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In Charles Duhigg best seller he talks about how an army officer stopped or prevented a riot in a country which was fairly common after a meet! You know what he did!? He removed the food carts! 

It is an interesting story and most probably true!

So the story was that an officer conducted an impromptu habit modification program. He was an army major who had analyzed videotapes of recent riots and had identified a pattern: Violence was usually preceded by a crowd gathering in a plaza or other open space and, over the course of several hours, growing in size. Food vendors would show up, as well as spectators. Then, someone would throw a rock or a bottle and all hell would break loose!

This is what the video tapes would show! What was the final link! Well the food cart!

When the major met with place’s mayor, he made an odd request: Could they keep food vendors out of the plazas? Probably the mayor did not get his ‘fee’ from the vendors or he was very good! What ever be the reason; he complied!

A few weeks later, a small crowd gathered! Throughout the afternoon, it grew in size. Some people started chanting angry slogans. The local police, sensing trouble, radioed the base and asked army troops to stand by. At dusk, the crowd started getting restless and hungry. People looked for the kebab sellers normally filling the plaza, but there were none to be found. The spectators left! The chanters became dispirited. By 8 p.m., everyone was gone.

When they did not get food or energy; they simply got tired and left! The riot was stopped because there was no junk food!

Charles states that sometimes the simplest explanation is the crux to the most complex problems!

Another story states this simple observation which is actually epic!

There was this doctor called Charles Nicolle.

Early on in his practice though he lost hearing in one ear! Since clinical skill needs full concentration; he did the next best thing! He devoted his entire attention to research! 

Now we know that when one sense is low the other senses are heightened! 

Like those with reduced hearing ‘Observe’ better while those with reduced sight ‘listen’ better! The crux is not see and hear! But observe and listen!

So Charles (Nicolle, not Duhigg!) noticed that typhus patients lost their ability to spread the disease after bathing and changing their clothes, suggesting the carrier was something on the body or clothing! He opined that may be it is the body lice!

He tested his theory by transferring body lice from an infected chimpanzee to a healthy one, which subsequently developed typhus!

Further research showed that the lice themselves transmitted the infection through their excrement!

This discovery earned him the 1928 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine! All because he made a simple observation!

Sometimes the solution to the most complex problems are pretty simple! Simple in nature but complex in characterization and talent also was Sukumari! 

Now KISS! Keep it simple stupid! Sleep!

Shubh ratri!

A young girl shopping one day in target bought some unscented lotion as a departure from her routine! A computer which analyzed shopping habits concluded that she is pregnant!

It prompted the mailers to send pregnancy related mails in her name to her house!
Her father was livid! Are these the things they must send to a teen!

After one week, the father called up and apologized! The computer was right!

The computer worked out that she was pregnant even before her father did!

The story is true and the company is Target! The computer was designed by Andrew Pole for predictive analysis and the whole charade is mentioned in the atomic habits by Charles Duhigg!

Apparently every time we go shopping, we share intimate details about our consumption patterns with retailers. And many of those retailers are studying those details to figure out what you like, what you need, and which coupons are most likely to make you happy. Target , for example, has figured out how to data-mine its way into your womb, to figure out whether you have a baby on the way long before you need to start buying diapers!

The story is called —How Companies Learn Your Secrets—by Charles Duhigg

The story detailed the work of statistician Andrew Pole (and Target’s Guest Marketing Analytics team), who did indeed design a pregnancy prediction model

Target assigns every customer a Guest ID number, tied to their credit card, name, or email address that becomes a bucket that stores a history of everything they’ve bought and any demographic information Target has collected from them or bought from other sources.

Using that, Pole looked at historical buying data for all the ladies who had signed up for Target baby registries in the past!

Pole ran several tests, analyzing the data, and before long some useful patterns emerged. Lotions, in the example above for example!

Lots of people buy lotion, but one of Pole’s colleagues noticed that women on the baby registry were buying larger quantities of unscented lotion around the beginning of their second trimester. Another analyst noted that sometime in the first 20 weeks, pregnant women loaded up on supplements like calcium, magnesium and zinc. Many shoppers purchase soap and cotton balls, but when someone suddenly starts buying lots of scent-free soap and extra-big bags of cotton balls, in addition to hand sanitizers and washcloths, it signals they could be getting close to their delivery date!

As Pole’s computers crawled through the data, he was able to identify about 25 products that, when analyzed together, allowed him to assign each shopper a “pregnancy prediction” score. More important, he could also estimate her due date to within a small window, so Target could send coupons timed to very specific stages of her pregnancy!

This is one example; Take a fictional Target shopper, who is 23, lives in Atlanta and in March bought cocoa-butter lotion, a purse large enough to double as a diaper bag, zinc and magnesium supplements and a bright blue rug!
Then there is apparently, an 87 percent chance that she’s pregnant and that her delivery date is sometime in late August!

And is she buys a pink rug it may perhaps be a girl!

In the novel the Blue Nowhere by Jeffery Deaver; every customers buying patterns are analyzed and one such person who had suicidal thoughts or tendencies started receiving mails about cremation and end of life support and how to make wills! Your computer understood your emotions even before your own family and friends!

The most shocking part of all these? The news article came in 2012! That is more than ten years ago! You cannot even imagine what the AI can ‘predict’ now! Then again AI actually could not predict why Katapappa Killed Bahubali in the first part! So some AI respite!

By the way, my watch has already told me to start winding up for the day! That AI for you!

Shubh Ratri!

These are Bi polar but they are safe! More or less! They are never alone! You would always have two!

Then you have a temple which used them to levitate an idol like magic!

If you have this personality then you can ‘attract’ fans!

It is usually dark and mostly black! But may not be tall and handsome!

They are naturally seen but can be created using electricity!

Ok ok! They are Magnets!

How magnets used to attract those little iron beads or pieces were like magic! The breaking of the small motor in the toy was both bad and good news! Bad that the toy is broken but good in that we could not take the magnet inside apart and play with that instead!

Like mentioned above Magnets always have two poles even if you cut them in half!
Magnetic monopoles do not exist as far as we know and we do know a lot courtesy Google!

Magnets will always have two poles, a magnetic north and a magnetic south! So in a way magnets are bi-polar! Now you may think that the cricketer or the movie star has a strong or magnetic personality but in nature the most powerful magnet in the universe is actually a star called a magnetar!

These are stars that have died off and had a supernova explosion. If you have nightmares over the strong magnets seen in the MRI machine then this is literally blow your mind!

The magnetars are what is left over, and they are strong enough to destroy small planets if they get close enough. Luckily though, earth is not that close to any Magnetar!

Then you have this amazing levitation technique used in one temple by which the idol was magically floating in the air!

The Konark Sun Temple in India is the temple to have used magnets to make the Sun God’s idol appear to float without physical support. Legend suggests a powerful magnet was placed at the top of the inner sanctum, possibly along with other magnets, to create a levitating effect for the iron idol!

Method: A large magnet was placed on top of the inner sanctum, while smaller magnets were positioned in the corners, creating a magnetic field that held the idol. The statue of the Sun God, which was most probably made of iron of great quality, was designed to hang in the air!

This “magical” phenomenon is a well-known story associated with the temple.
The technology behind this magnetic levitation is considered lost. Some versions of the legend mention the magnets being stolen, contributing to the mystery and allure of the temple!

Before it was destroyed people were amazed at the fact that the idol was floating in mid air without any support!
A classic example of the amazing skill of the Indian artisans and metallurgists at a time when even many parts of the world did not even have proper civilization!

Then again evolution has made the human the most intelligent but is he or her the best !? Well best species is only that who can protect other species by his or her intelligence!

Celebrating world animal day by a quick sketch of a mighty bird!

Shubh ratri!

Do you want to know something? Just ask my Butler!

The novel by Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro called the remains of the day has this lead character and narrator who has a common link with Bruce Wayne aka Batman, Lara Croft, Iron man, Tintin and Artemis Fowl by his profession!

Well not superheroes or famous characters but all of them had in their service a Butler!

Now before Alfred who is the Butler to Bruce, the most famous Butler in English literature was Jeeves! Before reading adventures of Jeeves; I had a misconception that a Butler is just a servant. He is apparently that and much more!

A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry!
He is usually male and in charge of male servants while a housekeeper is usually a woman and in charge of female servants! 

But even in more popular culture we meet butlers who seem simply as those born to serve. Now Alfred Pennyworth has the surname Pennyworth which seems significant in that butlers are generally only ever allowed a pennyworth of their opinions!

During the Victorian era, the number of butlers and other domestic servants greatly increased in various countries!

By this time he was in charge of the more modern wine cellar, the “buttery” or pantry (from French pain from Latin panis, bread) as it came to be called, which supplied bread, butter, cheese, and other basic provisions, and the ewery, which contained napkins and basins for washing and shaving!

In the very grandest households there was sometimes an Estate Steward or other senior steward who oversaw the butler and his duties!

There were some butlers who were very well read and knowledgeable so much so that rich people used to show them off! Like how we ask Google or Alexa or Siri!
Many even had lots of inner knowledge about politics and matters related to the country and the inner working of the leaders! They were the ones with inner knowledge and secrets! Not to mention the latest news!

In fact the very fact that Butlers know the answer to any question is the reason why one of the first search engines was named after Jeeves the Butler aka Ask Jeeves!

Now of course the closest person to the butler in the current generation may be the house maid who may tell you the latest gossip of your neighbor! For everything else you can still stick to Google!

Then again just Google Karnan and Shivaji Ganeshan and you can see one of the best depiction of the daan veer!

Shubh ratri…

Do you know what is Subconscious virtuosity?

Two novels underscore this point! The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and The Key to Mastery by Robert Greene.

It is basically a part and parcel of your skill! Every driver and most professional is blessed with it!

This is the reason why you always look for experienced drivers or doctors or surgeons! Why you always like to listen to those who have sung many songs and take advice from those with the ‘numbers!’

The term as such refers to the state of effortlessly performing complex skills with mastery and grace, seemingly without conscious thought.

This happens when a person has practiced a skill so extensively that it moves from the conscious mind to the subconscious, allowing for quick, fluid, and intuitive action! Now driving is a skill which most get very quick, but to get lightning reflex on how to apply brakes suddenly or steer in the right direction comes like a reflex and this has to happen subconsciously! Even before you think!

Now for a skill to become a form of subconscious virtuosity, it moves through several phases:

The first is the conscious effort which is taken when first learning a new skill. Here the  person must use their conscious mind to focus intently on each step. The brain’s neural pathways for this task are new and inefficient, requiring significant mental effort.

The next step is the most important! Repetition and practice! With enough practice, the subconscious mind learns to perform the task automatically. Repetitive action and thought strengthens the neural pathways in the brain.

Finally you move on to the level of Automatic processing! In this level the skill becomes a habit controlled by the subconscious, which operates much faster and handles a much higher volume of information than the conscious mind. This allows the conscious mind to focus on other aspects of the performance, such as expressing musical emotion or adapting to new variables!

Of course you do have day to day examples but there are some who are exceptional in this!

Like a musician playing a complex piece! A virtuoso musician can execute thousands of notes with flawless technique while consciously focusing on the musical narrative and emotional expression, not on the individual finger movements! You can literally see the fingers flying!

An elite athlete in competition like a gymnast, can perform an intricate routine with apparent effortlessness because their subconscious is handling the countless micro-adjustments needed for balance and movement.

There are many such examples and all you need to realize is that the best way to get the automatism is Practice!

You must consistently program your subconscious mind through disciplined practice.

You can also use empowering self-talk to align your subconscious beliefs with your conscious goals. This can help break down mental barriers that might hold you back and finally all this would only happen with a calm mind which can be achieved by Mindfulness and meditation.


In the Novel Mastery by Robert Greene; the author also tells us the power of Visualization!

Here you must mentally rehearse your performance or desired outcome or goals!  Visualization reinforces neural pathways and prepares your subconscious to act instinctively!

In the same novel he talks about the amazing work done by Dame Valerie Jane Morris Goodall!

She will be missed…

But you had an amazing life! Take a bow….

Heart felt condolences

Om Shanthi…

As the old adage goes; old habits die hard!

No matter what you do; a bit or it remains!

There is an interesting book on habits by Charles Duhigg.

One habit which we all are guilty of is absolutely unnecessary but we do it anyway!

Now everyone brushes his or her teeth! The freshness and the minty feeling you get makes you feel nice and have a sense of achievement!

But that is just an LED light on a meter which serves no function!

Charles Duhigg’s states that the tingle on the tongue produced by the toothpaste is the reward you expect when you brush your teeth!

That’s either due to mint or other pungent substance! And the fact of the matter is that it’s totally unnecessary to clean your teeth!

But it’s a habit! And habit can be good or bad!

In fact Duhigg describes willpower as a “muscle” that can get fatigued with overuse but can also be strengthened through practice.

Now since habits are some things which gets embedded in our life and are really difficult to get rid of it is always better to form good ones! These habits which have a positive effect on your life are called the Keystone habits!

Keystone habits have a ripple effect that can transform other areas of your life!

There are some Keystone habits which you can form and try in your house or office!

The first and foremost is Exercise!  People who regularly exercise tend to eat healthier, have more energy, and are more productive at work. The discipline required for a consistent workout routine can influence other positive behaviors, such as better sleep and reduced stress!

One of the best things you can do when you get up is MAKE YOUR BED! This small task sets a tone of rigor and discipline for the day. According to Duhigg, it’s correlated with a greater sense of well-being and increased productivity!

Then you must make notes or write what you want to do or just pen down your thoughts on a note or like I do; Google Keep! This daily planning and journaling is actually taking time to plan your day and this helps you organize your thoughts, focus on priorities, and reflect on your goals. This can lead to greater self-awareness and improved decision-making!

Another great habit you can have is Eating together as a family!
This simple habit can strengthen relationships, encourage mindful eating, and create space for meaningful conversations!

Mindful meditation can also lead to reduced stress, improved focus, and greater emotional resilience, which enhances productivity and relationships.

Even for organizations there are some Keystone habits like Focusing on safety: At the manufacturing company Alcoa, CEO Paul O’Neill made employee safety his top priority. This single keystone habit forced a change in communication, led to more efficient work processes, and ultimately improved the company’s financial performance!

Another habit is developing a “customer-first” mindset: For a customer service team, this habit can lead to better problem-solving, improved customer retention, and stronger brand loyalty.

Now this is a habit which many may not like if done frequently but weekly team meetings are good! They should be done once in a while and you must be serious about it! Holding consistent meetings can increase accountability, boost team alignment, and improve overall operational efficiency!

Remember that it takes a little time to form a habit but a life time to get rid of it! So form good ones so that you do not have to get rid of it even a bit! Like listening to good music! Maybe from a legend like Sachin Dev Burman!

Now get the habit of early to bed!

SHubh ratri!

All over the world and social media everyone talks about Dopamine and dopamine detox!

Then you have Dan Brown who puts that down and goes for the king!

The novel secret of Secrets takes on GABA!

The chemical has been told to have some amazing properties! The proper amount is the key!

Apparently GABA is the brake which is always making our brain to be held within its constraints! Once the break is over or removed then the brain is free!

Apparently this is why children are so receptive to change and learn so much! It is all a play of the GABA!

Research on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in children reveals they are not static but are intricately involved in brain development, with distinct functional differences compared to adult brains. The role of GABA shifts from being excitatory in the very early brain to primarily inhibitory later on, which is critical for proper neural circuit formation.

Now in the early embryonic and early postnatal brain, GABA acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter. It influences crucial processes like the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neurons.

Then you have the “GABA switch” when from GABA being excitatory becomes inhibitory. This shift is governed by changes in the levels of chloride-transporting proteins. The proper timing of this switch is crucial for healthy development, and disruptions have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Studies have shown that children exhibit more dynamic GABA activity than adults, allowing them to stabilize learning more quickly. Research found that children experience a rapid boost in GABA concentrations during visual learning, which helps stabilize new skills, a phenomenon not observed in adults.

In adults GABA is well-known for its role in controlling anxiety, fear, and stress, which are often factors that interfere with sleep. But it is primarily inhibitory! According to Dan it is seen that in some situations the levels becomes so low that the full power of the brain is unleashed!

If you have a super power or super person inside you, then maybe it is the GABA which is holding you back! Then again the novel was fiction!

So read all  novel related documents carefully before kicking the GABA out!

Then again if you want a kick then simply listen to an amazing number by Shaan!

Shubh ratri!

There’s a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear.
The crux of the book is to instill small changes which lead on to big impacts in your life! But that is not the discussion here!

In the novel he describes an experiment.

One person is asked which line is short or long!

Now among the two lines the participant could easily tell which line is long or short! But this is where it gets interesting!

He is now made to sit with a team and everyone is asked the same question! Everyone give the wrong answer!

Unknown to him the other participants in the study were actors! They all told the wrong answer purposefully!

Now if the participant is really strong and sure he or she normally used to stick to his ‘correct’ answer to an extent!

This was seen to be dependent on the number of participants!

If the participants number is less then the person sticks to his or her answer!

As the number of actors increases and they all tell the wrong answer, the person finally goes with the crowd albeit reluctantly! He or she knows that his or her answer is correct and everyone else is wrong but then the overwhelming majority makes it difficult!

This is called the crowd mentality!

You would rather be wrong with the crowd or be right and alone!

Crowd mentality, also known as herd mentality or mob mentality, is actually a psychological phenomenon where individuals in a group are influenced to conform to the majority’s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, often at the expense of their own individual judgment.

This collective behavior, which can range from harmless to dangerous, leads individuals to act differently than they would alone, influencing everything from financial markets and social media trends to crowd control and even destructive mob behavior!

With the recent advent of social media and the whole new generation which believes in ‘more is right’; the trend is very disturbing!

They chief aspects are that the individuals tend to adopt the opinions and actions of the group to fit in or because they are unsure of the correct way to behave!

In fact emotions, attitudes, and behaviors can spread rapidly through a crowd, creating a sense of urgency or panic!

People have been seen to adopt trending ideas, challenges, or opinions seen online because others are doing it! This explains the latest iPhone buying sensation or to get that Stanley bottle!

Even in financial markets, investors may buy or sell stocks based on the perceived sentiment of the crowd rather than fundamental value, a phenomenon called herd behavior in finance!

In fact understanding crowd mentality is crucial for managing large public events and preventing dangerous situations like panic during emergencies or during a mob!

This is particularly important since groups of people can engage in actions within a crowd that they would not attempt individually, sometimes leading to destructive mob behavior.

So remember that just because everyone is doing a thing DOES NOT make it right! You can still stick to the correct norm! Do not be a part of the crowd! Stand out and be brave and proud about it!

Like the story writer Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad! He wrote bahubali and RRR and eega! His son also stands out and doesn’t follow the crowd! Rajamouli!

Now follow the crowd and sleep! Or not!

Shubh ratri!

This is probably one of the most famous coffee place in the world and the logo is so familiar that you can instantly recognize it!

But Robert Langdon does not like it because with such a large presence and repute; they have an incorrect logo according to him!

You can find this outlet all over the world and their style of putting your name on your cup and calling it out is so popular!

Many people use that name calling (literally!) for fun!

Yes! Starbucks! Now you all may remember seeing the logo! Looks like the face of the statue of liberty and then some! It is one of the most recognizable logos in the world! At least by those who like to post snaps in the social media stating that they had been to this place!

But the biggest twist is not the frappe chino but the fact that the Logo was supposed to be a Mermaid! But it is not!

Now mermaids are mythical aquatic creatures, usually depicted with the head and upper body of a human and the tail of a fish! They are warm and kind and like Ariel very innocent!

They like to help sailors and normally do not cause any harm to them!

The logo actually looks like a mermaid! The good one and the helpful one! But you can see a slight difference! A mermaid apparently has only one tail! The ‘mermaid’ in the logo has two tails!

Now that is danger!

It is not a mermaid but a SIREN!

In Greek mythology, sirens are depicted as female beings, often described as part-bird, or part fish with alluring voices!

The danger was that their captivating songs lured sailors to crash their ships onto rocky shores, leading to their destruction!

In the epic poem of Odysseus there is a mention of Odysseus and his crew encountering sirens. Odysseus had his sailors stuff their ears with wax to block the sound, and he himself was tied to the mast of his ship so he wouldn’t be tempted to steer towards the rocks!

Apparently once you get drawn towards them you cannot escape! Many actually feel like that when they have a Starbucks coffee! Alright then! 
Maybe the logo is correct after all! What say Dan Brown!?

Luckily I do not mind a filter coffee once in a while but have never developed a taste for the Starbucks!

I have wondered how anyone could even drink that huge cup! Even filter coffee has its limits! I usually take the flat white and throw it after drinking a little more than half!

That is a big waste of star and bucks! A big legend though is Lata di! I would not mind her song instead of a mocha! My favorite is Sri Ram Chandra krupalu bhagawana for obvious reasons!

Now drink warm water and certainly not coffee and sleep!

Shubh ratri!

You are at a buffet and you see the dessert section and all you want to do is stop everything and gobble them up!

Blame your ancestors! Since they used to get sweet only once in a very rare while like a sweet fruit; they used to simply rush and finish it as soon as possible!

Old (read ancient habits!) die hard!

But did you know the part which is first and most affected by your sugar load is the one which at one point in time was thought to be great if it was black in color!


Of course the thing which is normally white in all the races!

Not your beautiful soul but your teeth!

What’s the first thing most people do when they get up!? Let’s not talk about checking the phone for now! But it’s usually brushing your teeth!

You know in 1900s, no one used to brush their teeth so routinely! Then a brilliant campaigner Claude Hopkins after going through boring dental books told how the dental film which you can feel with your tongue is bad!
And that Pepsodent will take care of it! Voila! It soon became a habit!

But it took time for even to reach that state!

Apparently the so called ‘civilized’ people had their queen with teeth as black as the hair! Also it was considered beautiful!

During the Renaissance, people increasingly began to understand the role that oral hygiene played in their health. However, it still took some time for this knowledge to spread across all cultures. A bright white smile was not always a sign of health and prosperity. It actually showed that you could not afford costly treats! Read ‘Sweets’!

In fact at the time of Queen Elizabeth I, it was considered fashionable in Great Britain to have one’s teeth blacked. The reason for this trend was the Queen’s fondness for highly sugary treats. In combination with the very limited knowledge of dental care and oral hygiene at the time, this led to jet-black royal teeth – which the people took as an aesthetic model for a while!

So the richer you are, more black was your teeth! That was the situation in the apparent civilized country while even in the most remote parts of other countries; people used the stick of trees such as neem to brush their teeth and have white and healthy ones!

Now imagine that you saw a comedy scene starring Nagesh and show your white ones!

Now brush your teeth one more time and sleep!

Shubh ratri!