Once upon a time, in a faraway land lived a foolish king. One day he is visited by two swindlers who promise to weave him a fabric that will be visible to only the wise and the intelligent. The day arrives when the emperor puts on the robes made from the special fabric which in fact was no fabric at all. The emperor, though he could see nothing, still praised the clothes, as he could not admit that he was not a wise or intelligent one. Similarly, the emperor’s courtiers, eager to please and fearing repercussions, indulged in unwarranted praise. Bursting with confidence, the emperor decides to parade his kingdom in his new clothes. The whole kingdom was shocked but kept silent to appease the king and to show that they too were in fact wise and intelligent. At last, it was the incorrupt and honest mind of a small kid, who pointed out to the emperor that he had been naked all this time.

“The Emperor’s New Clothes” serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of authentic understanding in the face of praise and criticism. Just as the child’s unclouded observation brings clarity to the situation, embracing the art of informed evaluation allows us to discern the truth beneath the surface and contribute to a more discerning and thoughtful discourse.

To praise something or to criticize is a natural human instinct. Praises and criticisms play essential roles in various aspects of life, from personal growth and relationships to artistic endeavours and societal progress. When used constructively, they contribute to improvement, innovation, and a well-rounded understanding.

Praise serves as positive reinforcement, motivating individuals to continue their efforts. It acknowledges achievements, boosting self-esteem and providing a sense of validation. When positive feedback is given it enhances self-confidence, encouraging individuals to tackle new challenges and push their boundaries. It helps foster a safe environment where individuals are more likely to explore innovative ideas and unconventional approaches.

Similarly when criticism is sought or given in a constructive manner highlighting areas that need attention, enabling individuals to refine their skills and address weaknesses. In creative fields, constructive criticism contributes to elevating the quality of work by identifying flaws and suggesting enhancements. It prompts individuals to reflect on their work, encouraging them to analyse their methods and make informed adjustments. Thus, constructive criticism challenges individuals to step out of their comfort zones and grow by addressing limitations.

Uninformed praise or criticism on the other hand can create unrealistic expectations. Distinguishing between genuine praise or criticism and informed understanding involves considering various factors. When praise or criticism lacks understanding, it can provide misleading feedback to the recipient. This hampers their growth and development. Also, offering judgments without true understanding creates an illusion of expertise and such superficial judgments might cause you to overlook valuable opportunities or dismiss potentially valuable contributions.

In an era defined by the rapid dissemination of information, the ubiquity of social media, and the complexities of modern life, the art of forming judgments based on genuine comprehension has never been more critical. In real life, it is hard to accept one’s limitations and lack of understanding on many things. However, to satisfy one’s superficial ego, one often engages in half understood and half cooked judgements. This is most visible on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp where people often engage in what is quoted as social media wars to defend their opinions, on howsoever flimsy grounds they may be based.

Often, these wars of opinions spill out of social media and have consequences in real life. This is reflected in the rise of Cancel Culture, where based on partial information, and impact of social media influencers, many new ideas, films, novels, shows, products face challenges of boycott or cancellation altogether without evaluating the merits of the same. Similarly, many unworthy and useless things receive such glorification, that make unsuspecting consumers buy it, just out of the influence and praise it has gathered.

Such an influence created often obstructs the informed choice based on critical evaluation of the idea and promotes narrow-mindedness and quick and emotional thinking. This has been observed worldwide when it comes to creating an influential clout for politicians, business tycoons, film stars, sportspersons etc. There has been a rise of hero worship and glorification of certain individuals for creating a larger-than-life persona. It becomes a political, economic as well as social issue when votes are garnered, products being sold in the name of the same. Such a discredit of merit, talent and performance has become a new reality of our times.

It is true that we live in a troubled and complex world today where the truth is not always palatable. Unworthy praises are, but the means to hide the ugly truths. Praising oneself and criticizing others has been a successful marketing tool for all sections of society. While religious fundamentalists used this to spread their religion, businesses use ideas like Greenwashing to spread their profit sheets. Countries like the USA used the goods of capitalist ideology to sell its version of democracy in the Cold War Era and China today does the same by giving debts to those in dire need to spread its hegemony.

Thus, we can infer that if we allow our superficial senses to make decisions for us, our analytical faculties will fade out soon enough. One such instance today is propagated in the form of the Body positivity movement. It began as an inclusive movement to fight the toxic ideals of unreal beauty standards but today many companies are using it as a marketing tool to promote their products that do more harm to healthy life and mindset than it does good for inclusivity.

At the same time, it depends on our environment also, how we decide to act, whether we are impartial, unbiased, and fair in our judgment or otherwise. As Aristotle said, it takes an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it, we really need a check on how educated we are today. Whereas polio has been eradicated from the whole earth, Pakistan still finds itself in the throes of this disease, due to the ignorance that has been propagated in the name of polio vaccine spreading infertility and used to eradicate Islam. Similarly, superstitions and misguided criticism were met by covid vaccine that made situations deplorable in countries like Brazil.

Thus, either unfounded or uniformed praises or criticism should not be used to hide the truth or tell half the truth. When we fail to see things in the proper light, we often end up making bad choices or wrong decisions. Such has been a travesty in the case of our fight against climate change that has become the gravest collective challenge to the existence of humankind. In this fight we need to be critical of our actions as well as praise the efforts that are being made, so as to keep the morale high for all. In such a situation resorting to either extreme, be it chest thumping for one’s actions or excessive criticism for no action will cost us all equally and immensely.

In such scenarios, one way is to promote education that helps cultivate a generation of informed evaluators. When individuals possess the tools to assess with depth, both praise and censure take on new meaning, carrying the weight of informed perspectives. What has been referred to as a backward civilization by the British and termed as White Man’s burden woke up to its glorious past and civilization because of education that promoted rational thinking and fostered questions for the natives. The critiques of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Dada Bhai Naoroji, Bal Gangadhar Tilak etc. gave confidence to our freedom fighters to rise with confidence and self-reliance.

It is often said that a ruler is just as good as his counsel is. It shows how decision making is impacted by the opinions of people one is surrounded by. Much like the foolish king in the Emperor’s New Clothes, there have been many kings who have spelled doom on their countries under the influence of ill advice and praises of their counsels. One such ruler was Hitler, who till the end of his life never realized the folly of his ways. On the other hand, there was a leader like Jawahar Lal Nehru, who gave Dr. B R Ambedkar a place in his cabinet despite later being the member of opposition. As a true and cultured statesman, Nehru understood the importance of merit, talent and diversity of ideology that Ambedkar brought in as the exceptional Law Minister for newly Independent India.

Along with this, we need emotional intelligence, compassion, empathy, and open-mindedness to form the bedrock of understanding, essential for accurate judgment. By stepping into the shoes of others, individuals gain insights into diverse viewpoints. These crucial values, in turn, transform censure into constructive critique and fosters praise that resonates beyond mere superficiality.

Balancing praise and criticism with understanding in the world of social media become more crucial as there it has a tendency to snowball or turn into eco chambers that may continue to exist eternally. Therefore it requires mindfulness, critical thinking, and responsible communication. One should take the time to research, verify and understand the context fully before reacting to a post or topic. This prevents hasty judgments based on incomplete information. It’s not necessary to offer a judgment on every topic. Sometimes, observing and listening can be more beneficial. If presented with compelling evidence or viewpoints, one should be open to changing their initial judgment. This shows intellectual flexibility and growth and works in favor of all involved.

In an era where opinions shape our perception of the world, his words act as a beacon guiding us through the labyrinth of judgments. To do well in praise or censure, understanding, critical thinking and informed decision making are the foundations upon which valid judgment is built.

Leonardo da Vinci, one of the pioneers of the Renaissance, thus gave the importance of balanced judgment and critical thinking just like many more philosophers like him before. Be it Socrates, Plate, Aristotle, Gandhi, Tagore, they all guided us to have an open mind and critical thinking. To experiment with the truth is how we can reach it, believing what is told and taking sides without understanding it is certainly not the ideal way to do it.

Daniel J. Boorstin said “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.”

EXTRA EDGE:

Useful Quotes:

• “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” – Richard P. Feynman
• “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.” – Daniel J. Boorstin
• “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” – William Shakespeare
• “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” – Albert Einstein
• “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” – Confucius
• “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle
• “The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.” – Leonardo da Vinci