Walking down the street, whistling through the smoke screens that surround this urban life, I can’t help but be amused at some of the scenes that humanity finds no hesitance in showcasing to the world. At one corner I hear an agitated encounter between two strangers, who clearly have better things to do, but somehow are motivated to establish power, albeit that power may only be visible on a street and never in their daily lives. At another corner I see a place of worship being the primary source of a nasty traffic jam wherein an ambulance is crying helplessly. One can also clearly see a medical clinic being vandalized. Maybe the doctor refused to reveal those additional details about the sonogram. The reader, at this point, is perfectly justified in asking the source of my amusement, especially in the shitshow of consumerism driven world. The source is nothing but a bewildering paradox that I cannot seem to wrap my head around.
Many human traits get amplified when the individuals possessing them find themselves to be a part of the masses. These traits can vary from patriotism, love for liberty, civic sense to more individualistic traits like productivity, zeal, perseverance, or even scientific temper (an organized team of scientist wherein each member motivates the other in some way would be better than a single unit working on a single problem, speaking from an economic point of view). A relay sprint race demonstrates the argument too. But to my dismay, a rather important human trait seems to vanish away when individuals possessing them find themselves amongst the masses. And that is the ever-uncommon human rationality! The problem is complex, indeed. Firstly, the presence of rationality itself is rare. It must be noted that by rationality, I mean, a person trying their best to base their beliefs and decisions on reason, or at least be agreeable to reason in as many aspects of their life as they can. I neither believe in nor do I know of a completely rational human. Moving on, secondly, even if a person is rational in most of their choices and behavioral patterns, two choices emerge as far as their participation in society is concerned. The first one is that of minimum partaking in society. Someone who would be conventionally termed as a ‘loner’. The second is that of moderate to active participation in society. Such individuals often emerge as highly talented or goal driven beings. But it is this stratum which suffers most from the paradox. On an individual level, such a person would pride themselves upon their innate ability to function on logic and rationale. The ability that allows them to see the bigger picture, compartmentalize the irrelevance of daily happenings and focus on what they believe to have a great impact. But as soon as these people become a part of an identity group, irrationality often creeps into their decisions and beliefs.
That alone must be the reason behind people who are widely regarded as rational in their fields, becoming a part of cults or fundamentalism driven organized religion. The reader must note that I have no intention to fall into the debate of whether religion has any underlying scientific or mathematical logic. I only wish to point out the irrationality in every outcome that being a part of a cult may result in. The paradox also seems to explain why a rational being may fall into the prey of pettiness in their daily lives. Does any logic justify the over attachment to the material world or the various toxic dependencies we weave into our relationships? Why then, the best of minds have found themselves to surrender to the will of irrational drives and emotions? To make the point crystal clear to the reader, I can cite an unfortunately common example. Take the individual X. X has a high triple digit IQ, is a prodigy in his field of expertise and the usual nuances of life that plague the layman, seem to have no effect on him. But as soon as X becomes a part of a group fenced along the lines of say, race, gender, caste, religion, region or something as trifling as his school fraternity, X ceases to be a rational being, He is now, a servant to the collective subconscious of his identity group, immune to logic (whenever his or the group’s actions fall into the realm of illogical)
As I reach my home, my amusement has turned into a melancholic conflict. It is unfair that rationality, a concept defined by humans as a result of the unparalleled levels of self awareness reached, is still so vulnerable to the exact nature that invented it. The reader now must excuse me. For I have to go and invest in a Ponzi scheme right now. You see, a loved one is sick. And irrational exuberance is something that only a Finance college student can afford to be wary of. So, while irony dies a thousand deaths right now, I hope that my amusement found a friend in you too.
–Article by Atharv Dwivedi, final year Metallurgy and Materials Engineering