RAVI ,THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT EXPERT!!!
While on a tour of the Harvard campus I chanced to be invited to attend a free seminar by Philip Kotter the change management guru. I developed a passion for the subject after listening to the master .Thereafter I read all his books. When I returned to India I decided to bring about some change in my surroundings. Settled for some months in Chennai I once called people of my locality—R. K Salai—to a meeting to discuss how we could solve some civic problems that affected all of us. I found them cynical since all their earlier efforts had failed. But I resolved to work single-handedly.
· My first port of call was a street adjacent to where I live. This was a one- way street but few vehicle drivers bothered to follow the rule. Quite a few accidents had taken place injuring innocent people who did not expect a fast moving vehicle coming form the wrong direction. I spoke to the policemen standing thereabouts but they pleaded helplessness.
‘Who listens to us ?” they said despondently. But I had learnt that change is possible if you are persistent in your efforts. I did what no one had done earlier—I stood right in the disallowed entrance to that street for hours at a stretch and obstructed anyone from entering the wrong way. Some brushed past me, some abused me, some asked me if I had nothing else to do. I nevertheless stood my ground.
THEN CHANGE HAPPENED.
Motorists started driving into the wrong end of the street in reverse gear!! The policeman grinned at me.
· The second experience was when I noticed my locality was affected by frequent power outages. Repeated representations had no effect. My neighbours had even stopped worrying about this and had also forgotten the helpline number, I feretted out the number and pestered the clerk at the other end till he stopped answering the phone and even kept it off the hook. Then on one occasion I located the telephone number of the Electricity board chief. I started pestering him every time the power went off. It usually took me a dozen reminders to this august official before power was restored One night the power outage lasted seven hours during which time I rang him up twenty times till—I later gathered—the Chief had to himself stir out of his bed and supervise the repair operations. But the next time the light went off I saw something interesting
THEN CHANGE HAPPENED.
The Board Chief changed his mobile number!!
· I had made it my mission to change the dressing habits of an esteemed cousin of mine. I used to invite him to a café where I sang on the karaoke and was appreciated by the teenage crowd .The only eyesore was my cousin who used to show up clad in a veshti—that attire that I have an allergy to if worn outside one’s home. Repeated entreaties to him to show up at least in hep places in modern dress fell on deaf ears. I saw a golden opportunity for change when he was invited to the U.S for a 6 month sojourn by his sister. ‘At least after visiting the US I hope you will learn to dress smart’ I chided him.
‘Let’s see I may even set a new fashion trend in the US’ he said.
‘What do you mean?’ I enquired.
‘I may even walk down Broadway in a veshti and Hawaii chappal and set a new trend in fashion wear. If you are as smart as you think you are ,you can set up business as an exporter of veshtis to Victoria’s Secret and other hi- fashion stores.’
I almost gave up trying to change him
Six months later he returned to Chennai and rang me up excitedly about his adventures in the US.
‘Come to Geoffrey’s bar this evening’ I told him ‘I am singing to a group of Bollywood celebs. Who knows I may introduce you to SRK’
I settled before the microphone at the bar and was belting out a number when in walked my now modern cousin.
CHANGE HAPPENED.
He was dressed in a denim veshti!!
K.R.RAVI
WWW.KRRAVI.COM
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
TAMIL MUSIC HINDI MUSIC
WILL I SURVIVE THIS MUSICAL ASSAULT?
In the mid sixties my Tamilian parents decided they had enough of Bombay[now Mumbai] and took a shift to Madras[now Chennai] A month after we shifted here I was taken to a wedding of a close relative. As a13 year old I was intrigued at the proceedings .The ceremonies got over and the bride and groom were on their way out of the hall to a waiting rickety car to take them to their new home .I was eating an ice cream when all of a sudden I heard a very loud cry, enough to send anybody’s spine tingling in fear. I along with my parents ran towards the source of the sound and what should we see? The bride’s brother rolling on the floor, looking up and beating his breasts and crying loudly .‘Why are you leaving me my dearest sister?Why oh why’ he added, beating his breasts with redoubled vigour lest anyone miss his protestations of enduring love. I ,an innocent kid ,burst out into loud laughter only to be chided by my mother . ‘You Bombay wallas do not know what love means, what affection involves’ she scolded me in full view of the guests. To add insult to injury she sobbed and added ‘I am sure you will not weep when I die’. That was too much even by my infantile standards and I retreated to a far corner licking not only my bruised ego but also licking my ice cream!
· Film buffs will recall that iconic scene in the film
‘Nayakan’[DAYAVAN’in Hindi’] in which Kamalahasan ,now old and feeble comes down a staircase to see the badly mauled dead body of his son .A moment of silence later he erupts into a volcano of emotions that can be heartrending to some . This scene has been discussed at length in many film circles .There are two major schools of thought about this scene. One school—the Tamil school of film making—headed by Kamalahasan himself—feels that this scene was suited to the Tamil ethos .Kamal himself remarked that Tamilians are by nature loud in their demonstrations of emotion and he enacted that scene exactly the way a Tamilian would behave in real life .The other school—the North of the Vindhya school—felt that the scene was one of gross exaggeration , sheer melodrama.
I have been doing some research into this aspect of Tamil behaviour and have tentatively concluded that tamilians more than other communities—but not exclusively—tend to be loud even in casual conversation and tend to be far above national average in being demonstrative in their emotions .The manner in which several tamilians commit self immolation on the death of a political or cinematic leader speaks volumes. In cinema halls, bus stops and other public places one gets the impression that tamilians do not know how to talk in whispers. I doubt if tamil language has a word for ‘ whisper’. Indians as a race are noisy compared to many other nations and Tamilians are far above Indian average in decibel levels in any situation. I have coined a term for this tamilian loudness and high decibel expression of emotion .I call it the Shivaji Ganesan syndrome. I refer to the ‘ great’ actor on whom Kamalahasan has modeled himself whose ability to raise both his eyebrows and speak on a thunderous note for even the most casual of dialogues have few parallels in Indian cinema . While Dilip Kumar could send everyone’s heart fluttering merely by tracing a feather over Madhubala’s face Shivaji would launch into such an elaborate alliterative monologue on his intense love that the heroine would be left with no option but to concede defeat to the hero and agree to marry him if only to silence him! ‘Hoga Hoga Hoga’ she would say in Tamil to the utter delight of Shivaji the hero and his fans and utter relief to me as a viewer.
I recalled these ideas when I attended last night a musical evening titled BLACK AND WHITE at an auditorium in Chennai. The organizers promised melody of Tamil and Hindi film songs .Sad to say the old tamil instincts were on full display. Tamil movie goers and music show lovers tend to think that in order to produce stereophonic effects all that the sound engineer has to do is to spike the volume to as high as the system would allow. That was what happened .Added to this was a 24 piece orchestra and you had not melody but cacophony. The selection of tamil songs was hardly my idea of melody accompanied as the songs were with loud music.
Chandanda ,the Md. Rafi of Chennai was a welcome relief with his melodious rendering of KHOYA KHOYA CHAND,JO VAADA KIYA HO,of the melody genre and RAMAYA VASTAVAIYAand AAJA AAJA as a concession to the rhythm sections of the audience.
I asked myself a question –Is there something in the tamil psyche that prevents us from being soft and producing soft melodious music of the type that Naushad, Madan Mohan, S.D.Burman ,Shanker Jaikishen, Khayyam Roshan et all produced ?
What is it that prevented the likes of T.M.Sounderrajan , P.Suseela ,M.S.Vishvanathan from singing and producing all time great melodies like Suhani raat dhal chuki Tum na jane jis jahan mein, Waqt ne kiya , Yehi who jaga hai, Na tum hume jaae etc?
To be sure there are tamil songs that have been as good as the same songs tuned in hindi. Thus TMS’s ORU AAYIRUN PAAVAYILE is a good as Rafi’s SAU BAAR JANAM LENGE but these are rare.
Is there something about the harshness of the climate in Tamilnadu with its searing heat, intolerable humidity in addition to the spicy food that makes us specially emotional at least in its display? Someone suggested that one of the reasons why Telugu rural people smoke cigars with the burning side inside the mouth is this—they have become immune to the effects of smoking due to consumption of the Guntur chillies, one of the hottest in the world .Therefore unless they smoke cigars with the wrong side in ,they can hardly get a kick!
Is something like this working to make Tamilians get far more emotional than their compatriots thanks to the year long intense summer? Are we so emotional that we are unable to express our feelings tenderly and in an understated fashion which is what can make music melodious?
Is the lack of diversity in the tamil film industry also responsible for its limited creativity. Bollwood had the benefit of a diverse set of talented people in music alone. Naushad brought Hindustani classical music to Hindi film music. Madan Mohan brought the ghazal, O.P Nayyar brought earthy Punjabi music, Hemant Kumar and S.D Burman brought Bengali sounds R,D Burman brought techo music and so on. We have not had this burst of creativity in Tamil film music so far.
Here is a challenge. How many people in Tamil Nadu will commit self immolation if one of their superstars decides to make his tryst with his ultimate [not film] maker?
I have asked for Z category protection in Chennai after the publication of this article!!
K.R.RAVI
WWW.KRRAVI.COM
In the mid sixties my Tamilian parents decided they had enough of Bombay[now Mumbai] and took a shift to Madras[now Chennai] A month after we shifted here I was taken to a wedding of a close relative. As a13 year old I was intrigued at the proceedings .The ceremonies got over and the bride and groom were on their way out of the hall to a waiting rickety car to take them to their new home .I was eating an ice cream when all of a sudden I heard a very loud cry, enough to send anybody’s spine tingling in fear. I along with my parents ran towards the source of the sound and what should we see? The bride’s brother rolling on the floor, looking up and beating his breasts and crying loudly .‘Why are you leaving me my dearest sister?Why oh why’ he added, beating his breasts with redoubled vigour lest anyone miss his protestations of enduring love. I ,an innocent kid ,burst out into loud laughter only to be chided by my mother . ‘You Bombay wallas do not know what love means, what affection involves’ she scolded me in full view of the guests. To add insult to injury she sobbed and added ‘I am sure you will not weep when I die’. That was too much even by my infantile standards and I retreated to a far corner licking not only my bruised ego but also licking my ice cream!
· Film buffs will recall that iconic scene in the film
‘Nayakan’[DAYAVAN’in Hindi’] in which Kamalahasan ,now old and feeble comes down a staircase to see the badly mauled dead body of his son .A moment of silence later he erupts into a volcano of emotions that can be heartrending to some . This scene has been discussed at length in many film circles .There are two major schools of thought about this scene. One school—the Tamil school of film making—headed by Kamalahasan himself—feels that this scene was suited to the Tamil ethos .Kamal himself remarked that Tamilians are by nature loud in their demonstrations of emotion and he enacted that scene exactly the way a Tamilian would behave in real life .The other school—the North of the Vindhya school—felt that the scene was one of gross exaggeration , sheer melodrama.
I have been doing some research into this aspect of Tamil behaviour and have tentatively concluded that tamilians more than other communities—but not exclusively—tend to be loud even in casual conversation and tend to be far above national average in being demonstrative in their emotions .The manner in which several tamilians commit self immolation on the death of a political or cinematic leader speaks volumes. In cinema halls, bus stops and other public places one gets the impression that tamilians do not know how to talk in whispers. I doubt if tamil language has a word for ‘ whisper’. Indians as a race are noisy compared to many other nations and Tamilians are far above Indian average in decibel levels in any situation. I have coined a term for this tamilian loudness and high decibel expression of emotion .I call it the Shivaji Ganesan syndrome. I refer to the ‘ great’ actor on whom Kamalahasan has modeled himself whose ability to raise both his eyebrows and speak on a thunderous note for even the most casual of dialogues have few parallels in Indian cinema . While Dilip Kumar could send everyone’s heart fluttering merely by tracing a feather over Madhubala’s face Shivaji would launch into such an elaborate alliterative monologue on his intense love that the heroine would be left with no option but to concede defeat to the hero and agree to marry him if only to silence him! ‘Hoga Hoga Hoga’ she would say in Tamil to the utter delight of Shivaji the hero and his fans and utter relief to me as a viewer.
I recalled these ideas when I attended last night a musical evening titled BLACK AND WHITE at an auditorium in Chennai. The organizers promised melody of Tamil and Hindi film songs .Sad to say the old tamil instincts were on full display. Tamil movie goers and music show lovers tend to think that in order to produce stereophonic effects all that the sound engineer has to do is to spike the volume to as high as the system would allow. That was what happened .Added to this was a 24 piece orchestra and you had not melody but cacophony. The selection of tamil songs was hardly my idea of melody accompanied as the songs were with loud music.
Chandanda ,the Md. Rafi of Chennai was a welcome relief with his melodious rendering of KHOYA KHOYA CHAND,JO VAADA KIYA HO,of the melody genre and RAMAYA VASTAVAIYAand AAJA AAJA as a concession to the rhythm sections of the audience.
I asked myself a question –Is there something in the tamil psyche that prevents us from being soft and producing soft melodious music of the type that Naushad, Madan Mohan, S.D.Burman ,Shanker Jaikishen, Khayyam Roshan et all produced ?
What is it that prevented the likes of T.M.Sounderrajan , P.Suseela ,M.S.Vishvanathan from singing and producing all time great melodies like Suhani raat dhal chuki Tum na jane jis jahan mein, Waqt ne kiya , Yehi who jaga hai, Na tum hume jaae etc?
To be sure there are tamil songs that have been as good as the same songs tuned in hindi. Thus TMS’s ORU AAYIRUN PAAVAYILE is a good as Rafi’s SAU BAAR JANAM LENGE but these are rare.
Is there something about the harshness of the climate in Tamilnadu with its searing heat, intolerable humidity in addition to the spicy food that makes us specially emotional at least in its display? Someone suggested that one of the reasons why Telugu rural people smoke cigars with the burning side inside the mouth is this—they have become immune to the effects of smoking due to consumption of the Guntur chillies, one of the hottest in the world .Therefore unless they smoke cigars with the wrong side in ,they can hardly get a kick!
Is something like this working to make Tamilians get far more emotional than their compatriots thanks to the year long intense summer? Are we so emotional that we are unable to express our feelings tenderly and in an understated fashion which is what can make music melodious?
Is the lack of diversity in the tamil film industry also responsible for its limited creativity. Bollwood had the benefit of a diverse set of talented people in music alone. Naushad brought Hindustani classical music to Hindi film music. Madan Mohan brought the ghazal, O.P Nayyar brought earthy Punjabi music, Hemant Kumar and S.D Burman brought Bengali sounds R,D Burman brought techo music and so on. We have not had this burst of creativity in Tamil film music so far.
Here is a challenge. How many people in Tamil Nadu will commit self immolation if one of their superstars decides to make his tryst with his ultimate [not film] maker?
I have asked for Z category protection in Chennai after the publication of this article!!
K.R.RAVI
WWW.KRRAVI.COM
Saturday, November 27, 2010
ARE SOUTH INDIANS SUICIDE PRONE?
ARE SOUTH INDIANS PRONE TO SUICIDE?
I find this unbelievable. Two of my young relatives both highly qualified and doing very well in their professions are deeply religious[read ritualistic] at home and even in office One of them will not drink a drop of water or eat even a morsel of food that has not been made at home .On one occasion this guy was stranded for about 3 days at various locations in Mumbai when that city was flooded on a scale not since seen, about 4 years ago He walked in fits and starts and finally reached his home in the distant suburbs a full 3 days later .Shockingly he refused food and water during this ‘ voyage’ He had sworn to himself to lead a ‘ ‘pure life’ and battled hunger and thirst..
I understand both these guys who are not even 30 will in due course become religious leaders and will forsake their hard won material and career success.
These guys came to my mind when I read an article ‘Perils and pressures of wonderland’ by Dilip Bobb in SUNDAY EXPRESS dated 28th November.
This article aroused deep interest in me also due to some of my personal experiences in Chennai a city I once lived in but left for pastures elsewhere including in the USA.
In the last one year that I have been in Chennai I have tried to make friends in the Trainers’ community but have failed abjectly. Both ladies and gents have spurned my attempts to reach out to them . Some of them would speak to me on phone ,agree to meet me at a coffee house but fail to turn up. The women would bluntly tell me that they do not believe in befriending strangers. I am yet to figure out how on can be a friend straightaway without being a stranger!
One lady however was frank enough to tell me that she would rather exchange emails with me and size me up before meeting me..I told her that I invited her to a crowded coffee house in a bustling mall and hence my credentials ought not to be under a scanner. But she said that the world has deteriorated. I agreed with her on that score at least partially.
The Sunday Express article discusses how the rapid economic evolution that is making India the envy of the world is also sadly spurring social tension and tragedy The author refers to increasing cases of suicides by young girls unable to handle the dilemmas brought about by their conservative background, juxtaposed against the social mores they encounter in cities.
What struck me was the study quoted by Bobb .It was carried out by Christian Medical College Vellore that showed that WOMEN IN SOUTH INDIA SHOW THE HIGHEST SUICIDE RATE IN THE WORLD. It is fairly certain that the clash between a hugely conservative society with strong traditional values and the changes consequent to India’s economic and social transition may explain this tragic occurrence of suicides, The study adds that stress factors such as academic failures and unfulfilled romantic ideals were among the issues that contributed to high teenage suicides. Access to what India is proud of—the mobile phone --is a factor too. Small wonder that leaders of some communities including Khalp panchayats have banned the use of the mobile phone by their kids The easy communication with the other sex is said to lead to delinquent behaviour. The internet too—increasingly India’s pride what with 3 G – with easy access to intimate talk and porn sites is also said to be a culprit.
It is all disturbing. Till these issues are understood and managed I will try NOT to expect to make friends in CHENNAI!!! Mumbai here I come mid December. Hope things are better there.
K.R.RAVI
WWW.KRRAVI.COM
I find this unbelievable. Two of my young relatives both highly qualified and doing very well in their professions are deeply religious[read ritualistic] at home and even in office One of them will not drink a drop of water or eat even a morsel of food that has not been made at home .On one occasion this guy was stranded for about 3 days at various locations in Mumbai when that city was flooded on a scale not since seen, about 4 years ago He walked in fits and starts and finally reached his home in the distant suburbs a full 3 days later .Shockingly he refused food and water during this ‘ voyage’ He had sworn to himself to lead a ‘ ‘pure life’ and battled hunger and thirst..
I understand both these guys who are not even 30 will in due course become religious leaders and will forsake their hard won material and career success.
These guys came to my mind when I read an article ‘Perils and pressures of wonderland’ by Dilip Bobb in SUNDAY EXPRESS dated 28th November.
This article aroused deep interest in me also due to some of my personal experiences in Chennai a city I once lived in but left for pastures elsewhere including in the USA.
In the last one year that I have been in Chennai I have tried to make friends in the Trainers’ community but have failed abjectly. Both ladies and gents have spurned my attempts to reach out to them . Some of them would speak to me on phone ,agree to meet me at a coffee house but fail to turn up. The women would bluntly tell me that they do not believe in befriending strangers. I am yet to figure out how on can be a friend straightaway without being a stranger!
One lady however was frank enough to tell me that she would rather exchange emails with me and size me up before meeting me..I told her that I invited her to a crowded coffee house in a bustling mall and hence my credentials ought not to be under a scanner. But she said that the world has deteriorated. I agreed with her on that score at least partially.
The Sunday Express article discusses how the rapid economic evolution that is making India the envy of the world is also sadly spurring social tension and tragedy The author refers to increasing cases of suicides by young girls unable to handle the dilemmas brought about by their conservative background, juxtaposed against the social mores they encounter in cities.
What struck me was the study quoted by Bobb .It was carried out by Christian Medical College Vellore that showed that WOMEN IN SOUTH INDIA SHOW THE HIGHEST SUICIDE RATE IN THE WORLD. It is fairly certain that the clash between a hugely conservative society with strong traditional values and the changes consequent to India’s economic and social transition may explain this tragic occurrence of suicides, The study adds that stress factors such as academic failures and unfulfilled romantic ideals were among the issues that contributed to high teenage suicides. Access to what India is proud of—the mobile phone --is a factor too. Small wonder that leaders of some communities including Khalp panchayats have banned the use of the mobile phone by their kids The easy communication with the other sex is said to lead to delinquent behaviour. The internet too—increasingly India’s pride what with 3 G – with easy access to intimate talk and porn sites is also said to be a culprit.
It is all disturbing. Till these issues are understood and managed I will try NOT to expect to make friends in CHENNAI!!! Mumbai here I come mid December. Hope things are better there.
K.R.RAVI
WWW.KRRAVI.COM
Friday, November 26, 2010
SRIDEVI, SNAKES GHOSTS SPOONS ETC
OF SRIDEVI ,SNAKES , GHOSTS,SPOONS ETC
Not surprisingly my article on YOU CAN BE A RAJA OF SPECTRUM OF THINKING elicited more than the usual share of brickbats. I am however happy that many organisations are inviting me to conduct workshops on CRITICAL THINKING .I accept the invitations with humility.
One statement by a reader who happens to be a 4 th year student in an IIT stumped me. The IIT student had taken to heart my statement that one should look for credible evidence before believing anything at all. He went on to add that in his village he had seen village ‘ doctors’ doing some magic and driving ‘ghosts’ out of the body of villagers. His contention was that since he had with his own eyes seen such acts can he rely on the ‘ evidence’ and consider himself a skeptical thinker? On the contrary this youngster maybe a gullible guy.
The details can be too long for this piece but I shall do no better than to list out CARL SAGTAN’S BALONEY DETECTION KIT .This gives a few tips on how to sift bull from genuine facts.
• Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the facts
o Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view.
o Arguments from authority carry little weight (in science there are no "authorities").
o Spin more than one hypothesis - don't simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy.
o Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours.
o Quantify, wherever possible.
o If there is a chain of argument every link in the chain must work.
o "Occam's razor" - if there are two hypothesis that explain the data equally well choose the simpler.
o Ask whether the hypothesis can, at least in principle, be falsified (shown to be false by some unambiguous test). In other words, it is testable? Can others duplicate the experiment and get the same result?
Additional issues are
o Conduct control experiments - especially "double blind" experiments where the person taking measurements is not aware of the test and control subjects.
o Check for confounding factors - separate the variables.
I suggest to those who come across such acts involving magical ,Extra sensory powers etc to let a team of experts witness the performance in controlled conditions . In fact such claims have been tested and proven to be hoaxes .The classic case of Yuri Geller is one such. This man made a fortune by demonstrating his Extra sensory powers to bend a steel spoon. He became an international celebrity and was invited to many TV demonstrations . He made millions before some scientists decided to ask him to demonstrate his prowess in a lab. Geller failed and admitted that he was a hoax.Many such claims have been debunked
The materializing of vibhut,pendants, and gold chains by assorted godmen have also been proven to be hoaxes. Curiously many such god men claim that their acts are beyond science ! To my mind anybody who makes such a claim of being beyond science may in fact be a hoax. Matter cannot be created out of thin air no matter what realm you are in!.
In my article I had requested readers to solve a puzzle .To recap—a friend of yours tells you that if ever someone known to you is bit by a snake all you have to do to save his life is to call up or send an email to a certain guruji who will do some poojas and save your friend’s life .
Some readers wrote back giving a reference to a station master who did such superhuman feats. I am also aware of someone in Puri who is said to have ‘saved’ many lives. Well I have one explanation for this ‘ godly’ act. As is usually the case it is to the laws of probability that we turn for a scientific explanation. The fact is that very few snakes in India are poisonous .Often the victim may die or suffer seriously purely due to fear and shock---most people assume that ALL snakes are poisonous and therefore your friend has been bitten by a dangerous snake. It is entirely probable that the snake was in fact a benign one –however much he may hiss and appear slimy and dangerous. The telecall or email to the ‘ guru’ serves the purpose of shoring up the confidence of the snake bite victim and it is this that saves him. No magic no godly powers are involved! One can bet a hundred million that if ever the godman’s kin is bit by a cobra the man will rush to the nearest hospital.He will hardly send an email to himself!
Meanwhile stop seeing sundry bollywood movies that ascribe magical powers to snakes! Even if Sridevi is the heroine.
K.R.RAVI
WWW .KRRAVI.COM
Not surprisingly my article on YOU CAN BE A RAJA OF SPECTRUM OF THINKING elicited more than the usual share of brickbats. I am however happy that many organisations are inviting me to conduct workshops on CRITICAL THINKING .I accept the invitations with humility.
One statement by a reader who happens to be a 4 th year student in an IIT stumped me. The IIT student had taken to heart my statement that one should look for credible evidence before believing anything at all. He went on to add that in his village he had seen village ‘ doctors’ doing some magic and driving ‘ghosts’ out of the body of villagers. His contention was that since he had with his own eyes seen such acts can he rely on the ‘ evidence’ and consider himself a skeptical thinker? On the contrary this youngster maybe a gullible guy.
The details can be too long for this piece but I shall do no better than to list out CARL SAGTAN’S BALONEY DETECTION KIT .This gives a few tips on how to sift bull from genuine facts.
• Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the facts
o Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view.
o Arguments from authority carry little weight (in science there are no "authorities").
o Spin more than one hypothesis - don't simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy.
o Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it's yours.
o Quantify, wherever possible.
o If there is a chain of argument every link in the chain must work.
o "Occam's razor" - if there are two hypothesis that explain the data equally well choose the simpler.
o Ask whether the hypothesis can, at least in principle, be falsified (shown to be false by some unambiguous test). In other words, it is testable? Can others duplicate the experiment and get the same result?
Additional issues are
o Conduct control experiments - especially "double blind" experiments where the person taking measurements is not aware of the test and control subjects.
o Check for confounding factors - separate the variables.
I suggest to those who come across such acts involving magical ,Extra sensory powers etc to let a team of experts witness the performance in controlled conditions . In fact such claims have been tested and proven to be hoaxes .The classic case of Yuri Geller is one such. This man made a fortune by demonstrating his Extra sensory powers to bend a steel spoon. He became an international celebrity and was invited to many TV demonstrations . He made millions before some scientists decided to ask him to demonstrate his prowess in a lab. Geller failed and admitted that he was a hoax.Many such claims have been debunked
The materializing of vibhut,pendants, and gold chains by assorted godmen have also been proven to be hoaxes. Curiously many such god men claim that their acts are beyond science ! To my mind anybody who makes such a claim of being beyond science may in fact be a hoax. Matter cannot be created out of thin air no matter what realm you are in!.
In my article I had requested readers to solve a puzzle .To recap—a friend of yours tells you that if ever someone known to you is bit by a snake all you have to do to save his life is to call up or send an email to a certain guruji who will do some poojas and save your friend’s life .
Some readers wrote back giving a reference to a station master who did such superhuman feats. I am also aware of someone in Puri who is said to have ‘saved’ many lives. Well I have one explanation for this ‘ godly’ act. As is usually the case it is to the laws of probability that we turn for a scientific explanation. The fact is that very few snakes in India are poisonous .Often the victim may die or suffer seriously purely due to fear and shock---most people assume that ALL snakes are poisonous and therefore your friend has been bitten by a dangerous snake. It is entirely probable that the snake was in fact a benign one –however much he may hiss and appear slimy and dangerous. The telecall or email to the ‘ guru’ serves the purpose of shoring up the confidence of the snake bite victim and it is this that saves him. No magic no godly powers are involved! One can bet a hundred million that if ever the godman’s kin is bit by a cobra the man will rush to the nearest hospital.He will hardly send an email to himself!
Meanwhile stop seeing sundry bollywood movies that ascribe magical powers to snakes! Even if Sridevi is the heroine.
K.R.RAVI
WWW .KRRAVI.COM
Thursday, November 11, 2010
HAVE YOU MET GOD LATELY?
DID GOD COME TO IIT CHENNAI?
1. It happened at the gift shop at IIT Chennai a couple of days ago. I was chatting with a friend when he met a lady with whom he started talking in the Oriya language. Neither of them knew that I too could speak fairly competently in that language having spent a decade in Orissa.When I butted in in Oriya they were flabbergasted. There were many co incidences that evening The man was an Oriya and the lady and I Tamilians who could speak Oriya. This was only the beginning. We moved to the canteen and over cups of coffee the discussion veered round to Obama .I surprised them by telling them that I was a ‘neighbour’ of the US president having stayed at Potomac City not far from the White House. At this point an IIT student joined us, his curiosity aroused .He planned to study in the US and sought my tips on that matter. Then something ‘ strange’ took place. This student told me casually that he too was an Oriya and his father worked for the State Bank of India at Talcher in Orissa .Guess what-- I was the branch manager there over 20 years ago! We expressed amazement at this string of coincidences. The lady remarked that there are no coincidences—it is all the work of God she declared high soundingly. It is my intention to question this and in the process I hope to put forth another way of looking at life.
2. In response to my article about Dr Abdul Kalam I am still receiving hate mail .I am aware that DR.Kalam is a middle class icon and rightly so considering his integrity in public life. But does that mean that he is above any criticism or even a mild difference of opinion? One reader went so far as to give a spiritual twist by asserting that Dr Kalam was upholding the highest traditions of the Vedas and Bhagvad Geeta and I am only to be blamed for my inability to understand him. I am still not clear why spirituality came into all this.
3. . An elderly friend of mine made his first voyage abroad to London.When he returned I asked him what he had learnt from his visit .He replied as follows ‘I learnt that the only limit to our achievements and progress is our imagination’. I almost heard bugles blowing in the distance. I then asked him what three things would he do differently in the next few months as a result of his learnings from his London trip. Four months later I await his answer.
I will now clarify what is common in all these seemingly disparate instances.
First the IIT incident. Coincidences are not the work of God .We need not move into the realm of faith and belief especially since we have a simple verifiable proof of such phenomena. Too often we are impressed by high sounding explanations when in fact there are mundane ‘ secular’ ones that are verifiable and decisive. Such events can be explained in terms of probability theory. Look at this story that is commonly discussed in mathematics books. How many people have to be assembled in a room in order to have a 50% chance that two people have the same birthday? The answer is astonishingly just 23! Random events of small probability take place all the time and yet we ascribe them to God! The meeting at IIT, the chance encounter with a tamilian who spoke Oriya, the student whose father worked in the same branch as I did—but at different periods—all these are matters of probability and there is really no need to bring God into the equation.
The response to my Kalam article delved into the realm of religion and God when as far as I am concerned I was operating at the level of day to day life looked at from the viewpoint of the poorest of the poor who feel that their tragic plight has not been highlighted in the media as much as have been John Abraham . There was, in my opinion, no occasion to bring spirituality into the discussion. However I concede that the middle classes—whom Kalam referred to in the statement that I wrote about have moved higher in the Maslow Hierarchy and can afford to quote scriptures. This class will have to make a serious effort to think from the perspective of those whom I wrote about and who languish at the bottom of the pyramid. Spirituality to this class boils down to this—when will my family be saved from death by starvation? When will my crisis be taken seriously by the better off people.?
The problem with bringing esoteric spirituality into any talk is that one tends to think in abstract ways and finds oneself unable to concretise one’s thoughts. This brings me to the third episode listed above.
The statement about one’s imagination limiting one’s achievement may be right but if you stop at that ,such noble thinking will serve no purpose. Thus the silence to my question about how he would concretise his thoughts is indicative of the error I refer to. In order to guide our thinking along concrete actionable lines we may have to go down to basics, Thus a trainer friend told me that she intended to conduct a workshops for pharma executives on self development using spirituality. I commended her but gave a suggestion. ‘Try telling the trainees at the end of discussions of each concept that they ought to ponder over how they would apply the learning to day to day life.. What three things they would do differently beginning the next day in their effort to apply the spiritual learning imparted to them’.
K.R.RAVI
WWW.KRRAVI.COM
1. It happened at the gift shop at IIT Chennai a couple of days ago. I was chatting with a friend when he met a lady with whom he started talking in the Oriya language. Neither of them knew that I too could speak fairly competently in that language having spent a decade in Orissa.When I butted in in Oriya they were flabbergasted. There were many co incidences that evening The man was an Oriya and the lady and I Tamilians who could speak Oriya. This was only the beginning. We moved to the canteen and over cups of coffee the discussion veered round to Obama .I surprised them by telling them that I was a ‘neighbour’ of the US president having stayed at Potomac City not far from the White House. At this point an IIT student joined us, his curiosity aroused .He planned to study in the US and sought my tips on that matter. Then something ‘ strange’ took place. This student told me casually that he too was an Oriya and his father worked for the State Bank of India at Talcher in Orissa .Guess what-- I was the branch manager there over 20 years ago! We expressed amazement at this string of coincidences. The lady remarked that there are no coincidences—it is all the work of God she declared high soundingly. It is my intention to question this and in the process I hope to put forth another way of looking at life.
2. In response to my article about Dr Abdul Kalam I am still receiving hate mail .I am aware that DR.Kalam is a middle class icon and rightly so considering his integrity in public life. But does that mean that he is above any criticism or even a mild difference of opinion? One reader went so far as to give a spiritual twist by asserting that Dr Kalam was upholding the highest traditions of the Vedas and Bhagvad Geeta and I am only to be blamed for my inability to understand him. I am still not clear why spirituality came into all this.
3. . An elderly friend of mine made his first voyage abroad to London.When he returned I asked him what he had learnt from his visit .He replied as follows ‘I learnt that the only limit to our achievements and progress is our imagination’. I almost heard bugles blowing in the distance. I then asked him what three things would he do differently in the next few months as a result of his learnings from his London trip. Four months later I await his answer.
I will now clarify what is common in all these seemingly disparate instances.
First the IIT incident. Coincidences are not the work of God .We need not move into the realm of faith and belief especially since we have a simple verifiable proof of such phenomena. Too often we are impressed by high sounding explanations when in fact there are mundane ‘ secular’ ones that are verifiable and decisive. Such events can be explained in terms of probability theory. Look at this story that is commonly discussed in mathematics books. How many people have to be assembled in a room in order to have a 50% chance that two people have the same birthday? The answer is astonishingly just 23! Random events of small probability take place all the time and yet we ascribe them to God! The meeting at IIT, the chance encounter with a tamilian who spoke Oriya, the student whose father worked in the same branch as I did—but at different periods—all these are matters of probability and there is really no need to bring God into the equation.
The response to my Kalam article delved into the realm of religion and God when as far as I am concerned I was operating at the level of day to day life looked at from the viewpoint of the poorest of the poor who feel that their tragic plight has not been highlighted in the media as much as have been John Abraham . There was, in my opinion, no occasion to bring spirituality into the discussion. However I concede that the middle classes—whom Kalam referred to in the statement that I wrote about have moved higher in the Maslow Hierarchy and can afford to quote scriptures. This class will have to make a serious effort to think from the perspective of those whom I wrote about and who languish at the bottom of the pyramid. Spirituality to this class boils down to this—when will my family be saved from death by starvation? When will my crisis be taken seriously by the better off people.?
The problem with bringing esoteric spirituality into any talk is that one tends to think in abstract ways and finds oneself unable to concretise one’s thoughts. This brings me to the third episode listed above.
The statement about one’s imagination limiting one’s achievement may be right but if you stop at that ,such noble thinking will serve no purpose. Thus the silence to my question about how he would concretise his thoughts is indicative of the error I refer to. In order to guide our thinking along concrete actionable lines we may have to go down to basics, Thus a trainer friend told me that she intended to conduct a workshops for pharma executives on self development using spirituality. I commended her but gave a suggestion. ‘Try telling the trainees at the end of discussions of each concept that they ought to ponder over how they would apply the learning to day to day life.. What three things they would do differently beginning the next day in their effort to apply the spiritual learning imparted to them’.
K.R.RAVI
WWW.KRRAVI.COM
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
YOUR THUMB CAN LET YOU DOWN
DO YOU DEPEND ON THUMB IMPRESSIONS?
A few days ago I had written an article in which I had dissented from a statement made by Dr Kalam. I had anticipated some adverse comments from readers but I was hardly prepared for the kind of volleys that came my way. One reader –on the assumption that I was unnecessarily decrying India and unnecessarily glorifying the U.S—made out a list of ills of American society. This was supposedly in contrast to the kind of list of the ‘ achievements’ of India that frequently traverse the internet. As if on cue another reader wrote that the list of ills of US society shows that’ the grass was green on the other side’. I am afraid all these exchanges miss the main point . While I am the first to confirm that I do not hold a monopoly on wisdom and could be in grevious error all the time I am afraid I sense a serious touchiness that prevents us from looking a some disturbing facts.
In our human trait to simplify decision making we tend to rely on rules of thumb. This is but human but the more we think in depth the less we ought to rely on such rules .Thus the fact that all countries in the world have their own serious issues does not mean that the ‘grass is green on the other side’. It does not mean that all countries are equal ,that there is no difference between nations. Let me cite a parallel. Chimpanzees share human genetic makeup to the extent of 98 % !! What commonality!!Does that mean that there is hardly any difference between us and chimpanzees?
Thus while it is true that all nations are faced with serious issues we in India cannot rest content with that statement. There are qualities in other nations that we can beneficially emulate –this is a point I seek to make. There are also traits that we need to jettison if we are to lend substance to our claim—currently dubious—that we are on our way to becoming a superpower.
The recent visit of Obama is another case in point. He knew what to say in India whose middle class is breathlessly waiting to be patted in the back by white countries even if headed by a non- white!He knew that certain statements were bound to lead to chest thumping. Thus he spoke of India being a great and powerful nation and promised a seat in the Security Council. I ask how his visit would have been received if he had said, truthfully. as follows ‘Even as we all over the world appreciate the many strides that India has made ever since the 1990’s I am afraid leaders all over the world are asking why India languishes at the lower end of the Human Development Index. And also in the new Multi dimensional Index. Why is it that the only index in which India scores very high is the Corruption Index. Why are over 420 million Indians living on less that $1.20 a day? Why do Indians stash 1500 billion dollars in secret bank accounts in Swiss banks a record not matched by the rest f the world put together?Why are people in states in the Indian heartland living in a condition worse than sub Saharan nations? I seek to extend a helping hand to this great nation to live up to Gandhiji’s desire to wipe every tear from every eye. My request to leaders not only in India but all over the world is to read the statement of Gandhiji that I have in my study at the White House. This statement says that whenever you take a decision ask yourself if your decision will bring a smile to the eyes of the poorest man you have ever met.’
I wonder if India would be euphoric about this speech the way it is now. To the best of my knowledge the only well known journalist who wrote along these lines was Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
The point I make is this—our middle class ought to be far more sensitive to the plight of the vast masses of our countrymen. And please do not castigate people –like me, Thakurta and P.Sainath—who seek to make us less self centred. And avoid simplistic rules of thumb.
Finally whenever you see a list of India’s achievements ask yourself the Gandhian question—Will any item in this list bring a smile to the eyes of the poorest man you have met?
An irate reader challenged me to write a book voicing my views along the lines above .He said that ‘ Not one copy will be sold’. I fully agree with him. Page 3 of most newspapers will outsell any such book.
K.R.RAVI
WWW.KRRAVI.COM
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