Facebook birthdays ...whew!!

if you have around 600 friends added on facebook, chances are high that on an average there are 40 birthdays per month. But are all these important enough to wish? Would you really remember all these had there been no Facebook?

I would rather like to remember birthday of people who matter & not the whole world....

What are facts?

Facts are as quoted from a record, from a page in history. Then  facts are based on the records that someone might have made. A generic bias is likely to creep in given any person's mental thinking, background and abilities. Also since history favors the winner, may not record complete, unedited facts. So facts are actually perspectives of  people who make a note of it. Thus facts could infact be perceptions because in reality we see more as per our perceptions, not according to unbiased, complete truth. Truth becomes what we perceive to be true. Then what is the difference between fact, real, truth from anything that is not a part of it.

Of fasting godmen, iPads in jails, farmer suicides and other such scams!

Just because a credible personality fasts for anti corruption bill, every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks he can fast, get media attention and the whole country will sway for his cause.
Get a credibility check done before fasting! Either govt will throw tear gas on your narrow set of population covered or you will die of fasting. Even if you die of fasting, the cause will be drowned out in the cacophony of political parties accusing each other of your death rather than discussing the issue.
iPads allowed in Tihar jail to read the charge sheet. Seriously, what a judicial system we have in place that let's a mass murderer terrorist live peacefully for years, that lets 2G scam accused use all the luxuries available. All this as farmers continue to die in misery and poverty. India surely doesn't portray a pretty picture of democracy when the whole of Middle East and Africa look up to the largest democracy. They want to be a democracy just like India and get a 8% GDP growth, but does India have enough power to guide or make alliances?! O.o!?

Or should democracy evolve? Why do we have to live by the Constitution that is as old as archaic English? Shouldn't it evolve every 50 - 70 years? Shouldn't the government and people decide that failed areas of democracy need more accountability by qualified meritorious who should not live under fear of political clouts and industry's heavy weights? Why should there be 100% democracy in states that have failed over and over again? Ain't people born in those states punished by not getting facilities and opportunities? (cont- )

Will Social Sciences see daylight ever?!

The latest Economist debate on 'Education and Innovation' ends with over 74% people believing 'promoting maths and sciences education is the best way to stimulate future innovation.'

"Of course, promoting maths and science education can stimulate innovation, but more powerful alternatives abound. For example: better management. In the innovation game, we have plenty of outstanding starters, but not nearly enough outstanding finishers." - says Chris Trimble, Faculty, Tuck School of Business.

The debate, was opened by the viewpoint 

http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/578#pro_statement_anchor

No doubt, science and maths are the backbone of the world, but so are subjects like economics, law, management, psychology. One of the best comments so far on the page read: The presumption that innovation is limited to math and the physical sciences is an insult to those who study history, philosophy, law, etc. Was not Plato an innovator? What of Locke, Rousseau, and Hume? I think we need to focus on the skills necessary to be an informed, educated and humane citizen in the modern world. Maths and science surely belong to this coterie. However, I think we may be missing the forest for the trees here.

Innovation exists everywhere, not just in math and the sciences. We don't spend enough time teaching our children how to think. We usually leave that to the universities. In current society however I think we need to teach children how to think independently at a much younger age. Critical thinking and the ability to articulate our point of view (and or innovations) is perhaps just as important as innovation itself. There are many brilliant minds teaching in universities. Not all of them are good teachers. Brilliant discoveries are frequently made but are often inaccessible to the lay person. True innovation comes when it is embraced by the masses. The leaders of tomorrow who can articulate a new idea and gain public acceptance of it; they will be our most important innovators.

What we need are fully developed people, capable of independent and critical thinking and able to relate to each other and work together in a team.

I dare 2 compete

http://www.dare2compete.com/

I dare to compete as its inherent human nature to compete. Competition makes one strive to outperform one’s counterpart, from getting mommy’s attention more than one’s sibling does, gully cricket, state level championship, business school competitions, to scooping out a pie in negotiations, and in distinct future getting larger part of the industry’s market share... the list is humongous. Right here, right now, the battle field keeps evolving with new challenges and terrains. I want to compete with the best brains of various bschools, each unique with its own flavour. I want to make as many mistakes now, to ensure zero errors in real life business scenarios. All charged and geared up with our best weapons of concepts and zeal.

Competition makes one strive for excellence and is the best way of learning. What is Pepsi without Coke? What is GE or Oracle without Jack Welch and Larry Ellison? The burning fire to be ahead of the crowd, to put in the extra efforts amidst typical hectic schedules, the pride each one has for one’s bschool. May the battle of wits and grits bring out the best ‘coz I dare to compete with the rest.

Scribblings

We have this peculiar subject - Intelligently Interacting with Others ( IIO ) which has Karma Yoga as part of the syllabus.

Have had many quirks about this subjects, from many people & own experience..

I wrote about 15+ essays in 7 hours flat!! Someone described us all as 'perpetual machines' - that which give output without any input. Truly seems like we did not understand/assimilate a word of it, yet wrote thousands of words on it..

But to think of it... today, right now.. I am not feeling attached to some people. Is it situational? Is it temporary? Or  Am I on the path of Karma Yoga?!


PS: Back to blogging as Facebook cannot keep multiple Status messages.. Humans don't think one thought at a time. & I think multiple things simultaneously...

eg: Rajneeti, Football World Cup, opinions, frustrations, boredom.. etc all happen to excite or sadden me at the same time..

oh well.. gotta study for the Micro Eco quiz..  over n out!

MBA at Great Lakes

It's been over a month... I have started my MBA course at Great Lakes Institute of Management

http://www.greatlakes.edu.in/

After winter came in August...
It brought the fruits in November, but not without toil...

Lady luck had to smile in April....
This time winter ended and Spring began just when it should have.. :)

When winter comes in August

A sudden hail storm hits

When you are waiting for autumn.

Time moves on, world moves on,

People reach their destinies

While you are stuck right where you were.

You think of the toil, the mid-night oil that you burnt,

You think of the many sunset sights that you missed,

Instead of smiles you are hurt and lost.

The ground is suddenly frozen,

Shattered dreams make no noise,

Immobile and nowhere to go, stuck right where you were.

When you are waiting for autumn,

You feel numb and frozen.

Cold winds hit hard on your face,

And you are speechless, coz winter came in August

Spectacular Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games

Spectacular, mind blowing, awesome, very impressive, perfection, rich, vibrant...

i'm lost at words to describe the most glorious event i've ever witnessed!
China has arrived!! And in style, showcasing their best, their 5000 year old culture intertwined with the 'miracles' of technology.

The official site quotes it as

(BEIJING, August 8) -- After a century of anticipation and seven years of preparation, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will kick off at 8:08 on the evening of August 8 in the National Stadium (also known as "Bird's Nest") in Beijing. Delegations from 205 countries and regions will be a part of the greatest gathering in the history of the Olympic Games.

Art Performances

29 colossal burning footprints rise into the sky in a series of fireworks explosions. One second per footprint, 29 of them march along Beijing's central axis all the way to the Olympic Green and National Stadium. Fairies fall from the sky. Their name is "Apsaras". Twenty graceful Apsarases cluster around the Olympic rings, manifesting beauty and romance. Their costumes are glowing with light. 56 children from 56 Chinese ethnic groups cluster around the Chinese National Flag, representing the 56 Chinese ethnic groups. A Chinese painting scroll is opened. It means the performances tonight begin with a Chinese painting scroll. The short film artistically describes the process of a Chinese scroll painting from papermaking and the four treasures of the study to coloring, mounting the painting and affixing scrolls and indicates the overall aesthetic style of the art performance. The percussion performance of traditional Peking Opera of China. As China has a vast territory with numerous dialects, hundreds of traditional operas have been derived. The pianist and the child are offering a romantic tune together, welcoming a brand-new age. This is the Chinese young pianist Lang Lang. The girl playing with him is Li Muzi only 5 years old. She began learning to play the piano at the age of 4.

And what a way to lit the Olympic flame, I wonder if the Greek Gods whispered about how they would like the see the opening ceremony in the ears of the Chinese organizers in Mandrin !!
Take a look:
Li Ning, former Olympic gymnast for China, makes his way to the Olympic cauldron to light the flame during the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium on August 8, 2008 in Beijing, China.

The Indian contingent was pathetically dressed, no co-ordination, not worth mentioning, forget the pictures. Let's just bask in the Asian glory till then.

We've all grown learning about how poor, cruel, communist and strict China is, but after this $40 billion display organized to perfection, perceptions of China must have changed all over the world. Each of the 91000 spectators and the participating athletes got a treat for a lifetime to remember . I may actually want to visit China if they are hosting anything in future and I don't mind learning Mandrin! :)