Let's see how sharp your curiosity is? Now be truthful and assess yourself on the following questions.You do not have to read any text book in order to answer these - they aren't from any academic syllabus. Your IQ may be high but do you possess a matching CQ? If you do, nothing can stop you from reaching the "Mount Everest" of whichever profession you are in.
Here are the questions!
[1] Why do we use the term 'by-heart' when the information that we memorize resides in our brain?
[2] Why are communists called 'leftists'?
[3] Why can't we tickle ourselves?
[4] Why is a drawing room called so?
[5] Can animals commit suicide?
[6] Why do we say touch wood?
Now check your answers and give yourself one mark for every correct answer (& a zero for an incorrect one). If your score is 5 or 6, congratulations - your CQ is above average. If it is 3 or 4, well - you need to be more curious, so keep asking questions about everything that is happening around you. If you score 1 or 2, maybe curiosity is not your cup of tea.
At the end, I have asked 2 more questions - Do send me your answers to these!
[1] In our everyday language, we speak of the brain as the center of our faculty of reasoning and of the heart as the center of emotions and personality traits. The idea about our heart being an emotional decision maker is of course not true - it has been floated & nurtured since times immemorial by poets and literateurs in spite of clear proof that the brain itself has two halves that take rational and emotional decisions respectively. We somehow continue to attribute activities performed unconsciously to the heart (since activities involving conscious efforts or reasoning are attributed to the brain). Therefore when a person memorizes something, he is said to have learnt it "by heart" though the information is stored in the brain.
[2] In ancient times, there used to be three divisions in the British Parliament. RIGHTISTS : those who believed in GOD & religion. LEFTISTS: those who did not believe in GOD. CENTRISTS: those who believed in a secular government. The terminology has continued since then.
[3] Research has proved that an element of surprise is essential in order to feel "tickled". When we tickle ourselves, we anticipate our own actions and the element of surprise is missing. This is not so when someone else does it to us.
[4] In the olden days, while males and females in Britain used to have meals on the same dining table, the men wanted the women to leave, once the dinner was over, so that they could have their cigars and wine. The women used to then "withdraw" to a certain room to allow the men to do so. The room was thus originally called "withdrawing room" for many decades before the "with" got dropped (as so often happens to words) and it started getting referred to as the "drawing room".
[5] Psychologists say that the act of suicide means destroying self identity. Since animals have no self identity (and hence an ego) they cannot set about to destroy it. Hence animals cannot commit suicide.
[6] The expression has its origin in Christianity. It has been derived from the wooden cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. "Wood" was therefore considered holy and was thought to possess divine capability to protect your good luck. .
2 more questions for you: I await your answers.
- Why do we give a "red" carpet welcome? (& not a "green" or say "blue" carpet welcome)
- Why doesn't a cell phone have a dial tone?
C h e e r s !!!!!!!
5 comments:
I got 3.
In ancient times........ divisions in the British Parliament. RIGHTISTS : those who believed in GOD & religion. LEFTISTS: those who did not believe in GOD. CENTRISTS: ...... in a secular government. The terminology has continued since then.
I do not understand why "those who did not believe in GOD were called LEFTISTS & not otherwise." This implies Right( this is not opposite of wrong) hand is superior to left hand.Why? (Naturally) parts of body are same left or right. We Indians use Right hand for taking meals & left hand for purpose I need not mention. But this allocation is artificial & man made & taught to us by our parents. In fact our ancestors could interchange the words we use to denote a particular side of our body & allocation of work just said above could be just opposite ( 50-50% probability.) So I request Prakashji to expand this question to include my doubts.
1. I was surprised to read the answer for leftists. I thought the origin came out of the nomenclature of "right" and "left" with respect to stand on economic policies and general social norms. The people on the "left" being connected to a government-controlled economy and social conservatism, while "right" meaning those believing in free market economies and social liberalism. The communists fit well in the economic definition of "left".
2. I'm guessing the "red" in "red carpet welcome" has to do with the colour of the carpet that welcomed the queen or some such ancient British dignitary.
3. A cell phone does not have a dial tone, but it has "signal bars" that essentially perform the same function. The dial tone is an affirmation of the phone being "connected" to the telephone network, i.e. a signal that it may be operated as desired. The cell phone signal bars similarly signify that it is able to reach one or more cell phone towers, meaning it may be operated as desired. I am not sure how the dial tone is produced and by whom: is it a broadcast from the telephone exchange, or is it generated by the instrument after checking a signal every few milliseconds (similar to how the signal bars in cell phones work)?
We use left hemisphere of our brain while doing disciplined , routine work, orthodox type thinking & use right hemisphere of our brain while doing creative work with liberal thinking. ( this is now proved even by MRI etc.)
Red is the colour of blood. A red carpet is equated to path created with own blood as a mark of respect, acceptance or surrender.
Post a Comment