Thanks to all the endless waiting at the airport lounge and few cups of crappy coffee – I have managed to knock back Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers.
I wasn’t too excited about the book until Bani read it and finally I saw this young chap’s interview on CNN. With his mop top hair and the spunk in his attitude, he resembled a rock star more than an author...My initial lackluster response could be because his earlier books failed to impress me. Tipping Point and Blink made it to the never ending list of hip business jargons...yet like all jargons they only sound nice and mean nothing...
Outliers is different...It’s a concept that’s interesting and backed up with a lot of research where the data has been sliced in a rather intuitive and interesting manner.
Besides, various concepts – the one that caught my fancy is the 10,000 hour hypothesis. This bloke proves that to excel in any field (sports to music) one has to put in 10,000 hours of practice. He has done a fine job in convincing his readers with examples ranging from Beatles to Bill Gates.
In fear of emerging as an ordinary rookie – I tried to analyze what have I done for 10,000 hours? The first activity that crossed my mind was “sleeping”...firstly the number far exceeds 10,000 and my back of the envelope calculation reveals a whopping 90,000 hours. More importantly, it counts for nothing...Similarly Bull Shitting doesn’t count either!
Finally I arrived on something that’s a little more respectable...I have watched television for 10,000 hours. Everything on television…sports, music, movies...the works. Here is the calculation – I got cable TV at home when I was 10...thus the last 20 years into about 90 minutes of television a day adds upto a little over 10,000...
Infact as a kid I used to watch television much to the chagrin of my parents. The only time my dad grudgingly approved was when I won a quiz with the clincher being a question on Doogie Howser MD! Ofcourse I could never figure out if his respect for the idiot box went up or his respect for intellectual quizzing plummeted!
However warped this analysis...I’m left with a nice feeling...Guess one day the world will see some sense in why I gave up more lucrative offers from TCS and Philips to join a television network during b-school placements!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Blow Hot Blow Cold
This was an idiom we often used to describe the behavior of giggly girls in schools. Today I relate it to the weather and my current mental state.
Picture this – On 30th I was frolicking on one of the beaches in Sri Lanka in my trunks and guzzling some local beer. To borrow a phrase from Lewis Carrol – ‘The sun was shining with all its might’. The very next day, every part of my body was freezing as I was ringing in the New Year with my family in North India. This was more like a case of the Prodigal ‘Sun’. I resembled an Eskimo as I draped myself in multiple layers. My body is still in a state of shock.
This winter seems a tad too severe. Being a Bengali from Bombay is as bad as it gets. My ability to withstand the winter chill is similar to Tiger Wood’s ability to practice abstinence (from Golf dummy...What did you think?)
On a more philosophical note – This extremity is exactly what we all witnessed in 2009. The year began with fears of a global meltdown and ended with cheers of a recovery. The instability in the stock market was balanced by a stable government in the centre. The constant fear of losing one’s job was overcome by all loved ones regrouping.
So while we all hope for a Happy New Year...The extremes will continue to haunt us. As one learned idiot said – Aal iss Well!
Picture this – On 30th I was frolicking on one of the beaches in Sri Lanka in my trunks and guzzling some local beer. To borrow a phrase from Lewis Carrol – ‘The sun was shining with all its might’. The very next day, every part of my body was freezing as I was ringing in the New Year with my family in North India. This was more like a case of the Prodigal ‘Sun’. I resembled an Eskimo as I draped myself in multiple layers. My body is still in a state of shock.
This winter seems a tad too severe. Being a Bengali from Bombay is as bad as it gets. My ability to withstand the winter chill is similar to Tiger Wood’s ability to practice abstinence (from Golf dummy...What did you think?)
On a more philosophical note – This extremity is exactly what we all witnessed in 2009. The year began with fears of a global meltdown and ended with cheers of a recovery. The instability in the stock market was balanced by a stable government in the centre. The constant fear of losing one’s job was overcome by all loved ones regrouping.
So while we all hope for a Happy New Year...The extremes will continue to haunt us. As one learned idiot said – Aal iss Well!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
'Deep Dive'...
In business lingo, the latest euphemism for an otherwise simple word like analyze is ‘deep dive’...for eg. – “Mr. Chatterjee can you deep dive into the marketing budget and see which heads can be scaled down for the next quarter.”
Well, Mr. Chatterjee did deep dive today...Not into any mumbo jumbo numbers on a spreadsheet but right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. What I experienced today was a learner’s dive and went down about 50 feet or so. The coral reef with all the aqua life was truly breathtaking. It almost seemed like there was an entire civilization that existed on the ocean bed which we city slickers are completely oblivious of. Species of different shapes and sizes all co-existing peacefully.
The preparation was extensive with the complete diving gear (rubber suit, oxygen cylinder) and the works. The introductory lesson made everything look simple. It definitely soothed the nerves of the asthmatic in me who has a mental block and yet wants to push the limit.
The only scary bit was when all the weight was being attached to me. A 6 kg belt with iron weights, the oxygen cylinder and the harness like Buoyancy Controlled Device. It almost felt like I was better off with the few extra kilos I have so painfully lost. Infact when I complained of the extra weight, my instructor nonchalantly asked me to breathe normally. I thought to myself with all the weight not only will I breathe normally but also shit normally...right there in my rubber suit.
Anyway once I took the dive the entire load seemed to disappear. All my physics lessons of gravitational force and relative weight were coming back to me. I remained underwater for a good 45 odd minutes and ironically had to surface because my mouth was all dry with thirst. Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink!
My New Year resolution is to do the international certification course for underwater diving within the next 2 years. Till then I have no option but to ‘deep dive’ into various business problems!
Parting thought – Today marks the 5th year of the Tsunami that wreaked havoc in this part of the world. I was standing on the beach that was one of the worst affected and was thinking to myself...if a Tsunami was to strike again, what would be safer...on the beach or underwater? Any thoughts...
Well, Mr. Chatterjee did deep dive today...Not into any mumbo jumbo numbers on a spreadsheet but right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. What I experienced today was a learner’s dive and went down about 50 feet or so. The coral reef with all the aqua life was truly breathtaking. It almost seemed like there was an entire civilization that existed on the ocean bed which we city slickers are completely oblivious of. Species of different shapes and sizes all co-existing peacefully.
The preparation was extensive with the complete diving gear (rubber suit, oxygen cylinder) and the works. The introductory lesson made everything look simple. It definitely soothed the nerves of the asthmatic in me who has a mental block and yet wants to push the limit.
The only scary bit was when all the weight was being attached to me. A 6 kg belt with iron weights, the oxygen cylinder and the harness like Buoyancy Controlled Device. It almost felt like I was better off with the few extra kilos I have so painfully lost. Infact when I complained of the extra weight, my instructor nonchalantly asked me to breathe normally. I thought to myself with all the weight not only will I breathe normally but also shit normally...right there in my rubber suit.
Anyway once I took the dive the entire load seemed to disappear. All my physics lessons of gravitational force and relative weight were coming back to me. I remained underwater for a good 45 odd minutes and ironically had to surface because my mouth was all dry with thirst. Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink!
My New Year resolution is to do the international certification course for underwater diving within the next 2 years. Till then I have no option but to ‘deep dive’ into various business problems!
Parting thought – Today marks the 5th year of the Tsunami that wreaked havoc in this part of the world. I was standing on the beach that was one of the worst affected and was thinking to myself...if a Tsunami was to strike again, what would be safer...on the beach or underwater? Any thoughts...
Friday, December 25, 2009
Son of a 'beach'...
Pardon the profanity...actually just a hint of profanity! As the title suggests, my love for the beach far exceeds my affinity for any other holiday destination. To me all hill stations look the same...It’s just mountains all over with pine trees and if you are lucky the peaks are snow capped! Okay, maybe I am being uncharitable but this blog is about the sea...
I guess my love for the sea can be traced back to 2 distinct events...I was born into an house that overlooked the Arabian sea and right through my formative years the sea was an integral part of my ‘vision’. The second event I can pin point would be my exhaustive preparation of the book ‘Old Man and the Sea’. We were always told this was a sure shot question in the ICSE board exams. For a student with my interest and inclination towards academics, a ‘sure shot’ question meant I had to study less! I did read the book a few years after my 10th and enjoyed it a lot more. While the moot point in the book was the old man’s passion and struggle...I simply fell in love with the sea after reading the book.
I have friends who boast of doing 100 odd laps in the swimming pool. However, the real test of strength and guile is swimming in the sea. The choppy waves, the rocky bed and an undercurrent that can make you feel helpless. An ideal day begins with a run on the beach and ends with a dip in the sea (with a ‘high’ consumption of beer in between)
I have visited some of the finest beaches in the last few years...Mykonos (Greece), Koh Samui (Thailand) and Bentota (Sri Lanka). Yet there are so many more on my checklist. Once I retire, it would probably be a good idea to write a book – ‘The Worlds Greatest Beaches’. The only problem is that by the time I retire and with the imminent threat of global warming, the hill stations will become the new beach towns!
I guess my love for the sea can be traced back to 2 distinct events...I was born into an house that overlooked the Arabian sea and right through my formative years the sea was an integral part of my ‘vision’. The second event I can pin point would be my exhaustive preparation of the book ‘Old Man and the Sea’. We were always told this was a sure shot question in the ICSE board exams. For a student with my interest and inclination towards academics, a ‘sure shot’ question meant I had to study less! I did read the book a few years after my 10th and enjoyed it a lot more. While the moot point in the book was the old man’s passion and struggle...I simply fell in love with the sea after reading the book.
I have friends who boast of doing 100 odd laps in the swimming pool. However, the real test of strength and guile is swimming in the sea. The choppy waves, the rocky bed and an undercurrent that can make you feel helpless. An ideal day begins with a run on the beach and ends with a dip in the sea (with a ‘high’ consumption of beer in between)
I have visited some of the finest beaches in the last few years...Mykonos (Greece), Koh Samui (Thailand) and Bentota (Sri Lanka). Yet there are so many more on my checklist. Once I retire, it would probably be a good idea to write a book – ‘The Worlds Greatest Beaches’. The only problem is that by the time I retire and with the imminent threat of global warming, the hill stations will become the new beach towns!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
When in Rome...
There are two ways you can experience a city...As a tourist or as a local! While most fall into the former category, there is a certain charm about the latter that words can’t do justice to...
We all fall prey to the tourist scam sometime or the other. We pay more for local transport and land up visiting sites that have a fancy name and feature in all Google searches. Yet after an arduous journey and a hefty entrance fee you really wonder why you took all the effort. Google has become the traveler’s best friend and yet the real world exists quite faraway from it (and thankfully so).
Consider this...When in Corbett, you must have been taken on a tiger trail...A dolphin spotting excursion in Goa...The similar con in Sri Lanka is crocodile spotting. Guess what...no one has seen a damn animal, yet millions join this bandwagon.
Its ditto for the food...What they serve as local cuisine is just a local name and the taste has been bastardized to suit the European palette.
The next time you visit an exotic location...ditch the sightseeing tour for a ride through the town on a bicycle, sample the local beer and go eat at a local restaurant. The waiter who serves you in the plush hotel is actually your best guide...provided you tip him well!
As they say – When in Rome, do the Romans...oops, do like the Romans!
We all fall prey to the tourist scam sometime or the other. We pay more for local transport and land up visiting sites that have a fancy name and feature in all Google searches. Yet after an arduous journey and a hefty entrance fee you really wonder why you took all the effort. Google has become the traveler’s best friend and yet the real world exists quite faraway from it (and thankfully so).
Consider this...When in Corbett, you must have been taken on a tiger trail...A dolphin spotting excursion in Goa...The similar con in Sri Lanka is crocodile spotting. Guess what...no one has seen a damn animal, yet millions join this bandwagon.
Its ditto for the food...What they serve as local cuisine is just a local name and the taste has been bastardized to suit the European palette.
The next time you visit an exotic location...ditch the sightseeing tour for a ride through the town on a bicycle, sample the local beer and go eat at a local restaurant. The waiter who serves you in the plush hotel is actually your best guide...provided you tip him well!
As they say – When in Rome, do the Romans...oops, do like the Romans!
Free Lunch!
There’s no such thing as a free lunch...This economic principle is a foundation stone for the upbringing of all middle class children. I was no exception...
Now imagine this...My flight ticket that was ‘purchased’ by redeeming miles was also upgraded to Business Class. This is not just a free lunch but a free gourmet offering with a spread from across 4 continents! The joy was not in traveling Business class, but getting to travel in luxury for free...
Yet even before I could get used to the reclining comfort of my seat, I was wondering whether they would also upgrade my return ticket. As they say – Give them an inch and they grab a foot.
Till then...Well begun is half done!
The post is a day late due to the dodgy wi-fi connection in the Hotel at Bentota
Now imagine this...My flight ticket that was ‘purchased’ by redeeming miles was also upgraded to Business Class. This is not just a free lunch but a free gourmet offering with a spread from across 4 continents! The joy was not in traveling Business class, but getting to travel in luxury for free...
Yet even before I could get used to the reclining comfort of my seat, I was wondering whether they would also upgrade my return ticket. As they say – Give them an inch and they grab a foot.
Till then...Well begun is half done!
The post is a day late due to the dodgy wi-fi connection in the Hotel at Bentota
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Run Baby Run!
Today, I was up at 6:30 in the morning...Surprisingly no hangover from last evening and no desire to sleep some more! The temptation was an early morning run by the sea.
There is something magical about the giant frothy waves crashing into the rocks. The scenic promenade stretch, sea spray on my face and some classic hits from Dire Straits playing on my ipod...probably pushed my limit and ran a little extra!
I might as well enjoy these moments while they last...Infact, I cringe at the thought of going back to my gym and hitting the treadmill that overlooks a damn wall!
There is something magical about the giant frothy waves crashing into the rocks. The scenic promenade stretch, sea spray on my face and some classic hits from Dire Straits playing on my ipod...probably pushed my limit and ran a little extra!
I might as well enjoy these moments while they last...Infact, I cringe at the thought of going back to my gym and hitting the treadmill that overlooks a damn wall!
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