The Realist

realist [ˈrɪəlɪst]n

1. a person who is aware of and accepts the physical universe, events, etc., as they are; pragmatist

2. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) (Literary & Literary Critical Terms) an artist or writer who seeks to represent the familiar or typical in real life rather than an idealized, formalized, or romantic interpretation

A wide audience will accept that a successful leader is most likely a realist. He is the one who gauges the situation correctly, thinks of the larger and longer benefits and acts with utmost reasoning without letting emotions affect the way of working, be it his or her own or of any other teammate. However, to rubbish other schools of thought like idealism and romanticism would not be a wise thing to do. On the contrary, it might possibly be the worst thing a leader could do.

For one let me ask you, why is the portrayal of a hero always an all encompassing figure, that supreme one who saves the day? Isn't it an idealistic and romantic tendency? And why should we narrow our views to movies when all successful historical figures are portrayed as the giants who rise at the critical moment to save the situation. And finally, one of the most cherished belief, of that of God is an idealistic and romantic portrayal. The question then is that why should a realist not reject these other schools. The reason is clear and mentioned right above.

A successful leader should not only be able to lead his mates, but also inspire them.  He must keep in mind that the goal is above everything, including his own egos. Thus, while setting the goals he must act like a realist, but when assigning the tasks to his peers, he must be surely act like an idealist and probably a romantic. His optimism should be so overwhelming that the workforce is inspired by the sheer confidence that he vests in them

Coin Bias Test

Here's a simple experiment which I call the "Coin Bias Test". I'll have to think more about it and refine it because right now, its not good enough. I feel that in the strictest sense, it is not falsifiable. I shall explain that later. First, let me come to what the test is.

Many a times it happens that a person is not able to decide if he should do action A or action B. For instance, suppose its a festival and you have to go to either a carnival or at a friend's home to wish them. And you can go for only one. If asked, you might say you want to do both. Or it might happen that your decision is flip-flopping. However, it may happen that you are more inclined towards one. I make a sweeping statement now. I claim that you are always more inclined towards a particular one, and that you remain in that state for a "sufficiently" long time. That is to say that even though you might be flip-flopping, but unconsciously you are stuck to one.

This test can be applied to know the prejudice of a person towards one of the two choices they have, using toss of a coin. The test goes as follows. Say the person is confused between taking actions A and B. Take an unbiased coin, assign heads as A and tails as B. The crux is that this person should know this assignment. Further, tell the person that they should go according to the coin. That is, if heads comes, they should take action A, otherwise B. Now toss the coin. Lets say the outcome is heads. If the person is comfortable with the outcome, then I say that nothing can be inferred from the test. However, if a person shows discomfort, in some way, for example that they ask for more tosses, then they are subconsciously inclined towards taking action B. Hence we can know the bias of the person using toss of the coin.

The problem is that it is not falsifiable. If the person is comfortable with the outcome, well and good. Otherwise, if the person claims that though they want another toss, they are very sure they are not inclined towards action B, this cannot be tested as then I could claim that their subconscious wants to take action B. So strictly speaking, its not a good enough test. I am still building upon it and the following extension (in the next post) of the test might provide solution to the previous problem.

Out of mouth of babes

It seldom happens that you get to hear something so deep from someone so young. Here is a poem by my younger sister Vani. Its amazing how a ten year old can articulate her emotions and craft them into a poem. (Reprinted with permission)

A poem for sm1........
Far away, some miles away
Across a valley, a narrow way
In deep oceans
There is a question

In a small cottage
Lived a girl
Who was so good
So she got a pearl

The pearl was so shiny and so bright
For it, she could close her hands very tight
She loved the pearl more than her life
So god gave her a wish and made the pearl alive

They played all the day
With lots of gay
But as the girl grew
She stayed with her few(time)

As the time passed
It was all very fast
She left the pearl alone
And attended her phones

She was so busy
That it wasn't easy
She scolded pearl a lot

The god saw this
And took back her wish
She was so sad
For she found pearl dead

She was sorry for her behavior
As the punishment was so severe
But now they were like cup; plate, needle; thread
She loved her again and it was the story's end

If you got my message
What I wanted to convey
Else search for it
I would always wait

Introduction

One of the many things my mathematics teachers have taught me to appreciate is that many things in life are not as important or as different as they seem. In short, many times, its "Just a notation". And this is something that really helped me fore go many uncalled for notions. They taught me patience.

An important thing that we do in mathematics is to check the existence of the structure on which we build theory and give arguments. Obviously, if everything follows from the previous but the previous does not exist, then all the talk makes no sense. It goes like this- If there's no water, you'll die. And the reasoning is legitimate, but perverse- "If there's no water, then you can't swim; If you can't swim, you'll drown; And if you drown, you're dead!"

Many times in life it happens that I feel there are endless number of problems, and that there's no way out. But then, its always good to rethink if its really a problem! You heard of that joke of Big Bob and the Bus conductor? My father told it to me. So there's a bus and a bus conductor, and the bus travels around and stops at a bus stop. A skinny conductor opens the door to see a big fat, huge guy boarding his bus. As everyone is settled, the conductor goes around to collect for tickets. When he come to the big man, the man replies,"Bib Bob doesn't buy ticket". The conductor feels helpless and leaves. The next day, Big Bob arrives, and the same story is repeated, with Bib Bob saying,"Big Bob doesn't buy ticket". This continues for a few more days, when finally, the conductor, very distressed decides to confront Big Bob. The next morning, when everyone is settled, the conductor goes to Big Bob, and he says,"Big Bob doesn't buy ticket." The conductor is all angry, and loosening his tie, he asks,"Why shouldn't you buy a ticket?". Big Bob replies,"Big Bob has a bus-pass"!!!

So first make sure that there really is a problem.

For all this and much more, cheers to my instructors!