Well, its been an interesting fortnight or so, with so many things happening all round the globe like the Glasgow car bombing,the violence in Islamabad and the death of the 6 yr old boy Suraj after spending 2 days in a 180 feet deep hole. But the piece of news that has caused me most anguish is the news surrounding the "New 7 Wonders of the World" and all the unnecessary hype that it has generated.
Most of you will be puzzled as to what is the thing that troubles me regarding the 7 Wonders. I could and will be listing out the points!
1. The Method itself:
I dont think that it makes sense to judge a monument simply based on the number of votes that are received. If thats the case, the Taj Mahal will be in the list forever!! Thanks to a billion people and more!! There is much more to a monument, and certain factors like history, beauty, culture, architecture and antiquity need to be considered, at least they are worthy of mention somewhere(apart from blind faith/patriotism)!!
2. The Excessive Campaigning:
It really amazes me when i see the levels to which people as well as nations stoop, just to advertise the monument that they like. A few examples..
a. In Brazil, the President Lula da Silva had used a radio address to tell his citizens the procedure to vote for their 'Wonder', "Christ the Redeemer" at Rio de Janeiro.
b. In Peru, internet kiosks were set up by the government so that it would become easier for the citizens to vote for their beloved "Machu Pichu".
c. In India............. Do I even need to tell you what was flashing across news channels all around?? ;)
3. The extent of Ignorance surrounding the whole thing!
a. Most people dont know that this vote has been privately funded by a Switzerland-based organisation called New Open World Corporation, set up by a film maker called Stephen Weber. UNESCO’s former chief Federico Mayor and his committee did draw up the shortlist of 21 wonders, after which they withdrew. None of the voters realise that this vote has "no scientific or official stature", which was the reason Egypt did not go around campaigning for "The Pyramids", supposedly laughing at the idea that they needed to contest in a stupid vote!
b. They dont know anything, be it about the monuments that they are voting or the other monuments which are contesting.
c. They dont know about the previous Wonders' lists, be it the seven ancient/modern/medeival wonders.
d. They fail to realise that the main people profiting out of it will be the telecom operators.
e. Lastly, they think that voting for the monument belonging to their country is an act of patriotism!! Oh purr-leeez!!!
Most of you would be thinking that I'm venting out my frustration through this post, and I think that you are damn right!! The citizens of this world need to get a life and need to find better ways to spend their time and money!! Maybe blogging is the right way out afterall ;)
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
The Science of Signs
I have always been a believer in the adage "There's more to it than meets the eye". At the same time, I have been a proponent of simplicity, be it in the way I think, the way I dress or anything. There are some things to which I attach more importance than most others, and these are the things, which make me complicate situations more than necessary! This might sound contradictory, but hell, the human mind is complicated.
One such thing about which I think a lot, is signs. What do I mean by signs? Everything that happens in our life, happens for a reason. Actually, there is not one reason. There are so many reasons as to why things happen. Why is it that someone said what he/she said the way he/she said, when he could have said it in a different way?? Does he/she mean more than what we would have understood if it was literally translated? Does tone make so much of a difference? Is he/she looking at my eyes while he/she is saying it? If not my eyes, where is he/she looking? One small sentence makes me ask so many questions. Generalise this to every situation in life, and then all we'll have is a huge set of questions. The whole irony about the situation is that, while it sounds so complicated, it is actually very simple. This is because, these questions are not actually asked, everything is subconscious. And the best part is, even the answers are really simple, because there is only one thing that I rely on to answer these questions - my Instinct. And do I trust it?? Of course, because anyone who is not sure of his instincts, is never sure about himself.
And I know for sure that this is not a trait that is unique to me. Most people form opinions on people based on their looks, the way they talk, the way they eat, the way they drive or anything else possible. I wouldn't call them as judgemental either. According to me, that is how it is supposed to be. I am a person who is not only very proud of my friends but also my choice of friends. And I know for a fact that they wouldn't be where they are in my life, if it wasn't for my instinct, my first impression.
Another important thing is, these signs are not only applicable to others, I use them to ascertain my mood, my happiness level, what I should do next, and everything possible. I have come to realise, that the happier I am, the faster I drive and vice versa. And this is applicable only to two wheelers, cant say the same about the car. And a million other things, which I dont even remember. Also if I sing while I drive, it means that its going to be a good day. And the best part is, I never sing during the evenings. I wonder why?? All this is so complicated, yet so beautifully intertwined with my life.
One more pertinent question regarding this is that, "Is there actually any Science behind all these signs??". As far as I know, I dont think so. Even though I do have a suspicion that there are groups of scientists who have been doing research in this field for like the last twenty years and have remotely linked this to the excessive flow of a newly discovered neural fluid which makes people come up with such thoughts!! Pun intended. On a more serious note, I really don't want answers to these questions. It would ruin all the fun, if you know that its something that happens for a reason. Especially when there is logic attached to the reason. Such thoughts make me appreciate the complexity of the human brain & the mind, and I dont think we can do the same if we attach a reason to it.
Aren't there situations when you do something, but when some people ask you why you did it, you are unable to come up with a logical answer. You are fully aware that you have done the right thing or you are right, but when you are asked to justify the same, you'll be short of words. Some things in life happen for a reason, and it is not important that we attach logic to it, because its unnecessary and impertinent. I am not against logic or rational thinking, but there are always invisible boundaries to everything which we come to know of as we become more and more experienced. The sooner we come to realise this, the better!!!
One such thing about which I think a lot, is signs. What do I mean by signs? Everything that happens in our life, happens for a reason. Actually, there is not one reason. There are so many reasons as to why things happen. Why is it that someone said what he/she said the way he/she said, when he could have said it in a different way?? Does he/she mean more than what we would have understood if it was literally translated? Does tone make so much of a difference? Is he/she looking at my eyes while he/she is saying it? If not my eyes, where is he/she looking? One small sentence makes me ask so many questions. Generalise this to every situation in life, and then all we'll have is a huge set of questions. The whole irony about the situation is that, while it sounds so complicated, it is actually very simple. This is because, these questions are not actually asked, everything is subconscious. And the best part is, even the answers are really simple, because there is only one thing that I rely on to answer these questions - my Instinct. And do I trust it?? Of course, because anyone who is not sure of his instincts, is never sure about himself.
And I know for sure that this is not a trait that is unique to me. Most people form opinions on people based on their looks, the way they talk, the way they eat, the way they drive or anything else possible. I wouldn't call them as judgemental either. According to me, that is how it is supposed to be. I am a person who is not only very proud of my friends but also my choice of friends. And I know for a fact that they wouldn't be where they are in my life, if it wasn't for my instinct, my first impression.
Another important thing is, these signs are not only applicable to others, I use them to ascertain my mood, my happiness level, what I should do next, and everything possible. I have come to realise, that the happier I am, the faster I drive and vice versa. And this is applicable only to two wheelers, cant say the same about the car. And a million other things, which I dont even remember. Also if I sing while I drive, it means that its going to be a good day. And the best part is, I never sing during the evenings. I wonder why?? All this is so complicated, yet so beautifully intertwined with my life.
One more pertinent question regarding this is that, "Is there actually any Science behind all these signs??". As far as I know, I dont think so. Even though I do have a suspicion that there are groups of scientists who have been doing research in this field for like the last twenty years and have remotely linked this to the excessive flow of a newly discovered neural fluid which makes people come up with such thoughts!! Pun intended. On a more serious note, I really don't want answers to these questions. It would ruin all the fun, if you know that its something that happens for a reason. Especially when there is logic attached to the reason. Such thoughts make me appreciate the complexity of the human brain & the mind, and I dont think we can do the same if we attach a reason to it.
Aren't there situations when you do something, but when some people ask you why you did it, you are unable to come up with a logical answer. You are fully aware that you have done the right thing or you are right, but when you are asked to justify the same, you'll be short of words. Some things in life happen for a reason, and it is not important that we attach logic to it, because its unnecessary and impertinent. I am not against logic or rational thinking, but there are always invisible boundaries to everything which we come to know of as we become more and more experienced. The sooner we come to realise this, the better!!!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Twisted Freedom
I was just sitting in my room, worrying about the various things that were happening in my life. Then one thing dawned upon me. Life is all about decisions. Decisions about every action that we take, everything that we do which eventually determine who we are, and what we'll become. Be it the microscopic view or the weltanschauung, or what topping you want on your pizza, everything rests on our decisions.
One thought led to another and very soon, I was reminded of the Civics class in school when we were taught "The Fundamental Rights". I remembered that there are 6 Fundamental Rights, one of which is the "Right to Freedom". This lead me to ask myself a very important question
"Are all of us as free as we seem?? "
Every decision that we take seems to be governed by many factors around us. Few of them are peer pressure, parental pressure and most importantly, social dictum. Most of us do things in order to portray ourselves in a better way in front of our peers(society as well). Life is nothing but an exercise in Positioning. Most of us are known by who we seem to be, rather than who we are. Somehow, all of this is because of our restrained decision making abilities, which translates into lack of freedom.
There is an identity that is associated with the people of every institution. And the irony is that, it is an accepted identity, accepted by society. Individuality has become a secondary criteria in any field. People are judged more according to institution rather than who they are. This has become a norm in society.
Whom do we blame for all this?? No one. This is because right from the olden days, people who have come up with ideas not conforming to social decrees have suffered. Socrates, Darwin, Aristotle to name a few. The whole world claims to have become more rational/open minded but that is a fallacy. We claim to be a secular, non racist etc etc.. But one look at the Marriage Classifieds will show us how racist we are. And is there any one complaining?? I guess not. Why? Society is ok with it!
One thing we need to realise is that not all ideas that are against the beliefs of society are malevolent. The search for freedom is still on. Independence is just a small step. Give us one right, give us a hundred, people will remain what they want to be portrayed as. We seek to visit new lands, meet new people but one person that all of us are ignoring is "Our true self".
One thought led to another and very soon, I was reminded of the Civics class in school when we were taught "The Fundamental Rights". I remembered that there are 6 Fundamental Rights, one of which is the "Right to Freedom". This lead me to ask myself a very important question
"Are all of us as free as we seem?? "
Every decision that we take seems to be governed by many factors around us. Few of them are peer pressure, parental pressure and most importantly, social dictum. Most of us do things in order to portray ourselves in a better way in front of our peers(society as well). Life is nothing but an exercise in Positioning. Most of us are known by who we seem to be, rather than who we are. Somehow, all of this is because of our restrained decision making abilities, which translates into lack of freedom.
There is an identity that is associated with the people of every institution. And the irony is that, it is an accepted identity, accepted by society. Individuality has become a secondary criteria in any field. People are judged more according to institution rather than who they are. This has become a norm in society.
Whom do we blame for all this?? No one. This is because right from the olden days, people who have come up with ideas not conforming to social decrees have suffered. Socrates, Darwin, Aristotle to name a few. The whole world claims to have become more rational/open minded but that is a fallacy. We claim to be a secular, non racist etc etc.. But one look at the Marriage Classifieds will show us how racist we are. And is there any one complaining?? I guess not. Why? Society is ok with it!
One thing we need to realise is that not all ideas that are against the beliefs of society are malevolent. The search for freedom is still on. Independence is just a small step. Give us one right, give us a hundred, people will remain what they want to be portrayed as. We seek to visit new lands, meet new people but one person that all of us are ignoring is "Our true self".
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
The Economics of Happiness
For every person who has gained a rupee, there is a person who has lost one. For every business thats at profit, there is one which is at an equal loss. Can the same rule be extended to happiness?? What exactly would this mean?? For every person who becomes happy at a certain instant, would there be someone who is becoming sad as a result??
Disclaimer:
I dont have a clue what makes me think of such things. But for those who are still interested in this. Read on!!
There is one major obstacle that I face while tackling this problem. While money was a determinate quantity, happiness is not. While we can measure the amount of money one has, we cant measure how happy a person is. So lets assume a thing, if something good/desirable happens, then it is considered a happy event and vice versa.
Now let us apply this to a few specific cases:
1) Classroom Situation: Student A scores full marks in the test(out of 15). And he is the only person in the class who has done this.
Analysis: From our assumption, we can conclude that A's happiness quotient would increase. Lets see what happens to the others. For simpler understanding, lets divide the students based on the kind of marks that they have scored.
a) Students who have scored 14 and above: Most of the students will be happy with their scores. But there will be a select few who will be a little sad/frustrated because they have lost a chance to score full marks thanks to a very silly/miniscule error in their test.
b) Students between 10-14: Most of them will know that they can reach the elite category easily, and cross the thin line that exists between them and students of category (a). Some will be inspired, some will be satisfied, while some will be sad for sure because of the gap in performance despite the negligible gap in ability.
c) Students < 10: I dont think we need to consider this category because I really dont think they are worthy of comparison with both A and the students of category (a).
Conclusion: Happiness does lead to sadness.
2) Same as situation A. Only difference is that there are many people who have scored full marks in their test.
There is only one category of students that are worth consideration here. They are the many students who have scored in the 12-14 range who are feeling worse than they would have felt otherwise because of the number of people who have scored full marks.
Conclusion: Happiness leads to sadness, again.
Consider any other happening, there would always be someone sad for someone happy, some masochists for some sybarites and so on.. All this is a part of the intricate balance that is inherent in nature. Another reason I can think of is man's insatiable appetite for things he can do without, which keeps him whining all the time. There is no shortage of whiners in this world!! (Take the Arsenal football team for a start!! Man U rocks!!)
Consider a Utopian world in which everyone was happy. No one would even know what sadness felt like. Would the terms sadness and happiness even exist?? No. These are just causal responses by the human mind/heart to the surrounding conditions. Most people keep complaining about the vegetated lifestyles that they lead, but know one thing for a fact, our lives would be most boring without all this. I still don't know what made me write this post, but I ended up writing this for public viewing though I totally know for a fact that this would make sense only to very small section of readers. A similar analogy can be applied to the news channels of today, which thrive on delivering sensational news stories rather than stories which are morally/politically more important.
The earth, as created had everything in balance(Except Entropy, of course which keeps increasing!!!). Unfortunately man seems to be disrupting it, thanks to his promiscuous behaviour(Water, Energy etc to name a few). I have full faith in the disruptive powers of the human race, that there will be a time when even Emotional balance would be put to test. Very soon..
Disclaimer:
I dont have a clue what makes me think of such things. But for those who are still interested in this. Read on!!
There is one major obstacle that I face while tackling this problem. While money was a determinate quantity, happiness is not. While we can measure the amount of money one has, we cant measure how happy a person is. So lets assume a thing, if something good/desirable happens, then it is considered a happy event and vice versa.
Now let us apply this to a few specific cases:
1) Classroom Situation: Student A scores full marks in the test(out of 15). And he is the only person in the class who has done this.
Analysis: From our assumption, we can conclude that A's happiness quotient would increase. Lets see what happens to the others. For simpler understanding, lets divide the students based on the kind of marks that they have scored.
a) Students who have scored 14 and above: Most of the students will be happy with their scores. But there will be a select few who will be a little sad/frustrated because they have lost a chance to score full marks thanks to a very silly/miniscule error in their test.
b) Students between 10-14: Most of them will know that they can reach the elite category easily, and cross the thin line that exists between them and students of category (a). Some will be inspired, some will be satisfied, while some will be sad for sure because of the gap in performance despite the negligible gap in ability.
c) Students < 10: I dont think we need to consider this category because I really dont think they are worthy of comparison with both A and the students of category (a).
Conclusion: Happiness does lead to sadness.
2) Same as situation A. Only difference is that there are many people who have scored full marks in their test.
There is only one category of students that are worth consideration here. They are the many students who have scored in the 12-14 range who are feeling worse than they would have felt otherwise because of the number of people who have scored full marks.
Conclusion: Happiness leads to sadness, again.
Consider any other happening, there would always be someone sad for someone happy, some masochists for some sybarites and so on.. All this is a part of the intricate balance that is inherent in nature. Another reason I can think of is man's insatiable appetite for things he can do without, which keeps him whining all the time. There is no shortage of whiners in this world!! (Take the Arsenal football team for a start!! Man U rocks!!)
Consider a Utopian world in which everyone was happy. No one would even know what sadness felt like. Would the terms sadness and happiness even exist?? No. These are just causal responses by the human mind/heart to the surrounding conditions. Most people keep complaining about the vegetated lifestyles that they lead, but know one thing for a fact, our lives would be most boring without all this. I still don't know what made me write this post, but I ended up writing this for public viewing though I totally know for a fact that this would make sense only to very small section of readers. A similar analogy can be applied to the news channels of today, which thrive on delivering sensational news stories rather than stories which are morally/politically more important.
The earth, as created had everything in balance(Except Entropy, of course which keeps increasing!!!). Unfortunately man seems to be disrupting it, thanks to his promiscuous behaviour(Water, Energy etc to name a few). I have full faith in the disruptive powers of the human race, that there will be a time when even Emotional balance would be put to test. Very soon..
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