The Great Divide and Biases

There has always been a wall, on the wrong side of which, I often find myself. This wall apparently divides the fun loving people from the serious minded people. I call it apparent, because I do not think that this distinction is a valid one.

Most of you, would have been accused of being serious and sincere [I am not quite sure of what sincere exactly means in this context, though I include it, because I have been accused of being so, more then once], because you love doing things, which the world at large, finds to be boring and useless. But we still do them. Why? Simply, because it is fun.

I read Shakespeare in archaic English, not because it makes me look smart, but because it is so much fun. I love having discussions about philosophy and finding answers to abstruse questions, because it is fun, and I find it enjoyable to do so. I find Physics wonderful and interesting, not boring and useless.

This wall exists for people who do not find these things 'fun'. They would not willingly undertake tasks like these. It is for this reason that they think all those who undertake these 'endeavors' are serious people who are different from the world at large. What hurts even more, is that they assume I am incapable of having fun.

This just goes to show that we are so keen to label people and slot them into certain stereotypes. We would rather believe people who are different to us in certain things, to be different in other things as well. It sure is difficult to know a person, but I bet that you'll find you have plenty in common with any given person. You just choose to notice the differences, focus on them, and use them to define a Person and judge him.

I believe this stems from the old Brain/Heart divide. It is often [and wrongly I might add] assumed that evryone has an emotional side, while only a select few have an intellectual side. This makes it socially acceptable to have 'emotional talents' like singing and dancing, while Intellectual pursiuts are only for the chosen few, as it cannot be apreciated by everyone.

I have often seen that those who the world calls 'serious' do not make this mistake; this is really not surprising. I would not call someone who loves talking, singing and dancing fun loving, because according to me everyone is fun loving, the only difference is the source of their enjoyment. This view I derive not from some intellectual reasoning, but from everyday experience. I know people from both sides of this mythical divide and know that they are not unlike each other. Sure, if given a choice I would spend my time with people who have more things in common with me, but that does not mean I don't mix with the 'other' group.

This quality has given rise to humorous comments from others. Like yesterday, a girl asked my friends, 'why does he hang out and speak to you?’ This question is a loaded one, and has two implied meanings, none of which I agree with. Firstly it implies that my friends are not worth hanging out with and talking to. Secondly it implies that I should not hang out with people who seem different to me. Both of these, as you can imagine, are totally unacceptable and ideas
not worth following.

Only if people did not jump to conclusions, rush to judge people, and be content with their judgment, the world would have been an easier place to live in.