snippets of thought from a brimming mind

A Personal Appeal for Wikipedia

2012-02-09T21:55:00.000+08:00

This is an appeal.

This post is not written equally for all my audiences. Sadly, you would have to be a high school or university student and preferably, a student of the social sciences, to sincerely empathise with me.

As a student, I am often beleaguered by essays and theses, and other written pieces that often require formal citation. In academia, given a growing erudition over the years, more and more stringent regulations are placed on the quality of these sources, and a keen understanding and sensitivity towards the reliability of a source, and the method of data processing and statistical analysis that the data in these sources have undergone.

Now I come to the main purpose of this entry: citing Wikipedia. I do understand the reservation regarding using Wikipedia as a source: it is not necessarily accurate, given the fact that it is open to editing by anyone. In scholarly writing of great consequence, where research may be based on your work, I absolutely agree that strong discretion be applied with regards to choice of sources. And I do accede that as a matter of setting a habit, academics should encourage students to look for more scholarly sources than Wikipedia.

However, I believe it to be exceedingly pedantic and donnish to insist upon the exclusion of Wikipedia from background reading far ahead of the assignment itself. By any regard, as a learning tool, Wikipedia beats peer-reviewed scientific journal articles hands down, any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. A very perfunctory scan of articles on the website will show detailed explanations of complicated scientific concepts, economic models, artistic movements and mathematical patterns, often in a manner so as to be comprehensible to the familiar.

This ostentation of pedantry that is so often displayed should be controlled so as to influence only those to whom it is applicable. For the yet learning scholar, I feel that the use of an encyclopaedia of any sort, especially the most convenient and cross-linked of ones, should not only be encouraged, but be made mandatory. This is my appeal.

Of course, I also appeal that SOPA be crushed and Wikipedia be allowed to live.

-Anirudh

Emerging Markets (2)

2012-02-04T14:52:00.000+08:00

This post will have no preface.

Continuing from my discussion (read: Emerging Markets (1) ) of new and emerging markets, today I will talk about.. well you'll see. Markets of this class, like the internet and Wikipedia, are like the monsters of the latter half of the 20th century as conceived by writers and movie-makers alike. It starts with the smallest of acts, like throwing some garbage into the sea. It goes on like this, with everybody contributing a little bit to pollution, just because everyone is doing it. And all of a sudden - BAM! - a monster is born (think Hedorah of Godzilla fame) out of the sludge off the coast, and emerges from the sea. It proceeds to crawl into Tokyo, and engulfs everything, in precious minutes transforming the lives of everyone.

Much is the same for the emerging markets I talked about in my previous entry. Typically, it is my nature to stretch the analogy as far as it will go, but I realise that here, I'd be running the risk of sounding extremely stupid. However, just last night I came across something new.

A very new phenomenon has emerged. Something that goes by the name "social reading". Now, up until the day I turned 19, I never read newspapers. My parents kept trying to get me to read them, and just like you, I wouldn't. Then they started to occasionally say things like, "Chandu, let me introduce you to a new invention. This is a newspaper." Yet, I wouldn't. See, I don't know why I eventually started reading newspapers, except that I knew it was useful. I decided I would, and I stuck through it until it became a habit to keep up with the news. I far from read it every single day from cover to cover, but I now like knowing what is happening around the world, so I definitely accomplished something. But this story isn't about how I started reading the news, but about how you did.

Now the thing is that it's really difficult to get a child of this generation to start reading newspapers. Back during the War, when my parents were kids, they had nothing BUT newspapers. But we have it all: movies, music, more interesting books, Youtube and Facebook. Now years of good parenting and the occasional nag did nothing to get you or me to read newspapers. My father went deep into the wilderness to find gypsies who could give him a cure for my 'disease'. My mother climbed the Himalayas to get to the enlightened sage who might have a solution. News corporations put up online editions of their newspapers for the tech-savvy, and then proceeded to make it absolutely free. But none of this helped me, and none of it helped you. What did (or will) help is one idea by one person who had nothing to do with education or parenting. I don't know who came up with it, but he/she decided to put together reading and social networking.

Simply said, for some inconceivable reason, when people on Facebook saw notifications saying "Anirudh Krishnan read 'How and why the chicken crossed the road' on The Independent social reader", they wanted to read it too.

I don't care too much about whether it earns The Independent some money. What I am amazed by is the fact that one small idea created immense value and welfare to society, in a way that individual effort was absolutely unable to achieve. This is an emerging market in its own way. Sure, it may not be that spectacular a business idea (Well, it could even be! How much do you think they're making out of this?), but the idea itself is an invention of this age. An age where the silliest of ideas (again, refer to post Emerging Markets (1) ) revolutionise the world.

Write in if you have anything to add. Write in even if you don't have something to add. And definitely, write in if you'd like me to write about any topic.

-Anirudh

Emerging markets (1)

2012-02-02T17:18:00.004+08:00

This is a reflection piece... and do not be thrown off by the title; it's not about BRIC.

As an infant economist and someone with entrepreneurial interests, I often hear people talking about opportunities, or indeed the lack thereof. I hear people discussing the successes of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie and industrialists from the Tata family. I also spend a considerable amount of my time in cafés, libraries and discussion rooms, where names like Michael Dell and Steve Jobs are mentioned very often by a diverse group of young students and executives alike. More often than not, there is a Bob at this table, who says, "Ah didn't they have it easy back then! A world of opportunities, so many things to do, so many industries to explore. What do we have left? They've done it all", to great public approval and empathetic nods and grimaces.

We've all felt this way, haven't we? Oftentimes, I'm tempted to agree with Bob. It seems like it has all been done.

At this point, you say, "Ah, I've seen this before. You think I haven't figured out your style? You bring up a stereotype or a general sentiment, and then you go into a lengthy discussion trying to prove the opposite." Because of this, you think you know where I'm going with this. Well I know where you think I'm going with this, so you can stop trying now.

I'm not here to talk about the fact that new opportunities always exist, and all it takes is effort. If you're reading my blog, you're literate (unless this were a tumblr site), and I take that to indicate the intelligence to understand that. Neither is this going to be about the way Steve Jobs made money by focusing on design in a world dominated by Bill Gates. Just keep reading. Or not. Whatever.

It strikes me as a wondrous miracle that the world finds ways to accommodate us. Somehow, people create incredible value through the strangest and most impossible-sounding of ideas. You've probably heard this story, but when the internet was first proposed, people said, "what's the point", discarding it as useless under the assumption that nobody would want to put files on a public network.

This was the beginning of open-source and it brought about the biggest wave of stupidity mankind ever heard of since George Bush. Simply ridiculous ideas were born, and software companies thought it would be a good idea to release untested software to the public and allow them to figure out the problems, and Beta-testing was born. Google decided to put up an interactive map online, and said, "you fill it up", and Google Maps was born. People decided to share their knowledge, and the world's biggest encyclopaedia was born, written and managed by what is an organisational hierarchy so arbitrary and so diversified that it could very easily be confused with a child's game of 'Doctor', with the two children switching roles at the simplest whim (More on Wikipedia in the next post).

An addendum for my parents and others just as ancient:
Amma, Acha, I don't suppose you understand open-source. To put it in context, I'll take technology out of the equation. Open-source, or in non-geek-speak, the customer's contribution to their own utility, exists in the physical world too. DIY stores, self-assembly furniture from IKEA, Build-A-Bear, and Barbecue-buffets. The last strikes me as particularly stupid. Why would you go to a restaurant, only to see strips of various meats lying in ice, and roast it yourself?

But somehow, not only are these incredibly irrational ideas working, but they've been incredibly successful. Even if the ideas don't put money in the pockets of the creators, like the internet and the non-profit Wikipedia, the sheer amount of value they have created is staggering. In any social science class, one of the first constants you are introduced to is the rationality of human beings. First assumption, human beings are rational profit-maximisers. But thanks to economists like George Akerlof, and the number of businesses profiting from the advent of open-source, we're able to observe growing irrationality in human behaviour.

I very strongly feel that great business ideas in this decade (and many to come before the world decides to take us on yet another creative journey) must tap on this irrationality. Maybe we should work on trying to make stupid decisions, as did Tim Berners-Lee and Jimmy Wales (creator of Wikipedia)?

-Anirudh

An essay on International Relations

2012-01-28T23:14:00.000+08:00

Defencespending in the People’s Republic of China has increased dramatically in recentyears. Discuss whether this development poses a security threat to the UnitedStates of America. Should the United States increase its defence spendingaccordingly? Why or why not?

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The field of political sciencedeals, in large part, with the concern of governments to defend their nationand interests from external attack. It is said that since 2001, the People’sRepublic of China has increased its military spending by nearly 200 percent toan estimated USD 119 billion in 2010 (The Economist Online 2011). Subsequent reportsstate that in 2011, a further 12.7 percent increment was announced (BBC News Online 2011). As is only natural,military accumulation of such large scale is often construed by the globalcommunity as a threatening move. As a result, it is often the case thatgovernments of various countries discuss responses to the development in termsof a possible increase in their own defence budget. This essay deals with theresponse of the United States government in light of this development, andargues that an increase in defence spending on the part of the White Housewould be unnecessary given the two countries’ bilateral relations, usinginternational relations theories where appropriate.

The United States and China share acomplex political relationship in today’s age. In the decades after theircollaboration against the Soviet Union during the Cold War (1946-1991), thepolitical atmosphere between the two countries has evolved in numerous ways. Bothgovernments are similarly committed to world issues such as the fight againstterrorism (Kan 2010), and prevention ofnuclear proliferation (Nuclear Threat Initiative 1985).However, the bilateral relations are tested by issues of human rightsviolations (2009 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau) 2010) since China achievedits newfound economic distinction. Moreover, a dominant issue that remainsunsolved is that of their varying positions regarding the legitimacy of theTaiwanese government.

Asa result of this complex relationship, and the long political history betweenthe two nations, the United States is very likely to be concerned about thepossible security threat that this arms accumulation poses to itself as well asthe world community. As a result, it may choose to increase its own militaryspending, which, upon a similar reaction from China, could result in an arms racesimilar to that of the Cold War, or could desist from reacting similarly forthe reasons detailed in this essay.

Thereare two popular theories in international relations today that support theopinion that the United States need not increase its defence spending. Liberalism, a theory put forth by Joseph Nyeand Robert Keohane, proposes that the growth of post-War international tradehas been an essential factor in achieving the relative world peace observedsince 1945 (Jackson and Sørensen 2007). The globalisationcalled for by the Bretton Woods system[1]brought about a strong economic interdependence between the liberal economiesof the world, and the wave of democratisation in this period since the end ofWorld War II aided in the achievement of free trade. This economic mutuality,liberalisation argues, has helped in achieving warm peace between nations.

China’scapitalist economic reforms initiated in 1978[2],through the opening up of the economy to foreign investment, privatisation ofindustries and decrease of protectionist tariffs increased its degree ofinterdependence with other countries. As a result of the US’ economic dominanceand the size of the Chinese nation and population, US-China economic mutualitybecame important for both nations. Through cheap labour and manufacturingproductivity in China, and educational and professional opportunities in theUS, to mention very few of a myriad factors, the two economies have becomegreatly interdependent in recent years. Chinese exports to US have increased bya factor of almost 80 since 1984, and US exports to China have increased by afactor of more than 10 in the same period (Lum and Nanto 2007, 41. Table A2).Moreover, USA is China’s greatest export destination (The US-China Business Council 2010, 1. Table 8), and China is theUnited States’ third greatest export destination (Department of Commerce - United States of America 2011). Therefore, both these countriesheavily rely on each other’s import markets. Furthermore, as of May 2011, Chinawas the largest single holder of US public debt (Department of the Treasury/Federal Reserve Board 2011). In addition tothese factors, there are other complex and multiple transnational ties betweenthe two. Higher education, multinational companies, and even basketball bindthe two countries in immeasurable ways.

The two countries are hence deeplyinterlinked and are genuine friends in today’s global context. It is evidentthat the two countries have benefited greatly from trade liberalisation and themutual proliferation of multinational companies. As a result, neither nationwould jeopardise their standing in the world by aggressing the other.

Socialconstructivism, another theory, also believes in the possibility of warm peacebetween nations. It proposes that although international anarchy may exist,with no body governing the actions of nations, it does not necessarily entailthe existence of wars. As Alexander Wendt, the best-known advocate of this theoryfamously put it, “anarchy is what states make of it” (Wendt 1992). Therefore, it isnot the fact that anarchy exists that causes conflict, but that states haveconstructed negative associations through their actions, causing mistrustbetween nations. However, through creating positive meaning to one another,states can create trust and conflicts will cease to exist.

Themiddle stages of the Cold War saw China’s opposition to the USSR on ideologicalgrounds, based on diverging interpretations of Marxism. As a result of thestalemate that the Cold War was edging towards, the US reached out to China forits aid. Through this association, China first constructed a positiveassociation for US out of the goodwill they had generated. In the years sincethis collaboration, this positive meaning that China has projected to the worldcommunity has strengthened. Its move away from stubborn communism towardscapitalism (explained in great detail previously) has also caused the world totreat it with greater trust. Moreover, China has begun to portray itself as aresponsible global power, contributing to almost two percent of the UNPeacekeeping force, as compared to the US’ 0.1 percent (United Nations Peacekeeping 2011).The US and China also cooperate on various levels such as the US-China WTOtrade agreement (The White House Office of Public Liaison 1999), which ensured strong anti-dumpingmeasures and anti-protectionist agreements. Moreover, in recent years, severaldialogues have been held between the countries to cooperate on counter-terrorismmeasures through the US-China Counterterrorism sub-dialogue (U.S. Department of State 2009).

Inall these ways, the two countries are linked in multiple mutually-beneficialways, both economically and politically, as supported by the two theories. As aresult of this, warm peace exists between the two countries, and even ifmilitary superiority were achieved by either country, it would not be willingto attack the other.

However,the challenges put forth by Realism cannot be dismissed. Realism, a theory thatsuggests that the selfish power-maximising nature of human beings, combinedwith the inevitable absence of central authority at an international level, isthe cause for war and conflict. As aresult, proponents of realism suggest that military build-up should be ofparamount importance. This not only means that China’s military expenditure hikecould be a realist move to maximise power, but also that it could be construedby the US as such, causing a similar reaction on its part.

This is a plausible interpretation,owing to various truths about the two countries’ relationship. Firstly, beingthe two largest economies in the world, the two countries are directly vyingfor the top spot. Moreover, they have greatly differing ideologies, with the UShighly liberal and democratic, while China holds on to communist beliefs,albeit incorporating elements of capitalism. The two countries also haveseveral conflicts of interest. For one, the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 is amajor point of conflict. While the US officially subscribes to the Chineseposition that Taiwan is a part of China, it continues to sell defensivemilitary equipment to Taiwan. As a result, the Chinese feel that the US hasneglected “the basic standards of international relations” (Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America 2004, 1). Another issue thathas strained relations is the US-operated Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan. Onceset up to aid in American efforts during the Afghan War, it is extant eventoday, much to the displeasure of China, with which it shares a border. Owingto these issues, it is possible that China’s increase in military expenditurecould indeed be in an attempt to increase its power in the world, in whichcase, US, being a hegemon in the world today, would increase its own spendingto retain that status.

Whileit is true that US-China relations perhaps do not reflect the warmth of thepeace between the US and Canada, giving bearing to the realist claims, I feelthat it is a slight abstraction to state that there is complete anarchy on theinternational stage. In the years sinceits inception, the United Nations has become the foremost international body forthe governance of actions of various countries. Along with subsidiaryorganisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, UN Peacekeeping Force and InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU), it is able to impose restrictions on countries inresponse to major breaches of the standards of international relations. Thesecould come in the form of trade embargos, monetary sanctions or refusal offinancial aid from IMF and World Bank, as well as telecommunicationrestrictions. The UN bodies are able to wield these powers due to strongsocially constructed notions of peace and cooperation at an internationallevel, therefore garnering support from its members to impose these restrictions.

Finally,there are myriad possible explanations for China’s large-scale increase indefence expenditure. One possibility is that China may be attempting toincrease its security, not only in terms of defence, but in terms ofnegotiating power. With the US’ obvious superiority in economy and military, itholds great negotiating power within the UN, NATO, and other internationalbodies, as well as amongst other nations. It may be that China, as afast-growing world power, is attempting to achieve the same. Another equallyprobable explanation is that it is simply keeping in pace with its economicgrowth, both in the sense that more funds are available to them in these yearsof economic prosperity, as well as the fact that increases in standard ofliving reflect higher pay to armed-forces employees. In closing, while thewisdom of the liberalist and constructivist arguments recommend that the USdoes not increase its spending accordingly, it is still probable that given theUS’ hegemony in the world today, and its interest in retaining that position,it will do so regardless.

Bibliography

2009 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau). Country Report on Human Rights Practices, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 2010.

BBC News Online. "China says it will boost its defence budget in 2011." BBC News. March 4, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12631357 (accessed November 1, 2011).

Department of Commerce - United States of America. "Top U.S. Trade Partners." International Trade Administration. August 2011. http://trade.gov/mas/ian/build/groups/public/@tg_ian/documents/webcontent/tg_ian_003364.pdf (accessed November 1, 2011).

Department of the Treasury/Federal Reserve Board. "Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities." U.S. Department of the Treasury. October 18, 2011. http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/mfh.txt (accessed November 1, 2011).

Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America. China opposes US Congress' resolution on Taiwan. July 19, 2004. http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/xw/t143465.htm (accessed November 1, 2011).

Jackson, Robert, and Georg Sørensen. Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches. Third. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Kan, Shirley A. U.S.-China Counterterrorism Cooperation: Issues for U.S. Policy. Report for Congress, Congressional Research Service, Federation of American Scientists, Federation of American Scientists, 2010, 37.

Lum, Thomas, and Dick K. Nanto. China's Trade with the United States and the World. Congress Report, Congressional Research Service, Federation of American Scientists, Federation of American Scientists, 2007, 45.

Nuclear Threat Initiative. "1985 US-China Nuclear Cooperation Agreement." Nuclear Threat Initiative. 1985. http://www.nti.org/db/china/ncaorg.htm (accessed November 1, 2011).

The Economist Online. "Defence costs: The biggest military spenders." The Economist Online. June 8, 2011. http://www.economist.com/node/21518831 (accessed November 1, 2011).

The US-China Business Council. "US-China Trade Statistics and China's World Trade Statistics." The US-China Business Council. 2010. https://www.uschina.org/statistics/tradetable.html (accessed November 1, 2011).

The White House Office of Public Liaison. "Summary of U.S.-China Bilateral WTO Agreement." The US-China Business Council. November 17, 1999. https://www.uschina.org/public/991115a.html (accessed November 1, 2011).

U.S. Department of State. U.S.-China Counterterrorism Sub-Dialogue. Media Note, Office of the Spokesman, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State, 2009.

United Nations Peacekeeping. "Monthly Summary of Contributions (Police, Military Experts on Mission and Troops)." United Nations Peacekeeping. September 30, 2011. http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2011/sept11_1.pdf (accessed November 1, 2011).

Wendt, Alexander. "Anarchy is what states make of it: the social construction of power politics." International Organization (The MIT Press) 46, No. 2, no. Spring, 1992 (1992): 391-425.

[1] TheBretton Woods system is a system of economic management that laid out rules forcommercial and monetary relations between nations in the final years of WorldWar II.

[2]Initiated by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, the reforms set China on the track tobecoming a market economy.

L'arte e sue modalità di espressione.

2011-12-12T01:09:00.000+08:00

This post is a thought-piece on art.

It has been almost two months since I wrote here, and easily more than 5 weeks since I last thought about my blog. But just yesterday, about halfway through the eighth lecture by Dr. Robert Greenberg on appreciating opera as an art form, I got to thinking about art.

Okay, well it's not about art in general, but about the use of gustatory modality in art. What do I mean? When you hear the word art today, regardless of your knowledge of the subject, most people immediately think of visual art, as in painting, drawing or photography. Sure, we all understand that art is more than just visual art, and refers to any mode of expression, including music, dance, painting, drawing, photography, theatre, film, literature, architecture or sculpture, and cooking even. (My brother, Sidharth, even insists that poker should be an art form, and he the Vincent Van Gogh of it). But I don't think we've given enough thought to the various modes of expression.

We all understand that good art needn't be appealing, but almost necessarily must be individualistic, unique, emotive and expressive, and above all, bring out the author's intent. It is true that visual art, can often be grotesque, frightening, saddening, profane, abstract, and in short, aesthetically unappealing, yet be brilliant works of art. A painting such as The Great Masturbator by Salvador Dalí is one such example. Similarly, in the world of music, Krzysztof Penderecki's Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima stands as true testament to the idea that art need not be appealing to the senses, as long as its message is strong and clear.

However, it seems that modes of expression in most art forms differ greatly from those in gustatory art forms such as cooking and beer-brewing. In these arts, the quality of an "art piece" is not judged in terms of the accuracy with which the artist's intention is brought about, or even the degree of uniqueness of the piece, beyond the sensory pleasure gained by the "observer". Connoisseurs of this art are almost exclusively interested in how good the "art piece" tastes.

Does that then mean, that going by the conventional idea of art, no 'real' art form exists that deals with gustation? Is this then an opportunity for creative individuality in the arts, given the widely-acknowledged mediocrity and unoriginality in many of today's art forms? Or is there a reason for this absence of expression through one of the five senses available to us, perhaps due to the invasive nature of any such "art piece", given that a participant is therefore vulnerable to disease, bodily harm, digestive irregularity and nausea, to name a few?

Do write in if you have any views or answers to these questions. Arrivederci!

-Anirudh

The God Debate (2) ... A conversation between an atheistic professor and a student

2011-10-11T14:17:00.000+08:00

This is not going to be a very long post.

Upon reading the maiden post on this topic ("The God Debate and a Very Profane George Carlin"), Gautham, an undeservedly recurrent character on this blog, invited me to reply to an article regarding a conversation between an atheist and a Christian.
If you would be so kind as to visit the article, and read through the conversation, you would see that it is credited to Dr. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India. Now, the same article is here credited to Albert Einstein. Now I have not done enough research on who the actual speaker is, but I suspect that, similarly, there will be claims that the speaker was Pope John Paul II, Abraham Lincoln, and maybe even Confucius.
This isn't the topic of this post, so I'm not going to talk about it, but I urge you to consider, always, the accuracy of your sources. Entire lives have been spent on research based on inaccurate statistics and observations. Entire careers wasted because of spelling errors in scientific journals. Recent research shows that 93.2% of all statistics are false.

Anyway, very simply said, I think the content of the article is pretty silly, and suspect greatly that it was written by none of Dr. Kalam, Einstein and Confucius. The gaps in logic are plenteous.
Firstly, it doesn't answer the question, "Does God exist?", which though unasked, is what the professor seems to have been driving at. Instead, it concludes saying, "Faith. THAT is the link between Man and God. That is all that keeps things moving and alive". Now the professor, if he weren't as flustered and indignant at the students' roaring laughter as to be rendered visibly speechless, would probably have said, "Link? What link? What are you talking about?"

Now, the second gap in the argument is the inclusion of a rather verbose and irrelevant discussion of the principle of duality. The student refers to this, but then reverts to his main point about faith being his only reason for believing in God, and why he believes although there is no demonstrable scientific proof of existence, making the mention rather otiose.

However, the mention of the principle of duality is a key point in my argument that God was created by man. Firstly, to consider the student's view that the principle is a flawed premise, I would say that it is a rather productive abstraction, because it greatly simplifies our understanding of the world. I agree that death is not quite the opposite of life, for the former is the absence of the latter, and therefore cannot be compared to true opposites like good and evil, where the absence of goodness does not entail evil. Good and evil can exist unto themselves, while death cannot, and they are thus, not analogous.
Expressed in terms similar to an analogy:

Life : Death ≠ Good : Evil

But in terms of the point of view of perception, as opposed to hard logic, to say that death is the opposite of life is productive, simply because they are mutually exclusive, as are all true opposites.

I believe that the only reason God was created, is the innate weakness of human beings. Unable to accept that our intelligence and design set us free in a way no animal could possibly experience, we created God and his "divine plan", to restrict our capabilities. Our fear that we were the only species in the world capable of making significant, self-driven progress caused us to create a power that designed our lives one way, therefore creating a stop-loss mechanism. Thus, when we try hard and we fail, we can rest instead of fear, because we "probably weren't meant to be able to".

Now, returning to the premise of duality, it is important to note that not only does practically everything exist in pairs of opposites, but also, almost everything is viewed in terms of good and bad. This means that not only are things in opposites, but they belong to a set under what may be termed as the natural classes of duality: good and bad. I believe that it is in search of an explanation of this very bifurcation of all things that describe the world, that God was created. And much more importantly, his counterpart, the Devil (yeah, why shouldn't the Devil's name be capitalised too?), in a world where if an opposite doesn't exist, it can't be comprehended. Referring back to the logic of opposites a few paragraphs back, I see an interesting reason why the Devil had to be created. The absence of God wouldn't result in any bad. It would just result in a world where no good was ever done. Therefore, in order to explain why bad things happen, and why people do bad things, the Devil was created.

Now, the theists have an interesting idea: God created the Devil. I swear, this totally cracks me up every time I hear it. And why? Get this, to show you whose side you would be on, if you decided to be lazy, or decided to take what isn't yours, or decided to wish ill of someone. My own theory is different. I think God was tired of being able to do everything, and so created the Devil, just so he'd have some competition. But things didn't go quite as planned, and he gave the Devil too much intelligence, and He soon grew indestructible. Reminds me of I,Robot.

In closing, I'd like to leave you with a very radical suggestion.
The article says, "Evil is the absence of God". As I have stated earlier, and as is clear to the deeply logical mind, this is not necessarily true. However, consider this: Does evil exist, perhaps, as an attempt of the rational mind, to prove to itself that God does not exist?

Write in if you have an opinion on my last question, or any part of this or the previous post. Angry or indignant retorts to my atheistic views are also welcome. The most indignant of them will probably be received less happily, but will be received nonetheless.

If you would like to read a little about the growing science of exploring the genesis of religion, read this.

-Anirudh

The God Debate and a Very Profane George Carlin

2011-09-20T16:53:00.002+08:00

I have long wanted to write about religion on my blog, ever since the inaugural post of the series previously published on Sidharth's blog which, sadly, has been removed. There have been signs. God has been speaking to me through my experiences this last fortnight or so, and in cabalistic symbols - a conversation with the handyman, a video shared by Gautham -, has told me to write about my faith.

I'm a very religious man. I very strongly believe in and adhere to the tenets of my faith. I'm an atheist. My god is myself. In this regard, my religion is very different from all others. Collectively, atheism has as many gods as it does believers, and save Hindus, who make gods out of just about anything, we probably have the most. However, atheism is like all other religions in many ways. Much like the Christians and indeed, all major religious groups, we atheists differ in terms of the reasons we do not believe in a higher power, but are united by the simple fact that we do not. Some are atheists because they believe in evolution and cannot see the beautiful theory repudiated. Some are atheists because they think that if there were a god, he would be doing a better job. Yet others are atheists because of the "false promises and exaggerated claims" put forward by religion.

I believe all of these. But my very own and strongest belief is simple. I believe that I am the most powerful being in the universe, when it comes to my life. Now certainly, I do not presume to belittle the power of nature or of a god if one so omnipotent and omniscient exists. Nature could strike me down and so could God. What I mean, however, is that in terms of the way my life turns out, nature and god simply do not care enough to help. Every minute of every day in my life, the ball is in my court. No, I have not done my part, and God will not take care of the rest. If I want to get ahead, I have to make sure it happens.

I disagree with the Christians, who say they feel empowered by their belief in God. I feel that atheism is empowering: there is no uncertainty in atheism. Believing in god however is the most terrifying thing I can imagine. The sheer degree of uncertainty is staggering. Not only do you have to anxiously wait for signs from God telling you what direction he has planned your life to take, but you have to worry about whether he is happy with you and is thus going to help you lead your life. Moreover, God surely doesn't want marriages to end in divorce and people to live with addiction to smoking and drugs. So, not only are you wantonly disregarding the hints he is dropping about what you should do with your life, but you are insisting that he rewrite your lifeplan each time you make a mistake, and allow you to re-enter at various stages. All this convinces me that God is trying just way too hard to be appreciated for his hard work.

What I'm trying to say is this: I am not discarding the possibility that god exists, but I neither find the need to believe in him nor the benefit in it. Praying to get things done doesn't help, because he's not going to change his plan for you. Sure you could pray to him to ask him to help you find the clues, but it's clear that he gets a kick out of keeping them ambiguous and well-hidden, or he'd write them on post-its and paste them on your refrigerator door to save you the trouble.

The theists seem to be saying that God existed on his own, in a wide universe of nothingness, and created stars every few light-years in a universe 46 billion light-years in radius, and then bodies like planets, asteroids and comets revolving around each of these stars, and finally put a mere 6 billion human beings on only one of these, so that they could live their lives in servitude for the magnificent job he did? The god I'm picturing in my head is one who's seated in a throne in his celestial kingdom high up in the sky, looking at the earth through the transparent floor, cursing pretty much everyone who is screwing up his plans for them, and smirking indulgently at the devout who spend their lives praising him, and Robert Frost, who spent his life praising his creations.

I'm a reasonable man. I do not picture him this way by fault of a dearth of intelligence. This is simply the god that mankind invented. I could accept a different god. A god that made the universe because he was bored of existing on his own, and put mankind on only Earth because he was crazy, and gave each of them a mountain of troubles and woes just so that they would be confused about his original intent. I would accept him, and revere him for his handiwork and his selflessness. Mind you, I would still not pray to him, but I'd respect him. Anyone who has read this far, could definitely spend 10 minutes watching George Carlin's "Religion is Bullshit", laughing with him if you're open-minded, and still laughing with him if you're not particularly, but can appreciate our views.

He's funny, isn't he?

-Anirudh

Richard Strauss' Salome - Opera in One Act

2011-08-23T04:07:00.002+08:00

Let's face it: it has been a mighty long time since my last post here. However, one's first live opera at the Esplanade "theatres on the bay", in the immensely grand Esplanade Theatre definitely calls for a revival.

For the unsated want of a scanner
or a good camera, I use my
1.3Mpx webcam.

Not only is 'Salome' one of the less-known operas, but also, I'm in a place where it's rare enough that an opera's showing. Moreover, Strauss' operas rarely feature in a list of past performances of any but the most versatile, virtuoso and oldest international orchestras. As a result, I had been waiting eagerly for this for months. Having finally bought tickets on a student discount because I simply did not want to pay a premium for box or stall seats, I was glad I was going, but was rather afraid that I would miss out on the real opera experience with seats on the third storey, almost a hundred yards from the stage. However, Meera (a close personal friend and fellow opera-lover) and I were greeted by a pleasant surprise owing to the fact that many of the seats in the stalls had not been sold out, and were reallocated to excellent centrally located Foyer Stall seats on the stage level.

You can barely make out my original seat at HH50
on Circle 2 on the third floor, beneath the sticker.

'Salome' is an opera in one act whose music and German libretto were written by Richard Strauss, a very famous German composer in the late 19th and early 20th century. Strauss, though a late entrant into the already late German Romantic movement (which flowered in this region long after its English counterpart) did not fail to capture the very essence of Romanticism. 'Salome' is an opera that formalises powerful emotion as an authentic source of a new aesthetic experience that focused on confronting untempered and untamed nature, while featuring Strauss' aptitude for creating operas that dealt with controversial issues. Dealing with the quest for love of a teenager exposed to a debauched step-father and a power-hungry mother married through an incestuous union, the opera faced criticism and caused controversy at what was nonetheless a spectacular and largely well-received première at Dresden, Germany in 1905. For a background on the opera, visit the wikipedia page.

Performed by the Singapurischlyrischoper (as the faithful Deutschschüler would attempt to rewrite 'Singapore Lyric Opera' in German), Salome was conducted by the able Peter Selwyn of Staatstheater Nürnberg fame. In terms of the demands of the titular character, Salome's role compares to that of Principessa Turandot from Puccini's 'Turandot'. Janice Watson, the dramatic soprano performing the said role, apart from a disturbingly shaky start, performed marvellously. With a very large tessitura, Watson's high notes were absolutely perfect, with no noticeable strain, but it was clear to all in the audience that she struggled with the lower notes within the alto range. Beyond the technicalities of operatic singing which I have recently come to appreciate and distinguish, Watson was splendid. In terms of tonal quality however, Watson's voice falls far short of tempered maestras such as Rosa Raisa, a splendid dramatic soprano whose performance in the inaugural 'Turandot' ought to go down in history tomes; a recording of which I recently had the opportunity to listen to. As for Dawid Kimberg and Hubert Francis, who played Jokanaan and Herod respectively, although their roles called for little difficulty in rendition, the tenor was largely unspectacular while the baritone was simply enthralling in the deep richness of his voice, wonderfully fulfilling a role that requires immense bel canto - virtuosity and beauty of tone.

However, what I felt was the biggest let-down in the whole performance was the famed 'Dance of the Seven Veils'. Generally considered the most outstanding part of 'Salome', the dance was rather deplorable in comparison to those seen at even mediocre renditions in the opera houses of Europe. Allowing, however, for the fact that Watson's role required superior skill in dancing and singing, Prinzessin Salome's role was adequately filled, while those of her team were far from, and bordering on distressing.

As it was time to go to bed approximately four hours ago, I shall not begin to discuss the composition, libretto and dramaturgy of the opera, or the history and adherence to Romantic ideals of the plot, or the recurrence of complex leitmotifs of which I only caught three owing to my ignorance. All in all, I would not trade the experience for the world.

Auf wiedersehn.. for now.

Heal the world

2010-04-10T17:58:00.015+08:00

Ever felt like you've eaten an entire horse, and still need more food, because you're just drop-dead tired?
I just returned from the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) Swim Against Malaria, and for the first time in my life, I swam 2.5 kilometres (50 laps). And what's more, to save lives, to give about 20 people mosquito nets. Whoah, am I tired or what. Hell, I suck at swimming!
There's this thing with running and swimming. After a certain distance, you forget to feel pain. You just keep going. It's a rather amazing phenomenon, and no matter how many times you go through it, you'll never get over it.

Bottom-line: I need to start swimming!

Oh the joy, the joy!

2010-04-07T21:51:00.000+08:00

I'm sitting at my desk, after just having returned after a long and tiring day. But hell! THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE PRESENTATION, GOODBYE!
I was hellish scared about TOK, but things turned out okay in the end. Talking to Lailin and Sarah helped a lot. Whoah, but was their presentation good or WHAT!
Oh and thank you Lai "Fat" Lin, for all the comments on my TOK essay! :)

Well well, it's been ages since I've posted here, but I've decided that my thoughts are rather confidential, and thus, I began a diary.
Amma, acha, don't try read this one, haha. It's online and it's encrypted.

Crap aside, life's going just great. Life's finally on track, it's happy, it's stressful, but bottom-line, it's happy.

Love to the world.
Ani

Rush

2009-12-19T17:40:00.002+08:00

I am not in the general habit of reviewing movies and books, but every now and then, you come across a masterpiece (Yes, I’m back again). It is one of these that inspires me to write today. Sure, I have to prepare to leave for Chennai in a few days. Sure I have a poster to complete. Sure I have an SAT practice test reaching out with open arms. But some things are so much better expressed while still fresh in your head.

August Rush is a story of a musical prodigy, his musical development and very plainly, a chronicle of his search for his separated parents. Freddie Highmore, the young actor who played the boy, is by any account, a spectacular actor. I must say, I was agreeably stunned by the depth of the emotions he portrayed, and the skill with which he so brilliantly portrayed Evan Taylor/August Rush’s character. The movie most definitely struck a chord somewhere inside me. Apart from being a persuasive and utterly fascinating film, it had very well written and orchestrated music.

But I shall not delve into the movie and its features much further. I do not intend, in this post, to produce an extensive analysis, but to talk about the feeling it brought in me.

During the entire experience of watching August Rush, and now, only minutes since its close, I feel something: A rush I can’t explain. There was once a time when I called myself a musician by authority of the fact that I had a continued musical education. My understanding of music at a very deeply level constantly deepened, and I found myself maturing slowly in tune to the music. But in the years since I indefinitely shelved my musical education, I never very strongly felt that it is a sorry and pitiful event that, having worked long and hard for almost a decade, I gave up on music due to the inconvenience and lack of motivation.

But now, now I realise it. I realise how sorry and indeed, pitiful it is. With it comes the recognition that there are so so many other things that I left half-done and half-undone when I first left home, and have yet to even give it a thought. I remembering wondering, only two weeks ago, how my brother not only remained attached to his music, but grew in attachment to his music, over the years. I remember reading his blog entry about the same (here) and gaping, with a mixture of awe, wonder, and I must say, confusion. The look in his eyes and the barely restrained excitement in his voice when he spoke of Chopin’s Nocturnes, Bach’s Minuets, Beethoven’s Rhapsodies, and Mozart’s Operas; the passion communicated by the expression on his face each time he showed me his latest composition.

That is exactly what I want. Thinking about it, I feel as if that passion lies within me too. After all, we shared the majority of our musical education. But that passion, I feel, refuses to manifest itself in any way. I feel like that passion, that music that had run in my veins, had been suppressed, put out of my consciousness. I feel like it still lies somewhere within me, but hiding behind a wall; a wall that grew thicker and stronger each year for the last three years.

At this point, I realise that as my last post talked about the biggest advantage of my three years spent away from home, so this speaks of what just might be, the worst disadvantage. Amidst many other resolutions, I pose yet another one to myself, as a promise as well as a challenge. I resolve to rebuild my passion for music and perhaps, to pick up an instrument upon finishing my high school diploma.

But for now, I need to get my act together: the academic one.

Adiós.

PS: Sarah, can you get back soon? It’s been more than 2 weeks! :(

PPS: Sid, Listen to “Bari Improv” , “Ritual Dance” and “Duelling Guitars” from the August Rush Soundtrack here. You’ll like them.

“Bari Improv” (1:37)

“Ritual Dance” (1:36)

“Duelling Guitars” (2:37)

El Amor Fraternal | L’Amour Fraternel | Brotherly Love

2009-12-10T22:04:00.001+08:00

Sitting in the open, in the Grand Stand above the illuminated swimming pool one evening, I was taken aback when a rather strong yet surprisingly dulcet breeze blew upon my brow. In Singapore, this is what one might call a rare occurrence: the air is generally still and sultry at night-time, and the day-time weather is absolutely reprehensible. As I sat there, reading a letter from a dear friend in Australia, I felt like I could hear a whisper. I felt like I could hear the night talking to me. The night, in a certain indescribable way- the sights, the smells, the sounds, even the breeze- brought with it memories of my brother and an entire childhood spent in his company.

Having lived in so many places, having visited so many countries before my 18th birthday, is undoubtedly ‘cool’, in the vernacular of our generation. However, a few years ago, I came to a staggering realisation. People around me, many of them, have friends they have known almost forever, ever since their pre-kindergarten years, either through living in a certain neighbourhood or from school. Moreover, they have continued to remain in contact with each other. It is this that I came to realise: that I had few of these friends. In fact, One. Sidharth has always been around, and as far as he can remember, I have always been around.

Few people have siblings only a year apart from themselves, and I have received several envious remarks regarding the same. I always get the “wow! you must be real close to him!”, “he must be like your best friend!”, et cetera.

Ever since the beginning of time, I couldn’t stand my brother. I couldn’t connect with him, I couldn’t relate to him. Indeed, reports (and I’ll admit, blurry memories) would claim that I couldn’t stand him so much, that I used to fight and quarrel with him endlessly. (Okay, I’ll admit it: those memories aren’t really blurred) I remember the days when we would get into the most mindless of arguments and end up beating the hell out of each other (the real reason escapes me now, but if memory serves me well, I instigated most of the aforesaid quarrels and the “beating ups”). You know what they say, you don’t appreciate someone enough until the oceans separate you.

Well, that is exactly what happened. After I moved to Singapore, I realised what it meant to have a brother. After I moved to Singapore, away from family, away from that sense of security- both emotional and physical-, I understood the difference between your best friend and your brother. After I moved to Singapore, it really sank in: that there were things you could never tell your friend, that you could never expect a friend to understand, but that your brother would understand perfectly. I understood how deeply touching it could be to have your older brother approve or disapprove of something, to be praised and censured for your actions.

Over the three years since I left the comforts of home, I have discovered a friend in Sidharth. I have learned from him, I have begun to understand him better, and most importantly, I have learned to love him. It is one of the things I most often quote as the biggest and most tangible advantages of having come to Singapore, and my closest friends could testify to the same.

Now, if one were to say it unreservedly, I couldn’t possibly stand being apart from my brother.

Sid, thanks for being around these last two years. Although you were rarely transparent about it, thanks for loving me and caring for me the way you did these two years. All the best for Princeton.

An. (I’ve always preferred to spell it this way)

-----A note for the sake of my readers-------------------------------

Sidharth, my brother just finished his A-levels in ACJC. He’s applying to Princeton University, and in my opinion, without a doubt, he’s going to be accepted. Well, that’s about it.

Anirudh

Upon waking at dawn.

2009-11-18T09:26:00.001+08:00

For the first time in months, I woke to an unearthly quiet. The sunlight pouring in through the windows and washing itself onto the opposite wall, which ever so often vexes me no end as I try to go back to sleep, for once, most invitingly entices me to get off my bed, wake my roommate just to say “GOOD MORNING DERRICK!” (to which I got no reply save “-moan- can you GE T OFF?”), brush|mouthwash|floss, make a cup of coffee and sit at my computer to write this.

Years ago while still living at home (well, it’s been three years now), my parents, in a seemingly passive and unobtrusive manner, would wake me up by turning off the air conditioning, and throwing open the doors and windows. You would have to think that there were more than 10 windows to that room, going by how fast cool and comfortable room became hot and stuffy room. This manner, and it’s effect (that I invariably jumped out of bed at the unholy hour of 5:45 a.m (well that’s not really an hour, but whatever) I loathed to the extreme, and I remember trudging to the kitchen demanding for my cup of hot chocolate while sulkily negotiating the terms of my wake-up call.

Upon first leaving home for the world beyond, for Singapore, freed from the torment of having decisions made for me, I’d wake up at 8 or 9 or whatever time I chose, oftentimes just for the childish thrill to be gained from the knowledge that I could do as I pleased. But almost three years down the road, today, I look out of my window, and just marvel at the sight: the reddish-brown track wet from the dew; the grass on the rugby field, even through the slight storybook-like mist, shining with a splendid sheen under the nascent daylight, that I can only fathom to have been a product of its extended beauty sleep.

Waking early has its own comforts. The comfort of being able to look ahead at a long day, and hope for some great achievement, hope that your day will be productive, hope that you can complete a whole SAT practice test, hope that you can progress significantly with your Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge Essay. The comfort of being able to sit, in that otherworldly silence of the morn, and wilfully succumb to your overpowering thoughts.

Like the trite but true expression goes, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

It’s never felt truer.

A whole year of IB

2009-11-17T22:40:00.001+08:00

WELL! A whole year of IB has passed, and attempting to look back at it and reflect is akin to wilful suicide. Thinking of the million things that could potentially summarise my one year in IB makes my head spin uncontrollably; the sheer number and intensity makes me dizzy.

This one year of my life in ACS, my life in Singapore, outshone the previous two years in great style; the two years combined. I’ve made friends this year that make me wonder how the HELL I managed without them before. Indeed, I’ve made one friend who now makes me wonder, how the HELL I LIVED before. For that, undoubtedly, I’m grateful.

I’ve enjoyed being busy, doing the things I love: competing at Rubik’s Cube contests, serving my school as a student councillor, doing charity projects with various organisations and more. I’ve learnt a lot from it too.

But just as all good things come to an end, all good things come at the cost of other things (which by the way, is the reason they come to an end). Seemingly as a result of these ‘good things’ – though not necessarily- I’ve gone through a year riddled with tardiness in assignment submissions, and a year that ended with a bang; as my dad very aptly put, I “got [my] wake up call, in great style.”

I can almost hear the large majority of my blog’s patrons screaming exasperatedly, “CAN YOU JUST GET OVER IT?” including Sidharth. But no, I don’t believe in ‘getting over’ these things. Ridiculous as it may sound to some people, I believe that ‘getting over’ isn’t all that different from giving up. ‘Getting over’ is so much like forgetting about it. ‘Getting over’ things makes one forget its import; it tends to make people underestimate them.

Ahh. Time to start working hard. Time to put my nose to the grindstone. Time to put my shoulder to the wheel.

A few days ago, Sarah said to me something along the lines of “Why do you leave things to the end?! You’re going to be so stressed out! What’s the point. That way, you worry about it ALL the days leading to the deadline, AND you worry about it on that last day! BE LIKE ME! Do it way in advance!”

That’s going to be the basis for my resolution for 2010. One which I intend to keep (I know we all say this every year, but THIS ONE’S FOR REAL)

Till later.

Of quarrels and separation

2009-11-03T19:13:00.007+08:00

Every now and then, you wonder why some things pain your mind and heart to an inordinate extent and why those things never seemed so important till then. Things like jealousy, love, social acceptance and the likes.
What is a feeling that's not a result of the stimulus-reaction faculty of the human senses? A feeling of sorrow, guilt, heartache, pity. A feeling in your heart.

Every now and then, you are brought to a revelation: one of the depth of your feelings towards a friend. Do you not think, as I have come to realise recently, that quarrels can tell you EVERYTHING about how much you care for someone? Do you not think that being apart from someone can tell you the extent of your attachment to him?

Going by any standard of measure, even the most otherworldly, nonnatural standards of measure, this day, this week, this past month; all, in their own ways have not been good.

Today:
Quarrels make most people feel dejected, depressed, dispirited, downhearted. Me? More so than most. The toughest part; having to decide whether to call, whether to text, whether to be the first person to break the silence. What's worse; when a million things tell you not to be that one - the one who gives in- say, characteristic male egotism. WHY WHY WHY should I give in? Was it not her fault?

But convinced though you may be, not discounting the possibility that you may be entirely right, that it was her fault... what result have you? An entire day of depression. dispiritedness. dejectedness. downheartedness.

This week:
Separation from a friend. Having a friend around -to hang out with, to study with, to talk to, to reach out to, even to give you the occasional massages (a tad too friendly, you may think)-, it's easy, SO easy, to overlook his importance. But separation lays it unembellished, unornamented for one to feel. That day, that day of the first separation. That's when you feel the weight of it. You sit around, wondering what to do, where to go, constantly reminded of your assignment arrears and the weight of them, but you just can't do it. You sit around, trying to read a book, but you can't pay attention. You sit around, basically, languishing (in all senses of the word). Then you call him, all the while making it seem like you've been going on with life as usual; but he knows, he knows surely, that you sit there with a drab melancholic air about you, wondering what to do. And then, you give up. Enough of being pretentiously unaffected. Enough of trying to be dignified and emotionless and "manly". Then you go to his place, and stay over.

This month: Protracted disappointment. dejectedness. dispiritedness. downheartedness. Prolonged. depression. Academics, exams, results.

Well, to end an otherwise sorry entry, a last word. Writing so depressingly, though hardly consolatory to my emotions, has helped me decide.

I will call them all. disputant. abandon-er. I will work on bettering my results.
ANYTHING to obviate another such day, another such week, another such month.

Probably, I shouldn't post this; it's served its purpose anyway. But then again, it wouldn't do justice to the real me.
I'm one confused little child. Don't judge me.

--Anirudh

A day like no other

2009-10-12T20:32:00.010+08:00

An Anthology of Poetry from Anirudh Krishnan; Volume 3; Poem 15

A day like no other

It’s a day like no other.

I wake to the music of the earth, the music of nature.

As I gather my bearings, I prop myself on an arm. . .

“OH! Strange feeling! STRANGE FEELING!”

My nose begins to twitch; a twitch like no other

It grows in excitement: a mouse in a room of invisible cheese

“What is it! Where is it?” I smell it but I know not what!

A burst of freshness glided through the room,

A sliced lemon? A glade of grass?

I smell it, but I know not what! A smell like no other

The music of nature, of rivers and mountains,

The music of nature, the music of the sphere,

An opera of Mozart, a verse of Shakespeare.

The music, AH! Music like no other.

As I finally walked to the window, I recognised

Recognised the music, the smell.

Beautiful rain, tears of nature;

Was nature not the finest?

Pitter-patter the raindrops fell

Oh what melody, a maestro at work.

A melody don’t you think! A melody like no other.

But no, it changes!

PITTER-PATTER the raindrops clanged,

Upon the goshdarned awning,

Aluminium, I say, ALUMINIUM,

OH the cacophonous din!

Where was that smell? like a punctured lemon?

That burst of morning dew?

I smell it still, but the scent is a-waning.

The sky grew clear, and that wonder rain;

And the hum of the city took over.

His belly rumbled, his organs churned

He must produce, produce he must |

And what of that spritz of morning dew?

An acrid smell! a repugnant whiff!

He spews out his guck! It’s the smog again!

A city like every other.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good morning Dr. Ong, Senior Admin, teachers and students.

Indeed, regardless of my duty to acknowledge the inspiration for this poem, I shall do so faithfully.

All inspiration for the actual content of the poem came from my friend Victor who thought the rain smelled citrous and the rain on a fine 12th of October in 2009. Wait, there's only one 12th of October in 2009. Apologies.

All inspiration for writing the poem itself, I owe to my dear friend Sarah Tan, without whom none of this would have been possible.

I also owe my brother, aforementioned Sarah and the Oxford Standard Thesaurus for (almost simultaneously) putting thoughts into words in the occasion of the word "awning".

Last but far from least, I ascribe all praise to the Lord (as is custom in our venerated institution). To Him be the Glory.

The Best Is Yet To Be

Sidharth: On the nuances of English in Singapore.

2009-09-08T15:41:00.003+08:00

Hi.
I'm posting on Anirudh's blog because I am bored.
I am also cool. And fun to hang out with. but that's not really why i'm posting here.

For those who read the newspapers, at least the headlines, you know me. I am Sidharth. My brother's brother. I'm a really important person around here.
I am wondering what to write, actually....
AHA.
got it.
I wonder if any of you reading this blog here have seen the Ministry of Education's building?
It's rather unfortunate, but the catch-phrase, the tagline, whatever, for MOE is "Moulding the Future of Our Nation".
Does anyone really get the joke?
I honestly didn't think it was a joke when i first saw it. I remember staring at it for at least 10 seconds with no thought running through my head. It's absurd! Moulding? what? as in, rotting it until mildew forms?

Smart as I am, I recovered myself. I realised it meant that they're moulding our future for us. No. that still doesn't make sense. Well, anyway, if you're starting to get concerned about the true motives of the MOE, don't worry. Moulding doesn't actually mean what I thought it meant. It really does mean what they meant.

It's the whole Singlish thing that's got me these days. I thought initially that it was just this way of trying to remove as many unimportant words as possible. Singaporeans, are r all known for their brevity (a brilliant example being this year's National day presidential speech). "Is that fine or not" is loquaciously translated as "Can o' not?". Apparently, it doesn't stop there.... I mean. what does it profit a Singaporean to say "Faster finish lah!" instead of "Finish faster!". As far as word economy is concerned, there is a 33 percent loss. So what is it? Well you got me. I don't know. and the funniest part is that my accent and occasionally faltering grammar seem to make many people laugh. That's why I've organized an overseas CIP to India after the A levels. Hehe.

Ohkay. that's about all I have interest for.
I'll see you peoples later, can o' not?
(oh whatever. At least it's useful sometimes)

Sidharth Krishnan

The Anirudh Times

2009-05-11T11:53:00.003+08:00

(Yet?) Another issue of The Anirudh Times.. Dated 11 May 2008

Dear All,
Anirudh's life sucks. Life sucks. Sucks.. Yucks.
As I write this latest post, I wonder why I'm even alive. What is my purpose in life? What was I born to do? What am I to achieve in my lifetime? What is the meaning of life? What is expected of me?
To some of you out there, these questions are one and the same. SHUT UP, I didn't open the stage for opinions.
Why is my life so sad? -- Where are the chicks? Where is the booze? Where is the next party?
I haven't the faintest clue! All likeness of the life that I had begun to live has been wiped clean thanks to the immense work-load that is a result of having embarked on the trying journey of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
I HATE life!!!

"squeak..?"
"SHUT UP, you mangy cur!"

Forgive me. Just another attack of my chronic mood-swings. What you just read was a sleeveless attempt at squalid humour.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand he's back!

Life's a joke, life's funny, life's fun, life's exciting. I'm jumping up and down, dancing round and about, and skipping down the bright brick lane singing joyous, animated and sprightly songs (A loose adaptation of a long-forgotten poem by Margaret Atwood).

Well, to give you the usual take, life's going on just fine.
It's not too far from what I had expected. I knew life would be difficult and stressful with the IB syllabus to go with, Student Council, basketball trainings AND Editorials to attend to.
I've just been having exams in every subject, and though I aced my Spanish, English, Chemistry and Economics, I TOTALLY screwed up Physics and Math. Kinda levels me out to the average imbecile. Apart from that, I'm having an Oral Presentation on the theme of racism portrayed in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I've also got project work in Math, Econs and Spanish..

But, I have been doing a whole lot of fun stuff too, mind you! Our school's gonna break the Guinness World Record for the most number of people in a Bollywood Dance. Though we've finished the event, the results aren't out, and we won't know if we've broken any records till the end of June. The previous record apparently was held by "Jai Ho" in that grossly pathetic movie about an impoverished dog who fights his way to the top of the dog community by becoming the pet of some millionaire (or something to that effect; forgive me if it seems entirely random, but beyond all the disgust I have at the empowering fame and acclaim that the movie has received despite its being a largely mediocre movie, I am revolted by the indiscretion of naming it slumDOG). And THAT hardly-worth-the-rank-of-a-movie had 320 people in that dance. Guess wat, we eclipsed them! 1042 people turned up to dance that day!
haha!

Apart from that, my class is going to Fugong, Yunnan, China on a charity trip and will be visiting orphanages and primary schools in the area. Besides, it feels good to be at the top of the student leadership chain, being in the student council. You get to miss morning assembly under the guise of 'booking' (a system of taking down the names of all the late-comers and handing them demerit points) people and get to skip lessons because of Council duties. Plus, we get a superb sexy suit with the Anglo-Chinese School crest on it, adorned with powerful badges that distinguish us in a large crowd of otherwise idling loafers.

That's about it. My brother, by the way, is doing great too. He most laudably was ranked the best entry in the world in the 2009 NASA High School Essay Competition on future space flight. While he basks in the glory, for the first time in my entire life, I feel immensely proud of him. Holidays start in about 3 weeks and Sidharth will be returning to Chennai for a whole month; meanwhile I will be going to China for a week, and will do nothing but study the remainder of the holidays preparing for the SATs I will be taking at the end of the year.

Having spoken for so long, my throat is dry and I need a drink of water.

So, I bid you goodbye friends. Stay tuned for (YET?) Another issue of The Anirudh Times.
Warmest regards,
Anirudh Krishnan

PS: You may be wondering whether I made a mistake a few lines previously. No I didn't. My throat IS dry. I have a scribe..

PPS: Don't call my parents! I am NOT loony. I DO NOT need a psychiatrist. I DO NOT need drug rehab. Thanks for the concern. Piss off.

One Last Breath

2009-03-25T23:57:00.002+08:00

I’ve always been a perfectionist. There NEVER existed a project, assignment, whatever, that I completed without it totally satisfying my insatiable quest for ne plus ultra; though to not even begin, let alone complete a task, was far from unheard of. Undoubtedly, this is the sole reason for my blog’s barrenness. I have always attempted to make my blog posts as humorous as possible and appropriate, and I am undisputedly a stickler for perfectly portraying emotions. However, I have decided that this just will not do. So, henceforth, my posts will be more frequent and will rivet upon pregnant thoughts and events in my sufficiently boring life.

So it began. There was a great hullabaloo and about 70-odd people were precipitating along the corridors, and believe me, there was no word to describe the strange sight you would have been witness to. There were coteries of harried-looking people with glossy jars of cookies, stacks of postcard-sized cards—which later turned out to be pocket timetables—, calendars, and even citizenry dressed laughably as historical figures (Mahatma Gandhi), popular characters from new-age flicks (Zorro), Mummies, and later during the course of the 4^th Student Council campaign, impeccably dressed politicians (President Obama).

Now this was no Halloween celebration. It was what one exceedingly witty teacher described as ‘shameless self-advertising’ and I kid you not, it was a tightwad’s field day. These people spent hours on end trying to impress upon students and teachers alike their willingness to serve the people of the school by making artistic hand-made calendars for every Year 6 class or by profitably claiming that a jar of cookies showed the multitude that they cared immensely for their welfare. As I later gathered, it was the most fun period of the Year 6s’ trying lives. Little is the concern and comfort they generally get from juniors who are too caught up in their carefree, slaphappy lives and besides, little, if any, is gratuitous in our lovely institution.

Now why is any of this significant, you may ask: because it was absolutely nerve-wracking! No, not campaigning; campaigning was immense fun. Those days were the ONLY days you could actually walk around wearing the most absurd and ludicrous of costumes, and not get into trouble for it. No, what was trying was that we had to (or at least the ones of us that actually cared about whether we got in or not; because there was a bunch of loafers who only campaigned for the zest of it) constantly monitor ourselves and make sure that at any point of time, we were more than just presentable. It was a period when I looked in the mirror more than I ever had in my whole life, and the girls, oh, let’s not even go there!

My campaign team and I had a very different scheme of work. We decided that instead of directing our campaign at the Year 5s, we would do far better to target the Year 6s, who would have trouble filling in their 25 votes in any case. Well, our campaign went pretty well, if you ask me, though, strictly speaking, we didn’t do much. Thanks to my vast popularity (which I owe to something I’m far from proud of, and have no influence over), all I had to do was dress up impeccably (as mentioned previously) in a stunning blazer and a brilliant red tie and walk around the Student Activity Centre to get visible. Oh well, probably I should tour the world and raise funds for charity, like the Indonesian Obama.

Anyway, the voting’s scheduled for tomorrow (26^th March) and I am totally freaking out! Well, may the best leaders win! Taking ONE LAST BREATH, I resign to fate.

Is it even a compliment?!

2009-03-23T23:48:00.001+08:00

Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of the “Obama!!!!” salutations. But what puzzles me most is that people think that I 'm enjoying it and that I would be flattered! Personally, I don’t see how it could be perceived as a definite compliment. I mean, sure he’s handsome, sure he has charisma and sure he just oozes cool, but by saying I look like him, you’re probably only suggesting that certain facial features are alike, and not necessarily that I’m good looking, magnetic and da da dum da dum da da. I mean it’s a valid argument and stuff, but definitely not a sound one because the premises are true and so is the conclusion, but is there a causal link between the two? Is there a strong propensity for the reader to believe that the conclusion is true because the premises are true? (Omagosh! Dr. Ayodele-Oja Olalekan’s TOK lecture sure was dense!)

And honestly Shiru, it’s annoying! :)

Cheers!

Barack Obama. . . (my take)

2009-01-23T14:52:00.011+08:00

Okay.. It's been ages since my last post (owing, primarily, to my overwhelming tendency to hop from project to project, and my having had few interesting experiences to chronicle), and for this, I apologize.

Barack Hussein Obama II. When most people hear the name, a certain rigidity takes over their carriage, and squaring their shoulders, they echo, "Yes, we can".

Personally, i feel......... --- Many a time, when i started off with "personally, i feel that..." my dad would say- "Is there another kind?!"

Personally, I think that as the years go by, without a doubt, the "Yes, we can" speech will join the ranks of the "I have a dream" and will be remembered not only for the words spoken on that fine day, but just as much for the skill with which it was delivered. Today, his name is thrown around for a myriad of reasons. Yes, the most obvious, that he's the first African-American man to take up office, and that for that very reason the change that America has gone through in the last few decades has been laid bare for the world to see, and da da dum da dum da da. . . Of course, there is also talk that Obama is the difference that Americans have been waiting for-- that he can deliver. Expectations have been running wild, and President Obama is under a Brobdingnagian pressure to deliver that which he claimed he could.

A lot of people would claim that President Obama's ascension has made a difference to their lives, be it socially or economically. But as for me, its VERY different.

If you're reading my blog, and know me personally, you very likely think that I look like the POTUS. According to many, the resemblance is so striking that it's hard to miss. At a point, it went so far that every person I met told me so, and seriously, it got REALLY irritating!

But, of late, I've learned how to use it to my advantage, and it's worked WONDERS for me.

First day of school, and my whole Orientation Group (henceforth referred to as 'OG') knows me.
-(okay, not GREAT, because most of them just knew me as the "Obama dude")

Second day of school, and most of my OG knows my name - (Thankfully, or I'd have to go through it all over again)

Third day of school, and my whole lecture group knows me as the "Obama dude"

and so on until the fifth day, (today) when i realised that a HELLUVA LOT of people knew me by name.

So, in short, yeah, its been amazing...
I call it a 'social lubricant' -- put it this way... you don't even need to strike up a conversation of your own accord. Most people just come up to me and say- "Yo, Obama, how was the oath-taking ceremony?" or "Hey, Barack, how was the first day at office?" and it's so much easier to socialize then.

In fact, the benefits peaked at a very defining moment: when I was asked by two exceedingly pulchritudinous and charming girls to take a photo with them -- and I, of course, being myself, acceded most willingly.

Well, that's about it for now.
Stay tuned, folks!

Cheers!

Sidharth:Reply to last post "What am I.....?"

2008-11-26T16:16:00.006+08:00

OK... my friends and i have this habit of giving a proper description of a person whenever they try to do it themselves (check out mine and nandan's blog) so i suppose i must carry on the tradition.
to begin with, this 'description' has more about cubing than about the person so let's start from the beginning...
Anirudh (i'll call him An from now on) was born on the 26th of July 1992 at an undisclosed hospital in an undisclosed city. I was there when this guy 'came out'. I still remember the first thing that he said... he went "WAAAAAAAH.... breathe... WAAAAAAH... breathe". He has rarely closed his mouth since.
True he is good at soccer, basketball, and debatably at squash and tennis. He is also a good cuber (as he expounded upon for the majority of the last post).
But the other side of An is El Torro. He only has to see red to get angry (no, not joking, literally). In the absence of red, any other color will do. He gets angry for the stupidest of reasons most notably the day i whacked him on the head for no reason at all (i'm pretty mean huh?).

Studies quite well actually, gets great grades, more than i can ever say for myself. Aims to own a private jet by 2009 or something like that. His first ambition, incidentally, is quite ambitious. He wanted to become a postman. Yups. He did. Later his ambitions started steadily requiring more and more diplomas and degrees and doctorates until it peaked when he wanted to become chemical engineer. However, it plummeted very recently when he decided he wanted to do business in which (as Michael Dell and others have shown) even a high school education is detrimental to success.

(ok this is off track but i just remembered. When An was about 2 years old, his head was so filled with something (that is unidentified to date) that it was about 51% of his body volume... Gosh ... his head was comically huge! I swear, look at his kiddy pics. I'll put them up later on for the benefit of those of you who haven't seen them)

When we used to fight with more than words, around when i was 11 years old, An always used to end up worse off than me, pinned on the ground with the same tackle I used every single time. Anyway, nowadays we don't fight that way. The jeans (horrible pun indeed) he got makes him rather more hardy and muscular than I, and i am taking a definite risk by reminding him of those days when i used to win fights simply because his head wouldn't balance properly on his neck. (for those wondering, now his head is quite normal)

You readers have definitely realised that the only part of him that i haven't talked about is the state of his hair. I did it on purpose because i normally can't bear to think of it. On a good day, it will have about 6 tonnes of hair and on a bad day 8. But yeah... no talking about that.

I suppose i can't give any more information without serious defamation of an international and first-grade flat foot. (i don't think that makes sense but anyway)

I suppose that's enough for one post... will keep you updated... :P

cheers people!

Sidharth

What am I . . . ?

2008-11-25T21:10:00.003+08:00

Well, I just thought I owed my readers a brief description of myself- so here it is.

Well, I’m a regular 16 year old, I play a lot of sports- soccer, basketball, badminton, squash, and tennis (in order of my skill).

Not unlike my brother (whose blog you may have read), I too am an avid speedcuber. To the uninitiated, this is a sport involving the solving of the Rubik’s cube at a very dangerous speed. No, this is not a ridiculous waste of time, and NO, I’m not exaggerating when I say ‘dangerous’.

Not to mention serious cubing injuries caused by rapid twisting and turning of the wrists and fingers, prolonged exposure to this sport could cause carpal tunnel syndrome or a very awkward condition called “cube finger” (yes, this is of my own coinage, but why let the athletes and tennis players win all the sympathy what with their foot and elbow maladies!). The symptoms include a sudden seizure (no, this does not affect the whole body; it is limited to the wrists and fingers) which involves rapid finger movement (RFM) and uncontrollable vellication of the wrists and forearms.

The only cure for this cumbersome illness is complete abstinence for exactly 3976 days (approx 11 years) Even trying to remember your OLLs or PLLs (speedcuber jargon for orientation and permutation movement cycles[which is further patois for a defined set of moves that induces a desired result]) can cause you to retrogress to your state of helpless lack of control of motor nerves.

Aaah, I must refrain from digressing so much from the issue at hand.

Well, I have a personal best of 19.93 seconds but on average take 30 seconds to solve the cube with both hands (Hunh? is it possible to do it any OTHER way?)

I was also the pioneer of the household when it came to solving the cube with one hand. (How is that possible? WATCH THIS! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuDK1gIC8W0 [note: that IS NOT me]). I had a personal best of 36.49 seconds, with an estimated average of about 45 seconds.

That's not all. This dude called Anssi Vanhala currently holds the record for solving the cube with his FEET!~!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvXXnT35-70

Getting back to the point, I study in Singapore under a scholarship, live in boarding school..

Well, that’s about all there is to me!

And, readers, if you’re looking for a good laugh, watch the youtube video “what am I” (this post’s namesake) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_8yPap-k_s). Mind-blowingly lame, but will definitely draw a guffaw or two.

Disclaimer: unsuitable for the young. (The video that is)

Keep visiting

Cheers!

The flight of the mosquito

2008-11-24T14:39:00.011+08:00

Time and again, we’ve all wondered, why (the hell; on earth; in the name of Jeeezus) were insects ever created! Well, unless you’re an entomologist, you most definitely are irked by one or more members of Phylum Arthropoda.

I am by no means disparaging all insects: a large majority of them fulfill venerable needs— the bumblebee nobly performs duties that serve their own food requirements as well as that of their young ones. Most notably, they do so with minimal interference with the lives of other species.

But the mosquito (aargh) is nothing short of NEFARIOUS! For those of you who subscribe to the same belief, you are about to go through the most comprehensive tutorial when it comes to the sadistic carnage of these obnoxious creatures. If you are an insect-lover or despise such inhuman deeds, please navigate away from this page as the secrets that are about to be divulged will easily transform you into a git who revels in these perverse pleasures.

For this project, you will require:

1 battery-operated bug-killing racquet (read: electric fencing on a hand-held appliance the size of a squash racquet)
An unquenchable thirst for terrorizing tiny ‘needles on wings’.
Reasonable agility, flexibility, and lightning-fast reflexes.

Okay, now get on your feet and get sweaty. What do I mean? Attract them; this will increase your kills-to-swishes ratio. With millions of these pestilential creatures in the room, the possibility of a successful collision between racquet and mosquito increase drastically (kudos: kinetic particle theory)

Sit VERY VERY still, and wait, armed of course with your iron maiden… keep your gleaming eyes wide-open and reach out with all your senses- you should be able to sense a mosquito’s advance with AT LEAST 3 senses (usually sight, feel, and hearing)

Now, lock your gaze on the target, and attack with speed. Take a quick swipe and corner the thing. “ZAP!”. . .

You have now successfully immolated this ‘excrement of the land’. Now “Amadiora’s wrath [will] not be exacted upon the whole village for the offensive creatures that [had not been] exiled.” (Credits to my favorite book of post-colonial literature: Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe)

You might have noticed my use of an advanced psychological technique in the description of this creature in the above 3 paragraphs. The increasingly derogatory descriptions serve to subconsciously persuade you to hate it.

Now, depending on where you were before you started reading this, you are either feeling disgusted or triumphant. If you are one of the people who are repulsed by this inhuman act, continue sitting still.

Demonstration:

Formic acid levels in bloodstream in nl (nl= nanolitre):

1 nl (mild disquiet). . .

2 nl (extreme distress). . .

3 nl (AAAH.. you’ve blown my top you repugnant varmint, its perverse pleasure time!! MUAHAHAHA)

If you are the kind who is elated, you will soon get disinterested in this rather slow method. You will CRAVE for more.

Fear not, I have just the thing for you:

Your next attempt should be done with an upward swipe. This time don’t depress the button till the critter’s evaporated. Just zap him once and keep him on the mesh. Now go slow, zap by zap. Watch the legs fall off one by one. Enjoy meanie.

I DO in fact have one final suggestion. If you finally grow tired of this, (which I have no reason to suppose) find a big fat one and ZAP it. Before long, the sweet aroma of seared invertebrata will emanate. This, as you will soon realize (if you continue to remain still), is a major deterrent to any future advents of the hordes, and you can have a peaceful remainder of the evening.

In fact, my original inspiration came from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous orchestral interlude called The Flight of the Bumblebee, popularized by Maksim Mrvica, a Croatian pianist. Yes, my mind works in funny ways.

Cheers!

Variable Change and the Monty Hall Paradox

2008-11-24T13:06:00.005+08:00

Well, if you watched the movie '21' with some deliberation, the words 'variable change' wouldn't be entirely alien to your vocabulary. It is closely related to what is called the Monty Hall Paradox. I thought of this when i read the same on the blog "slivers of thought from the monk who didn't have a Ferrari" belonging to my brother and realised that it was a well-published and debated article; which i didn't know at the time (i had to ask my math teacher to explain the concept when i came across it on the aforementioned movie) Kudos Sidharth.

This is how it goes:

Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice? (Whitaker 1990)

Well, the answer isn't all that simple, but give it some thought and then comment on this post if you know the answer. My answer is posted along with other comments.

Cheers!

War it has deteriorated into. . .

2008-11-20T21:27:00.003+08:00

Well, that's over finally.

I have only undying gratitude for those stimulating words of encouragement. I also appreciate your having asserted your stance. Let not thee vacillate on thy position, and let there be naught but "productive and healthy competition"!

Oorrah Pobieda!!! (Second World War war-cry derived from Turkish) [not very sure i spelt that right]

Let the last man standing rake in the winnings, and let there be no ambiguity as to the winner.

Oorrah

Sidharth's first post...

2008-11-19T19:02:00.004+08:00

Point one.

I never thought my brother would be uhm.... i think its called kiasu... he certainly couldn't have been in competition with me... but anyway... he has ... so here goes...

Point three. (no i don't have dyscalculia... its too boring with the usual format)

i am not in competition with Anirudh and I will not post anything against his blog in my own... but if i find the least insinuation, the last vestige of a subversive post against my own blog, woe betide thee, ancient Anirudh... thou shalt perish along with the languishing creatures of the Dead sea...

now that we've clarified our friendly position.... hi... im sidharth... anirudh's brother... yes i own the celebrated blog, the Homeric edifice against which this present blog competes... its unfair of me to ask you er... esteemed readers to visit my blog... my blog is already 6 months old and this one is still in its embryonic stages... well we'll see...

to conclude, all the best, eager young blogging cadet... may the force be with you... may our competition always be constructive, friendly, healthy and a whole lot of blah blah....

your ever-inspiring brother,
Sidharth Krishnan

Welcoming myself to the world of blogging

2008-11-19T15:16:00.002+08:00

As I have mentioned in the description, the purpose of this blog is to write about the things that inspire me, or incidents that catch my attention.

But, lingering there, in the back of my head, was another reason- competition. . . My brother, Sidharth, who has a blog of his own, having received praise from MY friends, decided to display his aptitude in the art of gloating. And so, this blog was born. . . [dramatic end]