The Beautiful Mind

How difficult is it to learn after all? You read something and you know it. Wish it were that simple. There are so many factors that go into it. First of all there is the desire to learn. One has to have the hunger for knowledge. If one is a reluctant learner, no matter how much one reads the facts just won't register. It would be more like a fleeting study of the text that one is going through while thinking about other things. Only when one really wants to know, wants to learn, does one remember every detail of what one has read. So we come to the point that even memory is selective. We subconsciously make sure that we remember what interests us and gradually erase what is dull and boring. But shouldn't it be the other way round? Remembering what colour dress Victoria Beckham wore to the last P3 party is far easier than knowing the current CRR value. So the mind should be programmed as to give higher priority to what we are reading because we are compelled to over what we are reading because we want to. But no, the wiring has to be that way. Just like your nose will itch just when your hands are full of dough.

So what does one do to know what one hates to read about? First step : start liking it. Yeah right!! But no, there's no other way. You have to start taking interest in it. Gradually things fall into place. I'm working on it. There's another aspect to this - the mode of learning. Eg : I learn best when someone in front of me is telling me about it. If i read about it it doesn't register that well. Also, writing what I've read helps. But reading what I've written a while later ensures that I actually recall every detail about it. There are some people I know who don't learn anything in class but understand the concepts really well if they read a good book. I have to develop this trait sooner or later, else I'll be in hot water.

Hot water reminds me - why do I remember what happened in this PGW but can't remember the name of the newly elected President of Myanmar? Or for that matter the name of the guy who was behind the coup d'etat. Again, selective memory. So do I turn these names into PGW characters and Douglas Adams ETs? Hope I do, and soon.

The brain's a funny thing. And its complexities will take really long to decipher. Watching Taare Zameen Par told me about how a beautiful mind can be wronged in such a barbaric manner. The kid was a true genius and yet, would have been lost in translation had it not been for early counseling.

These days schools have counselers. Even parents are more open to varied options for their children and are willing to consider parallel lines. They are also more receptive to counseling and psychological treatments. But I remember how insensitive parents and teachers alike were to the not so brilliant students in class when I was in Primary School. I just hope kids can live their lives now, especially after this film.