I don't know the answer. But I used to think, the only way you can make others believe that you are a 'curious thinker' is by asking 'Why?' for anything and everything. Newton asked 'Why does the apple fall down?' and Raman asked 'Why is the sky blue?'. These and many other whys have led to wonderful scientific breakthroughs...Naturally, this seems to have led to a popular misconception- anyone who asks 'Why', THINKS...! (or intends to make others think?!!)
Now,why am I bothered about why a why is asked!? Simply because it disturbs me greatly when someone who considers himself smart goes on asking 'why'..without even thinking whether a 'why' is pertinent in that context...! I feel it is necessary to draw the line somewhere...you have to ask 'why's only in X instances and not in Y set of instances...! A conversation with ABC, confirmed my conviction! 'x,y,z have been implemented, x'y'z' could not be completed due to 1,2,3..reasons...' 'Why is that so?'..ok..count++; '1,2,3..are the reasons..' 'Why 1?, Why 2? Why 3?...Why n?' count=count+n;!
By now, it dawned on me that this man went on asking 'Why's because he didnt understand what reason =1,2,3...meant! Well..those werent great equations, those were simple statements...If you could THINK, even a little, all the reasons would have become clear..crystal clear! Does that mean those who dont think keep 'why'-ing?!!
Contradiction?!
Friday, November 19, 2004
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
3
I always feel 3 is a nice optimal number, when you consider discrete values, that is. The other day, my mother wanted me to buy some fruits. 'Get as many as you want'..she said. And off I went to the fruit seller's...There were nice juicy apples and lovely oranges and pomegranates...I decided to buy all the three..'How many of each?'...Tough question...I thought for a while and said 'gimme 3 of each...'and managed to reduce the price considerably on account of the fact that I was a 'regular customer'!
Pleased with the bargain, I was all smiles as I reached home. My mother looked at the basket and picked the fruits one after another...'3 of each?!' she cried..'Ya..anything wrong?'..'I am tired of telling you..Can you not buy in even numbers?'...'It's not that I dont like even numbers..(!) its just that I find 2 too less and 4 slightly more...So I settle for 3...' It was holding on fine till then...'After all my roll number at school was also 3..' That was a completely unnecessary statement...'Nonsense...Hereafter do ONLY what I ask you to...Dont act smart..' cautioned my mother...
That left me thinking...What's really wrong with 3 and other odd numbers...Ok..am not really bothered about all other odd numbers..(Induction...If 4 is more, 5 etc would also be more!) 3 is my concern.. It's such a compact number (and my lucky one too!)...The letters in my name are 3, my roll number had been 3 for many many years...And there was a 3 in my ID number at college too...Arent these 3 reasons enough for me prefer 3? (Did you notice there are 3 paragraphs in this? and here's the trump...There are three times(!) five 3's in this..)
Pleased with the bargain, I was all smiles as I reached home. My mother looked at the basket and picked the fruits one after another...'3 of each?!' she cried..'Ya..anything wrong?'..'I am tired of telling you..Can you not buy in even numbers?'...'It's not that I dont like even numbers..(!) its just that I find 2 too less and 4 slightly more...So I settle for 3...' It was holding on fine till then...'After all my roll number at school was also 3..' That was a completely unnecessary statement...'Nonsense...Hereafter do ONLY what I ask you to...Dont act smart..' cautioned my mother...
That left me thinking...What's really wrong with 3 and other odd numbers...Ok..am not really bothered about all other odd numbers..(Induction...If 4 is more, 5 etc would also be more!) 3 is my concern.. It's such a compact number (and my lucky one too!)...The letters in my name are 3, my roll number had been 3 for many many years...And there was a 3 in my ID number at college too...Arent these 3 reasons enough for me prefer 3? (Did you notice there are 3 paragraphs in this? and here's the trump...There are three times(!) five 3's in this..)
All for a 100 waala...
Diwali at Pilani is a good deal different from diwali anywhere else...It was our first Diwali at Pilani and quite naturally, we were sad and happy at the same time...Sad because we werent at home and happy for just the reason that it was a different diwali...
No Diwali is complete without bursting crackers...and we decided to go for it...pooling in money, we bought an assortment of crackers..flower pots,chakras and 100 and all other waalas! The whole place was resounding with the noise of crackers...When the fighting rival gangs stopped to replenish their supplies, we decided to take centre stage and burst!!!
First came the flower pots...really cool...Then it was time for a real 'show of strength'(lol!) and we unzipped the 100.exe's...'Who takes the first one?' someone cried and a sense of comradeship overcame all of us as we said 'you go first' to one another...Gathering courage, K and I decided to 'bell the cat'...With lighted 'special' incense sticks,we went closer..It was dark and the streetlights werent a great help..On top of it, there was this unexplainable nervousness...I went near the well-laid series of intertwined bijilis(!) and bent to see the 'lightable' end...No sooner had I set my eyes on that, there was a scream...K was the culprit..She thought I had lighted it!!...Impulsively, I ran back...'Ok..cool it..'I said and ventured again...This time K let out a loud shriek! This happened a few times...It must have seemed very amusing as someone in a gang waiting for their dinner, said mockingly..'Shh..lets wait till they burst it..' We went for it one more time...K walked over along with me and we held each other tightly...'we need to prove a point'..we declared and summoned all the courage we could muster and bent really close and lighted it..We kept looking at it for what seemed like eternity and when the first 'hissss' came, we had already sprinted many yards away...funny, flight hormone...!
The 100.exe executed perfectly, and we stood there like brave heroes who had just crushed an entire army to defeat! Close by, the 'watchers' broke into a round of applause and those at other tables joined...'Finally..!!' said one...'I never knew it took 2 people, 4 high-pitched screams and 4 feet of running...all for a 100 waala!'
No Diwali is complete without bursting crackers...and we decided to go for it...pooling in money, we bought an assortment of crackers..flower pots,chakras and 100 and all other waalas! The whole place was resounding with the noise of crackers...When the fighting rival gangs stopped to replenish their supplies, we decided to take centre stage and burst!!!
First came the flower pots...really cool...Then it was time for a real 'show of strength'(lol!) and we unzipped the 100.exe's...'Who takes the first one?' someone cried and a sense of comradeship overcame all of us as we said 'you go first' to one another...Gathering courage, K and I decided to 'bell the cat'...With lighted 'special' incense sticks,we went closer..It was dark and the streetlights werent a great help..On top of it, there was this unexplainable nervousness...I went near the well-laid series of intertwined bijilis(!) and bent to see the 'lightable' end...No sooner had I set my eyes on that, there was a scream...K was the culprit..She thought I had lighted it!!...Impulsively, I ran back...'Ok..cool it..'I said and ventured again...This time K let out a loud shriek! This happened a few times...It must have seemed very amusing as someone in a gang waiting for their dinner, said mockingly..'Shh..lets wait till they burst it..' We went for it one more time...K walked over along with me and we held each other tightly...'we need to prove a point'..we declared and summoned all the courage we could muster and bent really close and lighted it..We kept looking at it for what seemed like eternity and when the first 'hissss' came, we had already sprinted many yards away...funny, flight hormone...!
The 100.exe executed perfectly, and we stood there like brave heroes who had just crushed an entire army to defeat! Close by, the 'watchers' broke into a round of applause and those at other tables joined...'Finally..!!' said one...'I never knew it took 2 people, 4 high-pitched screams and 4 feet of running...all for a 100 waala!'
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Dare to Differ
There is nothing challenging in being part of a herd of goats. All goats do the same thing, over and over again. What makes life interesting is the courage to stand out from the crowd.
Those who dare to differ are willing to take risks. When we 'take a risk', we are deviating from a set of time-tested 'safe' actions. A time-tested safe action is perhaps the one that has yielded the same (desirable) result every time it was taken by different individuals. When an action cannot be classified as 'safe' it is possibly 'risky'. Over time, the 'risky' action may be included in the set of 'safe' actions.
Also, the percentage of people who want to 'be different' seems to be less..I am unable to come up with an accurate numerical value but by and large there is a greater tendency to follow 'usual practices' (May be thats why they become 'usual practices'!!). This may be attributed to the fact that humans, being social animals, value stability more.
There is a fine line that divides 'being different' and overdoing it. When the whole world wears cotton in summer and if you decide to be different and choose to wear wool...you are clearly crossing the limits of 'daring to differ'! On the other hand, when all students in your class want to do an MBA (whether they like it or not) and you put your foot down and say you want to be a Professor, you are definitely a 'different' soul! In this case, going by what you like (your instincts!!?) lends that 'different' shade to you!
Does everyone have a 'different' shade?! May be yes... But whether they end up being 'different' or not depends on their ability to recognize the 'different' shade and their willingness to take that risk!
Those who dare to differ are willing to take risks. When we 'take a risk', we are deviating from a set of time-tested 'safe' actions. A time-tested safe action is perhaps the one that has yielded the same (desirable) result every time it was taken by different individuals. When an action cannot be classified as 'safe' it is possibly 'risky'. Over time, the 'risky' action may be included in the set of 'safe' actions.
Also, the percentage of people who want to 'be different' seems to be less..I am unable to come up with an accurate numerical value but by and large there is a greater tendency to follow 'usual practices' (May be thats why they become 'usual practices'!!). This may be attributed to the fact that humans, being social animals, value stability more.
There is a fine line that divides 'being different' and overdoing it. When the whole world wears cotton in summer and if you decide to be different and choose to wear wool...you are clearly crossing the limits of 'daring to differ'! On the other hand, when all students in your class want to do an MBA (whether they like it or not) and you put your foot down and say you want to be a Professor, you are definitely a 'different' soul! In this case, going by what you like (your instincts!!?) lends that 'different' shade to you!
Does everyone have a 'different' shade?! May be yes... But whether they end up being 'different' or not depends on their ability to recognize the 'different' shade and their willingness to take that risk!
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