The Musaafir Must Move On

The view from Porth Clais Campsite, St. David's, in Pembrokeshire

The word "Musaafir" means traveller. I like to think of myself as the eternal Musaafir, always on the move, always searching, always on a journey. Now the Musaafir must move on. It is time to leave. The breathtakingly beautiful hills and valleys of Wales, the daffodils, the tinkling streams, the arctic winds, the rocky cliffs and the sight of the seagulls circling above will always remain in our hearts. Wales has become a part of us now and we carry it back with us.

We are returning to Mumbai to be back with the family. And to an exciting new role working to develop innovative science education resources for schools in India. An opportunity to repay the debt I owe the wonderful teachers and all the people who have played their part in my education there.

Some people ask me why I am leaving this beautiful place and do not understand me when I say I am terribly homesick. No, I am not homesick for the traffic, the noise, the pollution. I am homesick for all the wonderful people who shared my journey over there, and it is hard to live in heaven without the people who matter most.

So when I read this brilliant piece by David Brooks in the New York Times, I felt I had to share it on this blog. He discusses the research and study of the relationship between happiness and money:

"If you want to find a good place to live, just ask people if they trust their neighbors. Levels of social trust vary enormously, but countries with high social trust have happier people, better health, more efficient government, more economic growth, and less fear of crime (regardless of whether actual crime rates are increasing or decreasing).....The overall impression from this research is that economic and professional success exists on the surface of life, and that they emerge out of interpersonal relationships, which are much deeper and more important...."

He goes on: "The second impression is that most of us pay attention to the wrong things. Most people vastly overestimate the extent to which more money would improve our lives. Most schools and colleges spend too much time preparing students for careers and not enough preparing them to make social decisions. Most governments release a ton of data on economic trends but not enough on trust and other social conditions. In short, modern societies have developed vast institutions oriented around the things that are easy to count, not around the things that matter most. They have an affinity for material concerns and a primordial fear of moral and social ones."

Does this resonate with you?

Keep Evolving - your descendents will thank you!

I really liked this line from an advertisement for the Scientific American magazine! To keep evolving, we must constantly respond to change. Which involves both learning and unlearning. For those of you who enjoy living on the cutting edge of change, visit Unlearning 101 for some useful and thought-provoking insights, for example this Powerful Lesson in Unlearning.

Coming back to the Scientific American, I was reading an article, Watching the Brain Learn, by R. Douglas Fields, in which he discusses the research into the changes that occur in the brain as a result of learning a new skill, such as juggling.

You may also enjoy this discussion on the brain and the myth of multi-tasking. Thank you Brain Friendly Trainer.

The journey continued from here to Dr John Medina's site where I found this excellent slideshow, a must for all interested in learning and teaching, as it explains how patterns and emotion influence how we assimilate information and the downsides of divided attention. Two important things I carried in a doggy bag from his blog (there's lot's more, but you'll have to read it yourself!):

1. Words presented in a logically organized, hierarchical structure are much better remembered than words placed randomly
2. Meaning before details - embedding associations between different pieces of information improves retention

Check out the YouTube videos, I especially liked the Death by Powerpoint clip.