Abhijit Naskar's Blog - Posts Tagged "education"

What is Education?
Can you think of an accurate answer to this question?
Does the modern civilized society have any idea on the true meaning of the term?
Has the society ever been able to understand the true psychological underpinnings of education?
Or has it only constructed a sophisticated and hectic structure and stuck the label “education” on it just to gain authentication?

Education means nourishing the mind and make it develop in order to see beyond the limitations of current social perception. It means breaking the barriers of the rugged sociological system that impede in the progress of human civilization. It means trying new things out for the first time in human history and succeeding in a few while failing in some. That’s how a species grows and becomes more and more advanced.

Yet, somehow the craving for security has conditioned the society to perceive education not as an endeavor of the mind, rather as a preprogrammed task created by some sophisticated, illusory structure known as the “system of education”. Education means breaking free from the manacles of limitations put forward by primitive ignorance. Yet today’s fake education is gloriously founded upon the primordial element of “limitation”. And the authorities of this so-called education often take pride it in their ship shape structure where they manufacture dumb manikins.

Psychologically speaking, a system is indeed necessary, for any kind of human endeavor. However, the moment the mind becomes dependent on the system and starts trusting the system more than internal faculties of the mind, the very element of education fades away from the system. And that’s exactly what has become of the modern system of education. There is a system alright, but the actual element of education has long gone.

A carefully constructed structure of education is supposed to smoothen the pursuit of knowledge, instead of restricting the flow of knowledge. The ultimate goal of humanity is knowledge, yet modern society has made knowledge secondary and the pompous pride of the system primary. The flow of knowledge towards the mind should be moderated by the faculties of the mind itself, based on the acceptability of nothing but the mind.

Mind is the Alpha – Mind is the Omega. There is nothing else in the pursuit of knowledge. And more importantly, there is nothing else in education. All systems of the society are meant to serve the mind, not the mind to serve the systems.

Today’s system of education in most countries is based on rigorous indoctrination. This is what I call “Educational Fundamentalism”, which is quite similar to religious fundamentalism. The only difference between these two types of fundamentalism is that the later torments the entire human society, while the former tyrannizes the flourishing and vulnerable minds of the young society.

Quite like religious fundamentalism, educational fundamentalism is based upon bookish creeds created by the self-proclaimed authority figures of the system. And this very fundamentalism is the cause of all the growing conflicts between the student-body of the education society and the teachers running that society. And these conflicts further become tools of exploitation in the hands of a handful of war-mongering, authoritarian, blood-sucking, politicians.

In short, today’s modern human society, perceives educational fundamentalism as true education, while the reality is, it is totally opposite of education. Real education opens up the mind to the vast world of possibilities and potentials. It enables the mind to come up with its own unique answers to questions that have been never answered before. Real education creates a complex mesh of neural network in the brain, solely concerned with delicate processing of knowledge, that allows the being known as human, to see something that nobody else can.

A properly constructed system can aid in this process of the growth of mind and smoothen the course of learning. However, the reality is something quite pathetic and of utter concern for us scientists and other thinkers in the field of philosophy. We are concerned because, the modern pedagogy of the system in most countries does not allow the flourishing minds of the young generation to grow at its natural pace, rather it overloads their brain with preprogrammed stream of life-less information and expects them to regurgitate that information in an exact order. Those who succeed in standing up to that ruthless expectation earns the ticket to the next level of the system and eventually they emerge as heartless robots. And those who don’t are quite cold-bloodedly labeled as “failed” and are expected to go through the whole process of regurgitation year after year, until they either succeed or meet their doom.

This is not Education. It is a process of manufacturing computation devices that look like Homo sapiens, and thereby falsely and quite mistakenly labeled as “Education”. This “False Education” or “Educational Fundamentalism” is dangerous for the society, and moreover it is a threat to the entire species, because it takes away the basic cognitive capacities of the mind, which are quintessential for the advancement of the species.

The need of a safe and stable structure is ingrained in the mind as a primitive psychological characteristic. It is a basic instinctual necessity of the cavemen with us. Hence, it is quite easy for the society to fall prey to this innate instinctual need. And slowly it outweighs the urge for growth. It is plain biological evolution. As my dearly beloved Lizi often says to me in order to win an argument, “when Evolution speaks, even the Gods are silent”. And it is indeed accurate. Evolution drives all kinds of lifeforms as well as mindforms. And it is Mother Nature that drives the whole process of biological evolution. Here I’d take a step further and say, when Mother Nature speaks, even the Gods hold silence.

Instincts, drives and urges, all are evolutionary, and as such they serve their distinct purposes in the path of survival. However, these antique elements of the primitive human psyche are kept in check by the modern part of the brain, i.e. the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex of the brain is responsible for the modern rational thinking of the human mind, while the limbic system holds all the emotional elements of the mind, including the primordial ones.

Now the point is, primordial instinctual elements come more naturally to the human mind, than rational thinking. This is because all the basic instincts and drives of the mind have been there since the reptilian days, whereas rational and analytical thinking has evolved in the human brain far too recently. Naturally, it takes a lot of practice and efforts to become a rational free thinker, compared to the ignorant minds incessantly driven by the lizard within.

And that’s exactly what has become of this so-called civilized and modern human society and its system of education. Most of the human society as well as its system of education is driven by the lizards of the limbic brain. Hence, it’s not the fault of the system. Rather if anyone to blame it is Mother Nature. She is a wicked old lady, who always has it her way.

However, if you have sufficient insight into the whole process of evolution and can take into account all its correlated ups and downs, you will no longer be able to blame Mother Nature. Because, even though we have been living in the wilderness and surviving with our limbic instincts and drives for millions of years, we also have received from Mother Nature the gift of a complicated and advanced cerebral cortex, which enables us to carefully modulate the wild responses of the limbic system in this civilized world. We truly are an advanced species that has gained the brain capacity look beyond the basic needs of survival. We have learnt to take significant steps in the path of development.

And the most necessary tool in that path of advancement is Education. And here, by education, I refer to the real education of the mind, that endows the human psyche with vigor and expands its intellectual perception of the world. And in this whole process of progress, there is no place for the fake education of modern society that does nothing but condition the young human minds to become hypnotized hominid elitists.

To quote from my book Love, God & Neurons
“indoctrination is not just demeaning to the human conscience, it is lethal for the flourishing psychology of the hungry, young mind.
The purpose of education should ultimately be the advancement of the species. And for this to actually happen, the world needs the kind of education by means of which character is formed, strength of the mind is increased and the human intellect is expanded beyond its own limits.”

First the world needs teachers – teachers who have broken their own shackles of indoctrination – teachers who can go beyond the narrow-mindedness of the society. A handful of these young, brave and zealous teachers in every nation, shall be enough to rekindle the spark of pure knowledge in the entire species.

Further Reading
Abhijit Naskar, 2016, What is Mind?
Abhijit Naskar, 2016, Love, God & Neurons: Memoir of a scientist who found himself by getting lost

Stop making stupid people famous. Such goes the saying. Everybody has heard of it. Everybody knows what it implies, yet, that very everybody, or at least, almost everybody, never thinks twice before “making stupid people famous”. Hence, I have said in my book “Mission Reality” – “Stupid people make stupid people famous”. But why? Is there a deeper reason behind such a primitive act? Is there something more than mere stupidity? Is this stupidity really that stupid or does it have some incomprehensible value which can only be discovered if we see past the surface of such behavior!

If we speak empirically, then there is no such thing as stupid or wise in the kingdom of nature, for the kingdom of nature is governed by only one quality, and that is survival potential. If a behavior exists, it does so, because it has some sort of survival potential attached to it. And this is the reason why scholars, such as scientists and philosophers are way less appealing to the masses in comparison to entertainers such as filmstars, singers or sportspersons.

Scholars (including scientists, philosophers, doctors, teachers, innovators and many more, involved in the practice of science, technology and philosophy) make some of the greatest physical contributions in the health, prosperity and progress of the human species, take away the scholars and all progress will come to a standstill, yet most of them spend their life in anonymity outside the tiny circle of their distinct field. On the other hand, entertainers are seen by people from all walks of life as some form of all-knowing prophet – if they say, a certain health drink is good, the masses would most naively embrace that health drink in their life – if they say, a certain watch or perfume or handbag is the symbol of elegance, the masses would most blindly run after it – and if they run for office, the masses would most stupidly vote for them, without actually knowing their psychological capacity to run a people.

Here, I beg you not to think of all entertainers to be stupid, rather what I am pointing out is that, the expertise of an entertainer is in entertaining, so you should give them as much reverence as they deserve, not more than that. They are not expert in medical issues – they are not expert in running a people – they are not expert in anything except their work in entertainment – just like, I am not an expert in Chemistry or Physics or Mathematics – I am a Biologist and that’s where all my attention is placed. So, if you have a question about Quantum Physics, you must not ask me, rather you must ask a Physicist. And the same is true for every other expert in the world – be it an expert of science, mathematics or arts. For example, my favorite actors are Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart, and I enjoy their work immensely, but I don’t expect them to have a deep insight into human nature, just because they were and still remain quite famous – that’s my job, just like their job was to hold up a mirror in front of the society through their acting.

Now the big question is, why do people fall prey to the charm of celebrities and confuse their charisma to be the sign of wisdom, in most cases quite subconsciously? This behavior goes back millions of years. When our ancestors lived in the jungle amidst other animals, the chances of survival of the tribe increased in proportion to their blind loyalty to the alpha, a character with leadership characteristics, which mostly consisted of an absurd amount of confidence and charm. And this evolutionary instinct of attraction to confidence and charm still remains rather dominant in the common human psyche, which makes them vulnerable to the spell of charisma, even if that charisma has no content of character or wisdom underneath it.

In everyday life of the common human, reason takes a back seat and emotions dictate all significant behavior. “Erase the emotions and you would erase the most important part of what it’s like to be human” (as said in Mission Reality). In short, no matter what you say, if you can say it with such a confidence that it touches people at an emotional level, then you can make them believe in anything – you can make think anything – you can make them do anything.

In the human society, being famous is not the same as being right. Because people who make individuals famous, do not care about right or wrong – they don’t care about truth and reasoning – they are subconsciously driven by their instinct for survival, towards confidence, charm and charisma, just like moths are drawn towards a burning candle to face their inevitable demise.

I’m afraid, if the humans do not learn to make conscious and conscientious efforts to place their attention on character and wisdom, instead of on charm and charisma, then the demise of humankind is inevitable. Here, one may wonder, how can an entire society of humans change their behavior overnight! And the reality is, such a transformation or change cannot take place overnight, moreover, it won’t happen all at once. All change begins with the individual. When we change, the world will change.


Recommended Reading:
All For Acceptance
Mission Reality

Citation: Abhijit Naskar. “Why Entertainers are More Appealing to the Masses than Scholars”. EC Psychology and Psychiatry 8.10 (2019): 1083-1084.

Art is a mirror of time that shows,
What's been, is and could be.
Science is a bridge of time,
That helps us build the future to be.
Philosophy is a spank on the tank,
That makes us cautious of mistakes.
Faith is but an imaginary friend,
That fills in when the sky darkens.
Education is a liaison to social lanes,
That arms us to engineer new lanes.
Medicine is a keeper of health,
That helps us overcome sickness.
Each social field has a noble cause,
Whether they fulfill it depends on action of ours.

Competition is for horses,
Education is for the human.
Either education or competition,
You can have only one.
Education ought to build character,
Not to raise snobs hooked on cash.
Love is needed, kindness is needed,
It won't come by raising tribal trash.
Cash-building education is uneducation,
For it only sustains self-absorption.
Character-building education is ascension,
For it paves the way for true civilization.
One can be educated yet a filthy savage.
True sign of education lies in selflessness.

The way to a crime-free world is simple,
But it lies outside of all the legal 'n partisan muck.
Take away the guns from the kids on the street,
Put books in their hands and food in their stomach.
By the time they grow up into young adults,
The prehistoric warmongers will be in death bed.
The children whose childhood you restored,
Will all be ready to hold the reins of world stage.
Law, policy 'n all that stuff surely have their place,
But not as the antidote to crime, chaos 'n descension.
The permanent antidote to crime is education alone,
Law ‘n policy are just to ensure its true democratization.
More than trying a crime, focus on treating environment.
Feed the hungry ‘n establish education, free from any debt.

Woman empowered is civilization empowered.
Dream empowered is progress empowered.
Parents empowered is children empowered.
Teachers empowered is future empowered.
Don’t defund the police, use those funds,
To send the officers to behavioral therapy.
To have an understanding of justice and order,
We must have a grip over our impulses and biases.
Discrimination don’t disappear if we shut our eyes,
Each of us must live as an antidote to discrimination.
Ignorance doesn’t become knowledge when peddled by scripture,
Better burn all scriptures if they peddle hate and division.
To conquer our biases and stereotypes is to conquer inhumanity.
To expand our heart beyond assumption is to empower humanity.

Brave is not the one who has no dark corners in their mind,
Brave is the one who is friends with their dark corners.
Courageous is not the one who never sheds a single tear,
Courageous is the one who draws strength from their tears.
A sound mind is not one that has no superstition,
A sound mind is one that has a grip over its superstition.
A sane mind is not one that does not believe in fiction,
A sane mind is one that knows good fiction from bad fiction.
Education is needed, but not mere education of the head,
What’s really needed is education of the whole being.
It is easy to fill the head with facts and figures,
Use a fact to lift the world, then you’re an educated being.
More than in head and body, we gotta grow up in heart.
A billion pounds of head is worthless, if there is no heart.

“The world needs less cops and more teachers,
While cops enforce law, teachers instill accountability.
Thus law enforcement only produces an illusion of order,
It’s the teachers who can create a crime-free society.
If students are the future, teachers are future maker,
So be civilized and focus on lifting teachers and students.
Government of baboons invests in police ‘n defense contracts,
While a truly civilized government invests in education.
Arm the teachers with books and students with sustenance,
Then watch them accomplish the impossible future,
A future of true lasting order, reform and harmony,
Which a billion police cannot achieve in a billion years.
Society that empowers teachers empowers peace.
Society that empowers police empowers malice.”


“Law is like a band-aid. Band-aids don’t heal the wound, they only prevent further infection while your natural immune system does the healing. Likewise, law doesn’t cure crime, it only keeps crime in check, while individual accountability treats the inhumanity that causes crime. And at some point the band-aid must come off, because, just like a body covered in band-aid is the sign of a sick person, a society covered in law is the sign of a sick species.”

When the heart is born in the middle of a desert,
Is it wrong for them to set out in search of water!
Or should the heart remain a handicapped patriot,
Never to realize and manifest their rightful power!

No heart is ever known by the land they are born in,
Heart is known by the light it pours out into the world.
I say, cut off all allegiance to the intolerant desert,
And seek out the land where your roots are watered.

Heart’s allegiance is only to light, not to some puny tribe,
Land your feet where they greet you with garland, not shackles.
Those who continue to peddle patriotism to guilt trap the genius,
Are the last people to deserve exclusive rights to light universal.

Seek out an environment conducive to your light,
Instead of being chained to the graveyard of dreams.
Wield your light with all your conviction and dignity,
And you’ll illuminate all, even the dreamkilling fiends.

ChatGPT is not a threat,
Any more than drugs are.
Ultimately it’s just another test,
That helps strengthen character.
It is a helpful distraction that,
Reduces the competition exponentially.
As more boneheads use ChatGPT to cheat,
Worth of excellence will skyrocket globally.
Drugs used in moderation are medicine,
Drugs abused stifle health and sanity.
Likewise, algorithm used wisely is a boon,
Algorithm abused cripples life and society.
You can cheat in a few projects and exams using AI.
But there is no algorithm to help you cheat in life.