Induced Conciousness

Have you ever felt that you were oblivious of something completely until somebody pointed it out, and then you become so conscious of it that you wish it was never brought to your notice in the first place? I had a similar experience recently. One of my friends wrote a blog on how his hands have become extra baggage since winter got over. Winter was really cold in Columbus and walking in the snow with hands cozily tucked inside jacket pockets had its own charm. Now the snow has gone and it is nice warm weather with beautiful flowers everywhere. Along with the snow, jackets and their pockets have also gone. My friend pointed out that with no pockets to put his hands in, he sometimes felt them hanging by his torso with no purpose. I thought this was a ridiculous idea, but unfortunately, I have also started wondering what my hands are doing when I have nothing in particular to do. Being very conscious makes things look weird. Thanks to my friend, I am beginning to find my hands annoying at times.

This is a very queer phenomenon. How does someone else's opinion impose itself on us? Even when the idea sounds ridiculous and we disagree completely, the fact that we are aware of it sometimes changes the way we perceive things! Logic dictates that such cirumstances should never arise. If something is so outrageously inane, why should anyone buy it? And yet, it affects us so deeply. It is as if we are a peice of iron and whenever a magnet is nearby, whether we like it or not, we acquire some magnetism! In this context, the term "social magnet" can mean quite different. I cannot help but wonder "why do we get affected in such strange ways?". It may not always be bad but opinions propagate in subtle ways. Maybe there is a deep connection between individuals in a social setup and an attempt to parametrize it will be fun. Someday, I may come up with a definition of "social magnetic susceptibility" and subtly force other people to believe in it. I am not sure if it will be a good parameter, but I know for sure that Babubhai wont like it!