INCORRECT ASSUMPTIONS
Mostly we assume that we may not put others into inconvenience by any of our acts. Sometimes, our assumptions may be wrong.
A wrong assumption may lead to a stressful end and even to death. It has been narrated through a story, 'The death of of a government clerk' by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, a Russian story writer, who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short fictions in history. One evening, the clerk went for a Opera show and sat in the second row. Suddenly, he sneezed. He wiped his face and looked around to see whether he had disturbed anyone by his sneezing. He saw an old man sitting in the first row wiping his bald head and muttering something to himself. He recognised the old man, a civilian General of the department of transport, a superior position. The clerk immediately rushed to him and told him, 'Pardon your Excellency, I spattered you accidentally. I didn't mean to. Please.' The General gazed at him and said 'Hm Hm'. The clerk, having not satisfied with his response, pleaded with the General to excuse him. The General shot back that he forgot it and asked him to shut up. The poor fellow got freightened and returned home. He narrated the incident to his wife. She came to a conclusion that his act of sneezing would lead to termination of his work and cried at him that the family would be in shambles and on the streets as orphans. She compelled her husband to approach the General again and request for his clemency. On the following day, duly dressed with his uniform went to meet the General. There was a long queue to see him and he waited for his turn. He politely reminded the General the incident of sneezing and explained him that it was not intentional. His act of approching the General frequently with tons of excuses irritated him and infuriated him and shouted at him that he had been making fun of him. The clerk, assuming that the General still angry not accepting his excuses , returned home with broken heart. He went for sleep and did not get up at all.
Tamil writer Prapanchan also wrote a story in Tamil under title 'Thummal' தும்மல்.
A story narrated by Swami Chinmayananda. An old man walked through a street and saw a beautiful tree with flowers in a house. The beauty attracted him, he went inside and enjoyed the sight of the tree and flowers. The house owner welcomed him and offered him very good filter coffee. The old man in his conversation with the house owner appreciated the tree and flowers. House owner called the gardener and instructed him to cut the branches of the tree. Owner's instructions shocked the old man and got offended. He left the house abruptly with anger and did not visit that road for long time. After a period of few months, he was delighted to see the tree rejuvenated with fresh look and more flowers. He walked into the house and enjoyed the same hospitality from the owner. The owner explained him that the tree required pruning of branches for uniform growth and spread of flowers throughout the tree. The old man felt ashamed for his wrong assumption without ascertaining the fact.
Some of the incorrect assumptions in the history:
'Flight by machines heavier than air is impractical and insignificant.' A statement made in 1902 by Simon Newcomb, Canadian American astrononomer 18 months before the Wright Brothers flight at Kittyhawk.
'The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty, a fad' - an advice in 1903 by the President of Michigan Savings Bank to Henry Ford's lawyer not to invest in Ford Motor Company.
'Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?' - said in 1927 by H.M.Warner, co-founder of Warner Bros.
'Television won't last because people will soon get tired of staring at plywood box every night' Darryl Zanuck movie producer, 20th Century Fox
statement in 1946.
We must never trust in what we assume, only in what we know.
Our minds have the need to know. When we don't know, we make assumptions.
