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Good morning,
With hostilities in Ukraine escalating, much looks uncertain. The world is on the brink of war and all of us are on the razor’s edge. Do pointers exist? That is why we flipped through the pages of Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman and this passage around the idea of non-complementary behaviour and how that can possibly work struck us as most interesting.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
“Sure, you think. Swell plan, Jesus—if we were all saints. Problem is: we’re all too human. And in the real world, turning the other cheek is about the most naive thing you can do. Right?
“Only recently did I realise Jesus was advocating a quite rational principle. Modern psychologists call it non-complementary behaviour. Most of the time, as I mentioned earlier, we humans mirror each other. Someone gives you a compliment, you’re quick to return the favour. Somebody says something unpleasant, and you feel the urge to make a snide comeback. In earlier chapters we saw how powerful these positive and negative feedback loops can become in schools and companies and democracies.
“When you’re treated with kindness, it’s easy to do the right thing. Easy, but not enough. To quote Jesus again, ‘If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?’
“The question is, can we take things a step further? What if we assume the best not only about our children, our co-workers, and our neighbours, but also about our enemies? That’s considerably more difficult and can go against our gut instincts. Look at Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, perhaps the two greatest heroes of the twentieth century. They were pros at non-complementary behaviour, but then again they were extraordinary individuals.
“What about the rest of us? Are you and I capable of turning the other cheek? And can we make it work on a large scale—say, in prisons and police stations, after terrorist attacks or in times of war?”
Let us know what you think!
India’s medical education gap
The evacuation of Indians from Ukraine also shone a spotlight on the number of students pursuing their medical education in the country. The Hindu explains why Indian students go abroad to study medicine, and what’s the ideal path ahead.
One, there’s more demand than supply. “In NEET 2021, as per a National Testing Agency press release, 16.1 lakh students registered for the exam, 15.4 lakh students appeared for the test, and 8.7 lakh students qualified.”
Two, getting an MBBS degree in a private college can be very expensive. “The costs of an MBBS degree in a Government college tot up to a few lakhs of rupees for the full course, but in a private medical college, it can go up to Rs 1 crore for the five-year course. In case it is a management seat, capitation fees can inflate the cost by several lakhs again.
“Whereas, an MBBS course at any foreign medical university in the east and eastern Europe costs far less. Students from Tamil Nadu who returned from Ukraine said on an average they had to spend close to Rs 30 lakh - Rs 40 lakh, inclusive of lodging and boarding. A majority of the students had written NEET at least twice, and only decided to move after they could not get an MBBS seat.”
Three, while going abroad for education confers other benefits, there is a case for building more medical colleges—both public and private. The Hindu quotes G.R. Ravindranath, of the Doctors’ Association for Social Equality. “Creating more medical colleges will be beneficial for the country, if access and availability can be ensured. This will not be possible by resorting to private enterprise only. He adds that State and Central governments can start more medical colleges, as recommended by NITI Aayog, by utilising district headquarters hospitals, and expanding the infrastructure.”
Dig deeper
Why 7,000 steps matter
The pandemic made many people physically less active as most meetings took place on Zoom. It also made many health conscious, because it mostly spared the healthy. We are often told that taking 10,000 steps a day is a good way to maintain health. Is there any science to back it up? Inc had a short piece on a recent study.
“The research, which was recently published in JAMA Network Open, followed 2,110 middle-aged adults who had worn a step-counting fitness device beginning in 2005 or 2006 for 11 years. Were those who managed 10,000 steps a day less likely to meet an untimely end, or did some other number seem to matter more?
“The researchers determined, as expected, that getting more exercise is good. Six thousand steps beats 5,000 and 5,000 beats 4,000 for health outcomes. But they didn't find anything particularly special about 10,000 steps (except going much beyond it brought no additional health benefits at all). Instead 7,000 steps seemed to be an important inflection point. Taking that many steps reduced participants' chances of premature death by 50 to 70 percent.
“‘Seven thousand steps a day may be a great goal for many individuals who are currently not achieving this amount,’ study leader Amanda Paluch commented.”
Dig deeper
The bare necessities
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Warm regards,
Team Founding Fuel
