Can you trust the majority to make your choices?

Want to base your choices and arguments on numbers? Have a look at these stats (all approximations based on different figures):
There are over 1 billion smokers and about 5.4 million die every year due to complications caused by it.
There are over 100 million drug addicts with 2.5 millionn dying every year due to excessive abuse or a ultimate consequence of it.
Both groups of people believe that either is good for them or helps them somehow, however twisted that may sound and however educated they may be or even however aware they could be of the side-effects.

They (the addicts) are a lot of people but would anyone with a sane mind say that they have made the right choices? To find comfort in numbers is a weak argument as much as it erodes one's individuality. It's what sheep do. The above 'facts' point to a true but disturbing trend in society- that more people are gullible and make questionable, erratic and illogical choices in life which comes back and bites them in the ass.

Advertising works exactly on this reality to sell crap to people and make them think they need it and they find a way to make it part of their lives. It works fundamentally on the premise that there are more irrational people out there and a only very few smart ones that will break down the facts, one by one. There are more gullible people than not. It is easier to find them and one can sell any product and make it worth their while. Once it sells in hordes, people will automatically think its a good product and their judgments would get clouded. Eg. a full restaurant will always draw in more crowds. Design does the same- a better designed perfume label is more likely to be picked than a lesser designed perfume label even if the scent is exactly the same.

There are many lies used in the business and the problems arises further when people spread these lies as truths and spread truths as lies. And people fall for it. And brand loyalty depends on this. Any consumer who gets bedazzled is hard to bring back to the realm of reality. They become sheep and lose their individual rational thought process. Relying on numbers to prove a point is illogical and stupid- as smokers and junkies' figures have shown.

Being part of the design world makes me a culprit too but I know it can be used for actually bettering people's lives. However, in a commerce driven world, opportunities are hard to come by. I believe that a lot of technology is making people dumber by the day. Look at the iphone or the ipad- thousands of useless apps that one doesn't really need but millions use it because Steve Jobs says that they need it. The fact that there are severe constraints on using these products (like no flash support, slower processors, bad reception, inferior cameras etc) gets hidden under the clever marketing of the products and sadly, a lot of intelligent people also fall for it. They would refuse to believe that something revered by millions can be actually an inferior product. These "fanboys", as they are lovingly called, will constantly harp on the numbers and more recently on the "most valued brand" tag that Apple has won- probably with help of their ga-gaing all over the place! They eat up whatever Apple feeds them and Apple has ended up becoming what they thought Microsoft was- a leviathan creating drones in a unremarkable world. Except that the Apple universe may probably look prettier but will be inhabited by millions of idiots who cannot think for themselves. Apple makes some nice products, no doubt, but it makes a lot of crap noone needs too. And it is this which sells and the company single-handedly proves that it is far easier to sell useless things that those which actually make sense.

Humans are ingenious beings and will find use for any product that comes along, so if someone uses the argument of some product leading to betterment of something, it is just man using his experience of hundreds of years of evolution and adapting to changing circumstances. If people really knew what is good for them, Pepsi & Coke wouldn't sell in the numbers that they do. Or potato chips. Or friend chicken. All across the world. People already had food and drinks and one did not need these but they have become a part of daily life and for some people, an absolutely necessary part of their daily life! And this is because of years of advertising telling people that life is incomplete without these things! As people became more aware of healthy living, out came zero calorie sodas, or organic chips or baked chicken- basically people evolved and tried to make use of something better. Not ideal but it is humans adapting.

If humans made such great choices in large numbers, corrupt or inept politicians would never get elected to office anywhere in the world. Or the world would not have the hole in the ozone. Or we wouldnt have depleted forests and animal life all over the world. People can and have come together to make things better but those instances are far and few. Why do the honest people feel it tough to break the ceiling? Why do the logical voices get subdued? Why are finances in the control of a "privileged few"? Mainly because people tend to look to their sides and see what the person on their right or left is doing. And copy it. Like monkeys. The majority may sometimes have valid points but that still has to be questioned without prejudice- which is what isn't done by the majority of society.

So really, do the maximum number of people make the most intelligent choices? I dont think so. If someone blindly worships any one thing or any one person, that person is almost as good as sheep and you are better off trusting your dog's opinion on things. We are all individuals and our individuality is based on the decisions we make that has little to do with conformity, hero worship and blind faith. It has to do with what is best for us, as individuals without stepping on other people's toes. Everyone knows this fact deep down inside and I know I am not saying anything new or path-breaking. I just want people to always look again- not at others but at themselves.

How to tell the smart ones from the sheep? Easy, the smart dont have wool over their eyes!

"isms" are for sheep

The problem isn't that there are too many "isms" floating around. The problem is that there are too many people who are following them.

Isms like communism, feminism, sensationalism, racism, skepticism, materialism etc etc etc. fill the world. Theories are plenty and "theoreticians" even more so. Thus, the problem with theories is that they have "rules" that one needs to follow to believe in that theory. Apparently it is not that hard because every theory has hundreds of thousands of followers.  Like sheep, losing their identity to a theoretical idea. Herded into believing that they are safest is that pen- all together. Then, it is perhaps the followers who are at fault?

What is their fault? Ignorance? Disbelief in the other theories? Conviction based on sentiment? Influence by close peers? Maybe none or maybe all of the above. However, the major fault of these followers is that they follow these theories too seriously! One of life's lessons has been that every theory has loopholes and can be disproved by another theory. 'Isms' are just theories and cannot be laws written in stone. It is what some one person thought is how a particular part of life should be. Some agreed with it and created the 'ism' around it!

The biggest fault of the followers is that they get offended when someone calls them out on their blind ways. Perhaps the only bigger fault is that these followers refuse to see through the paper thin walls of their respective 'isms'. No matter what you tell them, they will refuse and try to create all aspects of their lives around this one 'ism' that they obsess about and make it the way of their lives. These 'isms' live on hate and perpetuate them to new extents. And that is perhaps the most alarming thing about 'isms'- more than love, it is about anger mistaken for a liberation and revolt against the system.

If you have a friend who follows a 'ism' and gets offended every time you make fun of it, let them be. Truth usually unfolds itself upon everyone in one way or the other. They will realize one day by themselves that they have been wrong all along but till then no one can make them believe that they are not right. It is like talking to a lifeless brick wall- perhaps unique but refusing to believe in that idea. The best you can do is save your energies and be ready to catch them when they finally fall back into reality.

Why are people hating on helmets?

So, this is becoming too frequent and its annoying. Everyone seems to have some prejudices against helmets and will discriminate people with helmets in different situations- be it the movies, the airports or hotels. In India more than anywhere else.

I am a avid biker and have custom painted helmets. When I go somewhere, I like to carry them with me in a nice sack to protect it from scratches and prevent them from being stolen- already happened once so not taking a chance ever again! The first time that I had the problem was for movies- they wont let me take them in! That was the time when even backpacks would not be allowed while women could carry their purses inside. Biased? Hell yeah! This was sort of rectified when some movie halls in India started providing lockers to lock up helmets and bags. Good job there.

Recently, I was travelling by air but carrying my helmet because I was going to be riding at my destination. I went through three airports and the airport where I was harassed because of my helmet was Nagpur!! Not Delhi, not Goa, but frigging small town Nagpur. A annoying SE Anshu Grade at the x-ray machine was the only one who was convinced that the helmet was a threat and "could be used as a weapon"!! How? By whacking someone on the head? While there were iron crutches, tripod stands and even airplane doors at disposal to do so? Seriously? Maybe in that small town there isn't much action so she decided to make my life hell and there was a huge scene. None of her colleagues agreed with her but seemed helpless in countering her- juniors perhaps. She almost insinuated that I was like a terrorist when she started to give the example of Kasab! I come from a respected family of senior government officials and if anything, we would probably unearth more problems if we checked her antecedents. I can bet on it. I made sure CISF jawans assisted me in getting proper padding and packing for the helmets done before I boarded the plane. So much grief over one person's wrong assessment of the situation!

So you would say that perhaps this cop was a less educated person who was trying to abuse her powers. However, hotels are no better. Many star hotels wont let you carry a helmet inside their buildings due to "safety" reasons! Safety my ass. Usually I make it a point to call up the hotels and ask their policies on helmets- people at the Ashok and Intercontinental (now Lalit) seemed better when it came to this. Today, I went to the dying Claridges Hotel in Delhi to meet some clients. Everyone, from the guards to the Manager said that policy would not allow them to let me take my helmet in!! They also used the lame excuse of "helmet can be used as weapon"!! Really? I saw more dangerous looking metal crutches (that could easily conceal a gun if it wanted!) go in! I think its just snobbery and general classist attitude of Indian society. And if it happens in the US, even more shameful. I think the hotel people think if people carried their helmets inside, it would degrade their inside environment because they believe that rich people dont ride motorbikes. Such ignorants pricks! Only on the intervention of a senior foreign dignitary did they yield and held my helmet with the Bell Desk taking full responsibility for the helmet. Colonial boot licking? But of course.

This is what I always say- the possibilities to do better are limitless but people are looking in the wrong places. They create a fuss over helmets while they should be directing their attention to actual things that could be security risks or debase the atmosphere of their respective surroundings. It is because of this that people normally have a lapse of judgement which leads to fatal consequences. And then they are stuck scratching their heads of what they did wrong and overcompensate with things that have nothing to do with what happened.

People will stay uneducated, ignorant, arrogant and just disconnected from reality. There needs to be a movement against such discrimination and stupid policies. Lets vote against the idiocracy of today!  India has seen too many mistakes by people in charge of "security" and by hating on helmets, they are fooling noone. After going through all these instances of helmet discrimination, I feel more unsafe knowing that truly stupid, foolish and illogical people are in charge of the safety of people's lives.

The people never make sense

This is probably a rant.

Today something outrageously funny (yet disturbing) happened. As me and some colleagues were in a mall on a research/store photography visit, a young (college?) girl approached one of us to sell some tickets to some random rock/bhakti show. We showed no interest though she waited around us. Later on, on her complaint, her male friend decided to confront one of us accusing him of taking her pictures! Obviously he had not and considering that (no apologies for being blunt and direct as she was asking for it) she was hardly good looking and that she actually thought that she was worthy of being shot discreetly was creepy, hilarious and showed just how vain some people are- especially when they have no reason to be!

People in the city never seem to work with logic- for anything. I have not known anyone with a Blackberry who hasnt had software/hardware problems and yet thy defend it without being able to prove the absolute necessity of having one over any other smart phone. Or Apple fans lapping up iphones or similar products just on face value that the products heralded new eras in their respective  categories- without any real research or understanding about how other companies have overtaken Apple in many respects in similar products. The competition that Apple created only gives more choice to the consumer but the loyalists are like fundamentalists who are brainwashed and have horse blinkers on to see the whole truth- like the Nazis or any religious fanatic.

Speaking of which, all the "intellectual" leftist/libral/marxist bullshitters stay quiet when naxals and marxist terrorists capture or kill innocent civilians either to avenge death of their "comrades" (they should really stop using these words that have genesis in great revolutions) or seek their release. The same pseudo-intellectuals will protst when any rightist decides to do the same. And these same fakers stay quiet when "leftist" countries like China and Russia commit similar attrocities or infringe on human rights of their own people. Perhaps these modern day sycophants should stay i these beloved  countries as unprivileged citizens and experience all those restrictions firsthand. Never have they been able to give any convincing answers (economically/socially etc) for an eclectic nation like India and their questions are driven by ideas formulated years ago having little relevance in the 21st century. Again, more brain washed people.

Stereotypes aren't hard to find and these leftists play the role well. But so do book-snobs in almost a similar vein. The belief that reading a book enriches one experience more than someone who doesnt't couldn't be misplaced any more than placing faith in a idea relevant in the first half of the 20th century. The misplaced faith extends to the repeatedly annoying habit of these snobs to keep saying that the movie based on a book was not as good as the book- preference is subjective but they are quite objective in their stance. Gaining all their knowledge about life, places and events through reading seems to give them a complex of having superior  understanding of everything they have read about. On the contrary it only makes them passive and when faced with real life issues, most falter and try to take didactic approaches inculcated from all their reading. If only life were that simple, leaders would read a book to solve their country's problems, win world peace and have absolute knowledge of every single person from any particular tribe in any particular village in any particular region of the world. In an world of subjectivity, objectivity is only detrimental to the process of understanding cultures and situations.

There are way too many such examples to list here but the point is that we are always going to be surrounded by people who make little sense to us, or even themselves. Heck, people cannot even understand how deeply involved a biker I am or the reasons behind being so! I may not be perfect myself but at least I try to make balanced decisions and opinions without getting swayed by brand loyalties or half-arsed ideologies or words written by someone sitting in an armchair. I probably dont give a damn about most things but annoying people annoy me!