Sangom in his 532:
Smt. Renuka,
Sangom,
Though I could react to this calling names (“cantankerous” is not a decent word used in conversation by decent people.) I would say I am rather amused. I remember only the famous tamil quote which my father used to quote when he came across people like you –people who think and believe that they know every thing and yet know very little deeply about any thing. The tamil quote is this “ஆலிலை எப்படி இருக்கும் ஐயா? அட மடையா இது கூட தெரியாதா. அது புளிய இலை மாதிரி மஞ்சளா வேலியில படர்ந்திருக்கும்டா”. From your this post I have realized I have chosen the wrong audience to quote scientific journals and proven facts. It is just a திண்ணை. இங்கே கர்னாடக சங்கீத ராகங்களை(மட்டும்) அடித்து துவைத்து கிழித்து காயப்போட்டு மடித்து வைக்கவும்,, தங்களுக்குப்பிடித்த(ஆனால் சரியாக புரிந்துகொள்ளாத) விஷயங்களை வெத்தலையாகவும் பாக்காகவும் புகையிலையாகவும் போட்டு சவையோ சவை என்று சவைத்து இடமும் வலமும் துப்பி சித்திரம்(?) வரையவும் தெரிந்த, தங்களுடைய கடந்த காலங்களில் மட்டுமே வாழ்ந்து அப்படியே உறைந்து நின்றுவிட்டிருக்கும் பரிதாபமான ஜன்மங்களின் கூட்டம் கூடிப்பேசுகின்ற ஒரு திண்ணை. அவ்வளவே.
I respect your age. Otherwise I might have addressed you hey olman, and given you a bit of my mind about your calling me cantankerous.
Dear Shri Vaagmi,
I did not know that "cantankerous" is not a decent word. During my working life, I have seen personal reports recorded by many eminent and well-read highly placed officials in which the employee/officer working below them used to be reported as "cantankerous" and, after referring the dictionary and coming to know that it means 'Stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate', 'Having a difficult and contrary disposition', 'irritable, ill-natured, quarrelsome, peevish', etc., I also have used, though rarely only, this word to describe some of the staff who worked under me and my superiors never admonished me for using indecent language.
Anyway, if you were hurt by my use of the word, I apologize sincerely and unconditionally. And I thank you for giving respect to my age.
When your words themselves are clear enough indications, I must thank you for sparing me (as also the forum members) for refraining from giving a bit of your mind too.
This forum, as you have rightly concluded, is more in the nature of திண்ணைப் பேச்சு (tiṇṇaip peccu) than a learned discussion forum like the Royal Society of England and similar highly prestigious fora. I thought that with your level of knowledge, scholarship, etc., you had taken an informed decision to lower yourself to this திண்ணைப் பேச்சு level, since, after all geniuses like Einstein may require some light, tension-free moments in life.
However, I fail to understand or agree with your observations regarding கர்னாடக சங்கீத ராகங்களை(மட்டும்) அடித்து துவைத்து கிழித்து காயப்போட்டு மடித்து வைக்கவும், because to the best of my knowledge it is only Smt. Raji Ram who writes about Carnatic Music in one thread and I do not venture there because I have very little knowledge of that field.
You are probably quite right when you say தங்களுக்குப்பிடித்த(ஆனால் சரியாக புரிந்துகொள்ளாத) விஷயங்களை வெத்தலையாகவும் பாக்காகவும் புகையிலையாகவும் போட்டு சவையோ சவை என்று சவைத்து இடமும் வலமும் துப்பி சித்திரம்(?) வரையவும் தெரிந்த, persons are participating in the discussions here. Yes, I am one such and I feel that through this lowly forum of nincompoops, I may stand to benefit whereas if I spend the same time in any other learned forum where all the members will be of your high knowledge standards, or even higher, things will simply go over my head
But I have to respectfully differ from you in the last part of your assessment viz., தங்களுடைய கடந்த காலங்களில் மட்டுமே வாழ்ந்து அப்படியே உறைந்து நின்றுவிட்டிருக்கும் பரிதாபமான ஜன்மங்களின் கூட்டம். Sir, we have here many youngsters, middle aged people who are all still living their lives with zeal and do not belong to "people who live in their past only and have ossified in that position itself" (தங்களுடைய கடந்த காலங்களில் மட்டுமே வாழ்ந்து அப்படியே உறைந்து நின்றுவிட்டிருக்கும்). Many of the honourable members here also will not satisfy your description of பரிதாபமான ஜன்மங்களின் கூட்டம் (group of pitiable persons) because many here have made it really good in their lives both in India and abroad.
Subject to the above humble remarks, I now proceed further.
Sangom you have wasted your time. Instead of going to Wikipedia where raw opinions are just presented, you could have gone to either UCLA library on line or to the website of Robert Boyd where the synopsis of his theory is given. I fear your going to Renuka to do an interpretation is going to be of any use.
You see, sir, I would have tried to understand something about your line of argument if only the scientific journals and supporting evidence to prove the scientific basis of your arguments had been given or their url furnished. I tried to understand Boyd's arguments viz., that culture transforms genes. But the notion of "culture" itself was not clear to a halfwit like myself and the following explanation completely confounded me:
"Particular manifestations of culture find their primary significance in other cultural manifestations, and can be most fully understood in terms of these manifestations; whereas they cannot be specifically explained from the generic organic endowment of the human personality, even though cultural phenomena must always conform to the frame of this endowment." (
Culture Is Essential by Peter J. Richerson and Robert Boyd, excerpted from Not By Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution)
That was when I found that there had been some mention of lactose intolerance by yourself
here and I googled that. Since that also showed no sign of culture interaction with personality or genetic structure, I thought of writing a post to Smt. Renuka.
Even now I am not clear as to how culture will modify the genes. But I recollect one very aged Telugu smarta brahmin lawyer who had eleven children of which one became a thief and went to jail. The father moaned the tragedy saying "in my lineage such a thing happening? How is it possible?". So, I think that even after thousands of years of culture shaping that family's genes as per Boyd, something went wrong somewhere.
I understand what you are trying to say obliquely. You know, people who dig the gutter will get only the smell of….you know what. Those who grind sandol will get the fragrance of sandal. The stink here is too bad.
I was not saying anything obliquely. If lactase persistence is a culturally formed genetic trait over thousands of years how come just one infection episode will completely wipe it out? I think Boyd's theory is, as TKS has stated, just not yet accepted science.
That said, even a dull wit like me will leave the gutter once and for all and find where sandal is available to grind? Possibly in Tirupathi temple, what with the price of sandalwood!!