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Are technical specs needed for enjoyable ownership experience

I never bother to learn all the million variations of touchscreens on my cars - my driver knows but I don't.

BHPian Emvi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

"What MIND doesn't know, EYES cannot see"

I came across this adage about 15-20 years ago and it keeps popping up in my mind time and again. Each time it does, it doesn't fail to teach me something. Something that I find trifle, may not actually be all that trifle for others. Something I deem significant, actually turns out to be trifle for others. Putting things into perspective, I am plainly talking about varying perspectives of life, person to person. Without dwelling too much into philosophy, I will try to restrict myself to a few topics like automobiles, electronic gadgets and home appliances, focussing mainly on automobiles.

A majority of us own automobiles, two wheelers and/or four wheelers. But, how many of us know the key technical specifications, features and other common attributes of the vehicles we own. Well, I assume most of us, BHPians, are pretty well informed about most things if not everything. When I say technical specifications, I am talking about the aspects like engine capacity, power ratings, tyre/rim size, fuel tank capacity, recommended tyre pressure etc. I know quite a few people in my circle, who just have no idea about the features their vehicles come with. Majority of them absolutely have no clue about the readings displayed in Multi-Information Display/Touchscreen infotainment unit. It is not uncommon to meet people who are even unaware of how many kilometers their vehicles have actually clocked or who are not sure of the registration number and variant name of their vehicles. This reminds me of few interesting past instances.

1. A light hearted trick played on a Mahindra "Jeep" owner by one of the mechanics in a FNG long, long ago. My dad was the witness to the incident. The vehicle owner had visited the workshop for a running repair. The mechanic told the vehicle owner that the "bearings of the silencer need replacement"! Poor fellow who only knew to drive and nothing much about his vehicle, actually believed his words! And as expected, everyone present in the workshop burst into a loud laughter. Yes, in this particular case, the person might seem too lame that he believed such a story, but in general, a lot of people don't know much about their vehicles or in other words, they are not keen to know.

2. A businessman known to me visited our home in his Mitsubishi Pajero sometime last year. I had seen his Pajero quite a few times on the road, but I never knew it was his. As the conversation unfolded, I casually asked him the details about his vehicle. His response was simple. He said the only thing he knew about the vehicle was it's name and nothing else!

3. My cousin residing in Dubai purchased a Wrangler about 18 months ago. Back then he had called me to break the news. Congratulating him, I asked him the power output figures and engine displacement of his latest acquisition. He had absolutely no idea about it and laughed it off. He said, I should be the one knowing it better than him. To be honest, I actually don't have much knowledge about the vehicle. Continuing our conversation further, he told me about the tyre upgrade he carried out. And when I asked him about the rim/tyre size, do I need to say anything further? Yes, you have all guessed it right!

4. Recently I came across a Maruti Omni which had 3 different brands of tyres out of 4! The interesting part was, the owner of the vehicle had absolutely no clue about it.

No matter the segment of vehicles people own, such people are not bothered about these "trifle" things as long as their intended purposes are served.

Now talking about electronic gadgets and home appliances, it is again quite common to see users having less or no knowledge about them. Elaborating further, not everyone is aware of the screen size, hardware of their mobile phones/laptops, tablets or televisions. Storage capacity of a refrigerator, capacity of a washing machine or a microwave oven, power consumption of home appliances are generally not known to a lot of users. I have even seen people who are unaware of the brands of the gadgets/home appliances they use!

Nothing wrong in it, whatsoever. We tend to ignore a lot of things which we actually see and use everyday, if we have no inclination towards them. For example, an auto enthusiast might be thorough with all the specifications of the car that the person owns, still, the same person may not be aware of the exact graduations of the speedometer/tachometer in his/her vehicle! Mind you, instrumentation panel is never out of sight in an automobile. Human mind is peculiar in its own way. We see "n" number of things around us everyday, but we grasp only those things which our mind directs us to and we tend to ignore other things completely! This is where the varying perspectives come into the picture. For few, knowing everything about things they use or own is so important that, knowledge about the products dictates the buying decision or the usage. And there are people, who just don't break their heads much as far as technical know-how is concerned and are just happy to own and use products which look good superficially to their eyes and (or) if they are recommended by someone. Probably "Ignorance is Bliss" for such people.

What the mind doesn't know,  eyes definitely cannot see!

Here's what BHPian V.Narayan had to say on the matter:

Every human being is born with a different and unique set of skills, aptitudes, IQ, etc. Some have high IQ, some more modest ones. Over life, we develop EQ. Hence we often come across intelligent people with high IQ but weak EQ. And then further along the road of life, we develop wisdom which is IQ+EQ+Experience mixed with the humility to learn from our mistakes and risks taken. Some have a well developed spatial aptitude and eye-muscle co-ordination-i.e. those of us who take to driving. Some don't have it. And so on, I could go on as the variety of human skills and abilities or lack thereof is almost infinite.

On top of all the above is interest. Almost four decades into my marriage my lovely wife will insist on asking me what ingredients do I think have gone into a food dish she has lovingly placed on the dining table. And all my IQ or knowledge cannot fathom more than one or two of the five ingredients. And of course I get a rap on the knuckles for still not being able to answer after all these years. My wife can't tell a Maruti 800 from a Mercedes Benz - almost literally. Most of the threads on aviation I have written, over three-fourths just flows out from memory. Only for the remainder, I need to read up an old book to double check a number or name. So I may know a lot about one kind of gadget but far far less about another. For example. I never bother to learn all the million variations of touchscreens on my cars - my driver knows but I don't.

It all boils down to aptitude, need, time & interest. It isn't about being superior if you are wired into the numbers or mechanics of a gadget or a car or a plane. Same with the skill of driving. I would value wisdom, compassion for others, mother's love, ability to teach and uncommon common sense but not a person's ability or lack thereof on knowing about gadgets.

Here's what BHPian locusjag had to say on the matter:

On the very first driving lesson that I took in 2011 in a driving school's Santro, the instructor and other students in the car watched stunned as I drove like an expert - steering, acceleration etc. (I did struggle with the clutch and gear but the instructor took care of that and asked me to do the rest and I did it.)

In the 10 years that have followed, my American friends have seen me drive and they had remarked that I could easily drive an 18 wheeler, given the smoothness and discipline with which I drive. My car's passengers will never feel forward, backward or sideways G forces; the old people in my joint family prefer me to drive them around.

And yet - when fellow member Captain Rex took me offroading with Arka's Terra Tigers in Chennai, I lost my nerve. I was completely out of my depth in the off-roading event. I discovered that I'm no true 4X4 enthusiast, but I'm an MPV guy who loves to drive his people around through long distances.

Another instance - Captain Rex was toiling away under the hot sun to fix his Racedynamics kit onto my TUV 300. He found that I'm an expert bystander once the car's bonnet is thrown open. I couldn't do anything to save my life - changing a fuse, swapping a wheel...none of it. And I'm okay with that. This is who I am, a poor man's Jason Statham-esque Transporter.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

 
Redlining the Indian Automotive Scene