Far away, and yet tantalizingly close,
The lone beacon guides me nowhere.
The lone beacon guides me nowhere.
-Padmaraj(was originally meant to be the first line of a poem)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Sanity
Today, as I was travelling in a good-old(rather,bad-old) bmtc bus, I came across a provocative couple on a two-wheeler.Mind you, the dame's dress( or the lack of it) was not the provoking factor. The guy out there was out there to prove a point, with his constant honking, leaving a lot of irate users on the road. Provocations and their reasons apart, the guy honked,suddenly accelerated and zipped across( with the accompanying noise ) leaving me( and a lot others!!) exasperated. To make the long story short,the couple fell off while negotiating a pothole(which looked like a manhole ) and got nearly over-run by a car.
Now comes a point for which I don't know whether to be ashamed of.Nothing happened,but I must admit,I wished for a moment, that something should have happened(one of them should've got a slight injury at least, to make him remember the cause/effect).Was it a sadistic pleasure of seeing them follow the proverbial law of averages( they flaunted and irritated,you see).
Did the total lack of social sense of the couple make me so? In the latter case, will sanity(in Bangalore roads, and more importantly, in my mind) prevail in the long run?
-Padmaraj
Now comes a point for which I don't know whether to be ashamed of.Nothing happened,but I must admit,I wished for a moment, that something should have happened(one of them should've got a slight injury at least, to make him remember the cause/effect).Was it a sadistic pleasure of seeing them follow the proverbial law of averages( they flaunted and irritated,you see).
Did the total lack of social sense of the couple make me so? In the latter case, will sanity(in Bangalore roads, and more importantly, in my mind) prevail in the long run?
-Padmaraj
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
From "Tring"xiety to Ringxiety
"Tring.. Tring.. Tring.." !
Does this sound ring a Bell in our minds/hearts anymore?
Doesn't the sound make us think of the Plain Old Telephone Bell and its inventor Alexander Graham Bell?
Gone are the days when we were waiting eagerly to hear the phone ring in our neighborhood anticipating that we would be called for. The anxiety and the thrill of speaking on the telephone would last even much much after we spoke. There were hardly a few people in a locality who could afford a telephone.
See the story today - one can hear multiple simultaneous music concerts emerging out of a person's body at any given moment. Yeah, I am talking about the cellphone ring tones. We have gotten so addicted to this small device that most of us have symptoms of ringxiety.
What are the other consequences?
- We have very frequently been hearing about the health hazards associated with the usage of a cellphone.
- There have been a few voices on the environmental hazards of a cellphone as well.
- There also have been instances of our next generation not speaking to their parents and siblings in the family because of being hooked on to the cellphone always.
- Getting addicted to cellphones at very young age can affect the development(both curricular and extra curricular) of an individual.
How difficult is it to come out of this phenomenon that is plaguing us today?
Do we need some strict laws, regulations, penalties, etc.. to be imposed?
We have been hearing of regulations in force from the lawmakers to this effect. Some of them being banning cellphone usage while driving, in important places, religious places, educationial institutions, etc..
Recently, there was a report about the Indian Motorists Act, stating that the cellphones have to be switched off while driving. Seemed a little extreme to me.
The solution should not be as extreme as to stop the usage of cellphone altogether. It is indeed a very handy and useful invention. But, at the same too much of anything can be fatal. So, a self check and tab on the usage of a cellphone should be the need of the hour.
Lets make earth a better place to live well beyond we leave!
- Sriram.
Does this sound ring a Bell in our minds/hearts anymore?
Doesn't the sound make us think of the Plain Old Telephone Bell and its inventor Alexander Graham Bell?
Gone are the days when we were waiting eagerly to hear the phone ring in our neighborhood anticipating that we would be called for. The anxiety and the thrill of speaking on the telephone would last even much much after we spoke. There were hardly a few people in a locality who could afford a telephone.
See the story today - one can hear multiple simultaneous music concerts emerging out of a person's body at any given moment. Yeah, I am talking about the cellphone ring tones. We have gotten so addicted to this small device that most of us have symptoms of ringxiety.
What are the other consequences?
- We have very frequently been hearing about the health hazards associated with the usage of a cellphone.
- There have been a few voices on the environmental hazards of a cellphone as well.
- There also have been instances of our next generation not speaking to their parents and siblings in the family because of being hooked on to the cellphone always.
- Getting addicted to cellphones at very young age can affect the development(both curricular and extra curricular) of an individual.
How difficult is it to come out of this phenomenon that is plaguing us today?
Do we need some strict laws, regulations, penalties, etc.. to be imposed?
We have been hearing of regulations in force from the lawmakers to this effect. Some of them being banning cellphone usage while driving, in important places, religious places, educationial institutions, etc..
Recently, there was a report about the Indian Motorists Act, stating that the cellphones have to be switched off while driving. Seemed a little extreme to me.
The solution should not be as extreme as to stop the usage of cellphone altogether. It is indeed a very handy and useful invention. But, at the same too much of anything can be fatal. So, a self check and tab on the usage of a cellphone should be the need of the hour.
Lets make earth a better place to live well beyond we leave!
- Sriram.
Herds(Part I)
I have constantly been self critical of having a herd mentality.In following education, or career path, or planning a personal life, or going after money(I didn't say making,did I??) ,or even making personal decisions,I must admit that 'herd mentality' and its better-worded sibling 'peer pressure' has often had an influence.I'm sure many of us would concur.
I'm not too sure about the factors that might have led me into the rat race,but am sure most of us are over thinking it,some probably even overdoing it.
Take case A for instance,the case of trying to evade income taxes.It is obvious that we stand to gain the rupees that we evade.However,at least among my peers and friends,there is a constant and often remarkable herd mentality in following what others often do-show falsified HRA slips,taxi bills, and so forth.Apart from the basic human nature of going after incentives,we do have a 'follow the crowd' factor.
Case B,I have experienced herd mentality working even in matters of love.There is this social pressure of being part of a couple,even more so these days.
Case C,I see herd mentality in the share markets which swing wildly between fear and greed.
To conclude,
first of all,at the end of the day,we do have some animal instincts,one of which is the constant need to be identified with the right group(read herd).So,this can be an inherent characteristic.
second,whatever most of our management books say against the herd mentality(strategies talking about unconquered lands and 'blue' oceans),we have seen time and again,hordes of intelligent people(another herd!!) bleeding in red oceans.Don't smart businessmen curb their instincts??
I feel I haven't yet taken a holistic approach on this aspect of the human mind,but this part is intended to start off a debate on the same.Let us take it as a bird's eye view and dig deeper.
Awaiting a part II from smarter folks.
-Padmaraj
I'm not too sure about the factors that might have led me into the rat race,but am sure most of us are over thinking it,some probably even overdoing it.
Take case A for instance,the case of trying to evade income taxes.It is obvious that we stand to gain the rupees that we evade.However,at least among my peers and friends,there is a constant and often remarkable herd mentality in following what others often do-show falsified HRA slips,taxi bills, and so forth.Apart from the basic human nature of going after incentives,we do have a 'follow the crowd' factor.
Case B,I have experienced herd mentality working even in matters of love.There is this social pressure of being part of a couple,even more so these days.
Case C,I see herd mentality in the share markets which swing wildly between fear and greed.
To conclude,
first of all,at the end of the day,we do have some animal instincts,one of which is the constant need to be identified with the right group(read herd).So,this can be an inherent characteristic.
second,whatever most of our management books say against the herd mentality(strategies talking about unconquered lands and 'blue' oceans),we have seen time and again,hordes of intelligent people(another herd!!) bleeding in red oceans.Don't smart businessmen curb their instincts??
I feel I haven't yet taken a holistic approach on this aspect of the human mind,but this part is intended to start off a debate on the same.Let us take it as a bird's eye view and dig deeper.
Awaiting a part II from smarter folks.
-Padmaraj
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Welcome
Welcome to True Rumors!
Is the rumor that the spelling of Rumours should be Rumor, True?
Have you heard a lot of similar rumours that you believe were true? Then, pour them down here.
Is the rumor that the spelling of Rumours should be Rumor, True?
Have you heard a lot of similar rumours that you believe were true? Then, pour them down here.
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