Polonius and Laertes are characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I encourage the study of classics such as Hamlet since we have a lot to learn from them. The play is a tragedy, set in Denmark, where Prince Hamlet seeks to avenge the death of his father who was murdered by his brother Claudius. Afterward, Claudius became the king. The plot is about this regicide.
Polonius was the silly man of the kingdom (tedious old fool as described by Prince Hamlet) and the chief counselor of Claudius. Laertes is the son of Polonius and Laertes is leaving for France. In this scene, Shakespeare’s ability appears in Polonius’s advice to Laertes before his departure for France. In other words, Shakespeare surprises us when he makes wise words come from the silliest person in the kingdom, Polonius. The advice can be divided into 8 recommendations.
- 1 - Don’t say what you’re thinking, and don’t be too quick to act on what you think.
- 2 - Be friendly to people but don’t overdo it.
- 3 - Once you’ve tested out your friends and found them trustworthy, hold onto them. But don’t waste your time shaking hands with every new guy you meet.
- 4 - Don’t be quick to pick a fight, but once you’re in one, hold your own.
- 5 - Listen to many people, but talk to a few.
- 6 - Wear clothes according to your income, without ever being extravagant.
- 7 - Don’t borrow money and don’t lend it, since when you lend to a friend, you often lose the friendship as well as the money, and borrowing turns a person into a spendthrift.
- 8 - Be true to yourself. Then you won’t be false to anybody else
What do these recommendations teach us, considering the contemporary world? Social networks dominate the online space, where many people talk and few listen. My experience says that being a good listener is to be strategic, an opportunity to better reflect on your own opinions (considering other perspectives) before saying something. Nothing more could fit better than recommendations 1 and 5, which teach us that listening to others and controlling what we say is essential.
On Instagram, several people post pictures of the life they want to have (but they usually don’t have). Buddhist wisdom tells us that desire leads to suffering. Why should we expose a character on Instagram instead of showing who we really are? We are constantly making existential marketing and it seems that we are a product to be sold. Recommendations 2, 6 and 8 remind us about the importance of vanity control and self-knowledge. In Polonius’s opinion, there is no reason to look like someone that we are not. In addition, knowing yourself is fundamental to not deceiving ourselves with “social likes” that just stimulate the character we build on social networks.
Recommendation 4 is about conflicts. Social networks are unlimited sources of confusion. So, recommendation 4 indicates that we should avoid a state of discord. It is obvious but necessary to point out it. Finally, recommendations 3 and 7 are about friendship. Polonius warns that we should value the friends we already have. It is good to know that friendship is not the number of friends that someone has on a social network. Friendship needs to be cultivated and it takes time. Throughout life, you are likely to have few friends. On the other hand, Polonius recommends not mixing money with friendship. He probably knows well human nature especially when financial issues are involved.
As a data scientist, I always see social networks as objects of study, looking for metrics, models, and promising analysis usually in a quantitative way. However, a classic like Hamlet seems that was written last week, allowing us to make good connections with reality and enrich our background. There is a subjective factor in these connections that make each read particular with distinct insights. Hamlet is a classic because it reports things that you live (or lived) without you being completely aware of it. This is the power of the classics. My advice to you: read timeless classics books and enjoy the experience.