Consistency

Few of my friends have pointed out that I am not consistent in my arguments and explanations. And they are absolutely correct.

Not contradicting one’s own statements is the hall mark of a rational mind. Non-contradiction is the basis of western philosophy, and it was promoted by none other than Aristotle.

Niels Bohr could defend quantum physics from the onslaught of Einstein only by repeatedly reminding him that he is developing the new science based on the theory of relativity, and it is Einstein who is responsible for this mind numbing theory called  relativity.

In fact, a person who is consistent is seen as a genuine and honest person. ‘Man of integrity’ is the label he gets. 


Immanuel Kant is the epitome of consistency; in every aspect of his life we see nothing but orderliness and consistency. And Kant was a professor. No wonder, we the faculty repeat the same thing year after year inside the class rooms.

I am an expert at repetition. Repeating the same lessons and same jokes is becoming a second nature to me. The funny thing is that every time when I tell a joke, I laugh loudly even if students are serious and quite.

That is the reason; I contradict my own statements outside the class room. In fact, for me there isn’t much difference between consistency and the state of boredom. Repeating same things in different words or same ideas in different format drives me crazy. To keep myself normal I need to keep contradicting. 


I agree with the gentlemen (I think it is B.Shaw, but not sure) who said, “Consistency is a virtue of donkey.” I change my arguments not because that I am not a donkey and that I have stumbled upon new facts or I have become wiser, I change for the sake of changing, to avoid boredom. If my logic does not make sense, just relax.