The Human Farm

The 'Pale Blue Dot', as the voyager took a last look at this planet, is a disturbing image in terms of our place in the universe. This enormity of creation makes one feel very humble. Living on this dot are us, species of varying sizes from small to large, ants to elephants. Each species is an entity with a mind of its own. The mind is a function of the brain, a lump of cells inside a small skull. Everything else within the body is a surrogate responding to the dictates of this small brain. Minus the brain there is no entity, be it an ant or a human. However, there is one species that is free from this biological limitation. Known as jelly fish, there is no persona attached to this fish, and hence it can live forever.

Given the short span of human life, would one want the life of a jelly fish even if individual identity is lost? In English vocabulary the term 'Headless Chicken' refers to a person without the brain. Not very flattering. In effort to prolong the human life doctors successfully use various interventions on organs such as the heart. Brain is the only part with which they are not comfortable. Brain is still an enigma in terms of its functions. It is not yet understood how the billions of cells within it interact with one another. Minus the brain there is no person. Minus the brain a person is headless.

Having a brain alone is not enough to define a person, as its ability to function varies. One person differs from another in terms of innate ability of the brain. Hence, there are smart and dumb. An individual normally acts as per dictates of the brain. When a group of animals act together such as in a hunt that is group thinking. Individual thinking is translated into group behaviour. This is done through a process termed as leadership. A leader is one entity that takes control of the group by translating the combined thoughts. Group thinking as a process can be faulty when personal preference overrides greater wellbeing of the group. That is total sum of positivity counting all the pluses and minuses. This has been beautifully portrayed by George Orwell in the book 'Animal Farm'. This decision can also be impulsive bypassing the brain processes. Called the impulse it can be risky when its impact on other groups is taken into account.

We have seen many such impulses, if one may call them, while the society suffers. Consider the everyday strike that has now become a national norm. This is infectious as more are lured into similar activity. It is also symptomatic of a virus. We have seen the days of Covid when the whole nation came down to a halt. With the road blockages and the like, the disease is spreading fast. We have not yet found a vaccine and the spread continues.

If allowed to continue unabated, that can affect the health of a nation. That is thoughtless thinking bypassing the innate ability of the brain. There are other areas of activity where such infection is prevalent though not as obvious. We look at an example. Not long ago the country was ablaze with the idea of having attained a demographic dividend in terms of age profile. Our population is skewed towards the young unlike the developed world. The young are asset of a nation as they work to create national wealth unlike the old who are liabilities in terms of wealth creation. Countries having more young people are therefore at an advantage. That is how the concept of demographic dividend was born. But there is a dark side to it when the young do not get the opportunity for constructive engagement. This is asset turned into liability as we see in many of disturbances in the country today Hence, a cure for an ailment in one place may just be the opposite in another.

To live long and better it is necessary to control the impulse, be it for an individual or a group. In human terms a group of people is led by a leader, who controls the group behaviour. An effective leader understands the consequences of an action on the group and others, as it may impact them. We have seen such consequences when the leader had personal agenda overriding the group welfare. Come to think of it, the world is a group as well as a nation. Unfortunately, the world today shows signs of impulse risking its ability to survive, let alone perform better. The dated history of human civilization may not run into more than four digits of years while this planet has been in existence for much longer. It is quite possible that we had civilizations before our time that got destroyed because of impulses bypassing the group welfare. With so many conflicts in the world today it is possible that we are heading in that direction.