To Believe or Not to Believe in Poochaandi

All of us have had our fair share of fears that scared the shit out of us at some point of time in life. Some of us might still be carrying those fears with us even after growing up. It could be the fear of darkness, heights, ghosts, certain objects etc.  Each one of us also has a unique mechanism to overcome it. One of which could simply be growing up and getting over it or by attempting to do things that scare us the most. But, fear of the unknown seems to haunt majority of us across all ages.

 During my Quora routine, I ran into a thread discussion about how Elon Musk overcame his fear of darkness. This is what he said:

“When I was a little kid, I was really scared of the dark. But then I came to understand, dark just means the absence of photons in the visible wavelength--400 to 700 nanometers. Then I thought, well, it's silly to be afraid of a lack of photons. Then I wasn't afraid of the dark anymore after that."

This to me is the most nonpareil strategy to overcome our fears. Science has always helped us rationalize our problems and offer solutions. By applying the first principle basics, we not only grasp things faster but also understand the fundamentals. Understanding the core principles of darkness helped Elon get over his fear. Being an Optometrist, never have I perceived darkness the way he has elucidated (concealing my face in shame)! As an ardent Elon fan, I adore him even more now.

On sharing this quote on Facebook, my cousin immediately asked me how to overcome the fear of Poochaandi? For those of you wondering, Poochaandi is a Tamil household word which means a ghost or a fearsome man (why is it a man and not a woman? I do not know). Poochaandi term is used to scare little children and trick them into finishing their meal or getting them to sleep  or be on their best behavior. By doing this, we adults sow the seed of fear in children and later criticize them for their cowardice.  This amplifies as a concept in their heads and the mind tricks them into believing and seeing apparitions.

So, how do we overcome the fear of ghosts or Poochaandi?  I am no Psychiatrist or Psychologist, but here are my two-cents based on first principles:

1.   Poochaandi- A monster

Anatomically, he is just a guy who is unusually tall, covered in scarred tissues because of some previous trauma and has unkempt nails and unruly hair. His frenzy behavior can be attributed to some mental sickness often left untreated. Now, is there a need to fear an un-hygienic sick man? No.

2.   Poochaandi- A ghost

·      Ghosts are supposedly negative energies. If there is negative energy, then there exists positive energy and they negate each other. So, nothing to get scared of.

·      Ghosts/spirits do not have physical bodies (as they are energies) and hence cannot cast a reflection on the mirror. Optically they are real images.  But, since they are also illusions/phantasms (figment of our imagination) projected by the mind of the percipient, they become virtual images. Why fear a virtual image?

It is all in our minds. Try to rationalize your fears and it could help you overcome them. Also, next time you see some-one scaring children by pulling a Poochaandi trick, please stop them. Or make them read my blog.