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It’s a symptom of a series of much larger problems.First is the democratization of expertise in the mind of the people. Now, this isn’t a problem for everyone, and in fact it’s exactly why Quora exists, but it’s a huge problem for two classes of people:politicianspeople who have made a living horking lies (like “illegal immigrants don’t have constitutional rights,” just as an example of one I’ve dealt with this very day), half-truths, and historical obfuscations.but the problem is that those folks are one-trick ponies. So when expertise was democratized by the internet, and suddenly anyone with google and a bare knowledge of proper research methodology could make a youtube video highlighting why everything we’ve been taught was wrong (Adam Connover of College Humor managed to make an entire TV show out of this, and it’s excellent), those who made money off of being wrong about history or law or politics or biology or chemistry or whatever were being debunked and the only thing they could think to do was just shout more. And louder. The big blowback on democratization of expertise is that, uh, not all of us are sociologists or economists or lawyers or engineers or policy professionals or historians. We can be wrong. And with so many opinions out there, it’s way easier to be wrong than it is to be right. The sage seeks out information. Gobs of it. Reams of it. As much information as possible. Because the more information you take in, the more likely it is that the correct answer to whatever’s vexing you will become apparent and unambiguous.The next problem is an electorate polarized (intentionally) by fear. Fear of _______ has motivated and informed our thinking for quite a long time now, but it’s really apparent in the last few months. Fear of change, fear of stagnation, fear of immigrants, fear for immigrants, fear of Muslims, fear of autocracy… Everyone’s afraid of something and all of those fears are outing right now. Story time: I used to be terrified of tornadoes. And not in the “well that’s a natural response to a legitimately dangerous violent weather phenomenon” kind of way, I was really scared. Like, it was ridiculous. Even by my own standards. I beat the fear by learning everything there was to know about tornadoes. I’m now down to the “healthy respect for something that can kill the shit out of you” level. I told you that to tell you this: we’re all looking for the bit of information that will calm us down. Quora is a bit left-of-center in many regards, and so information on Quora tends to favor one view over another, BUT NOT BY VERY MUCH. Quora isn’t a hive of hyperliberalism, unless you’re basically Rush Limbaugh and have lost the ability to distinguish between a person who doesn’t give a shit and a Red infiltrator and you call the bag of chips you can’t get open a commie and shout about private property and stand your ground laws at dogs walking through your lawn. Otherwise, the views here are pretty moderate, but still just a little bit to the left. The kind of person who asks questions on Quora is typically the kind of person who is very worried by what they’re seeing on the news and is looking for that democratized expertise.Another problem is kind of ancillary to the democratization of expertise problem. Because we’ve democratized so much expertise, many places are putting conceptual and ideological babies to bed that have been problems for a long time and as problems go, are pretty basic. The internet generation has essentially fixed a whole slew of basic shit and now we’re on to mechanically advanced things. Questions regarding law, for example. We no longer argue about “is this constitutional or not,” we’re now at “how has this been interpreted by lower courts and what past rulings of sitting SCOTUS justices can we use to predict how the high court will rule?” Or, more at-our-level, “what effect would a 9th circuit court of appeals stay have on an executive order?” We’re no longer at the Schoolhouse Rock Bill-on-Capitol-Hill stage of the discussion, and that’s a conversation that’s happening younger and younger. More intelligent or at least more technical questions are on the minds of the young people of the day. And if you have a technical question, what better place to ask it than where you can get an answer from someone who just so happens to be a specialist in that field?To summarize, Quora is an amazing platform for a variety of reasons and purposes. It’s a place where people seek information. And being forthcoming has not been the administration’s strong suit, people are desperately seeking information from experts. And we have a lot of experts here. So that’s why there are so many Donald Trump questions.

I’ve had plenty of people be rude to me over my anxiety and depression, but I let karma deal with them.No, the two stories I’m going to share aren’t about me. They’re about my late grandmother.My grandmother died of stage IV small-cell lung cancer. She likely was sick for at least a year prior to being formally diagnosed (doctors passed it off as COPD although she had several abnormal blood tests until she finally went to the emergency room and was admitted). To give you an idea of just how sick she was, when we got the initial diagnosis her doctors talked about radiation and chemotherapy in combination as a treatment. In under a week (the time it took for her to get set up with an oncologist), she was informed that she was no longer a candidate for radiation because the tumor had doubled in size and was now too close to her heart. Chemotherapy was the only option, and if she had waited even another week to go to the doctor, she would have died before we ever knew what was wrong with her. Her treatment extended her time to nearly 6 months.For those of you fortunate enough to never have had cancer or see someone go through it day-to-day, it’s horrifying. There’s a saying that, “if the disease doesn’t kill you, the treatment will.” Chemo and radiation have a whole host of awful side effects that are in some cases worse than the cancer itself. Everyone reacts differently to treatments, but seldom do people come through it with no side-effects. In my grandma’s case, it was severe nausea and constipation, coupled with whole-body aches that would last for two days after the round of chemo had ended.Although she remained completely mentally competent and did relatively well for as sick as she was, my grandma was in bad shape. 99% of the time she depended on either her oxygen machine at home or portable oxygen in big, clunky tanks that you couldn’t be sure were actually full when they were delivered. Toward the end of her life, we actually had to take two vehicles to doctor’s appointments because we had too much oxygen to transport in one vehicle without a special license and it created an explosion hazard. She was on such a high level of oxygen by that point that she feared running out while still in the waiting room (and actually did, on one occasion).The first incident happened on a good day for her. This was when her first chemo drug had actually been shrinking the tumor. She said that she felt better than she had in the past year and a half, and we spent the day putting her affairs in order. My fiance and I were driving her to various places and she decided that before we went home, she wanted us to get our flu shots. (Number one, she didn’t want us getting sick. Number two, her doctors recommended it to protect her -and she’d had a flu shot in the hospital-since her immune system was compromised from chemo. Number three, we couldn’t go in the infusion room with her without a flu shot unless we wore masks.)We think it’s a good idea, so we stop off at Kroger to visit the pharmacy. My grandma had a handicap tag that she could hang from the rear-view mirror of any vehicle she was riding in. We hung it up so we could park close for her and get her out of the December cold faster. Like I said before, she was having a pretty good day, so she hopped out of the van and walked up to the entrance without her oxygen tank. In fact, that is the LAST time I ever remember her walking anywhere without taking it with her. My fiance and I were thrilled at how well she was doing. We actually started to have hope that maybe her cancer would go into remission if the chemo kept working. On that one day, to the average person, she might not have “looked” sick. She and my fiance went on ahead (he insisted on walking with her, worried that the pavement might be slippery) and I stayed back for a moment to lock up the van and make sure her oxygen tanks were secure.To this day, thinking about this experience makes my blood boil. I’m so glad my grandma didn’t actually witness this act of ignorance. As I’m locking the van, a middle-aged woman walks up from a different part of the parking lot. She has a smile on her face as she approaches, and I politely return it. I turn to go in the store and she says, “You know, you really shouldn’t be parking there.”I stop. I turn back around and ask, still smiling, “Why is that?”“Those handicap spaces are for people who are actually handicap.”Now, I’m in my early twenties at this point. I certainly could understand her concern if I had been by myself. (Even though you can’t SEE all illnesses and especially if someone has a tag, LEAVE THEM ALONE.) I point to the tag hanging up in the van and explain, “Oh, it’s for my grandmother. She and my fiance walked into the store ahead of me.”“I saw them.”“Then…why do you feel the need to tell me we shouldn’t park here?”“I don’t think anything’s wrong with any of you. I took a picture of your license plate and I’m going to report it.”She said all of this in the most honeyed, condescending tone you can imagine. You remember Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter?Yeah, that’s about how this lady acted.So by this point, I’m getting angry. I tried to stay calm, and managed it up until she said this, “You know, I just think it’s disgusting how people abuse privileges that aren’t intended for them.”And then the dam burst. I lit into her. “Let me tell you something, ma’am. Being in the position to use this spot is not a privilege. It’s an absolute nightmare. That woman whose name is written on that tag has Stage IV lung cancer. She’s dying. This is the best day she’s had in over a year and a half, and the first I’ve seen her go without oxygen therapy in that time. Do you know where we were before? We were at the courthouse getting her affairs in order so she doesn’t have to worry about estranged family taking our house out from under us after she dies. You go ahead and report whatever you want because we’re not doing anything wrong. But you shared your opinion with me, so I’ll share mine with you: Mind your own damn business.”I stormed off into the store, leaving her with her mouth agape in shock and her face red with embarrassment. I was so upset that I had to walk around the store for a while to avoid my grandma seeing me shaking. I never told her about that day.The second incident came when my grandma was in the hospital for the final time. My mom’s coworkers had sent flowers to be delivered to her room, only they never made it there. One of them called to ask how she liked them, and that’s the first we ever heard of them. So the delivery company was called and this was the response: They had tried to deliver the flowers, but had been forced to leave them at the front desk of the oncology ward because “the patient’s daughter had said no flowers were to be in the room.” WHAT? Neither my mom nor I had ever said anything like that. But sure enough, we looked at the dying floral arrangement (they had been there for nearly two weeks) sitting by the elevators and it had a card with her name on it. The hospital had never even told us there were flowers delivered, and there were no orders from doctors to keep them out of the room.We let it go that time. But then my mom’s coworkers sent flowers again, and the exact same thing happened, except this time we knew when they were supposed to come. This time, the arrangement was placed on the desk at the nurse station. When we came in that day, my mom went straight to the room to see my grandma. I noticed the flowers, walked over, looked at the card to confirm it had my grandma’s name and hospital room number, picked them up, and proceeded down the hall. A nurse called out to me, “Ma’am, you can’t take those!”“Yes, I can.”“No, you can’t!” She got up and started to follow me. “Ma’am, those are hospital property. Put them back or I’m calling security.”I stopped and glared at her. “You’re really going to call security for me taking the flowers to my grandmother that were ordered for her? Her name is right here on the delivery card if you want to confirm it. You know, this is the second time that her gifts have ended up sitting out here without her knowing they existed. I think this staff owes our family an apology and an explanation.”Now, this nurse DID apologize. She was new (as I later found out) and didn’t know the flowers belonged to someone else; she thought they were for one of the nurses. The rude comment came from her colleague, who approached us and tried to take the flowers from me while saying, “Isn’t it better that they’re out here for everyone to enjoy? That’s all that we were doing.”I refused to hand them over and shook my head. “No, it isn’t “better” that you would steal flowers intended to brighten a dying woman’s final days. That’s disgraceful and disgusting, and anyone who knew the truth would think the exact same thing.”I walked off with the flowers (which my grandma enjoyed immensely) and that nurse never said a word to me or my family again. In hindsight, I probably should have reported her, but I think embarrassment in front of half the nursing staff was enough.I’m typically a mild-mannered person, but I was incredibly protective of my grandma. I’ll leave you guys with some of her sage advice, “Be kind to people. Give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove they don’t deserve it. You never know what other people are going through.” Grammie, you were too good for this world…

Vedic periodThe term gotra was used to refer to cow-pens in the Vedic Period.Then it was used to refer to division of cows, because cows were property back in time.Mahabharat periodRuling classes began associating biological lineage with gotra. This came about naturally in the Itihasic period (Mahabharat). One who inherited /owned maximum cows, was the richest, strongest, and leader of his clan.Cattle-herding clans slowly became urbanized and formed kingdoms. Domesticated cattle were used to plough the land. Now, gotra became a unit of biological lineage to indicate who could get share of land.When they formed kingdoms, these clans claimed to have divine sanction to rule with a divine lineage for themselves (from say, Rama, Krishna, Shiva).This concept of lineage for the purpose of property division among sons already existed before the puranic period (if we consider the Mahabharat itihasic period to be older than the puranic period).Puranic periodGotras of brahmins were listed for the first time in the Matsya Purana, ie., in the puranic period. This was ~1000 years after the vedic period.After this long gap it was claimed that so-and-so rishis are biological descendants of vedic period rishis. This concept became questionable because of gaps (missing names or non-existent names) in the lineage.Puranic scribes do not mention a perfect list of gotras. Anyone accomplished can become a founder of a lineage. To this day, the pravaras are not perfect as they were curated over a period of time (its an ongoing process to this day).Some may argue that this concept of ‘brahmin’ gotras came about because they became part of the wealth management process, ie., they too had land, and property division became an issue among them. Also, guru-shisya (teacher-disciple) lineage was separated from biological lineage at this point of time (Matsya Purana is dated to around 300 AD). But as a matter of fact, to this day, nobody can differentiate between guru-shisya lineage and biological lineage.Overlapping work rolesThe concept of gotras among warriors too underwent numerous changes. Often, the eldest was coronated king after this father; and his younger brothers had to serve him. But over time, capable ones became king, irrespective of birth order. Hence, inheritance patterns changed.Settlement patterns changed drastically too. People of one clan formed a village, and divided labour among them. Cattle herding clans did everything, from farming to skinning dead cattle. The ecosystem did not waste any resource.A man who killed an animal for his god was not different from a man who skinned the cattle, cooked its flesh and offered it to the gods.Did they have a sense of pollution / germs? Perhaps they did. Hence, the daily ablutions, after the cutting and preparation of meal. Prepared food was offered / eaten after the ablutions.Post-Buddhist periodAnimal sacrifices were banned in the reign of King Ashoka. Buddhists used the concept of gotras in marriages too. However, it was practiced by those who had property (land) to give. Not all.It was after the time of Gautama Buddha that ‘brahmins’ like Pushyamitra Sunga sought to suppress his enemies and Buddhists. This Sunga got Manusmriti composed ~200BC - 300AD. This period also coincides with the Matsya Purana; which sought to differentiate between arsha and non-arsha gotras; but failed.Scavenging came to exist in some societies, not all. The concept of enslaving people too, came to exist in some societies, not all. For most part, people who were defeated were driven away.As kingdoms grew in size, and urbanization increased, people like Pushyamitra found new ways to put defeated people to work. Slavery came to exist from here on.During the Dharmashastra period (when smritis like Manusmriti) were written, society became aggressive and rabid, in suppressing enemies into Varanashrama. Most kingdoms of the northern land did it, until the Muslim rulers came to rule. They brought their own concept of ghulam (slave) and continued to perpetuate slavery on their enemies.So, you see, there were so many social changes. This means that a ‘scavenger’ can have the same gotra as a ‘brahmin’. After-all, the ‘scavenger’ was a former clan leader / elite. His family may or not remember their gotra or may mention some rough word translating to the name of a rishi (sage) or a warrior. There is no one single list of gotras of only brahmins.