Making invisible patterns , visible

Just finished reading the Shiva Trilogy by Manish - a publishing sensation in India over the last 3 years. Another highly recommended read. Perhaps a tad difficult for people who are not familiar with hindu names - to follow the different characters. What I found fascinating about the book  was how the author interweaves  philosophical discussions that are at the heart of hindu mythology and religion into the narrative. In particular the discussions about the nature of good and evil. Can all evil be banished ? And does  'good' itself generate 'evil' as a by-product? We now know that  everything considered "progress"  has "side-effects" - antibiotics , nuclear-energy, industrialization, dams , automation , fertilizers - you name it . (And to think this was in the Vedas - a few thousand years BC!) Continuing in the same vein(ie  there is never a "pure good" without "evil" by-products) -  one has to wonder if the following t...

Recently finished a fascinating book on the murder of our 20th President - James Garfield and how it was not the assassins bullet that actually killed him - but the mistakes (preventable) in his medical treatment by the "reputed" doctors at the time. It is a fascinating tale and I would highly recommend the book: Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. A tale of madness, medicine and the murder of the president. There are a number of patterns in this tale : Vanity of key decision makers, Insanity and Delusions of the assassin ( A depressingly  recurring pattern in US history of the killing or attempted killing of presidents) , fear and distrust of new technology and methods - when faced with a crisis. The last pattern is the one I am interested in - as it is a common one occurring in management and decision making. The question is : How best to avoid the types of mistakes that the doctors made- that  turned out to be ultimately fatal to the president. I essence t...

Just came back from a trip to India. Visited Jaipur and Agra. Saw the Taj Mahal for the first time- and it is a gorgeous piece of work. Should be on everyone's bucket list. An example of beautiful things men are capable of creating - and that too on a grand scale. When you visit the Qutb Minar - you also see excellence and superb attention to detail in construction. And yet - these places are surrounded by squalor. It is as if  the people (and municipalities) are blind to the beauty amidst them. In Jaipur - the pink city - with its superb examples of architectural beauty .. one would think the local developers (and populace) would be inspired and would start a design renaissance .but no!  A plethora of  truly ugly buildings abound. More ugly buildings being built all the time. And these are people with money - who could afford better looking designs. You see structures with totally non functional, unfinished beams  jutting out like broken bones disfiguring a body....

Which is more useful- Being a specialist or a generalist? Which is more satisfying personally ? This question came up when a friend was pondering on what to focus on next in terms of career choices.  This issue often comes up for middle managers(generally highly paid) - who are suddenly faced with an interruption in assignments. Self doubt creeps in when they realize that they do not seem to have a personal area of expertise. That all they seem to do is prepare and review office documents - and spend time in meetings and conference calls.  They know that being a 'techie' does not pay , and yet meetings and documents do not seem to be particularly valuable contributions to the betterment of mankind. Better paid cog in the machine!  So in deciding what to do next - ie specialize or remain a generalist- and to derive more satisfaction from your work- you need to visualize your purpose and role in the network - to better understand your contributions.  First a...

The other day - I was nursing some inflamed tendons in my left knee. The result of a 1000 mile drive from Boca Raton to Alexandria VA - and an immobile left foot for hours! As I was waiting for the doctor, I was studying the colorful diagrams of muscles and tendons and bones and their connections. Of course the nerves that actuate the systems are not shown in the charts. As the doctor started his diagnostic process and pressed down on the knee and pain shot through it - it got me thinking and marveling about the nerve sensors and 'inbuilt' feedback infrastructure that nature builds into animal bodies - to protect it from damage. I could not help myself contrasting it with our code writing as we build systems. We don't always put 'diagnostic' sensors everywhere as we go along(laziness?). But nature does not forget to do that. It unfailingly builds feedback sensors into all the muscles. I wonder why. Does it have an evolutionary benefit? Would it not be benefic...

Just a thought on Jobs and the 'nature' vs 'nurture' debate on what actually influences a person. Steve Jobs - the quintessential American Icon in the mold of Edison and Henry Ford was half - arab!! (genetically) This might come as quite a shock to all arab phobic folks - who in the post 9/11 era - have taken to viewing arabs has 'inherently' incapable beings. I am sure - he himself was shocked to find that out - and am sure that in some degree - contributed to him not wanting to do anything with the man who had 'abandoned' him and his biological mother . His foster parents , who adopted him - and 'nurtured' him, although humble, did a truly amazing job in making him feel that he was loved and 'specially chosen' - that contributed greatly to his self-esteem! So go figure! What's your take on 'nature' vs 'nurture'?

The other day I got to wondering - If we are evolved from apes , who essentially hang from trees- are we really built for running and jogging? (The thought was triggered in part because of a lower back pinched nerve - that I thought would be relieved by hanging to stretch the spine.) I got my answer on a NOVA show about our true ancestor - Homo Erectus and Turkana Boy that I happened to be watching last night. The Surprising answer is : Yes we are - built for running! In fact , this is what helped us survive! Here we were - as a species - not very fast (compared to antelopes and deer we wanted to hunt) - not possessing powerful claws or slashing teeth. And the stone axe -in reality just a handheld stone (iPhones of the era) wasn't really a good enough tool to throw and kill. So how were we successful at hunting? We had one advantage - the loss of body hair (hairless apes) and sweating , kept us cool at midday, when the rest of animal kingdom had to lie down and pant - to ke...