Blog Post #69 - The Ancient Hindus,Buddhist and Jains were thinking about nothing!

Do you exist?  - Most of us do. Some of us live.

When I asked a colleague what he did last weekend he said ‘nothing’. Nothing?

Do you do nothing?

What is nothing?

The interesting fact is you cannot experience nothing but you can recollect ‘nothing’.

What you did last Tuesday evening 2-3 may be nothing unless there is something interesting that happened. 

 Really , your outlook said you had a meeting or you picked your kid from school, how about 11:40 to 12:15?

You take nothing. You leave something. You exist. Then you don’t exist.

Here are a few different versions from Hindu, Buddhist and Jain philosophy .

Nothing or something:

Abhava means Nothing.  Before Abhava there has to be something or else what is the nothingness pointing to. Bhava means becoming,existing or appearing.

There or not there?

According to Hegarty, the paradox of nihilism is "that the absence of meaning seems to be some sort of meaning

Real or not?

Bhava can be classified as real. Abhava as Unreal.

Contains  or not

For anything to exist it must have

1.      Substance – Dravya – does it have something = mass?

2.      Quality – Guna - does it have any feature ?

3.      Action – Karma- does it do something? Does it move? Does it fly?

4.      Community or Generality – Samanya  - does it belong to a community or can it be feneralized?

5.      Vinesa – Particularity – does it have anything particular to mention?

6.      Inheritance – Samavaya – does it inherit anything from any other thing?

What kind of nothing

1.      Pragabhava i.e. Prior non-existence – house built from brick. Before the bricks were layered out there was no house. After laying the brick voila there is house that means house didn’t exist earlier. Cloth before the cotton is woven.

2.      Pradhvamsabhava i.e. Posterior non-existence  - break a jar you will never get the same jar with the same property.

3.      Atyantabhava i.e. Absolute non-existence  - Never existed – Child of a barren women

4.      Anyonyabhava i.e. Mutual non-existence – this and that cannot exist – Water and ice from the same water/ice body

To exist means

An imaginary idea to explain what it will be like without the existence of a thing.

About 50-60billion died in planet earth most left nothing (the number is according to Sir. Ken Robinson and he said in a tedtalk people who calculated these numbers might have low social life).

Are you ready to do something now.

The next time when you say I did nothing think what 'nothing' from this list of nothingness.

Go do it.

Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #68 - 1=2 How did that happen?

My elder son Arnav has taught my younger one Arush to answer 1 and 2 as the answer to any question .

I am still not sure how Arush knows when he is asked question it is a math question and as I mentioned earlier I have smart kid (this time I am referring to my  2 year old). 

Arnav would ask what is 1+1 Arush will say 2.Arnav will ask 1-1 Arush will say 2. 
I used to ask Arnav what is 0+0 and why is it not 2 zeros which means 2=0 .

Can these be proved mathemtically to show that Iam intelligent and so are my kids.

By the way QED at the end of any proof or theorem means quod erat demonstrandum which means  "which had to be demonstrated". I took pains to prove it - Hence proved is what it means. 

Sometime ago I was asked if I remember how 1=2 worked? Interesting. I thought I might have forgotten but apparently not.

Let                                                            a = b

Multiply by a on both sides                           a ² = ab

Subtract b2  from both sides                         a ²- b ² = ab- b ²

Rewrite a ²- b ² in i  in terms of (a-b)             (a-b)(a+b) = b(a-b)

Cancel out a-b from both sides                      a+b = b

Remember a=b so make a as b                      b+b = b

Now  do the simple addition                          2b = b

Divide by b                                                  2 = 1

QED

Now that we know we can make 2=1 why not also make 2=0 ?


Let                                                   a=b (why not ...let them be the same)
Square                                                          a ² = b ²
Take b ² from both sides                                  a ² - b ²=0 
Rewrite                                                         (a+b)(a-b) = 0
Divide by (a-b)                                               (a+b) = 0
So                                                                  2b = 0 
Divide by b on both sides                                  2 = 0

QED


What went wrong on both these proves?

Keep wondering
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #67 -Remembering self and Experiencing Self Cognitive traps and Happiness - Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman

Ever Since I read the book 'Thinking Fast and Slow' and watched Daniel Kahneman speak about the Remembering and Experiencing self  - I am trying to understand more on this subject.

 I am not going to call him Danny and make it sound like I am friends with him..although most of my friends explain all theories from relativity to radioactivity with ease except the subject of psychology which is  a tricky one.


Experiencing self is all about now. It tries to answer the question "Are you happy in your life?"

Remembering self is all about reflection/summary. It tries to answer the question "Are you happy with your life?

When the doctor touches a part and asks "Does it hurt now?" - the experiencing self answers the question.
When the doctor asks "Does it hurt in this part for the last few days?" - the remembering self jumps in to answer.

When you take a vacation of 2 weeks if both weeks are similar, the experiencing self doesn't care. It likes the extended vacation.

The remembering self wants something different to store and unless they are different it will treat it as a 1 week vacation. Also when someone asks "How was your vacation?" the remembering self will check against all your previous vacation,stack rank and explain how it was.

It is also critical how an event ends. In a vacation the lost luggage ruins the whole thing.

In a Opera - forget that example -for most readers this one quoted by Kahneman doesn't hold good but let's substitute opera with Basket Ball game.

If the last few minutes were not as enjoyable as the rest of the game - your kid was cranky,your spouse was cranky or you were cranky because your spouse and kid were cranky - it does't matter to the remembering self  . 
It will store the whole experience as unpleasant. 

Well begun may be half done for experiencing self,
Well finished is critical to storing a pleasurable experience for remembering self.

If you live in a cold weather the experiencing self doesn't care. The remembering self will store this information.

Remembering self loves to store more negative information than positive as our brain is wired to place more importance to negative stuff for survival.

How was your experience reading this post? 
What do you remember from this post?

Keep learning
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #66 -Energy sources - what powers you

My son Arnav asked me why we eat "Iron" . 

I was curious why he was asking this question.

I can't imagine myself eating Iron .. and he showed the chex mix pack nutrition contents( So you know my style of writing always saying my son asked this and asked that- there is only one special kid and that is always your kid and if you have more than one it is the one you are talking about that  time that is most special!)

So this post about is about how we landed up eating Iron?


You are a furnace with limited capacity to store and an ever burning fire inside the belly.

A Famous tamil poet Pattinathar talks about how in Hindu Mythology Hanuman placed fire in Sri lanka and other famous fire and concludes the fire your mom placed is in your tummy.

What does your tummy need? 

For your body to function you need energy. 

You eat food in large quantities called Macronutrients = Carbohydrate,Protein and Fats .
All stuff is broken to sugar which is burnt using oxygen to give energy. 

What is energy? Anything that lets you do anything you want ( So boring but profound).

Your body needs ATP and ADP which is chemically energy.

ATP is the energy molecule that gives energy to the cells, while ADP has one less phosphate group and contains more potential energy because more bonds could be broken. 

ATP is the energy that powers your body ADP is what is left after the energy is released -- and AMP (adenosine mono-phosphate) is the result after ADP releases its energy.

There you go. ADP,AMP and ATP - Do you really care? You should as what gets left is what is in your body (around the belly)

CARBOHYDRATES 

• Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel.
• Carbohydrates are easily used by the body for energy.
• All of the tissues and cells in our body can use glucose for energy.
• Carbohydrates are needed for the central nervous system, the kidneys, the brain, the muscles (including the heart) to function properly.
• Carbohydrates can be stored in the muscles and liver and later used for energy.
• Carbohydrates are important in intestinal health and waste elimination.
• Carbohydrates are mainly found in starchy foods (like grain and potatoes), fruits, milk, and yogurt. Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and cottage cheese contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts.

Fiber refers to certain types of carbohydrates that our body cannot digest. These carbohydrates pass through the intestinal tract intact and help to move waste out of the body. Diets that are low in fiber have been shown to cause problems such as constipation and hemorrhoids and to increase the risk for certain types of cancers such as colon cancer. Diets high in fiber; however, have been shown to decrease risks for heart disease, obesity, and they help lower cholesterol. Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products.

 PROTEIN 

We need protein for:

• Growth (especially important for children, teens, and pregnant women)
• Tissue repair
• Immune function
• Making essential hormones and enzymes
• Energy when carbohydrate is not available
• Preserving lean muscle mass

Protein is found in meats, poultry, fish, meat substitutes, cheese, milk, nuts, legumes, and in smaller quantities in starchy foods and vegetables.
When we eat these types of foods, our body breaks down the protein that they contain into amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Some amino acids are essential which means that we need to get them from our diet, and others are nonessential which means that our body can make them. Protein that comes from animal sources contains all of the essential amino acids that we need. Plant sources of protein, on the other hand, do not contain all of the essential amino acids.

(according to Mckinley Health Care http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/macronutrients.htm)


FAT 
Although fats have received a bad reputation for causing weight gain, some fat is essential for survival. According to the Dietary Reference Intakes published by the USDA 20% - 35% of calories should come from fat. We need this amount of fat for:

• Normal growth and development
• Energy (fat is the most concentrated source of energy)
• Absorbing certain vitamins ( like vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids)
• Providing cushioning for the organs
• Maintaining cell membranes
• Providing taste, consistency, and stability to foods

Fat is found in meat, poultry, nuts, milk products, butters and margarines, oils, lard, fish, grain products and salad dressings. There are three main types of fat, saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and trans fat. Saturated fat (found in foods like meat, butter, lard, and cream) and trans fat (found in baked goods, snack foods, fried foods, and margarines) have been shown to increase your risk for heart disease. Replacing saturated and trans fat in your diet with unsaturated fat (found in foods like olive oil, avocados, nuts, and canola oil) has been shown decrease the risk of developing heart disease.



 Micro Nutrients 


Water, Minerals and Vitamins.


From WHO website - Micro nutrients are called micro nutrients because they are needed only in minuscule amounts, these substances are the “magic wands” that enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances essential for proper growth and development. 

As tiny as the amounts are, however, the consequences of their absence are severe. Iodine, vitamin A and iron are most important in global public health terms; their lack represents a major threat to the health and development of populations the world over

Anti-Oxidants 

When you leave an apple exposed to the air, it turns brown. The damage to the apple is caused by oxygen in the air, and is called oxidation. A substance that can reduce oxidation is called an antioxidant. Antioxidants are said to help your body repair cells and may even reduce the effect of aging. Common antioxidants are nutrients like B vitamins including Beta Carotene, Vitamins C and E and selenium. Foods like grape seed extract and pomegranate juice are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants may be taken as supplements or ingested as food. Most experts believe that getting antioxidants from food is the most healthful way to obtain them.

If wealth is lost nothing is lost, Health is lost something is lost and if character is lost everything is lost 

So what do you plan to do with a healthy body?

Keep eating
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #65 - Money - Wealth and Rich

I came across this topic again today so I thought I should write about it.

My friend Suresh Mentioned Chris Rock and his talk show where Chris says 

'Shaq is rich. The white man who signs his check … is wealthy. "Ah, here you go, Shaq. Go buy yourself a bouncing car. Bling, bling!"

Shaq is a millionaire getting his millions from Gerald Hatten "Jerry" Buss who is wealthy.

Last 2 spring breaks we were touring US Bureau of Engraving where they make real paper money(real and paper?)

Paper money is made in Fort Worth and in Washington D.C. 

Mint in Pennsylvania makes the change/coins.

The joke that was mentioned in the Forth worth facility during our tour was 'People sometimes make 54 million dollars in 1 hour with high school education'. .. I guess even Ivy league students and Hedge fund owners don't..

It's a printer's job..

My friend Anup gave me this book - Hackers and Painters . I will be quoting from this book for sometime now.. (atleast next couple of posts)

The first revelation the book had on me - everything around you is a computer. Programmers rule this world. Your newspaper is gone.

Your car is now a computer.

Your books are now in e-readers.

I was watching a ted talk - Bill gates has hired hackers who are good in hacking ssl and other complex systems to hack mosquito life cycle. Watch Paul Pablos Holman here 

The geek employing nerds to kill mosquito .. The world is now seen as feedback lifecycles,systems and feedback mechanisms. What does this have to do with Rich and wealthy?

Paul Graham author of Hackers and Painters explains the difference.. very clearly. People think making money is their primary objective.We study for it - from 6 years to 21/30 years about 15 to 24 years. We are supposed to use this knowledge and every other knowledge we acquire on the way to acquire money. Making money is not wealth.

Money is supposed to provide you with 'Time' and 'Comfort'. 

If you are in Antarctica or middle of ocean or in s desert or in outer space (or in parts of texas lie Lubbock where I lived for 3 months!) money wont get you anything. You need wealth. You want to be not Rich with money but wealthy with what you 'need'. 

Money is anything that is commonly accepted by a group of people for the exchange of goods, services, or resources. - according to about.com

Imagine a world without money - you won't. Imagine a world with lots of money and lots of  money only with you. Remember you being rich means others need to be poor. It is a zero sum game. If not what is the point of being rich. Think. Do you want everyone to be rich?

If everyone is rich then everyone gets to enjoy the same comforts.

Physical comforts - nice house,car/transportation,technology,medical facility access

Mental comfort - time to use whatever you want to use it for and the peace of mind to do the same (not to worry about any physical comfort)

We are know the richest men never carried wealth with them when they died. 

I don't know many rich women who died so I won't quote them here.

Wealthy people are not the people we see in nice cars if they are still running behind making money.

If you can choose to do what you want to do and have the means to do the same then you are wealthy. If money stops you at anytime from pursuing this task then you are not wealthy.

Are you wealthy? 

Do you want to be rich?

What is money according to you? - Is it a means or it is an end. If it is a means what does it mean to you?

Sivakumar Manikanteswaran