Zombie

To be or not to be Individualistic

2010-03-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

People promote individualism and at the same time complain about CEO's salary. How can this be possible when a CEO represents the epitome of individual's success?

Creating competition at the workplace may be a good approach but definitely not the best. I am a firm believer in synergy and I think that a firm or society would be able to generate more wealth or value by promoting a blend of individualistic and collectivistic behavior with a bias towards the latter. An organization tends to benefit more when employees stop seeing each other as threats. and start sharing their knowledge, ideas, expressing true opinions and offering constructive criticism. A lot of energy and effort could be channelized for better causes . Such an environment will help people as well as the system, be it an organization or society, realize their full potentials.

Levels of realization

2010-02-05T19:29:00.001-08:00

Its fascinating to think about how our thought process matures as we grow up. Relating to this is our levels of realization.

Level I - First and foremost thing a person realizes is that she has intelligence and she can think too. During this stage the whole world revolves around her and she will be under the illusion that she can out smart others.

Level II - At this level as her horizon increases she sees better people than her and realizes that others have intelligence and they can think too.

Level III - During this stage she realizes that what she or others think really does not matter. This world existed before her and her race and will continue for a long time after them.

Music to promote serenity in this chaotic world

2008-12-26T04:01:00.000-08:00

I have observed that people who practice soft, light or classical music or at least who have a penchant for such music are generally peaceful by nature. I guess there is an implicit divine quality in such music that usually subdues the anger or violent behavior in an individual following/pursuing it.

I feel we could use this inherent power of music to promote peace/harmony in this chaotic world. If we can instill interest for music in children at a young or tender age I feel it could do wonders!!. I am saying this because its an observed fact that there are not many individuals in this world who are passionate about music and at the same time known for inhumane activities. I agree that people such as Beethoven were a bit irritable by nature but that was by no means extreme or violent

So, my appeal to the governments/authorities all over the world is to develop an education system that stresses and promotes such music among children . This could indirectly suppress the violent or extremist behavior in an individual or at least I feel people of such nature will not be easily lured or brain washed to spread dissonance/chaos in the world. The other added benefit of music is that it could in turn act as an antidote against terrorism and violence. Furthermore, research has shown that such music enhances creativity in an individual.

Growing Clones

2008-07-20T02:42:00.000-07:00

We may have observed that most of our thoughts, feelings and ideas are so similar even though we may claim contrary to that. I remember a quote that stated that though we may think we are very different from each other but in reality we are dreadfully similar to one another. Although the emergence of similar thoughts is attributable to the physiology of us to a certain extent but most of this is related to the way we are brought up.

To make my view more clear let me draw an analogy. Consider a random generator (pseudo), although the system has ability to generate different numbers every time, the system fails in its functionality if the "same seed" is given as input. The case with us is also something similar. Though we have the ability to develop as very unique individuals our systems are not allowing this to happen in an efficient way. We are educated and equipped with the same methods . Moreover we have social pressure to conform to the norms or standards and we tend to treat a person as an outcast when his views are drastically different from that of the others.

The goal is to equip and encourage people with diverse views and thoughts. This would in turn help us to understand the complexities of the universe better and also would help us realize our full potential.

Game Theory works well at the work place too

2008-05-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

The goal for each one of us at the workplace is simple. As managers not to have too much dependency on their subordinates and as subordinates to create maximum dependency of the superiors and peers on them. The organization can function well only if there is a balance between the two extremes.

The reasons are quiet obvious. For ex: If the manager tries playing the game extremely and will not allow any single person to work on a single project for sufficient amount of time and keeps switching them across projects then his subordinates will not be able to gain expertise and this will end up in a disaster for the company. In the same way if the subordinate plays the game in an extreme manner then too the result is the same, as he will end up losing his team spirit and will not share his knowledge and expertise with his peers.

The conclusion is simple both the players should play the game in a good spirit to reap the maximum benefits. In this way the two players will not only benefit themselves but could also help the organization reach its objectives.

Intuition - A pole star in times of uncertainty

2008-01-27T00:04:00.000-08:00

The major hurdle in solving a complex problem is either the solution space is huge or the solution is not clearly visible. When the complexity of the problem increases one should go by intuition rather than by adopting a logical or thoroughly rationalistic approach. That in fact might be the most feasible approach and could reduce a lot of time and effort.

The method could be called as intuitive reasoning(Going by once gut feelings). Though intuitive approach sometimes appears irrational it is an inherently rationalistic one. As we do a task for a longer period of time or when we do it repetitively our sub conscious mind takes control of the activity. We tend to pick the right data from a vast set of data easily or we can relate an occurrence of a similar situation at a different time in a different field and so on.

Hence intuitive approach will be rewarding only when the method is applied with a certain amount of experience else the method could prove disastrous.

In the end I would like to say that intuition + conviction approach yields better results than an absolutely rationalistic approach for an uncertain situation or a complex problem.

Friendship [Dedicated to my beloved friends]

2008-01-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

I always believe that a friend in need is a friend in deed. I am grateful to god that I have the company of two people who I believe belong to such echelons. They are in fact friends for my life.

Always value your friends. Good friends are hard to come by. Never take any friendship for granted. Relentless effort is required to maintain any good relationship. There should be minimal or no ego between friends. Besides, if u cannot be a good friend at least try maintaining a win-win policy, as for any relationship to last it has to be mutual. Don't u think "good friendship is one of the best investments one could ever make" ?.

So, if U already have a good friend be thankful to god and if U don't have one then there must be some inadequacy in U. Try figuring out your shortcomings by doing a little bit of introspection. I am sure U will be able to find the problem and solution for the same(Usually the source of the problem will be ego clashes or narrow mindedness or selfishness to name a few) .

Judging People

2008-01-01T05:17:00.000-08:00

I have this bad habit of judging people. I don't even spare myself in this aspect. I do a lot of introspection.

Judge people sparingly. This would benefit you in fact but don't become a critic. Critics have not and will not achieve anything big in their lives. Moreover, your life becomes miserable as a critic. As I read in one of the articles nothing is absolute and is subject to change over a period of time. No body is either absolutely good or bad. Never adopt a binary stand with respect to any person in life.

I hope this piece of advice will add value to your life.

No Dilemma

2008-01-01T05:08:00.000-08:00

As long as you live in the competitive world there is no need to be a saint. Be as materialistic as possible. Don't try adopting a middle path. You will neither be here nor there. Once you become a saint then never get back to the materialistic world. By maintaining this binary stand you will not have any confusion. Moreover, initially you will be able to excel in this material world and later end your life in a peaceful way by becoming a saint.

Passion has to be your Profession

2007-08-26T23:26:00.001-07:00

If U have to make it really big "your passion has to coincide with your profession". So, try figuring out what is your passion because you will be concentrating all your energies towards that alone. This in fact is the secret of all people who have reached the zenith in their respective fields. It is as simple as this ( really?). Well, it may look simple, yet many people in this world find it extremely difficult to figure out what is it that they are really passionate about ( including myself).
You will spend most of your time in your profession, if that becomes your passion, just imagine about the feats that could be achieved.
No frustrations, No diversions, you can completely immerse yourself in your work. This is the only path for you to reach the "epitome of success". So, cheers friends, it is possible for all of us to achieve something big by following the simple principle mentioned above.

Freudian slip

2007-08-17T03:06:00.000-07:00

I came to know about this phenomenon in one of our team outings. I will try explaining the phenomenon to you. You might have observed that many people convey certain messages accidentally ( This is a specific case of the generally observed phenomenon - "The slip of tongue"). Although the person may deny that it was just a "slip of tongue" or unintentional that in fact is his or her true emotion or opinion (or could be a simple fact) , the semi-conscious release of the repressed truth ( or feeling or intention).

Ex: A person using some other lady's name to address his wife or girl friend reveals something about his promiscuous relationship with that lady. (Now this is just an example :))

So, after reading about the phenomenon, I hope U will pick the subtle clues or hints given by the people with whom U interact. ( Especially your kith and kin) .

Preachings

2007-08-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

Our lives could be broadly classified into two phases:

Influx phase: As the name suggests this is the in-flow phase, during which a person should try to imbibe as many good qualities and knowledge from the environment (or from other people) as possible through observation. This phase involves more of copying.

Efflux phase: Again as the name implies it is the outflow phase during which we pay back the society using all the knowledge gained during the previous phase. This phase involves more of our individuality and carving a niche for ourselves.

These phases are not strictly mutually exclusive and could overlap to certain extent.

There is no point in leading all our lives only in knowledge seeking. Imagine the progress that could have been achieved by the human civilization if everyone in this world had only the leech mentality.

Secret of success

2007-08-07T01:59:00.001-07:00

Shun or seek the ego depending on the situation.

Don't U think it makes sense? If not, Let me try convincing U. Now if somebody questions Ur ability or challenges U, U should seek your ego and prove the other guy wrong.At the same time if a person is highly successful and there is a lot that U can learn from him then shun your ego and just approach the person and seek the necessary help from him. ( U should never hesitate or wait for the other person to approach U, as the need is yours and not his.)

Motivation

2007-08-07T01:57:00.000-07:00

Give your best with zest in all your quests. ( and forget about the rest:))

My observations about the mind.

2007-04-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Many people would have made the same observations as I have done. The only thing I am trying to do is just document some of those things here.

First, I have found that our mind generally can process about 2 tasks simultaneously. For ex: A person is driving and at the same time he is singing or speaking to some other person .

Its very difficult to increase this multitasking number above two. Even though, we may feel that we are able to do more than 2 tasks simultaneously, i feel our mind carries out those tasks sequentially but the switch happens so quickly that it gives an illusion that those tasks are carried out simultaneously. As we have "persistence of vision" in the same way we can call it "persistence of thought" .

The next observation is common . Our mind operates in two planes i.e. it has something called short term memory and long term memory. I would not like to go in detail w.r.t to this observation as it is a very obvious concept.

One thing I keep wondering is why is that sometimes we will not be able to recollect certain thoughts when someone interrupts us. I have personally observed this phenomenon many a times in my own life.

One explanation I can think of is the thought is erased before it is matured.

My favorite quote

2007-03-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

"Our attitude more than our aptitude determines our altitude"- Jim Clemmer