Introduction
‘Think outside the box’ is a quote covering the crux of many
entrepreneurial talks, however such a quote leaves us hanging in the abyss of
ambiguity rather than moving towards any sort of productivity. Thinking outside
the box presumes the existence of a box, and the fact that we are able to think
‘outside’ the box assumes the existence of a single box. Thereby, we tend to
believe that most humans think within a single box, that their thoughts and
actions are recurring in nature. To think outside the box would amount to
intellectual salvation, because we’re able to shed our conventional outlook.
However, it cannot be assumed that people who ‘think outside the box’ don’t
really think the same thing. Therefore, people who try and think outside ‘the
box’ end up in creating little boxes of their own where their like ideas are
able to find peace that arises from mutual understanding.
With the sheer diversity of thoughts prevalent in our world,
the possibility of there being only one box remains slight. Thus, we must
concede to the idea that the world of thoughts is made up of a web of such
boxes. An individual is present in various boxes at a time as he has different
opinions on different subjects which can’t be necessarily clubbed within a
single box of thoughts. These subject-wise distinctions of boxes have been
haphazardly made and they may overlap with each other. The individual identity
of a person is crafted through the intersection of various such boxes wherein
each box represents an opinion that the person may have. A person can shift
from one box to another thereby providing for fluidity in his personality.
During the course of this paper we shall take you through
the evolution of this theory of boxes which would ultimately lead us to the path
of self-realisation.
Heredity of thoughts
Immaturity and dependence are the key characteristics of an
infant or a child. The thought process of such a person mimics the thought
processes of his parents and guardians. The child is thereby introduced to the
boxes of his parents and guardians by virtue of heredity. The collection of
boxes that the child shall acquire at this age would be a reflection of the
boxes possessed by both of his parents. However, it cannot be taken for a fact
that all the boxes of both the parents shall be reflected by the child. Only
those boxes whose ideas the child has become exposed to shall be reflected. The
boxes wherein there exists stark contrast by two thought processes shall be
entirely rejected by the said child, as he remains incapable of making any sort
of a value judgement and decide as to which box he shall adopt.
The ‘box-creation’ exercise followed by a child in his
formative years is a delicate process requiring utmost attention. The ideas
received by the child should be intently monitored and new ideas should be
introduced only by authorized individuals. A rogue idea which lays down the
formation of a box of a child may be like a parasite putting the other boxes in
the foreground. These acquired boxes represent the core ideals of a person.
Such boxes can be shifted by only a massive intellectual reform the possibility
of which is trivial. For example, the box of religion, one of the earliest
boxes of an individual would demand a phenomenal change in paradigm. So, a
rogue idea has the potential to become an irreplaceable cornerstone of a
child’s thought process. Infecting his ideas and thereby his actions.
In India, a perfectly solemnized wedding requires the match
of ‘kundlis’ or the destiny of both the mates. It is deemed that the couples
who possess the highest gun’s or
‘characteristics’ would have a much more successful marriage. This custom
corroborates with our theory as child born to parents with similar
characteristics or boxes would adopt much more number of boxes than the one
born to parents having starkly contrasting set of boxes. The child with the
more number of boxes would thereby be able to analyse a higher degree of
information while his counterpart would remain restricted, thereby hindering
his box-creation exercise.
In the above example it can be observed that the
box-creation exercise may be hindered by parental influence. However, there are
many other ways in which the initial box-creation exercise can be harmed or
restricted. Such restriction has limited the exposure of individuals to the
full spectrum of boxes. Hence, an unexplored space which can only be reached
when such restrictions are completely removed from the society is created. This
space is subjective with respect to the kind of society one lives in. In a
society with abundant restrictions a person may become limited to a very few
number of boxes and thereby is never able to develop a thought process. Such a
person becomes submissive, gullible and timid and leads a Sub-Human existence,
an existence without dialogue and debate. Hence the ‘space’ between the
universally existing boxes and the boxes he is able to attain lengthens.
The types of such restrictions are;
1.
An oppressive state
2.
Religion
3.
Society
4.
Self-imposed
Arrangement of boxes
The boxes as has been already established are the choices or
opinions that a person has been able to make. The boxes can thus be arranged in
two forms namely, in a lineal Hierarchy, or in a parallel form.
A set of boxes which are in a lineal hierarchy represents
the idea wherein some boxes are thought to be of an intellectually superior
level than the lower boxes. A person in a box which is lower down the lineal
hierarchy may feel the need to shift to a higher box but due to his own
intellectual constraints, such a shift might not be possible. For example, some
people might be in the universal box of ‘Engineering College’ within which
there is a hierarchy at the top of which is the box of ‘MIT’. The people in
boxes lower than ‘MIT’ would wish to change their box into ‘MIT’ but their
intellectual constraints act as a deterrent. However, there remains a longing
desire to be a part of a different box and a feeling of inferiority ensues.
In the case of some boxes wherein you cannot make a clear
demarcation as to what box is further above the lineal hierarchy, there might
be a formation of a box of people who have different opinions about that lineal
hierarchy. In the sense that, the people who believe in one version of the
lineal hierarchy shall be put in one box while the people who differ in their
views about the lineal hierarchy would be put in a different box altogether.
For example, there might be a difference of opinion amongst people as to what
form of artistic expression is supreme. For some it might books followed by
theatre, music, films and comics while for others the order may be completely
reversed. Thus, the arrangement of boxes is in fact based on perception and
there exists no true hierarchy of boxes in most scenarios.
However, when it is distinctly clear as to what is the
hierarchy, it can be ascertained that a single box of viewing the collection of
related boxes in that particular formation has triumphed and only that
perception has sustained.
Thus, in fact all boxes are arranged in a parallel format.
The factions who believe that their box is higher up the lineal hierarchy of
boxes form boxes of their own which are all parallel to each other as they
represent thoughts and ideas which are distinctly different. Parallel boxes are
those ideologies which run opposite each other, for example the boxes of the
communist ideology and the capitalist ideology run counter to each other trying
to limit each other’s scope. These boxes are always in direct intellectual
conflict. Entwined in the pursuit of expansion, these boxes try to assimilate a
larger populace within its fold so as to overpower the competing boxes. Once
there no longer remains that other faction which thinks in a different way it
is the thought process of the dominant factions which is then perceived as the
truth. This dominant faction is able to bring all people within its box and
then makes them believe in a particular hierarchy of boxes.
(Written by Nikhil Issar, based upon the deliberations between Nikhil Issar and Akshay Goel, on a fine smoky evening)
Comments