THE knowledge of experience guides us to assert opinions, and enables us to defend them if challenged. That knowledge comes from passing through the gauntlet of the pursuits that produce, at times, negative and depressing outcomes, as well as inspiring, self-assuring ones, that, combined, lead to the reality of knowing. Knowing does not evolve through speculation and opinions that come through guesswork, based on the confident whys and wherefores offered by well-intentioned close friends. Because many people accept opinions based on who previously voiced it, as in persons they admire, to concede may be robbing oneself of empowering information that will support one’s self-confidence in an endeavour that may change your life positively, had you stayed the course. Observation and research are gateways to clarifying why many of the ideas, supposedly based on truth, turn out to be disappointing, or, at the least, questionable, especially in situations that turn out to be embarrassing for us, had we ignored the above. In this article, I want you to take the touted idea that there are no compatibilities in ‘The Arts and Sciences’ as a reference example, sometimes voiced by people, we are sure, are in the know.

“Science and The Arts share creativity. And I believe that this creativity allows us to see and accomplish feats, and become people that did not exist before. We build on experiences and existing knowledge and capabilities. With science, we impact the world through our understanding and mastery of universal experiences. And via The Arts, we influence by finding universality in experiences that began with the personal. The Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, named for my mother, works for people to excel across all disciplines, and in whatever they do.” (Dr. Mae Jemison, M.D. VANITYFAIR 2016/2017 Dec.)

The foregoing statement from an accomplished pool of experiences should be followed by another. I came into contact with the world of Einstein’s work through curiosity, and by weaving a concept around an illustrated Sci-fi idea. So, I bought the special issue of DISCOVER MAGAZINE, Collector’s edition 2013 to find out what were his inner thoughts. I didn’t agree with everything he said, but all were honest. What I will share is what his son, Hans Albert Einstein told an interviewer about his father’s secret sanctuary: “He often told me that one of the most important things in his life was music. Whenever he had come to the end of the road, or into a difficult situation in his work, he would take refuge in music, and that would usually resolve all his difficulties.” Thus, if we harm ourselves through a closed mind, all it means is that we stand alone in a world of lessons that we have ignored.

Now, closer to home, an article published in the August 8, 2021 edition of the Stabroek Weekend and written by Joanna Dhanraj featured an engineer named Hubert George, a man whose professional life had nothing to do with The Arts and Culture, but because he was raised with folk music permeating his childhood universe, his love for the subject was reactivated seriously through the influences of the late Combo 7 string-band guitarist, Clive David.

It so transpired that David was able to inspire this industrial professional, himself a guitarist, to proceed once more to engage our folk music, this time around by preserving this profound area of our national heritage, exploring access through his website.

INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY
We have not yet correctly, if ever possible, analysed the connections of human faculties to the gift of innovation and creativity. What is evident, however, is that there is much noise and fog that fills the space where certainty has not yet filled. But an open mind and observation always lights the torch through the fog. Humans are multifaceted, but to earn ‘acceptance’ and ‘a living’, one can and will suppress latent gifts to their own detriment. For example, years ago, I happened to work at the ‘Guyana Rice Board (GRB)’, in the re-milling plant. Contrary to what is believed, so-called blue-collar workers were ardent readers. Novels were exchanged; no one let you go without some equal novel exchange. Styles of writers were debated upon; you received a Louis L’Amour for another of his books; a Sven Hassel for kind; a Frederick Forsyth for kind, and so on. So, I was astonished when I approached an official some years ago on a project that involved books, and he replied, “They don’t read” in reference to some areas. So, then, how come so many vendors made a living by having book exchanges and second-hand book sales stands in all the markets of Georgetown?

But my most important memory of the GRB rests with a clerical staff who came to me and asked if I wrote and illustrated comic books. My response was that it was a work in progress, because I had not finished anything yet; that my art was ‘cummerish’ and stories were not yet shaped, but I did do some rough cartoons about some supervisors on cardboard at GRB that gave workers a laugh. The thing with this fellow, when he brought some sketches to show me, he was good; better than I was. I encouraged him to do ‘strips’, like in the newspapers. His response shocked me. He said if he did that, then he would be disinherited. He was in accounts; and so was his father. We communicated and exchanged views on that creative area. He started drinking with his crew at top downtown places, and after the fire in 1977 that destroyed GRB, we lost contact. In conclusion, if that young accountant was allowed to embody interests in both areas, he may have naturally developed the equilibrium of a soul expressing all of its gifts.