Musings on physics...my way!

"Ekam sat vipra bahutha vathanthi" means god is only one and is called in multiple names. But i think that "ONE" plays with duality and prefers physics among all subjects and the proof for the same is in the way he runs the world.

• God has blended "uncertainty principle" in our whole life and this is the aspect that offers so much fun in anticipation, ambiguity...
• He runs it based on "Quantum theory" from Monday to Thursday where the quantum of work increases so that iam always long on work and short on time. He runs the world based on "wave thoery" on friday, saturday and sundays, where the wavy nature gets into my (our) mind thats offers lot more options that are attractive then and gets complicated later.
• Closely interlinked with wave theory is the "fluid dynamics", where we can debate which is the cause and which is effect without any conclusion. Fluid dynamics is generally accepted as an ocassional event mostly on weekends (And for few who believe that meaning of "Ocassion" is a rare occurence i would like to correct them that sometimes it comes as frequently as 5 times a week). This is the only theory which helps us understand multiple other theories easily and loud music acts as a catalyst.

If you dont believe read the startling news below which could not have been proved without the help of "fluid dynamics"....

"You can still have an erection once dead (Angels lust)"

• A death erection (sometimes referred to as "angel lust") is a post-mortem erection which occurs when a male individual dies vertically or face-down with the cadaver remaining in this position. If an individual dies vertically such as in a hanging, the blood will settle in the legs and pool at the feet. This causes the blood vessels and tissues in the feet to engorge to their greatest elastic capacity and hold the greatest volume of blood possible. This effect occurs right up the legs although to a lesser extent than the feet and is also notable at the waist. The blood which remains in the torso attempts to move to a lower position due to gravity, and as the blood in the waist (which cannot move down due to the legs being full) causes the penis, consisting of erectile tissue, to fill with blood and expand. This is the death erection. As long as the body remains in this position the effect will continue.

Just as i thought of closing this article with this wierd fact i want some one to explain as to Why ice floats in water? or rather why it has to be so?

More to come!

Happy reading!

A fiscally prudent American is a sucker !

In Rome do as the Romans do! …don’t ignore this as an old cliché as there are new emerging meanings that if you don’t adhere to this then you could be a sucker for the rest of your life. And how is that?!

If a poor person has no home, no vehicle, and no prospects; then a mortgage sales guy tells them that they can buy a home, drive a SUV, and live like people on TV; why wouldn’t they say yes? What is their downside? If you have nothing and “The Man” offers you the American Dream, you’d actually be foolish to say no. Now that they have lost the home in foreclosure and the repo man has taken the Mercedes, they are exactly where they were a few years ago with no home, no vehicle and no prospects. The “poor” person got to drive a Mercedes for a period of time.
The greedy banks got bailed out, the bank CEOs took home $30 million, and the person who lived within his means, financially prudent, footed the bill for the reckless actions of others and is the sucker!...

The current generation in US without just blaming the bank CEOs or the regulators or the consumers has committed a crime on the next generation for they have chosen to leave the heavy lifting to future generations in order to live the good life today. What has happened is privatization of profits and nationalization of losses without punishing the bad behavior and current measures like reducing interest rates to near zero levels and massive printing of currency throughout the world will ultimately lead to a hyperinflationary bust. Also interesting is the graph below.


Let’s look at some stats:
· The personal savings rate has reduced from 12% in 1982 to near zero.
· Household debt % f GDP is at a staggering 140% which is highly leveraged by any measure. In the last 8 years (under Bush) this has increased from about 90% to 140% (an absolute increase of ~6% every year) while it has risen from 63% to 90% between 1982 to 2000 (an absolute increase of 1.5% every year). The quantum of decrease in personal savings rate in 18 years is matched in just 8 years under Bush regime.
· Between 1989 and 2007, credit-card debt soared from $238 billion to $937 billion, a 300% increase.
· The baby boomers (born between 1946 & 1963 and who were actually running American congress and most of the institutions) average spend is as follows, for 1$ they spend on education they spent $1 on casinos, >$1 on smoking and alcohol, $1.4 on entertainment, ~$2.5 on clothing , >$4 on restaurants and $4 on vehicles. The $160 billion spent on gambling is indicative of the get rich quick without hard work attitude of the Boomer generation. Even worse, households with income under $13,000 spend, on average, $645 a year on lottery tickets, about 9 percent of all their income. This generation which is running US lacks self control, morals, a work ethic, and savings ethic.

If you are one of these homeowners and can afford the mortgage payment, time will eventually bail you out. If you can’t afford the mortgage payment, you should lose the house to someone who can make the payment. This is the failure side of the creative destruction that is true capitalism. But if the government steps in to subsidize and eliminate failure, the system will ultimately collapse. This situation can improve only when the person who has defaulted can rise to a level to repay his debt. This can happen only when government spends its resources in creating jobs and not by buying bad assets.

“Deficits don’t matter” attitude taken by the US government reveals that fiscal deficit is just a byproduct of the actual deficit in wisdom and intelligence at all responsible levels. The out come of this deficit is a country with $10.5 trillion national debt; $53 trillion of unfunded liabilities; a military empire that has U.S. troops in 117 countries and has spent $700 billion on a pre-emptive war that has killed over 4,000 Americans; a $60 billion trade deficit; an annual budget deficit that will exceed $1 trillion in the next year; a crumbling infrastructure with 156,000 structurally deficient bridges; almost total dependence on foreign oil; and an educational system that is failing miserably.

The primary question is if you are aware that there is a systemic problem and if the majority is active participants then would you want to still stick to fiscal prudence? In Rome, do as the Romans do else you run the risk of being a sucker!

Happy Reading!
(This is a reflection on the article by James Quinn)

Kudos to the concept called Kumble!

"Average minds discuss events but great minds discuss ideas". But i am here to prove Roosevelt wrong for i have an average mind (one of my emails ID which i absolutely identify myself with is raguramg@mindless.com) but want to discuss the Concept called Kumble! and not kumble as a person or his retirement.

I belong to a school of thought which believes that people follow leaders who inspire and motivate them and set themselves as role models. This applies to all walks of life. Esp. the concept of religion in the world has sustained because of this and not because of its philosophy or mythology or legendary characters in the mythology.

The concept of Kumble is a role model for me and i started thinking as to why?

1. He is not one of the greatest spinners of the ball, and i would rate him below Murali or warne or any one else. So its certainly not talent. Also talent is god given and there are many failures despite they have high talents.
2. Not just because he is one of the highest wicket takers. People like warne and murali possesses talent that is superior to anil kumble in spining the ball and in variety. Despite that warne is never called a role model ever and am not sure if Murali would be called one. So its certainly not performance or should i say just performance.
3. Not because he was in the circuit for over 18 years. Surely its an achievement but anyone who is above average and physically fit can reach this status. Some one like ravi shastri had spent over 15 years and he is not even remotely put in the same league. So its not his tenure or a prolonged presence.
4. He is role model for me because his talents levels are a shade less but still he made it to the top league which is reflective of his passion, determination and hard work. Many could have equals levels of passion which may not be sustained over a period of 18 years with the same intensity. For me "Passion is what passion does".
5. Lets look at some one like Ivan Lendl who is in the same category as kumble based on the above point, but i would not put him as a role model. Its not the above 4 aspects which makes anyone as a role model. Then what is the quality that makes Kumble so great?

I dont have a single word to define (may be statesman like / ambassador is a closer word) that but its a combination of few traits like:

• Humility
• Respect for fellow cricketers and for the game (not many can boast of a bleamish less career and despite being at the top). I vividly remember his statement during the mokeygate scandal that "For the last 18 years i have never attended an enquiry session (with ICC) and now i have probably walked into the room twice after becoming captain".
• More importantly his ability to raise himself and his team above any controversies without succumbing to emotions at high pressure situations, makes him a natural leader.

The whole world is crying for leaders... not personality centric ( a pop star / sportsman being a drug addict... am not sure why he / she should ever have a following) but character centric leaders who can be a role model. Its a rare species in this world and its threatening to get extinct.

One of my most favorite quotes (again from thirukural) "Even if its not possible by god, (passion+hardwork) makes it possible" does not belittle the power of almighty but highlights what sustained effort can achieve. These quotes need some living examples whom we call as role models for us to believe in those words. Kumble is an inspiration to many of us!

Just like one of the corporate strategy states "Chase the market share, profits follow", people like Kumble are telling us "Chase your passion and not your pension".

Kudos to the concept called Kumble!

Happy reading!