Thinking creatively

Based on an experiment that was carried out in the US, I tried this with my trainees, relatives and friends – all Indians.

Here is the experiment.

Find out the odd one out in the following:
A cow, a stack of hay and a pig.

Most people point out that the pig is the odd one.

Westerners tend to point out the stack of hay instead. Why this difference?

Americans tend to be analytical and seek to fit things into slots and classifications. Thus the cow and the pig are animals while the hay is not. Hence the hay is the odd one out.

Indians as well as other Asians tend to see relationships and then find a relationship between the cow and the hay which it eats. Hence the pig is the odd one.

In another experiment it was found that when shown a picture westerners tend to focus on the item that is prominently seen while Asians tend to see much more of the background.

Thus it may be said with some exaggeration that Asians tend to see holistically.

However these findings need to be further researched. I have observed that Indians are not really thinking contextually especially in matters that involve some degree of emotion or where there is some ignorance or arrogance. In such instances I notice that many of us think that what I do not know may not be important. Alternately what I see is the whole situation. Also what is good for me ought to be good for others. 

Take for example the annual India International Film Awards. Notice that this seeks to acknowledge Indian films. This event has been held for some years now in various locales all over the world. Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador.

I have written letters in the media pointing out one serious error in these awards. Not once in all these years has cinema other than Bollywood been even considered for recognition.

This is an instance of what I do not know (cinema other than Bollywood) is not worth knowing. This is arrogance and insensitivity. Surely we need to either call it the Bollywood International Film awards or acknowledge the other cinemas in India.

Contextual thinking is an art that needs to be deliberately cultivated. This calls for empathy that is somewhat rare.

I help trainees to try and see any event, phenomenon, behaviour in CONTEXT. This yields rich perspectives.

On one occasion a friend remarked that he found it silly and absurd that some communities in south India actually seem to celebrate with dance and song the death of a loved one. This he felt was contrary to the norm.

I challenged him to try and seek a paradigm shift in thinking – this after all was the hallmark of creative thinking.

Let us see how we can not only challenge our own thinking but can also try contextual thinking.

The caste groups that ‘celebrate’ death are among the poorest of the poor in India – scavengers and those who carry night soil for example. For such people death is in fact a deliverance from a horrifying life—hence a celebration is called for. This is contextual thinking.

Secondly who are we to lay down norms and call any other behaviour as contrary? I remember a scene in the film Madhumati in which the hero Dilip Kumar is shown walking past a tree in a forest when he notices Johnny Walker hanging upside down from a tree. When asked why he was upside down Johnny Walker remarks ‘As far as I am concerned you are upside down.’

Thus it is we who feel that one ‘ought’ to grieve when someone dies. The castes referred to may well reply as Johnny Walker did ‘How is it that you guys cry when someone dies?”

My friend Jean found it strange that Hindus wear white apparel when in mourning. She suggested that white dress was the ‘right’ colour for a wedding—this being the practice in her community of Catholics. Surely being normative has its hazards—you may put off people.

I believe the time has come for all of us to try and understand ‘others’, their thinking, lifestyles, their beliefs and their world view in the light of contextual thinking.

Perspectives can vary enormously. My friend Kavita narrates an interesting experience she had in Oakland in California. Kavita happened to befriend a girl – an Afghan – who was working in a small shop. They got talking.  At one stage Kavita asked her Afghan friend how she found life in Oakland. The reply almost shocked Kavita:

‘Oh, Oakland is a happening place—like Lahore and some cities in Afghanistan!’