Why is the writer astonished by the list of articles lost by railway travellers?
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Answer:
2. Robert Lynd says that he is amazed by the efficiency of human memory. Modern man remembers even telephone numbers and names of actors and actresses and cricketers and footballers and murderers. Thus he can remember almost everything in his life. For example man does not forget a single item of his clothing when dressing. Similarly no one forgets to shut the front door when leaving the house. Lynd says that the institution of family survives in modern cities because ordinary people have efficient memory power.
3.Robert Lynd says that in some matters human memory works less than its usual perfection. For example most people forget to take the medicine. But they don’t forget to take meals and medicines are usually taken before or after or during meals. Psychologists say that we forget things because we wish to forget them. So people don’t like medicines and that is why they forget them. In this context Robert Lynd humorously remarks that chemists make a lot of money because people forget to take medicines and their illness is not cured and they buy more and more medicines.
4. According to Robert Lynd, the commonest form of forgetfulness is in posting letters. Most people forget to post letters. So Robert Lynd humorously remarks that if any one asks him to post a letter is a poor judge of character because Robert Lynd never posts the letter even if he keeps it in his pocket for many days. Similarly the author leaves walking sticks and umbrellas during his journey.
5. Lynd says that a list of articles lost by railway travellers has been published and many people who read the list have been astonished at the absent mindedness of the people, because most of these travellers are young sportsmen. They have forgotten their cricket-bats and footballs. Lynd says that these boys returning from the games have their imaginations filled with the vision of the playing field. The defeated players are very sad and they thought about their lost opportunities and failures. The victorious boys have their heads among the stars, thinking about their achievements. But both group of boys were in a dream world and they forgot to take their cricket bats and footballs when leaving the train. They are citizens of dreamland.
6. Similarly the anglers are also the citizens of dream-land. They are day-dreamers. They forget to take the fishing rod when they go home in the evening. Their minds are filled with matter more glorious. Thus both the sportsmen and anglers are absentminded people. Lynd remarks that such absentmindedness is a blessing because these people forget their unhappiness and live in a dream world of Utopia. Great thinkers, poets and philosophers were absent-minded people because their minds were full of high ideals and imaginations. Socrates,