The Paradox of Perfect Answers

In an age where intelligence is becoming mechanised and gaining sophistication with every passing moment, questions acquire greater significance than answers. If one knows how to question, a machine can often respond better than an ordinary human being, as it scans vast ranges of sources and possesses the capacity to process them according to need. Answers are readily available; it depends on one’s will and knack for discerning and netting them. This is one side of the story.

The other side reveals a deepening crisis. Answers, despite being the best possible, often carry little traction. What largely remains unseen is that answers derive significance only when they emerge from personal, lived experience and effort, and when the act of answering involves standing by them. This emerging condition makes it all the more critical that people remain answerable. The ready availability of the best possible answers may, if not accompanied by renewed moral sensibilities and appropriate structural arrangements, curtail answerability and imperil humanity in ways never witnessed before.

The problem itself is not new; it is its severity that is unprecedented. One can always access the best possible answers, yet no one remains answerable for them. Understanding that is devoid of shared concern and conviction carries little value.

Niraj Kumar Jha