At RPI, we have an impromptu comedians' club called Sheer Idiocy.
The following is the invite email for one of their shows -
(note Mother's (and Father's) are campus stores)
================================================
Hey Idiot Fans!
Classes are coming to an end this week, and what better way to celebrate than a FREE Improv comedy Show! That's right folks, this Friday, December 10th, at 8PM we will be having one of our world famous comedy shows in Mother's with all of the usual hilarity. So, give your friends the invaluable gift of laughter this holiday season by taking them to the show! Word on the street is we might even have a special guest! Or not! You'll have to come to the show to find out.
For those worried about studying for finals, 9 out of 10* doctors agreed that improv comedy will increase your exam grades by up to 32%. Sounds justified to me.
For those thinking, "That e-mail is too long":
Show on Friday, 8PM, Mothers
-The Idiots
*Doctors heavily bribed. Also not doctors.
==================================================
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Perspective
The actual reason why people are happy about WikiLeaks is not the secrets. People are not voyeurs, at least not most of them. The real reason is that the politicians have lost their credibility and people trust leaks more. People no more believe it when the leaders tell them that the information is to be kept secret in the national interests. Credibility is the key to the cloak of secrecy. But the leaders have enjoyed this secrecy thingy for their own interests, as evident from the scams galore. If they had some credibility left, there would be little to worry about the leaks because honest leaders would have peoples' support in any adverse situation. In such a case, people would have said - we do not want the secrets, we fully trust in our leaders when they say that these documents are to be kept confidential.
Same goes about the Arundhati Roy drama. As a democratic society, we must respect her right to speak. We should answer argument only by the means of argument. But is there a single trustworthy person left in the political arena whose arguments people will believe in? This the real reason government worries about Arundhati Roy. Its not only popularity, its about credibility and these two things aren't the same. Perhaps the only person who enjoyed such trust from people was Dr. Kalam. If only there were leaders of such stature who could stand up and tell Ms Roy that she was wrong - then citizens would pay no attention to whatever she says. Sedition charges against her is certainly not the way to go about it.
Same goes about the Arundhati Roy drama. As a democratic society, we must respect her right to speak. We should answer argument only by the means of argument. But is there a single trustworthy person left in the political arena whose arguments people will believe in? This the real reason government worries about Arundhati Roy. Its not only popularity, its about credibility and these two things aren't the same. Perhaps the only person who enjoyed such trust from people was Dr. Kalam. If only there were leaders of such stature who could stand up and tell Ms Roy that she was wrong - then citizens would pay no attention to whatever she says. Sedition charges against her is certainly not the way to go about it.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Real
Neo: "This --- This isn't real?"
Morpheus: "What is real? How do you define real? If you are talking about what you feel, taste, smell or see then real is simply the electrical signals interpreted by your brain."
(Morpheus shows a picture of John Lennon's world in Imagine)
Morpheus: "This is the world that you know. The world which never was there. It exists only in your mind, a projection on your mind created by media."
Morpheus: "This is the world as it exists today."
(Morpheus shows slides of war, oil field politics, financial scams, nuclear arsenal smuggling, biological weapons, mafias of religion)
Morpheus: "As you watch the pics of fashion shows in Paris, the nations are fighting for every single drop of the oil. As you see the hero kissing the heroin, most frightening bio-weapons have already been created. While you are kept busy reading about sex, the land is being given to worthless kith and kin at throwaway prices. They give you Pamela Anderson on Big Boss and keep mum about the most gigantic 2G scam in the history."
Morpheus: "Control of the thoughts, Neo, thats the ultimate power. Orwell saw it. Now you in India believe that Arunachal Pradesh has always been yours. Chinese children from their childhood are taught that it is theirs. Once you infiltrate the thoughts in childhood, not even God can change them. You see, they groom you since your childhood, in the most intangible way. Neo, there is an obvious way to hide the truth - to teach lies as truth.... And Neo, this is the world as it exists today. The desert of the real. For a long time, I did not believe it. Then I saw the telegrams, listened to the tapes and came to realize the obviousness of the truth. The media is the matrix."
Morpheus: "What is matrix Neo? Control. The matrix of media is a digitally generated dreamworld built to keep us in control in order to change a human being into this -"
(Morpheus shows a puppet controlled by strings)
Neo: "No!!! I don't believe it. It's not possible."
Morpheus: "I didn't say that it would be easy, Neo. I just said that it would be the truth."
Neo: "Stop! Let me out! I want out!"
(Falls on the floor and wakes up in front of TV. TV is showing the latest wardrobe malfunction of Yana Gupta. Sometimes it is so difficult to differentiate between the dream and the real, he says to himself. The show goes on.)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Note: I did not plan it at all, just wrote it. So, technically
it might be as unsound as it gets.
Morpheus: "What is real? How do you define real? If you are talking about what you feel, taste, smell or see then real is simply the electrical signals interpreted by your brain."
(Morpheus shows a picture of John Lennon's world in Imagine)
Morpheus: "This is the world that you know. The world which never was there. It exists only in your mind, a projection on your mind created by media."
Morpheus: "This is the world as it exists today."
(Morpheus shows slides of war, oil field politics, financial scams, nuclear arsenal smuggling, biological weapons, mafias of religion)
Morpheus: "As you watch the pics of fashion shows in Paris, the nations are fighting for every single drop of the oil. As you see the hero kissing the heroin, most frightening bio-weapons have already been created. While you are kept busy reading about sex, the land is being given to worthless kith and kin at throwaway prices. They give you Pamela Anderson on Big Boss and keep mum about the most gigantic 2G scam in the history."
Morpheus: "Control of the thoughts, Neo, thats the ultimate power. Orwell saw it. Now you in India believe that Arunachal Pradesh has always been yours. Chinese children from their childhood are taught that it is theirs. Once you infiltrate the thoughts in childhood, not even God can change them. You see, they groom you since your childhood, in the most intangible way. Neo, there is an obvious way to hide the truth - to teach lies as truth.... And Neo, this is the world as it exists today. The desert of the real. For a long time, I did not believe it. Then I saw the telegrams, listened to the tapes and came to realize the obviousness of the truth. The media is the matrix."
Morpheus: "What is matrix Neo? Control. The matrix of media is a digitally generated dreamworld built to keep us in control in order to change a human being into this -"
(Morpheus shows a puppet controlled by strings)
Neo: "No!!! I don't believe it. It's not possible."
Morpheus: "I didn't say that it would be easy, Neo. I just said that it would be the truth."
Neo: "Stop! Let me out! I want out!"
(Falls on the floor and wakes up in front of TV. TV is showing the latest wardrobe malfunction of Yana Gupta. Sometimes it is so difficult to differentiate between the dream and the real, he says to himself. The show goes on.)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Note: I did not plan it at all, just wrote it. So, technically
it might be as unsound as it gets.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Indian Classical Music
There are few friends with whom even if you don't speak for months, the next time you chat with them, it feels as if it was only yesterday you last chatted with them. You pick up threads immediately. As if you and these friends are just one soul. It happens same with classical music and me. I sometimes stay away from it for months, forgetting it in the mundane daily life. Then one fine morning I open the classical music folder from my machine and play it for whole day, feeling one with it. (And mind you, I have never really learned classical music.)
I do listen to numbers from all the other kinds of music - Rock, Pop, Folk, Jazz (and even rap sometimes). But what really gets me hooked is the classical music. Often I find people frowning at the name of classical music. Perhaps because of peer pressure, or they don't try to understand it, or because it "ain't cool". To those people, sometimes I feel like saying that Indian Classical Music is like mathematics/logic - very few people like it the first time. But no matter what you do, you can't avoid it. Its because what it provides is sets of rules, like mathematics, to apply to a particular problem you are facing. And then you apply the rules to solve the problem, or create the kind of music that you want to create.
Ragas are indeed like set of rules. You have been given few notes and then you are free to create whatever permutations and combinations you want to create. (Some LISP programmers may find it analogous to LISP environment. They may find C language too boring for the same reason a classical music person would find too much rock music boring for. There is no scope for creating true music in either of those, they will say.) You want to solve a particular problem or sing at a particular hour then select a suitable set of tools - algebra, probability, analysis (or a combination) or select a particular raga or a combination of ragas and solve the problem. While solving real problems, sometimes you need to deviate a little from pure mathematical assumptions or you need to deviate a little from the notes of raga to welcome other notes for a moment for the song of your soul. The way you have the undercurrent of mathematics with some compromises running below all the real world wonders, you have abstract classical music with some deviation running under all the music you see.
But in reality, people love real world wonders but seldom care to see what created the wonder. They love their i-phones but don't really care to know the maths that made it possible. They love the film music but don't love the classical music, seldom realizing the pitfall of irony they are falling into. And then they miss upon an infinite treasure of the classical music while the classical music fans can't get enough of it!
I do listen to numbers from all the other kinds of music - Rock, Pop, Folk, Jazz (and even rap sometimes). But what really gets me hooked is the classical music. Often I find people frowning at the name of classical music. Perhaps because of peer pressure, or they don't try to understand it, or because it "ain't cool". To those people, sometimes I feel like saying that Indian Classical Music is like mathematics/logic - very few people like it the first time. But no matter what you do, you can't avoid it. Its because what it provides is sets of rules, like mathematics, to apply to a particular problem you are facing. And then you apply the rules to solve the problem, or create the kind of music that you want to create.
Ragas are indeed like set of rules. You have been given few notes and then you are free to create whatever permutations and combinations you want to create. (Some LISP programmers may find it analogous to LISP environment. They may find C language too boring for the same reason a classical music person would find too much rock music boring for. There is no scope for creating true music in either of those, they will say.) You want to solve a particular problem or sing at a particular hour then select a suitable set of tools - algebra, probability, analysis (or a combination) or select a particular raga or a combination of ragas and solve the problem. While solving real problems, sometimes you need to deviate a little from pure mathematical assumptions or you need to deviate a little from the notes of raga to welcome other notes for a moment for the song of your soul. The way you have the undercurrent of mathematics with some compromises running below all the real world wonders, you have abstract classical music with some deviation running under all the music you see.
But in reality, people love real world wonders but seldom care to see what created the wonder. They love their i-phones but don't really care to know the maths that made it possible. They love the film music but don't love the classical music, seldom realizing the pitfall of irony they are falling into. And then they miss upon an infinite treasure of the classical music while the classical music fans can't get enough of it!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Across the Himalayas
Today when I was speaking with a Chinese friend of mine, in the course of conversation I asked him if Chinese people knew a thing or two about India. He answered negative and said that when he thinks about India, he does see three images -
1. Jampacked local trains with people hanging from door bars
2. An Indian businessman who is astronomically richer than common people
3. An Indian woman in a saree with a bindi on her forehead.
And that was quite interesting I thought!
He told me few things about China. It seems that they have their own different internet - a different facebook site, a different search engine called baidu. The whole internet world is totally different and the government controls what you can search and what you can't search. Thousands of sites are deemed illegal and thousands of words are deemed sensitive - like "government", "Dalai Lama", "Party" and so on. Youtube, blogspot, facebook, picasa are blocked. All this is a part of "Golden Shield project", nicknamed as "Great firewall of China".
He told me that it all started with the concept of "harmony". It seems that the leaders announced few years back that the society needs to be "harmonious" and later introduced internet censorship and other controls. When people started writing about it online, the word "harmonious" itself was blocked. So now whenever something gets censored, people say it has been "harmonized". Doesn't this usage ring a bell somewhere if you know what I mean?
I asked him whether people like it and he said that they get used to it. Some people find some tricks out of it but those tricks become useless after some time. According to what he said, there was no concept of multi-party in China. Since centuries, people are divided into two classes - a power class small in number and common people. If people oppose and fight, they fight for an entry into the power class by displacing others. Then they start controlling it themselves.
There were no multiple dynasties co-existing in history, since ages the concept of multiple power classes has been absent. The government is omnipotent. The people who face the wrath of government simply disappear and you cannot search their names online. You cannot discuss the "sensitive" things in public.
There is a Chinese proverb - a paper cannot hold the fire. He remarked jokingly that in China, the government papers have managed to hold the fire and will continue to do so because since ages people have liked to follow a strong leader. That's the way it has been and it won't change.
Then I asked him a personal question - how do you feel in U.S.? He said that he doesn't find it better or worse in any way. Though the freedom to discuss sensitive things and going against the government is absent in China, you can do everything else in the world. And while saying all this, nowhere I felt a hatred towards his motherland. A sense of mild dismay was there but time and again he remarked that China was and is a powerful country.
Sigh! The whole thing was totally new and different. Himalayas are indeed very tall.
P.S.
He asked me that if we Indians do not have a common language or culture then what makes us stand as a single nation.
And I said "I don't know!" because I too can't really figure that out. You might say that we have some unifying thread underneath but these days its really difficult to see it.
1. Jampacked local trains with people hanging from door bars
2. An Indian businessman who is astronomically richer than common people
3. An Indian woman in a saree with a bindi on her forehead.
And that was quite interesting I thought!
He told me few things about China. It seems that they have their own different internet - a different facebook site, a different search engine called baidu. The whole internet world is totally different and the government controls what you can search and what you can't search. Thousands of sites are deemed illegal and thousands of words are deemed sensitive - like "government", "Dalai Lama", "Party" and so on. Youtube, blogspot, facebook, picasa are blocked. All this is a part of "Golden Shield project", nicknamed as "Great firewall of China".
He told me that it all started with the concept of "harmony". It seems that the leaders announced few years back that the society needs to be "harmonious" and later introduced internet censorship and other controls. When people started writing about it online, the word "harmonious" itself was blocked. So now whenever something gets censored, people say it has been "harmonized". Doesn't this usage ring a bell somewhere if you know what I mean?
I asked him whether people like it and he said that they get used to it. Some people find some tricks out of it but those tricks become useless after some time. According to what he said, there was no concept of multi-party in China. Since centuries, people are divided into two classes - a power class small in number and common people. If people oppose and fight, they fight for an entry into the power class by displacing others. Then they start controlling it themselves.
There were no multiple dynasties co-existing in history, since ages the concept of multiple power classes has been absent. The government is omnipotent. The people who face the wrath of government simply disappear and you cannot search their names online. You cannot discuss the "sensitive" things in public.
There is a Chinese proverb - a paper cannot hold the fire. He remarked jokingly that in China, the government papers have managed to hold the fire and will continue to do so because since ages people have liked to follow a strong leader. That's the way it has been and it won't change.
Then I asked him a personal question - how do you feel in U.S.? He said that he doesn't find it better or worse in any way. Though the freedom to discuss sensitive things and going against the government is absent in China, you can do everything else in the world. And while saying all this, nowhere I felt a hatred towards his motherland. A sense of mild dismay was there but time and again he remarked that China was and is a powerful country.
Sigh! The whole thing was totally new and different. Himalayas are indeed very tall.
P.S.
He asked me that if we Indians do not have a common language or culture then what makes us stand as a single nation.
And I said "I don't know!" because I too can't really figure that out. You might say that we have some unifying thread underneath but these days its really difficult to see it.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Haiku-ish
Early Morning
A sketch on the last page
The class goes on
Nothing to do
An attempt to write a haiku
Random and worthless
Divine
Is the beauty sitting on right
Caught yawning
The speaker
Words floating in the air
Nobody catches'em
The eternity
Experienced in finite time
Its all relative
A sketch on the last page
The class goes on
Nothing to do
An attempt to write a haiku
Random and worthless
Divine
Is the beauty sitting on right
Caught yawning
The speaker
Words floating in the air
Nobody catches'em
The eternity
Experienced in finite time
Its all relative
Saturday, August 21, 2010
An Amazing Quote
"It is not to be forgotten that what we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts."
- Thomas Huxley
- Thomas Huxley
Thursday, August 19, 2010
One more..
One more group of friends
One more philosophical discussion
One more feeling of nothingness
One more lonely walk to home
One more cup of tea
One more sleepless night
Tomorrow is another day.
- Onkar
P.S. Last sentence is how "Gone with the wind" ends. That line flashed across my mind for last sentence of the poem and it just got stuck there so much that I could not think of any other way to end this poem.
One more philosophical discussion
One more feeling of nothingness
One more lonely walk to home
One more cup of tea
One more sleepless night
Tomorrow is another day.
- Onkar
P.S. Last sentence is how "Gone with the wind" ends. That line flashed across my mind for last sentence of the poem and it just got stuck there so much that I could not think of any other way to end this poem.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
A thought experiment
Last night we had a debate after dinner. Before telling anything about debate let me tell the thought experiment Adarsh proposed -
Suppose you have been to fifty houses occupied by bachelors. Let us say that in all of these houses you have been offered a glass of water and you have found the glass dirty in all those houses. The next time when you will go to a bachelor's house and will be offered a glass of water, will you not be tempted to be careful?
The debate was about this - will you treat your experience with each individual as separate or will you connect dots and try to infer something from it? Let me clarify it further.
One of the thesis, lets call it "Thesis A", was this -
Don't conclude that generally the glasses in bachelors' houses are dirty. Keep the dirtiness of glass and bachelor status separate, don't connect them. Treat every individual separately and don't connect your experiences of different individuals.
"Thesis B", was this -
Be careful a priori about the glass of water when you enter 51st bachelors' house. This would involve a little bias. If you find the glass clean, weaken your thesis and reduce your bias to some extent.
In fact the debate actually revolves around two questions -
1. Should you connect the dirty-glass experiences?
2. Should you relate it to the bachelor quality of occupants?
As argued, pros and cons of Thesis A were -
Pro) It doesn't limit your actions when meeting an individual for the first time.
Con) Absence of bias increases chances of getting surprised (or hurt). If the person had acted according to your expectations, it would have less surprised or hurt you.
Pros and Cons of Thesis B were -
Pro) It reduces your chances of getting surprised or hurt. It will take time for you to make correct inferences about a person but eventually you might reach there without getting hurt.
Con) It will limit your choice of actions with that individual. You will be slow in reaching inference or sometimes may not even reach there because you are limiting your exploring.
As with most debates, it ended with stating everyone's personal preference.
Whatever my personal preference is, if I go by my instincts, I would be careful with the glass of water in 51st bachelors' house I visit. I think that might be the instinct of most people. (I am not necessarily saying that its the correct thing, but just commenting about my instinct.)
- Onkar
(Damn, this post has become too heavy. I would have left writing it midway had I not been listening to "Tere bina jiya jaye na", the old hindi song from movie Ghar) !
Suppose you have been to fifty houses occupied by bachelors. Let us say that in all of these houses you have been offered a glass of water and you have found the glass dirty in all those houses. The next time when you will go to a bachelor's house and will be offered a glass of water, will you not be tempted to be careful?
The debate was about this - will you treat your experience with each individual as separate or will you connect dots and try to infer something from it? Let me clarify it further.
One of the thesis, lets call it "Thesis A", was this -
Don't conclude that generally the glasses in bachelors' houses are dirty. Keep the dirtiness of glass and bachelor status separate, don't connect them. Treat every individual separately and don't connect your experiences of different individuals.
"Thesis B", was this -
Be careful a priori about the glass of water when you enter 51st bachelors' house. This would involve a little bias. If you find the glass clean, weaken your thesis and reduce your bias to some extent.
In fact the debate actually revolves around two questions -
1. Should you connect the dirty-glass experiences?
2. Should you relate it to the bachelor quality of occupants?
As argued, pros and cons of Thesis A were -
Pro) It doesn't limit your actions when meeting an individual for the first time.
Con) Absence of bias increases chances of getting surprised (or hurt). If the person had acted according to your expectations, it would have less surprised or hurt you.
Pros and Cons of Thesis B were -
Pro) It reduces your chances of getting surprised or hurt. It will take time for you to make correct inferences about a person but eventually you might reach there without getting hurt.
Con) It will limit your choice of actions with that individual. You will be slow in reaching inference or sometimes may not even reach there because you are limiting your exploring.
As with most debates, it ended with stating everyone's personal preference.
Whatever my personal preference is, if I go by my instincts, I would be careful with the glass of water in 51st bachelors' house I visit. I think that might be the instinct of most people. (I am not necessarily saying that its the correct thing, but just commenting about my instinct.)
- Onkar
(Damn, this post has become too heavy. I would have left writing it midway had I not been listening to "Tere bina jiya jaye na", the old hindi song from movie Ghar) !
Monday, August 2, 2010
Journey to the battlefield
My grad school is situated at TROY. And I refuse to believe that the name is a mere coincidence. The future designs of the creator are difficult to decipher, and if there is no creator, its even more difficult.
But the journey to the battlefield was totally different than expected. No signs of impending battle.
1. I was well-fed in flight to Amsterdam and then to Boston. In fact, the food was too good compared to the horrible stories I had heard from people. Unfortunately I caught cold in the strong AC in the flight to Amsterdam so couldn't watch movies on the videoscreen provided in front of each seat. I missed a golden chance of watching Sherlock Holmes, The Hurt Locker and Alice in Wonderland in a single night. The plane from Boston to Troy looked more like a plane in Talespin cartoon series and was the only cause of worry.
2. A young lady tried to decipher the phone calling system for me at the Boston airport. When she couldn't do it, she made the phone call from her own cellphone. (She was real pretty and charming! You see a lot of pretty girls on airports but she did belong to a different class altogether.)
3. The security guards and the shopkeepers not only told the directions clearly but at times came along for some distance to guide to the destination.
4. At Mumbai airport, I could not immediately see public phones after I did complete security check. I wanted to see if I could make a phone call after checking in at Boston. The following exchange then took place at Boston airport -
Myself - Can I make a phone call after security check-in or should I do it before?
Security - (With a chuckle) That depends on how you like it, before or after.
5. At Boston airport, after making the famous call in point no. 1, I suddenly came across my friend at IISc - Nishanth Nair. To call it pleasant surprise would be an understatement, it was a shock. Killing four hours at Boston was a non-issue then.
The final flight kept both my bags at Boston. And my close friend Nikhil, who received it at Schenectedy is going to take all the pains to deliver those bags to me driving some 60 miles in total. Fortunately I had kept a spare set of clothes in my hand-bag. In fact, here it is possible to survive on only two sets of clothes for few days - the driers here dry out the clothes completely. It was known to me, but to actually experience it with only two sets of clothes available is more than a relief !
The details of the battlefield itself will be in the next post. At present, the graduate student's forum at RPI, Troy has provided a week of free accommodation near RPI. So the coming week will be spent battling for finding out accommodation. Oh while writing the last sentence, the hourly church bell sound echoed through the environment. The sound feels real good in this environment.
But the journey to the battlefield was totally different than expected. No signs of impending battle.
1. I was well-fed in flight to Amsterdam and then to Boston. In fact, the food was too good compared to the horrible stories I had heard from people. Unfortunately I caught cold in the strong AC in the flight to Amsterdam so couldn't watch movies on the videoscreen provided in front of each seat. I missed a golden chance of watching Sherlock Holmes, The Hurt Locker and Alice in Wonderland in a single night. The plane from Boston to Troy looked more like a plane in Talespin cartoon series and was the only cause of worry.
2. A young lady tried to decipher the phone calling system for me at the Boston airport. When she couldn't do it, she made the phone call from her own cellphone. (She was real pretty and charming! You see a lot of pretty girls on airports but she did belong to a different class altogether.)
3. The security guards and the shopkeepers not only told the directions clearly but at times came along for some distance to guide to the destination.
4. At Mumbai airport, I could not immediately see public phones after I did complete security check. I wanted to see if I could make a phone call after checking in at Boston. The following exchange then took place at Boston airport -
Myself - Can I make a phone call after security check-in or should I do it before?
Security - (With a chuckle) That depends on how you like it, before or after.
5. At Boston airport, after making the famous call in point no. 1, I suddenly came across my friend at IISc - Nishanth Nair. To call it pleasant surprise would be an understatement, it was a shock. Killing four hours at Boston was a non-issue then.
The final flight kept both my bags at Boston. And my close friend Nikhil, who received it at Schenectedy is going to take all the pains to deliver those bags to me driving some 60 miles in total. Fortunately I had kept a spare set of clothes in my hand-bag. In fact, here it is possible to survive on only two sets of clothes for few days - the driers here dry out the clothes completely. It was known to me, but to actually experience it with only two sets of clothes available is more than a relief !
The details of the battlefield itself will be in the next post. At present, the graduate student's forum at RPI, Troy has provided a week of free accommodation near RPI. So the coming week will be spent battling for finding out accommodation. Oh while writing the last sentence, the hourly church bell sound echoed through the environment. The sound feels real good in this environment.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
sigh !
I happen to know few "special" children, though not directly but through my family. A slight thought of them makes me highly uncomfortable and upset, which I am now.
Forget the lofty aims of understanding universe and ourselves, even if science succeeds in healing the agonies of such people I'd say it has done its bit.
sigh! :(
Forget the lofty aims of understanding universe and ourselves, even if science succeeds in healing the agonies of such people I'd say it has done its bit.
sigh! :(
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Brain and Consciousness
"Lofty questions about the mind are fascinating to ask - philosophers have been asking them for three millennia both in my native India and in the West - but it is only in the brain we can eventually hope to find the answers."
- VS Ramachandran, author of "A Brief Tour to Consciousness" and a neuroscientist by profession at UCSD.
Its a highly gripping book I read recently. It is neither deeply technical nor very philosophical. A very down-to-earth book connecting brain and consciousness through a series of anecdotes.
I am really glad that the book affirmed my views that abstract philosophical discussions are of very little use. You can also infer from the book that we should actually know about the things like pain, happiness, sorrow, emotions, desire and so on before we discuss them vehemently. A sentence like "desire is the root cause of all sorrow" doesn't mean much unless we know what desire and sorrow physically are and why they are what they are.
I am not denying spirituality or philosophy here. Any myth or spiritual philosophy is an honorable attempt of human beings to justify their lives with the limited information they have. But I think there comes a point when any branch of knowledge comes to a dead end. After that point, it can progress only after exchanging information with other branches of knowledge. And perhaps it is time for spiritual philosophy to exchange information with neuroscience. No use of engaging in word games.
I am glad of having developed a more than passive interest in neuroscience in past few months.
- VS Ramachandran, author of "A Brief Tour to Consciousness" and a neuroscientist by profession at UCSD.
Its a highly gripping book I read recently. It is neither deeply technical nor very philosophical. A very down-to-earth book connecting brain and consciousness through a series of anecdotes.
I am really glad that the book affirmed my views that abstract philosophical discussions are of very little use. You can also infer from the book that we should actually know about the things like pain, happiness, sorrow, emotions, desire and so on before we discuss them vehemently. A sentence like "desire is the root cause of all sorrow" doesn't mean much unless we know what desire and sorrow physically are and why they are what they are.
I am not denying spirituality or philosophy here. Any myth or spiritual philosophy is an honorable attempt of human beings to justify their lives with the limited information they have. But I think there comes a point when any branch of knowledge comes to a dead end. After that point, it can progress only after exchanging information with other branches of knowledge. And perhaps it is time for spiritual philosophy to exchange information with neuroscience. No use of engaging in word games.
I am glad of having developed a more than passive interest in neuroscience in past few months.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Lessons....
So this is a cliched idea for a blog post (but who cares?). I left my first job on 15th July after nearly spending two years. It was my first time to deal with "professional" world. And it indeed did teach me few things -
1. An hour for you everyday keeps you happy and if you really want to do it, you'll find time for you *anyway*.
2. At any moment of distress, remember "this moment will pass". Talk to your roommates and friends. They are the real stress-busters.
3. Its better to spend some of the "browsing breaks" on something else other than social-networks.
4. To err is human. Be little lenient to others. Who knows, you may go wrong some day.
5. Instead of having "I-am-concerned-with-only-my-work" attitude, discuss ideas with others and let others discuss their ideas with you.
6. Identify your most creative time of the day and try to make the most of it.
1. An hour for you everyday keeps you happy and if you really want to do it, you'll find time for you *anyway*.
2. At any moment of distress, remember "this moment will pass". Talk to your roommates and friends. They are the real stress-busters.
3. Its better to spend some of the "browsing breaks" on something else other than social-networks.
4. To err is human. Be little lenient to others. Who knows, you may go wrong some day.
5. Instead of having "I-am-concerned-with-only-my-work" attitude, discuss ideas with others and let others discuss their ideas with you.
6. Identify your most creative time of the day and try to make the most of it.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Did they miss the point?
Yesterday on google buzz I had posted a news from Times of India - 12 years boy raped an older girl in Delhi. I posted it saying that its a most depressing news I have ever read.
To my surprise, in addition to some frivolous comments, I was also asked what was so shocking in the news and why it was depressing.
To me it was shocking because its something far far beyond my wild expectations of what should happen in the world. Things will happen which I do not expect but this was far beyond the limit I was prepared for. But why was it depressing? Thats the point I'd like to make here.
Of course the world is almost always raw and cruel. But it does not mean we want it to be raw and cruel. We want to make it better. And the good people are putting their every bit of effort to make it better. It was depressing for me because it made me feel such efforts are falling terribly short. That was the point. Now some may say that one incidence does not reflect the fact. But sometimes more-than-bewildering incidents have a power to cause a huge emotional upset.
If even such a terrible news is not shocking (and/or depressing) to people, well, its their choice! To me, if such a news is shocking (and depressing) then it tells me that I am not yet emotionally dead.
To my surprise, in addition to some frivolous comments, I was also asked what was so shocking in the news and why it was depressing.
To me it was shocking because its something far far beyond my wild expectations of what should happen in the world. Things will happen which I do not expect but this was far beyond the limit I was prepared for. But why was it depressing? Thats the point I'd like to make here.
Of course the world is almost always raw and cruel. But it does not mean we want it to be raw and cruel. We want to make it better. And the good people are putting their every bit of effort to make it better. It was depressing for me because it made me feel such efforts are falling terribly short. That was the point. Now some may say that one incidence does not reflect the fact. But sometimes more-than-bewildering incidents have a power to cause a huge emotional upset.
If even such a terrible news is not shocking (and/or depressing) to people, well, its their choice! To me, if such a news is shocking (and depressing) then it tells me that I am not yet emotionally dead.
Friday, June 25, 2010
That kinda feeling
Suppose you don't get even bare minimum (or sound sleep) for two consecutive nights with a very stressful and turbulent day between them. You wake up and you want to describe the feeling you are having.
This was the situation with me today morning. I got up and wanted to describe the feeling I was having. Instead of all possible English words or phrases in the Oxford dictionary or any other dictionary on the planet, the following words came to my mind-
Feeling like an unstable isotope
And I thought it summed up my feelings quite well :)
This was the situation with me today morning. I got up and wanted to describe the feeling I was having. Instead of all possible English words or phrases in the Oxford dictionary or any other dictionary on the planet, the following words came to my mind-
Feeling like an unstable isotope
And I thought it summed up my feelings quite well :)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Crossing the quarter century mark
Many times during last month, I felt the urge to write. I did write some articles too but did not post it. Somehow I felt the articles did not come quite good. Its another question whether the articles that I post too are good enough.
I turned 25 this 1st May. And many people reminded me that I have scored a quarter century. The last year will go down my memory lane as one of the most memorable. Somehow I came out from my nagging and depressing introspection and slowly I'm learning to be more bindhaas. Though I have a perpetual hint of smile on my face, in reality, when I'm alone I did tend to be very serious kinda person. (They say the same about Abraham Lincoln :D ). I was unable to accept changes which threatened my comfort zone. I still am not not entirely comfortable with it but there are signs of improvement. The biggest burdens were my own expectations and the inevitable necessity to control this burden brings about. I read some philosophy and it invariably led me to depressing thoughts.
But somehow last year has made me realize strongly that nothing in life's quirks is worth much bothering about and no philosophy is complete. You cannot have complete control and have the things the way you wanted. In fact, life is fun only because there is uncertainty and chaos galore. Absolute control would render the life very dull and boring. Contradictions are part and parcel of life and the only answer to such situations is forty-two. In fact, I strongly suspect that 42 is indeed the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. (For non-hitchhiker-guide readers, it means that in general life does not make much sense and you must read this book, its the craziest I have ever read). Though it does not make much sense, it does not mean that you should not try to bring a little order in things around you but the key point is that after you give it your best, do not bother much about the results and accept the results the way they turn out to be. If the results do not make much sense, remember that the answer is forty-two and move on.
Talking about my dabbling with philosophy and the resulting depressing thoughts, somehow I have come to the conclusion that no philosophy will ever be sufficient to answer all the aspects of life. In fact the only philosophy that may work in every situation is "Take the best possible action according to situation without being very rigid with do-s and dont-s". Realizing this has had a lot of effect on me. Now I don't spend my time brooding over philosophy but try to be present in that situation, try to be present in that moment. Avoiding unnecessary and futile philosophical conundrums and trying to live the moment has made my life much more peaceful and happy.
Preaching and practicing are two different things but at least realizing this stuff has made the 25th year very special for me.
- Onkar
I turned 25 this 1st May. And many people reminded me that I have scored a quarter century. The last year will go down my memory lane as one of the most memorable. Somehow I came out from my nagging and depressing introspection and slowly I'm learning to be more bindhaas. Though I have a perpetual hint of smile on my face, in reality, when I'm alone I did tend to be very serious kinda person. (They say the same about Abraham Lincoln :D ). I was unable to accept changes which threatened my comfort zone. I still am not not entirely comfortable with it but there are signs of improvement. The biggest burdens were my own expectations and the inevitable necessity to control this burden brings about. I read some philosophy and it invariably led me to depressing thoughts.
But somehow last year has made me realize strongly that nothing in life's quirks is worth much bothering about and no philosophy is complete. You cannot have complete control and have the things the way you wanted. In fact, life is fun only because there is uncertainty and chaos galore. Absolute control would render the life very dull and boring. Contradictions are part and parcel of life and the only answer to such situations is forty-two. In fact, I strongly suspect that 42 is indeed the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. (For non-hitchhiker-guide readers, it means that in general life does not make much sense and you must read this book, its the craziest I have ever read). Though it does not make much sense, it does not mean that you should not try to bring a little order in things around you but the key point is that after you give it your best, do not bother much about the results and accept the results the way they turn out to be. If the results do not make much sense, remember that the answer is forty-two and move on.
Talking about my dabbling with philosophy and the resulting depressing thoughts, somehow I have come to the conclusion that no philosophy will ever be sufficient to answer all the aspects of life. In fact the only philosophy that may work in every situation is "Take the best possible action according to situation without being very rigid with do-s and dont-s". Realizing this has had a lot of effect on me. Now I don't spend my time brooding over philosophy but try to be present in that situation, try to be present in that moment. Avoiding unnecessary and futile philosophical conundrums and trying to live the moment has made my life much more peaceful and happy.
Preaching and practicing are two different things but at least realizing this stuff has made the 25th year very special for me.
- Onkar
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Nostalgia (or frustration?)
===========================
PDF -
once probability density function
now portable document format
===========================
PDF -
once probability density function
now portable document format
===========================
Saturday, April 3, 2010
A Secret
Recently via an incredible series of coincidences, I could lay
my hands on a secret document. The secret document is the
employee induction agreement between an aspiring journalist
and the Times of India. To my biggest surprise, the document was
real short and consisted of only two lines. Here it is -
my hands on a secret document. The secret document is the
employee induction agreement between an aspiring journalist
and the Times of India. To my biggest surprise, the document was
real short and consisted of only two lines. Here it is -
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Gulaal
I recently watched "Gulaal", a hindi film directed
by Anurag Kashyap based on student politics in
Rajasthan. The movie is quite good though
slightly complicated. I could watch it twice, a rare
phenomenon for me.
Apart from the performances and dialogues, what
really stands out in the movie are the songs and lyrics.
The songs are in perfect tandem with the movie,
both in tune and words. In fact, the lyrics hits you
with hammer. The adaptations of "Ye Duniya Agar
Mil bhi Jaaye to Kya hai" and "Sarfaroshi ki
Tamanna" are simply mind blowing, so are the songs
"Aarambh Toh Prachanda Hai" and "Raat ke Musafir".
I haven't listened to to these songs out of the context
of the movie, perhaps the music may not sound that
great out of the context.
Nevertheless, the lyrics had been a great experience
and after a lot of days I found myself paying attention
to the words of songs. Pasting below lyrics of one of
the songs in Gulaal : "O Ri Duniya". This is an adaptation
(not exactly though) of the song "Ye Duniya agar
Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai". For a better
understanding and impact, you may watch the movie :)
======================================
O ri Duniya
----------------
Surmayi aankhon ke pyaalon ki duniya
Satrangi rangon gulaalon ki duniya..o duniya
Alsaayi sezon ke phoolon ki duniya
Angdaai tode kabootar ki duniya
Karwat le soyi haqueeqat ki duniya
Deewaani hoti tabeeyat ki duniya
Khwahish mein lipti zaroorat ki duniya
Insaan ke sapno ki neeyat ki duniya..o Duniya
O ri Duniya
ye duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai…
Mamta ki bikhri kahaani ki duniya
Behno ki siski jawaani ki duniya
Aadam ke Hawwaa se rishte ki duniya
Shaayar ke pheeke lafzon ki duniya
Ghalib ke Momin ke khwaabon ki duniya
Majaazon ke un inqualaabon ki duniya
Faiz Firaaq aur Saahir o Makhdoom
Mir ki Zauk ki Daagh ki duniya
Ye duniya agar…
Pal chhin mein baatein chali jaati hain hain
Pal chhin mein raatein chali jaati hain hain
Reh jaata hai jo savera wo dhoondhey
Jalte makaan mein basera wo dhoondhey
Jaisi bachi hai waisi ki waisi bachaa lo ye duniya
Apna samajhke apno ke jaisi uthaalo ye duniya
Chhut put si baaton mein jalne lagegi sambhaalo ye duniya…
Kat pit ke raaton mein palne lagegi sambhaalo ye duniya..
O ri Duniya…
Wo kahein hain ki duniya ye itni nahi hai
Sitaaron se aage jahaan aur bhi hain
Ye hum hi nahi hain wahaan aur bhi hain
Hamaari har ek baat hoti wahin hai
Hamein aitraaz nahi hai kahin bhi
Wo aalim hain faazil hain honge sahi hi
Magar falsafaa ye bigad jaata hai
Jo wo kehte hain
Aalim ye kehta wahaan Eeshwar hai
Faazil ye kehta wahaan Allah hai
Tumhari hai tum hi sambhalon ye duniya
Ye bujhte huye chand baasi charaaghon ki
Tumhaare ye kaale iraadon ki duniya…
==================================
by Anurag Kashyap based on student politics in
Rajasthan. The movie is quite good though
slightly complicated. I could watch it twice, a rare
phenomenon for me.
Apart from the performances and dialogues, what
really stands out in the movie are the songs and lyrics.
The songs are in perfect tandem with the movie,
both in tune and words. In fact, the lyrics hits you
with hammer. The adaptations of "Ye Duniya Agar
Mil bhi Jaaye to Kya hai" and "Sarfaroshi ki
Tamanna" are simply mind blowing, so are the songs
"Aarambh Toh Prachanda Hai" and "Raat ke Musafir".
I haven't listened to to these songs out of the context
of the movie, perhaps the music may not sound that
great out of the context.
Nevertheless, the lyrics had been a great experience
and after a lot of days I found myself paying attention
to the words of songs. Pasting below lyrics of one of
the songs in Gulaal : "O Ri Duniya". This is an adaptation
(not exactly though) of the song "Ye Duniya agar
Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai". For a better
understanding and impact, you may watch the movie :)
======================================
O ri Duniya
----------------
Surmayi aankhon ke pyaalon ki duniya
Satrangi rangon gulaalon ki duniya..o duniya
Alsaayi sezon ke phoolon ki duniya
Angdaai tode kabootar ki duniya
Karwat le soyi haqueeqat ki duniya
Deewaani hoti tabeeyat ki duniya
Khwahish mein lipti zaroorat ki duniya
Insaan ke sapno ki neeyat ki duniya..o Duniya
O ri Duniya
ye duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai…
Mamta ki bikhri kahaani ki duniya
Behno ki siski jawaani ki duniya
Aadam ke Hawwaa se rishte ki duniya
Shaayar ke pheeke lafzon ki duniya
Ghalib ke Momin ke khwaabon ki duniya
Majaazon ke un inqualaabon ki duniya
Faiz Firaaq aur Saahir o Makhdoom
Mir ki Zauk ki Daagh ki duniya
Ye duniya agar…
Pal chhin mein baatein chali jaati hain hain
Pal chhin mein raatein chali jaati hain hain
Reh jaata hai jo savera wo dhoondhey
Jalte makaan mein basera wo dhoondhey
Jaisi bachi hai waisi ki waisi bachaa lo ye duniya
Apna samajhke apno ke jaisi uthaalo ye duniya
Chhut put si baaton mein jalne lagegi sambhaalo ye duniya…
Kat pit ke raaton mein palne lagegi sambhaalo ye duniya..
O ri Duniya…
Wo kahein hain ki duniya ye itni nahi hai
Sitaaron se aage jahaan aur bhi hain
Ye hum hi nahi hain wahaan aur bhi hain
Hamaari har ek baat hoti wahin hai
Hamein aitraaz nahi hai kahin bhi
Wo aalim hain faazil hain honge sahi hi
Magar falsafaa ye bigad jaata hai
Jo wo kehte hain
Aalim ye kehta wahaan Eeshwar hai
Faazil ye kehta wahaan Allah hai
Tumhari hai tum hi sambhalon ye duniya
Ye bujhte huye chand baasi charaaghon ki
Tumhaare ye kaale iraadon ki duniya…
==================================
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Jack Sparrow Says
Recently two of my friends said that I am a boring
person because I am too sincere in my attitude.
I'll try my best to be little insincere, sincerely !
person because I am too sincere in my attitude.
I'll try my best to be little insincere, sincerely !
Thursday, February 4, 2010
मा फलेषु कदाचन |
I have been reading one of the articles by one of the persons
who happens to be my friend/philosopher/guide in some sorts.
In the article, he spoke about how powerful is the following
shloka from Bhagavdgita
"You have the right of only performing the actions, not of
the fruit. Do not live for the fruit of your actions, and do
not shirk from actions."
He explained it quite beautifully and quite in the same
spirit as I understand it (others may not agree!).
Here is a very brief summary of my understanding : You
don't have the right to consequences(fruits) of an action
because there are many factors involved in determining
the consequences, most of the times taking the control
out of your reach. But what you can definitely claim
as your right is the right to perform the action
because there are no other factors involved in it.
If you cannot control the consequences, you should attach
no importance to the consequences in your life. And though
you should practice detachment from the fruits, you
should not turn away from action.
Of course, it is a powerful message and I completely
agree with it except a small part. I find this
detachment-from-the-fruits-of-action part quite
difficult to cope with. I have thought of an alternative
which I feel offers more psychological support to me.
Instead of completely detaching myself from the consequences,
why I should not take a little joy in the thing that I
performed at least one of the multitude of the factors?
(If the consequences are bad, then regret a bit).
I will not claim that I am fully responsible for
the consequences because I know that I am not! I will not
claim joy/sorrow for the part for which I was not responsible.
But I would definitely like to feel pleasure/pain
for the part, even the minute part for which I was
responsible, because this gives me a motivation to move on,
and do more action, to live. Without this little
little joy/sorrow I will not be motivated to live.
Of course, different people will have different interpretations,
different justifications and so on. But I feel that
this little attachment makes me human, to enjoy life, to
give some justification for why I should perform the action.
And the above is also the way I interpret one of my all
time favorite quotes from Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore:
"Emancipation from the bondage of the soil is
no freedom for the tree".
- Onkar
who happens to be my friend/philosopher/guide in some sorts.
In the article, he spoke about how powerful is the following
shloka from Bhagavdgita
"You have the right of only performing the actions, not of
the fruit. Do not live for the fruit of your actions, and do
not shirk from actions."
He explained it quite beautifully and quite in the same
spirit as I understand it (others may not agree!).
Here is a very brief summary of my understanding : You
don't have the right to consequences(fruits) of an action
because there are many factors involved in determining
the consequences, most of the times taking the control
out of your reach. But what you can definitely claim
as your right is the right to perform the action
because there are no other factors involved in it.
If you cannot control the consequences, you should attach
no importance to the consequences in your life. And though
you should practice detachment from the fruits, you
should not turn away from action.
Of course, it is a powerful message and I completely
agree with it except a small part. I find this
detachment-from-the-fruits-of-action part quite
difficult to cope with. I have thought of an alternative
which I feel offers more psychological support to me.
Instead of completely detaching myself from the consequences,
why I should not take a little joy in the thing that I
performed at least one of the multitude of the factors?
(If the consequences are bad, then regret a bit).
I will not claim that I am fully responsible for
the consequences because I know that I am not! I will not
claim joy/sorrow for the part for which I was not responsible.
But I would definitely like to feel pleasure/pain
for the part, even the minute part for which I was
responsible, because this gives me a motivation to move on,
and do more action, to live. Without this little
little joy/sorrow I will not be motivated to live.
Of course, different people will have different interpretations,
different justifications and so on. But I feel that
this little attachment makes me human, to enjoy life, to
give some justification for why I should perform the action.
And the above is also the way I interpret one of my all
time favorite quotes from Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore:
"Emancipation from the bondage of the soil is
no freedom for the tree".
- Onkar
Monday, January 4, 2010
...and the world lost an Euler !
Euler, the legendary mathematician went to the city of Konigsberg. The city was divided in four parts by rivers. The rivers had seven bridges on it. There he was asked if it was possible to travel all the bridges in a single journey without going twice over any bridge.
Euler realized that it was simply not possible !
He redrew the graph drawing edges for each bridge.
He said that traveling each bridge exactly once is same as drawing the graph without lifting pencil. Then he generalized the problem saying that drawing any graph without lifting pencil such that you start from point X (source) and end at point Y (destination) is possible if and only if each point (technically "node") had even number of edges connected to it, with possible exceptions of X and Y.
I had read about this long back but few days ago I tried to prove it and finally proved it. But proving it reminded me of my childhood days.
Someone at my school, mostly a classmate gave us a puzzle. We had to draw the figure below without lifting pencil.
I solved it after a few attempts. It turns out that you must start from point A and end at point B (or vice versa). Because Euler's theorem tells us that only source (A) and destination (B) are allowed to have odd number of edges connected to them, but every intermediate node must have even number of edges.
In my schooldays puzzle, only A and B had odd number of edges. So if your starting and end points of journey were not these points, it is impossible to draw the figure without lifting the pencil.
Though I solved that puzzle, I never realized that it was not the answer but the nature of question that was important.
But I never thought it that way.... and the world lost an Euler ! :P :P
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
