Blog Post #62 - Adi Shankara and What is the use?

After we dropped my nephew in airport my son Arnav said 

'Daddy it is easy to drop someone at airport but it is hard to see them go away'
The next time we met his friend who had dropped her cousin off he said  "It is easy to say Bye but it is sad to see them go away".

This made me think about Yaksha Prashna . The questions that Yama - the god of justice/death asks Yudhishtra (his son!) are 100 in number. One of the question that Yama asks is 'What is the funniest thing on earth? The answer that was given was - People who are going to die crying for people who died.

Adi Shankara talks about this in Baja Govindam.Punarapi Jananam Punarapi Maranam. The basic idea of Brahamin /Bramam is to attain salvation by moving up the hierarchy from algae to holy human(not holy cow).

Adi Shankara - The Guru of all Gurus in Hinduism. According to Sivakumar Manikanteswaran (Me) if not for him the nation of India and the surrounding regions could have been Buddhist (not that we like dictatorship or Military governments). . the sad reality being any nation that adopts Buddhism is ruled by Military dictators - Japan , China ,Myanmar,Afghanistan (do you remember the 3 buddhas which the Taliban blasted in protest to US assault in 2001 ) Pictures below

Read about those Buddhas at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas_of_Bamiyan

According to the website below

http://vedantavision.org/bhaja-govindam/bhaja-govindam/bhaja-govindam.html

Adi Shankara's work can be classified into 3 categories.

1. Bhashya: Commentaries on the scriptures such as the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and the Brahmasutras

2. Stotras: Devotional compositions like the Dakshinamoorthy stotras

3. Prakarana Granthas: Introductory manuals for spiritual studies

I would like to discuss about 2 songs composed (music and lyrics? - by Adi = Adi Shankara!)
My favorite song isThotaka ashtakam  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7I1RzMwI2I
I will not discuss about this song here.

We will talk about 

Guru Ashtakam   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JutVlgPS9i8
 and Baja Govindam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4FUQxn4CnY

Lets start with Guru Ashtakam
The catchy phrase for me is Thatha kim Thatha Kim, which roughly translates to What is the use?(The title for this post - What is the use?)
http://www.sathyaprema.com/guru_ashtakam.htm

So what ? - What is the use if you have

Handsome Body
Attractive wife
Fame spread far and wide
Enormous  wealth and stable (like Mount Meru - who knows what that is!)
Wife,Wealth,Childern,GrandChildren,House,relations and born in great family
Expertise in six angas and the four vedas
Expertise in writing good prose and poems
If you are considered 'Great Abroad' (in facebook or twitter or youtube)
Considered rich in your place
Greatly Engaged in virtues and Life
Even if you are king of a great region (corporate equivalent - Board of directors,'C' level - CEO ,CFO,CIP ,SVP)
Served by kings and great kings (corporate equivalent Managing other VPS,Directors)
If you are very famous all over world
Your are know for your charity and fame and world like you (like Bill Gates and Bill & Melissa Foundation)
If you concentrate your mind on passion,yoga and fire sacrife or in the affairs of wealth
You have a great Jewel collection
You have a passionate wife
If your mind wanders in forest or in house of in duties of great thoughts

YOU MUST GET ATTACHED TO THE WORDS OF YOUR TEACHER AND MUST BOW TO YOUR TEACHER'S LOTUS FEET.THAT IS THE WAY TO ATTAIN BRAHMAN.

Ok. Get it?

Adi Shankara knows and understands Guru is important.

Mata,Pita,Guru and Deivam(GOD). The order has always been established as Mom,Dad,Teacher and God.

Adi Shankara focussed on 3rd here.

Also the greatness of Adi Shankara is that he is a Shaivite ('A Shiva Work shipper) who wrote about Shiva songs,Shakti - Goddess songs and Vishnu (Govinda,Krishna et all).
Bajha Govindam is a Vishnu song. At the height of the fight between Hindu fractions he dominated the scene by writing about all the gods and demigods of Hinduism.

A physically fit health freak who travelled from Kerala to Kashmir by foot. I think twice to walk to the neighbourhood park.


Remember the context - Adi Shankara is walking in city of Kashi and finds a teacher repeating sanskrit language grammar rules (substitute this with arithmetic,algebra,physics laws or whatever you like). So verse 1 talks about that....but the whole Bhaja Govindam song bring the meaning of attachment and usefulness.

There is the story of Valmiki which brings this point to life(life point to point) - if you do anything for others-others will enjoy the fruits but may not approve the means and accept its consequences. So profound. Think about it..

From Wikipedia

The Uttara Kanda tells the story of Valmiki's early life, as an unnamed highway robber who used to rob people after killing them. Once, the robber tried to rob the divine sage Narada for the benefit of his family. Narada asked him if his family would share the sin he was incurring due to the robbery. The robber replied positively, but Narada told him to confirm this with his family. The robber asked his family, but none agreed to bear the burden of sin. Dejected, the robber finally understood the truth of life and asked for Narada's forgiveness. Narada taught the robber to worship God. But, as Lord Vishnu forbid the divine sage Narada from preaching the Ram_Nam mantra of salvation, Narada cleverly wrapped the mantra as "Mara-Maram". When continuously uttered it would become the moola mantra "Ram". The robber meditated for many years, so much so that Ant-hills grew around his body. Finally, a divine voice declared his penance successful, bestowing him with the name "Valmiki": "one born out of ant-hills" (Valmikam in Sanskrit means Ant-hill).

Here is the meaning of Bhaja Govindam as written in http://www.kamakoti.org/shlokas/kshlok19.htm

1. Adore the Lord, adore the Lord, adore the Lord, O fool! when the appointed time (for departure) comes, the repetition of grammatical rules will not, indeed, save you.
2. O fool! leave off the desire for accumulation of wealth; create in the mind, thoughts about Reality, devoid of passion. What you get - i.e. what you have achieved through your past deeds - with that, satisfy your mind.
3. Seeing the seductive female form, do not fall prey to frenzied delusion. That (female form) is (but) a modification of flesh and fat. Think well thus in your mind and again and again.
4. The water on the lotus-leaf is very unsteady; so also is life extremely unstable. Know that the entire world is devoured by disease and conceit, and smitten with sorrow.
5. As long as you have the ability to earn money, so long will your dependents be attached to you. After that, when you live with an infirm body no one world even speak to you a word.
6. As long as there is breath in the body, so long people in the household ask about one's welfare. Once the breath leaves, on the destruction of the body, the dependents dread that very same body.
7. When a boy, one is attached to sport; when a youth, one is attached to as young woman; when old. one is attached to anxiety; to the supreme Brahman, no one, alas, is attached!
8. Who is your wife? Who is your son? Exceedingly wonderful, indeed, is this empirical process! Of whom are you? Who are you? Whence have you come? O brother, think of that truth here
9. Through the company of the good, there arises non-attachment; through non-attachment, there arises freedom from delution; through delusionless-ness, there arises steadfastness; through steadfastness, there arises liberation in life. 
10. When youth is spent, what lustful play is there? When the water has evaporated, what lake is there? When the money is gone, what dependents are there? When the truth is known, what empirical process is there?
11. Do not be proud of wealth, kindred, and youth; Time takes away all these in a moment. Leaving aside this entire (world) which is of the nature of an illusion, and knowing the state of Brahman, enter into it. 
12. Day and night, dusk and dawn, winter and spring come repeatedly; Time sports, life is fleeting; yet one does not leave the winds of desire.
13. Why worry about wife, wealth, etc., O crazy one; is there not for you the one who ordains? In the three worlds, it is only the association with good people that can serve as the boat that can carry one across the sea of birth.
14. The ascetic with matted lock, the one with his head shaven, the one with hairs pulled out one by one, the one who disguises himself variously with the ochre-coloured robes - such a one is a fool who, though seeing, does not see. Indeed, this varied disguise is for the sake of the belly. 
15. The body has become decrepit; the head has turned grey; the mouth has been rendered toothless; grasping a stick, the old man moves about. Even then, the mass of desires does not go. 
16. In front, there is fire; at the back, there is the sin; in the night, (the ascetic sits) with the knees stuck to the chin; he receives alms in his palms, and lives under the trees; yet the bondage of desire does not leave him.
17. One goes on pilgrimage to the place where the Gañgá joins the sea; or observe the religious vows with care; or offers gifts. But if he be devoid of knowledge, he does not gain release-according to all schools of thought-even in a hundred lives.
18. Living in temples or at the foot of trees, sleeping on the ground, wearing deer-skin, renouncing all possessions and their enjoyment - to whom will not dispassion bring happiness?
19. Let one practice concentration; or let one indulge in sense-enjoyment. Let one find pleasure in company; or in solitude. He alone is happy, happy, verily happy, whose mind revels in Brahman.
20. For him, who has studied the Bhagavadgitá even a little, who has drunk a drop of the Gañgá-water, and who has performed the worship of the Destroyer of the demon Mura (viz. Ùri Køúïa) at least once, there is no tiff with Yama (the lord of death).
21. Repeated birth, repeated death, and repeated lying in mother's womb - this transmigratory process is extensive and difficult to cross; save me, O Destroyer of Mura (O Køúïa), through your grace!
22. He who wears a dress made of rags that lie about in the streets, he who walks in the path that is beyond merit and demerit the yogin whose mind is given up to yoga revels (in Brahman) just as a child or as a mad-man.
23. Who are you? Whom am I? Whence have I come? Who is my mother? Who, my father? Thus enquire, leaving aside the entire world which is comparable to a dream, and is essenceless.
24. In you, in me, and elsewhere too, there is but one Viúïu (God). Vainly do you get angry with me, being impatient. See the Self in all things, and leave off everywhere ignorance which is the cause of difference.
25. Make no effort to be either at war with, or in league with, enemy, friend, son, or relative. If you want to attain the status of Viúïu (Godhood) soon, be equal-minded towards all things.
26. Leaving off desire, anger, greed, and delusion, make self-inquiry; who am I? They are fools who are without Self-knowledge; as captives in hell, they are tortured.
27. The Bhagavadgètá and the Sahasranáma should be sung; the form of the Lord of Lakúmè (Viúïu) should always be meditated on; the mind should be led to the company of the good; and wealth should be distributed among the indigent.
28. One easily takes to carnal enjoyment afterwards, lo, there is disease of the body. Although, in the world, death is the refuge, even then one does not relinquish sinful ways.
29. `Wealth is no good'; thus reflect always; there is not the least happiness therefrom; this is the truth. For the wealthy, there is fear even from a son; everywhere this is the regular mode
30. The regulation of breath, the withdrawal of the senses (from their respective objects), the inquiry consisting in the discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal, the method of mind-control associated with the muttering of mantras - perform these with great care.
31. Being devoted completely to the lotus-feet of the Master, become released soon from the transmigratory process. Thus, through the discipline of sense and mind-control, you will behold the Deity that resides in your heart.

Jaya Jaya Shankara
Hara Hara Shankara
Keep LEarning

Sivakumar Manikanteswaran
.

Blog Post #61 - Game theory in everyday life - what games are you playing today?

Very interesting Concept and I got this best book "Rock,Paper,Scissors" by Len Fisher.

I didn't see the movie beautiful mind and if you did or didn't you should know John Nash and Nash's equilibrium.

Why is it important to learn game theory?
Because you like angry birds? No.
Because Len Fisher is a good author. Yes.
Because it is useful and interesting. Yes.

Prisoner's dilemma is the basis of most of the game theory. Let us learn about that today.

Watergate scandal - Nixon as president of US secretly wanted to bug  Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate complex on June 17, 1972 which 5 people were tasked to do.

Long story short Nixon denied then accepted the act/cover-up and resigned.
What does this have to do with Game theory?

Bernard and Frank were 2 of the folks who were involved in the break in and got caught by cops in watergate hotel.

The prosecutor offered both Bernard and Frank (who couldn't communicate to each other ) the following
similar to the picture below - the numbers are not the same/true.


If Frank accepts and Bernard doesn't then Frank gets out of prison term = Free and Bernard is going to Prison for long time (20 years).
If Bernard accepts and Frank doesn't then Bernard gets out of prison term = Free  and Frank s going to Prison for long time (20 years).
If both accept then both get shorter prison term (say 8 years as below)
If both don't accept the crime then both get shorter prison term (say 6 months below)

The best thing that can happen is for both to shut up!! but this means that both have to trust the other person will not accept!

You and your brother(sister or friend) have taken stuff got caught and were in this dilemma... not that you were in a prison. Can you trust your brother/friend or sister that would co-operate ?

John nash won nobel prize for game theory.

Game Theory is played in market place between companies.

Look at the example below..Which company will spend R&D money on a new business platform?

Microsoft and RIM(not in business anymore?- makers of blackberry) as a group vs. Apple and Google. You can create own for Apple Vs. Google and Since I like them both I will pitch them against my 'paycheck' platform provider company Microsoft.(remove RIM who cares)

Rock Paper Scissors is played on a everyday basis during 3 way negotiation. In a real estate deal you bid for a house and you think it is between you and the seller. The seller gets another offer... there you go.. now there is a game between 3 people - buyer,seller and the competing buyer. Rock,Paper,Scissors..

I cut you choose:
If two kids are fighting for a piece of cake,ask one kid to cut and the other to choose. If you have chores around the house split it into 2 sets of chores and ask your spouse to choose. 

If someone doesn't take the last piece of cake in a tray (or the last piece of samosa in our parties) then you are playing a game too...


There are 7 deadly dilemmas

Tragedy of commons - Multi person Prisoner's dilemma. 

If there is a common place where every person who owns their cow are allowed to graze then adding one more cow by any of the owners adds to the problem.
Think water rations in Texas - if we all  follow the water regulation and water our grass when there is a drought all of us will feel that our grass suffers. 

Few of us can water and break the law and it might still not have an effect. If everyone breaks the law then there will be no water. Got it?

Global warming,Over fishing - lots of complex problems between nations have this game behind them. 
Benefits of credit cards while some are in the credit trap
dvd piracy - some people have to go to theater for rest of us to watch pirated(or original dvd.)
Can you spot Tragedy of commons next time when you witness the same?

Free Rider - Taking advantage without contributing

examples - 

Standing in a sports or non sports events and blocking other people's view while enjoying a better view for ourselves

Burglary

Not joining a trade union and still enjoying benefits

Disarmament - People wanting to disarm a country would still benefit if the country makes arrangement for protection - Singapore doesn't have to have a big army while the treaty with US will help it get the massive structure to protect it.

Peter Ustinov commented - "Corruption is nature's way of restoring our faith in democracy"

The author of the book talks about a case where few people share one secretary and run to her creating emergencies. She is the shared resource and everyone wants to be the free-rider and she dealt with it by 

"Lack of planning on your part does not justify an emergency on my part". 

This is a good way to deal with free-rider and with anyone who demands anything from you without giving you time to plan/respond.

Battle of Husband and Wife (google to know this game) - 

When you (the male) want to go to a movie or watch tv or go for a game (Which man doesn't want to sit and analyze,men have lots of choices in how to watch sports - few want to play though and they go inside the TV and become players ) and your wife wants to go shopping(Which wife doesn't want to go shopping? Women have lots of choices in the shops they would love to shop) who wins?

Chicken

When 2 people walk towards each other in a sidewalk , when Russia and US face off with weapons near Cuba whoever steps out is a 'chicken'. In a fight with anyone in your life whoever is ready to compromise has to tackle the 'chicken' problem. It takes a Mahatma to be human!

Volunteer's dilemma 

When asked for a volunteer if some one volunteers you are not required to volunteer.If no one volunteers you are not safe - you are now part of the pool.

When was the last time you volunteered ? Was it forced volunteering? Think about it.

Stag Hunt

in the meantime Stag Hunt is the best and highest reward structure that is all about collaboration. 4 people can kill a stag or deer. One person can kill a rat/mice. Only when 4 people collaborate - you get the point.. forget eating animals back to real life. 

On the other hand - Prisoner's dilemma was about reward and Stag Hunt is about Risk. 

How many senators will vote against Patriot act in 2000?

If you are in Tibet, each person who wants to talk to a westerner has to think about Risk of getting caught by police (because his neighbor might be a spy) and Urge to pass their thought.

These games at the highest level are mind games played by humans.

Animals play simple fight or flight responses. Humans play deadly games which are not easy to comprehend.

What games do you know?
Which ones do you play?
What strategies do you use?
Can you share them? 


Keep Learning
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #60 - Your Internet and My Internet - How is it different?

Remember the last time you picked up a magazine or newspaper?
The magazine doesn't rearrange itself when you picked it up or neither does the newspaper show you personalized ads and offers.

When you go to a store no one runs and rearranges the store to make it look like "your store" but when you visit any online store they do it for you (for free!)

In the age of mobile social media Internet revolution everything is controlled by algorithms.
Customers who saw this also saw that.
Your friends in facebook 'feed' you via news feed.
You follow people in twitter.

Even if You don't like people and never say nice things in person you 'like' their page. You subscribe to their videos or blog post (hopefully you do to mine!)

What started with personalization on ecommerce and news website is now on to google and every single website.

Test this.

Search for siva in your google ..yes your google.

Now go to your friend and ask him/her to search for 'Siva' .

Voila!!

Did you see.. a google for everyone. A bing for everyone .
A news site for everyone and ecommerce for everyone.

No two people have the same online experience or mobile experience.

Did you realize that these companies decide what you should see?

Do you tell them your preference or do they work with you in finding your preference. More like arranged married in India..works like a charm if and when if does.

Happy Surfing
Sivakumar Manikantewaran

Blog Post #59 - Where do you work? What do you do for a living?

As soon as we introduce ourselves to any one in this world most people ask our name and forget it as quickly as possible or try to use complicated algorithms (as proposed by Dale Carnegie and other gurus who say your name is the sweetest word in every language to you!) to remember your name.

I can promise most people will forget your name (just like me!) and will ask you repeat your name or call you with some other name (That means they forgot 2 people , you and the other 'name' person).

The followup question after your name is mostly "Where do you work?"

When I came to US for the first few years - we go through H1/F1/L1/J1/B1 Labor Perm 140 485 Consular processing.. (lot of stuff) and finally citizenship if you opted to.

Till an Immigrant gets a green card I use to call it "the umbical relation" between you and your employer. Your stay in US and your job are tied by  this umbical cord. The cord exits between you and your company and someone (your manager,HR or anyone else who can influence in this matter ) can cut this cord off. Once the cord is cut you cry and either survive here in US or in India or some other country (canada and Australia here I come!)

If you were born and raised in US you couldn't care less about this process unless you become a manager dealing with this process or a colleague who is bored with details of this hard and strenuous process(sometimes as interesting as a James Bond movie).

The key question "what do you do for living" must be answered all living,had to answered by all dead and had to be answered by all 'future' citizens of earth( I don't know any other planet where life exists!. Do you?)

How do you answer this question? Do you quote your company name? Your position? office location?

What do you do with what you do for a living" do we have an answer?

Keep Thinking
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #58 - Decision Making - If you have to decide .. STOP.. and use this method. (from the book Decisive)

Benjamin Franklin is credit with pros and cons approach . An approach that we use most of the time.. the story of Joseph Priestley proved this to be wrong. Joseph Priestley is the scientist who discovered oxygen. He is also credited with invention of "soda water". He asked Frankin for advise and didn't follow it . Instead he used an approach we all should use - according to the book Decisive. What was the approach - it is W in WRAP below.

We all make decisions . So many of them in a single day.
Some are good.
Some are bad.
Most are neutral - your decision either way wouldn't have mattered - sad but true.

From the book Decisive here are some interesting observations

Whenever you get a question - Should I do this or that? The answer must be This and That. Try it.

The Heath brothers who wrote this book have encoded their process into a mnemonic WRAP

W- Widen your options
R- Reality Test your options
A - Attain distance
P - Prepare to be wrong

W- Widen your options

1. Multi Tracking - Should we go for Birthday party or dinner.. it can be party and dinner.
2. Find some one who solved your problem
3. Look local - bright spots . If your car is always clean and not your closet check why it works for one and not the other
4. Look Regional best practises - How does your school keep kids healthy? This should give you an idea how you can be healthy
5. Distant - Look into another field- What have they done right? If netflix has recommendations based on customer preference based engine how can you provide a variety of food to your kid( don't!..this is just a useless analogy)

R- Reality Test your options

This is where Daniel Kahneman comes into picture. He won Noble price for economics (no big deal) and he is a psychologist (big deal to prove psychology triumphs economics)

He has a concept about confirmation bias. I will elaborate on these biases later and for now do understand that once you start seeking information you will find information to support your theory.

1. When you are about to buy something from another craigslist seller - ask disconfirming question  like "Does this ipod have a problem"

2. Zoom out - When you talk to expert don't ask open ended or closed questions . Ask them very specific questions only about past or present . Don't ask them to predict future. Ask them to provide information 

about past and present. Never about future. Remember - expert advise is only useful to identify basis. If you want to make a move to texas ask some one anyone who moved to texas (in the book they say south carolina - I ask why not Texas - I moved here so should you!). 

3. When you start a project (this is from the book - The Enchantment) - do premortem. Ask people and your friends why your project will fail. Have they done it earlier? Ask team members why this project will fail before it starts. This beats the confirmation bias.

4. Do ooch - Real life test. Experiment. Your child wants to watch tv and then do homework. Try for 3 days. Let her know that she is in charge and for 3 days she can watch tv first and then do homework and if it fails she should own and understand that the experiment failed and we can try it in another 6 months . For now, parents rule (at least for 6 months)

3. Attain Distance

1.What will I ask my friend to do in this situation?

2. What will my successor do? - If i am not the women in charge what would the next woman/man in charge do if and when I leave?

3.Use 10/10/10(another book) and referenced in this book - what does this decision mean to me 10minutes from now,10months from now and 10 years from now.

4.Prepare to be wrong

we are always almost confident about the future. we know everything - atleast so we think. We should prepare to be wrong and be prepared for victory parade too.

Setup trap wires. Have a checklist (another book - about checklist that you must read - The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right) . 

Do you know what will happen if you are wrong?

Always ask this question when you have multiple options in life or in a meetings - How can we prove this is the best option and ask everyone to work on the option and not on advising people why it is not the right one.

It is worth repeating - ask your spouse or child or team mate - if we have few options take each option and get opinion on that option (not negative but positive) and find what will it take to make sure this is the best option.

Use what you learn and decide well .

Happy new year

Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #57 - Why your new year's resolution will not work . For smarter people - why you don't have a new year's resolution?

Ever since Pope Gregory decided to give us this calendar we all celebrate new year with a fervor for resolutions.

Few suggestions (including mine)

1. Reducing weight
2. Eating Healthy
3. Never to procrastinate
4. Kicking off a bad habit
5. Running everyday /exercise
6. Never to be angry
7. Meditate everyday
8. Practise guitar (or any instrument everyday)
9. Learn something new everyday
10. Write a book/a blog a day

We all know none of these resolutions will survive January. These will end up in new year resolution 2015 list.

What goes around come around.

There has been a lot of research on why we make these useless resolutions and steps to make them work.
Some of my friends have a resolution never to make a new year's resolution.
Some of my friends want to make tangible workable short term resolutions.

Your resolution may be different. But the process is the same.
You make a resolution. Work on it for a week and voila we see Santa claus.

Humans struggle with this useless effort of making a resolution and breaking it.

2 books come to my mind.

Power of habits - helps us understand that if we can anything for 21 days it becomes a habit.
So instead of resolutions for a year, we can pick 1 habit work on it for 21 days.Fail or pass - move on to the next

Willpower instinct - write a letter dated 1/1/2015 thanking your current self for a well done journey. Detail the obstacles encountered - a sick day and rainy day when you still exercised. Establishing connection between future and current self sounds crazy but it works.(Atleast according to the research and books)

So what was your new year's resolution? - Documenting your resolution and announcing to the world also helps to achieve it as there is peer pressure factor which helps you be more accountable.

What was your new year's resolution? Is it different from last year and will it be different next year?

Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #56 - Magic of Number 11 - Number tricks and facts

When I visited India last time I had the privilege of visiting my sister's school and witness the Math Exhibition.
Honestly I have been not been to any education related exhibition let alone Math exhibition. I had a lot of interest and so did Arnav - my son.

We finally made it and we learnt some really interesting concepts.

Here is one 

What is 82+9? A kid told me " Om namashivaya, Mata Amritananda Mayi.. - some prayer and tribute to her ( the school is Mata  Amritanandamayi's mission) in any case..

and finally told me switch the numbers before you add.
I said what do you mean?

Instead of adding 82+9 add 89+2?
Swap the bigger digit to the first number and add! Voila. I call that Math Magic.

I started teaching this to my son.

They taught me multiplication by 11 (which I re-read now in another book)

Here is how it works

17*11=

write down 1 and space and 11 = 1-7

Now to fill the space add 1+8= 9 .
Now drop that 9 into space between 1 and 7
187.

It woks pretty much for all numbers without a carry over . Now consider 92 *11
Now give the carryover to first number making it 1012.

(Steps 9-2.. to get the number in space 9+2. 11.leave the 1 in the space now give the first 1 to 9 making it 10.)

Now try 98 *11 
1078

What do you know about 11?

From our favorite wikipedia you can learn the following

In English, it is the smallest positive integer requiring three syllables and the largest prime number with a single-morpheme name.

11 is the 5th smallest prime number.

It is the smallest two-digit prime number in the decimal base

Displayed on a calculator, 11 is a strobogrammatic prime and a dihedral prime because it reads the same whether the calculator is turned upside down or reflected on a mirror, or both.

If a number is divisible by 11, reversing its digits will result in another multiple of 11. 

As long as no two adjacent digits of a number added together exceed 9, then multiplying the number by 11, reversing the digits of the product, and dividing that new number by 11, will yield a number that is the reverse of the original number. 
(For example: 142,312 x 11 = 1,565,432. 2,345,651 / 11 = 213,241.)

Apollo 11 was the first manned spacecraft to land on the Moon.

There are 11 players on a soccer team on the field at a time as well as in a cricket team. Within a school or college, the phrase first eleven (or first XI) - often "first football XI" and "first cricket XI" - generally refers to the first (best) team currently playing. Other teams are often referred to as "the second XI" etc.

Also in soccer, in the German language (and others like Italian - "gli undici metri" -, countries that predominantly use the metric system) a penalty kick is referred to as "Elfmeter" because the penalty spot is approximately 11m (precisely 12 yards) from the goal line. 


There are 11 players in a field hockey team. The player wearing 11 will usually play on the left-hand side, as in soccer.

An American football team also has 11 players on the field at one time during play. 11 is also worn by quarterbacks, kickers, punter and wide receivers in American football's NFL.

In cricket, the 11th batsman is usually the weakest batsman, at the end of the tail. He is primarily in the team for his bowling abilities.

World War I ended with an Armistice on November 11, 1918, which went into effect at 11:00 am—the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. Armistice Day is still observed on November 11 of each year, although it is now called Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations and parts of Europe.

Three films -- Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) -- have each won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture of their respective years.

The number 11 is important in numerology, as it is the first of the Master Numbers.

Being only one hour before 12:00, the eleventh hour means the last possible moment to take care of something, and often implies a situation of urgent danger or emergency (see Doomsday clock).

The number 11 bus is a low-cost way of sightseeing in London

In the game of blackjack, an Ace can be counted as either one or 11, whichever is more advantageous for the player.


Happy Learning
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #55 - A student went to a teacher and said I cannot learn more and the teacher went to grab a big kettle full of tea..

The Zen teacher told the student that he can leave after he has a cup of tea. The student agreed. The teacher got him a cup and started pouring tea.. and poured more and poured more.. the little cup couldn't take the big kettle's content and started overflowing (What a waste of tea!).

The student said "Master,the little cup cannot take this much tea..stop". The Master replied "Yes. You must empty the cup before I pour more"

The short story is meant to illustrate that most of the time our mind is not empty. We know a lot of stuff and we think we know a lot of stuff.

When someone talks about Africa we think we know everything. When someone talks about Gandhi we know a lot .

Unless we empty our mind we cannot learn.

We ask kids to study. They also learn.

There is a big difference and kids know that they can learn because their mind is empty and they know it. Adults study a lot from books from the world (and from useless blogs like mine) and still don't learn.

We ask kids to do home work . What the kids need to do is home learning. What adults need to do is learn along with the kids.

These are my 2 favorite Quotes from Albert Einstein

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.

Happy Learning
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #54 - Genghis Khan Chanakya Alexander (Why should I call him great?) and Sadhu(Learned Man)

Time to revisit Alexander and his visit to India.

Conspiracy theory holds that Alexander( note I will resist writing Alexander "the Great" for as much as possible in this post ) was requested by his mentor and Greek intellectuals that he can take all the wealth that he wins ( I don't know why they need to tell him that given that he is the emperor who won) but bring back Sadhu(s) from India to exchange ideas and debate intellectually.

Not sure if this was the advise from him mentor and teacher Aristotle but it does make sense that Greeks, Indians,Chinese,Egyptians, Babylonians and Mesopotamians were the only famous human groups at that time.

We had the native africans, native americans - native indians (they won't have known that just because columbus lost his way and Americo Vespucci had the privilege they became native indians/native americans) native humans who were less popular.

Now let turn to Mongolia from where a young lad ( I think he was 14) when he was crowned a king (note not a prince) he started capturing territories and made an empire.

The chinese who were scared of the Mongols attach build a wall not around the house , not around the king's place, not even around the capital or towns (like forts) but around the entire country...

Imagine a wall to protect china because Mongolos were attacking all the time and some claim that it is the only man made structure visible for naked eye from space (which is proved to be false.google it)

In 1215, Genghis Khan (Temuchin) of the Mongols finally penetrated the Great Wall and took over northern China after four years of continuous attacks.  The Mongols were the only invaders to ever have defeated China after the Great Wall was built.

One of the tactics Genghis Khan used was( again it is all history + story I don't know the truth but sounds logical to me.. if it is logical to me it must be true and must be logical to you!)

Kill every single man,woman,child and just leave one man alive and ask that man to go forward to the next village he was planning to attack. .ost villages surrended when they heard the horror story from this lone survivors.

In essence it was not chariots and cavalry (with horse power!) and not arrows and not elephants or not gun powder or drones or germs(biological) or chemical attack but fear! Just pure raw fear that surfaces when one explains what happened to every man,woman and child was enough to surrender the entire town or village to the incoming Genghis Khan army.

Genghis Khan is the Greater than Alexander in terms of square area captured


Alexander conquered 2,000,000 square miles.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:MacedonEmpire.jpg and http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/murchib/history/world/Notes/Euro/Greece/Alex.html

GenghisKhan on the contrary has an empire that stretched across Asia to Central Europe much much bigger than Alexander. The adjective "The Great" confused everyone and Greek language is closely related to English than Mongolian. I am not sure if Genghis Khan has a nick name - Genghis Khan The Man who will always be greater than every man who adds an adjective "The great.."( I am not sure if he was concerned about woman with similar titles)

It was the largest contiguous and second largest empire in world history, five times greater than the Macedonian Empire, much larger than the Persian Empire and Roman Empire, and twice as large as the Arab Empire. The Empire of Genghis Khan was four times larger than that of Alexander the Great.  So figure about 8,000,000 square miles.  I exclude the successors of Genghis since they built on what he had already conquered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Genghis_khan_empire_at_his_death.png

http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h11mon.htm

Onto Chanakya , who has been portrayed as Machiavelli which in my opinion was not true. He wrote 2 books one for economics which few people mention and the other is his theories on political savvy  and victory which  lot of folks associate him with.

It is notable to understand that India still uses these in foriegn diplomacy and so does Brazil. 
India has peaceful relations with Iran and Iraq,Cuba,Russia and America,Palestine(though not an official country) and Israel and everywhere else where there is diplomacy issue. India and Pakistan is the only place ironically India cannot use this tactics.

So does Brazil. Think Brazil won both  

FIFA world soccer from 12 June to 13 July 2014 and 
Summer Olympics August 5 to 21, 2016

thanks to their diplomacy. You can see their leaders in Russia,Cuba,India and Cuba. 
To bring 2 of the world's greatest events for this decade to the same country is a wonderful achievement. I am not sure if they read any of Chankya's books.

What does Chankya have to do with Alexender?

Chanakya took it upon himself to rebuild Indian princely states and recapture Greek territories by making  Chandra Gupta the emperor.

Chandra Gupta or his son married Alexander's commander's Seleucus daughter  Cornelia, thus being ahead of his time and Rajiv Gandhi in marrying a Italian lady... the foreign lady in Indian land.

In addition to this matrimonial recognition or alliance, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to the Mauryan court at Pataliputra (Modern Patna in Bihar state).  

Onto Alexander and the Sadhu(Holy man!)

As you read at the beginning of this post Alexander was tasked to bring back Sadhu(as) to Greece for intellectual exchange of knowledge.

Like any good leader Alexander delegated the task to his commander who in turn delegated to the soldiers.

Finally it was between a soldier and one of the Sadhus who was sleeping under a tree.

Solder commanded the Sadhu to come and meet the greatest emperor king of all kings Alexander.

Sadhu replied to the soldier - Alexander may be your king and emperor not mine.
The Sadhu reported this to the commander and the commander to Alexander . There were orders from Alexander  not to hurt ( I assume) so they didn't hurt or force the Sadhu to meet Alexander .

Alexander  came in person to meet the Sadhu.

Alexander commanded him to come along with him to Greece for which the Sadhu said If I listen to you I won't be an Sadhu and an intellectual . For a man who have given up everything and in pursuit of knowledge  I cannot let you make decisions for me and I will not accept your decision.

Alexander  got angry as his soldiers and commanders were watching and didn't want to lost to a lone Sadhu.

Alexander pulled  his knife and kept on the Sadhu's throat and cut a small inch from where blodd started to come out and he yelled I will kill you if you don't come with me and the Sadhu said

I will watch you kill me the way you will watch killing me!

Interesting.

Think about it.

The Sadhu taught Alexander that I am not this body and if you kill this body my soul will watch this body getting killed just like how your soul will watch this incident.

Learning this profound wisdom Alexander surrendered to the Sadhu.

Great story right. I really don't know the truth but it is great to write things like ..

growing up in India I love Masala movies. Hollywood might have made movies but we made masala movies with Item numbers..songs dance heroes killing 500 bad guys at the same time. So making Alexander lose to this Sadhu in this blog was no big deal!.

Don't lose the lesson though - the body the soul and the story.

Now Alexander will forever be part of Indian history and has always been referred to as sikander. According to Wikipedia  Sikandar is the Pashto version of the name Alexander, after Alexander the Great. It is alternatively spelled Sikkandar Sikander or Iskander.

Happy Learning
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #53 - What Cost 2.7billion dollars in 1991 $$ is costing $500 + ipad and in future drop to around $50?

What is Human Genome project?

Have you ever had blood test? Do you know what they are testing and how they do it? You may not care. Now, you should atleast care about Gene Sequencing. Why?

Answer - Human Genome project
and its implications on your life..coming to a lab near you.

If you were not sleeping in your biology class  (like me!) you would have understood the difference between DNA,RNA and Genes.

Gene Makes up DNA. 
DNA makes up Chromosome.
DNA , genes, and chromosomes -all- are present in the nucleus of the cell.

Every cell has DNA 

and this is how a DNA looks



You might also Know the 23 pairs of Chromosomes in each cell 

Every chromosome has a number except 23rd chromosome - which is denoted by X or Y.

Every gene is made up of chromosome from few hundred to 2 million .

and each human body has 20,000 and 25,000 genes and this is a gene

Why should you learn about Cell, Gene,Chromosome and DNA?

Because it is your body and the government spent 2.7billion to sequence your genes and currently the cost is dropping to $500 + ipad to view the results at least for this Guradian reporter - Carole Cadwalladr interesting article check out her observations on Human Genome Project and cost at http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jun/08/genome-sequenced


Lots and lots of medical field break thorough are expected from this .

Watch Bill Clinton at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_8XRkb-wbY

This is video footage of President William Jefferson Clinton  speaking at an event in which it was announced that the first survey of the entire human genome had been completed, along with Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. J. Craig Venter. Prime Minister Tony Blair delivered remarks via satellite telecast. This footage is official public record produced by the White House Television (WHTV) crew, provided by the Clinton Presidential Library.

http://www.genome.gov/11006943


As we go into 21st century (Why is it called 21st century when it is still 2013? - not sure.!) we continue to 

1. Looking Inward - Explore our planet - for now we don't know what is at the core of earth
2. Looking upward/Outward - Explore moon and Mars while satellites are going all over the universe. Planned missions to Jupiter's moon (where there is evidence of ice) and other explorations 
3.Looking Inside humans - which is where the human genome comes into play.

In few short years your Quest/CPL or some lab will charge you $50 with $20 co-pay not covered by insurance or with some obscure words like co-insurance and you will have your genes sequenced and sent back to your doctor and /or your employer or your girlfriend or boyfriend.

Why?

The human genome sequence can help understand if you have genes that might cause cancer  in effect 

helping your girlfriend/boyfriend decide whether she should dump you or getting married (and live happily ever after ) 

or 

your employer deciding to hire you based on human genome sequence just like drug test today 

or 

your Primary care Doctor who genuinely wants to help you  by helping you identify diseases early ( I am sure you are not running/walking 3 times a week or eating healthy but want to live long healthy life like me.. so always be friendly with your doctor!)

The above mentioned 3 instances are mentioned just for fun as no one knows exactly what might happen in the future but here is a fact.

Steve Jobs also had his genome sequenced for $100,000 - it was widely reported in the 

media and now it is even in wikipedia!

What will I do if there is no Wikipedia? What will google do if there is no wikipedia as 

google's answer's engine runs on top of wikipedia!



Happy Gene Sequencing
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #52 - When was Jesus Born - Jan 1 0 AD/BC ? How to know what day of the week is Christmas?

The last post explained clearly (It was clear to me so it should be clear to you) how to solve for Jan 1 2014 and asked you to solve for Jan 1 2030.

Recap

Jan 1 2030

2030
Remove 2030

20

25% of 30 = 7( Not sure when was the last time you tipped 25% in a restaurant but that was a good way to remember this formula - tip 25% and ask the waitress to keep the change. If it a waiter take the change!)

Add 30+7 = 37.

I did tell you about the leap year problem(2030 is not leap year so no issues)

Closest 7 multiplier is 35 

Take 37-35 = 2 = Tuesday ( 1 was Monday all the way to 7/0 was Sunday)

Now the question is what about Christmas 2013?

Remember to solve Christmas 2013 you need to solve Jan 1 2014 which was Wednesday and use the same answer.


Always find Jan 1 of next year and it is the same day. 

Why? Because Christmas and New Year always fall on the same day... year after year..like magic.

The fact is that we all forget that mathematics (this I heard in some Ted talks)

must be

1. Computational
2.Applicational
3. Inspirational.

In these posts I want to stay with 1 and 2 (like your school teachers) and will hope you will be inspired!.

No, that is not my plan.

Think - what is Isomorphism?

From Princeton University website

Isomorphisms are studied in mathematics in order to extend insights from one phenomenon to others: if two objects are isomorphic, then any property which is preserved by an isomorphism and which is true of one of the objects, is also true of the other

so those folks know what it is. I don't.

So as long as we understand that Calendar days follow certain truths we can extend our knowledge from one application to next.

What does this inspire you to do? Get an App so not to mess with this formula? Write a new app with these formula?

I know the purpose of Gregorian calendar was to ensure we all celebrate Easter.

Why? Resurrection of Jesus is the miracle that helped people understand he was son of God so pope  Pope Gregory XIII's  decided to commision Mathematicians to create a calendar for all of us (Whether Christian or not!).

We are now in 2013 AD.

A.D. (Anno Domini or "year of our Lord") was meant to mean after the birth of Jesus. 

Current nomenclature uses CE and BCE (Common Era) as the estimation of the birth year of Jesus, made by Dionysius Exiguus in the sixth century is now considered inaccurate. 

Using the chronology of events in the Bible and known dates of Roman historical events, the birth must have taken place between 6 BCE and 4 BCE. 

Have you started observing ACE and BCE in text books and history channels? If not, 

I am assuming you are watching roman numerals - in super bowl and have not come to Arabic and Post Arabic Mathematical World.

So no one knows on Jan 1 0 AD/BC what happened Just like how you don't remember 12/8/2012 unless something interesting happened to you.

Make today memorable .

I read somewhere

Yesterday is History
Tomorrow is Mystery
Today is a Present. Use it .

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 

We will talk about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah soon.

Sivakumar Manikanteswaran

Blog Post #51 - What day is Jan 2014? How to teach your kid (or the kid in you) how to find day for a Jan 1 of any year ? - Math and Life Series

Some of us learnt growing up in India how to calculate day for a given date but do remember that formula was for the last century!

Can you believe almost all of my friends were born in last century. Really old fellas (is it fellis for women? Why do women sometimes say lets go guys to other woman.. ok. that is another different post!)

Secrets of Mental Math by Arthur Benjamin and Michael Shermer contains the formula which I will elaborate here.

I will work this for Jan 1 2014 .

Now to Jan 1 2014.

Create Y2k again and remove 20.

You have 14

Get 25% of 14 (think of it as a tip and asking the waiter to keep the change - simple way to say go for the quotient and forget the reminder - have you ever forgot your reminder??? - ok..will write about this separate )

Answer = 3

Now Add 14 and 3. Year and 25% of Year

Gives you 17

Find closest multiple of 7 less than 17
Answer = 14

Subtract 17-14= 3 (Didn't we start with 3..observe the steps and it is coincidental and will change for our christmas problem)

Now use the following

Monday              1
Tuesday              2
Wednesday         3
Thursday             4
Friday                 5
Saturday             6
Sunday               7 (or 0)

In future posts  I will explain how to calculate days for other days including your birthday, your wife's birthday (if married and remember you should never forget that date.

The secret to remembering your wife's birthday is to forget it once.
She will help(!) you big time and ensure you remember every time including her mom's birthday)  and any other day in the future.

Do we have another round of Mayan calendar or any other calendar expiring like 12/12/12...Check Aztecs Calendar and make sure the if there is a prediction of end of world in their calendar.

Now try Jan 1 2030 you should get Tuesday.

Remember the formula will not work for Leap Year.  For leap year you need to substract one more..think.. and try solving 2020.

Happy Learning
Sivakumar Manikanteswaran