Can’t help but notice a specific kind of learner that has a lot in resemblance to snail, whose innate slowness and torpescence have shielded them from the tempting distractions, leaving them in a world that’s governed by surreal physics laws in which the inertia is at its maximum but fraction at its minimum as compensation for their lack of velocity and strength. A lot like the introverts, too, who turn a blind eye on the temptations and spend hours pondering before they set foot towards their goal. Often taunted and humiliated, but they always have their eyes on the prize like the criticism doesn’t bother them at all—their mucus protects their soft body from the particles and gravels along their pilgrim trip.
What’s the secret ingredient in their mucus then? The philosophy of stillness and the virtue of stability. In computational learning theory, a stable learning algorithm is one for which the prediction does not change much when the training data is modified slightly. The exactly same mechanism as that of the snails. The tranquil silence of motionlessness has taught them to be accustomed to their usual setting, maybe with a few incidents or X factors in the picture every now and then—nothing’s moving except their thoughts—making them the most likely candidates for meditation and epiphany. Because of their constantly inactive sensitivity, they fail to detect those minor changes that set each stimulus apart from each other, which probably explains their general lack of interest in mundane occasions. It takes longer for them to react to the external provocations coz they can’t see any differences in them. And it’s backed by the fact that there’re only a handful of categories for the everyday stuffs. Stimuli that should have worked perfectly on the introverts (who are prompt to take actions once a new entity presents itself), though, become dysfunctional in their universe since they’re not classified as something new in their unique perception. Hence, their system won’t register them as a hot spot that takes away their attention and their reaction won’t be as drastical as what we would have expected from most people. This process helps to intercept the most powerful link in human mind—the yearn for novelty. With their relatively primitive build-in detector for trivial details, they become less hard-wired to curiosity and display a rare quality: resilience.
The science of resilience, also known as adversary quotient (AQ), first coined by American psychologist Paul Stoltz in 1997 in his book Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities, refers to a person’s ability to deal with adversities in his or her life. Or a more popular equation quoted as:
Success = 20% IQ + 80% (EQ+AQ)
Paul developed an assessment method to help define people’s AQ from four dimensions:
· Control—People’s governance of the external environment, especially their ability to change despairing situations into more agreeable terms, works in their favor when things go south.
· Origin & Ownership—The initiative to take on responsibility and figure out solutions, even though that’s sometimes out of people’s fair share.
· Reach—The ability to narrow the range of influence exerted on people’s life.
· Endurance—The ability to carry on a mission with an unpleasant or difficult experience over a longer period of time.
The snails’ emotional stability is remarkably noted, or sometimes mocked as “a cold blood killer”; not that they’re incapable of feeling or sympathizing, but that it’s sometimes necessary to set aside their personal emotions to cope with a crisis or to return to pre-crisis status quickly. Their innate equanimity makes them undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind. The inner peace and harmony enable them to be resistant to most temptations, impulses and misconceptions. A lot like the philosophy of water described in Tao Te Ching: “In dwelling, it stays grounded. In being, it flows to depths. In expression, it is honest. In confrontation, it stays gentle. ” Maybe we shouldn’t have underestimated people who lead a snail type of lifestyle. Maybe it’s in them that divine resides.
The Philosophy of Stillness
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