How the East was lost!

In the years to come, the period that we live in will go down, as the inexorable shift in power from the West to the East. It is a process that many would not really be able to see, because they are part of the change. We live that change.

The resurgence of Europe, that began in about 1500 AD, is finally drawing to a close. We always say that the west came good against the east, because, of greater technical superiority, but the truth is that the west, had borrowed much of its early mathematics from India and political thought from the Chinese.

Gunpowder came from the east & the Turks had the best artillery. Indian shipbuilders were the best and Chinese cartographers were amazingly good.

Why then was the east lost? If we had the best ships & charts, how did the Portuguese establish a stranglehold on the seas from West to East, as early as 1509. They were masters of the Indian Ocean & had landed at Goa ( Vasco Da Gama ) establishing a beachhead which as an event stands unparalleled even in comparison to the Allied landing on the beaches of Normandy, in France ( 1945 ).

How did the Portuguese achieve this? A careful analysis would indicate that they had the most literate naval gunners. Ship board artillery, or for that matter, any artillery at the time required a series of steps that were both complicated and called for precision, over the entire process. The more literate Portuguese seaman achieved this better than most! The British later turned drills into a religion and established solid processes which went like clockwork.

The situation, in most large organizations has not seen much of a change to this age. Policies & Procedures, Rules & Regulations, Quality Standards all require a fairly high degree of comprehension and verbal intelligence to understand and disseminate, to your peers, subordinates & bosses.It is seen to be belived, the quantum of confusion, a verbally challenged person creates at a workplace.

So, the next time somebody, in an interview or entrance test asks you what abatjour means, you won't cringe but will know what they are checking out!

Why did the east lose out ? Our forces had only two classes, the Upper Middle Class nobility & poor foot soldier who was illiterate. ( Our caste structure ). A clear disconnect. It is little wonder that the Europeans with their more literate soldiers called the shots for close to 400 years.

To keep the suspense down abatjour means- n. sky-light; device at window to throw light downwards.

Inconsequential, but you did not know the word!