CHARLES DARWIN AND THE EYE

“To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.” CHARLES DARWIN 1872

Do something you love for free or get paid for something you hate

On seeing the topic, I am sure many of you will jump to a conclusion but I implore to hold your horses for a few minutes while I tell you how I think it is.

The endless tales of people hating their jobs and others feeling underpaid and undervalued for the work they do can be found in most, if not all, offices across the world. The issue of the lucky one who puts in next to nothing and gets tonnes of returns and the one that puts their life and soul in and gets next to nothing in return is the mother of this question, raised to challenge you in more ways than one.

The major advantage of paid work is understanding that regardless of how long and tedious your week or months might have been, you are guaranteed a certain amount of increase in your bank account. This undoubtedly feels good and temporarily (at least) numbs the pain and stress of a tedious job. On the other hand, the fact that the money only temporarily numbs the pain raises more issues. Some will say a solution to a problem that comes with a very short expiry date might as well not come at all. If at the point of “solving” your problem, you can already see the same problem reoccurring, anyone in their right minds would stand back and ask some questions


Another thing that comes with doing something you love for free is that you develop a true love for it. For example, if a musician gets the chance to make their music without anyone or contract lording what they have to do over them or, they naturally reach a level of freedom that no pay rise will ever bring about. They also say money cannot buy the best things in life but, in this case, one look at what other people in a similar line of work are getting for similar or less effort could drain all the motivation out of anyone. Just imagine yourself happily putting your heart and soul into something and having to live on a shoe string while someone you know puts half your effort in and gets double your returns and then ask yourself if you still want to do something you love for free.

They say the love of money is the root of all evil and that most of the conflicts in world history have had at least a hint of monetary incentive or undertone involved. Money in itself is not evil but it is the endless pursuit and the length to which people go to get money that puts an evil taint on money. Whether one decides to works for free out of a love for the job or demands a shed load of money to do something they detest is up to them. But as for me, I’d rather get paid a shed load for doing something I love. To be assured of that increase without having to worry about the pains and tediousness as well as having the freedom to express myself and having my pocket replenished in the process is a thought that fills my heart with joy

Bring Back Shame

Broken Britain is what the politicians and media are tagging it but shameless Britain is what it should be. The nation has fallen from its greatness to a lowly estate where every one feels free to do whatever they please, whenever they please and without any remorse or regard for whatever consequence comes with it.

According to one definition, to "have shame" is to maintain a sense of restraint against offending others while to "have no shame" is to behave without such restraint. I think it is safe to say that, according to this definition, many people today have no shame.

When I was growing up (not too long ago!!), the case of a teenager coming to their parents saying “I am pregnant” or “I got a girl pregnant” was a rare happening. And even when it did happen, the family did their best to keep it under wraps. You couldn't bun a spliff or even smoke a cigarette with your parents’ knowledge. Girls couldn't leave the house dressed like hookers. No one came home with poor exam results and a smile because after a good dose of shaming (beating) they would have to repeat them until the results were satisfactory. These, and a lot of other things, were the normalities of my growing up but today, you hear of parents buying cigarettes and drugs for their children to indulge. You hear of parents buying “interesting” outfits for their daughters, encouraging their teenagers to get pregnant so that they can get government assisted accommodation and a whole load of other despicable things, all in the name of freedom of expression.

A trip on any London bus route during the rush to of from school will open you eyes to some the shamelessness that has become a part of everyday life today. From the way they talk to the way they are dressed to the things they talk about, it is clear to see that there is something wrong somewhere. Which raises the question – how do we bring shame back?

A well known technique of discouraging an ideology is to encourage the opposite. For example, to discourage laziness, you encourage hard work with rewards and perks. In the same way, to discourage shame, we as a society, have/need to encourage a sense of pride and self esteem. A knowledge of the fact that every human being is born with some dignity that they have a duty to protect and build on for as long as they live.

In my opinion, achieving this will not be too difficult if the government pump the same amount of money into programmes, advertising and public relations campaigns encouraging people to respect themselves and hold people around them in high regard as they do on obesity and other trivial issues like paying your TV license and car tax. I strongly believe that if these steps are taken, people will begin to see themselves in a different light.

People have deserted religion/faith, which used to be the number one avenue for propagating the message of self worth and self respect and have not bothered to replace it with something that performs at least a similar role. Instead, people have resorted to personal ideologies that are in favour of their current situation and completely ignore what is to come in the future. This has led to a whole heap of mistakes and misleading that many have resigned to accepting as the norm.


We need to bring back a sense of shame in our society. A sense of right and wrong that makes people think twice before doing whatever they choose to do. A sense of shared values and beliefs that binds us together so much that anything that tries to come against it will be opposed with all our hearts, souls and strength



The Telligent Blog©