The Assumption of Assumptions
Assumptions are what modern sciences
base themselves on. Physics might assume that properties have a consistency;
Mathematical assumptions are meticulously written down before any theorem.
Often these assumptions are fairly simplistic and are considered so obvious
that they do not require any explanations.
For an economics student, assumptions
are provided before aspects such as Demand Theory as well. But there is one
universal assumption that, even though disproved time and again, continues to
be a pillar for Economics, Political Science, Linguistics and any
human-oriented subject in general :
that humans are trustworthy creatures.
 |
| Artwork by Swarada Mayekar |
What makes banks give huge loans to
producers who are already in debt? The hardcore rationalist might be tempted to
argue that it is their debt repayment capacity and may proceed to create
lengthy curves and gather data. However, while these are in fact used, in the
end it boils down to trust in the producer's brand and name.
In many ways, trust has been
mistrusted. Humans are fickle creatures. An English grammar rule comes with
exceptions. The UN endorses itself as a world government of sorts but stays
silent when the United States attacks nations on mere beliefs (The Iraq War).
Countless chit-fund scams have made their way to the front page of newspapers:
weeping men and women flailing about, regretting the trust they had in a
certain scheme that robbed them of their life savings. You only have to watch
the news to lose all trust in the dominant species of this planet.
In a way though, this belief in a
person to not screw you over is
endearing. The first man who let another human drill a whole into his skull to
cure his headache (this really happened) is what led to thousands of young doctors being churned
out every day. That trust is something innate, something that bonds us,
something that reminds us in our increasingly individualistic lives, that there
is a whole community keeping you safe out there, that you are not alone.
-Vishal Upadhayay
Comments
Post a Comment