Filter Coffee #155

On Wanting to be an Ostrich

I received some good comments from my readers on ‘Any Port in a Storm’ that was featured in FC 154. 

• My dear friend Shashi says: “I enjoyed your blog, Pras, as always. The cartoon following the “Any port in a storm” para has an embedded little comic gem, noticeable (on my phone) only after expanding the frame - the casks that people are hanging on to say ‘Old Port’! ANY port in a storm indeed! I would prefer the original, from Oporto.”
  (Oporto is a port in Portugal, famous for port wine since 1678. In English, the city is called ‘The Port’ which, in Portuguese is ‘O Porto’)

• Karthik has this to say: “Talking of avoidance and mitigation of risks, there is 'residual risk' which remains even after all types of risks have been identified and eliminated. This is like any port in the storm, inevitable. A clear decision beforehand on what to do when a residual risk occurs makes it easy to decide in which port to moor. As for Girl Friday, the term is relatable to a housekeeper. If for a day she doesn't turn up, the house might be like a port in the storm! Medical professionals like surgeons take split-second decisions with pretty much every other operation they conduct trying to save somebody's life. Another profession that comes to mind is air traffic control. In ultra-busy airports where pinpoint precision is needed, a small mistake can churn up a storm. Lastly, thank you very much for always being our ‘go-to-person’ come what may!!”

• My friend of a few decades, KBR Murthy makes this poignant comment: “Many seniors at the fag-end of their life have no option but to take refuge with anyone willing, like any port in a storm.”

• Shereyar Vakil writes: “Dear Pras, all of us have some time or another searched for a port in the storm of our lives. I am no exception. My father was my mentor, my teacher, my empathizer, my 'go-to man'. Many a time during my corporate working life I would face challenges, and he would offer such a simple and common-sense-based solution which always amazed me because it worked. I miss my 'go-to man'.”

💭 The Ostrich Effect

This is an extract from a poem I came across on Pinterest:

“The Ostrich has a pair of wings

But nobody knows why

Because you see, this massive bird

Simply cannot fly

It only looks as if it sticks

It's head into the sand

It’s really people who do this

To make a problem go away.”

I chose these two verses for a narrative in this edition. The wings in the first verse are synonymous with certain potential each one of us possesses but seldom put it to good use. We all have ostrich wings. Firstly, we refuse to believe we have such wings and if we did, we are reluctant to flap them to soar high. One cannot explain it away by saying one is modest or self-effacing, which are virtues. 

Why do some people refuse to acknowledge they have potential? And if they do acknowledge it, shy away from putting it to gainful use? Why is it that someone who has the potential and is keen to exploit it is prevented by someone dominating them? Why is it that someone who has no potential is forced to go in pursuit of it? See, one has the potential to ask many questions, but can one have the potential to answer each one of them? Or can one have the potential to be inquisitive and seek answers? Your guess is as good as mine.

Not getting the right opportunity or the right forum may deny a person from cashing in on their potential. Take, for example, an unknown actress. She may have the potential to portray a variety of roles, but all of that potential dies within her if she is turned away at every door that she knocks on seeking a break. You can think of many of today’s actors who have struggled and succeeded, yet you cannot think of the number of aspiring actors who were unlucky not to get a break and be content doing bit roles or just fade away. 

You can think of any field, sport, performing arts, profession etc. Some people had the potential but never got the chance to exploit it. Some people believed they had the potential but were disappointed to realise they did not have it. Still others got a break but had no potential to build on it. 

If you look around, you will find a universe of start-ups. Some died in infancy, some struggled and were revived, some caught the fancy of an investor who was willing to put megabucks, some got funded by angel investors and some simply cashed in on someone’s leap of faith. All these start-ups had one thing to offer – potential, or business potential to be specific. Unleashing this potential made some start-ups Unicorns. The term Unicorn is used in the venture capital industry to describe a startup company with a value of over $1 billion, which launches them into a mythical category. The term was first coined by venture capitalist Aileen Lee in 2013. A unicorn is a mythical horse with a horn on its forehead. Google is one such Unicorn.

Please visit 🔗https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unicorn.asp if you wish to know more about Unicorns.

The second verse refers to the ‘Ostrich burying its head in sand’. It is a myth. Its wings, though very big, are not meant to fly and so, ostriches cannot build nests in the trees like the other feathered friends do. Ostriches dig holes in the ground (which may happen to be sand) and lay their eggs to keep them safe from predators. To make sure the eggs get the same degree of warmth required to hatch, the ostriches stick their heads deep into that hole and rotate the eggs.

For an onlooker, it appears as if it is burying its head in the ground.

The verse I have quoted says “It’s really people who do this, To make a problem go away”.

Some people develop this ostrich syndrome also known as the ostrich effect or which prompts them to either pretend that a problem does not exist or hope that it will go away.

Let us say a person eats rather indiscriminately and keeps telling themselves that nothing is going to happen, he is being an ostrich refusing to acknowledge the consequences of overeating. Even if his doctor advises him to give up sweets or go on a diet, he goes into denial mode and continues to indulge. Living in denial is like burying one’s head in the sand.

I have seen people using multiple credit cards, refusing to realise that it could lead to undesirable consequences. There are limitations to everything that we do, particularly financial matters. If you haven’t read my post on ‘limitations’ please click on this link: 🔗https://mrprasanna.substack.com/p/fc-110

In health matters, people tend to ignore the symptoms and indulge in self-medication in the firm expectation that the problem will go away. In family situations, some parents believe that their wayward son will settle down sometime soon, and they get him married as well exposing themselves to double jeopardy.

People by and large resent criticism even if it is intended for their good. A teacher suggesting improvements in a student’s evaluation and an employer giving feedback to the employee on how he can better perform are considered to be unfair or biased. The refusal to acknowledge one’s shortcomings and recognise that behind every constructive criticism lies a problem and the means to resolve it is an ostrich effect. 

There are instances when people take wing instead of waiting in the wings to demonstrate their potential. They live in denial and for them, the problem either does not exist or it will go away if they turn their face away or bury their head in the sand.

An entire community can suffer from the ostrich effect if it scoffs at climate change!

I was not aware that in computer science, the ostrich algorithm is a strategy of ignoring potential issues on the basis that they may be exceedingly rare. I suppose humans, too, ignore problems likewise.

Dear Readers, I hope this post, though a bit longer than usual, was worth the time you spent reading it. Please share your comments. I meet people who tell me they don’t comment but like reading my posts. It would be great if you simply used the ‘like’ button.

Now to end in a lighter vein,

So, I was going to blame my pet ostrich for a crime I committed
But my lawyer advised that it wouldn't fly in court.

This poor joke is about Ostpoor who was once Ostrich.

Take care and be safe. Ciao.