71. Are you serious?

It is no secret that women of all hue love to hear 'I Love You'. But try saying it to a stranger on the street and you would know how 'serious' it could turn out to be! That you were 'serious' in saying so holds little relevance, it is considered non-serious by the 'serious' recipient. And, imagine the plight of the guy who would have rehearsed for days to be 'serious' but instead ended-up being taken 'seriously'! Don't get me wrong but I love to narrate awesome but less researched things in our lives and being 'serious' is one among them.

Are you serious about climate change? Are you serious about inflation? Are you serious about your job? What if someone were to respond: 'I'm seriously non-serious about all these and much more'. Will the heavens fall apart? Seriousness has been elusive in every age, and every age has its particular perception to being 'serious'. Our growing culture of surging silliness demands 'seriousness', that can be explored from the height of intellectual endeavor to the depths of political frivolity because being `non-serious' reflects facetious.

Curiously, however, only 'serious' persons are interested in frivolity. And, being frivolous may not necessarily mean that one is not being 'serious'. While 'seriousness' helps you hide the truth, frivolity helps one get away with truth. During one such self-introduction process in a meeting the honest disposition by a participant that he's a 'burglar' was taken lightly. Many had humorously questioned his seriousness: are you serious?

70. Embarrassing statistics

Like met predictions, cricket predictions too go haywire. When cricket pundits predict century for a star player, quite often the entire team is sent packing to the pavilion within the first hundred. From analyzing moisture content in the pitch to assessing the impact of tailwind speed and from measuring the length of grass stubs on the batting arena to predicting which face of the coin will spin up, expert commentators (who are often retired cricketers) leave little to chance in foretelling the outcome of the match, if not the series.

As the expert commentator starts showering heaps of praise on a square cut, the next ball lets the empire finger point upwards. A century of such embarrassing moments could be counted in the course of a test match series. Since each expert encounters such failed predictions, getting away from any unpleasant conversation suits them. The statisticians too play to the gallery, rarely harping on 'failed predictions' by expert commentators and 'embarrassing statistics' of star players.

For the sake of fans and viewers who often feel let down by such over-hype, the selection process should be re-invented to count 'embarrassing moments' while selecting the team. How often has the batsman helped his team lose; how many times the batsman failed to reach double-figure; how often has the bowler been clobbered and how many catches have been missed by each of the players should feature in the selection criteria. It is time we stop counting 50's, 100's and 5-wicket hauls and focus on 'embarrassing statistics' instead. Television and radio channels can take a cue, let the expert commentators be shown the door for accumulating 'failed predictions'!

69. Enriching or diminishing....

As the year draws to a close, lexicographers (those who work on words) search for frequently used 'words' through the year. Once accepted, quite a few of such words make it to the next edition of a dictionary. Mountainology, the study of mountains, is one among several such words that had slipped into the dictionary some years ago. That is how 'dictionary' continues to swell in size.

Blending of words too has led to emergence of new words as well. 'Jeggings', a blend between 'jeans' and 'leggings', has gained acceptance and is now a commonly used word. In similar tone, apparent reference to widespread obesity has led to coinage of the word 'globesity'. In certain instances, new words have replaced the existing expressions. Hasn't 'item number' replaced 'cabaret' in Bollywood movies?

Words are known to enrich our lives, giving fresh expressions to human emotions and thoughts. Thanks to Jarnail Singh, 'Shoe' has attained a distinct status this year - it can henceforth be conveniently called 'a weapon of mass attraction'. The equivalent of 'Arab spring' in our part of the world is 'Slap', the thunder from Harvinder Singh will continue to echo for certain politicians. Finally, use 'Sibal' as a generic replacement for 'censor'.

Whether or not 'new words of 2011' are enriching or diminishing is anybody's guess!

68. Is there a choice?

Not many would disagree that life is filled with more choices than ever before. Be it food, beverages, goods or services, there are plenty to choose from. Whether big or small, simple or complex, choice has created a world of immense possibilities around us. Seemingly we are not done yet, aspiring for more to choose from. Isn't it? Because the aggregate result (from your choices) creates momentum and perpetuates life.

You go to a restaurant and choose for yourself; you go to a shopping mall and choose soap, sandal and shirt for yourself; you go to car garage and pick car of your choicest color; and most youngsters choose their brides. Life is on a roller coaster ride, you would imagine, with variety of choices spread all across. Yet, as you watch closely you'd get to see that the choices are indeed 'limited' and it is no more than Hobson's choice you end up making - either you have 'this' or 'none'.

Haven't leading brands proliferated because choices have been smartly restricted? Aren't corporations expanding their global reach on account of limiting consumer's choice? Haven't democracies enforced choice between 'better of the worst' at the ballot box? The most celebrated application of Hobson's choice in the 20th century was Henry Ford's offer of the Model-T Ford in 'any colour you like, as long as it is black.'

The idea of 'choice' is what you make of it. Neither can you choose your parents, nor can children be of your choice. And as you go to your doctor, the idea of 'choice' takes a beating. 'Doctor, we will go by your advice' is what lays the idea of choice to 'rest'. How often have you gone against your doctor's prescription? Yet, you think you can make informed choice in a world that is largely driven by Hobson's choice.