We covered Time Dilation or slowing of time in a previous blog post. This famous comic from XKCD depicts it in real life how can it be useful :)
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| Angular Momentum |
Nov 26, 2012
Nov 17, 2012
Koi Deewana Kehta Hai - Kumar Vishwas
The poem that started it all ...
कोई दीवाना कहता है, कोई पागल
समझता है !
समझता है !
मगर धरती की बेचैनी को बस बादल
समझता है !!
मैं तुझसे दूर कैसा हूँ , तू मुझसे दूर
कैसी है !
ये तेरा दिल समझता है या मेरा दिल
समझता है !!
मोहब्बत एक अहसासों की पावन
सी कहानी है !
कभी कबिरा दीवाना था कभी मीरा दीवानी है !!
यहाँ सब लोग कहते हैं, मेरी आंखों में
आँसू हैं !
जो तू समझे तो मोती है, जो ना समझे
तो पानी है !!
समंदर पीर का अन्दर है, लेकिन
रो नही सकता !
यह आँसू प्यार का मोती है,
इसको खो नही सकता !!
मेरी चाहत को दुल्हन तू बना लेना, मगर
सुन ले !
जो मेरा हो नही पाया,
वो तेरा हो नही सकता !!
भ्रमर कोई कुमुदुनी पर मचल
बैठा तो हंगामा!
हमारे दिल में कोई ख्वाब पल
बैठा तो हंगामा!!
अभी तक डूब कर सुनते थे सब
किस्सा मोहब्बत का!
मैं किस्से को हकीक़त में बदल
बैठा तो हंगामा!!
कुमार विश्वास
Nov 10, 2012
An Infographic on the 3 types of Time Travel
We discussed the various other possibilities of time travel in my previous post. The new movie "Looper" actually depicts a dynamic time line (similar to Back to the Future) which loops onto itself and thus ends in a paradox. You can read more on the potential of Looper for time travel here.
Nov 8, 2012
Does Time Exist ?
In a previous post we discussed the arrow of time and how it affects our perception of reality This video from Discovery Channel explores the question of existence of time. Narration is by Morgan Freeman.
Making Light Travel Faster
As we discussed in a previous post on nature and shape of time, the speed of light in vacuum is a constant (c = 299792458 m/s) . But in different materials (like glass) the speed of light can be less. Scientists have now developed a new nanoscale device which makes light appear travelling infinitely faster. This makes light appear all throughout the material at the same time and glow. Read more about this at sciencemag.
Inclusive Growth
The following essay was written for India Future of Change Competition last year.
A local train journey from ‘Bandra’ to
‘Andheri’ in Mumbai early last year was enough to remind me that not only is
there a big cultural, regional and linguistic diversity in India but also a much more deep rooted economic diversity. Mumbai’s
local trains alone bring out the social divide which exists in India today but
sadly which isn’t the focus of any of our national policies. Nor does it affect
most of us; as such a way of life has been ingrained and meshed into our lives
from times immemorial. During my journey on that local train in Mumbai that day,
I saw people from different strata of society walking alongside each other
without any qualms. What I saw was, a multinational company’s elite travelling
shoulder to shoulder with a manufacturing laborer. I saw an exquisite
furnishing showroom by the station only to find a flea market next door. I saw
small barely clad children running alongside the train only to get into their
neighborhood situated next to the train tracks surrounded with muck and dirt. I
saw the ubiquitous slum roofs only to find towering sky scrapers at the next
station. Some thought and it doesn’t take long to figure that India’s eminent,
lingering and mammoth problem has not had much administrative thought poured into
it ever.
64 years since independence, but a
major portion of the country still struggles for basic standards and decent conditions
to live in. No less than 41% of India’s population lives on less than US$2 a
day; this also makes India home to one third of the World’s poor. While one
part of India makes strides in every sphere of development and sprints ahead, another
part doesn’t even get to eat 2 meals a day. The general economic situation in
today’s India is best represented by the current food crisis, while the major
produce rots at the source only a part of the produce finds itself being
completely utilized. Only a fraction of the produce garners all attention and
adulation while the rotten are left to further decay. The need of the hour is
to pay attention to the rot and prevent them from undeserving degradation.
Similarly, it is very important and critical for every country to be inclusive
and enable the downtrodden to be able to contribute to the country’s growth.
Like controlled market regularization of costs would benefit not just the
consumers; empowering the backward would help in spreading well-being to not
just a few in country of a billion.
A country’s citizens are its assets
which if not groomed properly can become the single reason for a countries
downfall. Whether it is through crime, chaos, communism or unrest, a countries
declension always finds it roots in its dis-satisfied citizens. It is the government’s
responsibility to create opportunities for people, spread awareness and
education and uplift the backward classes. But as the chairman of
PricewaterhouseCoopers puts it, “I don’t think anyone organization, whether it’s private or
government, can tackle this issue. It calls for a new model of cooperation
between public sector and private sector”. The challenge is to get the 2 facets
of the country together on the same platform to discuss about the impending
doom that looms large on India. The government which currently finds itself in
a mesh of moral turmoil and ethnic dilemma needs to rise above the scams,
corruption and communism, which come back each time in new avatars throwing it
off guard and agenda. Most of the parliamentary sessions are driven by issues
either of fraud, corruption, steep price rise or inflation. The government
needs to be able to rise above the short term issues and current ills to find
solutions to the hard hitting reality of India today: - ‘The growing divide
between the rich and poor’. While India continues to grow and is projected to
be the strongest contender for USA in the coming years, ironically one part of
India still continues to struggle even for the basic amenities. While the rich
are making global strides in academia, innovation and business, the poor keep
getting sucked into a quick sand of abject poverty and destitution.
An inclusive society is a society where every
section has equal opportunities to grow and succeed. The way forward seems an unending journey and
a daunting task, but we need to begin somewhere. Every program starts with
having a mandate and we need to get some discussion around inclusion in growth
going as soon as possible before we find ourselves getting sucked into a
whirlpool of destructive chain reactions. The first has to be revamping of
India’s crumbling infrastructure. As more and more people migrate to cities in
search of better standards of living and more opportunities, a greater degree
of planning and design needs to go into the architecture and infrastructure of
the our old as well as new cities. Not only do we need to make sure that more
and more infrastructure industries come into existence but we also need to plan
out our new cities with better systems and resources.
Investment in infrastructure will help
the country be able to sustain the influx of people into its cities and also
generate employment in those regions. Better infrastructure will lead to more
foreign investment, more companies and more jobs. Also it paves the path for
innovation, where more and more inventions can be realized. Quoting the example
of China, where after the facelift of Beijing and Shanghai a few years back
along with opening up of their policies lead to increased foreign investment
and employment. The new infrastructure gave the existing companies opportunities
to innovate and bring in more products into the market furthering employment.
Also in general the quality of life increased not only just by the overall
improvements and increased employment but also as the whole pulse of the
country began to get more positive. It is time for India to realize the
potential it has to improve in this sector and reap the benefits when there is
so much buzz about India and foreign investors are waiting for opportunities to
set up base in India.
We need to generate employment first
to tackle the situation as is today, money creates money and growth creates
more growth. We need drastic economic reforms to make it easier for investors
to invest and be able to start their businesses in India from scratch. The
question is why have we not been able to produce the likes of Mark Zukerberg
given we have one of the largest youth populace who are also pitted to be among
the world’s intellectual elites. The truth is that most of them do not get the
right opportunities and exposure to look at the world holistically and innovate
or ideate products capable enough to impact everyone worldwide. We have to be
able to somehow include our youth in decision making to create opportunities
pertinent to their needs and aspirations and bring about reforms which they
want. The country needs to think from the perspective of what are the pain
points that are holding back a talented generation. The foremost on my list of
roadblocks to our success is India’s archaic economic policies. The last
economic reforms took place 20 years ago. The world has moved on by leaps and
bounds since then and it is time to rethink a new framework to encompass the
requirements of modern day India. We have new challenges, industries and focus
areas. However, only economic reforms without political and judicial changes
will not stand a chance to benefit India. We need to create more transparent
political and administrative systems allowing for full utilization of funds
with minimal misappropriation. A well-known research study shows that no
country has been able to achieve sustained income growth and poverty reduction
without structural transformation. The Indian situation currently stands to be
more challenging than anywhere else with its deep rooted corruption, a weak
judiciary, undereducated politicians and ethnic diversity. We need reforms
which empower backward sections of the society without getting biased against
the other sections in each and every sphere but mainly education to start with.
We are still following norms and rules formulated 64 years back during independence
which stands to be obsolete and outmoded now. We need to relook at the criteria
and our quota systems and reframe laws. Criterions keep getting added into the
rule book but the existing criterions are never revisited and revised. We need
to give the backward sections opportunities to growth but firstly we need
citizens to be aware of those opportunities so that they are used and not
misused and everyone stands a fair chance.
Education is definitely the first step
we need to realize in order to ensure that every section of society is able to
reap benefits of a developing nation completely and of all the opportunities it
has to offer. Not only does education ensure inclusion where every section of
the society can represent itself in national discussions but it also goes on to
ensure that every section is able to utilize the opportunities to their
fullest. It is a win-win situation where the citizens are elevated to better
standards in every sphere but the country also is able to keep its growth trajectory
on the positive. A small example of this would be Muhammad Yunus’s Microfinance framework, not only did it work
very well for its beneficiaries but it also did wonders for the country by in
large. We need such revolutionary ideas to improve the current situation we see
our country in. But those ideas are only going to mature if we exactly know how
to fit them in the larger context and make them work for larger communities.
This is where education helps, it exposes individuals to the larger communities
and problem faced by them and helps them to get out of their silo to make
inclusive business models and inventions. The government needs to rethink their
education policy and strategize a new vision for the future because certainly
the as is scenario will be in shambles very soon.
Another alarming situation that
expresses itself in statistics is of one-third of the population accounting for
more than half of the GDP. Only a small percent of Indian population finds
itself contributing a major chunk of the GDP from new emerging areas like
Services (IT and ITES). So in affect what we are saying is the story of India
Shinning is re-enforcing that ‘All that glitters is not gold’. In our case, the
glitter is imported clients and call centers. As much as we need education to
not only educate the rural population, but also the need of the hour is to
create avenues for higher education and research. We need to become
self-sufficient without having to depend on other economies for projects and
work. Apart from education we need to focus on areas with the most
concentration of our workforce, with the aim to help us to evenly distribute
the currently lopsided GDP. Agriculture is still the single highest recruiter
with 70% of our population earning its livelihood through it. However, the
educated class still finds itself running away from anything to do with
agriculture due to low compensation, little rewards and an uncool way of life.
It is appalling to see how little value we attach with a profession in
agriculture today which still is the backbone of the nation.
The need of the hour is to revamp all
agriculture policies and incentivize involvement with it. We need more and more
skilled work force and better technologies to take over are agriculture system
which is in shambles as of today. Not only will more focus on agriculture make
India more self-sufficient but it will gather more profit for the farmers and
in turn fetch prosperity for the major part of India. We also need more
awareness around techniques of farming and modern equipment. With a little use
of technology India can increase its production from agriculture. The
government should formulate policies and strategize ways to bring in more
private investment in the agriculture sector. With more money and more control,
the government can increase profits for itself, the farmer and the consumer.
More and more people will be lured into the profession which drives India due
to increased returns and lesser uncertainty attributed to modern techniques. The
nation may begin to be a more prosperous place with the increased involvement
of the elite in agriculture and predictable produce owing to more scientific
and modern methods. If we can bring about even a little change in the way we
look at agriculture, we can make an enormous difference to the happiness index
of a majority of those 70% of Indians involved in that profession.
In addition to all the above the
government has another daunting task too, to create opportunities for
investment to generate the much needed funds whether it is for infrastructure,
education, implementation of new policies or revamping the agricultural
landscape. The government needs to very aggressively pursue this agenda in
order to make India’s growth story inclusive. We will need to try different
things and sticking to norms will not help. We have always seen a bottom up
approach for any reform, which has been tried year over year. This time we need
to think out of the box, a little different as the situation is a challenging
one. One part of India has begun to not relate to the other part which has been
left behind somewhere stuck in the same biases of thought and ideology. It is a
scary situation with the feeling of alienation running strong in one part of
India. If we are not able to address this situation at hand in the next couple
of years, we may have the other side complaining and showing symptoms of
estrangement like an orphan child. If we
are not able to educate all our adolescents and youth even after years of
education being on the nation’s top priority programs, we need to rethink the
approach. Why not predict requirement of jobs and avenues where we need skilled
labor and then go about training youth for those jobs. Make 3-5 year plans to
set up industries and in the mean while educate and train youth. Also again to
reiterate, the government needs to open up its policies to make it easier for
industries and private companies to operate in smaller cities of India and help
in creating an environment allowing them to set up plants and units in villages
without resistance from the local populace.
Education needs to be imparted and awareness campaigns run to empower
locals to think on their own and not be swayed by vote bank politics. Such
small things can eventually lead to the tipping of far reaching epidemics in
such case no growth, deep rooted poverty, disillusion among people and
increased crime.
Entrepreneurship is another avenue
which promises inclusive growth in its entirety. India needs to look to train
more and more leaders to take on daunting tasks and challenges of innovation
and execution of new ideas. More and more local and indigenous industries need
to come up in the near future which will not only generate employment but also
empower the locals to make their own future and attain prosperity. But to make
world class industries in every part of India, we need world class
infrastructure in every part of India, world class work force in every part of
India and a world class social and political regulation in every part of India.
The question with which I had started was Is India Shinning or is it Whining??
Without doubts it is whining, irrespective of claims, media reports and
comparisons with China. Even though India and China both happen to be very
close on the transparency index for countries worldwide, in affect meaning that
both countries are equally corrupt in their public dealings, China is
definitely soaring and gliding more smoothly than we are. Like contrary to as
in China, politicians who are found guilty of embezzlement are awarded a life
sentence; whereas in India they continue to hold office and position until off
course till they are voted out by electoral process. We have had names of so
many serving politicians appear in cases of fraud, murder and corruption, but
they continue to roam scot free. It is time for someone in the current
government to take a stand. With sentiments running high against corruption and
pro-growth, any individual and party taking firm action and un-wavering stand
on these societal evils is definitely guaranteed to score brownie points with
the people. Why not use such opportunities to play vote bank politics, a much
more cleaner and constructive way to do so than the usually preferred
mudslinging tactics?
May be the political intelligentsia
feels that inclusive growth is all about inclusion of the corrupt, bad
policies, utopian thoughts, slack actions and embittered citizens! But if we do
have our eyes set on inclusion at every stage, the first step has to be
Inclusive political participation. Hope we have our top business barons and
techno tycoons listening. India being a democracy; the only way to tackle the
problem is by reforms and policy making. Only through the active participation
of individuals, who care about real issues facing our nation, we can hope to
make a difference. A completely ideal society with full inclusive growth is a
far-fetched dream but surely we can hope to do better than what we have done
till now. We hope to make the transition from India whining to India Shinning
but the question remains how soon?
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