Remembering the Late Prof James V McConnell- Author of 'Understanding Human Behavior'!

Yesterday I got a call from my old Roorkee friend, Prof.Ujjagger Singh Kooner, who had just returned back to Chandigarh after a couple of month's stay with his sons in the USA. [ I had written about our meeting after so many years in Chandigarh during the occasion of his eldest son's marriage.]  

While sharing some interesting episodes of our Roorkee days over phone, he told me that he was going to send me some scanned copies of some old documents of interest to me, that he still keep with him even after three and a half decades.

He was prompt in sending those scans by e-mail. Two were scans of simple invitation cards  that me and my father had sent to him independently. My father sent it from my home town Elanthoor, in the Central Travancore area of Kerala, while I sent it from my work place at Bhilai in Central India.

Now-a-days people spend much money in getting the marriage invitation cards prepared in quite an impressive way by spending hundreds of rupees per card. Way back in the 1980's too, things were not much different, though the spending used to be much less.

I never liked the idea of extravagant spending for marriages. It was my insistence that my marriage invitation should be as simple as possible. And that was what we did during the time of my marriage way back in 1981. I do not know whether I had any samples of those cards with me now. 

My friend sending the scans of both those cards now helped me recall those days and also to publish it here so that my readers could see its simple content for themselves and compare with what they have been seeing now-a-days.

My Wedding Invitation sent by my father

My marriage invitation sent by me to my friends

But the third scan that he send to me surprised me more. It was a letter sent to me and Ujjagger [U.S Kooner] in the address of my Roorkee University Hostel room [G-34, Jawahar Bhawan] by the eminent author and medical researcher of those days, the Late Prof James V McConnell PhD of Michigan University .

Letter from Late Prof James V McConnell

In those days, the vast resource of knowledge through the internet was not available. What we had were the the libraries. 

Roorkee Univiersity ( now Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India) where we were doing our post graduate studies in engineering, had a very good library with a collection of nearly 1,90,000 volumes of technical books in those days (1978-80). Me and Ujjager were regular visitors to the university library. 

It was during one of our visits then to the university library that we got this interesting book, written by Prof McConnell. 

The book was titled 'Understanding Human Behavior'. 

It was neither concerned with mechanical engineering (the engineering stream of my friend) nor with chemical engineering (my stream of specialization). 

It was essentially a text book for medical students, especially those concerned with psychiatry. But the book was written in such a lucid manner that it was much understandable to even laymen like us. 

I do not remember who took the book first from the library. But I remember it as a great and pleasurable reading for curious people like us. It was Ujjagger who suggested writing a letter of our appreciation to the author and we did it jointly.

But we never expected the old American medical researcher would promptly reply us with a personal touch. 

But he did exactly that. Unlike most Indian authorities, the learned western educationists maintained the good habit of replying to people who wrote to them! 

You can visualize that personal touch by reading the letter which I have now included in this page. 

Ujjagger had kept the letter and I am seeing it again now when he had sent the scan of this old letter yesterday. I should appreciate the pains he had taken to preserve these old documents.

Understanding Human Behavior essentially dealt with the hardware of human intelligence-the physical systems of our brain and the nervous system. The professor was good in making things clear at a time when our knowledge about communication systems, memory and artificial intelligence was in its nascent state.

I have been a curious student of human behavior for quite some time. But my study was not for any formal qualifications, but for satisfying my own curiosity.

Now I have got a better understanding of the mechanisms of human behavior, though I am not an expert with its details. 

Now I realize that human behavior has much more to do than just with its physical systems and mechanisms. Human brain is a receptacle and processor of both internal and external stimulus and communications, both physical and spiritual (transcending physical). It is indeed complex, but very very interesting. 

My present day favorite book, about which I have written many times, have fruitfully consolidated my knowledge and understanding of this subject in a broader manner. 

Once you are able to appreciate the mechanisms of human behavior, the whole approach to life changes. 

Life appears no more a bed of thorns, but a mixture of roses and thorns! A mixture of bitterness and sweetness and of great contrasts. You would be able to understand other human beings more sympathetically, even when they are apparent adversaries.

Would you like to give some serious thoughts about understanding the mechanisms of your own behavior?    

Would It Be Possible To Carry Two Litres of Milk In A One Litre Jug ?

Any one with a bit of common sense would immediately answer this question. They know it is a big No. But let me ask that question a bit differently.

There are two jugs out there which are looking alike from the outside. Would they both carry the same quantity of milk? Some of you might say, yes. Some may say, no. Yet some others might say, it is difficult to say unless you check those critically. In this case, all these answers have a chance of proving to be the right one.

In the case of such physical measurements, we seem to be quite sure or we are capable of arriving at the right answer without much difficulty.

Anyway, we are sure that no one litre jug can hold two litres of any liquid. That is simply not possible! That is what science has taught us.

But what about the physical capacities of two persons of equal body dimensions doing the same work with equal efficiency?

Let me put that question clarified a bit more. Suppose that there are 10 boys of equal body weight, age and heights. They are all equally trained in a sports academy. If they were to participate in a 100 m dash, could we safely assume that all would finish at the same time? Perhaps not.

That is because, every person is different in some manner, however equal they may appear outwardly. Every one of us has an inherent capacity for physical, intellectual and mental activities.

By training and practice we can achieve the maximum of our inherent capacity. Just as a farmer tries many tricks to fill his bag with more and more grains ! Once the bag has reached its maximum capacity, any more trial of force filling the bag would result in a rupture of the bag.

There are some bosses and superiors who try to get the maximum work from their subordinates by various tricks of coercing. They might succeed to some extent. But beyond a limit they would certainly fail. Such coercive techniques are bound to cause some of their employees breaking down eventually causing irreparable damages to their organizations. Some organizations do break up much before their normal life span due to this. Some humans also live in much stress and stain breaking down much ahead of their useful lives due to this.

What is important to be remembered in this is this:

Inherent capacities can never be exceeded; a pint can never hold a quart ! 

This is a universal truth that wise men of earth have understood well by experience and observations.

I had a senior colleague who used to argue that it was possible for every human being to do any work provided they were willing to work hard and undergo the necessary training. But it was difficult for me to agree to this view point fully.

If it were so, then the universal truth statement above would not be true! I personally feel that the wise men of earth would not have come to this conclusion if it were the other way round. My own experience and observation validate it.

I do not know whether you agree with me or not. There are chances that many may agree while many may disagree. It all depends upon your understanding capacity. I cannot force my concepts on to your mind, unless you have some capacity margins. Again one should be willing to open the mind sack of theirs!

My favorite book of life guidance re-iterates this truth. Not only it does so, it further adds this:

The spirit concept cannot be mechanically forced into the material memory mold. 

Quite true. It is not possible for many people to understand certain spiritual truths. Because inherently they lack the capacity  for that.

It is not impossible to expand spiritual understanding capacity of humans beyond the inherent mind capacity they have. But they definitely can utilize the inherent capacity fully if they are willing.

Are you getting impatient because your child is not able to understand that science and mathematics just as the other children even after all those coaching and tutoring? Are you getting frustrated by it ?

Remember, the universal truth that I mentioned above.

But also remember that we human beings are inherently designed with varying physical, intellectual and spiritual capacities. While we all can attain our inherent capacities by proper use and desire to use such capacities, we cannot possibly extent those beyond what existed originally in us.

Every generation of humans have a constant average capacity with regard to our abilities.

With every generation, this average is bound to improve, unless we do some utter foolish acts collectively.

We are progressing slowly by enhancing our inherent capacities.

But do not expect that all in one generation to gain similar capacities. That is expecting the impossible.

A rubber band can be stretched to some length by force. But if you exceed the force, it would not stretch further, but definitely break!

But God's plans are perfect and wise. We are all made individually different for performing great things collectively.

When we realize that and act accordingly, instead of keeping us individually not under great duress, we are bound to gain wonderful results collectively. And that would make us individually surprised!

I keep observing several of my fellows all around who keep themselves under great stress and strain which is not at all necessary. But they would not realize. They are all busy trying the impossible than doing the possible! 

Hope, I am not forcing you to stretch out to a breakdown!