Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Evolution of thought
I think our way of thinking evolves.
1. Ah! This is cool thing (s)he is doing.
2. I want to learn that.
3. I want to become an expert.
4. So I have gained reasonable expertise. Now what? Why did I do this in the first place?
5. How can I use what I have learned to solve a problem?
6. Ah! This is a problem worthwhile to solve because the solution will have a good impact.
7. Go to Step 2.
I am in the first iteration of this loop at step 4. I smell step 5.
1. Ah! This is cool thing (s)he is doing.
2. I want to learn that.
3. I want to become an expert.
4. So I have gained reasonable expertise. Now what? Why did I do this in the first place?
5. How can I use what I have learned to solve a problem?
6. Ah! This is a problem worthwhile to solve because the solution will have a good impact.
7. Go to Step 2.
I am in the first iteration of this loop at step 4. I smell step 5.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
What is life about?
I saw this quote in the signature of one of my friend's emails.
"The sign of life is enthusiasm. The sign of success is smile and joy."
- Sri Sri Ravishankar
Makes a lot of sense. Couldn't be anything else.
"The sign of life is enthusiasm. The sign of success is smile and joy."
- Sri Sri Ravishankar
Makes a lot of sense. Couldn't be anything else.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Writing good essays
Over the last few years, I have come to realize that I need to significantly improve my writing skills. Many times, my essays intend to drive home a main point. But during the course of writing the essay, I present different ideas without really connecting them together and strengthening my point. During these times, it is likely that I will lose my reader.
An essay is not a bunch of random thoughts. If it is, then it does not serve its purpose - to convey to its readers a message. Writing an essay that is structured well requires that you understand the deeper meanings of cause and effect, fact and evidence, and open doors to thinking critically.
A good essay is a sequence of related thoughts that lead to something more substantial than the individual thoughts themselves. Each thought in that sequence must contribute to the main point of that essay. If it doesn't, the author should seriously consider removing it. In addition, these thoughts must be interconnected well so that they lead to the main objective message which should stand up crystal clear to the reader. If they are not connected well enough, the reader is not likely to understand the intention the isolated thoughts, hence resulting in a loss of communication. If you are intentionally going to digress from the main point of the essay, then it is better to convey to the reader how the digression is related to the main point, or at least, promise them that it will all make sense at the end. And of course, you need to keep it up. The bottom line is that the author should ensure that the readers do not forget the main point of the essay.
An essay is not a bunch of random thoughts. If it is, then it does not serve its purpose - to convey to its readers a message. Writing an essay that is structured well requires that you understand the deeper meanings of cause and effect, fact and evidence, and open doors to thinking critically.
A good essay is a sequence of related thoughts that lead to something more substantial than the individual thoughts themselves. Each thought in that sequence must contribute to the main point of that essay. If it doesn't, the author should seriously consider removing it. In addition, these thoughts must be interconnected well so that they lead to the main objective message which should stand up crystal clear to the reader. If they are not connected well enough, the reader is not likely to understand the intention the isolated thoughts, hence resulting in a loss of communication. If you are intentionally going to digress from the main point of the essay, then it is better to convey to the reader how the digression is related to the main point, or at least, promise them that it will all make sense at the end. And of course, you need to keep it up. The bottom line is that the author should ensure that the readers do not forget the main point of the essay.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Action, Results and Happiness
The most famous message of the Gita often quoted as:
"Do your duty, do not expect the results of your actions."
...gives an impression that we are expected to be more or less robots on this earth just bothered about our duty and stay detached from the outcome. Let me rephrase it, and then its power becomes a little more clear:
"Do not rely on the results of what you do to be happy. Happiness is your birthright! Enjoy it whenever you want it by making your action as the reason for your happiness rather than its result!"
"Do your duty, do not expect the results of your actions."
...gives an impression that we are expected to be more or less robots on this earth just bothered about our duty and stay detached from the outcome. Let me rephrase it, and then its power becomes a little more clear:
"Do not rely on the results of what you do to be happy. Happiness is your birthright! Enjoy it whenever you want it by making your action as the reason for your happiness rather than its result!"
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
What I truly can be
I like it if people can respect me for what I truly can be more than what I am because of my actions.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Self Confidence
Self Confidence is the willingness and boldness to take action and accept all of the consequences.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The Purpose of a Business
The purpose of a business should be to solve a common problem at hand. It should not create new desires and new problems.
This is not my philosophy speaking, but basic economics. For example, consider the automobile industry. The Toyotas and the Nissans and the Hondas solve the problem of a reliable, economic way of transportation to a very good extent. But I would not say the same with the Ferraris, Mercedes, or the Porsches. Do they solve any common problem? I don't think they do.
In fact, they add on to, or magnify the big pile of problems we already have to deal with - envy, discontentment, insecurity. The power of the human mind should be used to solve and eliminate existing problems that make life more meaningful. It is too valuable to be wasted in creating new problems for ourselves.
This is not my philosophy speaking, but basic economics. For example, consider the automobile industry. The Toyotas and the Nissans and the Hondas solve the problem of a reliable, economic way of transportation to a very good extent. But I would not say the same with the Ferraris, Mercedes, or the Porsches. Do they solve any common problem? I don't think they do.
In fact, they add on to, or magnify the big pile of problems we already have to deal with - envy, discontentment, insecurity. The power of the human mind should be used to solve and eliminate existing problems that make life more meaningful. It is too valuable to be wasted in creating new problems for ourselves.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Accepting Others
I should not ignore and be indifferent to habits of people that irritate me. At the same time, I should not get sucked in, and let their negativity affect me.
Instead, I should be aware of the negativity, work around it, and get my task done.
I should do this because:
- the task at hand is more important to me than fixing people.
- I love to solve the problem at hand more than solving the person.
- I don't associate people's actions with their identity.
Instead, I should be aware of the negativity, work around it, and get my task done.
I should do this because:
- the task at hand is more important to me than fixing people.
- I love to solve the problem at hand more than solving the person.
- I don't associate people's actions with their identity.
Friday, June 22, 2007
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