Question-Answers of 'Great Books Born Out of Great Minds'

 

1. What is the culture of excellence, according to Dr Kalam?

Ans. Dr Kalam begins his speech by talking about the culture of excellence. According to the author, excellence does not come by accident. It is a process, where individuals (or an organization or a nation) continuously strive to better themselves. They set the performance standards themselves, they work on their dreams with focus are prepared to take calculated risks, and do not get deterred by failures as they move towards the realization of their dreams.

2. What are Dr Kalam’s findings on his interactions with youngsters?

Ans: Dr Kalam says that he has so far met 16 million young men. Interacting with the youngsters is like living in a world of stories. They want to become astronauts, pilots, soldiers, doctors, sailors, and so on. They live in their own world of imagination and fantasies. After growing up they read novels, watch films and play. Dr Kalam felt that there is an author in the mind of every person.

3. According to Dr Kalam, what influence does a story have on our mind?

Ans: According to Dr Kalam, stories help us navigate life’s complex social problems, just as flight simulators prepare pilots for difficult situations. Storytelling ensures our survival. Imagination is a remarkable component of storytelling that teleports human beings mentally into an alternative world. Imagination gives us, in other words, the near-magical ability to experience what we did not actually experience. A story is an 'a thing that does' rather than ‘a thing that is’. It is a tool with measurable utility rather than an object for aesthetic admiration. Attention is the reward that listeners bestow on the storyteller. This makes storytelling a central component of leadership.

4. Discuss the negative aspects of storytelling.

Ans: According to the author, storytelling has a negative side also. It exposes human beings to conspiracy theories, advertisements, and narratives about ourselves that are not completely true. Everything depends on the story reader. Thoughts like right, wrong, sin, good, duty, responsibility, love, hate, all of these depend on who is reading the story.

5. What are Dr Kalam’s views on Goethe, Shakespeare and Valmiki?

Ans.: Dr. Kalam praised Goethe, Shakespeare, and Valmiki. Johann Wolfgang Goethe, mind evolved Faust, the great German epic. Shakespeare could see the past, the present, and the future through his great musical plays. Whereas, the great Indian epic master Valmiki evolved the story of the Ramayana, which stands for the past, the present, and the future. In the biographies of Goethe and Shakespeare, they claimed that their minds were actuated by the Life Force. They claim that every human being has intellectual energy, this Life Force. Valmiki stated that a divine force helped him evolve the Ramayana.

6. What message does Dr Kalam give at the end of his speech?

Ans.: At the end of his speech Dr Kalam gave the example of three great writers, namely, Goethe, Shakespeare, and Valmiki. All these writers had a powerful energy of creation in their minds. This divine energy and Life force is present in human beings. He advised the young authors to realize this energy assemble it, concentrate and use it for imagination, and create great works.