Ok this recording of thoughts business can get quite addictive. Perhaps it is the result of deactivating Twitter from my phone on weekdays? (for now)
I was thinking about writing the previous post – the response to the Spectator piece – and how much I would have enjoyed studying History. We were speaking about PhDs at dinner and the utility or futility of them – their role in social sciences etc. and whether there is a purpose beyond getting entry to an elite coterie in academia. These two statements have nothing to do with each other, just musings around the same area and hence recorded back to back.
A puzzle I had ordered for K before the lock-down, finally arrived today on re-ordering it (hurrah for Amazon services being back). It’s a jigsaw puzzle of the states of India on a map. I’m hoping he enjoys it and develops a liking for geography in general. I hope his room when he grows up has all kinds of maps in it. Parenting can be an absolute PITA at times but I look forward to enjoying shared interests.
And it kind of fell into place suddenly – I know what I want to leave him with (sounds more dramatic than I intended). Not a fortune – I’ll hopefully spend money we’ve earned while we can please, the selflessness of our parents generation seems to be too much to aim for. Nor with a legacy – I don’t think I’m going to have one, may his mother do one better. But with enough resources to enable him to pursue in life the things which truly interest him and drive him. To not need to make choices prioritized by money-making potential or the job-market only or other such idiosyncrasies which bothered so many of our generation until it was too late or they were too cowardly.
Of course one may not ‘discover’ a one true passion in life. In which case an MBA is always the right answer as I hopefully will be there to advice him about.
Yada Yada Yada 