Tamil Nadu IT and Digital Services Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan said that he’s a lifelong student and is certain to learn something new every day. Learning new skills and the curiosity to gain knowledge makes a person intellectual, he stated. He was speaking on intellectual wellness at the sixth Radiant Wellness Conclave named Power of Possibilities held on Saturday, September 16, in Chennai. Hosted by the Radiant group of companies, the event had an array of wellness-related subjects including social wellness, physical wellness, and environmental wellness, among others.
“The first step to attain intellectual wellness is to ask the question why? Then to interpret and ask the question, why not? Applying this knowledge in daily life leads to intellectual wellness,” he stated. He referenced a Stoic philosopher’s epigram, “No man steps in the same river twice,” signifying the ever-evolving nature of individuals and their surroundings.
PTR stated that we live in a society where we are loaded with information and the internet has made it possible for us to access anything from anywhere. He spoke about how people use the internet to get information about various subjects and one can no longer claim ignorance about a particular topic due to the abundant availability of knowledge online. He quoted Aringar Anna, “A good speaker or writer need not prepare his speech in advance”. He also stressed that physical and mental wellness is important and it is essential to have that balance in life.
He also spoke about the negative aspects of the internet and how children are exploited. “The CEOs of social media apps shield their children from consuming those apps and it’s always our children who are the scapegoat,” he said. The Minister referred to the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, which delves on the functioning of algorithms of social media apps and how we can guard ourselves from those apps.
PTR also discussed how travel contributed to his knowledge, mentioning that during his time as a banker, he used to travel to 20 countries every year. Even though these trips were primarily for business purposes, he always managed to spare some time to immerse himself in the local culture and savour the local cuisine. He said that he underwent a significant personal transformation after every journey.
Concluding his address, Minister PTR expressed his gratitude to the Radiant Group of Companies for hosting the conclave and extended his greetings to the other speakers.