Why is anyone Sacrosanct ?

I'd like to stake the claim for the greatest understatement of all time when I say -  human beings are complex creatures! 
It should naturally follow that a nuanced understanding of a person is necessary prior to forming an opinion or a perception. 
If we were to break down nuance, it would mean 'applying the context test' - How does one behave under different circumstances - in public and more importantly when the guard is off. 
This being the case, it always amazes me when fan boys 'paint their devotion' in broad strokes. If a person is a good sportsman, he should be a good politician, scientist, super hero and everything in between....
Why do we lose sight of objectivity when we admire someone ? More importantly, how do we end up admiring someone so deeply ? 
Facebook is inundated with pages of fans who go out of the way to put their naivete and stupidity on display !!
Lately, some pages that I have been reading on Sachin Tendulkar and Abdul Kalam make me snicker and cringe which turns out to be quite a awkward feeling - to be honest!. 
My take is that admiration should not be over bearing and should be limited to respect for a perspective offered or a service rendered like in the case of admiring (some of) our teachers/professors. Ultimately it should be the - experiences of the self - of whom we should be fan boys of! - no ?


The effect of the attitude is pretty profound. It's the reason why actors and sportsman are paid the way they are for a 10 second commercial - even when they endorse competing products. 
It's also the reason for an increasingly partisan world - inadvertently most of us seem to be polarized around someone else's views as opposed to our own. In most cases, we don't have a view that's our own. 


That being said, I'd like to clearly state that there is nothing wrong in following a person as long as we have clearly understood the boundaries within which our admiration should operate. 
As long as we don't let go..


Disclosure 1 : Am a big admirer of Abdul Kalam myself. But in my opinion his fan boys make him look bad!
Disclosure 2 : Am an Objective fan of Sachin
Disclosure 3 : Am a Roger Federer and a Rahul Dravid fan boy, but only within the realms of their respective sports

On fan boy stupidity and perspective

One can be forgiven for wondering what the point of criticism is if it is all subjective! he's an optimist, he's a pessimist - what else is there to know ? 
But it was probably this exact rumination that would have lead to the invention/realization of the word - "Perspective"
At the end of the day, for anything that is out of the realms of science all we tend to have is a bunch of perspectives..After all as the Harvard historian Niall Ferguson puts it - You cannot have physics when the particles have consciousness which is a fancy euphemism for - You can't predict humans!
So what greater good do these perspectives serve ?
Not very much.. - I'm afraid - atleast in isolation!
Which is why it's really necessary to understand the following two words -
The Context and The Premise
The subjective to objective conversion of a perspective happens through a context or more appropriately within it. 
And for a Context to exist, there needs to be a Premise

Allow me to illustrate :
Perspective 1 - Roger Federer is the best player of all time
Perspective 2 - Rafael Nadal is a better player and is well on his way to being the best of all time
The classic choice that polarizes current Tennis fans.

Now let's apply a context that converts the subjective Perspective 1 into a more Objective Conclusion
Such a context could involve the following (and more):
- A better fast court game
- A better all court game
- Period from 2003 to 2008
- Adaptation to slowing down surfaces
- A game that banks on graceful, immaculate and breathtaking winners
So it would be fair to say that in the context of the above - Roger Federer is the best player of all time. 
But why would one choose the above context as opposed to a different one that substantiates Rafa. 
That would be because of the other word - The Premise - Someone who admires Roger and watches the game  - probably do so because they prefer the raw ability of someone timing a quick travelling ball to perfection for a winner - while -  the folks who watch Rafa may like the sheer - never say die attitude of chasing every ball - until the opponent tires out!
This being the case - It's easy to see the futility and stupidity of fan boy repartee when all and sundry can be summarized by a single line - 

It's the Context Stupid!

Which Brings Us To -