In the movie 'up in the air', George clooney's character says something like this "i do profiling (racial/gender/profession etc) of airline passengers.. this simplifies my life" .. he goes on to say how he generalizes people and stands in the line where he thinks those people are quicker through security checkpoints - he says "never stand in a line where there are middle eastern looking gents since extra time is spent on them by security folks".. similarly he says, "asian men pack lightly and wear those easy slip-on shoes allowing them to go fast through security check-points" ..
so i never understood when people say "dont generalize things" .. generalizations work because 'exceptions dont make the rule' ... generalizations help us take decisions fast and to be more practical..
in our world of 6 billion or so people, we have to generalize things and most of the times we all do it - consciously or unconsciously...
take the case of the govt's decision to have the voting age as 18... here it has generalized saying that people above 18 only have the maturity to vote wisely... but i am sure there are some 16 yr olds who are more wise than some 25 yr olds...
take the case of combat forces in an army being men only... again, it is a generalization based on common trends... nothing wrong in it..
this applies to other important aspects like racial/ethnic profiling for identifying possible terrorists.. there is nothing wrong to generalize that muslims should be checked more than others for terrorist links.... it is a generalization based on statistics and gives us a fast method to do a quick one level of filtering...
so dont feel bad generalizing... it is just being practical
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
whats learning all about really?
We all learn stuff. We apply it in our daily lives. a simple example is how to tie our shoe laces - we see someone doing it and we learn. learning basically is the cognitive process of acquiring a skill or knowledge (strict dictionary definition). cognition is basically knowing something through logic.. that means to learn we have to use logic.. or understand the logic behind that particular skill or relate a particular skill to the end result of using that skill.
i was watching Nat Geo and they showed a vast dry savannah landscape. A jackal was trying to break a hard ostrich egg. It could not and a lion came along. It also tried to bite into it, but could not. It left the egg. Along came an egyptian vulture. It does not look like the regular vulture. But this vulture looked at the egg and the commentator spoke in the background 'no way this vulture can break into the hard shell with it's beak' and he paused... the vulture took a big stone in it's beak and it threw the stone on the egg. It repeated this action a few times and the egg cracked. Once it cracked, it opened up the shell using it's beak. I was dumbstruck, I never realized that animals can acquire a cognitive process like that. I did hear about the fable of the crow throwing stones into a glass to get the water up near to the brim, but dismissed it as a fairy tale. But this bird used it's learning to break open the egg shell. I thought - there must be a vulture up the generations which started this in the first place and this practice got carried on into the subsequent generations. I can also imagine that the first vulture MIGHT have accidentally dropped a stone and it might have cracked the shell. But how did that bird connect the dots? it requires intelligence to connect the dots.... and if it is intelligent and if intelligence evolves over subsequent generations, would be see vulture civilizations in the future?
i was watching Nat Geo and they showed a vast dry savannah landscape. A jackal was trying to break a hard ostrich egg. It could not and a lion came along. It also tried to bite into it, but could not. It left the egg. Along came an egyptian vulture. It does not look like the regular vulture. But this vulture looked at the egg and the commentator spoke in the background 'no way this vulture can break into the hard shell with it's beak' and he paused... the vulture took a big stone in it's beak and it threw the stone on the egg. It repeated this action a few times and the egg cracked. Once it cracked, it opened up the shell using it's beak. I was dumbstruck, I never realized that animals can acquire a cognitive process like that. I did hear about the fable of the crow throwing stones into a glass to get the water up near to the brim, but dismissed it as a fairy tale. But this bird used it's learning to break open the egg shell. I thought - there must be a vulture up the generations which started this in the first place and this practice got carried on into the subsequent generations. I can also imagine that the first vulture MIGHT have accidentally dropped a stone and it might have cracked the shell. But how did that bird connect the dots? it requires intelligence to connect the dots.... and if it is intelligent and if intelligence evolves over subsequent generations, would be see vulture civilizations in the future?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
the saddest day of my life is
July 20th 1973 .....
i was born on January 23rd 1974...
anyone knows the answer to this puzzle?
FYI: all my family members are doing good and healthy..
i was born on January 23rd 1974...
anyone knows the answer to this puzzle?
FYI: all my family members are doing good and healthy..
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Performance Review
I sat in front of my manager for my performance review...
Manager: Hi, can you tell me your top two accomplishments last year?
Me: First big accomplishment - i survived the last round of layoffs and am still here.
Second One: I survived despite my utter lack of any accomplishments.
Manager: wait, you are saying, you are saying that you survived despite lack of any major accomplishments, so that means you dont have any accomplishments?
Me: That itself is my major accomplishment, so strictly speaking yes i do have accomplishments.
Manager: Ok, any work related accomplishments? for example, did you play a pivotal role in any big project? did you ensure that your work helped the team deliver the project ahead of the deadline? something like that...
Me: I made sure i did not interfere unnecessarily in the project's proceedings... by that i ensured that the project is delivered on time.. my interference would only have created issues .. so in effect i showed that i am a team player and not an individual driven by selfish personal goals.....so please add this also in my accomplishments - showed immense team player skills to ensure project delivery ahead of schedule.
Manager: So you are saying that by displaying a negative and passive attitude, you affected the project in a positive way....
Me: Sir, we are a results driven company and answerable to our shareholders.. our shareholders would not ask our CFO if the company ensured that i worked or not... it will only ask why this major project got delayed... so with that in mind, i made sure i am answerable to our shareholders like any true employee.
Manager: Ok, any areas of improvement you would like to mention?
Me: Yes, i am not good at multi-tasking.... all my instant messengers like skype, MSN, yahoo messenger and gtalk are open at the same time, plus add on to that the regular work....i am unable to respond to some friends requests because of my lack of multi tasking skills... so i need to improve upon that...
Manager: you are not supposed to chat while working. this is something that will go against you in your performance review..
Me: Ok, from now on i will ensure that i wont work while i chat and vice versa.. i will make a time table where i will pencil down 4 hrs for chatting and 4 hours for work... this will help me to follow your suggestion that i should not chat while working.
Manager: ok, what are your long term plans?
Me: to be employed in this company long term and avail of all the perks and benefits this company has to offer - be it free coffee or coke, or pencils and pens, post-its and printouts, staplers and clips, subsidised lunches and 8 hrs a day in A/C.
Manager: you have anything to say?
Me: nothing, i need to get back to my cubicle asap to prepare my timetable as we discussed... thank you.
Manager: Hi, can you tell me your top two accomplishments last year?
Me: First big accomplishment - i survived the last round of layoffs and am still here.
Second One: I survived despite my utter lack of any accomplishments.
Manager: wait, you are saying, you are saying that you survived despite lack of any major accomplishments, so that means you dont have any accomplishments?
Me: That itself is my major accomplishment, so strictly speaking yes i do have accomplishments.
Manager: Ok, any work related accomplishments? for example, did you play a pivotal role in any big project? did you ensure that your work helped the team deliver the project ahead of the deadline? something like that...
Me: I made sure i did not interfere unnecessarily in the project's proceedings... by that i ensured that the project is delivered on time.. my interference would only have created issues .. so in effect i showed that i am a team player and not an individual driven by selfish personal goals.....so please add this also in my accomplishments - showed immense team player skills to ensure project delivery ahead of schedule.
Manager: So you are saying that by displaying a negative and passive attitude, you affected the project in a positive way....
Me: Sir, we are a results driven company and answerable to our shareholders.. our shareholders would not ask our CFO if the company ensured that i worked or not... it will only ask why this major project got delayed... so with that in mind, i made sure i am answerable to our shareholders like any true employee.
Manager: Ok, any areas of improvement you would like to mention?
Me: Yes, i am not good at multi-tasking.... all my instant messengers like skype, MSN, yahoo messenger and gtalk are open at the same time, plus add on to that the regular work....i am unable to respond to some friends requests because of my lack of multi tasking skills... so i need to improve upon that...
Manager: you are not supposed to chat while working. this is something that will go against you in your performance review..
Me: Ok, from now on i will ensure that i wont work while i chat and vice versa.. i will make a time table where i will pencil down 4 hrs for chatting and 4 hours for work... this will help me to follow your suggestion that i should not chat while working.
Manager: ok, what are your long term plans?
Me: to be employed in this company long term and avail of all the perks and benefits this company has to offer - be it free coffee or coke, or pencils and pens, post-its and printouts, staplers and clips, subsidised lunches and 8 hrs a day in A/C.
Manager: you have anything to say?
Me: nothing, i need to get back to my cubicle asap to prepare my timetable as we discussed... thank you.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
the color riddle
There is this guy who is born with a different kind of vision.. his eyes reverse the color of red and blue... he sees a red sky and a blue apple... but then since he is born with such a vision, he thinks that is how the sky looks like and how an apple looks like....
he goes to school and the teacher tells him - an apple is red and the sky is blue... but he sees the apple in blue and the sky in red... so he thinks that the color of the apple which he sees is red and the color of the sky as he sees it is blue.
no one ever knows that he sees these two colors quite opposite to what the others see since he refers to the color of the apple as he sees as red only though in his mind he equates "our (general population)" color blue to "red".
so the question is 'how would anyone ever know that our blue is his red and our red is his blue?
this has greater implications - what we think is purely what we have learnt about using our own intellect and understanding.. it is impossible for anyone to know how you think of something....
or maybe you are not getting my point here....
he goes to school and the teacher tells him - an apple is red and the sky is blue... but he sees the apple in blue and the sky in red... so he thinks that the color of the apple which he sees is red and the color of the sky as he sees it is blue.
no one ever knows that he sees these two colors quite opposite to what the others see since he refers to the color of the apple as he sees as red only though in his mind he equates "our (general population)" color blue to "red".
so the question is 'how would anyone ever know that our blue is his red and our red is his blue?
this has greater implications - what we think is purely what we have learnt about using our own intellect and understanding.. it is impossible for anyone to know how you think of something....
or maybe you are not getting my point here....
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The white collar bribe brigade
Here is a small conversation between the HR manager (a highly respected position in our IT society) of a top IT company and a consultant:
HR Guy: Hi, we need give candidates for profiles which i will send you by email. So get me some resumes for those profiles
Consultant: Sure, will work on it immedietely. BTW, did you mention the approximate salary ranges for these profiles?
HR guy: yes, i mentioned... dont push me into offering more salaries this time... and as usual, you get a month's salary of that particular candidate and our personal equation is 30%:70%.... is that ok?
Consultant: Of course Sir, the equation remains the same. BTW, i am inviting a few select friends for drinks at the bar in Leela Palace today, please do join us.
On his way back from work, the HR guy is stopped by a traffic constable and he is asked for the documents. He produces all the docs except for the emission certificate. The constable says "give me rs 300 and i wont write a challan" .... the HR guy gives me Rs 300, closes his window and mutters to himself "goddamn police - corrupt to the core" ...
Epilogue: After a few days, the consultant places 5 candidates for the five profiles with each candidate getting an approximate salary of 1 lakh a month. The HR guy and the consultant stay true to their equation and divide up the total sum of 5 lakhs in a 30/70 ratio. The HR guy wanted to buy a big screen LED TV for the world cup and he got the money for it now..... VIVA ESPANA.......
Another conversation between a corporate services manager in a high profile IT company with some 3000 employees and a food caterer... they both meet in a bar...
Caterer: Sir, please renew the contract for another 2 years... and we will maintain our current equation plus a free goft at the end of the year.
Corp Services Manager: Ok, i dont mind.. but i need to increase the ratio to 70:30 from the current 80:20....
Caterer: sir, it is difficult since we cannot raise the prices of the meals by much and all the food raw material prices have gone up.... you know how much toor dal costs nowadays sir...
Corp Services manager: i have other good offers too...
Caterer: ok, if you insist, but i may not provide toor dal, the employees have to adjust with Urad Dal ...
Corp Services Manager: I am ok with it... anyway, i bring my lunch box.... plus you can have a strict control at the dessert vessel - only allow one sweet per person. after all, employees should not overeat sweets and become obese for their own health issues
Caterer: that we do anyway, but maybe we will now only provide dalda based sweets made of flour which have longer shelf life.. is that ok?
Corp Services Manager: thats ok, so what is the gift you have in mind?
Caterer: would a nice Hyundai i20 work?
Corp Services Manager: hmm, make it Volkswagen Polo and i will renew the contract for 3 years.
The corp services manager gets up from the bar and goes to another pub to meet his friends.. they all sit around a couple of pitchers and start conversing about all topics.... then someone brings up about some politician who recently got caught in a big bribery scandal.... and the corp services manager says " i say, all politicians should be shot dead in the open... everyone of them is totally corrupt"
HR Guy: Hi, we need give candidates for profiles which i will send you by email. So get me some resumes for those profiles
Consultant: Sure, will work on it immedietely. BTW, did you mention the approximate salary ranges for these profiles?
HR guy: yes, i mentioned... dont push me into offering more salaries this time... and as usual, you get a month's salary of that particular candidate and our personal equation is 30%:70%.... is that ok?
Consultant: Of course Sir, the equation remains the same. BTW, i am inviting a few select friends for drinks at the bar in Leela Palace today, please do join us.
On his way back from work, the HR guy is stopped by a traffic constable and he is asked for the documents. He produces all the docs except for the emission certificate. The constable says "give me rs 300 and i wont write a challan" .... the HR guy gives me Rs 300, closes his window and mutters to himself "goddamn police - corrupt to the core" ...
Epilogue: After a few days, the consultant places 5 candidates for the five profiles with each candidate getting an approximate salary of 1 lakh a month. The HR guy and the consultant stay true to their equation and divide up the total sum of 5 lakhs in a 30/70 ratio. The HR guy wanted to buy a big screen LED TV for the world cup and he got the money for it now..... VIVA ESPANA.......
Another conversation between a corporate services manager in a high profile IT company with some 3000 employees and a food caterer... they both meet in a bar...
Caterer: Sir, please renew the contract for another 2 years... and we will maintain our current equation plus a free goft at the end of the year.
Corp Services Manager: Ok, i dont mind.. but i need to increase the ratio to 70:30 from the current 80:20....
Caterer: sir, it is difficult since we cannot raise the prices of the meals by much and all the food raw material prices have gone up.... you know how much toor dal costs nowadays sir...
Corp Services manager: i have other good offers too...
Caterer: ok, if you insist, but i may not provide toor dal, the employees have to adjust with Urad Dal ...
Corp Services Manager: I am ok with it... anyway, i bring my lunch box.... plus you can have a strict control at the dessert vessel - only allow one sweet per person. after all, employees should not overeat sweets and become obese for their own health issues
Caterer: that we do anyway, but maybe we will now only provide dalda based sweets made of flour which have longer shelf life.. is that ok?
Corp Services Manager: thats ok, so what is the gift you have in mind?
Caterer: would a nice Hyundai i20 work?
Corp Services Manager: hmm, make it Volkswagen Polo and i will renew the contract for 3 years.
The corp services manager gets up from the bar and goes to another pub to meet his friends.. they all sit around a couple of pitchers and start conversing about all topics.... then someone brings up about some politician who recently got caught in a big bribery scandal.... and the corp services manager says " i say, all politicians should be shot dead in the open... everyone of them is totally corrupt"
Sunday, July 11, 2010
your pain is my pleasure
I always felt that there is more pleasure in expressing sympathy at someone's sad state of affairs than celebrating someone's good state of being... in english it is called envy, but basically it is the emotion in us that tells us "you could have been THAT but you are not' ... of course this emotion does not exist usually when the celebrating party is someone truly near and dear or someone too far removed from our lives...
If Bill Gates were to be conferred the Nobel Prize, it would not have any impact on me in terms of envy... but if my neighbour gets home a nice Ford Endeavour SUV, it will piss me off... it is an emotion that is usually felt if someone we know, but is not too close achieves success in life...
Take a family which is truly in a bad financial situation... you express sympathy at their misfortune and help them with something.... in a few years the same family's main breadwinner lands up a great job and the family ends up several notches higher in income than you... your emotion towards that very family you sympathized with changes into envy despite they not doing any harm to you.... this is because our whole life is one big one-upmanship circus and our self worth is not an absolute quantity but relative to the worth of others in the minds of the general populace...
When someone tells us news of his good fortune or someone keeps pictures of them in exotic places in facebook, it is to tell the less fortunate how less fortunate they indeed are compared to him who is experiencing the good things in life.. it is called 'rubbing it in'.... mos tof us succumb to it.... our pain is his pleasure and we give it to him on a platter
If Bill Gates were to be conferred the Nobel Prize, it would not have any impact on me in terms of envy... but if my neighbour gets home a nice Ford Endeavour SUV, it will piss me off... it is an emotion that is usually felt if someone we know, but is not too close achieves success in life...
Take a family which is truly in a bad financial situation... you express sympathy at their misfortune and help them with something.... in a few years the same family's main breadwinner lands up a great job and the family ends up several notches higher in income than you... your emotion towards that very family you sympathized with changes into envy despite they not doing any harm to you.... this is because our whole life is one big one-upmanship circus and our self worth is not an absolute quantity but relative to the worth of others in the minds of the general populace...
When someone tells us news of his good fortune or someone keeps pictures of them in exotic places in facebook, it is to tell the less fortunate how less fortunate they indeed are compared to him who is experiencing the good things in life.. it is called 'rubbing it in'.... mos tof us succumb to it.... our pain is his pleasure and we give it to him on a platter
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