The seven habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey talks about one of the most effective way of doing a job or completing a work!
The best thing to do is to tabulate the work!
Now you can do this mentally or physically! But that is only the first part!
Or if you have a paucity of time and patience then you can divide the work into major, medium and small or minor task!
After that you can simply follow the 1-3-5 rule!
This is a new trend which of course is a remix of several old trends but then if it works do not disturb the system!
So the 1-3-5 Rule is a productivity method for creating a balanced daily to-do list!
Everyday you have to do this task; One major, 3 medium and at least 5 small!
By doing this you prevent overwhelming of tasks by focusing on manageable chunks and ensuring progress on high-impact items.
It provides structure, reduces procrastination by tackling the biggest item first and offers flexibility by mixing quick wins with larger goals, applicable for freelancers, students, and professionals alike!
The first step of course is to identify you task! You can either use the Stephen Covey table of just a to do list!
Then zoom in on the one big task! This is a high-priority, time-consuming, or mentally demanding item (e.g., finish a project report).
Then find three important but lesser critical tasks and complete them!
Finally the five small tasks would then be easy quick wins (e.g., reply to emails, tidy desk, make a quick call!)
It is similar to answering questions on a paper! You must tackle the questions with the highest marks first! Once that is done you can do your own assessment and carry on! You can actually finish the smaller tasks before medium or vice versa!
This is because you tackle the big task first when you have the most energy, then move to medium, and finish with small tasks for momentum!
The benefit is that the list breaks large lists into a manageable nine items.
It also builds momentum and the finishing of small tasks provides quick wins, while the big task gets the most important work done!
You can also mixes challenging tasks with easy ones to keep the day varied and productive!
There are couple of tips and some flexibility though!
You have to be realistic and adjust the scope if tasks change, but try not to exceed nine total items; you can add a couple of smaller items though!
Like mentioned above, even though finishing the big task gives a big momentum you can still adapt to your day! You might do your medium tasks before your big one, or shift priorities as needed!
Like in an examination as before; answer a couple of easy questions to get a confidence boost and momentum and jump on to the big Guns…I mean ones!
All said and done, anytime you see someone who is as busy as you but still manages to do so much work; there is always a measure of organization involved!
Great people are amazing time managers! Great and incredibly amazing was also Swamy Vivekananda
Mainly because it tells about the different currencies of the past and then some! One interesting currency was a block of Limestone!
It was called the Limestone currency!
Limestone currency refers to Rai Stones (or fei), large, circular, carved limestone discs from the island of Yap in Micronesia, used for centuries as a unique form of money, valuable not just for size but also for their difficult history of quarrying in Palau and perilous sea transport!
The value of the stone was determined by size, quality, and the dangerous journey (storms, lives lost) involved in bringing them to Yap!
The way it was used is very interesting!
The stone would be placed in the middle of a street or wherever it was and it remained there! Only the ownership changed!
It was used for significant social transactions like marriages, inheritances, and payments, though smaller ones traded for goods!
The ownership only used to get transferred through community consensus and oral history, with stones sometimes staying in place for generations! One fine day a big guy would come and tell that the stone is his while the next day he would ‘give’ it to another for some other material or even as a ‘payment’ to marry his or her daughter! All the while the STONE would simply stay there without a care of the world! Only the ‘owner’ moved!
This is actually a powerful symbol of wealth, history, and cultural identity for the Yapese people! The limestone currency demonstrates a sophisticated, non-centralized economic system!
In fact one of the ‘latest’ currencies to have a similar character is the Bitcoin! You do not actually have the bitcoin when you ‘buy’ it! It stays there! All you have is ownership!
So for all the ‘modern’ tags to the coin, we are still using a system which is centuries old!
Centuries old are also the great amazing musical history of India! And also the musicians like santoor specialist Shivkumar Sharma!
Now stop thinking about your immovable assets like limestone and sleep!
Fictional stories based on real life experiences of an HR professional and a close friend!
Since I know Subbu (I call him that!) for some time now, this was a mighty drift from his routine! He has already written or rather sketched two book on cartoons based on his corporate and family life! They were very well received and pretty hilarious!
So a serious novel on corporate politics and some romance was a big change!
The book is a simple collection of short stories with his added ‘life’ inputs! Most stories are inspired by his own interactions while some are the stories he would have heard!
I could relate to all his stories since I was a part of that messy corporate world of office politics some eons back!
My personal favorite was the beautiful love in office story told in a very tactful way while am sure many would find the ‘Life in Africa’ story really surprising and even scary!
There is a sense of being too ‘personal’ in the CEO story which Subbu confirmed to be true! Then the story of that pseudo hard worker was so relatable since there is always one in every office!
The language is simple and straightforward without any complication and you can finish the short and really true to life story in a short time indeed!
By keeping many of the stories open ended Subbu is telling us that life just continues! Every other day only a chapter gets over!
According to British bacteriologist Ernest Hanbury Hankin the rivers Ganga and Jamuna were found to have natural healing properties!
Of course when anyone else would have said this they would have been summarily rejected! But when a ‘Gora’ ‘angrez’ says it then the words get heavy!
Now now! Do not start jumping yet!
This was way back in 1896!
Ernest first observed in 1896 that the Ganges (Ganga) and Jumna rivers in India possessed a mysterious, heat-labile substance that killed cholera bacteria, linking this antibacterial property to local beliefs about the river’s healing powers!
He noted the water’s natural ability to destroy bacteria and noticed significantly fewer gastrointestinal infections, particularly cholera, in villages along the Ganges, despite common belief in the river’s sacred, self-purifying properties!
He of course scientifically confirmed that water from the Ganges and Jumna actively killed Vibrio cholerae (cholera bacteria).
His chief crucial finding was that this antibacterial activity was heat-labile (destroyed by boiling in open containers) but could pass through fine filters, suggesting a very small, non-bacterial agent!
This was not magic! But scientific! Enter a phenomenon later understood as the action of bacteriophages, which attack and lyse bacteria, leading to modern phage therapy!
Hankin’s work provided early evidence for bacteriophages, though he didn’t name them.
Years later, scientists like Félix d’Hérelle built on these findings, isolating and naming the “bacteriophage” (bacteria eater) and developing phage therapy, which is seeing renewed interest today due to antibiotic resistance!
In essence, Ernest Hankin’s pioneering bacteriological work on the Ganges river waters provided some of the first scientific clues to the existence and properties of bacteriophages, linking ancient beliefs with modern microbiology!
Which goes to prove that the ‘Magic’ of today is simply the undiscovered ‘science’ of tomorrow!
Of course it was magical watching Arun Govil as Bhagwan Ram in the serial Ramayan!
For now take some warm bacteria free water and sleep!
This was the answer to one of the clues in the NYT crossword yesterday and since I did not know it; time for investigation!
Of course you may know different aspects of it and may have had similar ‘pranks’; this particular prank was very famous at a time apparently!
The answer was RICKROLL!
Do you know what that is?
The clue of course was the answer! A famous internet prank!
Have you head of this song called “Never Gonna Give You Up”? That was by Rick Astley. It is a pretty famous song and many would have heard of it.
Rickroll is thus a popular internet prank where someone is tricked into watching the music video for Rick Astley’s 1987 hit song!
Once clicked, the user is redirected to the Rick Astley music video instead of the expected content. This moment is known as being “Rickrolled”!
Of course beyond links, rickrolling has evolved to include QR codes, ASCII art, hidden lyrics in speeches, and live performances!
Then again it was not even the original! Rickrolling has actually come from Ducks!
“Duckrolling” was the original prank which originated on the imageboard 4chan as a variation of “duckrolling,” where users were tricked into clicking a link that showed an image of a duck on wheels!
The First Rickroll was in 2007! When on May 15, 2007, a 4chan user posted a link that was supposed to be a trailer for the highly anticipated game Grand Theft Auto IV, but it led to the Astley video!
The meme peaked in 2008 when it was used by the group Anonymous to protest the Church of Scientology and featured in YouTube’s April Fools’ Day prank!
The prank was so popular that Rick Astley himself participated in a “live” Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (2008) Rickroll by appearing on a float and lip-syncing to his song!
The official White House Twitter account rickrolled a user who complained about the entertainment value of their briefings!
Then the popular band Foo Fighters invited Rick Astley on stage during a festival in Japan to perform the song, effectively rickrolling the entire audience!
As recent as (2022/2025); pranks have used drones to form giant QR codes in the sky that lead to the video!
Now when I saw Rickroll you do not be a blank slate or wall! Wall reminds me of Rahul Dravid! A quick sketch on a hyper busy day!
Do you know Quitter’s day? Now do not ‘Quit’ reading this blog!
Today is the second Saturday of the new year! That is not the reason to celebrate but you just passed the second Friday of the new year!
Wait; do not celebrate yet!
Apparently most who start the new year with resolutions and plans in their minds; QUIT by the second Friday of the new year! This is why the second Friday of the year (January 9th in this case!) is known as the Quitter’s day!
If you had not made any resolutions (lazy you!) or if you are still keeping your resolutions then LUCKY you!
May be one resolution can be do LEARN more! Like what is the history of the Quitter’s day!
So Quitter’s Day is an unofficial holiday that marks the date when the majority of people are most likely to abandon their New Year’s resolutions.
Many fitness enthusiasts know the fitness app Strava! Most like me stick to dear old Health app of the iPhone!
So after analyzing over 800 million user activities, they identified a significant drop in commitment and activity patterns around the second Friday of January!
This research is also based on the famous 80 percent rule which can be applied to many things! In this case the research indicates that approximately 80% of people fail to stick to their New Year’s resolutions, with many giving up by this mid-January milestone!
Of course the common reason of quitting is the “resolution fatigue,”!
Also it is the setting of overly ambitious or vague goals, and a lack of a structured plan as primary reasons for the early decline in motivation! Some people also keep goals which are too high or need more consistency and grit which they actually lack in the first place!
Many organizations and wellness experts use Quitter’s Day as a “reset point” rather than a failure point! Meaning that the new year or the Quitter’s day are simply stumbling blocks! Not concrete failure; the war is still going on! This is just a small fight!
Of course we can make sure this does not happen by making sure that resolutions are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely!
It has also been suggested to not be robotic! Your body is not a machine! You cannot ‘measure’ your resolution by grades or points! Now if your resolution was to lose weight then even if that has not happened your actual resolution should be to have a new outlook! Like it can be that your resolution can be; “I will be more careful or I will take care of my health and body”
You can build small habits one at a time rather than attempting a total lifestyle “factory reset”. This is the whole point of books such as THE ONE THING or ATOMIC HABITS! Small consistent achievable goals are better that one big huge difficult one! Remember that EMI at least in health is really good!
The best thing of course is to have a support system, such as a coach, a friend, or a community group, to remain committed when initial motivation fade!
Motivational also were K J YESUDAS’S songs especially during the Sabarimala season!
Choose your motivation so that you don’t be a part of Quitter’s day!
If you know Ross from friends then you will know Unagi! But that was turned out to be joke! In general though being aware is an essential human as well as other living things’ trait.
We thus have a range of senses to be aware! That capability is called perception!
Now you know the five senses and then some nonsense but do you know other senses like Chemosensory and Magnetoreception? You will by the end of this blog!
Now everyone knows the five standard sensation like taste smell vision touch and hearing but there are apparently some special senses!
One of them is called the Spacial sense! This is the ability to be aware of your relationships with the environment around you and with yourself. It is related to the haptic and kinesthetic perception.
Others include form, vestibular, thermal, kinesthetic and time which are special and self explanatory.
Now some more senses are theorized like
Chemosensory which is the ability to interpret chemical substances dissolved in saliva that translate into strong tastes. It is a modification of the taste sensation. This may be why you have those who are expert ‘tasters’ and ‘chefs’ who can make out the subtle nuances in the taste and flavour of the food!
Then you have the latest entrant to make sense! It is of course been there for long; we have just got more information now!
Magnetoreception or magnetoception!
Magnetoreception is the remarkable biological sense allowing animals like birds, turtles, and foxes to detect Earth’s magnetic field for orientation, navigation, and mapping, acting as an internal compass, though the exact mechanisms are still under scientific investigation, with emerging evidence suggesting even subconscious human detection!
There are several proposed mechanisms;
One of them is the Chemical or Radical Pair Mechanism which involves cryptochrome proteins in the eye, where magnetic fields influence the spin of electrons, creating a visual signal for birds, potentially appearing as light patterns.
Then you have the Magnetic Particles or Magnetite which are tiny magnetic crystals within cells which can act as miniature compass needles, connecting the magnetic field to the nervous system, possibly in fish or birds’ beaks.
These are just not theories since many animals use it in their day to day life!
For birds this is essential for long-distance migration while sea turtles use this to guide hatchlings offshore and help adults navigate vast oceans.
Even the most important species in the world the Bees use it for navigation!
In animal it has been seen that foxes use it for hunting, while studies suggest dogs align with the field when defecating!
Some researcher also indicates subconscious human brain responses to magnetic fields, hinting at a dormant ability!
Humans also have deposits of ferric iron (magnetite) in their ethmoid bone! For years the role of sinuses especially the ethmoids which is a complex bone with porous nature; has been unclear! In fact it is a favourite bone of the Rhinologist!
Whether it is involved in Magnetoreception is a good future research! Of course digging into it too much may cause some headache!
Many senses are also activated when you sketch and most of the times they join together to give you some satisfaction or headache depending on the outcome!
That is the internal affair of the body! Then again if it is external affair; you have no one better than S Jaishankar!
Everyone likes to get that one lottery which they assume will make them set for life! The jackpot which can solve all the problems in their life!
Then have you heard of Jackpot Justice!? or the Trouser Lawsuit!?
They are both true and real terms! As you read you will get to know some fish may have shell! But it is the human who is selfish!
So “Jackpot justice” is a pejorative term used to describe a legal system that allegedly encourages plaintiffs and trial lawyers to seek massive, outsized monetary awards—often through punitive damages or class actions—that are disproportionate to the actual harm suffered.
These are awards that go far beyond “making the victim whole” and are viewed as a windfall or “jackpot” for the plaintiff!
Critics argue that juries impose these awards without consistent reasoning or clear legal guidelines while proponents of this view claim it acts as an “excess tort tax” on the economy, leading to higher consumer prices and fewer jobs!
If you think that this is silly then you must read about the Trouser lawsuit! The ridiculousness of this lawsuit will amaze and shock you and then really bowl you over when you realize that it was done by a judge!
So in 2005, Roy L. Pearson Jr., then an administrative law judge in Washington, D.C., sued Custom Cleaners, a local family-owned business run by the Chung family, claiming they lost a pair of his trousers!
So your pants are lost or maybe damaged! What would any person with a grain of humanity do?
Leave it be or take some store credit or get a new pant!
What did the Judge do?
He sued them!
Not for a hundred or even a thousand dollars! But for; hold your breath; 67 million dollars!
Pearson initially sought $67 million, later reduced to $54 million; so much for small mercies! Microscopic mercy actually!
He argued that the shop’s “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and “Same Day Service” signs were legally binding promises that the business failed to meet! Pearson calculated the astronomical sum by applying D.C. consumer protection laws, claiming thousands of dollars for every day the signs were displayed over several years, plus damages for “mental suffering” and car rental fees to visit a different cleaner! You would think a different cleaner was located in MARS!
If this was a banana republic then the Judge would have even won! He fought the trial himself and even cried a little in the MEMORY of his missing PANTS!
Luckily that particular court was ruled by a HUMANE judge! In 2007, a D.C. Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the dry cleaners, stating that no reasonable consumer would interpret the advertising slogans as an unlimited guarantee to meet any demand at any cost!
Now now; more good news for humanity! Following the trial, a panel recommended that Pearson not be reappointed as a judge due to a lack of “judicial temperament” demonstrated by the lawsuit. He ultimately lost his job in 2007!
Unfortunately despite winning, the financial and emotional toll on the Chung family was severe. They closed two of their three shops during the litigation. Public donations and fundraisers eventually helped them cover more than $100,000 in legal fees. But they were the ones with the actual mental trauma!
This case is widely cited in law schools as a cautionary tale of “jackpot justice” and helped inspire movements for tort reform and judicial accountability! So the next time your cleaner misplaces your pant! Stop panting for jackpot justice! Get store credit or another pant!
If the pants aren’t dry don’t cry! Which reminds me of the crying but sentimental mother of Hindi movies; Nirupa Roy!
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky
Audiobook of running length of more than 25 hours!
One of the longest books I have listened for a long time!
The author is a neurobiologist who primarily studied with Chimps!
The book is huge with so many aspects covered and the review being a short summary is also huge!
Since it is a non fiction, the review does not have any spoilers! It is a preview for those who may read or listen in the future (there goes your 25hours!) or a summary for those who may not have time to listen or read it (saved your 25 hours!)
Sapolsky’s central argument is that no single factor causes any given behavior; rather, every action is the result of an intricate combination of influences that occurred across vast time scales.
The book examines influences ranging from a milliseconds-old neurological event (brain chemistry and neural pathways) to factors hours and days earlier (hormones), and extending back to adolescence, childhood experiences, genetics, culture, and evolutionary pressures over millions of years.
Sapolsky delves into specific brain regions, such as the amygdala (associated with fear and aggression) and the frontal cortex (involved in reasoning and self-control), and how their interaction and development shape our choices.
The book explores the biological underpinnings of morality, empathy, and altruism, as well as the mechanisms that lead to tribalism and xenophobia (“us versus them” dynamics).
He takes it much further in terms of us vs them with examples galore!
In the book Behave by Robert Sapolsky he mentions about the specific centers in the brain which gets activated when you lie!
You would think that so what! It is just a lie! What you do not realize is that telling a lie is actually a very complex and sophisticated cognitive task!
It is simple to tell the truth since, well it is the truth! But to tell a lie involves planning and careful analysis!
You need to be very careful on what you say and then say it! Give only information which supports your lie and that is not a simple task!
Robert Sapolsky discusses the “train track question,” formally known as the trolley problem, in his book Behave to illustrate the complex interplay of neuroscience, emotion, and utilitarian reasoning in human morality!
The problem is usually asked in many variations!
The classic “trolley problem” presents two main scenarios:
The Switch Case: A runaway trolley is headed toward five people tied to the track. You are standing next to a lever. If you pull the lever, the trolley will divert onto a side track, where it will kill one person.
Most people (around 70%) say they would pull the lever, sacrificing one person to save five, which is a utilitarian decision (the ends justify the means).
The Footbridge Case (or “Fat Man” Case): The trolley is still headed for five people. This time, you are on a footbridge above the tracks, next to a large man.
The only way to stop the trolley is to push this man onto the tracks, killing him, but saving the five people. Far fewer people (around 25%) say they would do this!
Another variation is that the Fat Man is actually the person who is responsible for the tying the people on the track and is actually evil! Then almost 100 percent would tell that they would push him!
The distinction in people’s responses highlights a tension between immediate, emotional aversion to personally causing harm (pushing the man) and abstract, cognitive calculations of the greater good (pulling the lever).
Sapolsky notes that individuals with damage to the prefrontal cortex, a brain region critical for emotional regulation and decision-making, are more likely to make the purely utilitarian choice to push the man in the footbridge scenario!
Your choice would also be influenced if you know the person or persons involved! If you are too anxious you may not even make a choice and simply close your eyes to the whole problem!
Robert Sapolsky states how the recent amazing findings about Mirror Neurons are overhyped!
Mirror neurons are a specialized class of brain cells that fire both when an individual performs a specific action and when they observe another person performing that same action!
It is like the neuron responsible for Sympathy, empathy and compassion! This dual firing apparently allows the brain to “mirror” others’ behaviors as if the observer were acting themselves!
In primates, they are primarily located in the ventral premotor cortex (area F5) and the inferior parietal lobule. In humans, activity consistent with mirror neurons has also been detected in the supplementary motor area and primary somatosensory cortex!
They have been theorized to provide a “felt understanding” of others, although many of these roles remain subjects of scientific debate!
The neurons apparently also facilitate learning by observation, especially in infants, by mentally rehearsing observed movements.
Of course the chief focus is that some researchers believe they are the neural basis for empathy, as the same brain regions for feeling an emotion (like disgust or pain) activate when seeing someone else experience it~
It was once widely proposed that mirror neuron dysfunction caused the social deficits in autism, but more recent evidence suggests this link is likely oversimplified or unsubstantiated and Robert is in that list who believes that they are just there!
Robert Sapolsky uses the example of a firing squad to illustrate the psychological concept of diffusion of responsibility and challenge our assumptions about free will and morality!
Now why a firing squad is used to execute is that if it is one to one shooting then the human may feel guilt (if some humanity is left that is!) even if the person who is to be shot ‘deserves’ it! So when you are a part of the squad then the morality is safe (r)!
Sapolsky states that humans have a deep-seated aversion to killing another person up close. So to counteract the psychological trauma and moral responsibility of an execution, historical firing squads employed specific practices:
One is like above; using multiple Shooters: Instead of one executioner, a team (typically five or more) fired simultaneously. This allowed each shooter to feel they were only one-fifth responsible, a comforting but irrational thought!
There is another key tactic also! Which is the Blank Cartridge!
A key historical tactic was giving one random member of the squad a blank cartridge instead of a live bullet. This provided every shooter with a psychological “out”—the ability to believe, with some plausible deniability, that “I may not even have shot him or her”!
No one is told who gets the blank and those with conscience get some comfort!
Even in the case of lethal injection; some states employ two injectors!
Both press the button and only one goes to the convict! One is diverted to a waste bucket!
The amount of energy and thought process to keep the humanity alive!
Robert Sapolsky also talks about Reciprocal altruism
Now it may sound complicated but it is fairly simple and you would have actually known and done the simple sounding version of this act!
Technically though reciprocal altruism is a social behavior where an organism helps another at a cost to itself, with the expectation of getting help in return later.
This is actually a crucial behavior in animals for cooperation among non-relatives, seen in baboons forming coalitions or cleaner fish cleaning larger fish, relying on memory and recognizing “cheaters” to maintain fairness!
Remember that the first act of altruism is not easy! Acting altruistically (reducing own fitness) with the expectation of future reciprocation, boosting long-term fitness is the theme here and this term was coined by Robert Trivers in 1971 to explain cooperation beyond kin selection. The fact here is that individuals help those who have helped them, often using past behavior as a cue for future reliability. The chief point here is that there is an essence of give and take! If you cheat in between you are out!
Organisms must remember past interactions to identify and avoid individuals who take help but don’t give it back (cheaters)!
If you thought it happens only in Humans; it is surprisingly common in animals!
Like say in Baboons, the Males form temporary alliances (coalitions) to gain mating access, expecting support later.
In fishes like the cleaner Fish, the small fish eat parasites off larger fish; larger fish protect them in return!
In many vampire Bats, the bats that fail to feed may receive regurgitated blood from a successful bat, expecting the favor returned.
In humans of course this is the norm! One individual helps another expecting the favor to be returned in kind or cash! Here the chief factor is trust! If you that is lost then the whole deal is out!
Robert actually uses the theme of prisoner’s dilemma to get the whole altruism details! It is a long loop of commit and defect!
Then you have the amygdala and the lies!
You have the phenotype and the proteins!
You have the nerve and the nerve junctions and the neurotransmitters! You have the types and how they can be increased or decreased!
You also have the end notes of DNA and proteins!
The final summary is that human behavior is a complex interplay of brain, environment, chemicals and genes! Like you did not know that already! Or did you!?
Medical thriller with some paranormal activity thrown around!
The typical cook has a medical environment which in this case is the Bellevue hospital which apparently has so much history!
The history has pioneers and brave physicians and surgeons who had done procedures which today would be considered crude and brutal!
One surgeon doing an amputation on the heaviest bone without any anesthesia! Even when had already been introduced in the surgical field all over the world!
But the cherry on the cake and the core plot of the story is the Lobotomy!
Without revealing much I can tell you that the start and the end of the story involves doing a ‘procedure’ on an ‘innocent’ person by force! Now whether is was normal or ‘paranormal’ is for you to decide!
We have a new surgical intern who like every other intern in any medical college around the world is over worked and under paid! Sleep is a luxury and calls in the night are the norm! You are tasked with the most complicated cases but you actually do not know much!
The food is bad and the duty room is small but still gives you the best sleep!
Your seniors and the nursing staffs are your best friends and teachers and you have to get it together every single day!
Add to this if you are having visions and complications in your cases then you are literally in a soup!
A dark and frankly depressing novel which still does give the nostalgic reminiscence of my internship!
The sudden and unpredictable ending left me angry and shocked! Then again that is Cook!
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