The role of the government

What is the role of the state? The two ends of the political spectrum (left and right) will give you different definitions for this question. Without getting into the conflict and without taking sides let us assume what the state does should be for the benefit of the people.
We have a government that came to power in the centre with a huge majority the idea that they promoted was development. Now, development is a very absurd term to me a non-economist. My first question is development of what? I assume it means development of people. The way that we do so is by expanding business (At least in our country). Now business might be public or private and may entail manufacturing, services, etc. Here, is where I think almost all our governments fail.
In order to develop a business enabling environment one of the most critical factors is human capital. Having demographic surplus does not translate to human capital directly. What is the use of having a huge amount of young people without skills? It is also important that whatever skill programs are dictated by policy are geared to the future not the present.
What businesses were doing 15 years ago may not be their practice today. The dominant businesses of today may not be the dominant one of tomorrow. This is not a statement, this has been shown via multiple empirical studies in different countries. Than the question arises what should we skill people with? I believe we should skill them to become technologically adaptable. In other words, once a person is skilled to deal with different technologies the person can easily migrate his/her skills to other technologies.
How do we do this? Well for one the focus has to be on education. Right now we are opening IITs and IIMs like they are retail outlets. This definitely needs to stop. Unless that money is spent on primary and secondary education we will not have enough children who are capable of fully utilizing the facilities and faculties provided to them by higher educational institutions. What is the use of having so many IITs and IIMs when the input provided to them is not on par?
We also need to focus on research. Research in India is so neglected that we never even think that it can help us develop our human capital. How many indian researchers are fully tenured in US and UK universities? How many academic papers do they publish? Have they not had some form of education in India? Oh yes the brain drain phenomenon! Tell this to someone else. To do research you need facilities, you need institutions and most importantly funding. Other than a few places that I know off, where are the labs and the equipment? Where is this funding?
If you think that funding research is just pouring money down a drain than by all means make funding performance oriented. I am sure the true researchers hell bent on dedicating their life to make things better will not mind. But at least try it. Right now, funding to STEM has been cut dramatically. We are happier importing new technology rather than funding our own research community. We are more bother about politically controlling the IITs and IIMs rather than controlling them based on your performance. We are more interested in changing versions of history and science based on who said it first rather than encouraging advancement in science. We are more bothered about bring innovations from abroad rather than incentivizing innovation at home. Science does not care if some mythological story talked about nuclear physics before the western world. It does care about how nuclear physics can be used to benefit society. How can we understand the world we will in better? Science does not care if mahabhartha talks about nuclear weapons. It cares about non-conventitional energy sources that are cheap and clean. When will we get it into our heads that science is not about religion, science is religion.
If the role of the government is to develop society than we are failing. There are other failures too but that debate is for another post.

Can Memes (not the internet kind) can explain things?

Meme is a replicator proposed by Richard Dawkins and behaves much like a gene. It is selfish and gets copied and replicated by others. The only difference between a gene and a meme is that a meme is a type of idea.

I have heard of gene's being suppressed by using various drugs. I have been thinking what about memes being suppressed. If there is a suppression of memes than technically the memes should vanish maybe they can be discovered later but more importantly new memes would take their place.

What if memes are a part of our identity. Than if they are suppressed or considered to be regressive we will not display them openly but at an opportune moment we will be able to say that I always had this meme. Than will prolonged suppression lead to overt displays of the meme when the environment in conducive?

Well memes are supposed to be selfish replicators. This would imply that all sorts of ideas will be in fashion at one particular time that said would it be possible that less widely accepted ideas that are great at multiplying become the dominant ideas and push the other ideas in oblivion? I guess it is possible.

What is memes are attached to a symbol or an object. I assume that ideas are associated with certain objects and brand names. If the brand or object is in dominance and some incidents take place are we more likely to see causality? What if the object is not dominant would we than associate the incidents with the object or will be establish some other form of correlation?

While it is interesting to talk about this selfish replicator. It is important to understand that it can do harm. It can help in spreading ideas or information that may not have any basis (similar I guess to a rumor). How do we control memes or at least verify them? Well if I go with Dawkins there is no way to do so, because essentially they are selfish replicators.

How much is excessive?

Everyday in the paper we read about an award being returned or someone taking a stand for what they believe is wrong (both these things are the same to me). The other side of the argument is that these people are supporters of an opposition political party. I despise all political parties equally, in other words I am an equal opportunity political party hater.

One of the prominent themes why people are returning their awards is the rise of religious fringe elements or as one scientist put it the attempt to make it institutionalized. For me a researcher in the field of organizations religion was never absent religion was and will remain one of the prominent institutional logics that is prevalent in society. Then if it was never absent why has it become so important now? Well it was never the dominant logic the dominant logic was may be that of state or professionalism or maybe even community now these logics are in direct conflict with the logic of religion. We never saw religion as an important part of our identity and now when it is suddenly growing in prominence we are finding it difficult because it goes against our identity.

The other side always considered religion to be a part of identity and now they are able to express their views more aggressively. There is also the question of information. Today with easy access to information and loads of it we are able to find data, studies and what have you to support our assertions these might not be scientific but than as psychology suggests all we need is one strand of information to boost the fact that our view is right while the other view is wrong. Given that there is a sudden prominence of religion as an institutional logic I am not surprised to see an attack on rational debate with invalid and unscientific knowledge we are really stretching our imagination to be honest and being creative.

As a social scientist I take on only the role of an observer. It is my job to show the world a mirror and let them figure it out. I cannot be biased, I think that if we were rational and believed in data we might have been better. But than I am just a simple researcher!!!

Strings

They cling to your body like wires
controlling your thoughts your ideas and your movements
They make others expect things from you
controlling the way you speak, listen and emote
Do they make you who you are supposed to be?
It is tough to cut them away
It is difficult to let go
Let them go and life might not be as complex
Let them go and you will have to make sacrifices
One string makes the kite fly and one string makes the dog walk straight
What do we do away with?
I wish there was no philosophy
No need to portray an image
Only needs and no wants
But then would I be human?

Time does not fly

When you are facing the grind that no body can help you with. When there are too many routes to take and all of them seem lucrative. When you are stuck in your dreams. When you would gladly exchange your work for a swim in the sea Time my friend does not fly

My thoughts in monochrome

As I swim deeper into the PhD I have started really understanding myself (or so I think). The more I read the more I research the more I want to move away from this juggernaut of modern-capitalism. I in no ways think it is bad but then I also think it is not the solution to all the problems. I do not have a solution neither do I claim to be intelligent enough to create an ideal solution. But what I do realize is that there are multiple views and you cannot write them off just because someone said so.

Where do I go?

I look as the world goes by and I wonder what am I going to do? I feel trapped at times, dillusioned at others and  optimistic in others. Hanging on, giving it time are all too taxing on my self. Maybe I should think about myself and do What I want to do the most. Maybe the way forward is to take a complete break from the past. Maybe it is not. 

When your thoughts start leaving you

It is wonderful when your brain has one dominant logic, is'nt it? But does that really happen? I guess it must happen for a lot of people. For me my thoughts keep going all over the place I dream with eyes open. I do not think this is wrong. Humans are complex so let chaos reign. But the real problem is when my dreams are at two different ends of a spectrum what to do then. I am sometimes just not able to make a decision I am too scared, maybe I hate the feeling that I will regret it later. Maybe I am thinking too much into it right now. 

The World Cup and Things

With the World Cup almost coming to an end it is very important to see what Brazil as a nation has achieved from hosting the mega event. Given the protests that took place before the event started and also during the initial days of the world cup it is interesting that no newspaper is now talking about what is happening now. It was definitely one of the most interesting and absorbing world cup I have seen . That is the thing about perspective I guess. We always see only one side of the story and many a times we have information about only one side of the story. Can we then really pass judgement? India is hosting the under-19 world cup soon. I wonder if we will be prepared in time and I really do hope it will benefit the sport. 

Life goes on

Do you ever read your old emails? I do at times and I wonder.
I do not know how it came to pass
I do not know where I would be in times to come
I do not know how I got here from where I was
But I do understand that life goes on

Was I wrong? Was I right? these are questions that I fight
When I think in solitary I cannot help but dream of a world that came crashing in
Where would I be had I not gone that road
Where would I be if things were done differently
Would I have been me?

There are those who look back with pride some look back in anger
and there are others who look back and become sad
but I look back and get confused
I do not know where to begin and where to end
all I know is this is not the end 

I want to be a farmer

This was a thought long before the GM advert cam during super bowl. I wanted to be a farmer but one with a difference.

I am only sharing an idea. Where I grew up is an arid region with little or no rain the farmers often kill themselves because the so called benefits never reach them. This got me thinking what about drip irrigation. I have read that drip irrigation really helped many areas in the world then it struck it has to be the cost. Well so I had a brainwave as usual what if I became a farmer the plan would be to get in drip irrigation and grow only fruits and vegetables, raise cattle but sell only end products the bane of Indian agriculture is that the farmers do not sell the end product. They sell the rice to mills which sell them to the consumers. While the farmers in the US grow the wheat, husk it do whatever needs to be done and only then sell it to the bigger firms it gets them more money. Also the middle men who so easily ask for more commission have to be done away with.

Will it happen? I hope it does till then as the ad goes:

And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer.

"I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait lunch until his wife's done feeding visiting ladies and tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon -- and mean it." So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt. And watch it die. Then dry his eyes and say, 'Maybe next year.' I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of haywire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. And who, planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty-hour week by Tuesday noon, then, pain'n from 'tractor back,' put in another seventy-two hours." So God made a farmer.

God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor's place. So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark. It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week's work with a five-mile drive to church.

"Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what dad does.'" So God made a farmer.

Give me hope

Music makes the world go round,
it is the rhythm of the heart,
Without it you are a mere ghost,
but where do i find it,
I find it in every sound on the street
in the wonder of nature
I find it during my sleep
I wish I was more like music
soft, gentle and mellow
harsh, strong and uplifting,
I wish to be it all

Day 2

Right I have decided to give up on the diet. To be very honest I did not feel pangs of hunger or anything of that sort. But you do feel light headed and also the low energy levels are a killer. It is difficult when you have to have high energy levels through the day. So I decided to modify it. Club the GM diet with the Israeli army diet lets see how it goes.

Day 1

Right so today is day 1.

The diet says I am supposed to eat only fruits so off I went to the supermarket and bought I bunch of fruits thinking about it I feel I bought a little too many anyways. I had 2 apples and one pear for breakfast and a mug of earl gray without milk of course. So lets see how the day goes on.

I have musk melon for lunch today :P

GM Diet

Right so tomorrow I start the fabled GM diet. I have decided that at the start of each day of the diet I will write about it. To be honest I don't know which is tougher the dieting part or the writing part.

Don't look at the scoreboard

At work, how many of us look forward to the scoreboard. I bet a lot of people do. I used to do the same thing. This was to ensure that I get some extra money. But then I started working in a hospital and although the same thing is often practiced in the "professional" hospitals around the world, I honestly believe we have lost the ethos somewhere.

The ethos of serving human beings who happen to have an illness seems to be lost somewhere. But that is not all Education has become scoreboard oriented. Where the intellect of a student depends on how many marks he / she scores and not on what they have learnt.

When we look for a job it is always about how heavy my resume is which college did you study, it is never about your ethos. This goes for all fields. Yep even I am guilty of this sin. It is not cardinal but I have looked at people from the top colleges as having a slight edge.

The thing is as a society that looks up at only scoreboards the statement by coach Wooden speaks a truth that many of us wish was true.

I need a remedy

Football and transfer rumors are quintessential to Summer in England. With the local Pub man becoming the expert on the happenings in your local football club. But the transfer is more than money it is more than ambition it belongs only to the marquee stars like in a Broadway show. The smaller fry are usually left out of the rumors. By the time the transfer season is over the majority of the transfers will be low key players changing hands between clubs.

Much like other fields of enterprise where the normal person is thought of my family and friends. I understand and appreciate talent, but have we gone to far with it. I mean we have talent shows on all TV channels with a wide spectrum of people participating.

We have even brought this quest for talent into education. Yes it is competitive but that does not mean you throw a young child in a coaching class and then another and make their life revolve around classes and entrance exams. It does not mean that you send them to so called coaching class heavens and make them learn by rote subjects that need to understood. I asked one such child what was his favorite subject and without thinking he said Physics. I asked him what in Physics did he like and his answer was the mathematical problems because he knows all the formulas by heart. Have you really learnt physics then? Have you really learnt why the we have those formulas? Have you really learnt where they can be applied and how we can see them in action in everyday life?

We blame the system. We blame the competition. We blame the colleges. But we are to blame. We are the ones who think the world will only be better if children only study.

Have you let your child develop today?

Dream, Defy and Destiny

One of artistically inclined friend once asked me from a small but indicative symbol that he could graffiti on walls. And I came up with 3 D. Well the D's stood for Dream, Defy and Destiny.

As the years rolled by I started believing in these 3 words resolutely. I believe in dreams, a life without dreams is a little too simplistic according to me. My dreams do not follow convention I often think differently from others at times maybe because I grew up with a lot of times to think and I utilized it a lot. Defy convention, defy norms that make no sense and do the right thing.

I have always maintained that there is nothing called destiny. We make our own and we should dream and defy norms to achieve are dream to make our own destiny

Say no to politics

Well I have blogged about politics and I don't think it is a good enough topic to talk about.

The change is in you is what I believe. We need to change to even expect change.

There was a young man who was fresh out of medical college. This was pre-independence this was a time when being a doctor and more specifically a surgeon would get you out of India pretty fast but he decided to leave the cultured big city and travel to the hinterlands. He worked for years in only serving the people.

He did go to Scotland but only for a short period of time that too to learn so that he could provide better medical services to his patients. He did all that a man could to help improve the hospital in this barren neglected land. He succeeded in saving lives.

He didn't die a rich man but he died a great man, A man for whom the whole town cried and mourned. A man who set the standard for others to be judged by. Who will not be put in the history books but who deserves a place in the history of society.

We all may not go into the history books but what have we done to ask for change. A lot of us don't even pay taxes properly. A lot of us would rather pay the traffic cop a bribe than pay the fine and not repeat the mistake. We look for loopholes and then we expect change. When we have not done anything to deserve it what right do we have to demand it?

Let me be free

Let me live

I want to breathe 

I don't want you to tell me how to live

I have played your game for too long

I don't want to be bogged down

Let me walk my own path

Let me do my thing

let me follow my heart 

and let me live within

Too many choices have been made my others

I want to make this one alone

I want to listen to the wind

and dance with the seas

Give me freedom not land not money

Give me equality

Let me live let me breathe