Knowledge can come from anywhere

In the late 90s, as a restless teenager, I would hunt for things to do during the hot Lahore afternoons when everyone else was busy in power naps.

I'd often venture out to the porch of my house to see our family driver calmly seated there under a ceiling fan twiddling his thumbs.

Exploiting this opportunity, I'd coax him to play a few overs of cricket with me.

He, in response, would sometimes oblige while at other times, casually cite some pain in his back.

Abdul Sattar (his name) was a middle aged mustached man who donned Shalwar Kurtas in light-pastel tones.

I still remember his curious round eyes, thinning hairline, gap teeth & tall profile.

Sometimes, I would catch him eating lunch. I found it fascinating to see him finish a chappati (1 round piece of bread) in 4 whole bites, converting each piece into a creative ladle to scoop boiling hot curry in.

Abdul Sattar soon became my afternoon buddy. We would often talk for hours.

He'd share his life stories & recall amusing anecdotes about people he had met. His voice was like something you'd listen to in an audio book.

One afternoon, I marched out with my blunted bat & patchy tape ball. However, before I could make my request for cricket, Abdul sattar asked me for something I never expected.

He requested to bring him a notebook & a pen.

Surprised, I complied and got him a rough pad.

He told me to sit down. He drew a box with 9 squares (3 by 3 table) and started filling numbers in them. He then looked at me and smiled.

It looked something like this:

"What's that?" I asked, bewildered.

He told me it was a special trick with numbers: if you added the rows or the columns, the sum was always the same.

Not convinced, I tested his claim with a calculator and was impressed that it checked out. Remember this was pre-internet times, so there weren't many sources he could have learnt this.

And even if someone else taught him, it was astonishing to see how someone with a basic education background (6th grade) was able to grasp it so easily.

He then proceeded to show me how he can do the same for any odd numbered square box e.g. 3x3, 5x5, 7x7 etc.

He taught me his "algorithm" in a few minutes . It was incredible. It worked flawlessly. It was so simple and elegant.

Of course, the show-off I was, I presented my newly acquired skills to my friends & family, but didn't reveal the secret algo to anyone. They (especially middle-aged uncles) would be curious to learn how I did it so easily.

And with that, this became my party trick. (no wonder people used to think I was a nerd :P)

Fast forward a decade later, I found that this concept is called a "Magic Box".

I discovered the name in 2005, during my Algos mid-term at LUMS.

The last question of the test asked us to chart out the algorithm of this special Magic Box and also produce the number sequence for a 5 x 5 box.

A broad smile invaded my face when I read the question. Needless to say, it was a cake walk for me. I aced it.

That day made me really think.

I never knew that something taught by my modestly educated driver could come in handy at a competitive university-level exam.

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It made me realize:

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1. Education is a true privilege that we take for granted.

Every human being has a mind that's ripe with potential. Given the appropriate opportunity, they can do marvelous things. However, not everyone gets that chance.

Thus, someone with a poor education or inability to read isn't dumb. Calling them "illiterate" (jaahil) is quite insensitive.

Had we had to bear the challenges they had growing up, we'd be no better than them. If we can speak English well, it's not because we did something special. It was Allah's blessing that he gave us an innate ability to learn and His favor on us to give our parents the provisions to educate us.

Stay humble.

2. Insights, ideas and innovation can come from anyone.

A junior employee or say, an associate product manager, might know a thing or two that his/her boss might not simply because of exposure.

Therefore, ideas should be evaluated on merit, not always by the perceived reputation or caliber of its bearer.

Don't let ego be a barrier to growth.

3. Respect everyone.

Treat the janitor at your office the same as you treat your direct boss. Their position, salary or job title at the office does not represent their worth or value.

Treat them the way you'd want anyone else to treat you. After all, the tables could have been easily reversed had Allah willed so.

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