Sunday, October 14, 2018

Keep the Lamp of knowedge always burning


                      Keep the Lamp of knowledge always burning


   One evening, a man saw a blind man carrying a lamp in his hand and going on the road. The man could not control his curiosity and asked the blind man, ' you cannot see the light, then why are you carrying the lamp in your hand, it is of no use to you ?' The blind man replied, ' Sir, this lamp is not for me, but for showing the light to people like you so that I don't get knocked down by them who might walk on the road without looking at others coming in front. It is for protecting myself, I am holding it.
The story is allegorical. The blind man carrying the lamp denotes the  man in modern in this technological world and the man on the road represents machines. To safeguard himself from the onslaught of machines, the man has to keep his learning constantly burning.
As Oscar Wilde said : " We live in age when unnecessary things are our only necessities."
You can't stop technology as the materialistic progress depends only on advancement of technology. You can't stop technology. The main question is whether people will be bystanders that get run over by it or move ahead with it with the lamp of learning. History has shown that whenever automation or technology took place, people took up the challenge , faced it and moved ahead with it.
Automatic machines, robots have come to stay. Technology is used to assist the work we perform and ease the rigors of our work so that we can spend more time and energy on other better fruitful works.
Generally the learner is motivated when the subject of his study gets social recognition. But advancement in technology and digitalization and automation is so fast that when by the student finishes his course in graduation and post graduation , his studies become redundant and do not have market value.
To avoid this, one has to have a continuous learning methods, keeping one's intellect sharp observing the technological advancement. He has to evaluate his skill and position. To survive the future, he must update and upgrade work talent.work culture will get better prominence. The objective of continuous learning brings an inner joy to face any type of challenge. Develope ability to see things from the opponent's point of view. This will drive away the unknown fear and give inner strength to improvement.
 Being ignorant is not so much a shame as to being unwilling to learn. Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. The enormous poet of human mind and brain can take you to anything if you use it properly. Thus one can bring dynamism in life which is a sign of a live.y human being. We are not machines. When faced with challenges, the survival instinct comes into play , exerting a predominance. Our inner skills and talents are kindled, making it more creative and innovative. Our mind will become clear and pleasant. Then our intellect gets sharpened and the element of fear goes away.
Thus men can never become redundant. Even many skills done with hands like carpentry, pottery, cooking and tailoring  , vocal, instrumental music and other crafts cannot be totally taken over by automation and digitalization but reskilling and continuous innovation learning has kept and can keep the skills ever green and valuable. Machines and robots can do stereotyped jobs. It is man's imagination, creativity and innovation that give life to these skills also.
Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, focus your energy on what you can create.
Machines can do mechanical jobs only. But the  judgement, dexterity of managing them, repairing them lies with men only.
Generally man has to be on the move always, for progress.
Even if you are on the right track, you would get run over if you just sit there in the same place.
We have to remember this,
" One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man".
New technologies will create a new frontier of jobs also. We should believe the change always comes bearing gifts. We should use this technological advancements in the form of machines and robots as stepping stones to lead us to something better. These challenges are gifts that force us to search for new avenues. But whatever be the thing, human being is the supreme and his place cannot be taken over by anything.
Stephen Hawking predicted the invention of " brain-computer interfaces," connecting human brains to the internet. But with innovation comes risk, he cautioned and we must ensure that our own human wisdom can outsmart the power of technology.
We should have faith in our wisdom, that is the real and greatest strength to overcome anything.
A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings.
As rightly said by some one,
" During my 87 years  , I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think."
Furthermore, time is a circle. Things go back to the same starting point. This is seen in the fields of health, food and medicine.   Now a days Engulfed with technological advancements and being fed up with its side-effects, people are going back to old time-tested methods. Technology is advancing to tele-medicine, but still people love to have the touch of doctor only.
Similarly people will get bored with machines, yearning for human touch, will turn back to human beings only.
In the words of Albert Einstein: " I know not with what weapons world war third will be fought, but world war fourth will be fought with sticks and stones."










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