they may focus on the ecosystem, an environmentalist sees the impact of climate change, a forestry engineer the state of the tree growth, a business person the value of the land. None are wrong, but neither are any of them able to describe the full scope of the forest. Sharing knowledge, or learning the basics of the other disciplines, would lead to a more well-rounded understanding that would allow for better initial decisions about managing the forest.
This quote can be used –
1. To explain why diversity is required in representation. Why more diverse voices are needed on the decision making table – whether in politics, policy making or any institution/organisation.
2. Why generalists are important vis a vis specialists in bureaucracy.
3. In philosophical essays, it can be used to denote how we must pursue multidisciplinary knowledge and be open to diverse experiences.
4. It can also be used to understand why people behave the way they do – to understand their context and way of thinking.
Ignorance more often begets confidence than knowledge”– Charles Darwin
This quote can be used in essays of following themes:
1. Learning and self discovery – developing a circle of competence
2. Social media noise and chaos – why trolling happens
3. How this impacts organisations/institutions/administration/politics – Why some organisations/individuals succeed and others don’t – the willingness to understand the limitations of one’s knowledge and learn or seek counsel of others who have the expertise in the matter.
Do unto others knowing that something will be done unto you.”
“I give, so that you may give.”
This reflects the a key principle of the human world – Reciprocity. Meaning, you do good, you get good in return and vice-versa. This principle is considered as a crucial factor for the progress made by the human civilisation.
Ultimately, it comes down to this – The more people you help, the more people you will have willing to help you. People tend to receive what they offer to the world. Thus, to change our world, we must change what we offer to others.
Reciprocity teaches us to be mindful of how our actions tend to come back on us. It shapes most of our interaction with the world and the trajectories of our lives and where we reach in life. The best way to achieve success is to deserve success. Small changes in your actions change your entire world.Research also has shown the positive effect of this on our physical, mental and emotional health.
Making interconnections :
Reciprocity is Newton’s third law applied in the human world. That is, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
Evolutionary biologists argue that our tendency to engage in reciprocal behavior is a natural product of evolution. You are more likely to survive if you receive help from others. And you are more likely to receive that help if you have offered assistance in the past. So the genes that encode the reciprocal instinct were more likely to be passed on. And thus the fact that the human species has made it to now is directly dependent on our building social interactions that are reliable, useful, and trustworthy.
Symbiotic relationships in nature are an example of reciprocity in the natural world and can be quoted as analogies to enrich your content.
This can be used in the essays of following themes :
1.Quotes of great thinkers on being helpful and doing good in the world. Gandhi’s quote of “an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind” OR “be the change you want to see in the world” is reciprocity principle in action.
2. Essays on public service, volunteering, and why it provides satisfaction to people.
3. Emotional Intelligence
4. On how to be successful in life.
5. Nature also works in terms of reciprocity – so pollution, climate change and attacks on nature are going to be reciprocated by nature. It is important to remember that we are part of a natural world, and thus our actions do not happen in isolation, but are instead part of an interconnected web of effects.
Socrates’ quotes –
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
The unexamined life is not worth living.
There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.
Science is not a body of knowledge, it is a way of thinking.
“Creativity is making the complicated simple.”
“If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him.”
This quote means that unless you know where you want to go, the opportunities or the catalysts that you have go to waste. This requires us to have certain clarity in the mind regarding the destination we want to reach and only then can we make use of the opportunities that surround us. Otherwise, despite being talented, hardworking and surrounded by abundant opportunities we may fail to achieve success or reach our destination. As the winds push the ships on the ocean without a destination will be pushed around the by the waters with no port in sight, similarly individuals with no clarity in their minds regarding their goal will not be able to achieve their potential, success and end up being pushed around.
The emphasis is also on having a mind of your own and a resolute will so winds blowing from different directions do not deter you from your destination.
The case studies that can be quoted in this regard are :
Sachin Tendulakar and Vinod Kambli : Tendulkar’s laser like focus on his goal enabled him to stay on course to reach his destination and he was able to achieve all the success and greatness making use of the opportunities that came his way. Vinod Kambli, who also made a start with him, however could not achieve this much because of lack of clarity and distractions coming from all directions.
Napoleon is another example. He changed the way wars were fought, thanks to his military strategy and velocity showcased by him in the early battles he fought. However, his Russian military campaign shows that if you lose sight of your aim and forget the direction of your goal, your strategies and speed will not be of much use.
This quote and case studies can be used in the essays of the following themes:
1. Having a clear vision and goal in your mind.
2. Resolution of will – dedication and sincerity to your goals to ensure that you do not get distracted by anything or everything that surrounds you. The ability to cancel out the noise and have a hawk-like focus towards your destination. This is the key to becoming a champion in any field.
3. In themes of leadership, where it requires to be decisive especially in the moments of crisis.
“Don’t reinvent the wheel, repurpose it.”
We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the beauty of science, and then there is always the chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium a benefit for humanity. ~ Marie Curie
Explanation: What we learn from exaptation is that we don’t always know the value of something at the outset, and there doesn’t always have to be a justification for doing everything.
Sometimes people invent things solely for the sake of the invention.
This can be used in the essays of following themes :
1. Need to invest scientific research and discovery such as India’s space programme. Often, there are arguments made on the lines that millions are poor and hungry in our country so is it justified to spend millions on a space programme or any other scientific work. This can be quoted.
2.Learning for the sake of learning – the value that needs to be inculcated in the education system.
3. Motivation and Perseverance – you might fail at one thing that you had planned or prepared for but if you keep at it you will get success in other ways that you probably hadn’t even imagined. You might fail the UPSC exam but the knowledge and skills gained will be useful, sometimes making you reach places you hadn’t even thought of.
4. Personal growth and learning – It also teaches us that as individuals we must not underestimate the options we have at our disposal. Too often we get stuck in “functional fixedness,” a mindset where we see in things only their intended use, rather than their potential use. A fork doesn’t have to be just a tool to put food in your mouth. It could also be a hook, tack, or hair detangler. It may be combined with other household objects to fulfill even more purposes. As the saying goes: do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.
It is not strength that survives, but adaptability.
Forests are the best case studies for economic excellence.
Comparing the forest which is an ecosystem, to the economy and how every component is crucial in an ecosystem similarly every component/sector in an economy. Forests are an ecosystem of an interconnected web/relationships so is an economy – a system of interconnected relationships .
Any intervention in any part/component will have ripple effects on the whole system. Further, as the forest ecosystems are not static rather a dynamic ecosystem and same is the case with an economy. And understanding economy as a dynamic ecosystem can be useful in achieving economic excellence.
Ecological concepts that can be used –
1. The Law of the Minimum/Liebig Law – states that the yield of a crop will always be dictated by the essential nutrient that is available at the lowest level. The nature of forest – tropical or temperate or its other characteristics will be determined by the availability of the lowest available denomination/factor.
It’s same in achieving economic excellence where the lowest available resource and how it’s managed will be the key factor in achieving economic excellence. This law can also be used to explain manufacturing bottlenecks – A factory process can only move as fast as the slowest step.
How forests thrive in such conditions of limiting factors can be quoted as a case study – example – in deserts – plants grow waxy and needle shaped leaves, deep roots.
2. Invasive species – like in an forest ecosystem where the introduction of invasive species can threaten the endemic flora and fauna, similarly in an economy introduction of foreign products/processes without taking into account local context and conditions can have an adversarial impact. Such as flooding of market with cheap Chinese goods, coming of foreign players in the market etc – this needs to be checked and controlled through rules and regulations. And before introducing any such change an in-depth understanding of the nature and resilience of the economy is important.
However, this introduction will have its successes and failures. Allowing of foreign investment and companies in the economy as was done through LPG reforms in 1991 turned out to be a great success thanks to the competition it introduced in the economy.
3. Competition – as competition is critical in an ecosystem to keep it alive and thriving and ensure that every species functions at its optimal level, same is the case in an economy.
Every species learns to adapt when faced with competition and challenges, similarly competition in economy ensures optimal and efficient utilisation of resources and most importantly, it leads to innovation in products and production method and technology development. And the ones that fail to rise up to the occasion and lose the competition, our wiped out. Competition is fundamental to achieving economic excellence.
The passing of Insolvency and Bankruptcy act by the government is an exemplary example of this – where firms that fail to compete can easily exit and if it’s not allowed it creates a stagnation and inefficiency in the economy through piling up of NPAs, reduced investment and decline in overall economic growth.
Just as a threaded ( sasutra ) needle is secure from being lost, in the same way a person given to self-study ( sasutra ) cannot be lost. – Lord Mahavira