While there was something else on my mind that I wanted to write about, I came across a brief anecdote on Anshul Chatterjee's interpretation of Swami Vivekananda's words (click here for the article). Mr. Chatterjee insists that Vivekananda's fearlessness of death, and the uncertainty that follows, makes Vivekananda's stature even greater. After reading the article, I see a simple generalisation of the concept - that one must not fear any uncertainty whatsoever. We must swim with the tide.
There is one qualification I must make - I am talking about uncertainties that cannot be affected by our actions. Death is one such uncertainty. However, to say that I shall play with fire is not within the ambit of discussion - certainly, your actions in this case determine the nature of uncertainty. In economics, we could talk about moral hazard.
I believe that the rationale behind fearlessness of uncertainty is that there are so many things about which we do not know. For example, if making a decision about the future, there are innumerable number of variables about which I would not presently know. For example, I would meet new people, I will encounter different circumstances and my own reaction to those circumstances is something that I do not know.
For those of you who have viewed Steve Job's speech at Stanford University, this is akin to connecting the dots looking backward. For those who haven't, I insist that you must. Here's the link.
Finally, fearlessness of uncertainty should not be taken as license for ignoring prior information. This is somewhat akin to rational expectations. Only that part of 'uncertainty' which we cannot figure out using information available to us, is the uncertainty that we must not fear. For example, while choosing whether to go to a foreign university, there is a lot of field work that I can do to get information - in terms of placement prospects, alumni, professors etc. However, at the end of the day, whether the University works for me or not is something I cannot say. The information that I have gathered might allow me to make a calculated guess. However, it will be just that - a guess. Uncertainty is part of life, and we must embrace it.
