It was my final viva of thermodynamics in third year of engineering. As usual, I was in the last group to enter the prof’s cabin on that day. The prof was also exhausted and so he decided to take it easy and ask simple questions to the group. He asked general questions to the two people sitting in right of me. When it was my turn he asked me: what is the mileage of your bike? I answered ‘it depends’. The prof was quite surprised to hear this answer, so he repeated his question. I replied the same. Having heard so many absurd answers during the day, he got pissed off with me and shouted at me. “Your bike will have an average of ‘x’ kms / liter. Don’t you know even so much basic…. get out of my room…..” From that day I dreaded the word ‘it depends’. I decided that engineers can never have an indefinite answer. Engineers need to have a single answer for everything. This thought got engraved in me to such an extent that I started finding out exact answers for everything.
But then, my thinking was challenged when I joined the management course. After coming to B-school I have judged the power of these two words. In fact these are now THE most important two words to me. These words are so powerful that they can be used anytime and anywhere and in any context. In fact context is the thing which makes these two words most relevant in any situation.
Consider a situation, a hypothetical situation which has been discussed in one of my classes a couple of times. You have just alighted from a train and you see a blind beggar having a few coins in his ‘katora’. Will you go and pick up a rupee from that ‘katora’? Definitely not. But consider another situation. You get down from a train where you overheard a couple of people talking about blowing up the train. You get down of the train and see that you do not have a change to make a call from the telephone booth (you are also not carrying your mobile – forgot at home). There is no one around except for a blind beggar, who has a few coins in his ‘katora’. What will you do? You can pick up a rupee from the beggar’s katora promising yourself that you will return that money to the beggar with interest and make a call. Now in both the situations, what will you do? Your response will be ‘it depends’, it depends on the context. No one will say that I will not make a call as I don’t have a change. You will pick up the coin from the beggar’s ‘katora’ and make a call. At least I will do so.
What do you think about corruption? Is it good or bad? By corruption I do not just mean transaction for liquid cash for getting some benefits. But corruption in any form. Ethically, yes, it is bad. But think practically. Think about a situation when you had to be a part of corruption. What will be your answer then? ‘it depends’. Yes really it depends on the situation, the context you are in.
Suppose you are working in a company which has to regularly import goods or need your goods to cross state border. For smooth functioning of the company’s operations, a specific sum is handed over to some influential person who sees to it that there are no problems for your goods to transfer from one point to another. If this timely transfer does not happen, it badly affects your supply chain and may even cost you your job. And you are against this type of corruption. So what do you do? The answer is ‘it depends’. If you are single and are in an employable position, you will resign and search for a new job and not be a part of the corruption. But if you have a family to support, you will crib, but will still continue with the job and at the same time look for another better job (a better job is not guaranteed and hence you may have to stick to the current job).
So in both these situations what has changed? It’s the context that has changed. And that has made you change even though you did not want to change.
Going back to my college viva, today I think that the answer which I had given was actually correct. Doesn’t the average of my bike depend on the road I am driving on - a busy road in a city or a highway? Doesn’t it depend on the fuel which I use, like Speed or normal petrol, etc etc..
Hence, everything depends on the context in which you are. The context moulds you and you do as per the requirement of time. History may judge your actions as correct or incorrect. But you always chose the correct action depending upon the circumstances which were in front of you at that moment of time. You can analyze most of the situations this way.
So now, if anyone asks me a question, my first answer is ‘it depends’. It also helps me think in other directions rather than just thinking unidirectionally. It channelizes the mind to think of all the possible pros and cons related to the issue. It helps in refining the decision and making a better decision.
PS: I was never in such a love with any subject that I wanted to study it the second time (especially thermodynamics). Because of my good conduct in the class, I was given another chance to appear for the thermodynamics viva the next morning. This time the prof was cautious and so was I. He carefully asked me such questions for which there was one and only one absolute answer (there was no chance of ‘it depends’ in those questions).
These are my personal views. I have used certain events from my life to build up a story. It has nothing to do with any course, or teacher or any other person, living or dead.