The Correction Factor

My uncle was lying almost unconscious on the deathbed. The doctor checked the blood pressure and I could see the reading on the digital sphygmomanometer clearly as 140/90. The doctor said ‘It’s 110/75 which is more or less normal.’

Maybe the doctor could read the question on my face and started explaining ‘Since it is a digital equipment, we should reduce systolic (numerator) value by 30 and diastolic (denominator) by 15. So, 140/90 should be understood as 110/75.’ Although I was not so much keen or concerned about the reason or explanation at that time, perhaps that was stored somewhere in my brain to pop-up later.

Don’t we have to understand such ‘correction factors’ related to people and circumstances in our day-to-day as well?

You may have come across some people who exaggerate everything. To describe their ancestors who hardly had a 3BHK house and a few acres of land, they say ‘My grandfather used to keep a gold foil, the real gold foil on hot boiled rice in his plate and would let it melt and mix in the rice and eat it at every meal. But my father spent all the money on gambling, horse race, parties in just 5 years.’ Some people even glorify their poverty: ‘When we were children, we hardly used to get a meal once in a week. Then I decided to grow rich. Today you name anything, I have it at my house.’ Some people find pleasure in overrating diseases also: ‘My friend was smoking 80 – 100 cigarettes every day. He didn’t listen to us and he died a dog’s death by vomiting 1 – 2 litres of blood every day during last few days of his life.’

We call it Hyperbole – a figure of speech in English language.

We have another category of people who are opposite. They are so inert, so disinterested and so unexcited about life.

Even when their friend meets with a serious accident with damaged head, fractured bones and bruised bleeding body, they just say ‘Well, the bike just skid and there are some minor scratches and small injuries. Nothing to worry.’ A marriage broker says, about his client ‘the boy is little social, has some friends and negligible hobbies which are common these days and is pampered child of his parents; everything will be streamlined once he gets into married life’ to actually describe a boy who is a serious drug addict, who is a parasite snatching money from his parents and has friends with criminal background. Even an ordinary writer (one who records complaints) at a police station speaks like an expert and experienced police officer about some horrific and serial killings in the town as ‘These are common. I have seen many such cases in my experience.’

We call it ‘Understatement’ - again, a figure of speech in English language.

Why do people exaggerate or understate anything?

Well, although exaggeration and understatement seem opposite, the reasons behind them are common. Category one: usually such people have identity crisis and need to seek attention. Two: such people just want to get some benefit out of it by speaking like that.

After you judge that they are either exaggerating and understating, category one people become too irritating. All we can do is just ignore and keep distance from them.

There is another problem if we don’t judge them and their words. We tend to make wrong decision and

take incorrect actions. We may just ignore a disease that needs an immediate attention and treatment if a person understates its symptoms. We may get panic even for a negligible problem if we hear it from someone who exaggerates.

If we don’t judge properly, the real problem will be with people who exaggerate or understate for their benefit for their selfish motive. We may fall prey to their words. Attend any chain marketing meetings, they start with exaggerated words like ‘Do you want to be the owner of such Audi Q7 car in next 2 years?’ or understated words like: ‘Tata Punch? Mercedes GLA? Forget them. Even Audi Q7 car can be easily bought by the way you make money with our simple marketing plan!”

It's stupidity to stick to ‘Don’t be judgemental’ rule! We have to judge people. Your judgement may go false and you may arrive at different judgement later, but we must judge. Judgement is simply a process of observing something or someone keenly and arriving at a conclusion whether they suit us or not!

It’s not in our control to stop people from exaggerating or understating anything. They always either add more to the original or remove some essence from the original. But we have ‘the correction factor’ in our control.

Through proper observation and judgement, we must practice applying correction factor. It is simply the difference between ‘What they say’ and ‘what it actually is’. As we do this, we will understand, what they describe something as ‘a crime’ is actually just a common mistake, what they call something as ‘just a compromise’ is actually ‘lifetime suffering’.

It’s very dangerous if we don’t apply the correction factor when people speak about us. When anyone says ‘You are extraordinary’, I know I should apply the correction factor and reduce it to ‘You are just above ordinary’ and when someone says ‘You are fit for nothing’ I should apply the correction factor again and say to myself ‘I know, I don’t fit everything, but I’m sure something fits me and I fit many things.’

Amid all these, there are some people who neither try to seek your attention nor they have any selfish motive. Their words simply come out of love and creativity. Accept their exaggeration and take their understatement without any correction factors.