On the pursuit of happiness

It was a hunt for happiness that I started,
And I searched in every corner and nook.
Every tool did I use, and every technique did I try,
but I was overwhelmed by the effort it took.

I felt like my  whole life was a lie,
And my head swelled with pain and sorrow.
The future felt flustering, and the present, perplexing,
and I thought I was trapped, with no hope for tomorrow.

Everything around me seemed dark and dull,
And the only hue left in the world was gray.
With all my strength, I tried to flee,
but I could not get far,try as I may.

And then, an epiphany emerged from within,
It felt bright, like a lamp that illuminates a shade.
I had finally realized that happiness was not to be found,
but it was simply a choice to be made.

Fear,the monster.

Fear renders one motionless,
and causes one to shake and shear.
It paralyses one from within,
and makes all joy disappear.

Fear clouds one's mind up,
leaving confusion and nausea in it's wake.
It  brings forth gloom and helplessness,
and causes the world around one to break.

Fear can seem insurmountable,
and drain all hope away.
It can seem like ages left,
before one can even sway.

What can defeat fear, then ?
Nothing but joy and hope and acceptance.
One shall learn to be joyous,
and learn to live a live that's less tense.

Birthdays on Mars

The measurement of the passage of time is important to us, as sentinent living inhabitants of earth. Of all the methods available to us, the day-night cycle, based on the earth's rotation and the annual cycle, based on the earth's revolution around the sun are probably the most important.

Almost all organisms on Earth have evolved what can be described as 'biological clocks', calibrated by the solar cycle, but this is food for discussion for another day.

Here, we ponder about the effects of cultural implications of a different 'diurnal cycle'(The day-night cycle) on lives of people. Let us consider, for instance, the act of celebrating birthdays. One's birthday is obviously an annual occurence, providing a marker for the passage of each year. And as the Earth's rotational period and revolution period is fairly constant, one is justified in using it as such. Now, we assume an hypothetical situation in which there exists a settlement of humans on a different planetary body, either a different planet or a moon:

If, for instance, a colony of humans made a settlement on Mars, they would initially 'suffer' the interplanetary equivalent of 'jet-lag', in this case being 'confused' about the diurnal cycle on Mars, as opposed to Earth. i.e, all life on Earth is adapted to living on Earth, with the 'biological clocks' or 'circadian rythm' being calibrated to the diurnal cycle on Earth. Thus, when faced with a different cycle length, the human body will be 'confused'. But of course, the length of a Martian day is almost equal to the length of an Earthly day, so this problem is somewhat rendered 'solved'. The other 'cycle' that impacts life is the annual cycle, or the length of the Earth's revolution aorund the sun. This cycle is responsible for bringing different seasons, and this calibrates the biological clock in other ways too. The duration of a Martian year is almost twice the duration of an Earthly year, and this would make the seasons on Mars longer too. Thus, the initial settlers on Mars , if they decide to celebrate their birthdays based on 'Earth-time', they would be celebrating it at almost halfway through the Martian year. Perhaps, over a few generations, the descendants of the 'original' settlers would have bodies that are adapted to the Martian cycle rather than the Earthly cycle (Apart from the gravitational difference etc).

If the settlement were made on the moon of a planet, the problem is further compounded as the revolution of the moon around the planet would further change the day-night cycle, and the annual cycle etc.

It is certainly interesting to think about how life evolves in accordance with it's environment. I certainly do hope that mankind sets foot on other planets, someday, in the spirit of exploration and learning.

Alternate universes - Sherlock

Fictional settings are obviously placed in alternate universes whose 'histories' diverge from our universe in ways, both big and small. In this post, I'll attempt the 'analysis' of one such fictional universe - That of the British television show 'Sherlock', which  presents a contemporary version of the Sherlock Holmes stories, originally authored by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The show primarily stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson, among others, and each 'incident' that happens within the show, is essentially a mirrored version of the original stories, obviously updated with cultural and technological references that are relevant in the modern day.

So, apart from the obvious deviations, such as the existence of the characters, and unfolding of certain events etc, the other , not so evident differences in that universe are :

->  The non-existence of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle : Arthur Conan Doyle did not obviously exist even in the original stories, and even if he did, he certainly was not the famous author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, that he was in the real world.

-> The non-existence of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle implies the non-existence of his other works - The Lost World, and other works featuring the character of Professor Challenger etc. This would also mean that the Micahel Crichton novel , 'Lost World', if it existed in this universe, would be called by a differnt name.

-> The abscence of works by other authors, and other fictional works that were originally inspired by Conan Doyle's original books. For example, Agatha Christie's character Hercule Poirot was at least partially influenced by the popularity of the detective genre initiated by the original Sherlock Holmes stories, and he would probably not exist too. Also, the character of Dr.House on the television series House M.D is based on Holmes, and this would also be rendered moot. Another instance that I can think of is the Marvel comics character Destiny, who in the Marvel universe, is supposed to be Irene Adler - A character from the Sherlock Holmes canon.

There are obviously a lot more differences than just he ones that I have written about here, and I leave that to the speculation of anyone who might be reading this. And of course, if you haven't watched the show, do so soon, for it is indeed quite good.

Sorry, wrong planet .

This post is dedicated to all those who feel, or at some point of time in their lives,have felt that they're stuck on the wrong world.

There are many reasons why one might feel that way - Not being able to fit in well with conventional social situations is one possible reason. Disagreement with certain courses of action, and reactions expected of people is another possible reason. And of course, there is always the possibility of not being able to follow up with conventional expectations of what one should or should not do, with conformism to 'conventional ideals' being a universally asked-for conjecture.

We, the other 'earth-born-aliens' are many more in number than what you can imagine. We are very much real, and you are not alone in your bemusement with the world and it's workings. We are unique in our own ways, and yet tied together by the common-thread of not being bogged down by unnecessary daily rituals or by redundant protocols that serve no discernible purpose.

So, fellow 'other'-worlder, do not fret, for we are here to live our lives in our own way, and no one can oppose our methods and our means. Our idiosyncrasies define us all, and our consuetudes are what gives color,to an otherwise drab world.

'Now' matters

Life keeps happening, whether one wants it or not. Time keeps moving forward , beyond our control. Nothing seems to matter in the long term, but it is not so. Our emotions , our thoughts and our actions are our own. We can be stripped of everything material that we own, everything that is tangible yet, no one can rob us of those. We think , we live , we feel and we create , not because it leads to tangible rewards, but because it drives us. We are alive only as we have the power to do these things,and we , as a species have thrived for so long because of our abilities to do so.

Nothing may seem to matter in the long term, including our individual existences , and while this may be true,to an extent, we exist in the present moment, and we ought to live in this moment, exist simply because it is joyous to do so, contemplate things around us, feel awed by existence itself.

Our moment is now, and we ought to seize it. Purpose is momentous and wide-spread, rather than a localized entity that we ought to trace. Carpe Diem !

Hate and all his friends

I'm revulsed by People with prejudices,
who seldom pause to ponder;
I dislike conceited chaps,
with egos stretching from here to yonder.

I loathe the compulsive dominant ones,
who are ever ready to gloat;
I despise those who mock other folk,
in attempts to self-promote.

I abhor those who falsely claim to be,
what they are and can be not;
I'm scornful to those who claim other's chefdoeuvres,
either in whole or in part.

I detest all those persons,
who can be described as I've said;
I hate them all with a passion,
and I'd rather have them dead.

Existential despair

If there is one thing that is both awe-inspiring and suicidally depressing at the same time , it is the attempt to understand the magnitude at which the universe exists - Spatially and temporally.

The universe is one huge entity, and we are very insignificant indeed. It is one thing to talk about millions of miles and billions of years, yet another to truly comprehend it. Thousands of people have lived before us, and and have lived lives, accomplished great deeds , performed shocking acts of atrocity , contemplated the workings of the cosmos , wondered about the future etc before a lot of us were even conceived. Entire nations have formed and withered away and many more shall join their ranks in the times to come. Entire planets and celestial objects shall be part of this cycle of birth , growth and death, and the universe will still be there. We are all but results of random perturbations in the universe - mere statistical anomalies in a great bubble of uniformity.

I look around the world and am awe-struck by the magnitude of existence,and depressed by the fact that in the end, I shall amount to nothing , just like everyone and everything else that was,that is and that will be. I desperately seek out for understanding it all, to remain significant for all time to come , and grudgingly accept that I can never be that way.

We,the thinkers.

The world is a wondrous place,
and the greatest thing one can do,is wonder -
We wonder why things are the way they are;
About Our existences,we do ponder.

We seek to find the world's workings,
and We look for answers,wherever they lie -
We think,we reason,we analyse and we understand;
For the greater thing ever asked, is the question 'Why?'

We dare to look beyond the facade of faith,
and steadily seek the truth unfurled -
We are not driven by promises of a life beyond;
But by the joy of thought,and the dreams for a better world.

Life as a set of Phd comics.

This is about my life as graduate student,and I will not mince words when I say this - Graduate student life is very,very hard. I have been more cheery so far than some of my peers , but there are indeed some moments when I feel like I'm at the end of an alley,with no discernible place to turn to. One thing I would like to clarify at this point is this - I'm not advocating against graduate life or the possibilities and opportunities that come with it. I clearly have learnt a lot more in an year and a half of Graduate school so far than I did in four years of getting a bachelor's degree in Engineering,but to quote up a cliche, the path to a successful graduate degree is not strewn with roses,and has more than a fair share of thorns.

These are some points that one always needs to remember while in Graduate school :
1. You are not alone - This is an especially interesting point - One only needs to look at any of the various rants/posts/message-board support about life in graduate school,and academia to understand that there are a lot of other people in various stages of graduate life,experiencing the same problem that one is.
2. This too,shall pass - One needs to remember that grad school eventually does end,and with the passage of time,all will be left are bittersweet memories (Maybe just slightly more bitter than sweet,for some folks =) ).
3. Do not be afraid to seek help - Depression is not uncommon among graduate students, thanks to the sheer work that it demands,coupled with other things in life,and one should not be afraid to seek professional help about it. Most universities tend to have a free counseling center,and they can help with combating depression,anxiety and general stress. And besides,they're free!
4. Staying motivated is important - It doesn't take a great leap of analysis to understand that one's interest and focus towards a certain task/set of tasks are not necessarily the same at all times,especially with the stress involved,and it important that one does not lose a considerable amount of motivation that may hinder his/her progress in the research being done. Having said that, if the loss of motivation is due to realizing that the research is not something that doesn't stimulate one,or pique's one's interest anymore, it may be a good idea to attempt moving away to seek inspiration elsewhere.
5. There is life outside the lab - It is especially easy to forget this,but one's life need not should not be limited to one's research or work in the lab etc, and it is important to not let go off the little things that define oneself as a person. It also might be a good idea to find other such avocations. Of course,the key to it all ,like in any other situation, is moderation.

My experience as a graduate student so far has been nothing short of a saga - It has had it's share of happy moments, emotional upheavals , fast-paced moments, ridiculously slow-paced ones , and a lot of waiting. And when I graduate , I will be a better version of what I was when I came in,for like they say, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

No true Scotsman.

The most common type of argument that I tend to encounter when talking about the inherent fallacies of religious systems is the 'No true Scotsman' argument. Firstly,let me define what this is : Wikipedia describes it as such -

'No true Scotsman is an informal logical fallacy, an ad hoc attempt to retain an unreasoned assertion. When faced with a counterexample to a universal claim, rather than denying the counterexample or rejecting the original universal claim, this fallacy modifies the subject of the assertion to exclude the specific case or others like it by rhetoric, without reference to any specific objective rule.'.

Let me transcribe a conversation that I sometimes am a part of, that also serves to make clear what fallacy that I'm talking about -

Me: I do not self-identify as a Hindu,but rather as a non-religious person. Other Person: Why? Me: Hinduism ,as a religion,has certain things that I don't agree with,including the caste system Other Person: But,the caste system is not part of True Hinduism.

Essentially,what is happening here is that the other person agrees that the subject (In this case,Hinduism)'s negative trait (In this case,the caste system) being pointed out is indeed negative,but argues for the subject by indicating that 'True Hinduism' does not include the caste system.

As an ex-Hindu,most of my attempts at demystifying religion tend to involve Hindus , and so,I described a conversation referencing Hinduism, but indeed,this logical fallacy is quite common by people of any other religion ,as well.

An important thing about the scientific method is that it does not support the 'No true Scotsman' logical fallacy - a counterexample to an existing notion simply results in the rejection of the existing notion,to make way for a new notion.Thus,in my opinion,the scientific method is the more reliable way to contemplate the cosmos.

Everyone knows a person like that

And moreover,Galileo said that the earth moved around the sun,not that the earth was flat.

The most dangerous thing.

The world today is much more connected and smaller than ever before,and will definitely come together closer in the future,thanks to rapid advancements in communications and transportation.And yet,an irrelevant relic of the past haunts us,slowing down progress like no other.The thing being talked about is jingoism. While I have speculated about the origins of jingoism before,and written about it,this post will be focusing on the ills it brings.

Being proud of one's group is a fine thing, it becomes a problem when one tends to believe that one's group is intrinsically superior to all other groups that have existed,are existing ,and will exist.An individual having such beliefs and tendencies would be looked at as deficient in mental capacity and cognitive abilities,and yet a larger group agreeing with him tends to negate the absurd nature of his original claim (To members of that group). The situation becomes potentially more dangerous when other groups,having similar delusions of grandeur about themselves,come into the picture.The whole scenario then becomes potentially explosive and dangerous to be in.

In a world that is not bound by any natural boundaries,restricting oneself to life in a small circle is without any semblance of logic.We ought to free ourselves of the shackles of primitive thought in a postmodern world.

We humans are all comprised of the same set of anatomic parts,the same set of impulses ,the same set of emotions and the same set of weaknesses,and no one group can claim superiority in any form over any other,be it a race,religion,nationality,or any of the various other distinctions we use to segregate ourselves.That is the only way to a better future.

Tea,anyone ?

Anyone who's lived in South-India for any amount of time will definitely be familiar with the small Tea-shops that dot the sides of the streets ,everywhere.

Indian Tea-shops(Tea Kadais,as they are known in Tamil) are a generic structure-They are all small hole-in-the-wall joints,having a bench or two right outside the establishment for customers to seat themselves,and most of them have not more than two employees - One person to prepare Tea,Coffee or other simple hot milk-based beverages,and another person to collect and wash the glass cups in which the drinks are served,and to help the tea-maker (AKA Tea-master) with other 'trivial' tasks.

The Tea shops also usually have stocks of snacks,that go well with the drinks - Savory local favorites such as Murukku(A snack made by deep-frying spiced millet dough in patterns that sometime resemble fractals),Thattais(A small hardened spicy pancake made from a spiced dough similar to the murukku batter,but more granular) and mixtures(An unimaginative name for an awesome snack made by mixing up small batches of other savory and sweet snack-foods) and butter cookies and tea-cakes.Apart from these,Tea-shops also act as newspaper stockists,with a number of national and regional broadsheets available for purchase).

Tea-shops are an important part of smaller towns and villages,where they serve a function,not unlike the taverns of 18th century England -People meet together at the Tea-shops,and discuss whatever is the most pressing news at that time-From disappointing cricket scores to the new political developments that have happened in the country.

Tea-shops are a classic example of local ,generic non-franchised businesses that are very hard to find in a lot of other places,with many food and drink chains opening up their 'branches' everywhere around the world.Also,Many tea-shops are shunned by the younger population who tend to prefer the larger and more expensive coffee-chains that have cropped up everywhere,due to the perceived 'coolness' factor associated with them.This is especially true in the bigger cities like Chennai and Bangalore.Also,many Tea-shops are looked down upon by the younger population as 'unhygienic' and 'dirty' ,even if the beverage preparation is done in the open,for all to see.

In spite of the many such hard-times that have fallen upon them,they will never ever disappear,for they have become an integral part of the scenery in South India,much like the Hot dog stands of New York and the Fish&Chips shops of London.To many South Indians,sometimes all that it takes to set right a day that has been bad to one is a perfect cup of Tea from the local Tea-Kadai,with a Thattai to go with it.

Being Cool - Part 1

"Ha,that's so uncool",said A.
"Why is it so?",I asked him,quite puzzled at his statment.
"Well,it doesn't look sleek at all,for starters,and frankly,what would people say,if they see it?",He said.
"Well,it is quite old,so obviously it doesn't look 'sleek' like any of the newer ones in the market,but it does it's job perfectly well,and truth be told,it is quite awesome at what it does.And does it really matter how it looks like,as long as it's functionality is retained?",I asked.
"Moreover,why do you need to care what others think of it ?",I added.
"Well,they're cool and you're not",he said.
I was quite irritated now,and said " who even defines what's cool,anyway? It's not like 'coolness' is a standard quantity,anyway.It's just the average of everyone's opinions taken,with a slight curving of the results to fit in with the most stupid of the lot"
He looked at me and was about to say something,when A's friend walked towards us ,took a look at what I was having and said,"You have that? That is so cool,man!",streching each syllable like it was a piece of rubber,and proceeded to talk with A.
I slapped myself on the forehead,shook my head hoplessly,and silently wished for a flying saucer to take me away to a better and more sensible place.

What death can teach us.

I had signed into Facebook,when I learnt from my newsfeed that someone on my friends' list had posted a message on his wall about a friend of his being killed in an accident.I visited the departed person's profile to see it being flooded with messages wishing for his soul to rest in peace.I scrolled down a bit to see that just a few days ago,he had been online and had posted a link to a music video,had wished someone on their birthday,had changed his profile picture,and other such smal things that we all do when we are on Facebook.It was then that I thought to myself - The person who died surely did not know it was coming.The person who died must have had his share of ambitions,likes,dislikes,plans for the future etc.The person who died must have had a number of things that he had wished to do sometime in the future - Maybe he had wanted to learn something new,perhaps he wanted to confess love to someone he held dear,maybe he had had plans to apologize to someone he had hurt in the past,and maybe he had wanted to make peace with someone who had hurt him.
Perhaps when death was near,and he knew for a fact that he was going to be no more,he did regret not doing a lot of those aforementioned things.Maybe he thought of things that could have been but were clearly not going to be,now.
I then thought to myself-One can never know when one is going to be touched by the cold yet caring hands of death.And at the moment of one's death,though we will all have our regrets,ranging from the small and insignificant to the huge and monumental,it is upon us to see that we have as few as them as possible.I urge everyone who does read this,to go ahead and do something that he always has wanted to do.We all ought to,for we do not know what the next moment brings.

Fruit of Insomnia - A Nursery Rhymesque poem.

Twas a midsummer's night,
And every other person did sleep;
Everyone except this humble one,
And I did try counting sheep.

The stars in the sky did glitter,
and the sandman's work was done;
But while everyone else got their forty winks,
I did not get even one.

The world did seem to be silent,
except for some snores;
I thought I'd sing myself a Lullaby,
And I sang till my throat was hoarse.

I closed my eyes and awaited,
for the sleeping to ensue;
But then I heard a very loud cry,
and it went 'Cock-A-doodle-do!'.

Now,The sun was back in the sky,
and the day was indeed bright;
Yet,now I was filled with hope,
Perhaps I shall sleep tonight!

Of things that could have been

Yesterday has gone away,
and tomorrow remains to be seen;
All that is left are memories,
and visions of things that could have been.

The choices have been already made,
and the changeless chain has been set in motion;
One cannot change or alter and affect,
that which is cidevant causation.

Present-day's preferences' precipitates will persist,
long after the future is but the past;
Yet,one cannot discern if those choices,
are those that shall last.

Yesterday is etched in stone,
while today's choices are umpteen;
One should work to a better tomorrow,
than worry about things that could have been.

On the digitizing of taste.

Modern computers have come a long way since their early mathematical calculator days,and their usage has made our lives a very pleasant experience.Using a computing device and an internet connection,we can do things that would have been considered impossible only a few decades ago,such as have a 'real',eye to eye conversation with another person on the other side of the earth. With the use of robotic arms,it is even possible to physically manipulate objects acorss the globe. We are now in a world that is becoming smaller,thanks to the advent of high speed computing,and high speed internet. Yet,there are certain aspects of our living experience that we have not yet attempted to 'replicate' virtually,one of the most important of them being our gustatory sense ,more commonly known as the sense of taste.

One's sense of taste may not seem to be a very important part of our life experience(Atleast,not as important as one's visual/ocular sense),but that definitely is not true. Our sense of taste can act as a comforting element,can be an antidepressant,and when acting along with its closely related cousing,the sense of smell,can trigger memories of long ago.Taste can also help us identify harmful chemicals,and identify the differences between two similar looking substances etc. Thus,digitising of taste would have a lot of potential uses,if realized.

One way that this can possibly be done is by considering the four basic (or five,depending on which part of the world you're from) tastes -Sweetness,Bitterness,Saltiness and Sourness (And Umami) as 'primary' tastes,with diffferent rations giving different composite tastes,not unlike how different combinations of the different primary colours give rise to the other colours.One potential problem with this prospect is the vast number of combinations possible.With only three primary colours,the total number of colours identifiable on a computer is 16,777,216,and the number of composite tastes would obviously be much greater than this number. Also,the effect of food's texture on taste would not have been considered then,though it is an important consideration(Ground potatoes taste different than sliced potatoes,for example).The second major challenge that exists is the construction of relevant transducers-What use does the digitising of tastes have,if one is not able to actually tap them in the real world ? The conversion of the 'taste' of an object into digital signals itself can possibly be overcome by emulating the way that the human body itself does it - Maybe by constructing an artifical tongue and associated set of nerves.The complimentary system though ,would be much more complex to realize.In a presentation that a associate and me gave on this topic 4 years ago,when in college(The presentation proceeded quite bitterly ,no pun intended),we speculated the usage of directly interfacing with the
taster's nervous system,but obviously this has its own risks,and is definitely not a simplistic system.

If one were to construct a taste-digitizer system,it would only be a matter of time before personal computing systems such as Macs,PCs and smartphones incorporated one within them.Restaurants and food companies would even be able to put up the 'tastes' of their products online,for people to relish and compare with the competitior's products.People would be able to try new and exotic cuisines from the comfort of their homes,and cookery shows would acquire a whole new dimension.I even envision a smartphone app that would probbaly show you how different combinations of different ingredients would taste like.It would also be able to bring people 'closer',in all new ways.Of course,apart from these uses,it owuld have potential uses in law enforcement corporations etc to identify drugs,and to identify if a certain product is contaminated etc.

I'm very excited at the prospects that the future holds,and hope to see the evolution of such a system sometime soon. Let us all look forward to what the future brings with it.

Parallel universes away ?

One can say that no moment of one's life is greater than any other,for each of them has shaped our present in their own ways.Yet,there are certain moments in the past that one seems to remember better than any other.One tends to ponder how different the present may be,if only he had acted in a different way in those moments,than he has.Certain choices ,made differently might have resutled in one being muuch more happier ,and certain other choices would probably have resulted in a more duller/sorrowful present.
Sometimes,I'd like to think that there are instances of me ,in other universes,taking a different choice than I have.The thought is a very comforting one to have,indeed.I wonder how my life has turned out to be,in those other 'planes of existence' and hope that those 'other mes' not too unhappy with life there.
Either way,Whether or not I'm happy with the results of choices I took in the past,I've learnt to be accepting of them all,and hope that the future will be filled with more of the good ones than the bad.
Thus,here I'm,looking ahead,with hopes that the future is filled with good choices,and wishing the same for all!

Also,if you have any such moments,and don't mind sharing them with the world,do tell us.We can talk about the things that could have been