ARE YOU BRILLIANT?

HOW MANY OF YOU ARE BRILLIANT?

A few months back I received an email from someone in Lagos, Nigeria.The sender whose name I do not wish to reveal wrote to me that he has been keenly reading my articles on the ‘Trainers’ forum’ and is totally impressed by my ‘brilliance’ .He also added that he has visited my website and was indeed in admiration of my credentials as a trainer in lateral thinking .Now his proposal was as follows: He was a senior researcher at a research Institute in Lagos and his institute planned to organize a seminar on Business growth between India and Nigeria. Would I chair a discussion on Innovation? He would make all arrangements for my travel and stay at Lagos and would compensate me handsomely. The list of luminaries who had already endorsed this venture was impressive and included the ‘current’ Indian ambassador to Nigeria, a certain Mr .Krishnan.

HOW MANY OF YOU ARE BRILLIANT?

Now internet addicts like me will tell you that emails from Nigeria are to be simply deleted . I decided to string along . I visited the website of the Lagos Institute and could see that they were apparently doing good work. Now as a trainer in lateral thinking and an author of a few books I was keen to see how far this story went. I am nothing if not a healthily skeptical guy—a subject on which I have written in these columns. I decided to make some preliminary enquiries. I contacted a friend of mine who had worked in Lagos and had recently returned to Mumbai. He pointed out an anomaly—the said Mr. Krishnan had long since left his ambassadorial post in Lagos and there had been two envoys after him.I decided all was not well with that invitation.

I write this to bring to the notice of readers a new type of guy who operates on the net. While there is a revival in Somalia of a very ancient type of bandit –the pirate-the new type is called the Internet bandit. There are at least 15 ways in which one can sense an internet bandit stalking you. Those interested may contact me about this.

I remember receiving an email that talked about a major medical breakthrough based in research in John Hopkins at Baltimore. This ‘ breakthrough’ interested me since I knew a few people who suffered from the ailment that was written about. I decided to talk to my doctor friend at John Hopkins Dr Mehra. Before I could talk to him I received another email this time from the John Hopkins research centre disclaiming that any research breakthrough had been achieved.

These days another fraudulent product is floating in the market .It is the size of a 50 paise coin and it is recommended to be affixed on your mobile phone in order to protect you from the supposedly dangerous effects of radiation. A friend told me that this product has received scientific certification and details are available on the website of the manufacturer –as if the net and the website were a guarantee of authenticity and quality. Two days ago a dealer in Tamilnadu has lodged a complaint with the police that this product for which he was charging Rs 375 was a total fake .The scientist Dr Appaswamy from a lab in California cited as the one who endorsed the product said that he had never endorsed it. The lab that is said to have certified it also denied any certification.

What are we simple folk to do to protect ourselves against such frauds? Just cultivate healthy skepticism. In case of emails relating to your health for example just do not blindly rely on internet or media articles .Simply consult your competent medical specialist. If there is a sucker born every minute there is also a fraudster born every minute. Paradoxically it has become easier now than in the past to fool people. Just ask Bernie Madoff .

Next time you get an email from a lady in Costa Rica to the effect that her husband, a deceased cabinet minister, has left a hundred million dollars and this lady trusts ONLY you to help her access that money you know what to do. So also when you are told that your email id has been selected for a million dollar award you ought to do what my friend Miller’s wife did .She wrote back as follows ‘I am overjoyed at this news. Just deduct half that amount as your service charges and send me half a million dollars!”

Also distrust anyone who refers to you as ‘brilliant’!

K.R.RAVI

WWW.KRRAVCI.COM