Turning Philistines into Connoisseurs

I was trying to scan a QR code using a new tablet at the office today and was struggling to get it to focus on the object. No matter how hard I tired, the camera simply failed to scan the code. Well, it's a cheap tablet anyway. I can't complain too much. There's nothing wrong with my software either--the camera just couldn't focus sufficiently well on the range that I was aiming for.

That got me thinking about the human mind. I think we are born with a specific 'focal range' for our minds. Instead of objects in space, the mind has the ability to focus on specific subject matters. Some people have a talent for numbers. They can remember, manipulate and see figures very clearly in their minds. Numbers happen to lie within the focal range of their minds.

During school days, I'd noticed that some of my friends just did not have the aptitude for science and mathematics. No matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't get a grasp on the subject. It is as if symbols and equations just lie frustratingly beyond the focal range of their minds.

I also know of people who do not dig poetry. They approach poetry by trying to focus on the meaning of words and sentences. Sound, rhythm imagery and metaphors simply do not register naturally in their sphere of comprehension.

Can these type of mental 'blindness' be corrected? Can someone be trained to be good in mathematics? Can you teach someone to appreciate poetry?

I would say, only to a certain extent. You can teach someone to analyze a poem in terms of its form and structure. But the moment you do that, you've already killed the immediate beauty of the piece. True, the technical structure of any work of art has its beauty. But this is akin to the beauty you find in physics and mathematics--noticing the order underlying the apparent chaos.

People who are blind to science fail to see this aspect of beauty, whilst people who find poetry meaningless often fail to perceive the direct effect of words on the mind that goes beyond meaning. Robert M. Pirsig in his famous book, 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' called this classical beauty versus romantic beauty.

Somehow we all have blindspots in our minds: some subject matters simply do resonate with us. How do we penetrate these blindspots? Classroom type of teaching won't do it. I think this is where meditation comes in. There's nothing mystical or magical about meditation--it is simply gym-work for the mind.

Through the practice of meditation, we increase the sensitivity and focal range of the mind. That's how I see it. The capacity of the mind is vast and most of the time we are only tapping a fraction of its capabilities. We can further tune, calibrate and develop areas of the mind that lie dormant within us.

Formal learning helps to develop the mind to a certain extent. But every sportsman know, to excel in their area of sports, you need targeted exercises to build strength in specific muscle areas. You cannot excel simply by playing the game everyday. Proper work in the gym is required.

Similarly, meditation helps to build those mental muscles that would ultimately help us to extend its focal range. And with increasing capacity to perceive subtleties and nuances in any subject matter, you would learn to appreciate its beauty. And ultimately, all philistines can be turned into connoisseurs.