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. 

Optometry Humour

John Watson: Are you familiar with a photon particle?
Sherlock: It is elementary, my dear Watson!

Cop: Stop! Do you know you were speeding at 29979245 m/s? What are you on?

Photon: Nothing! I'm always a "light" traveller.

What did the photon tell MgF2?
- U R destructively interfering between the lens & me.

Why was "light" facing identity crisis?
- It was unable to decide between wave or a particle

What do Optometrists get when they go tricker treating on Halloween ?
-Eye Candy

What do eye lids do when they angry?

- They lash out

Why do Optometrists avoid blind dates?
- They find it difficult to break the eyes.

Why did the teacher ask her students to go to a prism?

- She wanted them to come out with flying colours.

How would Tim Cook describe iContact lenses if they ever get launched? 

-Apple of my eyes

Why did the address book wear spectacles? It lost all it's contacts

Right Eye:Sir Ur number? Left Eye:(666)666 666 RE: woah that is Satanic. LE: Yes,I'm Oculus Sinister

What do Optometrists and Woodcutters have in common? They are both obsessed with the sharpness of their axes

Why did Inferior Oblique get convicted? Because, it got involved in extorsion and adbuction

A simple pair of glasses can bring a huge change to an individual. Boom! #Superman becomes #ClarkKent

An eye for an eye makes.... a successful corneal transplant.

What kind of a relationship does telescopes have with binoculars? A:Long distance Did I go too far??

What do #Optometrists and #Pirates have in common? A: Both of them take eye patching seriously.

What colour would you wear to a Rainbow themed party? A. White

P1: How did you feel after undergoing LASEK? P2: Powerless

I prefer to use concave lenses while doing math. It minimises the problems for me.

Being amblyopic and claustrophobic is too much crowd work for a stand up comedian..

A friend: You look a bit fat from this angle.. Me: Optoms, Stops prescribing plus cylinders!!

What did the mother eye tell her lethargic kid? A: You are such a "Lazy Eye"

With great power comes..... well, thicker glasses.

What did one eye say to another when it got bored? Hey, let's converge.

Knock Knock Whose there? Light. Cornea: Light who? Let me enter, only then you can see..

What is Retina's favourite subject? A. Geometry. As it is all about rods,cones&cylinders

In the Ocular world, who would make the best leader? A. Cornea, because it believes in transparency.

Child birth in ocular world would be very easy. The pupil dilates effortlessly!

How can one conquer the globe successfully? - by wearing Scleral contact lenses -Borrowed& enhanced

Operation: Vision Puzhal Prison

The World Optometry Day events that I was a part of this year shall remain indelible to me. As a whimsical person, I always loved to be a part of uncommon, adventurous and fun filled events and experiences. This event was one such an experience.  Being a part of India Vision Institute,I got an opportunity to be a part of the team that handles the Community Vision Screening Programs. We organized a vision screening camp for the inmates of Puzhal Prison in Chennai, which is claimed to be one of the biggest prisons in Asia.

The very thought of getting inside a prison that mammoth drove immense excitement through my veins. I mean, how many of us would get a chance to walk the corridors of a Prison without getting arrested? Scenes from various con movies and shows ran past my eyes and I was completely lost in imagination and anticipation. As an ardent fan of the Prison break series, I was hoping to find a doppel of Micheal Scofield (I mentioned I am whimsical,so no face palm guys) or some story as intriguing as theirs. 23^rd March, the big day arrived and we all set forward for the most anticipated event of this year at work.  A small team of about 5 optometrists including me entered the gigantic gates of the Prison.  After going through a tight security check we proceeded towards the auditorium to start our screening. After making brief arrangements we set up our vision charts, reading charts, retinoscopes in position. I had a small presentation prepared on general eye care to share with the inmates. It was highly welcomed and immensely appreciated. Little did they know the amount of preparation I put in mastering the Ocular conditions in Tamil. It was a task. I sat down with my aunt and learnt the Tamil equivalent of all the salient words. But, in vain. I was grappling with the words. So I decided to switch to student mode. What else?? Bittu tha (chits as prompters) I wrote down the Tamil equivalent words in Hindi and English. .I successfully delivered the talk three times in three different jails. As a trainer I had delivered sessions to a variety of eye care practitioners such as optometry students, educators, ophthalmologists, opticians etc. but this was disparate. Discipline was an absolute code of conduct. It was the most organized screening I have ever been to. We were under the assumption that making the inmates read the distance and near vision charts would be a herculean task, but their literacy levels were pretty good and all of them were able to read at least one language and thanks to my clinical experience at L.V. Prasad, I remember the N6, N12 and N36 lines of every language in the book by heart even now. It was surprising how neither I nor my team members encountered a single non-compliant inmate. All the inmates underwent a complete vision assessment, objective and subjective refraction and torch light examination. Free spectacles were given to those with refractive errors and those with an Ocular condition were referred to secondary and tertiary eye care centers. As I have been dealing with other areas of optometry over the last few years, this experience helped me jog my memory about the clinical skills I learnt during my internship. I got nostalgic about my internship days at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute and Bausch & Lomb School.

 It has been a wonderful journey so far. My work experiences have always been a mixture of education and fantasy put together, which according to me is quite an interesting blend. I conclude this post with a hope of being a part of many such interesting and unique experiences in life.

Until then- What happens in Vagueness stays in Vagueness...
Here are a a few pics: