Viswanathan K's Thoughts

There’s that famous saying about those who never learn from history. But is it even possible to learn from history? Or is it an impossible goal altogether? Part of it has, of course, to do with ego. Who really thinks that they are embarking on a course of action that has already been attempted, and failed at, for the exact same reasons? Also known as the I-am-smarter-I-am-stronger feeling. Besides, just because the last guy got burnt at something doesn’t mean the next guy can’t succeed at it, right? Then there’s the difference between history and science. Or to put it differently, life isn’t a lab experiment, and no two situations are exactly the same. As Michael Mauboussin pointed out: “The challenge with history, however, is that it’s a very fickle teacher. Which is a lot of the key to understanding history is what the circumstances were.” Assessing the circumstances is a subjective choice; you can either willfully ignore things based on your view or often, not even be...

Lots of people in India seem to care about the digits on their license plates. So much so that the license issuing authorities decided to make money out of it: put up the most sought after numbers (like 001) for auction. And they don’t make peanuts out of the process: the bids often run into tens of lakhs of rupees! That’s more than the cost of many vehicles! And superstitions exist across cultures, across races, across regions. So why are people so irrational? Did Grey’s Anatomy get it right? “Superstition lies in the space between what we can control and what we can’t. Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck. No one wants to pass up a chance for good luck. But does saying it thirty three times really help? Is anyone really listening? And if no one’s listening, why do we bother doing those strange things at all? We rely on superstitions because we’re smart enough to know we don’t have all the answers. And that life works in mysterious ways. Don’t...

“What would you do if today is your last day on earth?” This is a question meant to make you do things you always wanted to but always keep pushing back for later. To appreciate the people you care about. To tell people how you feel. To stop and smell the roses. To do all those things now instead of regretting not having done them later . But going too far with that mindset makes you seek instant gratification. To not think of the long term consequences. To burn money today without thinking of retirement tomorrow. Finding that golden mean (as always) is the hard thing to do. Worse, often, you can know the right choice only with hindsight! As Edward de Bono wrote: “It may necessary to be on the top of a mountain in order to find the best way up.” Unfortunately, by then, you are already on top of the mountain, so you don’t care about the best way up anymore. Or you can’t climb that mountain again. Because, unless you are James Bond, you only live once.

There’s always been so much hype around those college dropouts who go on to become billionaires: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, the list in the field of technology is endless. Well, ok, it only happens in America, but still… I thought that the reason for this was the following: a guy without a degree can’t get a regular job. That would force him to take a chance on building his own company. And among the many, many such attempts, a microscopic few would become mega-successful. And famous. And (mis)quoted and twisted out of shape to state that the way to riches is to drop out of college! I still think I am right in my reasoning. But after reading these lines in the article, “The No. 1 Enemy of Creativity: Fear of Failure”, I think there is another reason as well: “…if your internalized view of failure is anything that is not perfect, then you are disempowering yourself from exercising your inherent creativity. You're certainly not the only one shackled by t...

“If you ask them ( surgeons ), they’ll tell you they’re going to be general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons. Distinctions which do more than describe their areas of expertise, they help define who they are, because outside the operating room, not only do most surgeons have no idea who they are, they’re afraid to find out.” -          from Grey’s Anatomy That is true about so many people: their job defines their identity (in their own minds). The better they are at their job, the more likely they are to feel this way. Because then their profession brings in the complements and respect. And who doesn’t like those? After all, it is such a sharp contrast to their spouse or kid or neighbor who barely notice what they do. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself: when was the last time you complemented your spouse? Nor do they respect you (why would they? Your skills usually have no relevance outside the workplace). The problem with this...

It has been very long since I came across a passage that I so totally disagreed with, lines that I felt were as completely wrong on every front of this. The lines in question are from Jaron Lanier’s book,   You Are Not A Gadget : “Wikipedia, for instance, works on what I call the Oracle illusion, in which knowledge of the human authorship of a text is suppressed in order to give the text superhuman validity. Traditional holy books work in precisely the same way and present many of the same problems.” So what do I find wrong in that? Hmmm, let’s see… Holy books don’t hide their author? Really? What has this guy been drinking? All holy books derive their “truth” by claiming to come from God or some guy who claims to have seen, felt or experienced God. Wikipedia, on the other hand, is by humans, for humans and of humans. The Wikipedia philosophy of making it not-so-obvious as to who wrote what encourages you to believe or question something based on your assessment o...

Technology, specifically technologies related to the Internet, have disrupted fields like journalism (think of how Twitter and YouTube have given a whole new meaning to the term “breaking news”) and publishing (everyone can blog or post a review or a comment; you don’t need access to a printing press). So is education the next port of call for the technology juggernaut? It sure would appear so given how many American universities have started offering free online courses. And we are talking about the top ones here, like Harvard and MIT. But is there any downside to online education? Apart from the obvious, and very important, point that most of these online courses do not award degrees (No degree, no job).  I read this article that pointed several good reasons why online education cannot replace conventional in-the-classroom education. Education is not (should not be?) about ramming facts into your head: “Education is not the transmission of information or ideas. ...

A while back I had written a blog on how Sherlock Holmes felt so outdated and ancient. Back then, one of my cousins had suggested that I watch this modern day version of Holmes and see how good the detective could still be. Unfortunately,  I never got to watch that because the baby would still be awake at the time the serial came, which meant no TV watching. But now the baby’s sleeping schedule has changed, and (good for me) a re-run of that Holmes serial just started (it comes on BBC Entertainment and is called Sherlock ). So finally I get to see it and boy, was my cousin right! It is very good indeed. Better yet, they are not just showing the original stories in a modern setting (I never liked adaptations), instead they create new stories, a Dr Watson with some spunk, an inspector who isn't fawning over Holmes and modern day gadgets that help with the case. Same behavior in a different era often creates unintended humour. Like the restaurant owner who assumes Holmes an...