Flashpoint paradox

It was just another episode of The Flash — season two. Bed-struck, I had my earphones plugged in to zone the world out. Barry Allen had lost his powers of moving lightning fast in the last episode; actually, he traded it with one of the evil speedsters — Zoom — in exchange for his step brother.

I know I might be sounding like a teenager who is obsessed with supernatural phenomena and who loves to waste time watching superhero movies, but one scene, or to be more specific, one particular dialogue in the episode struck me (I wish that gave me some superpowers too!).

Doctor Harrison Wells’ daughter, Jesse, helps Barry defeat Griffin Grey, a man who possesses superhuman strength but ages as he exerts more pressure on his muscles — not a ‘cool’ superpower.

Jesse, when called to help in trying to unearth Grey’s weakness, says that in Earth 2 — a parallel version of the real Earth which vibrates at a difference frequency — opting for five majors in high school/ university is normal.

What is so interesting about it? Well, if you think about it systemically, it is quite possible to do that in real life too. How, you ask? It is quite simple if parents know what to do exactly.

In the current digital age, information is just a click away. The main problem is converting trillions of terabytes of data into something knowledgeable for your son/daughter. The recent and the upcoming generation are well-informed about the use of technology. The kids now know how to surf through internet. Recently, one of my cousins was boasting about her 4-year-old daughter being able to stream episodes of an Indian soap on YouTube.

The only problem that might hinder this process is that of choice. The classic example of a knife being used to slice through a fruit and/or stab someone, deems fit in this case. The virtues will always be accompanied by vices. It is again, as always, up to the parents to help their kids differentiate between right and wrong in the digital space. One precautionary measure can be using parental controls.

However, the positivity of the digital age is up for grabs. According to Business and Learning expert Josh Kaufman, it takes only 20 hours of indulged practice to be good at something in contrast to 10,000 hours of practice required to master something.

So, should we look forward to students pursuing multiple majors soon enough? I hope so. Don’t you?

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2016.