A critical essay on detail and purpose.
ABSTRACT
If casual attitude serves the purpose then, who is so foolish to be a serious one? Seriousness i.e. meticulousness deprives one from natural enjoyment. Only a judicious person prefers and practices to be a meticulous master. Common people seldom care for detail. They are happy with retail. So a lay man should not be entrusted with detail work. They are fit for casual job, seldom a meticulous one.
KEYWORDS: Meticulous, careful, attention, extreme, excess, detail, accurate, exact
INTRODUCTION
Creative writing is based more on manifestation rather than on expression. It does not inform rather it reveals, so it bears no reference. The best creative writing is critical, and the best critical writing is creative. The present article is the outcome of creative writing meant for lay readers. As such free style is the methodology adopted so that the pleasure of reading can be enjoyed by the common mass. As you know well that, Francis Bacon (1561-1626), the immortal writer, wrote many essays, and notably “Of Love”, “Of Friendship”, “Of Ambition”, “Of Studies”, etc. The myriad-minded genius rightly pointed out that all the words of the dictionary can be the themes of essays one can write. But little has been done, in this regard since his death, in order to finish his unfinished monumental works. In fact Bacon's way of presentation and his unique style kindled imagination and inspired me to write essays, in the light of creative writing, thus to get relief through Catharsis.
ARTICLE
Meticulous means extremely or excessively careful about minute details. It is scrupulously careful. It is popularly over careful e.g. She is meticulous about her appearance. It implies finicky e.g. meticulously clean. It is giving or showing great care and attention to detail e.g. a meticulous worker/researcher. It is very careful and precise e.g. a meticulously planned schedule. It implies accurate e.g. do meticulous and painstaking research. It means exact. It means JIT i.e. just in time.
To take care is good. Caring parents are good. They are valued much by the society. The children prosper appropriately. They reciprocate their respect to their parents while they are established. Prodigal children are the outcome of negligence by the parents. As such they blame their parents later on while they face misfortune.
Too much of everything is bad. Similarly, too much care is bad than no care at all. It is an obsession that causes annoyance to the concerned child and observer as well. This extreme care is very harmful for the development of the personality of the child. It is a hindrance for full blooming of the tender soul.The child becomes fully dependent. It cannot move alone. It can only rise, like a tree, with the tender touch of the affectionate gardener of the garden. Later on, when there is no guide then the person stands still like a statue. It cannot tackle the hard reality. It becomes handicapped. Affection renders the parents blind and blunt as well. So they become the prey of meticulous care.
One tea spoon full of sugar is sufficient for a cup of tea. Now, if excess amount of sugar is poured then it is no more tea at all. And one cannot take that tea. Over dose causes simply wastage. Over dose invites danger always in medication. Here the patient becomes ill more than early recovery. It increases pain rather than relief. Here, meticulous care should be taken for proper medication and optimum amount of medicine, as well.
Familiarity gives birth to friendship. But too much familiarity brings contempt. One may be meticulous. One may insist one to be meticulous for the benefit of the concerned person. But one should not pressurise. For, all cannot be meticulous. Then either, anger or frustration will come back in return.
Meticulous research is good. Meticulous inquisitiveness is also good. Meticulous quarrel is bad. It pollutes the soul. It wastes both time and energy. The parties involved lose both who were close to each other in the past. The younger generations get negative feedback from these dirty events. It affects their minds. They cannot free themselves from these cloudy affairs.
Instruction may not be meticulous always. But lucid instructions pave the way for smooth work by the novice or less expert workers. An overall guidance is required for the implementation purpose. Freedom should be given to the implementer. It is better to leave the job on one’s judgment. Then the outcome becomes well. If the implementer is wise then he should be given independence for execution. In fact, a meticulous worker does not need detail guidance; rather he can act as a guide. If the worker is dull, he should be guided, since meticulous outcome cannot be expected from such an inexperienced guy.
Meticulousness is a habit. Some communities have this quality. Again, some communities lack this trait. Thus all cannot be a meticulous person. It needs patience. Patience is alias and akin to physical pain. Very few people can bear that pain. This answers why we see very few meticulous persons around us.
Common people are very superficial. They cannot stick to any matter for long. Due to superficial knowledge a person fluctuates. In depth knowledge acts as brake. A meticulous person avoids casual persons. He is serious and sincere. Such a sincere person is rigid and overzealous, meticulous, over conscientious, inelastic. He reads the proofs with meticulous care. He knows that any lackadaisical attitude will cause the total publication project quite frustrated.
A meticulous student shines in life. An inattentive student cannot write all the answers in any examination. A meticulous student writes full answers. Due to meticulousness his knowledge becomes thorough. A meticulous student does not write different things. He writes differently. His knowledge is perfect. Through this perfection he attains success from cradle to grave.
An inattentive student fails in the examination. As such, misfortune dogs him wherever he goes. Thus he fails everywhere till he breadths his last. Man realises his callousness in his autumn of life. So childhood needs guidance. All cannot be autonomous. Without guidance a person becomes diverted. Such a diverted genius becomes a misguided missile.Then he becomes either dangerously brilliant or brilliantly dangerous or both simultaneously.
All the works of the society is not critical. So, expert workers are not required always. Most of the stereo-typed jobs are done by casual workers who are low waged labourer. In case of critical job meticulous expert is required. An expert is a high paid employee. Such a master mind prepares the master plan. Then the master plan is sub-divided into small modules. The junior workers are engaged to work on these modules. All the modules may or may not be identical. The lower level employees cannot guess the master plan. The master plan is completed after assembling all these modules. This type of module based work is common in computer operation. Since, the master plan remains unknown to the lower level or medium level managers the secrecy of the organisation remains protected.
Meticulousness is an art. It is not for all. All is not artist. All cannot be meticulous master. It requires patience. It demands talent. It needs reserve personality. Also all need not to be meticulous worker. All should not be meticulous employee. Only the boss should be meticulous person. The employees will be casual worker who will follow him blindly. In case of stereo-type job blunt workers are more suitable than the blind workers. Thus the head of boss and hands of the labourer make the complete man.
Boss should not be extrovert. Then secrecy of the project thereby secret policy of the organisation will be disclosed to the opponent. As such, during selection of meticulous worker extrovert or frank candidate is not selected. Meticulous worker becomes boss in course of time. An extrovert person is popular. Everybody loves him. Nobody is afraid of him. He cannot be rigid. Rigidity is not his personality. Through tenderness administration cannot be run. A Good Samaritan is suitable for any charitable institution, but seldom for business organisation. Rough and tough are chief ingredients for financial gain of any profitable institution.
CONCLUSION
If casual attitude serves the purpose then, who is so foolish to be a serious one? Seriousness i.e. meticulousness deprives one from natural enjoyment. Only a judicious person prefers and practises to be a meticulous master. Common people seldom care for detail. They are happy with retail. So a lay man should not be entrusted with detail work. They are fit for casual job, seldom a meticulous one.
REFERENCES
No reference, since the present article is an outcome of Creative Writing
Dibakar Pal is a PhD student at the University of Calcutta, India. Pal enjoys writing papers in his free time.