Viswanathan K's Thoughts

When I used to hear people use the phrase, “laws of physics”, I wondered why they didn’t say “laws of science ” instead? I mean, why exclude chemistry and biology? Later I learnt that the reason is that physics deals with fundamental concepts. And the other sciences are built on top of physics. For example, physics talks about the basic building blocks like quarks and electrons and photons (Well, ok, they keep breaking everything further and further…but that doesn’t change the point being made). Chemistry, on the other hand, is all about how combinations of building blocks behave. And biology is one level higher still than chemistry. Then I noticed the terminology difference. Until the 20 th century, every major concept of physics was called a “law”. Like the Second Law of Thermodynamics and Newton’s Laws of Gravitation. On the other hand, the most famous physics concepts of the 21 st century are called “theories”, not “laws”. Like the Theory of Quantum Mechanics and the Theory ...

By now, everyone must have seen this Blackberry ad that Vodafone is running: This ad indicates Blackberry’s attempt at an image change from being a high-level manager’s gadget to the new toy anyone can have. It’s no longer just for the smart guys or the rich guys or the ones wearing suits, the ad says. Reminds me of how mobile phone charges were around Rs 16 per minute back in the mid-90’s. And hence, it was only used by a handful back then. Fast-forward to today: it costs less than a paise per second. And everyone from your maid to the auto-driver has a cell phone. If only we make a lot more of the currently exclusive systems in our country just as inclusive. And while we’re at it, here’s hoping we can make things inexpensive as well.

The Brits and the Americans usually talk contemptuously about the French. I guess the Brits feel that way due to all the wars they’ve fought with France over centuries. And the Americans feel the French surrendered without a fight to the Nazis and then had to be “saved” by the Yankees. Subsequent events reinforced the animosity: in the 1970’s, Charles de Gaulle said he didn’t trust the dollar and wanted to convert all of France’s dollars into gold. And the French, unlike the Brits, refused to be America’s poodle in the Iraq war. In India, (for most of us) our opinion of France is largely based on Paris and the Eiffel Tower. And if you like arts and paintings, there’s no place like the Louvre. Plus, the French language sounds sexy. What’s not to like about the French? Other than their reluctance to speak in English… Among the Europeans, I feel the French are the least hypocritical and moralistic nation. They do what they want to do. And couldn’t care less about what others do....

When my mom went to a hospital in the US, the doctor there recommended getting a CT scan done in the US. The doctor’s reason? It’s trust-worthy in the US as opposed to one done in a country like India. Hey doc, if we were so bad at it, would so much of America’s healthcare work be done in/from India? Take the generics industry for starters. But first, what’s a generic? Once the patent on a medicine expires, anyone can manufacture it because, well, the patent has expired. Then it’s called a generic. Ranbaxy and Dr.Reddy’s Labs are extensively into generics, which they sell in the US and Europe. Then there’s CRAM: Contract Research and Manufacturing. Western pharma companies increasingly outsource parts of their medical research and manufacturing to Indian companies. As India grows richer and increasingly becomes the market to sell in, Western companies find the requirements here are different. The cost of the product is the key factor. Given the lack of hospitals and medical centers in ...

There are so many types of power that countries wield: military power, soft power and economic power. Having or using only military power is very expensive: after all, weapons cost money, positioning troops in another country costs money. Ask the Americans how much the Iraq war cost. Soft power includes the non-military ways of creating a favourable opinion about one’s country abroad. Like American universities and Bollywood. Economic power can work in many ways. It can be of the “I have this technology but won’t share it with you unless you do that” kind. Like the US did with super-computers decades back. Or it can be in the “Play by my rules or you won’t get access to our markets to sell your products”. Like what China does. And to a lesser extent, even India. Three recent instances of how India is wielding its economic power would not have been possible even a decade back. The first one is the ongoing discussion with Blackberry on getting access to its data for security (r...

When it comes to gifts, I always felt cash were a better choice than goods. After all, how could one know for sure what the recipient wanted? Don’t many of us receive all sorts of items we don’t care about? And even if you knew what the other guy wanted, wasn ’t it possible that he was getting the same item from someone else as well? And by giving cash, didn ’t you give him the choice of buying what he wanted when he wanted it? And with cash, didn ’t the receiver also have the option of pooling in other cash contributions and/or from his pocket to buy that really expensive item? To me, cash feels far more valuable than an object of that same value. Because cash can buy so many different objects of a particular value. Or combinations of objects that add up to that value. This comment by Arthur Schopenhauer captures that sentiment: “(Money) is always ready to turn itself into whatever object their wandering wishes or their manifold desires may fix upon. Everything else can satisfy only...

When the Pakistani cricket team’s spot-fixing scandal broke, one of my friends said he was just waiting to see how long it would take the Pakistanis to blame it on…who else?…India. Well, it took the twisted Pakistani mind a few days to invent the India connection but they got there. First they accused the bookie, Mazhar Majeed, of being a RAW agent. Today, I saw reports that they claim that Majeed was an agent of the players. C’mon guys, make up your mind: Is Majeed a RAW agent or your players’ agent? Or maybe he is a double agent? Now wouldn’t the twisted Pakistani mind love that theory. John le Carré should be taking tips from the Pakistanis for his plots! Next, they say the whole sting operation was a conspiracy launched by the ICC since it is headed by an Indian, Sharad Pawar. But wasn’t it a British tabloid that ran the sting and broke the story? Isn’t it Scotland Yard that’s launched an investigation into this? Or are they too “controlled” by India? Me, I am just waitin...