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By dint forging does one become a Blacksmith


ItsokaytoGaga 15 / 96  
Jan 1, 2012   #1
Prompt: "Rigorous reasoning is crucial in mathematics, and insight plays an important secondary role these days. In the natural sciences, I would say that the order of these two virtues is reversed. Rigor is, of course, very important. But the most important value is insight--insight into the workings of the world. It may be because there is another guarantor of correctness in the sciences, namely, the empirical evidence from observation and experiments."

"C'est en forge ant qu'on devient forgeron."(By dint forging does one become a Blacksmith.)
This was what my French teacher said to me after my disappointment over not being able to express myself with clarity after months of working hard at speaking French better. I knew all my grammar rules, and my vocabulary was adequate. Then why was it that I was unable form a clear picture of what she wished to express? My strong acquaintance with English, Marathi and Hindi failed to help me in this prospect.

I reflected on the axiom all night, trying to figure out what it meant by myself. It was as if all I required was a little pondering upon before the meaning of the proverb became clearer to me. Practice makes perfect! So simply and beautifully put. Such is the beauty of language that it allows us to express ourselves in ways so unique. I realized that the problem lied not in my insufficient diction, rather in my pedantic approach towards learning an entirely different manner of perceiving and expressing.

In science, I learnt that black is the most optimal to absorb most part of the visible electromagnetic spectrum. This idea is aptly used in the design for photovoltaic cells which are completely black to absorb large amounts of energy. Then why were plants green and not black? Wouldn't black be a more efficient energy absorber? It seemed to me like evolution had made a wrong choice of colour. My reasoning had again left me perplexed rather than settled.

Learning requires two things: Knowledge and Reasoning. But there is a third thing between knowledge and reasoning called insight. Whether it is a science or a language, insight has always been my best friend out of the three. Even if it may not explain why plants are green, at least it allows me to realize that they could have been black.

Do you think I answered the prompt well? Do I stick to it or sound tangential or diffused? Please be harsh and I'm welcome to any suggestions/corrections. Thanks a ton! :)


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