Something about numbers...

In one of the episodes of NUMB3RS,

Charlie Eppes: Larry, something went wrong, and I don't know what, and now it's like I can't even think.

Dr. Larry Fleinhardt: Well, let me guess: you tried to solve a problem involving human behavior, and it blew up in your face.

Charlie Eppes: Yeah, pretty much.

Dr. Larry Fleinhardt: Okay, well, Charles, you are a mathematician, you're always looking for the elegant solution. Human behavior is rarely, if ever, elegant. The universe is full of these odd bumps and twists. You know, perhaps you need to make your equation less elegant, more complicated; less precise, more descriptive. It's not going to be as pretty, but it might work a little bit better. Charlie, when you're working on human problems, there's going to be pain and disappointment. You gotta ask yourself, is it worth it?

Yep he's right. After much disappointment of not getting into Medical School (which I am thankful for), I found my path, and am still working on it. I know I'm not that smart in Maths, I like things to be certain and explainable.

When you work with numbers or trying to prove or solve a problem, there are guidelines and theories to support your work. And you can explain and understand the logic behind the explanation. If it can't be expressed mathematically, it's not a fact, but opinion. We all know that different people have different opinion and everyone has the right to their own opinion.

However, working with human problems is a whole different story. I didn't take any psychology paper (but my sister is doing her post grad is psychology..sheesh), but when you're studying the human behavior, you're proving more elusive than expected. Why? Because everyone is unique and the theories and philosophies doesn't always fit the person. We are all different in our thinking, our environment, education and beliefs.

For instance, take a human problem, say, being unfaithful in a relationship. You see, if you have experienced a relationship whereby your partner was unfaithful to you, when you move on in another relationship, there's a big possibility that you'll be more careful in choosing your partner or trusting him or her. But how fair is it to the new person in your life? He/ She may not have any intention of being unfaithful to you, but because you have that one bad experience, you sorta not trust him/ her truly. It's a sad theory. And the inequality degree of trustness cannot be explained through universal theories. The logic behind it is fuzzy and reasons are left dangling.

Now I understand what Dr. Larry Fleinhardt meant when he said when working on human problems, there's gonna be pain and disappointment. And I guess we need to ask ourselves sometimes, is it worth it..? You know the answer.