Sugreev is a welder. He can be passed off as an unassuming and inconspicuous guy quietly working amidst the grandness of all the huge machineries kept in a large mechanical workshop at a steel factory. Overlooked as just-another-laborer working he however specializes in the painstakingly precision process of welding i.e. either fusing together two pieces of metal or cutting a piece of metal into two to achieve a desired shape for a specific purpose.
On one given day, I watch him peering intently at a large 2-ton piece of metal blob kept in front of him. Curiously I walk up to him and ask in my native tongue, “Sugreev, how do you decide on the welding process to follow on this piece?” He looks at me with a gaze, probably laughing in his mind at the idiocy of my question, and politely replies “Sir, I do this for a living.” As if withholding some trade-secret, he goes on to reveal that it will take him approximately sixteen physically laborious hours or an equivalent time of 5 productive days[1] of an average white-collar knowledge worker to complete the welding process on this piece of metal. Watching him work, it gradually becomes evident that he is not drearily arc-ing on the metal, like a tree-feller with an axe, but every arc from the electrode is carefully planned and controlled. Like an artist admiring his brush stroke, he would intermittently take a step back to look at the outcome of a small stretch of welding done by him on the metal piece. He would also have to keep shuffling sides and direction of the welding and even changing angles to reach the desired target.
Unlike most of us, Sugreev is a master craftsman whose work requires him to spend most of his time in a concentrated state of physical grind. Even the slightest distraction can put his several hours of effort in jeopardy. Even though physically and (if I might add) intellectually draining, to get it right is the only driving force for him to be at it for such long hours. Ironically in today’s times, most of us, have either conditioned or have developed an aversion for putting in physical & intellectual effort.
Imagine that on one creepy night, you are teleported to an alternate dimension just like the one in the cult series Stranger Things on Netflix and by some stroke of misfortune get stuck in it. A dimension in which everything is the exact inverse of what exists in our world. Having no choice, as you set out to explore this upside-down world, you come to terms with its inverse nature.
You realise that in our hyper-connected world, you could jump from one virtual meeting to the next without any effort, but now in the upside-down you need to put in hours and hours of work to get in touch with someone.
In our instant-gratification-seeking world you could instantly get an answer to any complex question sitting on a toilet commode at just the click of a button but now in the upside-down you must go to a huge library and work your way sieving through volumes and volumes of books to get an answer.
In our digital world, you could quickly respond to emails in your inbox, but now in the upside-down you must physically write down your thoughts on a piece of paper, go to the nearest mailbox to post, post it and then wait for a significant amount of time to get any response.
You don’t need to necessarily have watched Stranger Things to visualize this inverse dimension. If, like me, you are a part of the boomers or the generation before us, then you can simply imagine this inverse-ness just thinking back a few decades in time. Would it be more comfortable to stay stuck in the upside-down or would you get feverishly impatient to be teleported back to our world? Hasn’t our new-age technology-driven overstimulated culture that we live in made us averse to putting in effort? The reason lies in the knowledge of a law derived from a foundational law in physics.
The Principle of Least Effort which states that, when it comes to human behaviour, we will almost always naturally gravitate towards executing those behaviours that require the least effort or are the easiest to execute in the moment.
Coined first by Italian philosopher Guillaume Ferrero in an article in 1894, and perhaps widely popular among researchers in the field of library and information science, this law is the deterministic description of human behaviour. [2] In physics though, its more popularly known as the Principle of Least Resistance which states that the path followed between any two points will always be the path requiring the least energy or resistance.
The truth is that our real motivation was never, is not, and will never be to do hard things but to do what is convenient. By default, because energy is precious our brains are wired to conserve that energy most of the time. Every action requires energy and if the brain feels that a lot of energy needs to be expended for completion of a task, then it will naturally signal us to act in a direction that requires a lesser amount of energy expenditure. Our culture of hyper-connectivity and the exponential rise of convenience-driven apps has only reinforced this biochemical process in our brains to act in the direction of expending ever lesser amounts of energy.
The 8-min delivery grocery apps have reduced the physical load of having to visit the grocery stores and stand in queues. Ride-booking apps have reduced the physical load of having to stand in the sun and hunt for cabs. Instant messaging has reduced the physical load of having to write and post letters. Googling has reduced the cognitive load of having to go to a library and sieve through volumes of books. Mobile phones have reduced the inconvenience to carry DSLRs if we need to take high res pics.
We scroll through our social media feeds not because its the efficient use of our time but because it’s most convenient in the moment and requires less effort. Never mind the addiction it causes. We swiftly switch between virtual calls not because it is a metric for busyness but because its convenient to do and requires less effort. Never mind the adverse impact it has on our mental peace. We feverishly juggle from one virtual meeting to the next not because it is an indicator with productivity but because it’s convenient and requires less effort. Never mind the adverse health impacts it may have. We impatiently respond to emails not because it is a measure of finding meaning in work but because it’s become convenient to live out of our digital devices and that requires less effort. We quickly Google a specific piece of information not out intellectuality but because that’s become convenient and requires the less effort. Never mind the advantages of delving deep into a subject. We binge watch because that requires almost negligible effort. Never mind the waste of time it is.
Whenever I watch Sugreev laboriously at his welding for long strenuous hours, I am often compelled to reflect and wish for you to deliberate too on the following -
How would our lives look like if virtual calls, virtual meetings, emails, and Google were pushed back to the absolute last resort or made inaccessible?
How would our lives be if we are required to daily do more cognitively demanding tasks 80% of the time like more rigorous planning, more in-depth organizing, more demanding research before arriving at a decision, more conscious physical effort and more deliberate practice?
How would our lives look like if suddenly we were stripped off from this digital dependency and hyper-connectivity?
Perhaps the need of the hour is not hyper-connectivity but more effortful and conscious reclusion.
Perhaps the need of the hour is not to just go along the flow but a more effortful cultivation of ourselves.
Perhaps the need of the hour is not to take it easy but to effortfully push ourselves.
Perhaps the need of the hour is not to blindly accept our new-age world but to effortfully try to live in an upside-down world within.
Perhaps the need of the hour is not to look for the least but to put in more.
Perhaps the need of the hour is to strive to sculpt a craftsman in us.
Perhaps the need of the hour is to inculcate a bit of Sugreev in us.
References:
[1] Latest research shows that an average white-collar worker is productive for 2 hr and 53 min only in a 9-hr workday. Source is www.inc.com
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