They say whenever something is transmitted; it is received according to existing preconceptions. More often than not, we understand things the way we want them to be. Lately a big shot asked me to proof-read his manuscript. He later was surprised to find out the spelling mistakes I pointed out. His script was for him a representation of a correct material that he overlooked the misspelled words. It was difficult for him to detach himself from the material and look at it critically.

Last Saturday’s lecture compelled me to reflect on this episode. A guest lecturer was speaking to a small audience of art interested individuals. His speech was so much thought provoking that a considerable number of the audience added their views. The speaker, who was discussing the power of thinking and culture in philosophical perspective, was surprisingly Dr. Mussie Mesghina, a neurologist from Sweden.

His eloquence in Tigrigna was noteworthy. His twenty years away from Eritrea had little effect on his verbal ability in the language. Considering that he did his studies in Swedish, I was impressed by his English writings. What I found even more stunningly impressive is the zest he shows outside his discipline. A researcher in neuro-science and at the same time a practitioner at a certain clinic, how could he find time to read on multi-disciplinary fields and participate in different activities? That would be the question I should have asked him had I had the chance. But he was too busy with friends…

Back to the discussion. In any society there need to be thinkers. These thinkers do the thinking and sell it to anybody interested. Everybody does some sort of thinking. But most of the thinking is done to lead one's life. Say a businessman thinks of how to make a profit. A farmer thinks of how to cultivate his land efficiently to get the required yield. A singer may think of how to make a good sell of his/her album. But we need thinkers who suggest a direction in our life.

According to Mussie's example, a worker was perceived as a simple instrument in the production process before Carl Marx brought the concept of the Proletariat as a social force. And that idea played a role in changing the course of history. This idea prevailed for more than century before it subsided.

This reminded me of a book I read long time ago of which I have a vague memory. In the book, it said that Rockefeller had an employee who was being paid 50,000 dollars yearly. His job was just to look around and come up with ideas.

In the discussion part it was noted that ideas play a great role in directing things. Dr. Mussie stated that one has to distance oneself from any incoming idea. This distance helps one to analyze the idea in its appropriate manner. If my preconceptions haven't given me away, I understood this as being a bit objective regarding transmitted ideas. If you cannot keep your distance from any way of thinking, it will be virtually impossible for you not to be subjective. In other words, you will be emotionally entangled with the idea you have accepted.

Among the active participants in the discussion was Beyene Haile. He mentioned that a book he wrote when he was young had been ignored for about thirty years but now when certain people endorsed it with retrospection, it has become popular. He sells his ideas. It is doubtless that we are enriched by potential thinkers. Prof. Beyene suggested teachers should shape the thinking of the society. It can be either way around. Let the thinkers come forward and be teachers or let teachers be thinkers.

Dr. Mussie Mesghina must have left something vivid in our mind: the influence of ideas or ideology in our life direction.