Wednesday, February 16, 2011

A stroke of luck (1)

*Charu Datta, son of a wealthy merchant in the city of Virapura, couldn’t believe his luck. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Prince Tungabala had sent for him one fine day and, after a short interview, offered to make him a personal assistant. Charu Datta eagerly grabbed the rare opportunity. This was a sure path to wealth and influence. He must have done something really virtuous in his previous birth to get a gift like this without even trying, thought the young man.

Soon it was Navratri. The prince decided to perform Gauri pooja (in which a young virgin is worshipped as if she were Goddess Gauri) and asked Charu Datta to bring a different virgin every night of Navratri. He readily obliged. He guessed what the prince would do to the virgin behind the closed doors of the royal bedroom. So overcome by curiosity he peeped through the keyhole during the first night and the following nights. To his utter surprise, the prince did not touch the woman. He sat away from her, performed the pooja with his eyes closed, offered her expensive gifts and ornaments, and sent her away. The same story went on for eight nights. The only difference was that each night the gifts were more dazzling than the previous night’s.

Now a brilliant idea struck Charu Datta: "For the last night’s pooja, why don’t I present my own young bride, Lavanyavati? It’s an absolutely safe and easy way to get a lot of expensive gifts and ornaments. She is so young and pretty, the prince will never know that she is not a virgin."

That night also Charu Datta peeped through the keyhole. To his horror, this time the prince behaved differently. He slowly disrobed Lavanyavati and made love to her. Charu Datta felt trapped. He couldn’t do anything to stop it; he couldn’t dare tell the prince that this woman was his wife and not a virgin.

Let me now tell you the other side of the story, which poor Charu Datta had no idea about. While touring the city a few weeks before this event, Prince Tungabala had come across the exceedingly beautiful Lavanyavati and instantly overcome by desire for her. She also felt drawn to the handsome prince. But she checked herself because she was married. The Prince sent a woman to persuade Lavanyavati to come to him. But Lavanyavati refused; she said that she would not betray her husband and that she would go to the prince only if her husband sent her. The Prince didn’t know how to overcome such strong resistance and comply with such an impossible condition. That is when the messenger woman hatched this plan.

*Developed from a story in Book I of Hitopadesa. Translated by A.N.D. Haksar. Penguin Books.

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There are plenty of timeless lessons in persuasion in this story, which is at least a thousand years old.  Particularly noteworthy are the role of framing and the role of unbridled instincts in deceptive persuasion. It also shows us how tough it is for us to detect a setup that nearly always precedes deceptive persuasion. I will give you my analysis in the next post in a few days. In the meanwhile I invite you to write in your analysis of persuasion in this story.


4 comments:

  1. Dr. John Ioannidis, Chief of Stanford University's Prevention Research Center says that negative drug trials, which find the particular drugs ineffective, take an extra two to four years to be published, in comparison to the times taken by positive drug trials, although all trials take similar time frames for completion. (Refer the recent Newsweek article by Sharon Begley on January 24, 2011; http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/23/why-almost-everything-you-hear-about-medicine-is-wrong.html ). He contends that “Negative results sit in a file drawer, or the trial keeps going in hopes the results turn positive.” The article goes on further stating that "With billions of dollars on the line, companies are loath to declare a new drug ineffective. As a result of the lag in publishing negative studies, patients receive a treatment that is actually ineffective." So he wonders how many drug trials are wrong ... ...


    In conformity with Ioannidis's views, two widely recommended preventive measures have bit the dust in the past two months. A major study involving 14 individual trials with 34,272 patients has found that there is no evidence that statins (annual sales, $20 billion) offer protective help to people with no history of heart disease. (Refer the Newsweek article). Similarly the widespread use of vitamin D supplements (annual sales, $425 million) has been found quite unnecessary, since the majority of the population have adequate amounts in their body.


    On the other hand, we cannot simply dismiss all preventive measures as mere bunkum. So we've got a personal dilemma here - whether to go along, or not, with a particular preventive recommendation from a healthcare professional. The real culprits here are the drug companies who resort to a multitude of abominable ways to deceptively persuade (the healthcare professionals) with false claims, to inflate their profit margins!

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  2. The most worrying thing about deceptive persuasion is that it can come from the most unexpected corners at the most unexpected times. There is pretty little we can do to prevent it. This is because if we suspect landmines every step we take, we won’t be able to walk. My suggestion is to be particularly careful and to double-check when really important issues are at stake and take in our stride the little everyday deceptions. MMM

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  3. Manoj Kumar Jha of ACC Ltd.February 20, 2011 at 2:39 PM

    Deceptive persuation is one tool mostly utilised to fulfill hidden aspirations.Ravana persuaded Ram to run after the "Mayamriga" since Sita wanted the Golden Skin of the Golden Deer.Another event is described about Shikhandi who was there with Arjuna during famous battle of Mahabharata which forced Bhishma to drop the arms,and then he was defeated/killed by Arjuna.Generally deceptive persuation is one time and may not live sustained positive impact.Manoj can be reached at manojkumar.jha@acclimited.com

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  4. I agree that deceptive persuasion cannot be sustained. It's a one-off thing. But by the time we realize that we've been deceived, it's often too late to do anything about it. MMM

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