One of the finest works of American scholar and scientist Douglas R. Hofstadter is Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, which won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1980. Son of physicist and Nobel Prize winner Robert Hofstadter, Douglas graduated in mathematics and holds a PhD in physics, and is considered a genius in cognitive science. His book is based on a concept interweaving mathematics, art and music-a rarity that leaves many readers marvelling.
Most reviewers, though, say grasping Hofstadter's narration requires some intellectual capacity and technical knowledge.
So, one would assume that someone who barely managed to complete Class 10 in rural Andhra Pradesh, and later became a college dropout, would not be able to comprehend Hofstadter. But, if that someone was actor and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, the assumption would be wrong.
A voracious reader with a curious mind that surpasses his formal education, Pawan Kalyan has read Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. His aides say he often likes to discuss the book's contents, and had even learnt mathematics just for the sake of understanding some of its ideas.
Recently, Pawan Kalyan achieved a mathematically and electorally improbable feat-a success rate of 100 per cent, as he won all 21 assembly constituencies and two Lok Sabha seats that his Jana Sena Party had contested.
At an internal party meeting recently in Vijayawada, he shared how during Reliance scion Ananth Ambani's wedding, everyone came up to him and spoke about the success rate. It is a stunning turnaround for Pawan Kalyan; in 2019, his party had won just one of the 137 seats it had contested.
"Along with intellectual muscle, you should also grow the muscle of courage. It is not about being fearless, but facing your fears and overcoming them," he would often repeat while delivering motivational speeches to students while on tours from 2019 to 2024.
This story is from the July 28, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the July 28, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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