Sundays are best time to reflect on the self and outside oneself. I am with the newspapers at length over the morning and in my mind I keep reflecting over every piece of news that I read - subject wise, content wise, language wise and from my own position. Then carefully pondering over all of it, I channel the entire information in the way it shall make sense to me or be relevant to my interests. So there is a kind of reshuffle in the brain and restructuring of the entire news that I read. The mind becomes like a hard disk with sectors of information. Images, text, events - all are chaffed out.
Often I make imaginary discussions in my head or smaller lectures which I could discuss with students. These are always lost. The funny part with news is that it is so generic that it always allows you to form an opinion - agree or disagree. I love rationalizing my formed opinion , because it gives me a chance to engage with my own history and reconsider my own biases. I keep refining my biases and recording them so that my opinions are consistent. I wonder how successful i have been with being consistent.
For example, I was wondering about how interesting it is for a newspaper like Times of India to bring out a supplement on spirituality in times when our actions are heavily driven by commercialization and unrationalized aspiration. For India, spiritualism has still not assumed a relegated position in life, given people's priorities of money, material and possession. Spiritualism or spiritual thought still remains the essential component that validates their action. On one hand, such a supplement tries to infuse some amount of idealism within the masses. On the other hand it makes people evaluate their actions by laying out moral standards. But at the same time, it also reinforces the ideas spiritual living as against the rational way of living.
A supplement like Times Life reflects on the issues of social behaviour of the elite. They mostly talk of a refined class, critically bringing their actions into contrasting perspectives. It is interesting for a bourgeois society like ours to read such reflections.
I personally like reading the technology section where the news paper discusses how to choose between technology and how best one can exploit their gadgets. They also tell you softwares and tricks which simply ease your life. But there are so many interesting things going on. One can not possibly engage with all of it! sigh! However, they exist and we must acknowledge them... and be aware to be able to pull out of our archives at the right time in the right place!
Often I make imaginary discussions in my head or smaller lectures which I could discuss with students. These are always lost. The funny part with news is that it is so generic that it always allows you to form an opinion - agree or disagree. I love rationalizing my formed opinion , because it gives me a chance to engage with my own history and reconsider my own biases. I keep refining my biases and recording them so that my opinions are consistent. I wonder how successful i have been with being consistent.
For example, I was wondering about how interesting it is for a newspaper like Times of India to bring out a supplement on spirituality in times when our actions are heavily driven by commercialization and unrationalized aspiration. For India, spiritualism has still not assumed a relegated position in life, given people's priorities of money, material and possession. Spiritualism or spiritual thought still remains the essential component that validates their action. On one hand, such a supplement tries to infuse some amount of idealism within the masses. On the other hand it makes people evaluate their actions by laying out moral standards. But at the same time, it also reinforces the ideas spiritual living as against the rational way of living.
A supplement like Times Life reflects on the issues of social behaviour of the elite. They mostly talk of a refined class, critically bringing their actions into contrasting perspectives. It is interesting for a bourgeois society like ours to read such reflections.
I personally like reading the technology section where the news paper discusses how to choose between technology and how best one can exploit their gadgets. They also tell you softwares and tricks which simply ease your life. But there are so many interesting things going on. One can not possibly engage with all of it! sigh! However, they exist and we must acknowledge them... and be aware to be able to pull out of our archives at the right time in the right place!
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