Random Comments

Does a teaspoon of guilt keep the human race from becoming an anarchy instead of staying a civil society?

Google

finished David Vise's take on the company that will define a "few" things as regards the future of computing and access to information for the common man in the ultimate democratic medium...the internet.

interesting read and some of the issues are like a breath of fresh air as they provide vindication of certain old time facts that still ring true in modern times and corporations.

Tuesdays with Morrie

Poignant and moving. What else can i say?

Read it to get a different perspective on modern day living and the inherent traps and trappings that supersede the state of existentialia.

Can love be a rational act?

this think thread got kicked off on reading the book, tuesdays with morrie. One of the seminal passages has Morrie say that love is the most rational thing as an act.

in the context that Morrie put it, seems like there is merit in the argument.

Here is a corollary: Can something rational supercede unconditionality?

are not rationality and unconditionality two opposing forces of nature, the yin and yang, as it may of the emotional spectrum.

if love were rational then it would imply that it is conditional as well, this goes against the grain of all thought put forth by conventional romance pundits about love being irrational and hence bearing unconditionality as a basic premise.

if we were to argue that love is rational then is there a set of conditions that needs to be met for love to flourish and continue flourishing.

got me thinking, need to whet this argumentation with others in the field :-)

Infinite Choices

Does mankind inherently face a loss of decision making ability in the face of infinite choices?

Look at the fate of modern day "stars" and how their lives seemingly spin out of control. Fame gets all sorts of doors open for them and they seem to not be able to decide which door to take. Some doors are obvious mis-steps while others might be the best move that you could make.

Religion

This is a shade of gray topic that will always lead to confusion, commotion and no connection between people.

Here is something that Dire Straits wrote that could serve as an apt line to further illustrate the topic of this blog:

It's a mystery to me - the game commences
for the usual fee - plus expenses
confidential information - it's not a public inquiry

I go checking out the reports - digging up the dirt
you get to meet all sorts in this line of work
treachery and treason - there's always an excuse for it
and when I find the reason I still can't get used to it

I would not want to point out what one religion has to say about a subject versus another.

The basic question is: Is religion a unifying force or a medium for division?

Wise men would say that the answer lies somewhere in between.

I guess for "weak minded" people, please note the quotes, religion is something that serves as a refuge when the rest of the world seems a cold and distant place.

And hence this group turns to the almighty and chosen agents to provide the missing sense of direction and purpose to the lost souls.

Now brings me to "strong minded" people, often people who tend to analyze things to death, even religion for that purpose. They will dissect each and every thread of thought till only the shreds are left. Do these people need religion other than as a medium to just tell them in a "larger" sense, the right direction to pursue and not get distracted by minor issues along the way, like materialism, and maybe the seven sins that generally come with "success".

Do i imply that the "strong minded" are inherently a more successful lot, by traditional definitions of success, i guess the answer is yes.

The weak minded are more likely looking for answers to give oneself a sense of direction whereas the strong minded are going about their business of taking the game to the next level, finding and heading in newer directions without a sense of fear.

A la star trek and the line: "where no human has gone before"

So the upshot of it all, i guess based on the above argumentation i would say that religion is a uniting force for believers and non believers alike as long as it is preaching a harmonious message. This would give it more currency in the world of non believers as well.

Bombay Boogie Nights

These are a series of dance parties that happen to break in the German crowd into the music and dance form enshrined in Bollywood movies.

It is indeed interesting to see the mix of people on such a dance floor, mostly ethnic minorities and some off beat germans trying to get a groove on to music and lyrics that are alien to the region of the world :-)

I mean ALIEN

Yes high energy with lots of drum and bass but the indian version of drum and bass is not really the classical idea of a drum and bass setting that you expect, but well i guess the beat gets the crowd moving and it was a refreshing change to hear stuff from home played out really loud with a mix of people grooving to it.

It is here that you do have a realization of how far you have moved from your genesis when some of the stuff seems as alien as it would to a german :-)

Well i guess no one is to really blame for one's situation other than oneself, the realities of life dictate your co-ordinates in terms of space and time and hence the ethos that surrounds you.

Music: Homeward Bound - Simon Garfunkel

Strange!!!! :-)

One Night at the Call Center

Reading time: ~4 hours

Another book about the power of faith in the self.

Just tells you where a strong mind can get you vis-a-vis the channel of faith.

I had another interesting discussion on how faith roots people to governing philosophy in the context of when India as a labour pool would become unattractive for capitalists.

The upshot of it in another post.