I always believed that if someone asked for help, and if I could help, I should. And I did. I did not think that I would ask for any reciprocation from the persons I helped. But I also believed that if I needed help from any of these people and they could help, they would. The main thing I can help with is knowledge or at least knowledge of sources of knowledge that I can refer to and find answers for others. Some of them call me and ask for academic help. Some of them email me and ask for help. I help. I never thought I would need help from them and I did manage on my own. Until recently.
There is this journal JPGO that my department has started. We have published six issues so far. We have got indexing from four indexing bodies. It is open access and totally free. I emailed all colleagues to contribute to it. I dug out addresses from my inbox of people I had helped and emailed them to write for our journal. No one did. A few of them promised they would, most of them did not even answer the emails. I have had calls from people asking for academic help after all this. One person called from London and asked my critical opinion on some operation. A classmate and colleague called and asked about interpretation of some modern tests that a pathologist did for his patient. It was not the first time either of them had asked for and got help from me. I spent time for both and sent them extensive replies. At the end of the answers I wrote, 'I strongly urge you to write an article for our journal. It is totally free.' Both of them thanked me profusely for helping them. Neither mentioned anything about any article for the journal. There has been no communication from them subsequently. When I told my co-editor about this, the co-editor said,
"Sir, they just want to pick on your brains for nothing in return, even if it costs them not a dime. You should not trust people blindly."
I have always trusted people blindly until I have been burnt, which has been most of the times. I wonder if I have lived a life based on wrong values. I wonder if I can change at this stage of my life. And even as I wonder, I think the answer to both of these questions is 'no'. But if the answer is 'no', what has gone wrong and where has it gone wrong?
There is this journal JPGO that my department has started. We have published six issues so far. We have got indexing from four indexing bodies. It is open access and totally free. I emailed all colleagues to contribute to it. I dug out addresses from my inbox of people I had helped and emailed them to write for our journal. No one did. A few of them promised they would, most of them did not even answer the emails. I have had calls from people asking for academic help after all this. One person called from London and asked my critical opinion on some operation. A classmate and colleague called and asked about interpretation of some modern tests that a pathologist did for his patient. It was not the first time either of them had asked for and got help from me. I spent time for both and sent them extensive replies. At the end of the answers I wrote, 'I strongly urge you to write an article for our journal. It is totally free.' Both of them thanked me profusely for helping them. Neither mentioned anything about any article for the journal. There has been no communication from them subsequently. When I told my co-editor about this, the co-editor said,
"Sir, they just want to pick on your brains for nothing in return, even if it costs them not a dime. You should not trust people blindly."
I have always trusted people blindly until I have been burnt, which has been most of the times. I wonder if I have lived a life based on wrong values. I wonder if I can change at this stage of my life. And even as I wonder, I think the answer to both of these questions is 'no'. But if the answer is 'no', what has gone wrong and where has it gone wrong?
