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Thursday, May 21, 2020

Kerry packer moment in most domains

​​The Kerry packer moment in most domains.


Andy Roberts, Clive Lloyd, Tony Greig and Dennis Lillee had no problems but their cricket boards had problems.


There were total resistance to such drastic change and debates for some time and now that is perhaps the most welcomed trend.



I think the whole population of people living in comfort zones were pontificating :-


1. About ' customer is the king, consumer satisfactory services, user-friendly products' are important.


2. Talent, skill, performance, quality of services are a given.


3. They also resorted to scrutinize, to evaluate, to criticize and to judge everything and everyone based on such well set principled yardsticks.


When their comfort zones get upset then they cannot change the yard sticks and say one must overlook majority of the short comings and demand blind acceptance or continuation of status quo ante without accepting change or giving an opportunity for transition into transformation.

 
We cannot be changing certain evolving or evolved basic expectations, changes, principles, values and yardsticks to suit our personal perceptions or group benefits when the majority of individual consumers start to evaluate on their own terms the value of what is offered.





Crisis and calamity


Humankind, nation and society do not run only on 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 14 wheels.
They run on, run for and run by the wheels of many verticals.
At times of catastrophe, calamity and chaos, especially like the one which is prevailing at present, where many are or perhaps everyone is clueless because of too many unknown variables at play.
It is vital for the rulers / elected representatives to tackle or minimize the impact of the crisis with prioritizing two predominant factors of saving lives and ensuring basic livelihood [preferably in that order] and not let it become a mega tragedy.
They are using all available resources, technology, all existing health care specialists [doctors, nurses etc] , hygiene providers [sanitation workers and cleaners] law and order enforcement forces [police , army etc] and also taken help from many NGOs and voluntary organizations.
To everyone’s surprise majority of ruling class across the globe have risen to the occasion and have sincerely tried doing that with the inputs from domain specialists [ in this case epidemiologists and virologists]and not media reporters, religious heads, businessmen or economists.
It would be insensitive and inhumane to say that death of a small percentage of population [especially when there were options that could help to save them] does not matter. One will know its impact only when it is at one’s own door.
It would be hypocritical and unreasonable to say that any aspect of /activity of economy that provides livelihood is not the primary and important denominator of socio-economic aspect of human life.
Human psychology cannot remain cocooned in solitude forever. It will return to consuming and carrying on all activities that can engage its talents and skills; entertain and enjoy in all forms of diversions and recreations be it from the world of entertainment industry or religious institutions or socio-cultural festivities or from the world of sports; enhance comforts through all possible technological and scientific advancements; relax and rest in multiple ways; reflect and recreate a better world.
Every industry is a chain as was very well and simply explained in “I, Pencil-My Family Tree” as told to Leonard E. Read [http://www.ccs.in/ccsindia/lacs/18i_pencil.pdf  to get more clarity
http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPnclCover.html] and for that matter everyone and everything is interrelated, inter connected and interdependent.
At times, some disruptive changes deprive some and develop something else. No typewriter, camera, watch manufacturer ever grumbled about mobile phones and even if they did who is going to care.  
Hotels have offered their rooms for quarantine facility; Automobile manufacturers could have offered their vehicles in factories and with dealers to ferry stranded workers rather than giving generous general advises.
It is not the time to play politics, spray criticisms based on some stray instances, spill excuses, grill with judgmental overtones the law enforcing agencies or drill panic and paranoia into people. We cannot afford to throw caution to the winds.
We can postpone all activities and revive, perhaps even with greater vigor but cannot afford to risk the life of citizens. Even now, all basic needs of food and commodities are reaching as many as possible.
Aviation, automobiles and tourism industries can wait but not life and not basic necessities for living in the present context.
Some aspects of life will return back to normalcy soon and some after a few months or a year or two.
 
 
We need not script apocalypses but look at alternatives or solutions to problems rather than resorting to excessive fault finding or false alarms and phobias. 



Normalcy


Some  aspects of life will return back to normalcy after a year or two.
However, unnecessary and excessive luxuries may not return back to their original status in near future.
We need not script apocalypses but look at alternatives or solutions to problems rather than resorting to excessive false alarms and phobias. 
The question is during this recovery period how many can withstand and survive.
Everyone cannot be and may not be required or cannot afford to be locked up inside for too long.
But emotional and psychological responses and reactions happen  out of various degrees of intensities of two major human emotions Love and Fear.
So, if we love ourselves and those around us and fear causing problems to ourselves as well as to others then we better follow certain precautions which are followed by all as considered beneficial to all others in all other countries. 

All the rest of the people everywhere are not fools and no one or no government is  happily adopting to lock
​ ​down at least now as it gives no profit to anyone .



Music

Repetition and choice

​​Rather very long and lot of links and reading. So, meant only for those who have time and want to read. 

Repetition is a part of evolution otherwise called replication, reproduction etc.


Life is a pendulum swinging between choice and decision and not repetition and evolution ( growth or improvement or metamorphosis -either gradually or marginally or drastically happening).


Choice and decision as to what to repetition to continue and what aspect of evolution to adopt.

So, there cannot be a choice between repetition and evolution. 






So, we need to be a little cautious when we make statements and slogans.

The words we use to communicate and how we package them through  attractive, appropriate and appealing articulation easy to assimilate by the receiver is the door to our entry into another's thought process. 


Once it strikes a chord at correct frequency and appeals to them, then, they pay attention and try to know more about what we say. 

This is the first entry point.

If they like it, then it gets deposited in their subconscious mind.






Names


Names have their own significance.  We cannot brush them aside or ignore. By itself any name may not have much of a significance but it is impregnated with lot of things that human mind relates. Some names also carry an aura of many things/ aspects associated with it. It is these values that a name carries make it significant. Everything and everyone is identified primarily with a name.





World is a global village


We are in a connected world and it is a real global village.

Here we can enjoy the sojourn of bucolic beauty as well as encounter rustic behavior. 
We cannot afford to be xenophobic or nurture any racial or regional bias. 

We need to ensure that well entrenched or propped up pride of nationalism lives comfortably with inclusive and inevitable internationalism as a cooperative team.

All or at least most of the natural laws and  universally useful and accessible benefits of scientific and technological utilities to humanity as well as natural calamities transcend all barriers and impact humanity.
Whether they are the thousands of scientific discoveries, inventions, technological tools, rational and humanitarian conduct all of them have managed to dominate despite the nudges of religious, regional and all other limiting perspectives.



Pandemic lessons


What pandemic teaches perhaps may be there is no panacea.

As circumstances or crisis like everything else evolve , I repeat evolve or emerge first accept the fact and them we need to respond.
However, how we respond will create a template of attitude, even if it does not offer a total remedy.
In general, not necessarily about health, even other realms especially economy we must face and accept facts and act with maturity rationally with scientific, humanitarian and environmental concerns.
As Ayn Rand says, "We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality.“
We must put aside all or at least most of the following approaches and attitudes.
All types dystopian rhetoric zeal, immature emotional doomsday resignations, advocacy of outdated, unscientific ( by which I mean not empirically tested documented, proven and universally accessible methods of remedy) methods hovering around in the name of much accepted conventional wisdom, preening of one-upmanship in crisis, radical responses, fanatical fights and many other irrelevant or irresponsible outbursts.



Writers, speakers, criticisms,analysis

Exaggerations, extended explanations in their enthusiastic exuberance, detailed descriptions spiced with humor, anecdotes, quotes, catchy slogans, appealing short stories, innuendos, many other fine tuned rhetorical devices are important ingredients of speakers and writers. 

As long as they are able to bring or connect them even remotely to the topic it is fine, even when they are done with some hidden agenda or ulterior motive.


So, dissecting such works be it music or speeches into pieces and analyse excessively and criticize too much à la Subbuddu may deprive the momentary pleasure of the performers as well as the fans.


We must criticize, no doubt, but not for things that they are not expected to perform or not responsible for.


Besides all these,  exigencies of shift in praxis of debate too fails to fit into theoretical or traditional norms. 



I remember a wonderful quote
“Get out of your own way… stop the paralysis by analysis… decide what you want, create a simple plan, and get moving!” – Steve Maraboli.


Authors, writers, travelogues , psychological perceptions

Many great works are chronicles of observed activities or absurdities , the psychological impacts it had on the thinker or writer, their own  perceived and  concerned socio- cultural implications of those activities. 

In some cases they also used ideological extrapolation  to interpret events. 

The author who unfortunately, missed Nobel prize James Joyce's 1000 plus pages book Ulysses is chronicle of a day.


Some weave a wonderful study of psychology.  

In fact the best book of Sartre is Saint Genet ( almost similar to story of Valmiki), though the world says it is 'Etre et Neant' . Probably, a few  can support my perception in this area.

Among modern writers one who captures psychological aspects in depth is Eric Fromm.  Hope you have read his works.

Even when some great authors, thinkers and seekers write travelogues they convey a lot great in depth insight , architectural  study and philosophical insights in Paul Brunton's work, Socio-psychological aspects in Aldous Huxley's works and socio- cultural aspects in Lawrence Durrell's works etc 

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Approximations and measurement


Collateral damages, concomitant benefits, unintended consequences, serendipitous occurrences, ancillary qualities, logical obverse are applicable in all domains.


All widely and normally accepted approximations are ok as long as they serve the purpose adequately.


100% measured accuracy and/or perfection is by itself a doubtful thing.


Measurement is essential to experiment or evolve parameters or evaluate results.


However, in certain cases the very measuring tools or measurement yardsticks themselves have been proven to be arbitrary and not adequately acceptable due to some basic short comings in which has baffled later day scientific methods. 

Hyper consciousness to perfectionism may not allow one to do many things with confidence be it excessive attention to grammar or too technically correct presentation of music or cooking a perfectly tasty food.


Most routine activities we perform without looking for measuring.

We don't time the brushing, bathing, breathing intervals or cooking. Hardly anyone cooks with weighing machine near the stove by habit, repetition and practice the ingredients are mixed resulting in some edible food.

Imagine if one has to measure 3 grams salt, 10 grams chilli powder to make a sambar. What about the variable of intensity of saltiness of a particular brand of salt, spiciness of chilli etc.

How about measurements themselves?






Science deserves respect


​​Nothing can be advocated with axiomatic certitude as the ultimate or all perfect truth. Nor can we deny or defy the importance of anything. 

But within the limited knowledge and frames of references that human brain can process with all its limitations, I think we must go in for more rational, scientific ( empirically proven not statistically justified) means and at the same time ensuring lesser harm to human beings as well as the environment.

Every realm starts with some assumptions, premises, hypothesis, imaginations, impulse, remote conjectures, available material etc all of which are hovering in the realm of vague exploration -the territory of pleasant curiosity, but when through experiments and application if something matures into proof, then, after that one has to respect it, at least till something else or something new proves it to be wrong or something else is found to be better ( like graduation of magnifying glass into microscope).

We fail to acknowledge the real merits and immense benefits of science, more importantly at least its utility and impact, even if we fail to treat it with reverence. 

For example, now the only thing that makes human survival lively is electricity and all the technology that operates, thanks to electricity.

Similarly, all of a sudden there are too many messages on Gurukulam. 

If Gurukulam were to continue, what would happen to mass literacy? 

Just because something is greater in number or some place has greater crowd that does not confer any greatness or even empower anything or anyone effectively, now cannot even stop the spread of Corona.  

We must give up extreme pessimism, irrelevant comparisons 



Conditional optimism


Paul Romer observation on Optimism, "The practical insight is that there are two very different types of optimism. Complacent optimism is the feeling of a child waiting for presents. Conditional optimism is the feeling of a child who is thinking about building a treehouse. “If I get some wood and nails and persuade some other kids to help do the work, we can end up with something really cool.”What the theory of endogenous technological progress supports is conditional optimism, not complacent optimism. Instead of suggesting that we can relax because policy choices don’t matter, it suggests to the contrary that policy choices are even more important than traditional theory suggests.".

Unfortunately, some are insensitive, indifferent and resort to insane and idiotic behavior and put forth over complacent attitude and entertain unrealistic optimism with refrain of pessimistic grumbling about correct and cautious regulations that government has advocated in the interest of all. These well intended policy regulations and conditions are important and must be followed to avoid damage.

All the heaps of moral stories and discipline taught in all systems are of no use if people as adults don’t know contextually relevant PRIORITIES in life with an attitude of adjustment and a perspective to listen to and to cooperate even during crisis/ calamity.

India has only few problems.

1. Anarchy
2. Sponsor and supporters of anarchy.
3. MSM lobbies.

Govt which manages to check these will make India great.1 and 2 solve by ignoring minor privileges, 3 solve through counter narratives by SM armies and bring new taxes for media.




Ramana Maharishi



I may be wrong but my gut feeling and limited perception is Bhagawan shri Ramana Maharshi is among the few great enlightened souls who have had:-

[Note the words, all the words in bold and italics in the first three points are to be read as whole which is the unique phenomenon]

1. The grace of having a Communion with a higher dimension of life beyond the realm of thought;


2. To be consciously Aware of it;


3. Also to be able to communicate or convey it to others not through miracles or magic or many other mumbo jumbos but in simple philosophical terms verbally;


4. The benefit of this is that those who are keen seekers can at least understand and try to explore the possibilities of acknowledging the existence of realms beyond human thoughts, intellect, science, human thought conceived concepts of reality, dry philosophical debates;


5. This enables and ennobles those who understand their words to see with equanimity the synergy not only in various manifestations of life but also the events, issues and relationships that life encounters.


6. These great souls are not social reformers, not cult or religious leaders but are very unique.


7. If we can grasp in its unadulterated form some of their perceptions and perspectives and internalize to them, then that by itself is one of the greatest experience of life. To grasp sincerely and substantially what they mean one has to tune one's inner self to the frequency of what they convey. This by itself is a great blessing in disguise.


8.  If we manage to implement some parts of it in our life, then that is a great bonus and achievement.


9. J. Krishnamurthy,  Bhagawan Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Shri Aurobindo were also some such similar souls.

To have communion and also communicate it, that too in a manner that is easily understandable is not at all easy.

In JK I found that to be very serious philosophical enquiry and explorative seeking;

In Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa it was communication through parables, stories and real life situations;

In Shri Aurobindo it was really supramental intellectual approach.

In Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi it was simple and direct.

It is really difficult to convey certain Pratyaksha Pramanas in Shabda Pramana

( There are three ways of acquiring and assimilating knowledge:-   
      
A) Pratyaksha pramana=Direct experience
B) Anumana=inference or logic
C) Shabda pramana=Verbal testimony or verbal account or verbalizing a fact or imagination or lie or concept or idea or thought or opinion and so on .

Major portion of the knowledge of majority of us are inevitably through Shabda pramana -Verbal testimony).


10. I have consciously avoided using terms like saint, monk, spiritual, religion, divine, god etc because all these terms have multitude of connotations and too many traditions, thoughts, practices associated with them (all of them may be multitude of steps and means to help understand the great expanse of realms of life beyond thoughts but they may at times, also distract or even limit the greatness of enlightenment and actual communion that is being conveyed which is beyond thought).