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.