Author: drsriramnathan

Do you know what is a flyweel?

Well a flywheel is fundamentally a heavy wheel used to store and maintain rotational energy.

Then again you know we don’t normally discuss physics!

There is a deep metaphor in psychology about the flywheel!

In psychology, the “flywheel” is a metaphor used to describe self-reinforcing feedback loops in human behavior, habit formation, and mental states!

Just like a mechanical flywheel requires immense effort to start spinning but eventually generates its own self-sustaining momentum, psychological flywheels dictate how initial behaviors build compounding emotional and cognitive momentum over time!

Now this can be both positive or negative!

The positive is the Virtuous Flywheel (Building Momentum & Motivation)

In personal development and cognitive psychology, the flywheel explains why motivation follows action, rather than the other way around.

The Loop which has been discussed in many self help books like the atomic habits usually involves a  Small Action → Visible Progress / Win → Dopamine Release & Self-Efficacy → Increased Motivation → Larger Action!

The application here is used when trying to overcome a gap or build a habit; here  psychologists often recommend a “flywheel approach”—focusing on tiny, immediate wins rather than trying to change everything at once.

The initial push is hard, but once the cognitive momentum kicks in, maintaining the habit requires far less willpower!

Of course with every rise comes the fall, you have the similar context with the downward spiral or the Vicious Flywheel!

Here when the feedback loop is negative, it behaves like a runaway flywheel that is incredibly difficult to stop! It is literally like a small ball of ice or snow leading to an avalanche!

A typical loop can be an Anxiety  or Panic Loop.

LIke a  minor physical sensation (e.g., heart racing) leads to a catastrophic thought (“Something is wrong”). This thought triggers a fear response, releasing adrenaline, which makes the heart beat even faster, feeding back into the panic!

This is also seen in Depression or a Learned Helplessness Loop.
Low energy which is characteristic of this leads to isolating behavior, which reduces positive social reinforcement, lowering mood further, which decreases energy even more!

So it is up to you! If you use the flywheel to go up or down!

Then again if you are Vummidi Ethirajulu then you will definitely go up like the Sengol!

Shubh ratri…

Do you know what is a Napoleon complex?

It is also called the short man syndrome!

We will come to that but in reality; Napoleon was not SHORT!

We have always though that he was short! In fact in many sketches especially the ENGLISH inspired ones would make him look short! But he was not!

So anyway th eNapoleon complex (or “short-man syndrome”) is a psychological term describing the theory that short individuals overcompensate for their height through aggressive, dominant, or overly ambitious behavior.

The concept is named after the French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte, who was historically portrayed as a short, angry tyrant driving to conquer the world to make up for his physical stature! Then again all these were not true!


Napoleon was made to look short primarily due to British wartime propaganda, a conversion error involving French versus British measurement units, and the visual comparison of him standing next to his tall imperial bodyguards!

The first was the very effective British Propaganda and Satire!

British cartoonists like James Gillray frequently depicted Napoleon as a tiny, raging, and comically oversized-hatted figure named “Little Boney” to mock his imperial ambitions and undermine his political power!

Because the British could not always defeat him on the battlefield, their press and government weaponized physical satire to symbolically cut him down to size in the public eye!

At his death, Napoleon’s height was recorded as 5 feet 2 inches, which used pre-revolutionary French pouces (inches). Because a French inch was longer than a British Imperial inch, his height actually converted to roughly 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 7 inches (about 1.67–1.70 meters)!

This height far from being short, was completely average—and sometimes slightly above average—for a French man of the early 19th century!

He was often called Le Petit Caporal (“The Little Corporal”), which was a term of endearment from his troops regarding his approachable style and young age when he rose through the ranks, not a reference to his height!

Finally you are judged by the company you keep!

Napoleon regularly surrounded himself with elite Imperial Guards and bodyguards who were chosen for their towering height (often requiring them to be well over 5 feet 8 inches), which naturally made him look smaller when standing among them!

So just because it has been written in ENGLISH does not mean it is true! Do confirm by yourself! This was the propaganda more than 200 years ago! I shudder to think what  is true when now AI has come into play!

By default whatever you see online may be FALSE! You have to decide whether you go nuts or yahoo! Which reminds me of the Yahoo Shammi Kapoor! Though I have never been his fan I was really impressed with his photo of his younger days and took it up as a challenge! It was worth it!

Now stop scrolling the AI generated videos and sleep for real!

Shubh ratri!

Some of the best advertisements are the ones which has an effect on you from the inside! It tickles your ego and make you GO!

One such tagline was; ‘NEIGHBOUR”S ENVY, OWNERS PRIDE!’

That is the ad version of the phase “Keeping up with the Joneses”

Do you what that means?

The neighbour here is not only the one who is staying beside you but also the one who may sit with you in the bus or car, or the one who shares your desk in class or the one who is adjacent to your class or house or even country!

Our whole life is spent in becoming better than the NEIGHBOUR! That is the fact of the matter! Or even our social life!

It may be a simple thing as a SOFA (not that simple though!) or even a car! Each and every stage everyone likes to be better that their NEIGHBOURS!
Now I do not have to tell about what all competition happens between other neighbours!

This constant competition drives many while frustrates everyone else!

Which is why the phrase created as far back in 1930s is still relevant today!

So “Keeping up with the Joneses” is an idiom that describes the pressure to compare yourself to your neighbors or peers and try to match their social status, wealth, or material possessions!

The phrase was popularized by Arthur R. “Pop” Momand, who created the comic strip Keeping Up with the Joneses, which ran from 1913 to 1938.

As expected the Story in the Comic strip followed the McGinis family, who constantly struggled to match the lavish lifestyle of their neighbors—the Joneses—who were actually characters never shown in the strip!


Momand later admitted the idea came from his own real-life experience of trying to live beyond his means to impress people, only to realize his neighbors were doing the exact same thing!

He was so tired and frustrated with this that he left those NEIGHBOURS and went to a smaller place and made the comic strip!

You may not even know this history but many would have heard the phrase  “Keeping up with the Joneses” or at least done that! Keeping up with the neighbours that is!

It is sad that an spend their whole life trying to impress those who they do not even like!

Then again when you have festivals like Navratri or Dusshera; you will love to meet your neighbours and truly wish for peace and happiness and not to mention great sweets and festivities! Only a festival deep rooted in culture can make you not compete with your neighbour!

Or you can simply say jane bhi do yaron! Which reminds me of that legendary comedy made by Kundan Shah!

Wishing you a vibrant and colorful Navratri filled with divine grace and prosperity!

SHubh ratri!

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Audiobook read by Bill Bryson

This is the updated version of the same book with more recent advances and since I loved the original one, I had to listen to this one too!

Bill Bryson is a magician when it comes to history and comic sense! The whole novel of more than 8 hours just flies like a breeze!

But this one should have been called the NOVEL OF ACTUAL CHAMPIONS AND INVENTORS WHO WERE SADLY NOT RECOGNIZED!

There are so many of them and the stories you hear would make you so sad! The ones who made such waves were actually undeserving while those who deserved all the acclaim are unknown to many!

Just for that you must either listent or hear to this amazing treat!

The book aims to explain the history and current state of human scientific understanding across a vast array of disciplines.

Rather than utilizing dense, technical jargon, Bryson adopts a highly accessible, witty, and engaging narrative style.

He explores not only what we know about the universe, but the chaotic, brilliant, and often eccentric stories of how scientists actually uncovered those truths.

Bill starts with the Size and Origin of the Universe.  It starts at the absolute beginning with the Big Bang, charting the birth of space, time, and cosmic structure. He also tells about something called the BIG BIRTH!

Then he tracks the formation of our planet, the emergence of the elements, and the volatile geology (such as supervolcanoes and earthquakes) that shapes our environment! In between talking about super continents and how the world is going away!


Then he gets organinc and discusses the Rise of Life! The narrative moves through early microscopic organisms, the age of the dinosaurs, and the eventual evolution of Homo sapiens! Even here he tells about the neandeathals and what not!
In between he also mentions how we were the DODO! You would get the reference once you read!

He gives an elaborate history of the DNA and how there was another who was majorly responsible for giving us the final structure but many do not know her!

He then delves into the discovery of cells, the building blocks of DNA, and the microscopic chemistry that keeps us alive.

The whole novel and a major focus is placed on the overlooked rivalries, accidents, and obsessive personalities of famous and forgotten scientists (such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and many others)!

It is a very educational and interesting read! Feels like a story but every part it real Bill style of humour and wit!

I simply loved it! You would too!

So now you know the set up of the experiment and if not you can go through yesterday’s blog

https://ramadocblog.com/2026/10/18/milgram-experiment/

The most ‘shocking’ part of the experiment were the results!

Before the study, Milgram polled psychiatrists, students, and colleagues to predict the outcome.

They believed in humanity and with that predicted that only a tiny fraction—around 1% to 3% (deemed “sadists”)—would go all the way to the maximum 450 volts!

Remember that the participant does not know that the shock is not real! He believes that the shock is real and happening right in front of him! So to go all the away and shock someone like that is really scary!

In fact the actual results stunned the psychological community!

65% of participants (26 out of 40) administered the maximum, potentially fatal 450-volt shock!

100% of participants continued up to 300 volts, at which point the Learner would bang on the walls in agony before stopping all responses! Which actually indicates the person is either very injured or even dead!

But even at this point many participants showed signs of extreme stress, sweating, trembling, stuttering, and biting their lips, yet they continued to obey the authority figure!

The authority figure’s statement was the final! If he told them to continue then more often that not, they would! Scary was also that many did not need to be told to continue!

The Key Takeaways & Ethical Impact of the experiment was that the experiment provided profound insights into human behavior and permanently changed the rules of psychological research!

Milgram concluded that ordinary people, simply doing their jobs and without any particular hostility, can become agents in a terribly destructive process if directed by a perceived legitimate authority.

This leads to the theory called the Agency Theory!

Milgram proposed that people switch from an autonomous state (where they take personal responsibility for their actions) to an agentic state (where they see themselves as instruments for carrying out another person’s wishes).

The intense psychological distress experienced by the participants (who genuinely believed they were torturing or killing someone) sparked massive controversy. It led to strict new ethical standards for modern human research, including the requirement for thorough debriefing and minimizing psychological harm.

Then again the experiment only showed many the PROVERBIAL MIRROR into their soul…if they had any that is…

Then again a fast soul was the flying Sikh Milkha Singh!

Now stop looking so shocked and sleep!

Shubh ratri…

The mob is the most dangerous thing in the world! You just cannot make sense on how a mob can act the way it does!

In the novel to KILL A MOCKINGBIRD; the mob would have simply lynched everyone if not for the innocence of the child who AWOKE the humanity of the mob and made them HUMAN again!

Then again you must wonder how HUMANS as a MOB can do acts of violence which can shock everyone to the core!

One such EXPERIMENT to study how a human can become inhuman was the
Milgram Obedience Experiment!

This was a series of famous psychological studies conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram starting in 1961.

The experiment aimed to measure how far ordinary individuals would go in obeying instructions from an authority figure, even when those actions conflicted with their personal conscience.

Milgram was deeply motivated by the Holocaust, wanting to understand how millions of ordinary citizens could participate in the atrocities committed during World War II under the guise of “just following orders.”

The Setup & Deception involved recruiting 40 male participants through a newspaper advertisement, telling them they were participating in a study about “memory and learning.”

The experiment involved three key roles; this was very important since there was a danger to life!

The Experimenter: An authority figure dressed in a stern, grey lab coat.

The Teacher: The actual volunteer participant.

And finally the Learner: A hired actor named Mr. Wallace, who pretended to be another volunteer! But remember that the volunteer who is being tested does not know that this is an actor!

The participant (“Teacher”) and the actor (“Learner”) drew slips of paper to determine their roles, but the draw was rigged so the participant always became the Teacher.

The ‘Teacher’ then watched the Learner get strapped into a chair with electrodes!

Now comes the brutal part!

The Teacher was then taken to an adjacent room and seated before a massive shock generator.

The generator had 30 switches, ranging from 15 volts (Slight Shock) to 450 volts (Danger: Severe Shock and “XXX”). I hope you understood where this is going!?


How the Experiment Worked and this is the scary part!


The ‘Teacher’ was instructed to read pairs of words to the ‘Learner’.

If the Learner answered incorrectly, the Teacher had to administer an electric shock, increasing the voltage by 15 volts for every wrong answer!

Ok here you must know a couple of things!

No real shocks were actually delivered, but the participant believed they were 100% real!

So the participant does not know that the shock is not real! What you think would have happened!? Well that is the shocker!

As the voltage climbed, the Learner (the actor) began to scream, pound on the wall, complain of a heart condition, and eventually fall dead silent…

When participants hesitated or asked to stop, the Experimenter calmly gave them a series of standard, firm commands (prods):

“Please continue.”
“The experiment requires that you continue.”
“It is absolutely essential that you continue.”
“You have no other choice, you must go on.”

What the participants did? Well that is for tomorrow! Just know that it was not predictable! The inhumanity of humans is actually undpredictable!

Then again the plots of Amish Tripathi novels are predictable since they are based on ithihasa but his treatment is different and interesting! Plus he has so much material unlike Dan Brown who needs history!

Wait for part two but sleep on time!

Shubh ratri…

If you think about crazy experiments then you can stop thinking and GOOGLE! You will get a list which will make you think more!

Then again did you know there was an experiment which literally made power go into people’s head!

Power is the most dangerous DRUG! Once you get it or use it then it is very difficult to let go!

However good you are, your actual test is when you you have power!

One such experiment was the STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT! It was so scary that the experiment which was supposed to go on for two weeks or so was closed in less than 6days!

Officially the Stanford Prison Experiment was a 1971 social psychology study conducted at Stanford University.

It tried to examine how people react to institutional power, authority, and assigned social roles.

Done between August 14–21, 1971 (terminated on the 6th day instead of the planned two weeks); the location was the basement of Jordan Hall (the psychology building) at Stanford University.

The Lead Researcher was Psychologist Philip Zimbardo.

The Participants were 24 male (thankfully!) college students selected from applicants after psychological screening.

They were paid $15 a day and randomly assigned to be either “guards” or “prisoners”!

It was as real as possible in an experiment!

The experiment had proper MOCK Arrests! “Prisoners” were actually picked up at their homes by local Palo Alto police officers, booked, fingerprinted, and brought to the mock basement prison!

Then came the De-individualization!

The prisoners were given numbers, chains on their ankles, and basic smocks/dresses without underwear!

Guards were given khaki uniforms, whistles, and mirrored sunglasses to prevent eye contact! You had to be TOUGH!


If you thought being tough was difficult, well it was not!

There quickly happened an escalation of stature!

Guards quickly adopted aggressive, authoritarian behaviors, forcing humiliating routines and physical exercises.

The Prisoners however suffered severe emotional distress, anxiety, and depression!

The experiment was successful but at a price!

Luckily a graduate student Christina Maslach objected to the ethical conditions after observing the abuse, leading Zimbardo to shut down the simulation after just six days!

Modern reviews and released audio tapes revealed that Zimbardo and his staff actively coached, guided, and pressured the guards to behave aggressively, rather than letting the situation unfold naturally!

The experiment is widely viewed by the psychology community as a flawed or fraudulent demonstration rather than a controlled scientific study!

Then again it does show light to the fact that Power goes into anyone’s head so fast and stays there! The average HUMAN is actually capable of being cruel and not feel bad about it! We are in a constant state of control!

Then again some humans are capable of doing wonders and create magic! Just like the great composer DEVA! Still listen to many of his classics! He will be missed…

Heartfelt condolences

OM SHANTHI…

Every other day I learn a new thing especially from NYT connections or even the crossword or even while reeling through FB shorts or social media!

Now do you know what is a YEET!?

Not beet! Or Beat! Which I am sure may start getting new meanings soon but YEET!

If you do not know what that means then you are not Gen Z! You are either older or very much younger to me! That is because I did not know what that meant either!

These Gen Zs will kill langage and then some!

Now apparently Yeet is a versatile Gen Z slang term that primarily means to throw or hurl something forcefully and carelessly, or to act as an exclamation of excitement, approval, or surprise!

Did you get that!? Well, join the Queue of people who are as confused as me!

Apparently there are two uses (big surprise! I did not know even one!)

If you use YEET as a verb it means to throw, toss, or discard an object with high energy and little regard for where it lands (apparently there is also a past tense called yeeted! Am sure the Gen Zs have not put much thought into the past tense!).
Example: “He yeeted the empty soda can across the room.”

Then you can use it as an exclamation! This could indicate a shout of joy, triumph, or excitement—similar to “woohoo” or “yes”.
Like: “Yeet, we got the day off!”

The origin and Context is apparently deep rooted!

The word traces back to African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) and gained massive viral popularity around 2014–2015 through Vine videos and later TikTok!

Later on it became so widely recognized enough that Merriam-Webster officially added it as both an interjection and a verb!

After all this you also have an antonym! Big surprise! Can you guess what that might me!?

Do not worry my non Gen Z friends! Sriram is here to rescue you from YEET!

The opposite of yeet is often considered yoink, which means to grab, snatch, or take something forcefully!

Now as I am typing these words the text is full of RED lines since apparently WINDOWS is not GEN Z enough and thinks that all these words are wrongly spelled! Time to YOINK! Or may be YEET! Well, I am beat!

Anyway here’s wishing my best friend in the world a very happy birthday! Getting married was probably the second best decision of my WIFE, I mean life! Here’s also wishing belated birthday to the Eternal bachelor boy Cliff whose songs have always been a part of my life!

Shubh ratri!

So now you know what is Potential Paradox!? If not you can go through yesterday’s blog

https://ramadocblog.com/2026/10/14/potential-paradox/


The whole concept is based on the work by Carol Dweck who in his work speaks about the two types of mindset which determines how successful we can become!

Carol Dweck’s growth mindset is the core belief that intelligence, abilities, and talents are not fixed traits, but can be developed through dedication, hard work, learning, and persistence!

So you basically have two mindset; the Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset!

The growth mindset has several features like:

It views abilities as malleable and improvable.
It Embrace challenges and persist through obstacles.
Even if there is failure, it sees failure as a chance to learn and grow.
The growth mindset also values the learning process rather than just the immediate outcome.
So you can use the power of “not yet” to reframe struggles!

In another type of mindset called the Fixed Mindset however you start to have these qualities:

You start to view intelligence and talents as static, unchangeable gifts! You feel that you have only this set of limited intelligence which cannot be increased or changed!
This leads to avoidance of challenges out of fear of failing or looking unintelligent!
You also tend to give up easily or feel defeated when facing setbacks and most importantly you start viewing critical feedback as a personal attacks!

Even studies on neuroplasticity has shown similar findings!

Brain scans show that individuals with a growth mindset have increased brain activity when processing errors, showing that the brain forms new, stronger connections when pushed out of its comfort zone!

So remember that praising effort, strategy, focus, and perseverance—rather than innate talent or intelligence—helps build resilience and encourages people to take on harder tasks!

In short, there is no short cut to success! You work hard and only then you will consistently get rewards!

Another hard working legend was Shri Abbul Kalam ji…

Try to be like him!
Shub ratri….

Do you know what is a Potential paradox?

Well for that you must know who is Carol Dweck!

It is actually a common occurrence! There are two kids; both get 100 in a test and to one you say, well done! You are naturally gifted and you deserve it!

To the other you say, wow! You worked hard for it! Good job!

These are the two compliments we usually give! Or a mixture of the two!

Which kid do you think succeed in future!

Well according to Carol it is the kid who has been told that he worked hard and got it and not the one who has been told that he or she is natural!

That is potential paradox!

The potential paradox thus refers to a psychological phenomenon where people who are praised for being naturally “gifted” or “smart” end up achieving less over time than those praised for their effort and hard work!

This is because of the Praise Trap!

When children are told they are naturally talented, they feel they have something fragile to lose!

These kids who feel that they have an inbuilt talent then develop a Fear of Failure!

Hard tasks become a threat to their identity. If they have to struggle, they worry it means they were never actually smart!

Then comes the Avoidance! Gifted-praised individuals often avoid difficult challenges to protect their self-image, whereas effort-praised individuals embrace challenges as a way to grow!

This was famously studied by psychologist Carol Dweck in 1998, laying the groundwork for fixed vs. growth mindset concepts which is the topic for some other day!

For now remember that encouragement is important, but it is also necessary to state the importance of hard work! Just because once in a while a child gets good grade in spite of not doing hard work, that should not be the norm!

Even other wise, only if the child works hard for the grade will he or she actually appreciate the success truly and whole heartedly!

Even praising someone is a big responsibility!

Then again you can fearlessly praise someone as talented Gautam Gambhir!

Now do think about the Potential for a paradox in your sleep! Or not!

SHubh ratri!