I have an hour on this flight. I don’t know what to write about so I would write about an hour.
I was watching an Indian movie sometime last week. I can’t recall the title but I did see a simple experiment that jerked my thoughts. I’ll narrate the backstory, rehash the experiment, and then my thoughts on it.
Backstory
The guy was supposed to write an exam. Part of the exams included an essay — which was around 5000 to 8000 words for 30 minutes to an hour (30 min – 1 hr). Figuring out how to approach that, I thought I’ll basically write and time myself each day till I got it right. He thought the same. But as an exercise, he tried writing about himself for an hour and could not even finish 250 words on himself, a topic he had known all his life. How is he supposed to write about a random topic he didn’t participate in, that he never read about, for an hour?
My Thoughts
Honestly, there are various parts to this particular story. How much does he know about himself? Does knowing oneself mean you should be able to defend/write/explain yourself for an hour? How much can you recollect in an hour? Is any time enough to put a lot into detail that you captivate others? So many questions and I think fewer answers.
How much does he know about himself?
This part is a bit outstanding. Basically, he is himself but at the same time his story could be better told by an observer. For example, historians tell history about previous people, past places that had an effect. One of the things they take into consideration is the fact that a person might be a cog in a machine, a screw in a complex or bigger machine, which means their deeds or goals — as good or as bad as they might be — could have been defined by something bigger that they themselves might not know of. Or like God who knows tomorrow before you, basically knows what you are going to do. Does that mean you don’t have free will?
What about his childhood years? He probably doesn’t even remember them; his parents or siblings are in a better place to tell that story.
Does he even know himself well enough to define what he wants or likes? What if his life or likes are governed by the actions of others (take from the movie Focus, for example)?
Does knowing oneself mean you should be able to write about yourself?
I think I answered a part of this when I mentioned historians, but there is a side to this — perspective. Basically, how one sees stuff. Even if historians could tell your story, it really does not encapsulate what you felt at that moment, your actions, or the last bit of it. It could be only well told by you. Others could speculate or be experts.
But there is a side to this that is a quest. I have been asking myself of late, how does one define certainty? For example, when most people take an action, it is mostly a reaction to something or a cause. How do people know now that this is certain? Definitely something I’ll reflect on now. That is entirely off-topic but just has to be said.
How much can you recollect in an hour?
Well, the answer to this is next to zero — especially if you don’t know that you are going to write or talk about it prior. But then again, you should know better and be able to talk about yourself even without preparation. I guess if you want a story without fillers, you should have and give more time.
Time is up, flight is over. I was able to write three pages. Short or long, can’t tell honestly.
PS: They should really do something about mics and speakers in airports and planes. The pilot is just mumbling. Touchdown!
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