An interviewer asked me a very simple question: “What is the significance of the year 1066 in the history of English literature?” But I was totally blank and failed to grasp the question and my agitated mind could not give a clue. Then, I was told that I should check and be informed about its significance. No doubt, I was made to look so ignorant, if not stupid.
The year 1066 was one of the most important dates in the history of the western world. That year, William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings and changed England and the English forever. You could have forgiven me if I was a college student still grasping with the details of history. But, for a college teacher, it should be a question that can be answered hands down. Why is it I could not recollect what I have known already?
Sometimes, our mind does not work in a normal manner. Particularly, when we encounter questions from people whom we think have “some absolute power” to make a decision which would determine “life” or “death” for us ! Even very familiar facts and figures are forgotten. Is this out of fear? Not always. It is more likely due to the pressing process of thinking about the person interacting with us and unfamiliar contexts rather than the question that has been posed.
