To be wrong is to be stupid, isn't it? That is if you are not actually villainous. I mean, come on, you are either lacking in knowledge and/or understanding OR you belong to the others who are in opposition. What can be clearer than that?
Yet, Tiru actually thinks that some people can be wrong and, yet, not stupid. AND, in his time, they were not enlightened enough to consider anyone who differed from you as outright villainous, so he does not even bother to express an opinion about the villainy of those chaps.
Pizhaitthunardhum pedhamai solla rizhaitthunarn theendiya kelvi avar - Tirukkural
Even when they misunderstand an issue, those who listen with a discerning mind will not speak foolishly - Loose Translation
So, apparently, there exist this class of people who are accustomed to listening with discernment, appreciating the nuances of issues etc. And these paragons, even if they do happen to misunderstand something, they will still not say anything stupid.
Which, of course, is sort of easier in Tiru's times since people of his era had no pressing need to troll on social media just to keep yourself relevant. When a chap has a discerning mind and is used to applying it to anything he hears, it is but natural that he is used to thinking that the same subject can appear in a different light to different people. Thus, even if he has misunderstood the issue but thinks he is right, he is also used to thinking that there are more than one way of assessing any matter.
Such a person, then, will talk of his understanding of the issue in terms of questions, rather than as incontrovertible statements of fact. You know, like, "People say that this will cause damage. Is it true?" rather than, "This is the worst thing that can happen to us..." So, even though he IS saying the same thing, he does not appear stupid even when he is totally wrong.
But, then, THAT is a luxury available only to those times. Such wishy-washy statements cannot go viral on social media. So...
Better stupid than irrelevant!
No comments:
Post a Comment