Sometimes we get so used to the status quo; the uncomfortable comfortability of our old habits, that we are afraid to make any changes or don't even realize that we have choices.
There is a saying which says “the man always hates what he does not know..”. That’s exactly what happens to most human beings. If you ask him/her; why don’t you like that thing? They would answer: I just don’t like it.. I don’t know why.
There is a short story where a little girl saw her mother cut the head and the tail of the fish before cooking. She asked: Mum, why do you do that? The mother replied: Well, I’ve never thought of that before.. but I saw your grandma does the same thing.. let’s call her and find out why. She called her, and surprisingly enough, the grandma answered: I don’t know why either.. I saw my mum did the same, I’ll call her and let you know. She called and asked her. Her mother said: well, honey, actually I used to have a small frying pan, and that’s why I would always cut the head and the tail of the fish..!!!
Sometimes the same thing happens with us. We repeat doing what most people do without thinking of “why”. We think that is the only thing in the world and nothing is better, whereas, in realty there could be much better things out there; we need just to expose ourselves to.
This attitude becomes quite clear when it comes to technology-related things. For instance, personally I used to use Google for quite long period of time for all my searches and I would think it is the only search engine that would never say “I don’t know” but, having seen other engines during this week I realized that the search could be much easier and I could save a lot of time. However I am still a big fan of Google no matter what..!! Why?! I don’t know, Maybe I need to get a big frying pan..!!!
I heard the frying pan story more than twenty years ago in the US. But it wasn't a fish, it was a turkey at Thanksgiving. I agree with you, the story applies to our set ways with ICT, too.
ReplyDeleteYou are right , ignorance may be behind wrong attitudes . Like you , I'm addicted to google and I m generally satisfied with its results when I look for general information .But I find that using specialized search engines makes it much easier to find satisfying results .
ReplyDeleteI liked the story with the fish. We have some similar stories in the Greek mythology. Through this course we've set sail on a learning journey and it's amazing how much we've aquired from week 1.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know what you are aiming at at first, until I read the last paragraph. Thanks for the good story and its moral lesson! I have been using Google for a long time, though I know there are other search engines available. Yes, I agree that old habits really die hard, but we teachers need to be the agent of change, right?
ReplyDeleteHello Faisal,
ReplyDeleteThis is the first blog so far that made me smile so widely. And you know the reason for that was because I have realised that there was me, in the story you described.
Quite often we do some things not even asking for or thinking about the reasons behind this or that, just do and that is it. It is great that you pointed at this, especially in such a clever way!
I can also support you in the statement that 'people are afraid to make any changes or don't even realise that we have choices'. This is what sometimes called reluctance to step out of comfort zones. People have their shells which they do not want to open to others, or a line which they do not feel comfortable to cross due to personal, cultural or religious reasons, and this is what stops them, this is what gives birth to fear of something new in their life. And this is what we all have to overcome in our life.
Thanks for raising these issues!
Best regards,
Yuriy