Formula - the ones and twos

What is a Formula? It is a set way to do something, or to solve something. Like a linear regression model, or the famous Einstein equation which I have not understood what to do with.

Why are formulas important? For some of the same reasons that jargon is. It is familiar territory, and we feel comfortable with it. If you did not have a formula for something, you would need lots of experimentation to come up with some desirable or sensible result.

To descend into more understandable territory, there are formulas for a film, a book, or for a specific goal I found the wooing ritual a nice thing to observe, while in the U.S. and here. Since I am safely away from the age in which this usually happens, maybe I can be 'objective' about this.

In the days gone by, you wrote a letter to your beloved in English or whatever language. It was epitomised by Bollywood songs such as "Yeh mera prem patra padh kar..(When you read my love letter...)". With changing times, maybe the art of writing love letters gave way to direct questions like "Aati kya khandala (will you come to Khandala?) ". There were also some attempts to win over your lady with knight-in-shining- armour acts for a lady in distress, depending on the possibilities. Typically, group outings were common in the beginning, followed by furtive meetings alone in the days gone by.

A U.S. date typically would happen in going to a movie alone with your girlfriend, (as shown in many movies), or taking her out to a dinner and dance, or meeting her in a bar (for older guys over drinking age). The 'singles bar' is named as such, and is commonly used as a 'pick up' place with some known or improvised 'pick up lines' to help you with the process. Of course, the U.S. being a far more 'liberal' and 'individualistic' country, there were lots more of possibilities or variations of the themes.

But it was still the guy doing the hard work, most of the time. Part of the formula? Has it changed much? Don't know enough.




1 comment:

Diamond Head said...

I think there are no more formulae, just rampant confusion as evidenced by the popularity of 'Call me Maybe'

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