Viswanathan K's Thoughts

David Grimes came up with an equation to evaluate “how long alleged conspiracies could "survive" before being revealed - deliberately or unwittingly”. How did he come up with the model? “The mathematical methods used in this paper were broadly similar to the mathematics I have used before in my academic research on radiation physics.” The gist of it was a predictable conclusion, as one guy summarized it: “A conspiracy's success is diminished inversely proportionate to the number of its' participants and the time of execution.” As you might have expected, the Internet had a nice discussion on this! From a Slashdot forum , here are some of the better comments. One guy pointed out: “One problem with this analysis is that it doesn't take into account *successful* conspiracies...If we are using past performance to predict future trends, shouldn't those conspiracies be counted? There's no realistic way to account for or even detect them.” Since ...

We’ve done several homestays when we go on vacation ever since the kid arrived. Mostly because it gives access to a kitchen thereby giving a higher chance that the kid might eat something rather than nothing. But I always wondered why anyone would rent a room/home to a complete stranger without having met them? Airbnb, a software company (and site and app) answers my question, at least for the West. It puts together people who want to rent a room (or house) with someone seeking said room (or house) for a short while. Like when you visit a new place or go on a short work trip. That’s somewhat similar to Uber putting riders and drivers in touch. It’s supposed to be a win-win: the sublessor makes some money; the sublessee gets a home like environment or cheaper than hotel stay. As you might expect, hotels aren’t exactly thrilled with Airbnb. Others complain that people prefer putting their houses on Airbnb rather than renting them out the old fashioned way since short term rents...

Almost every democracy is “representative”. Let Glyn Moody describe it : “Yes, elections take place, but after that, politicians just seem to do what they want, with little concern for what the public really thinks about the laws that they push through.” Except if you are a Swiss citizen. There it’s easy to call for a popular vote: “If 50,000 signatures are collected from Swiss voters or eight cantons [Swiss states] demand a referendum within 100 days, then a popular vote is held.” Keeping Switzerland’s size and population in mind, 50,000 is not as trivially small a number as it might be in other countries; but nor is it an impossibly big number to get either. If you think India needs such a system, join the queue: Germany needs it before us! Why? Because Chancellor Angela Merkel, an otherwise cautious politician who knew the pulse of the voters, has changed. As George Soros said : “In the case of the (Syrian) migration issue, she did act on principle.” Now keep in Ge...

Immortality. Who wants that? And yet that’s exactly what all the demons of mythology asked for when granted a wish by the gods. Funnily though, the gods never granted them the wish. But whyever not? Why not let them grow older and older, weaker and weaker, but never let them die? Then the gods could have turned around and mocked them: “Be careful what you wish for…it might come true.” The opening lines of Bryan Adams’ hit song, 18 Till I Die , say what most people really want: “Wanna be young - the rest of my life.” Who wouldn’t that, right? To be young until they die? Monica Lewinsky, for one, wouldn’t (In case you’re wondering, she was the White House intern who nearly took down Bill Clinton’s presidency). In her TED talk on public shaming , she talked about this time when, as a 41 year old, she was hit upon by a 27 year old guy: “He was charming and I was flattered, and I declined. You know what his unsuccessful pickup line was? He could make me feel ...

In 1943, Abraham Maslow proposed a hierarchy of what motivates humans . Though Maslow himself never represented it as a pyramid, that’s how it is most famous today: physiological needs at the bottom (food, water etc); safety next; love and belonging after that; esteem (self-worth) and finally self-actualization (the chance to fulfil one’s potential). In the age of the smartphone, the joke is that the Maslow pyramid needs to be updated to include, what else, WiFi! And if WiFi is here, can the battery or charger be far behind? Thus, we have the updated pyramid: The new additions to the Maslow pyramid incidentally also impact how much time one can spend in the toilet, as this pic demonstrates: You could almost say that today’s poison of choice for all, alcoholics and teetotalers alike, is WiFi. Or as Alex Balk puts it in his usual caustic style: “We cannot get enough of the poison that is killing us every day.”

In an earlier blog , I talked about some techniques on how not to be drawn in by the siren call of the Internet when on vacation. It must be even tougher for journalists where even regular surfing can cause you to stumble onto something related to work! So Melody Kramer, a journalist, asked her colleagues how they handled that temptation (expectation?) during their vacations. One guy tried reading by not responding to stuff. How did that work out? “This has, in practice, turned out to be the worst of both worlds. I’m still glued to my phone and my mind is clearly occupied by things other than the people around me, perhaps even more so than if I just took the time to respond, because I’m seething about what I’m going to do or say when I get back.” Can you even separate work from non-work sources anymore, asked another: “Having work email on my phone, as well as work social accounts, has blurred the lines considerably.” Others try slowing down the inevitable succumbin...

When actor Alan Rickman died, there was a lot of praise for the outstanding villainous role he had played: Hans Gruber in the first Die Hard movie. And that reminded me of the other box office villains who have developed a cult following. Even moralistic India has its fascination with Gabbar Singh and Mogambo! But the best onscreen villains aren’t the ones who are just powerful or cruel or sadistic (sorry, Darth Vader). Rather, they are the guys who have the best dialogues (and dialogue delivery). Remember the awesome monologue by the smooth talking Jew hunter, Colonel Landa in Inglorious Bastards ? Or the panache of John Travolta in Broken Arrow and Face Off ? We love to understand the plot of the evil one. The villain Joker tosses that out when he tells Batman: “Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it. You know, I just… do things.” Other villains rarely do or say...