Backseat Philosophy: - from a new angle!

God bless the chap who came up with the whole idea of 'Thought Experiments'!!

Well, u surely know the deal about Ordinary Experiments.. these could be anything ranging from test-tube acrobatics in a chemistry lab, to jumping off from a flying jet..
In the former, if u fail in the first try.. worry not!.. for there's always a second chance..
as for the latter, our jet-jumping hero, well.. here's an idea - if u want to test gravity, please, oh please, use a simple pendulum!! :P

What I'm trying to say is.. when u do an experiment, u r most likely calling for trouble.. Look at what happened to Ramalinga Raju.. in an abortive attempt to emulate Gandhiji, perhaps, he came up with 'The Story of My Experiments with Satyam'!! poor soul.. :D

These abominable things called experiments come with a free package of risks.. I shudder to think of the effects of an experiment gone wrong.. I'm no heart patient, but the prospect of the danger that lurks behind it certainly gives me the creeps, the jitters, the quivers and the shivers! (listed in alphabetical order)..


Which is precisely why, I'm all for doing Thought Experiments.. its simple.. all u need to do is..plonk on a chair and start thinking out ur experiments.. believe me, Thought Experiments work! Did u know that some of the greatest theories in modern physics were formed based on Thought experiments? Come on now, did u actually think Galileo Galilei dropped those balls from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa?? No..it was a thought-experiment!!
No risks involved.. u need not actually perform the expts.. and the conclusions u form help u to get ahead in life.. u might even win a Nobel..who can tell???

I take it that u must be familiar with motorbikes and how one rides on them.. the sitting position is what i'm alluding to.. Take the pillion rider's sitting position.. (as the subject of our Thought Experiment).. Usually, in an Indian scenario, a male pillion perches on the back seat.. with his legs on either side of the bike.. and in most cases, a female pillion sits facing one side of the bike completely..

U may also agree..that it's very important for us human beings.. to examine life from different 'angles'..to look at life from different 'points of view'.. Now, this is not so difficult a business to go about, is it? for eg., if u are a man, and u literally want a different view on life.. du'uh!! just take the female pillion position on a bike!!

I performed this very TE the other day.. My bike was parked outside.. It was night time.. I strolled out into the yard for a bit of breeze, wondering what i could do to view life from a new angle (!?!).. that was when this sudden whim of a Thought Experiment struck me.. I climbed on my bike, crawled over to the pillion's seat.. and sat facing one side completely.. assuming the female pillion position..
and then.. i looked around..

A nameless fear gripped me.. the whole world looked eerie and obtuse (or was it reflex?)!! This position endowed me with a momentary insecurity.. I sat there, looking like a 4-year old child who'd accidentally climbed a tree..and didn't know how to get down.. My head whirled, and i reluctantly imagined how traveling like this would be like..

When I regained my balance, I said to myself- 'Wow! so this is how women travel on bikes.. I empathise with them'.. and accordingly, i spent some time empathising with them..
Now u tell me.. how can u feel safe & secure when u know that:
a) u r travelling sideways on a 2-wheeler the whole way
b) u can't lean forward/backward if ur back aches..gotta sit absolutely still
c) u don't have anything 'real' to grab on to
d) when ur bike overtakes an autorickshaw, u can watch the rickshaw guy sulking/swearing away
e) city buses with disgusting/pointed horns chase u like tigers that go after deer
f) u can never actually say how many potholes lie on the road ahead, and be prepared for the shocks
g) u have a 210 degree view of the chaos and mayhem that is urban indian traffic!'



Whew! These Thought Experiments sure do give u a deep insight into life...See? A mere thought experiment helped me foresee an experience.. and understand the plight of a million pillion women.. The experiment itself, if performed in real time, would have been nothing short of disastrous..

P.S:
** The stuff abt Ramalinga Raju is from a cartoon published in The Hindu.. ahem! I give credit wherever credit is due
**I was still shivering 5 minutes after i dismounted from the pillion seat :P
**@ the picture on the right.. both of them are recipients of Bravery Awards of international repute..