Null Space

Dark Matter Announcement - My thoughts

2006-08-22T01:35:00.000-07:00

I am too lazy to organize my thoughts. Luckily, I found this post on slashdot.org which pretty much conveys my position. So, here it is ...

"...just supposition. After reading all this, all I see is that dark matter, which cannot be observed by any means other than gravitational effects on other non-dark-matter matter and seems suspiciously absent from everyday experience and experiment here on Earth, must exist because we think we see mass and energy behaving in a way that goes with our theories, yet we've seen it behave that way before and it is only in recent times we've decided that something is wrong with physics and we need dark matter. Can anyone say aether? I knew you'd try... We have next to zero understanding of the quantum vacuum, and don't know for certain if everything should pop in and out there including not only electrons and photons, but antiprotons and neutral pi mesons and everything else too. We do know it exists from many many Earth-side experiments and reams of dead trees covered in equations. We don't know how the potential fields exist which give rise to the fields we know, we don't know how any of them link in all ways to the nuclear fields which we also don't understand too well but we have loads of equations and experiments for those. So we invent something, call it "dark matter", and look for anything we can then say matches our thought experiments and we can forgo all the careful Earth-side experiments. We just sort of treat the absence of any dark matter here or anywhere near here as one of those Hitchhiker's Guide SEPs. More science-by-supposition and proof-by-spectacle. Show me the proof. Show me why dark matter has to exist. Prove it out with careful calculation and application to everything across the board. We've set off fifty megaton nukes for crying out loud without a single sign of anything amiss that would suggest we have a giant hole in physics requiring dark matter. We've done experiments on electromagnetic fundamentals, nuclear forces, and so on and along the way, we didn't hear of a need to invent dark matter. But some people look at the cosmos and decide that despite not truly understanding the whole picture of physics at every scale yet, we can claim that dark matter exists and here's proof. Where in the Nine Hells does this stuff fit with the physics theories they alread promulgate as accepted science to be taught in universities? It looks like modern aether, and it looks as though anyone buying it will be upset when someone working right along on the regular investigations into quantum physics and spacetime and so on puts it together and says, "oh, here's why that galaxy moves that way. We didn't need dark matter after all..."

Thanks, Mr. SuitePotato.

Why Anti-Social Elements Are Good For Your Health!

2006-07-16T05:16:00.000-07:00

Heard of "Survival of the Fittest?"
If you see what I see, it follows. For those who don't get it, here's my explanation. If there were no challenges, we would stop evolving. Consider a scenario wherein we are all perfect social animals - we work for the common good and do not hurt each other. Slowly, we become meek. We are no longer alert. There's no need to be on your toes, even if for very small periods of time. You see where I am going?
On the other hand, enemies (of any kind) push your evolutionary instincts to work. It could be your mind, body, or just your immune system.
Seen a recent study somewhere in the Western World about the ill effects of staying very very clean? Let me boast that I knew about it much before they started studying about it.
So, enjoy! Terrorists, garbage-on-roads, politics and rivalries are all good for you. Again, rejoice!

Blasts and Infrastructure

2006-07-16T03:43:00.000-07:00

When will we wake up and teach our leaders a lesson - and tell them that they are not worthy of being called leaders in the first place!? Just think about this - having a well-planned city could reduced the impact of these bomb attacks, and possibly even averted some of them.

The locals are overcrowded - 3x times their capacity.

Extra load on station and platform handling infrastructure means deterioration in service quality. In case of accidents and such attacks, it become so much more difficult to rescue people and rush help to them.

Narrow roads - especially around hubs like railway stattions

It doesn't need a genious to figure out the implications. Apart from the everyday commuting pains, handling emergencies is tough.

Pathetic road construction techniques

Roads which need to be mended every few months easily point towards deep-rooted corruption in the system. And amazingly blind citizens don't even know where all their tax money goes, without them getting any infrastructure!
The ill-effects of bad roads is such a long list, it warrants another posting of its own.

Absent communication infrastructure - especially for disaster management

A good communication infrastructure could have helped railway authorities take quick action, to pass on the information of the first blast(s) to other passengers, who could have taken atleast some evasive action. Of course, all this with the help of available railway police and infrastructure.
And of course, quick communication could have helped in getting the police swing into action much more quickly.
Readying hospitals and ambulances quickly would be another important side-effect.

But there's nothing we will learn out of this. Whenever there are suggestions to stop influx of people into cities like Mumbai, some idiots come up with half-baked ideas about rights and all that cr@p. But when will they understand that no basic necessities and inhuman conditions also violate rights? Not to speak of blatant disregard for human life in case of such attacks.

Mumbai Blasts ...

2006-07-16T03:21:00.000-07:00

Mumbai blasts 2005.
Friends Season 2.
Mumbai blasts 2006.
...
See the pattern? Now, it sounds more like a seasonal event. No worries. 200 votes is not a likely margin of defeat in any of our elections. Moreover, not all those people were from the same constituency. Plus, with around 30% turnouts during voting, the damage is not all that great. On the positive side, there's an opportunity to divide the people again, and that could be an advantage. So, depending on the constituency one fights from (the demographics ...), one can come up with the right arguments to convince the voters. Let me see what my stand should be. (Analyze demographic information from the intelligence report I got made when I was in power last time). OK. Clear.

Update: What rubbish! My constituency's boundaries have been redrawn. Oh Gawd! I need to take an opposite stand if I should win the next time! Might look silly. Not that I am not used to it, but ... Oh, wait a min! Reserved for women? Great, if my wife takes the opposite stand, might not sound all that bad after all. (Reach for the phone ...)

I'm linked!

2006-07-16T03:10:00.000-07:00

A famous blogger has linked to my site. Ok, even if he's not that famous, mark my words. He will be one day. And then, I'll be called The Prophet. Anyways, writing after a long time, and being phunny, don't normally go hand in hand. But I have a reputation to live upto. I'm not the PJ-master of the local chapter for nothing. *Squeak*. (Oops! Sorry, the rust is showing.) Anyways, because I'm in the spotlight, gotta clean up and act active. So, keep watching.

Wot? No komments?

2006-04-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

No komments. No one seems to have discovered this blog. :( Sad - all my plans of being a celebrity have been shattered. I need to hire the services of an SEO. Anyone lurking around? Gimme a link from your page, and you get one from here! Ah, I guess you have to live with it. It's always lonely at the top ...

Compelling reasons to support the N-deal between India and US

2006-03-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

There are many, but K Subrahmanyam has most of the gist in one place. N-deal: Boon for India, US, world The very fact that India has a very clean record on the non-proliferation front is good enough reason for the opposition to mellow down their stand. To add to that, it'd be worthy to note that Iran, even after being an NPT signatory, is believed to be a potential source of trouble - a possibly rogue state. So, signing NPT, after all, doesn't make one holy. All arguments about Bush breaking the "law" should be seen in this context. India, after all, has a very large energy deficit, and using non-conventional sources of energy makes sense. Or, in other words, the non-conventional has to become the conventional now.

Did you know?: How does pound abbreviate to lb?

2005-11-16T23:55:00.000-08:00

Questions & Answers: Abbreviation lb for pound: " [Q] From Andrea: “Why are pounds, when used as a weight, abbreviated lbs?”"

Articles: ASYE

2005-11-16T23:53:00.000-08:00

Articles: ASYE:

"Perhaps it is our acquired behavioural bias towards haste that has caused it, but there is certainly something in the modern mind which is attracted to abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms."

A nice read on how abbreviationism can be taken to the extremes ... this is an example in the English World but can be easily co-related with Indian babudom. ;-)

I feel on top of the world!

2005-11-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

Knowing that it's a big big sphere (well, almost,) I know I am almost 100% right^*. It's exhilarating! And it's nice to know that it's not lonely here, at the top. Some six billion other human beings, and a trillion other animate and inanimate objects.

Ah, suddenly, it feels so crowded! Almost suffocating? Surprisingly, no. There's enough room. Enough oxygen. Enough for some more years, I guess. We (humans) are quite good at desecrating anything which is Good. We'll soon be left with no rocky mountains, but cement ones. No more metals for mining. All in the air and buildings. No soil for making bricks, or growing food. No trees. No forests with animals. No deeply blue, lively seas. No humans.

Why don't we conserve?

India beat Sri Lanka

2005-11-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

Or, is it India beats Sri Lanka? I don't understand which one is right. Or even if one of them is wrong! Comments/answers welcome ... :)

JRD has been an icon for me: Azim Premji

2005-09-02T01:30:00.000-07:00

JRD has been an icon for me: Azim Premji An article on the great JRD, by another person I admire - Azim Premji (AP). JRD was a legend. And AP's speeches are always a great source of knowledge and inspiration. I first heard him speak at my convocation at IIT Bombay, and I immediately knew this is one person I have to listen to whenever he speaks! One of my role models ...

Accident

2005-08-18T01:11:00.000-07:00

Happened two days ago. Trying to avoid a "bump" on the road, I moved towards the left end of the road. Bumps and craters on the roads mean we are not too far away from the moon. Atleast, we Indians can claim to have put a billion people on the moon! Anyways, back to the accident. A poor chap - riding a cycle - happened to be driving near the left edge too. Cycle-riders tend to turn suddenly and sharply, especially because they ride at low speeds, and cycles are light things. So, this guy suddenly moved right. The cycle's brake-handle and my raincoat decided to say hello to each other with a tight hand-shake. The poor chap, and his cycle, just lost balance and fell! I stopped some 10 feet ahead, parked my bike, and rushed to this guy, who had already recovered and was getting ready to ride again. I said "I'm very sorry ...," but he didn't even care to look at me! His face has some sort of angry expression, but with a large amount of sadness and helplessness. How could he let go!!? I am still haunted by his face ...

2005 Maharashtra floods - Wikipedia

2005-08-13T02:43:00.000-07:00

The floods! They have an entry on Wikipedia!
2005 Maharashtra floods
Boy! Read it and re-kindle your anger, if you happen to be a Mumbai-ite, or from one of the flood affected areas of Maharashtra. If you aren't from any of those places, read it to understand how an aspiring superpower's government works (er, doesn't)!
Poor Indians. Literally caught between the devilish politicians and the deep sea!

Rs. 7000 as monthly pocket money!?

2005-08-07T02:15:00.000-07:00

Read an article today in the Sunday Times of India and it was really an eye-opener. We are moving somewhere. I mean, India.

So many people are still unsure about their next meal, or about how they will save themselves from the next flood/drought, and here we have people who would only go for branded items, especially perishables! Rs. 100 per ticket (and a lot more for the food) at multiplexes (which, BTW, charge exorbitant rates even when given tax rebates by the government)!

No, I don't have much against these people. But please, do consider donating at least something from your pleasure-fund. That, too, is a lot satisfying.

Your money will have no worth in a highly unequal society. Social unrest is bound to rise if the divide rises. Don't look elsewhere to understand what this means. Our history books are valuable teachers!

Road to Hell ...

2005-08-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

Does that phrase apply to roads in most cities in India? Cities? Ha! :) Petrol cess. Vehicle tax. Municipal taxes. And still we have bad roads! Of course, the taxes are not enough, according to one Mr. Kareer. Yes, we all know. They are *just* enough to fuel the cars of these officials, their large bunch of jokers killing flies in their "offices," perks that go with govt. jobs, and to grease their own palms (dry weather?). So, as they rightly point out, there's no money for the road-building equipments. Oh, maybe, for the equipments, but not for the tar, cement, steel. "Chalta hai."