This New Scientist essay uses the classical characters of Bob and Alice along with their pet elephant,unfortunate enough to fall into a black hole,to explain some extremely interesting work in the realm of astrophysics.
Friday, October 27, 2006
An Elephant and a Black Hole ---- poignant astrophysics
When any object falls into a black hole the information can't be destroyed yet if any information escapes a black-hole then its a contradiction of one of the most basis tenets of physics. This Black hole Information paradox, is one of the many conundrums puzzling scientists in their quest to unify Quantum mechanics and gravity. Giddings says. "It's likely that this black hole information paradox will lead to a revolution at least as profound as the advent of quantum mechanics".
This New Scientist essay uses the classical characters of Bob and Alice along with their pet elephant,unfortunate enough to fall into a black hole,to explain some extremely interesting work in the realm of astrophysics.
This New Scientist essay uses the classical characters of Bob and Alice along with their pet elephant,unfortunate enough to fall into a black hole,to explain some extremely interesting work in the realm of astrophysics.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Futuristic Road Signs
A briliant piece by an artist that touches upon almost all the technologies and events that our brightest minds forsee, in the form of images. (Link via Neatorama)
Thursday, October 19, 2006
How Bubbles never forget and 20 office commandments
It seems after elephants , some species of the fairer sex and human camera savants, bubbles are the next big thing in the realm of memory retention. Physicists say this has an impact on determining how the Universe which also formed as a bubble from a singularity and the manner in which it may end.
Also courtesy Digg, here are some cheeky commandments for the quintessential professional.
Also courtesy Digg, here are some cheeky commandments for the quintessential professional.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
A Vitriolic Diatribe against Chainmailists
IMP : I am a chronic link aggregator and sender. This post is only against Chain mails and people who forward them. No ill-will doth I bear against the innocent; just my personal opinion that one must think instead of acting blindly. Chain mail forwards are not the Ganges that will wash all sins instantly.
It'’s been nearly 7 years I have been using the World Wide Web and I agree that it'’s an amalgamated democratic environment. So one comes across equal amounts of stupidity and intelligence. And although I am a closet "stupidity-hater-fanatico" I have always tried my best to not let this come in the way of my interactions with the denizens of the net or the world. Of course I have to admit the reasons were purely based on survival instinct. Most of the people one interacts with in day-to-day life, using the proper politically correct term 'do not make sense'’. But as all the prophets have said (last heard Gandhiji also said this) that God's creatures must be treated equally and hence I am usually uniformly cranky or cheerful.
But to come to the point and what this post is all about; I find explanations for the stupidity seemingly normal people exhibit the moment a forward drops into their mail box or a link is forwarded to them by their intellectual brethren with the message that "If this message is not forwarded within some specific time you are doomed to celibacy till death" or or some thinly-veiled threat to one's moral sense of judgement, goodwill, faith etc. Now these are the same people who would not pay alms to a beggar and justify their actions but would lamely fall for such moronic mails. I can understand when dumb babes forward oh-so-cute chain mails which they think accentuate their physical curves in an intellectual manner (What is a curve that is too curvy? ----- a zero), which their drooling receivers sincerely peruse (looking for that secret message that never comes). But when bright engineers, diligent doctors, erudite scholars, smart executives keep falling for such emotional blackmail scams and dragging their equally gullible friends into this abyss its a travesty of humongous proportions.
To be honest all of us have been guilty of forwarding chain mails at some point of time but I guess within a year on the Web one realizes the futility and stupidity of this activity. Ok admitting some are slow learners, I guess 6-7 years is too long a time. Some of my friends and acquaintances alas are still suckers in this matter.
What is more befuddling is the sensitivity people exhibit if you tell them to stop and ponder before blindly pressing the forward button! It would seem you are hurting their very core beliefs. So after trying my best to convert people I realized it was a lost cause and also started to appreciate the God's crusaders who keep converting people's religions; but then that must be easier.
So I just keep deleting these mails everyday when I open my mailbox or Orkut messages, all the while praying for the senders' souls who are motivated to reform by idiotic mails but not by the injustices, wrongs happening all around us. But then as in physics so in real life; the path of the least resistance is always chosen. In our sinful lives such chain mails provide us a short cut to a few karma-points and as we pick a cola from the cafeteria without submitting the coupon, we know that we will be safe in the orgasmic epiphany experienced as we press the forward button. I feel this feeling extrapolated, is what encourages America to reform the world but let's leave that for another day. So people, who read this, please ask your friends to go through this post or as Samuel L Jackson tells the poor crook in 'Pulp Fiction', "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee".
It'’s been nearly 7 years I have been using the World Wide Web and I agree that it'’s an amalgamated democratic environment. So one comes across equal amounts of stupidity and intelligence. And although I am a closet "stupidity-hater-fanatico" I have always tried my best to not let this come in the way of my interactions with the denizens of the net or the world. Of course I have to admit the reasons were purely based on survival instinct. Most of the people one interacts with in day-to-day life, using the proper politically correct term 'do not make sense'’. But as all the prophets have said (last heard Gandhiji also said this) that God's creatures must be treated equally and hence I am usually uniformly cranky or cheerful.
But to come to the point and what this post is all about; I find explanations for the stupidity seemingly normal people exhibit the moment a forward drops into their mail box or a link is forwarded to them by their intellectual brethren with the message that "If this message is not forwarded within some specific time you are doomed to celibacy till death" or or some thinly-veiled threat to one's moral sense of judgement, goodwill, faith etc. Now these are the same people who would not pay alms to a beggar and justify their actions but would lamely fall for such moronic mails. I can understand when dumb babes forward oh-so-cute chain mails which they think accentuate their physical curves in an intellectual manner (What is a curve that is too curvy? ----- a zero), which their drooling receivers sincerely peruse (looking for that secret message that never comes). But when bright engineers, diligent doctors, erudite scholars, smart executives keep falling for such emotional blackmail scams and dragging their equally gullible friends into this abyss its a travesty of humongous proportions.
To be honest all of us have been guilty of forwarding chain mails at some point of time but I guess within a year on the Web one realizes the futility and stupidity of this activity. Ok admitting some are slow learners, I guess 6-7 years is too long a time. Some of my friends and acquaintances alas are still suckers in this matter.
What is more befuddling is the sensitivity people exhibit if you tell them to stop and ponder before blindly pressing the forward button! It would seem you are hurting their very core beliefs. So after trying my best to convert people I realized it was a lost cause and also started to appreciate the God's crusaders who keep converting people's religions; but then that must be easier.
So I just keep deleting these mails everyday when I open my mailbox or Orkut messages, all the while praying for the senders' souls who are motivated to reform by idiotic mails but not by the injustices, wrongs happening all around us. But then as in physics so in real life; the path of the least resistance is always chosen. In our sinful lives such chain mails provide us a short cut to a few karma-points and as we pick a cola from the cafeteria without submitting the coupon, we know that we will be safe in the orgasmic epiphany experienced as we press the forward button. I feel this feeling extrapolated, is what encourages America to reform the world but let's leave that for another day. So people, who read this, please ask your friends to go through this post or as Samuel L Jackson tells the poor crook in 'Pulp Fiction', "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee".
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Cartoon1
A random cartoon drawn using paint. I really miss the tablet PCs with their pens. Somehow I am unable to express the figures clearly with a mouse (paint also does not smoothen edges unlike photoshop/flash).
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Ich like der link
An article that stands out amidst a sea of inspirational pages, due to its cartoons
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
Why Indian children excel ?
Here is a very funny take on the super-success that Indian children exhibit around the world. Ofcourse as someone once said (if not then I am saying it) that comedy is the complement of tragedy as in
(tragedy) ^ -1 = comedy ;
similarly I can say all that is written is not false. The moment the child starts going to school Indian parents seemingly transmorgify from extremely doting (mollycoddling would be the apt word) people into entities that form the basis for all psychiatrists' explanations for all mental troubles;iin the modern Western world ofcourse because here we do not believe in the shrink.
Ofcourse it would be wrong to say all parents are like this. My parents were strict too but thankfully torturous props were never used in teaching me the importance of education.Ofcourse that does not mean I never got spanked for my truants. But I had heard many horror stories in school from my less fortunate friends and the fact that there existed such a manner of punishment would terrify us as we giggled and joked about it (yes those were the times when we were yet not aware of the existence of the fairer sex and friends congregated for such mundane reasons other than when we were playing or being ministered mass punishment in our school).
Perhaps the pressure of inculcating Indian culture and ensuring that the child achieves the 2fs viz fame and fortune (ok guys I know F is also the starting alphabet for females but I am talking in a genderless tone) and also fulfills their unachieved dreams is a bit too much for some people. Maybe the incessant discipline gives rise to the competitive spirit in Indian children. With a population of a billion that has the least regard for scientific inventions like the latex, limited seats in educational institutions(which themselves are so less in number) entrusted with the responsibilty of cleaning up the ancient inequalities that have plagued India due to the catse system in a matter of years in the form of reservations, neighbours and relatives who make it a point to devise new measurement scales that can compare their progeny with yours and a psuedo-social status based on marks one's child got in the boards, the fact that we do good is not a thing to be astounded about.
(tragedy) ^ -1 = comedy ;
similarly I can say all that is written is not false. The moment the child starts going to school Indian parents seemingly transmorgify from extremely doting (mollycoddling would be the apt word) people into entities that form the basis for all psychiatrists' explanations for all mental troubles;iin the modern Western world ofcourse because here we do not believe in the shrink.
Ofcourse it would be wrong to say all parents are like this. My parents were strict too but thankfully torturous props were never used in teaching me the importance of education.Ofcourse that does not mean I never got spanked for my truants. But I had heard many horror stories in school from my less fortunate friends and the fact that there existed such a manner of punishment would terrify us as we giggled and joked about it (yes those were the times when we were yet not aware of the existence of the fairer sex and friends congregated for such mundane reasons other than when we were playing or being ministered mass punishment in our school).
Perhaps the pressure of inculcating Indian culture and ensuring that the child achieves the 2fs viz fame and fortune (ok guys I know F is also the starting alphabet for females but I am talking in a genderless tone) and also fulfills their unachieved dreams is a bit too much for some people. Maybe the incessant discipline gives rise to the competitive spirit in Indian children. With a population of a billion that has the least regard for scientific inventions like the latex, limited seats in educational institutions(which themselves are so less in number) entrusted with the responsibilty of cleaning up the ancient inequalities that have plagued India due to the catse system in a matter of years in the form of reservations, neighbours and relatives who make it a point to devise new measurement scales that can compare their progeny with yours and a psuedo-social status based on marks one's child got in the boards, the fact that we do good is not a thing to be astounded about.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Surreal jokes
Sometimes when life doesnt seem whacky enough surreal, non-sequiters help make things clear. This parody of koans is an example.
Some of my favourites would include :
Q. What's the difference between a duck?
A. One of its legs is both the same.
A. It bangs its head together when it walks.
A. Well, [holding out hands as if to demonstrate its size] it's about this colour.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two functions, x^2 and e^x are walking down the street. Off in the distance they see a differential operator walking towards them. e^x turns to x^2 and tells him: "You better get out of here! If that operator differentiates you a few times you'll disappear, but he can differentiate me all he wants and I'll stay the same."
So x^2 runs off and e^x goes to greet the differential operator. "Hi, I'm e^x" he says. "What's your name?"
The operator looks at him with a demonic grin and says: "d/dy".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Descartes walks into a bar and orders a drink. He sips it for a while, and when he is finished, the bartender asks him if he'd like another. Descartes says, "I think not", and disappears.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A traveling salesman is driving down a country road when he comes across a farmer who is standing in his orchard, hoisting pigs into the apple trees with ropes. He stops. "What are you doing?" the salesman asks. "I'm feeding the pigs," answers the farmer, incredulous that someone could ask a question with such an obvious answer. "Well," says the salesman, "why don't you let the apples fall to the ground, gather them up in baskets, and feed the pigs that way?" The farmer ponders, then says, "Hmmmm. Yes, I guess I could do it that way. But what would be the point?" The salesman is a bit exasperated: "Well, it would save time, wouldn't it?" The farmer ponders again. "Yes," he says after a pause, "I guess it would save time. But what's time to a pig?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some of my favourites would include :
Q. What's the difference between a duck?
A. One of its legs is both the same.
A. It bangs its head together when it walks.
A. Well, [holding out hands as if to demonstrate its size] it's about this colour.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two functions, x^2 and e^x are walking down the street. Off in the distance they see a differential operator walking towards them. e^x turns to x^2 and tells him: "You better get out of here! If that operator differentiates you a few times you'll disappear, but he can differentiate me all he wants and I'll stay the same."
So x^2 runs off and e^x goes to greet the differential operator. "Hi, I'm e^x" he says. "What's your name?"
The operator looks at him with a demonic grin and says: "d/dy".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Descartes walks into a bar and orders a drink. He sips it for a while, and when he is finished, the bartender asks him if he'd like another. Descartes says, "I think not", and disappears.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A traveling salesman is driving down a country road when he comes across a farmer who is standing in his orchard, hoisting pigs into the apple trees with ropes. He stops. "What are you doing?" the salesman asks. "I'm feeding the pigs," answers the farmer, incredulous that someone could ask a question with such an obvious answer. "Well," says the salesman, "why don't you let the apples fall to the ground, gather them up in baskets, and feed the pigs that way?" The farmer ponders, then says, "Hmmmm. Yes, I guess I could do it that way. But what would be the point?" The salesman is a bit exasperated: "Well, it would save time, wouldn't it?" The farmer ponders again. "Yes," he says after a pause, "I guess it would save time. But what's time to a pig?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Flattered by a virtual prize :)
Answers.yahoo.com is the apt site that one should visit when one wants to profess or preach something and make sure atleast one person(other than the author) would read it seriously.So it was but natural that I would seek out this site to satisfy my ranting urges instead of tormenting friends. But whats satisfying is when one's answer is chosen as the best one. Some of my answers have been selected as "DA BEST" one of which I have pasted below. ::
Q: What Do You Think God Wants?
A: God may want something although logically wants exist only when one is himself not able to obtain it immediately based on his existing means which of course rules out God wanting anything. The bigger question is why we assume to know what God wants and then try to force others into following that. Our behavior is based on the laws of nature like survival, compassion , cooperation (which again are need for survival) and since they help us exist we assume this is what God wants. Actually this is what we want and correctly want. Hence those who don't follow these ideals are the misfits and threat to human society like murderers, arsonists etc. So its biology , evolution and our interpretation of these. And this capability to interpret is perhaps what God wanted and he got it done (although not quite efficiently it seems from humanity's destructive tendencies).
Q: What Do You Think God Wants?
A: God may want something although logically wants exist only when one is himself not able to obtain it immediately based on his existing means which of course rules out God wanting anything. The bigger question is why we assume to know what God wants and then try to force others into following that. Our behavior is based on the laws of nature like survival, compassion , cooperation (which again are need for survival) and since they help us exist we assume this is what God wants. Actually this is what we want and correctly want. Hence those who don't follow these ideals are the misfits and threat to human society like murderers, arsonists etc. So its biology , evolution and our interpretation of these. And this capability to interpret is perhaps what God wanted and he got it done (although not quite efficiently it seems from humanity's destructive tendencies).
Misc BITS pics
The Cactus flower blooms in the desert once in a few years and only for a day. I was lucky (5th Sep'05)
The Saraswati temple in BITS at night
Old Rajput structures - 1 
Old Rajput structures - 2 
A rendition of traditional Rajasthani folk songs in FD-II courtesy SPIC-MACAY 
Old Temple
Monday, May 29, 2006
Renewing my blog
Ok so I last posted in march 2005 . Since then much water has flown under the bridge. I have grown older (though wiser or not is a debatable topic) , finished my Masters thesis, finally made the transition from a student to a working professional which in turn meant I had to leave the campus life I had got so used to for 6 years. While it sometimes seemed to me that I was wasting precious years of my life amidst journals and books while the whole world was basking in more interesting pursuits, I actually loved the quiet peaceful campus life. More about it later when I feel more nostalgic than what I am feeling now.
So I am in bangalore and after 5 months I have made some good new friends, met some old ones and maintained touch with my current circle. I guess thats a good thing keeping in mind my social misfit quotient.
Working has been a different and new experience since I have been bereft of any afternoon naps and the concept of free food and snacks is yet to sink in though I have really got bored of it all. Got a brand new tennis racquet and a guitar. As they say aim for the stars and you will atleast reach the moon which in retrospect seems to be a higly pessimistic saying veiled in a wrapper of optimism.
But what would be the single most remarkable thing is that I am working on something which was the basis of my thesis (though not the exact topic) and hopefully it will keep me interested for sometime.
So I am in bangalore and after 5 months I have made some good new friends, met some old ones and maintained touch with my current circle. I guess thats a good thing keeping in mind my social misfit quotient.
Working has been a different and new experience since I have been bereft of any afternoon naps and the concept of free food and snacks is yet to sink in though I have really got bored of it all. Got a brand new tennis racquet and a guitar. As they say aim for the stars and you will atleast reach the moon which in retrospect seems to be a higly pessimistic saying veiled in a wrapper of optimism.
But what would be the single most remarkable thing is that I am working on something which was the basis of my thesis (though not the exact topic) and hopefully it will keep me interested for sometime.
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