Fall in Central Park

Homer and the Crayon

Homer, the character from the Simpsons - not the Greek poet, had a crayon stuck in his brain for all those years, which explained his below average intelligence. Apparently, it was stuck there because of a childhood incident that involved shoving crayons up his nose. After the doctor removed the crayon, Homer’s IQ improved considerably, enabling him to bond with this intelligent daughter, increasing his intellectual aptitude, and improving his logical reasoning. However, Homer soon found out that increased intelligence comes at a price. He was not enjoying normal activities and could not fit in with his friends.

Does high intelligence and reasoning come at a price? The answer is ‘yes’. People with high IQ scores tend to be analytical and think more than people with low scores. They reason and find more flaws in normal day to day activities. This impacts their ability to live and let live. In the end, considerably high IQ may also mean less happy thoughts because as many say, “ignorance is bliss”. The more you think and analyze, the more you realize that there are so many ways things and events can go wrong.

Unfortunately, schools and universities focus solely on IQ by giving standardized tests and other exams. They ignore one of the biggest predictors of future success – EQ or emotional intelligence. People with high EQ tend to know how to react and deal with everyday situations. They may not necessarily be the most logical or analytical, but they are smart with people and the world around them. The most successful of people are the ones who know how to use both forms of intelligence and create a balance.

In the Simpsons episode, Homer eventually had the crayon put back into his brain, because he could not deal with the world of intelligence. Being smart and reasoning with the world is not easy, but using our talents and intelligence in a way that benefits the world is essential. We are all different in our abilities and we all have different strengths. If you are highly intelligent, don’t reason or get disappointed with the world, but use it to the fullest and in the most creative ways.

Park Ave Samosa

Last week, walking along a wide boulevard sipping warm masala chai, I reached to grab a hot samosa from the to-go bag. While the aroma of potatoes and Indian spices were slowly filling the air, it dawned on me that I was walking on a prominent street, Park Avenue. The sophisticated patrons were giving me looks while I was munching on the samosa. No matter how many caviar canapes or lobster bisques I have, the best food to me is what I grew up with. Our culture is a part of us, and people who deny it are denying their own identity. In the world of ethnic assimilation, we all bring small identities with us, mingling, eating, and sharing different customs, but our core still remains; it is what makes us unique.

A solitary violinist

The statue of Hans Christian Andersen, the legendary storyteller, reading the 'ugly duckling' to the attentitive duck is not easy to miss for a visitor to Central Park. One can see children and families from different nationalities climbing on the statue and taking photographs. Every photograph of the statue is a memory engraved forever in an album in a distant land or becomes a digitized imprint. While sitting on the bench next to the statue today, I started reading ‘The Soloist’ by Steve Lopez, a non-fiction book about a talented homeless violinist. Engrossed in the book, and amidst the laughter of the children climbing the statue, I could hear the faint sounds of a violin coming from the distance. I curiously looked around to decipher the origin of the sound, but couldn't determine the direction of the melody. The evening sun was peeking through the verdant august trees and bushes in the west, the summer breeze gently blowing the leaves. As I picked up my belongings to head back and walked in that direction, the music was becoming more and more audible. At the end of the conservatory pond was a solitary violinist, exceptionally talented, and creating beautiful music for the visitors - a soloist. Some of the best things in life are free, and can be discovered only if we pause, observe, and reflect.

An Empty Stranger

What are they missing, I thought? In some villages in India, some of the poorest people have the widest and most genuine smiles. Why is it that among the swarms of the wealthy, handsome, and beautiful, I don’t see the same smiles?

The more we have, the more we seek. As humans, we are naturally inclined to not be satisfied with what we have. Greed has caused wars, destroyed families, and fueled an endless need for creating money. On the other hand, greed has also driven humans to venture, discover, and create the extraordinary. I can spot a random stranger in the city, usually a fashionista or a busy professional; an empty feeling encompasses their tough exterior conveying a feeling of unhappiness. There is an overwhelming feeling of emptiness that many residents face, amidst the power and quest for exceptional wealth, beauty, and popularity.

On a positive note, some people living in the city will strive to be part of the cultural or business elite and will work hard with a drive and determination not found anywhere. These people will be successful. New York is what you make of it and if you do not get influenced by the constant demand to be the best at everything, you can be a happy person like anywhere else in the world, maybe even as happy as the smiling villager.

Age in Asia

While walking through Chinatown yesterday, I noticed something that I had observed in the past but not truly thought about. It was the number of elderly people walking in the streets and sitting in the dessert cafes. There was something about them that struck me – some were walking slowly with a younger person holding their arm; others were chatting and laughing with other individuals in the cafes sipping warm tea. Even though many of them seemed physically frail, they seemed to glow with a sense of serenity.

That is when I thought about elderly individuals in general. I don’t always see the same kind of glow among the other ‘senior citizens’ in the city. When I visited a regular nursing home, the looks on those individuals’ faces were not the same. It didn’t reflect peace or serenity, but rather a sense of slow and unwanted suffering. I realized that the difference is cultural, and as many of us are already aware, the West doesn’t treat and regard the elderly in the same way that Asian or Eastern cultures do. Instead of learning from their wisdom and taking care of them, some are treated as worthless. Many eastern countries are starting to follow the same pattern. In countries such as India, where parents and elderly were revered, I am starting to see the same pattern emerging.

For many of us living in the West, it is not too long from now that we could be at that age where we may not be able to take care of ourselves. I hope we won’t be discarded or forgotten by the capitalist youth obsessed society but rather valued for our knowledge, experience, and wisdom.

Social Media Narcissist

The term "Narcissism" originates from a legend in Greek mythology of Narcissus, a handsome greek man. He rejected a nymph called Echo and refused to accept her love. A goddess, angry at Narcissus, cast a spell on him to fall in love with himself. He saw a reflection of himself in a pond one day and fell in love and never left that pond. He died there and turned into a flower.

What does Narcissus have to do with social media? Social media is increasingly becoming a haven for narcissists. It is becoming so rampant that even people who are not narcissists in real life are turning into them. What is it about social media that feeds narcissism? The idea of profiles and photographs of individuals to be cast as a display for the whole world to see did not exist many years ago. The idea of any of the 100-1000 'friends' to be able to post comments to photos and posts did not exist either.

Narcissists are normally harmless but the question arises about whether it affects their real-life relationships. Instead of spending time with family, for example, a narcissist may spend time checking who commented on their photo or who is checking their profile.

Twitter and Facebook are the main players in this phenomenon. Micro-blogging about your daily life can be exciting for you but may not always be exciting to the reader who will be getting updates every two minutes on what you ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner or what subway line you take home. Even I am guilty of it occasionally. There are a few obsessive micro-bloggers and facebookers: the ones who post a new tweet or facebook update every five minutes, usually about their daily life. They are what I define as 'narcissistic'

In the new world of web 2.0 we are all players in an increasingly narcissistic but exciting world; it is a world in which we are inundated with micro-information, updates, photos, and events, all of which are still - fun.