Things I wish I knew more about

I have a lot of random knowledge about things like history, sports, politics and Beatles music, which make me a handy companion at pub quizzes. But I’m someone who loves a good bottle of ‘whine’, so I also spend a lot of time thinking about what I don’t know, or am not interested in, and how bad that is. Here’s a few of them:

Science: I know this is a broad topic, but I wish I was better at understanding or inclined to understand more about science. I was rubbish at science-related subjects in school, in fact, I was pretty good at everything else, but really bad at Physics, Chemistry and Biology. I was glad to get rid of it at the age of 16, and haven’t studied it since. But I do wish I had more of an interest in it, and an appreciation for how things work. It even affects me in daily life, where something as simple as changing batteries is something I can do, but that I still get nervous about getting wrong. And then when I see all these super-smart people designing things, and finding vaccines, I really start to wonder what I’m contributing to the world. Sigh.

Music: I love music, especially that of The Beatles, but have only a superficial appreciation of it. I tried learning the guitar and piano when I was younger but wasn’t very good at it nor did I have the patience needed to get better. It’s fascinating to me how songs are written and composed, and the inspiration behind them. When I listen to music, I wish I had the ability to understand it at a deeper level, to identify the intricacies and technicalities, which would lead to a much more well-rounded appreciation of it.

Cricket: I’ve watched cricket for 25 years now, but I still don’t completely understand it. Of course, I know all the rules and can rattle off stats at any time, but there’s also so much in-depth stuff I don’t know about the game. I played it for a bit when I was younger, as almost all Indian kids did, but never at any level remotely close to serious. It’s an extremely technical game, with a lot of strategies involved. After listening to ‘experts’ talk about, there are so many terms that I know of but have no idea what they actually mean. It’s sad that I don’t know so much about the one sport that I’ve watched all my life.

Foreign languages: I can speak 3 languages, which is 2 more than a lot of people, so I should probably feel okay about this one. But then again, other than English, they’re not widely spoken languages in the world, so it doesn’t really matter all that much. I mean, it’s not going to give me an advantage in getting a job. I wish I knew one of French, Spanish, Portuguese or Mandarin. I don’t think I have a natural affinity towards learning languages, I tried downloading this app a few months ago, but struggled to make much headway using it. Or maybe I’m just old now, and it’s harder to learn something when you’re old. I think the only way I’d learn a new language is if I was forced to, or if I could see the tangible benefit from doing so; the days of learning just as a hobby are gone.

Sci-fi/Fantasy/Superhero movies: Don’t know if sci-fi is the right genre to classify these into, but I’m talking about stuff like Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel, Lord of the Rings etc. People go crazy about these franchises (?), but I couldn’t care less about them. I guess for a lot of people, they’re associated with childhood memories, but I never watched them growing up and so find them difficult to relate to. Also, I was never really into fictional stuff anyway, I’ve always preferred to read and watch things that are related to ‘real people’ AKA human beings. Anything else just doesn’t take my fancy. But when I see people, including Akanksha, fanboy and fangirl over them and endlessly discuss characters, fan theories and lines from their favourite movies, I tend to feel left out. I’ve given them a shot too, but it’s extremely boring for me.

Friends: I mean the show, not actual friends. It’s one of the most popular shows ever, and it’d be fair to say that it’s still THE most popular English sitcom in India. I’ve watched it, but I don’t find it funny at all. I mean, it has a few fun moments, but I don’t see why it’s hyped up so much. Maybe it’s because it was the first English sitcom a lot of Indians watched? I also dislike shows which have a laugh track, I find that insulting to the viewer, like they’re saying “laugh when I tell you to!”. It’s also my bias speaking because in general, I dislike American humour and so a lot of their sitcoms aren’t funny to me. Their political and crime shows, on the other hand, I can’t get enough of because no one does drama better than the Americans. And if people like it, that’s fine, I’m not telling anyone to dislike it just because I do. But the reactions you get when you tell someone you’re not a fan of the show, “OMG, you don’t like FRIENDS? I’ve watched all 10 seasons THRICE! We can’t be friends any more hahaha!” Okay? I’m honoured that you needed my validation for your fandom.

Cars: The things all my friends used to talk about growing up was sports and cars. Sports I could talk about forever and was considered somewhat of the ‘go-to’ guy for sports trivia. At the other end of the spectrum though, was my knowledge and interest in cars. I never subscribed to any of the car magazines that my friends would, and would find all of it very dull. As long as a car gets me from one place to another in one piece, I’m good. It’s strange because, for a while, I did watch a lot of Formula One racing, but that was again very superficial, but I was a fan of the drivers, not so much the cars or teams at all.

Business Strategy: It’s scary to write this considering I have an MBA, but I wish I had a better idea or a natural flair for doing business. I watch a lot of Shark Tank, and the questions the Sharks ask always make me feel super dumb. It seems like there’s so much to think about when you’re running a business, which is probably why I’ll go through life being a salaried employee. It’s a lot to handle, and also seems too complex for me to understand.

Thank you for reading!