Ideas about the nature of mind have puzzled philosophers and scientists throughout history. They have tried to discern its components and functions with a view to separating humans from animals on the basis of qualities associated with mind. This led to interesting developments including Greek formulation of psyche, Descartes’ proposal of Cogito Ergo Sum (‘I think, therefore I am’), Locke’s theory of Tabula Rasa (blank slate), Freud’s psychoanalysis, Ramachandran’s qualia (redness/sweetness) and Pinker’s thinking machine. The story of mind is likely to run forever, because more we get to know it, less we understand.
I am fascinated by how our mind and that of our politicians works. I believe we are shaped by our thoughts and we become what we think by the way of associated actions. Since indulging in public service, I have discovered that if you help people get what they want, you can get what you wish as long as it has nothing to do with money or women. I also keep questioning myself as to why this government does not excite me any more. Leaving the recent excitement aside, they are not only dull themselves but a cause of dullness in others. They seem to have developed some shared delusions of adequacy and are out there trying to hide their faces by going out naked.
Not smiling – Nawaz Sharif
[quote]Happiness and unhappiness may be related, but they are not opposites[/quote]
I have been amused by the kafuffle in the media about why our prime minister does not smile. History reminds that something similar happened to al-Rahman III who was a caliph of Córdoba in 10th-century Spain and lived in complete luxury. Towards the end of his reign, he counted his days of happiness as only 14. Sharif and al-Rahman’s problem is not actually happiness – it is unhappiness. Happiness and unhappiness may be related, but they are not opposites. Brain imaging shows that parts of the left cerebral cortex are more active than the right when we are experiencing happiness, while the opposite is true when we are unhappy. Research also informs us that these guys have been unhappy because they looked for happiness in the “extrinsic” (fame & fortune) rather than the “intrinsic” (love & charity) achievements, and has came up with a resolution formula. Al-Rahman was unhappy because he “used people & loved things”; Nawaz Sharif may still have time to “love people & use things” and be happy.
Staying on the topic of happiness, another miserable soul in the government has been Chaudhry Nisar. I am a fan of his self-belief, competence, righteousness and patriotic credentials. However, he is also perceived as elitist, elusive, arrogant and fiercely private about his personal life. He is an asset for his party, god to his constituency and a pride for his ministry but is disliked by his peers and those he interacts with including the PM. To most he is an enigma but is actually so simple to read if you imagine him as a Chaudhry of Rajputs. He has had a few highs in political career but his lowest ebb was to attack Imran Khan on the basis of information gained as a friend. Due to his ability, he believes that he deserves the top slot but also knows he is unlikely to get there in present company. It is also a no-brainer that his recent reconciliation with Nawaz Sharif is like a marriage of convenience. Both parties know that one would ditch the other as soon as the next opportunity comes. Having a slightly low self-esteem, Chaudhry Nisar has learned how to be patient when he has the right cards. He has been here before – he would continue to play close to his chest. His day would come!
I have always been skeptic of the maxim “Practice makes a man perfect”. Chief Minister of Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah, is the best example I gave in my defense until science came to my rescue. Princeton University analysed the data of 88 scientific studies covering the skill areas of music, games, sports, education, and professions. They found that although there is a positive relationship between practice and mastery, practice only accounts for a small amount of the variation in skill level; about 12 per cent across all of the areas of expertise. Further bad news for Saeen is that the researchers identified one of the factors that plays a role in achieving expertise is the age at which a person starts practicing. Nonetheless, the lion’s share of the variation in competence could be down to a mix of general intelligence and specific abilities such as working memory. I have never had the pleasure of meeting Saeen but heard another chief minister saying recently that the man is dead from feet upwards.
Chaudhry Nisar plays it close to his chest
[quote]Chaudhry Nisar has learned how to be patient when he has the right cards[/quote]
People sometime think they can gain a victory over their victim by lying. In reality, lying is an act of self-abdication, because the liar surrenders his reality to the person to whom he lies. Churchill used to say “A lie gets half way round the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on“. Governments have a habit of lying to the public to cover up their misdeeds. In recent years, they have employed spin-doctors to do this dirty work for them. We also have our share of poor man’s spin doctors in the form of Pervez Rashid, Rana Sanaullah and Sharjeel Memon. All of them are so entertaining in their demeanor that one hardly gets passed the façade but occasionally you might like to employ science to separate truth from the lies. The signs you should look for in those who lie are: none or too much eye contact, use contractions, fidget and blink excessively, give additional details without being asked, get defensive, and avoid important but give insignificant details.
It is said that one of the habits of successful people is to write down six most important things each evening that they plan to do the next day. While asleep, their subconscious works on finding the best ways for them to accomplish the tasks. No one tells you, however, what to do if one, like this government, has no motivation to do those things the next day? In that scenario, any psychiatrist worth his salt would advise that the whole idea of motivation is a trap. Whatever you want to do, just get up and do it. After you start doing it, motivation kicks in and keeps you going. You must begin to act the person you want to be to make a start of being the one. Too many people out there want to feel, think and then take action; forgetting the fact that all these are not mutually exclusive mental/physical phenomena. Taking turns does not work – just do it.
Practice makes perfect – Qaim Ali Shah
[quote]If the first rule of politics is to never believe anything until it is officially denied, the first rule of civil service is that if people don't know what you're doing, they don't know what you're doing wrong[/quote]
Right wing governments are a dream come true for civil servants, and those chosen ‘on merit’ are living in Heaven in the present regime. To start with, they make sure that if technocrats or political advisors ever get into the room with a minister or the prime minister, they are kept as far away as possible because influence diminishes with distance. Civil servants also make sure that politicians panic on regular basis. This is because politicians need activity – it is supposed to be their substitute for achievement. The golden civil service trick is that if you are unhappy with a minister’s decision, accept it warmly, and then suggest that he leaves it to you to work out the details. Subsequently, you delay it so much that he either forgets or abandons it out of sheer frustration. Politicians must remember that any attempt to reorganize the civil service is a poisoned chalice; the person who writes it gets discredited and the one who tries to implement it loses the government. If the first rule of politics is to never believe anything until it is officially denied, the first rule of civil service is that if people don’t know what you’re doing, they don’t know what you’re doing wrong.
The Nawaz government has been accused by all stakeholders of appointing either relatives or cronies to important positions in the government and in semi-government organizations. If they cannot find anyone with this ‘qualification’, the position stays vacant. I know for certain that in some cases at least there are no ulterior motives for this practice. So, what is the explanation for this perception over and above the associated legal wrangling the government gives as an excuse? Fear of the unknown and lack of trust immediately come to mind.
Busy doing nothing – Marvi Memon
Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger. In evolutionary terms, there are two kinds of fear: garden variety and genuine fear. In garden variety, the individual is only afraid if there are actual benefits from being afraid while in genuine fear he is afraid even if he knows there are no such benefits. This government has both kinds of fear as they have learned it through exposure to traumatic life events (sacked twice!) and observing other people exhibit fear by abandoning them. Their lack of trust in those who are neither relatives nor cronies is actually an extension of this fear. They do not believe there are few things in life more rewarding to an individual than to place responsibility upon him and let him know that you trust him. If you see anyone lurking in the corridors of power without aforementioned ‘qualification’, he must be obeying the Stalinist code – loyalty out of fear than conviction.
I have always been sold to the fringe benefits of being and working in a female environment. This was the case until a few years ago when I had the misfortune of being invited to meet a VVIP on the sideline of his meeting with the female party members of the parliament. His staff officer, for some weird reason, whisked me into the room to be seated where they were waiting for his arrival. What I saw there gives me shivers to this day! This was a collection of approximately 35 extremely obese and out of breath women having a go at copious amount of food. Some of them could hardly move while others were so heavy that they were being brought into the room by wheelchairs from the porch. I ran out of the room like a shot, cancelled the appointment, and spent the rest of the day listening to soft music in my own company. No prize for guessing which political party these heavyweight female members of the parliament belonged to!
Talking of women, it would be unfair to ignore Marvi Memon. She had joined PML-N for immediate gratification and for being weary of too much female talent in PTI. We all know there is something not right about her. She is perceived as difficult for being opinionated, temperamental and nakedly ambitious. Her Papa also got it wrong, as he did not realise that this party perceives women’s merit on a different scale. Plan A failed as she was left to rot as a coordinator for youth programme while receiving a quiet word to keep her head down and earn loyalty points. She cannot help but raise her head above the parapet due to her personality; this is entered as a black mark in her logbook because her nemesis, Anusha Rehman, is always on her case. If the government lingers on in a fee-fall mode, she might get her due as a war engine; otherwise, the plan is to keep her busy doing nothing during the life of this parliament. Who knows where the party would be in the next elections? She had left it too late to join this party; she would only realise in time that her first instincts were right!
Politics truly remains the business of either saints or devils; others consider it a passion of gentlemen. A standard ploy of all governments is to keep the public alarmed or occupied with one or the other trivial issue. They also conjure up fantasies (end-dates for loadshedding!), which appear like oases in the desert, and people flock to them because their lives are harsh and distressing. Another successful trick is to create spectacles (Sindh & Youth festivals!) as grand imagery and grand symbolic gestures not only cause distraction but also an aura of power – everyone responds to them. Therefore, politicians are universally unloved, as the public perceives that they placate, bribe, seduce or manipulate their constituents and the system to get what they want for themselves. The view from the other side is “Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are either shrinks, driving taxis or cutting hair”.
The writer is a political psychiatrist & senior research fellow based in London
