Maria Popova’s ‘Figuring’ - The Human Perseverance for Truth

I am eternally in awe of experts - people who have built a niche for themselves through years of study and deep understanding of their fields. I’ve always been a generalist. Teach me anything and I will surprise you with the speed at which I imbibe it, and further apply it. But I haven’t truly mastered anything yet. And so, reading Maria Popova’s Figuring, puts me in deep thought even in the middle of the first chapter. Here’s a woman who has consumed so much literature, and applied it masterfully and uniquely to connect dots that laypeople like me cannot even see, much less recall.

But this isn’t about Popova. It is about the subjects of her brilliant book - scientists, writers, artists, mathematicians. A book that weaves a narrative as fine as mesh, traversing centuries, continents and the cosmos. Starting with Johannes Kepler who defined the laws of planetary motion and sowed the seeds for countless other studies in the future, to Harriet Hosmer who paved the way for women in art, or the poet Emily Dickinson - each figure in this book has been a catalyst in the world as it existed. Reading about them in a book with pages so crisp that I can almost smell the press, I am transported into their world centuries ago - a world that considered itself the centre of the universe and deemed anyone who dared question this self-importance blasphemous. And yet, the human quest for truth persevered. Scientists, theologians, poets, mathematicians, all devoted their entire lives, health and income, to the pursuit of the truth. Such dogged commitment and passion is as alien to us as the idea that the sun revolves around the Earth. But those were different times. And much was at stake, sometimes quite literally even those bearing any controversial theories.

What then, enabled these people to resist the tide, risk their all, and persist - day after day, until those days turned into years, and the years into their lifetimes? I find part of the answer in a line from the book itself. Popova, while describing Maria Mitchell’s dicovery of a new telescopic comet, writes -

‘What invigorated Maria Mitchell that evening, and what would drive her for the remaining decades of her life, was not the king’s medal, nor the lustre of worldwide recognition, but the sheer thrill of discovery - the ecstasy of having personally chipped a small fragment of knowledge from the immense monolith of the unknown, the elemental motive force of every sincere scientist.’

Living in a time when one had the chance to pioneer change, to leave the world with something that could impact its understanding for generations to come, to herald the truth when superstition was commonplace, must be reasons potent enough to devote entire lives to. Consider the sharp contrast to our fast-paced, attention deficit, fast format consuming generation.

Self-actualization for people like Kepler, Darwin, Dickinson, and the like, came from creating value for countless others. They were driven by a cause much larger than themselves. Self-actualization today is much more about the self and much less about our contribution to the world. Well, one could argue that many of today’s artists, scientists, poets, are much like their medieval counterparts - struggling to earn money while holding on to their passion by a thread, or fighting for queer rights and abortion laws (the 21st Century equivalent of trials against science labelled as witchcraft and heresy). But you would be pressed to find many who are willing to sacrifice their all. Our world today has both expanded to include every corner of the Earth and condensed into intimate communities. While most of us may no longer have the opportunity to make ground-breaking discoveries, we still have the power to touch lives. What I am convinced about is that we must - all of us - find a cause before self-absorption spirals us into a wormhole of mental issues.

I have often found that people who are truly busy find the time to do everything. It really is all about priorities. Teaching kids from neighbouring low-income households can help you unwind more than Netflix can. Even dedicating time to mentoring a cousin, helping your mom learn a new skill, taking small steps towards charity, feminism, or a cleanliness drive, are worthwhile pursuits. The world we have been given is a result of bloodshed and sacrifices - a world infinitely more equitable than the one Sylvia Plath and Kepler inhabited. We must ensure that our legacy is not like our reels - entirely self-absorbed, transient, and of no real value to anyone, not even ourselves.