Herd Mentality

When a decision / interest (or disinterest) is influenced solely by the mass or society (or, not influenced by any other information), then it is considered to be ‘Herd Mentality’.

‘Herd Mentality’ is used always in a negative connotation. But it is not so negative. There are many occasions in personal and professional life in which we are expected to exhibit the herd mentality. When it comes to ethics and morals, we are not expected to be a rebel or even an original thinker, for it unsettles the system. But when it comes to education, career and spirituality one is expected to resort to original thinking. With this prelude I substitute the negative connotation with ‘traditionality’ and the opposite of it with ‘originality’. I limit this discussion to the causes, effects and remedies of ‘traditional mentality in education and career’.

The traditionality stems from two forces, one the personality and the second the society. The personality within us can be divided into four groups, namely ‘Dominant’, ‘Influencive’, ‘Steady’ and ‘Cautious’. While we exhibit all four traits at different occasions, one of them forms the natural trait of ours. These traits are almost fixed in the early part of our life thus becoming difficult to alter later. All that we can do is to moderate or aggravate a particular trait depending upon the situation. The traditionality is associated with ‘Steady’ trait and originality with ‘Dominant’ trait. A ‘Steady’ person will find it uncomfortable to be original and a ‘Dominant’ person just can’t be traditional. It is not all that difficult to identify the natural personality within us – we have instruments for it.

The society also influences the traditionality or originality. A stable society with minimum interference from outside is expected to be traditional, as it doesn’t find the need to invent. The Indian continent of yore was such a society, which was self contained and self-contented. The invasions from west brought the disturbance, to urge this society to look at newer means. The long heritage of India still has an influence on its people to be ‘traditional’ in thinking compared to the westerners, however the recent generation is showing an evolution.

Being original doesn’t guarantee success always. The path is rough and adventurous, in fact, there is no path, and we need to make one. Our ability to endure the journey plays a major role in our decision to be original or traditional. This approach is not all that irrational.

As mentioned earlier, trait’s suitability depends upon its need, such being the case it is wrong to expect one to be traditional or original irrespective of the demand. Since this forms an essential part of ones personality, experimenting the opposite will only generate stress and not energy. With these limitations in hand let me analyze the influence on education and career.

The first instance at which the traditionality influences the student is at the time of selecting one’s specialization. Parents who are still in the grips of tradition wants to be safe thus directing their wards to follow the mass. First it was B.Com then engineering then EEE and now it is IT. Students being dependents and ill-informed succumb to the pressure. In addition to this, in countries like ours, we hardly have choices. Education system is regimental with limited scope to study contrasting subjects of ones like. Topics in each subject are again fixed and focused for scoring and boring than for applying. Engineering is still taught on blackboard not on the field. Everything looks to be conventional and stereotypic.

The profession demands both kind of personalities, the traditional and original. The functions such as quality inspection, administration, accounts, legal etc., demand a traditional approach. An army soldier is not expected to be original but to just follow the instructions. On the other hand functions like operations, HR, marketing etc., look for highly original thinking. The demand for this trait is multifold in a highly competitive environment.

With this kind of a multivariate environment, what is the way forward? The ideal approach is to start the exercise right at 16 with the help of parents and guide. But this luxury is not available to most of the students. We are already halfway through the life – can we not do something now? Yes, we can. We being individuals, always have certain amount of freedom to experience. Exploiting it fully generates more of it. When we reach the boundaries, we realize it is still farther. Such is the nature of our individual freedom. It is boundaryless. Following are some suggestions for each contributor:

The role of student:Having landed in an institute and a group, all that one can do is to look for something that is near to ones interest. With the network of subjects, this is not very difficult. There is an art in engineering and science in drawing. Finding the unobvious by itself is enterprising and stimulating. After all in a social educational system one can’t demand a curriculum that will fit just one’s needs and interest, the compulsory subjects are a necessary evil and should be tackled at least in an unproductive way.

Select one compulsory subject that is close to your heart. If you can’t find one, look at the electives. Exploit the flexibility given to you to your advantage. Apply the ‘inch-wide; miles-deep’ approach on this subject. You need not publish a research paper; an innovative idea that can find an application in real life is great enough. In a diversified informative-rich industrial world, it is not difficult to find one, who will adapt your idea. Demand the support of the institution and alumnus

For one to be creative, a stress-free, independent timeless environment is essential. All this is found in the institution. Such an environment is very difficult to get in a workplace. If you can’t develop your ideas in the institution, you will hardly do so in a workplace

The role of faculty:Help the students in finding their personality and the subject of interest. Encourage the student’s activity in this subject. Attach higher evaluation component to this. A compromise on the other subjects will bring no harm. Trust their capability. They don’t need advise but just a stimulant. Expose the student to the smart brains who will provide the necessary ingredients.

The role of the institution:Create an environment that will enable creative and original thinking. Create a knowledge bank to collect all those creative ideas. Encourage the account holders. Invest in building on this knowledge. Create a forum, which can market the ideas. This forum can comprise of students, faculties and industrial representatives. Industries have problem banks and students have knowledge bank, they will just fit like a jigsaw. All that we need is to connect them.

The role of parents:Understand the personality of the ward. It is not immature as you think. Don’t think for your wards sake instead make them think. They have the capability to think and decide. All that they need is information; provide it in abundance, not in books but in practice. Take them to various industrial and work places to make them understand what is what. Create an environment wherein they will have independence.