This is the last of the series of posts. Relax. You don’t have  to read this, got it?

The previous ones are here:

• [+2] paperback activists considered really, really  harmful 04/09/2013
• [+1] paperback activists considered really, really harmful 03/09/2013
• paperback activists considered really, really harmful 02/09/2013

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Scenario #10

Norman L Programmer is moving around in a major frenzy these days… His latest discovery is  Neuro Linguistic Programming (unfortunately, he had gone through one of the NLP evangelical  Read the rest of this entry »

So, you promise  that you have read the previous two installments? But, just in case you haven’t read ’em- here they are:

• [+1] paperback activists considered really, really harmful 03/09/2013
• paperback activists considered really, really harmful 02/09/2013

Paperback Intellectual (my title: ed) — Graphic courtesy: Peter Brookes / The Spectator / London / 1989

… It is obvious to me that, you haven’t had enough  of this rather arrogant and self-righteous drivel. Anyway… Read the rest of this entry »

So, you have read the intro+first part of this series —  paperback activists considered really, really harmful.  Yeah?

And, you want to continue? umm,  are you really  sure?

Scenario #3

Dick McLament never tires of sadly recounting those harrowing days as a hosteler  at his grad school, even after the lapse of a full decade, following ‘those’ troubling days… “As my father did not approve of my activities at my grad school, he suddenly stopped sending money to me…”  In a very pitiful tone, he would add that, subsequently (and consequently) he had to go without his morning breakfast most of the days… that, even if he were to have a breakfast, he could just manage to eat only a bun in the place of a hearty meal because of this reason, he would add with a choking voice! Tch tch…

Questions:

1. What makes Dick McLament think that his father has to support him, even after he has gone well beyond the age of  ‘majority?’
2. Does Dick acknowledge that, he had been educated in one of the ‘best’ public schools – leaving a big hole in the pocket of his father – and that as per the rules of the game, if one takes money from someone he/she has to do the bidding of the benefactor?
3. What really prevented Dick from actually taking a part time job – at the library / mess / nearby teashop? Is it because of a false sense of ‘indignity‘ of labor or a plain inability to think of a solution? (I fully agree that ‘perceived martyrdom of an idealist’ at an young age makes many variants of interesting and heart wrenching –  ‘in those days, I was…’ – kind of anecdotes, in later  life)
4. What makes Dick assume that these kinds of sob stories are pretty gripping and that the listeners are even remotely interested?
5. Does clinging on to the past glories (hic) and adamant refusal to look ahead, take anyone anywhere?
6. Anyway, can’t he see that if he had continued to eat ‘only’ one bun for breakfast, at least he would not have developed a pot and ponderously thundering belly and instead, be at least reasonably healthy?

Scenario #4

Samaaj Newsreaderwallah is fuming. He has read in a newspaper some incendiary stuff. Mommeee! Of course, for Samaaj, this is his only source of wisdom, after all, who has the time to do research these days, in spite of the fact that we have much better access to information compared to yesteryears… and anyway, if one has to do elaborate research how can one mouth instant solutions and erudite opinions…  Anywa, he has read that Narendra Modi is targeting the minorities and has a plan for ‘ethnic cleansing!’ – When asked for proof, he said it is obvious from the ‘fact’ that Narendra Modi did not have ONE friend from minorities… and not even a SINGLE magazine supports Narendra Modi…

Questions:

1. Does Samaaj know what is meant by ‘ethnic cleansing?’
2. Does anyone know of any plan to this effect?
3. He seems to have read that famous rant against the way the mass media operate – ‘Manufacturing consent’ by Noam Chomsky – wouldn’t he apply the same theory of filters to the news he reads?
4. How many friends from ‘minority’ that Samaaj has? Does this mean that Samaaj has a major issue with the minorities? Or better still, does Samaaj want to subject them to ‘genocide?’
5. How does he ‘know’ that Modi does not have friends & followers in the so called ‘minority’ communities?
6. Has he at least been to Gujarat to study what is happening there? Sure there are genuine problems, but they cannot be addressed from the confines of a swivel chair! If it is not so very  important enough for him to go there and check facts, is it important to be talking (in vain) about?

Am not holding a brief for Narendra Modi – but is it not unfair  to brand a person based on a few pieces of newspaper reportage, reports from ‘foreign funded’ NGOs and the like? Is a life ‘belonging’ to one sect, superior to that of another?

On the other hand, how does one learn to differentiate between news, analysis, opinion, propaganda (with appropriate overloading of left or right spins) and good ol’ undiluted venom – the last, from folks like Teesta Setalwad, Mallika Sarabhai and Sonja Ghandi?

Scenario #5

Self-anointed Geeko Rao knows that he has quite a good set of ideas; lately he has been reading ‘tabloid’ business journals and is forever talking about ‘providing value  to customers!’ Yikes!! Geeko says that, he has come up with very eminent product ‘ideas’ – of course he feels that they were all capable of ‘providing value to customers’ – but then, they weren’t pursued by the sales people in his company at all! Horror of all horrors! :-( “One very seriously wants to contribute to the company – and look what they are doing to me” – all that lament again!

Questions:

1. Has Geeko ever in his life been successful in selling at least a safety pin?
2. Does he know that value is a perception? And that, if an offering from X is perceived to be useful to Y then, Y would like to acquire it – no matter what Geeko thinks about the offering/X?
3. Does he still believe that a merely whipped up idea can solve business problems?
4. What does he know about positioning, packaging and market segmentation, winning deals, closures and… ?

It is all so very easy  to talk derogatorily about the marketing/sales folks. In my opinion, if one is convinced about an idea, then he/she should be willing to defend it – from all perspectives. And, what about branching off on ones own, if one is so very convinced about the business proposition stemming from a technology idea?

Scenario #6

A few years’ back I met with David Goliath, who I thought was a normal, next door guy – all along. But suddenly, during the course of a pleasant evening, he stormed out of his room saying that ‘It is only after the Bretton woods agreement of 1944 that the seeds were sown for MNCs! These bloody Multinational Corporations are responsible for all the ills of the world!’

Though I was instantly blinded by this dazzling  flash of original insight, later, I found that he had lately been going through Dave Korten’s ‘When corporations rule the world.‘ It would not be out of place to mention that he was working as a programmer with a big MNC, of course. But probably, he was there to get some ‘insider’ perspective! ;-)

Questions:

1. If he were so sure that MNCs are the bane of humanity, why did he continue to work for them?
2. Assuming that David worked there to get some ‘insider’ perspective, did he try to do any whistle blowing there?
3. The fact is that this particular MNC routinely manages to evade income tax – with respect to its employees… In this context, did Dave at least pay his income taxes, without fudging figures…. (I know, I know… ‘they didn’t want me to do that!’ – will be the refrain… I also agree that, it is easy to squeal like a mortally wounded pig rather than to be honest…)
4. Has he ever participated in that lowest level activity of participating in any rally against MNCs at all?
5. Does David see MNCs as the only problem – or looking at them as symptoms of some deeper malaise with ourselves?
6. Assuming that we all do it for the money – did he at least refrain from consuming goods produced by MNCs when comparable swadeshi offerings were/are available…

Questions, questions…

If these kinds of guys with absolutely no ability to do research or debug, become programmers, what kind of software or hardlyware or whatever – would they be writing/designing? If my life were to depend on these kinds of programmers, I would rather getaway and take to living in caves, whatever… <chuckle>

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Oh yeah – two more parts to go!  You have been warned. Don’t you go squeal  elsewhere…

JournalEntry#  14th April, 2004

Foreword:

This is a rant about the seemingly unbridgeable  dichotomy between ‘doers‘ and ‘talkers.’

… It is amidst a lot of difficulties created by the ‘Talkers’ that, our Civilizations have progressed. But, in the name of Democracy, these talkers have to be allowed to talk – though they cannot (and cannot be allowed to) do any real work, they have to be carried along… Balancing these deadweights, is difficult, to say the least – but there IS progress because of the relentless efforts of the mighty  ‘Doers!’ Photo courtesy: Abid Miyan Lal Mian ‘A.L.’ Syed (Risky balance, Sanali, Gujarat)

Lately, I am becoming sick of having to patiently listen to the talkers who seem to have all the great ideas and appropriate solutions to address and solve ALL problems of the world;  they wail in high decibel shrill  tones that nobody is acknowledging their contributions and initiatives… This makes me sad. :-( Read the rest of this entry »

(அல்லது) உனக்கு மென்பொருள் கட்டுமானம் பற்றி ஒரு எழவும் தெரியாது!

(அல்லது) you don’t know jackass about solution architecture!

எச்சரிக்கை: இதனைப் படித்துப் புரிந்து கொள்வதற்கு, உங்களுக்கு, ஸாஃப்ட்வேர் அன்டர்வேர்  பற்றியெல்லாம் தெரிய வேண்டிய அவசியம் இல்லை. இது, நாம் வாழும் காலங்களில் நம்முடைய சமகால அடிப்படைப் பிரச்சினையை, அதாவது ஒவ்வொரு சொல்லிலும் செயலிலும் கடவுள் போல் உறைந்திருக்கும்  நம்முடைய அப்பழுக்கிலா அரைகுறைத் தன்மையை  — மீடியோக்ரிட்டியைப் பற்றித்தான் பேசுகிறது

கடும் எச்சரிக்கை: இது கொஞ்சம் அதிகமாகவே நீளம்! சும்மா புலம்பிக் குறை சொல்லாமல் – முடிந்தால் படியுங்கள், முடியாவிட்டால் சோம்பேறிப் பசங்களா, உடனே ஓடுங்கடா…

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இது சுமார் 17 வருடங்களுக்கு முன் நான் பணி புரிந்து கொண்டிருந்த நிறுவனத்தின் ‘உள் சுற்றுக்காக’ — சீண்டல் நடையில் எழுதிய ஆங்கில மூலக் கட்டுரை – கடும், காராசார விவாதங்களுக்கு அடிகோலியது.

பின்னர் இது, மற்ற நிறுவனங்களில் பணி புரிந்து கொண்டிருந்த என்னுடைய பல ‘மென்பொருள்’ சார் நண்பர்களுக்குக் கிடைக்கப் பெற்று – திட்டுக்களையும், ’காட்டிக் கொடுத்து விட்டாயே எட்டப்பா!’ போன்ற ஒப்புதல் வாக்குமூலங்களும் பெற்றது.,  பின்னர், பல மற்ற  தொழிற்களில் ’கட்டமைப்பாளர்களாக’ இருப்பவர்களும் பரவலாக என்னைத் திட்ட ஏதுவாகியது.

சுமார் நான்கு மாதங்களுக்கு முன் இக்கட்டுரையை – மென்பொருள் தொழில் சார்ந்து இயங்கும் அல்லது மென்பொருட்காரர்களுடன் பொதுவாகப் பரிச்சயம் உள்ள, என் கருத்தில் மரியாதைக்குரிய பாண்டித்யமுள்ள/சிந்திக்கும் திறமையுள்ள ஐந்து  இக்கால  இளைஞர்களுக்கு அனுப்பினேன் – அவர்களுடைய கருத்துக்களைப் பெற்றேன் – ஊக்க போனஸாக, சில ஆங்கிலத் திருத்தங்களையும்.

இவர்கள் பெரும்பாலும்,  என்னுடைய பழைய கருத்துக்கள் இப்போதும், இவ்வளவு ஆண்டுகளுக்குக்குப் பிறகும் – நிகழ்கால நடைமுறைக் கந்தறகோளத்தை எதிரொலிப்பதாகத்தான் கருதுகின்றனர்.  இந்தப் பொறுமைசாலிகளுக்கு என் நன்றிகளுடன் அவர்களுடைய கருத்துகள் சிலவற்றை, என் கட்டுரையில் சேர்க்கவும் முயற்சித்திருக்கிறேன். ஆனால், இக்கட்டுரை (காட்டுரை??) யில் உள்ள பிழைகள், கருத்துக் குதிப்புகள், ஆற்றாமைகள் எல்லாம் என்னுடையவையே – ஆக, என்னுடைய தவறுகளுக்கு, பாவம் இவ்விளைஞர்களை நீங்கள் தயவுசெய்து குற்றம் சொல்லக் கூடாது, சரியா?  (இவர்களுடைய குறிப்புகள் குறித்த ஆவணங்கள் இப்பதிவின் முடிவில், பிற்சேர்க்கைகளாக, தனியாகத் தரவிறக்கம் செய்து கொள்ள ஏதுவாக…)

அவ்விளைஞர்கள் முத்துக்குமார் பொன்னம்பலம், ஸ்ரீதர் திருச்செந்துறை, அருண் ராஜூ, வெங்கட் சக்கரவர்த்தி, ஷங்கர் அருணாசலம்.

உங்களை வாழ்த்த எனக்கு வயதிருக்கிறது. உங்களை வணங்கி மகிழவும் தெம்பிருக்கிறது. நன்றி! ;-)

எது எப்படியோ… Read the rest of this entry »

Am at the terrace of my home – trying to view the stars, but the resident haze does not permit much – only a weeping moon is visible, nestled in Capricornus… Could not identify a single planet,  including the one  that I am living on and off.

Or, it merely so happened that at this time, I could not see any planet – may be local conditions are responsible, dunno. I Squint, try hard to view at least a few comforting  constellations or at least, some telltale  signs of them, but nothing is visible – but for an Ameriki satellite on a NearEarthOrbit, streaking north -> southwards.

… Have been thinking about what kind of planet are we going to leave behind for our next generation, if we don’t all prematurely go up in a mushroom cloud, that is. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy new day everyday and all that…

On to the subject – I have been thinking about this interesting idea of death for a few years now – and this is to just give the readers of the blog, two links and so.

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I have not read anything more poignant than this column written by Emily Rapp in NYT, lately.

Please read Notes from a Dragon Mom – and ponder over how fortunate the rest of us are.

Parenting, I’ve come to understand, is about loving my child today. Now. In fact, for any parent, anywhere, that’s all there is. Read the rest of this entry »

When such soul uplifting  music exists, life is much more bearable,even when viewed from the dank dungeons of stark social realities that one finds oneself enmeshed in.

Yes.

In spite of what Douglas Hofstadter has to say about music (on as to why we love it), groups like Pink Floyd seem to have been able to make some good music that is likely to live far  beyond that of the bands or their members.
Read the rest of this entry »

Sri Wendell Berry happens to be one of my favourite poet-essayist-novelist-farmer-educationist-activist swarajists (if there is such a term), who practices  what he sermonizes. And, I am sure you would agree that this species of real swarajists is a fast dwindling one and is truly endangered.

Au contraire, this species can also be dangerous, as they can look at the world through new possibilities, contexts and history – and question & undermine our uncalled-for assumptions. We merely need to be open, that’s all.

As Michael Jackson of Thriller fame could  have agreed with me and when he might  have said: This Species is Dangerous! Read the rest of this entry »

James is a guy better known for his novel – Shogun and a few others – not that these novels are great pieces of world class literature.  With some effort, one can read them once, that’s all.

But, I had read this rather unusual short story –  The Children’s story of his, a few years back  and I remember to have been very pleased with it – and thanks to the efforts of good ol’ Arvind Gupta, this is available online and I read it again,

Oh, the horror, the horror…

With shades of the ‘animal farm,’ ‘keep the aspidistra flying’ and ‘1984’  – and even that of that fascist & crazed maniac Pirabakaran’s very own ‘Tamil’ Eelam, if it ever does shape up — this story makes one shudder.

Read the rest of this entry »

We (at the ErdKinder environment, I mean 12 – 16 year oldsyoungs in our Montessori classroom) get (also) to ‘see’ a lot of  films and this ‘Our Daily Bread’ happened to be one of those. And,  we had some discussions centred around the film – and, the children had a written ‘test’ to boot a few days later, to collect their thoughts and reflections. More on this, and the content of the ‘question paper’ further down this post…

For anyone who is even remotely concerned with the  food (and by extension, our dear life)  related issues that our world is facing and especially the mass production and consumption angles – this film is a heart wrenching reminder of the grim situation. The film has little commentary, anyway the moving images speak volumes and volumes – technically also, it is one of the most canonically produced pieces of cinema verite.

dvd cover / wrapper image

Read the rest of this entry »

To make sense of this post, the previous post on the topic  should perhaps be read. It would at least, provide some semblance of a context and continuity.

Here are the frequently avoided answers to the (should be) frequently asked questions on rote…

What is ‘rote memorization?’

I would define it as the ability to recall in a snap, certain ideas (or ‘facts,’  if you will) with very little effort or thought (or ‘logical thinking,’ if you will) – to build on these basic facts and the ability to act upon them in applicable & relevant domains.

This would be in terms of arithmetic operations, instantaneous responses to emergent situations, recalling of applicable processes and logic, recalling of mapped entities etc etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes.

Rote memorization is an important aspect of learning and we do it all the time.

But most of us hate to admit to that – perhaps because it is not considered kewl to have such antediluvian notions. It is not postmodern. It is not hip!

Whenever one comes across this much maligned term called ‘mugging’ – the immediate thing which a given ‘avant garde,’  ‘knowledgeable’ & ‘alternative’ parent  (purely self assessment, so pardon them) does is to choke, gag and vehemently say that he/she is against all mugging… Read the rest of this entry »

This is a very fine essay titled ‘the six myths about engineering that you should know‘  – a MUST read for all the desperate & demon possessed parents, who want their children (most of whom, unfortunately & firmly are still tucked into the wombs of their mothers, reluctant to be born, very understandable too, given the helicopters) to become a dakkutor or an ingineeer or (god forbid) an IT goofball…

These parents want their wards to start preparing for IIT JEE (thru FightJEE, DieJEE, RamJEE, F**kJEE whatever) the moment the hapless children get delivered!

These parents obviously know that a valuable 9 months’ time has been completely squandered by their children, while they were rotting in the womb, doing nothing but floating around and generously kicking their mothers! grrr Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t normally participate in formal social gatherings and avoid like the plague, the ‘spiritual’ get-togethers – especially the ones that proclaim to teach some particular species of meditation or healing or, oh well, even the nirvana, if you will. There is no major reason for it, apart from perhaps a very personal and an intense sociopathic attitude.

Probably I am yet to grow up, and am childishly & endlessly curmudgeonly – these are very valid explanations too, I agree.

But, a few years back, I attended a gathering (of some good souls, many of whom happened to be thoroughbred Gandhians – except one, you know who that was) and there was this oddball chittering NRI (or was she a RNI?) young lady who kept looking at me, me with my flowing beard, unkempt hair, hardcore Tamil ‘saambaarrrr’ accent,  faded TShirt, tasteless jokes and a sagely pretension – lost in a reverie.   Read the rest of this entry »