The "Cool" Research

 Yes, till now, we all thought research was something serious, tedious and very boring business. Research is the new buzz word. You can have research on-  why tomatoes are red, to signs if your boyfriend/ spouse is cheating on you, to why some people twitch their nose when nervous/ angry, to anything and everything is backed by research these days. So, any topic or question can have both for and against sides backed by 'research'. It can make things clear, but can also confuse at the same time. Professionals can manufacture results even before the research starts, guaranteeing the desired results even before the research starts. They can mold facts and figures to suit the position you may want to take. Every tobacco, alcohol, soap, chips, toothpaste is backed by 'research' these days. One day you read in the newspapers that mobile phones are bad for you, next day next research says, umm they are not so bad, until such and such conditions. Research is conditional, contexual and prone to change every day in these changing times.

I have had the experience or should I say, as my (bad) luck would have it, working with people who have had different ideas about research, the idea as well as the process!(For the uninitiated, please read my profile, which says freelance/ independent researcher! And future recruiters, if you are reading this, I of course, meant old bad people I worked with, not you!!)

  So, lets go back to the main topic, Research, well, as Wikipedia, says, Research and experimental development is creative work undertaken systematically to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications (OECD (2002). It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research)! Absolutely!

But, that is what books say. What happens when not nerds/boring academicians, but Cool people get in the 'business' of doing research. They always want you to think 'out of the box'. 'Be creative'. But the problem remains, on how to undo your years of learning to do boring serious stuff to now suddenly make it 'cool'.
  I have heard people in seminars come up with such glossy presentations, stats and all the jazz, saying so much without saying anything substantial. A lot of my friends term it 'hawa-baazi', or talking in the air. But,they are impressive, mind you. You would be charmed, but maybe after some time your brain cells would kick in to say,'hey, what was that all about, really'? Well, answer is, 'Lord, forgive them, for they know not, what they say'! (coz they mean nothing, just like mindless Hindi film songs' lyrics which are put in just for effect- kuchi kuchi rakma, humma humma, chintatata & so on!).

 There is another group who do not want to go through paragraphs of reports, they just do not have the time to read! They want you to make flying balloons on the paper and put words inside them. The 'research' should be attractive, nice, creative, pleasing to the eye and just should not tax your eyes or mind with long paragraphs! Research should not look academic, it should be 'fun'! Only, I do not know if we can apply the same formula to read hunger, cancer, inequality and serious problems, well if God, didn't make them pretty, can we?  

 And then there are more very serious types, who can write realms of serious paragraphs on every serious topic under the sun. They are so serious that you can actually hear people snore in the background whenever they speak. They can never take the hint that they are boring people to death, everything is a matter of life and death for them. World is a bad place with problems going from bad to worse, how can you smile, in such a situation. They will not stop until they snatch your smile and drive you to tears like the rest of the world's population, which is hungry and depressed!

So, the question is would you rather listen to something which does not tax your mind or go for something which would make you cringe to the point that you would not stop, either you would go for 'revolution' or would commit suicide! Choice is yours, really!