Daily Times

“So you all are impressed with the Chinese system of accountability where they blow out the brains of corrupt individuals. You want to see Pakistan as corruption free as China, but little do you know that it ranks seventy-seventh on the latest corruption perceptions index by Transparency International”, said former general secretary of Islamabad High Court Bar Association, Hyder Syed after taking a sip of tea in his chambers.

Preposterous notions such as these are rightly debunked by individuals like Hyder Syed, as constructed and readily accepted by the majority. We accept information without verifying the source because it comes from a seemingly educated person. Unfortunately, we have seen an exponential increase in this new breed of men. These men possess academic degrees, they walk well, they talk well, they have this veneer of sophistication and they will leave you impressed, until they utter something which makes absolutely no sense at all or pass contradictory statements.

This was not the case in olden days, because if someone wanted to learn about something, either he would head towards the library or he would take lectures on that particular subject. The advent of the web has made information sharing among the masses easier, we hoped that it would make the coming generations more knowledgeable; but, this dream seems to be an elusive one, and it’s unfulfilment can partly be blamed on the use of social media and Millennials who are hooked to their phones.

Social media has provided everyone with a space to write and upload any type of content which they deem fit. People post about topics without having a speck of knowledge about them. Before it’s introduction, the only source of information for citizens were books, electronic media and print media. The content in these mediums is published for a mass audience and have gatekeepers in the form of erudite editors and staff. Only after intense scrutiny, is the information passed on to people.

How can a person who has not studied political science or international relations in detail discuss such issues. A graduate during his stay at a university gains technical knowledge about the discipline of his choice, if he is an electrical engineer he will know more about circuits than a psychologist, if he is a doctor he will know more about the organic machine called man than he knows about Geology or the Earth.

The problem is that we do not want others to think that we are not knowledgeable about a certain topic, we try to impress them by stating things with impunity. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, because if we do not know about something at all, we will not jump to erroneous conclusions. The phenomena cannot be explained by anyone better than the English philosopher Bertrand Russell who said, “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubt.”

We accept information without verifying the source because it comes from a seemingly educated person. Unfortunately, we have seen an exponential increase in this new breed of men. These men possess academic degrees, they walk well, they talk well, they have this veneer of sophistication and they will leave you impressed, until they utter something which makes absolutely no sense at all or pass contradictory statements

Today political discussions have become all the rage and those who do not know why Pakistan saw seven prime ministers deposed within six years from 1952 to 1958, are seen giving sweeping statements on the political dynamics of Pakistan with confidence. While others continue to share unauthentic information, the cycle continues unabated. No one is interested in reading books by neutral writers, who are considered an authority on the subject.

No wonder political parties target, the young demographic who has the maximum number of pseudo intellectuals and are the most gullible. They believe the exorbitant schemes and plans told to them without raising questions or asking for roadmaps.

This issue is more of an epidemic which has engulfed the globe rather than a specific region. However, there is a silver lining, we can encourage the younger generation to explore and develop critical thinking. Push them to ask questions.

The reading culture which was in vogue once, has to be revived again. Libraries are the gateway to knowledge, and this must not be forgotten. The world cannot rely and sustain on cherry picked ideas, superficial and distorted information. Our people need to see the real picture, otherwise the choices we makes as a society will prove to be ruinous.

The writer is a freelance columnist

Published in Daily Times, September 4^th 2018.