Like Lewis and Tolkien

These are two giants of English literature, esp that of magical creatures in mystical lands. M and I spent a day wandering through the streets and parks of Oxford just like these two friends. We talked like friends, too, on subjects ranging from mythology and religion to sociology and knowledge. We even managed to squeeze in a low-brow activity, watching a live televised match between Manchester United and Liverpool in an Irish pub (well, I watched while M attended to some club activity and expectedly my team lost :-().

M guided us expertly to all the places.  And without any digital navigation aid. In fact, she also got us in time to the church, to the match and to our dinner reservation. I remember it was J who often did the map reading so I am so glad to see her progress in this department. Clearly, D’s spatial intelligence gene has been passed down to our second child too. It surely couldn’t have come from me for I was born with none whatsoever! Speaking of intelligence, everyone here oozes it, from a learned chaplain at SBH to the diner next to us who has written books on the Middle East. I must say I got a real buzz from just being here in the midst of all these.

So, even as I was flying off to Davos, an advertising poster in Heathrow Airport caught my eye, “not all intelligence is artificial”. I was drawn to this because just earlier this morning, Sundar Pichai, the Google CEO, published an Op Ed on FT arguing for the regulation of AI. I do agree. Market forces will not be able to control what it should or should not do. But until governments, get their act together, us humans must recognise one thing: the intelligence that will matter now is that of imagination. Of God’s creatures on Earth, and of the human creations too, only humans have the imagination and ability to create and innovate. M and I were chatting over dinner and I had argued that the act of originating a new creation is often prized over that of innovating on something already created. M pointed out that innovating, however, is often the more practical and ultimately more accepted and hence rewarded form. She is right.

At the root of it, maintain our spirit of curiosity: to always wonder and search for new and better ways to do things. That is the fuel which Messrs Lewis and Tolkien thrived on to create their respective monumental works. Truth is they drew inspiration from the city they lived in: the river that flow through it, the college grounds and especially the sinewy trees that grow there and of course, while they are close friends, they are also rivals and hence they are constantly and simultaneously inspiring and challenging each other to do better. Indeed, better they became. The lands of Narnia and Middle Earth are now part of our mental landscape as much as the world’s geography is.

As creatures of God, we are all made to have a day’s of rest. Just like the one M and I had. In fact, we yearn for it and that’s why we have holidays and vacations and governments have regulations against over-working and some are even legislating ever shorter work weeks. Therefore, it is completely logical that to get us to our greater heights, we need the challenge of a rival. Whether it was Lewis vs Tolkien, or Edison vs Tesla vs Westinghouse or Mozart vs Saltieri or Senna vs Proust and of course Manchester United vs Liverpool, rivals can and do make us better. So those endowed with that gift of curiosity should also embrace the threat of a challenge. These two combine to hone our creative powers.

There is however one more element we need. If our creations are to become world changing, like electricity, joyful music and thrilling drives, we need courage. There is no denying that any worthy endeavour is a hard endeavour. And I don’t mean intellectual difficulties which we overcome by working harder. I mean societal resistance. To break through, courage is about being prepared to be unpopular, and in some cases even being prepared to lose it all. M pointed out to me that education advocate, Malala Yousafzai is in LMH, which is a stone’s throw away from her hall of residence. There were countless detractors who were not just resistant to change but are opposed to change and therefore opposed to her and indeed one of them shot her. She soldiered on and her courage got her here to the university to help change the world for educating women in less developed countries.

So, there you have it, curiosity, challenge and courage. Add it altogether, you can change the world. And my weekend here with M really brought to life how she is indeed living this life. A curriculum and tutors that endow her with new curiosity. Fellow students and friends who challenge her to perform even better. The courage though she needs to find that herself. We spoke about all of these as we wandered the streets and parks like Lewis and Tolkien. From all that I can see and hear, she certainly is.