Essay Practice # 2
"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."
This quote from Isaac Newton reminds me about how there is always a consequence to any decision that has ever been made.
Let's talk about the decision to start trading during the ancient times. Did they want a barter system to simply exchange or was it a conscious decision to trade? All decisions made need not be visionary, sometimes it simply means choosing the best alternative and sticking with it.
There are certain qualities that all visionary leaders have. One, it is their ability to take all the stakeholders into consensus, when African Union was made a permanent member of the G20. The second is to create a large scale impact with the idea of achieving the UN's 17 sustainable goals. We see the Paris Summit which was agreed to by all the nations multilateral. The third, is resilience, the capability of getting back up. We see this with Bruce Lee's way of thinking when he said the destination is the moon, one need not change the destination itself but the means of attaining it.
Fourth is the growth mindset, when our forefathers designed our constitution which is both rigid and flexible. Fifth, is perhaps the communication skills. A leader must always be able to articulate his/ her thoughts in order to help people realize their individual capabilities and collective responsibilities. Martin Luther King Jr. conveniently expressed his ideas with the iconic, "I Have a Dream" speech.
It was perhaps the intuition of the early humans who simply rubbed two stones to spark a fire. It was perhaps this very intuition that made the Harappan civilization realize that mixing copper and tin, produces Bronze. The middle path on which our Indian Foreign Policy is curated even today was perhaps King Asoka's great intuition and logic. Intuition drove him on the path of ahimsa, whereas logic said economic, social, and technological progress is always driven when peace prevails. Apple's founder Steve Jobs expressed how people often do not know their needs. It is also the role of visionary leaders to seed ideas that can have large-scale impact which is how the first iPod came into existence. A major transition from the regular walkman.
Logic is simply a proven idea on the basis of first principles. Computers are designed purely on logic, they lack any intuition. Perhaps, that is why they always say that a computer can never replace humans. The activists have called out on the gen AI capabilities, simply because a machine designed to make human life easier allowing humans to focus on creative aspects of life shouldn't replace creativity.
As we look at data science as a discipline, data is purely logical. However, it can only be interpreted effectively with intuition. Intuition is simply the gut feeling. It is a small voice at the back of your mind asking you to do or to not do something, or perhaps, explaining the way you do it. We may use logic to establish a relationship, for example, the country that is Japan is vulnerable to natural disasters. Logic explains that Japan is located in the Pacific earthquake belt, and is frequently struck by earthquakes, while its complex coastline makes it vulnerable to tsunamis. It was perhaps the intuition of its leaders, accompanied by the obvious logic that led them to create an advanced, sustainable, and resilient country.
When we wonder about instances when logic and intuition have been at log-heads with each other, as in it was logical for Musk to only run one of the companies, either Tesla or SpaceX. Maybe it was his intuition to develop both of them into revolutionary companies. Another example, is perhaps Gandhiji too was at the crossroads of giving up law practice and returning to India for the cause of Indians. Maybe if he hadn't come back here, how would Indians have created the vision for India
In conclusion, every decision has the potential to be visionary if it takes into account both intuition and logic and the decision maker has clarity in their decision.
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