ramadocblog

We were doing street shopping in an art lane of Paris called the Montmartre! All right! Not much shopping but load of snooping!

If you thought you are an artist and that too of a good caliber then this may be a humbling experience for you!

The oldest bloke to the young artist here would sketch masterpiece after masterpiece!

Each and every stroke of brush creates a beauty which would make even Van Gogh proud and keep his ear for a change!

The street begins with a dedication to Van Gogh says a lot!

Plus the range of art is simply amazing! You have a set of profile makers to caricature artists to portrait makers! Then you have a bunch of them with modern art and then another bunch with different variants of the classics like the Mona Lisa or the scream!

Then you have the modern artists with the modern monuments which in Paris is the Eiffel tower with its grandeur in different viewpoints not from the tower but from the point of view of the artist!

Then you have those who are not even in the art lane but in some side street with quick sketch of your profile of simply a landmark of Paris as seen from the side! These sketches are actually the ones who were not deemed ‘worthy’ of the art street can make you question your own artistic talent!

Be it water color or oil pastels or even a stroke with nothing but a piece of chalk, or a crayon or even coal! I saw an old man with shaky fingers sketch a girl looking at him in green crayon while standing on a side street in less than five minutes!

Then again art is art! The best part of art is that it is an expression! It does not have to be the best if you can show what you want to see! While some would simply love a rough profile, many would even find flaws on a hyper realistic sketch!

In the end, all any art needs is an audience who appreciates the effort! Who sees the moon and does not see the spots!

Another quick sketch and blog after a busy day of travel in honour of another ‘artist’ Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar or A V Meiyappan!

Try to be positive at least in France mon amour!

Shubh ratri!

Many times you want a do over! Just like a game! Life must have more than one life and a do over! You can start from the start!

You make a mistake in a level and then you go back and correct it as soon as possible!

The only way actually this will be possible is by Time travel!

But do remember that Time travel is not a simple thing because of something called the Grand father paradox or the fact that you MUST in no way meet your older self!

A consistent factor in most time travelling situations except maybe in TENET; is that you must not meet yourself of the past!

Another great paradox if called the temporal paradox!

A temporal paradox, time paradox, or time travel paradox, is an apparent or actual contradiction associated with the idea of time travel or other foreknowledge of the future. Temporal paradoxes arise from circumstances involving hypothetical time travel to the past. They are often employed to demonstrate the impossibility of time travel. Temporal paradoxes fall into three broad groups: bootstrap paradoxes, consistency paradoxes, and free will causality paradoxes exemplified by the Newcomb paradox!

Now the other paradoxes are little complex for my small brain but I am particularly interested in the Grandfather paradox!


It is also called the consistency paradox and this occurs when the past is changed in any way.

The paradox of changing the past stems from modal logic: if it is necessarily true that the past happened in a certain way, then it is false and impossible for the past to have occurred in any other way, so any change to the past would be a paradox.

So effectively a Consistency paradoxes occur whenever any change to the past is possible.

A common example given is a time traveler killing their grandfather before their parents’ conception, thus preventing the conception of themselves. If the traveler were not born, they could not kill their grandfather; therefore, the grandfather proceeds to beget the traveler’s ancestor who begets the traveler.

This scenario is self-contradictory. One proposed resolution for this paradox is that a time traveler can do anything that did happen, but cannot do anything that did not happen.

Another variant of the grandfather paradox is the “Hitler paradox” or “Hitler’s murder paradox”, in which the protagonist travels back in time to murder Adolf Hitler before he can rise to power in Germany, thus preventing World War II and the Holocaust. Rather than necessarily physically preventing time travel, the action removes any reason for the travel, along with any knowledge that the reason ever existed!

Physicist John Garrison et al. give a variation of the paradox of an electronic circuit that sends a signal through a time machine to shut itself off, and receives the signal before it sends it!

Paradox or paradoxical is actually when all this makes it very confusing! You can’t even laugh! Of course if you do want to laugh then check out the spontaneous humor of Mandar Chandwadkar!

A quick blog and sketch during a cross country and cross continent travel!

Shubh ratri!

One of the most common decisions we face while driving is the dreaded yellow or orange light! The indecision here is not the color by the way!

Did you know that the same indecision has been studied and faced by a Donkey!

Now the paradox called Buridan’s ass!

And no! The donkey’s name is not Buridan!

Buridan’s ass is an illustration of a paradox in philosophy in the conception of free will. It refers to a hypothetical situation wherein an ass that is equally hungry and thirsty is placed precisely midway between a stack of hay and a pail of water.

The donkey will always go to whichever is closer, it dies of both hunger and thirst since it cannot make any rational decision between the hay and water if the supposed distance between them is the same!

The paradox is named after the 14th-century French philosopher Jean Buridan. Other philosophers have also discussed the concept before him, notably Aristotle, who put forward the example of a man equally hungry and thirsty!

If you thought that only the ass is indecisive then you are mistaken! We are also like the ass many times!

There are some experiments and examples!

In a study called the the Jam Study when presented with either 6 or 24 varieties of jam, customers were more likely to approach the table with 24 options. However, they were also more likely to actually purchase a jar of jam when presented with only 6 options. This highlights how an abundance of choices can lead to indecision and ultimately inaction, even when the desired outcome is to make a purchase!

Another dilemma which we face day to day as told above is the traffic light dilemma!

This case happens when a driver hesitates at a yellow light, unsure whether to stop or proceed. The driver might waffle between the two options, ultimately making a decision by either slamming on the brakes thus risking a hit on the back or speeding through the intersection, potentially running a red light risking a hefty fine! Which is why the best situation is either red or green!

There are several other examples like people trying to improve their fitness might be torn between joining a gym or going for a run, and indecision could lead to them doing neither which is the case most of the time!

It can be also as simple as washing your ass or ‘bottom’ this time! The environmentally conscious is torn between saving water or saving paper! Let us just hope that he or she makes the decision on time!

Now if you thought it can happen only to living things well, you are wrong! There is something called the Metastability in Digital Electronics!

Now metastability is a state where a circuit cannot decide between two states, similar to Buridan’s ass. This can lead to errors if the circuit spends too long in this undefined state!

Then again there is no indecision when it comes to wishing and being proud of those who protect our nation!

Like our dear war veterans! One of them is Captain Vikram Batra PVC! A big salute to him and others on the Kargil divas! We are so proud of you!

Jai Hind!

Do you know who are ‘white knucklers’ and ‘dark copers’?

Not much to do with knuckles or anything racist so do not worry!

Have you watched series like the walking dead or some movie like the Conjuring series!

If you have and want to watch more then either you are crazy or well, very crazy!

Or not!

Apparently that is a thing!

Why do some people (like me!) like to watch horror movies and get scared only to do it again!

According to research It is a combination of an adrenaline rush and an opportunity to learn about dealing with scary situations in a safe environment!

The first types are called “adrenaline junkies,” while the other two are the “white knucklers” and “dark copers. For white knucklers and dark copers, feeling fear for fun is more about self-learning and self-efficacy.

White knucklers try to “lean out” of the experience by trying to find the situation funny or lessening their exposure to the scary stimuli. While Dark copers seem to use scary media to help them deal with anxieties about the world or their own lives by focusing on a more concrete threat!

These fans are drawn to the experience of fear itself, using it as a way to confront and understand their own reactions and develop resilience. They often report learning and personal growth from engaging with horror!

This group uses horror as a coping mechanism for managing negative emotions, particularly anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed. They find a sense of control and comfort in the controlled environment of horror experiences, allowing them to process difficult emotions related to real-life situations.

Essentially, while both types of fans find enjoyment in horror, they do so for different reasons and with different outcomes. Research from Psychology Today suggests that these differing motivations and experiences highlight the diverse ways people engage with and benefit from horror as a recreational activity!

Now we may not know many white knucklers or Dark Copers but I am sure Krishnan Madhavan Nair used to do stunts who can raise your adrenaline! You may know him as Jayan!

now stop watching Squid game and sleep peacefully!

Shubh Ratri!

This particular individual can hold grudges for more than 17 years! Even if he or she dies, they will make sure the enmity remains! His or her friends will continue the revenge!

Sounds like the screenplay of a movie made with low budget but with big stars!?

By the way these individuals are so clever that they can plan for the future!

In some customs if you see one then it is no fun! But if you see a pair then you are happy to be there!

Ok ok! Before you start holding a grudge lemme tell you that the ‘individual’ is a crow!

In the movie Sherlock Holmes or even the movie ‘Birds’ and in fact in most movies, seeing a crow is a bad omen! Even a group of them is a scary proposition!

We have often been warned as kids to not to go to the terrace alone since the crow would attack! “Kakai kuthum!” is what my mother used to say!

And boy do they attack! They come like drones or missiles out of nowhere and you have to run!

Nowadays we do not see much crows! Forget seeing a couple!

But if you do see one, make sure that you show mutual respect! Your one act of maybe throwing a stone or disturbing its eggs may make you get on to its enemy list! And Sheldon may forget, but the crow does not!

It is known that are known to hold grudges and potentially seek revenge. Studies have shown that crows can remember individuals who have harmed them, and they may even communicate this information to other crows, leading to a collective form of “revenge”. Crows can remember faces and associate them with negative experiences for extended periods, possibly up to 17 years!

In case you are thinking the term ‘bird brain’ then maybe you are thinking enough or you are actually one!

Remember the story of the thirsty crow!? That is not just a fable! It is the BIOGRAPHY of an average crow!

Crows are highly intelligent and possess remarkable facial recognition abilities.
Grudge holding is their forte! They can remember individuals who have treated them poorly, even after a long time. They can even communicate with each other, potentially warning others about individuals who are dangerous or have caused them harm!

In fact this communication and collective behavior like a mob can lead to collective mobbing behavior or other forms of negative interaction with the perceived aggressor! in fact they are literally the BLACK MAFIA!

If you thought the house fly in Rajamouli’s movie can plan his revenge then you do not know that facts are stranger than fiction! Crows can create and utilize tools to obtain food, including making hooks from wire!

They have been known to solve complex puzzles, like raising water levels in a container by dropping stones into it. Aesop was just an observer!

They can learn to drop nuts on roads to be cracked by passing cars and then retrieve them! In fact in many junctions they wait for the red signal to drop the nuts and pick them up! Cannot blame them if they have pedestrian sense! If you think Count of Monte Christo was a revenge story of wait and strike; well the crow can plan for the future, selecting the right tool for a task even after a delay!

The next time you see a crow; just consider yourself lucky! Do not make any eye contact and simply move on!
Remember that the crow will remember!
We also will fondly remember Dheeraj Kochar aka Dheeraj Kumar for his fluid acting! He will be missed…

OM SHANTHI

Have you heard of the “Norfolk Four”?

One of the greatest examples of justice denied and how DNA examination finally came to rescue!

Framed is one of the latest book co written by John Grisham which is his first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man. John teams up with Jim McCloskey who is known as the godfather of the innocence movement

Our whole justice system is actually there so that even if a hundred guilty escape the law; no innocent must be punished! Unfortunately power, money and many people who are supposed to protect and upheld law make sure that the prisons all over the world have prisoners who are actually innocent!

There are several cases like that but Framed has taken ten!

Each and every story would make you question the whole justice and legal system and scratch your head in disbelief!

One of the top places goes to the Norfolk Four! When they could not get one guilty to convict, they convicted and put cases against four! This when the Guilty party later on confessed!

In 1997, Michelle Moore-Bosko was found murdered and raped in her Norfolk apartment. Four sailors, Derek Tice, Danial Williams, Joseph Dick, and Eric Wilson, were initially arrested and confessed to the crime. So far so good!

Well it is not so!

You must read the novel to get the whole detail but the summary is this.

The men later claimed their confessions were coerced through aggressive and misleading interrogation tactics used by Norfolk Police detectives. These tactics included threatening the death penalty, falsely claiming witness testimony, and using deceptive interrogation techniques. This when even the lie detector test was in their favor!

The case highlighted the dangers of false confessions and the need for reforms in interrogation practices. The true perpetrator, Omar Ballard, was later identified through DNA evidence and convicted!

In 2017, after years of appeals, the Norfolk Four were granted absolute pardons by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, officially clearing their names.
By the way, did you know what the Judge said while delivering the verdict?

“no sane person could find them guilty”.

The Norfolk Four received a combined settlement of $4.9 million from the City of Norfolk and $3.5 million from the Commonwealth of Virginia for their wrongful convictions. A pittance considering that they lost their life and reputation. One of them was actually with his terminally ill wife during the said night! She later died alone while he was falsely imprisoned and not allowed to see her.

Sad sad state of affair managed by the most intelligent species on the Earth!
The Norfolk Four is a grim reminder on the failure of the justice system…

A reminder of fair talent distribution though is the multi talented national award winner Mohan Agashe!

Just hoping that no one has to see a court or prison in his or her life…

Shubh ratri…

‘The one thing’ is by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan is one of the best sellers in the ocean of best sellers in the self help section!

But (a blog without a but is not a blog at all!); the chief aim it tends to portray is really interesting!

There was this big conference going on and one of the most experienced surgeons was placing the microscopic piston on the microscopic hole! It was a tense moment! The whole audience was silent and holding their breath!
Then one of the eager beavers from the audience started to ask a question! The Chief immediately shut him down saying, “You must know when to ask a question!”
The crux here is that no one can do many things or even two things at a time! Especially when both are important!

Human beings like to multi task just like computers which is a big hoax according to this book!

Apparently even the computer known for multitasking can only write one code at a time! It can of course do lots of processes but the doing multiple tasks is difficult even for a computer at the same time!

It is like how you speak and drive! You think that it does not matter but in the book it has been said that speaking on the phone or texting and driving is similar to drinking and driving! You can never give full attention! And this is a task which needs your full attention!

It is the same with the lists apparently! You simply cannot do all the work at the same time!

The priciple of the book is that you can do only ONE THING at a time with full attention! Only after you complete that can you give your full attention to another!

The book states that they studied people who were known to multitask! It was found that though they are doing lot of work at the same time; they are apparently doing mediocre multiple work rather that doing a good single work!


The book cites Clifford Nass, a professor a Stanford University, who set out to study multitaskers as he realized he did not possess the skill. “I was sure they had some secret ability,” he said, but at the end of the study, multitaskers “were outperformed on every measure. Although they’d convinced themselves and the world that they were great at it, there was just one problem… multitaskers were just lousy at everything.”

“The truth is multitasking is neither efficient nor effective.”

There are a million pages apparently on Multitasking! This means that there are guides and videos and even books on how to multitask! If you can multitask then I will give you a simple exercise!

Count from one to seven!

Now tell all the colors of the rainbow in order!

All ok for now!?

Now alternatively tell one number and one color in order!

Saw how the mighty multitasker falls!?

Of course this does not mean that you must not do lots of different work! Take lots of work, then select the top thing to do! And only after you finish that must you move on to the next thing!

Hope now you understand how when you are speaking to your spouse and he or she is texting on the phone; she or he just nods along! Believe me! He or she has not heard or understood a word you said!

Now that is definitely not funny! Funny though is the movie Pyar Kiye ja or Kadalikka nerammillai directed by Chithamur Vijayaraghavalu Sridhar!

Now do the only task which you are best in! Sleep!

Shubh ratri!

Recently we were watching this amazing series starring Pankaj Tripathi called the Criminal Justice in which they show the poor police trying to find the murder weapon (in this case a surgeon’s scalpel!) which is thrown along with garbage!

When they showed the mountain of waste we generate; it was mind boggling!

At some point in the near future the best minds have to start thinking of the greatest problem mankind would face! GARBAGE!

Raccoons are well known for their affinity for garbage but in reality humans stand out as the trashiest animals on Earth. The average person produced 4.9 pounds of trash a day and globally we produce 4.5 trillion pounds per year!

Now as normal humans, when the trash is too much you put it on your neighbor’s yard! Till he or she does the same and you end up with your waste!
Everyday I am shocked at the amount of Garbage we generate! Even the cleanest and swankiest place in the world has to generate Garbage! Just because they hide it well does not mean that it does not exist!

It is like how even the most beautiful looking building or a palace would  have a dirty basement!

The global waste problem is a significant and escalating issue, with billions of tons of waste generated annually and a projected increase in the coming decades. This waste has serious environmental, health, and economic consequences, including pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and strain on resources.

The world generates over 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste each year!

Plastic waste is a major contributor to ocean pollution, harming marine life. While improper waste management can lead to the spread of diseases! Then you have the poor people who scavenge through waste can be exposed to hazardous materials.

Not to mention the effect of garbage on air water and even tourism!

If you want a Nobel Prize or at least want to do something Noble then you must invest your time and energy in solving the Garbage crisis!

Now of course measures like reducing the amount of waste generated through conscious consumption and sustainable practices is crucial. We can also expand recycling programs and promoting reuse which can divert waste from landfills.

In fact the proper use of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence must not be for war! But for sorting recyclables!

Some bright person with ‘street’ sense may suggest the ‘lets put the thrash on the neighbor’s yard!’ In this case, maybe take the thrash and ‘shift’ or ‘throw’ it on to the space or maybe even the poor moon!

But it is not possible! Not to mention that it is highly offensive in all sense!

Sending all of Earth’s garbage into space is prohibitively expensive. Estimates suggest it would cost trillions of dollars annually, and the technology to do so on such a massive scale doesn’t currently exist!

Launching even a portion of our waste into orbit would be incredibly costly, with estimates ranging from £20,000 to £40,000 per kilogram for near-Earth orbit!

The cost of transporting the 300 million tons of plastic waste produced globally each year, for example, is estimated to be at least £6,000 trillion annually!
Even Apple cannot think of this and apparently they think of everything (ten years after Android thinks of it though!).

Humanity’s current space-faring capabilities are insufficient to handle the volume of waste produced. There simply aren’t enough rockets or launch facilities to manage such a large quantity of garbage!

Even if the cost and technology were available, the sheer volume of waste would make it a logistical nightmare. It would be far more efficient to focus on reducing waste generation and improving recycling and waste management practices on Earth!

In short; try to create less waste, dispose of them properly and invest more time and energy in future tech on garbage disposal! Just make sure that the Prize you get for efficient management of waste is recyclable! 

Efficiency and not waste though is the acting by Aditya Srivastava!

Now throw the thrash and sleep!

Shubh ratri…

The thrill of watching a 3 d movie further accentuated when you hear words like 4d  or 7d! In these movies, in addition to the 3d effect you also have water or wind blowing to your body and you are in a chair which gets lifted along with the characters of the movie!

So when you hear the words like 7D movie, also known as 7D cinema or 7D theater, you must realize that it is an interactive movie experience that combines 3D visuals with physical effects like motion seats, wind, water, and even smells!

It often includes interactive elements like shooting targets with guns, making it similar to an immersive game. You may have Motion Seats in which you have Seats that move, tilt, and vibrate to simulate the action on screen! Other effects like Wind, water (rain or mist), smoke, fog, lightning, and even scents are used to enhance the realism!

Whatever be the name though; most objects which occur in nature cannot be in any dimension other than 3! In fact no other dimension is actually seen! Not even one or two which may be just drawn on a piece of paper! Like a dot with one dimension theoretically and a line has two!

But the fact is that no object in nature can be truly one or two-dimensional. While we can conceptually represent objects as lines, surfaces, or even points, these are idealizations. In reality, all objects in our universe, even the smallest ones, have three spatial dimensions (length, width, and depth)!

In all these though there is a fourth dimension! But it is not the water jet to your face or the smell! The fourth dimension is the most important which joins physics with philosophy!

Now look at yourself now! If you think you are fat or thin  or the same (lucky you! and lying you!) then you are actually comparing yourself in 3d to a time when you were not like this!

Yes! The most important aspect of dimension here is one which does not wait for anyone! TIME!

So you can have a video or a photo of yourself and compare to the mirror (which usually does not lie!) and you are comparing using the fourth dimension of time!

Some genius (or crazy depending on your dimension or definition!) minds have actually postulated that there are more than 4 dimensions! Some say that it can be more than even 10 or 11!

This concept of more than four dimensions exists in some advanced physics theories. Some physics theories, such as string theory and M-theory, require the existence of extra spatial dimensions to be mathematically consistent. These extra dimensions are often proposed to be curled up or compactified at a very small scale, making them unobservable in our everyday experience.

The String theory typically requires 10 or 11 dimensions, depending on the specific formulation. These theories attempt to unify all fundamental forces of nature, including gravity, and may explain the weakness of gravity compared to other forces. Now while these extra dimensions are a core part of some theoretical frameworks, there is currently no direct experimental evidence to confirm their existence. Then again if extra dimensions do exist, they could have profound implications for our understanding of gravity, particle physics, and the overall structure of the universe!

Now do not get your mind go up in or tie up in knots since everyone including Penny knows that there are no knots in anything more than 4 dimensions!

Many dimensions and facets also are a personality trait of talented actor like Ravi Kishan!

Shubh ratri!

This was named after his own name and was just a time pass!

Then it became a world wide sensation!

You can play it on your phone or your computer and the best thing is that all you need is a basic knowledge of English!

It is also dependent on luck! In fact if you know too much then it is an issue since you will have too many options to choose when you have only 6!

If lucky you may finish it in less than a minute but on some days you may take more than 5! Most days you may get the word but some days you may not be lucky!

In fact getting it in the first or second attempt is rarest of the rare occasion unless you cheat!

The game was free for some time and now it has been taken over by a media chain though it still remains free! Just like you!

Without further ado, the game is WORDLE!

Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn, knew his partner loved word games, so he created a guessing game for just the two of them. As a play on his last name, he named it Wordle! He introduced this game to his family WhatsApp group and when it was a hit he released it online!

On Nov. 1, 90 people played and Just two months later, more than 300,000! Of course now it’s a worldwide phenomenon!

Wordle wizards should understand though that being good at this game doesn’t necessarily mean you’re smart! It demands both a decent vocabulary and a smattering of strategy.

The former is an indicator of crystallized intelligence, the latter of fluid intelligence! Also sometimes overthinking makes it hard so much so that kids get some words faster than many adults since they don’t analyze too much! Insertion of the first word also depends on your luck!

The best way to play is to get all or most of the vowels in and then hope for the best! You may remember the game Hangman and this is a variation of that but with more fun!

Now since it has become a worldwide phenomenon; the analysis is too much! Previously it was suggested that words like Adieu or Audio is the best strategy since you have included many vowels but now the most preferred first word is changed!

There have in fact been teams and sites dedicated to analyze and recommend the best first word!

The best starting word for Wordle is CRANE, according to Word Raiders analysis, as it considers all possible solutions. Tom’s Guide recommends STARE, as it incorporates common letters and maximizes information gathering!

Some also suggest using words like ROATE, RAISE, and SAUCY. Ultimately, the optimal starting word depends on your strategy and whether you prioritize ruling out letters or finding actual letters in the answer!

One of the most complicated situation in Wordle is when you have repeat of letters! That is the tricky part!

Word games like Wordle are fun! Then again you will think what is the point!
Well; Playing Wordle offers several benefits, including stress relief, social connection, and cognitive advantages like enhanced vocabulary, improved problem-solving skills, and increased mental agility!

The daily challenge also provides a sense of accomplishment and can be incorporated into a routine, boosting overall well-being! You can see how nice you may feel when you get the word! A sense of achievement however small may go a long way to pep you up!

A long way also could be the trajectory of Harrison Ford! Can’t believe he is over 80 years old now and still going strong!

Now finish your worldle soon and sleep!

Shubh ratri!