Pre-Cognition

First of all let me be up front. All the individuals who came here for a discourse on the extra sensory probably should just go to a different link because  I will not be talking about them at all (however how have you landed here if you actually knew what would happen?). Chuck it everyone's welcome to give their two cents here.
Anyway, I am tackling this word here a little more literally. When broken down, it would mean before knowledge. Why is this scarier than the monster under your bed? (No I do not mean your sibling). Why is it almost as bad as a Trump Presidency (wait for the irony)? Simply because, you do not know it yet (though there are a different other set of reasons why you shouldn't hire a guy for the job who might tell your senators, "You're fired"). In the Sherlock Holmes, series the titular character once remarks how he does not form any notions before he reaches the crime scenes as that poisons him to have a biased view. How very apt. Though this isn't just relevant for the above mentioned high functioning sociopath, or Sherlock Holmes.

Even in the work place rumours tend to precede praise and ignite suspicions. Essentially they can end your opinion on a person before you even meet them. Not to even consider the amount of friendships you can lose out on, but think about how having this kind of a mind frame portrays you as someone who is swayed more by a mystical whisper of the winds rather than any actual concrete proof. Not a good quality in a teammate or in someone who might be entrusted to lead.Being relatively new to life and new born to maturity I have seen only the tip of the iceberg but of what I've seen, that tip has substantiated my views, that having a kind of image in your head about a person kind of makes you fit them in a kind of mould, limiting the ways in which you can perceive them which can be especially disastrous for  a leader or someone who is entrusted to look after a group of people.

Often people will end up seeing what they expect to see, and this isn't just a random claim it has actually been proven in psychology. Many might have heard of it as a confirmation bias. A situation where in people use mediums to define the end conclusion (all the science students in the house say Heeeyy!). It might be astounding but it is true. It will manifest itself extreme subtlety and before you know it the guy who took the company umbrella from the umbrella stand before you is half the reason why Global Warming and ecological balance is a problem today (Of course it isn't am I right? Climate change is so fake. Like intelligent dolphins. They'd have probably taken control if they were).

What I wish to emphasize here is how stereotyping for one should clearly warn us to the danger of such an activity as it is nothing but an extreme version of this. Instead of an individual if you attack a community. We need to realise that like many things in life we aren't in a position to understand the mystery, art and piece of work that are human beings, and so to resort to the crudest means of information gathering (including but not limited to gossip, taking of your headphones, coffee run, water-cooler talks, etc) are bound to probably fill your head with ideas about a person that may have undergone twisting to an extent that they now resemble more of a dance form than the truth. Which is a very scary thing indeed come to think of it. It can cause you to paralyze yourself when speaking to others simply because you're scarred of what about yourself has preceded you and you're unsure how to tackle it. This is the problem affecting you close home now. About how even before any of your actions or plans have materialized you are condemned to a certain role and set from which nothing but the most drastic changes might set you free which could have been avoided had those lovely gentlemen/ladies could've discussed the news for about two minutes longer. That is probably the key takeaway here. When confronted with a situation where in you're being bombarded by information about someone or something that you haven't interacted with, it's a better idea to prepare the 2 minute lead because you sure as hell won't be fit to lead having  gained poison about something yet to be or yet to be led.
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( I predicted you'd read this)

Coffee With Cream

I would have wanted to title this Tea with milk, out of my personal preference of the beverage but for some reason the almost alliteration and quick phonetic flow was too seducing to give up.
Anyway, before we proceed a simple question, do you like your coffee strong and black or smothered in cream, or for teetotalers, would you rather have that saintly beverage mixing the breath of nature and supplement of cattle. Or the bitter reality that we all have come to know?

If you do have your favourite cuppa in hand for a neither pointless nor insightful piece of work. Pun intended. A recent thought which has been bugging me was of absolutes. As someone who often wished to see the world in black and white to simplify things. As someone who wanted things to be a little less messy and let one man's hero be that for everyone finally has had to realise nothing will ever be so. What is ever so hilarious is that what we consider to be absolute stands might in a few years time be fuzzy midways themselves. World history has shown enough in this regard.
We all seem perpetually stuck on this spectrum that is expanding either side. While we may not want to be physically at either end we look to them to know our reference but slowly it seems we just lose sight. It  isn't as much of stretching of the sides as it is the expansion of the centre.  What is a balance today becomes  slightly polarized tomorrow and slowly keeps increasing.


I mean a few years ago I wanted to debate this with someone, that actions, if seen independently without context can be classified as black or white, but when you analyze them with things like purpose, they become shades of grey. My point was shouldn't we see actions as that? Purely by themselves. Though now I realise that my thinking was extremely immature, because seeing an action without purpose is like having a fire purely out of its existence. It does not make sense. An action is an agent of change. A change is precipitated by a reason and unless you see the reason you cannot understand the change. Of course things brings us back to the land of fuzz rather than discrete.

I don't have a whole lot to say on this topic because I feel I am not in the best place (in maturity) to analyze this, but I find the lack of a common defining standard or yardstick disturbing. I mean if  I were to look at measurements, without a standard it becomes a confusing mesh of random events and for some  reason if we have reached as a species a position where our actions have yardstick but existence and purpose  itself a enigma what have we really been doing all these years? \

Update:  I think this is a a discussion which might be one on which I have maintained a rather mistaken point of view. For one, I believe the most appealing thing about absolutes are the clarity and ease of functionality they promise. Of curse that would imply a set of actions to follow. On contrary I believe they are in opposition to the very essence of life. Any development we make, any progress we make has to be done as way of tackling am issue differently. Which can be done only if you think differently. Probably the day the world starts dealing in absolutes will be one where we as a civilization will just cease to grow. Probably not the best thing you know.

Touch Up

Hello again. Day 3. Trying for a trifecta here. I generally don't write very often. Definitely not as often as I'd like but a series of coincidences has kind of worked for me. Inspiring me enough to write.

While exercising today (that is a way of saying peeking in to the abyss of all those where goodies are consumed and being haunted by spirits of junk food past) I caught an extremely intriguing line on TV which really caught my attention. I actually for a brief moment assumed it was the onset of a stroke because what possible ad-man could actually be okay with the line. It was slipped in an almost shameful manner as if neither the actor nor the writer thought it was the best line to put. Then again we aren't the genius strategists who know what the people want right? We're just people. Talk about Level 7 susceptibles (sic). *A billion points to you if you get that reference*

Anyway, so this beauty cream actually said that "Smiles cause wrinkles hence you should use this cream.". First of all not to argue with the fact that the biology must be sound, but honestly is that supposed to be the best argument to pursue ? Blaming one of the most positive emotions and then selling your cream? Almost to the extent of making people buy it because they smile? It just sounded like a sick game of association. I mean what will they get next? But a hair oil because you get a hair cut. Buy some after-life lotion so that you may be moisturized in Hell/Heaven. I mean we're in a world where daily media loves to propagate bad news over actual good, to drive a consumerist culture fine, but now you have products attacking the very essence of humans?

I am most probably over reacting, I get it but there is too much at stake here. It always starts like this. Like some kind of ironic joke which the more you hear starts seeming less ludicrous. Be it your friends asking you to teach them Defense Against the Dark Arts, or people believing that a wall will help solve foreign relation issues. The world starts with "It is crazy, it cannot be true", goes to a "It cannot be true" and ultimately stops at "True.".  A monosyllabic ending for a monolithic ending.
I mean even if smiles cause wrinkles is that really that bad a thing? In some twisted way is it okay to have side effects from using certain products, but be alarmed at the reaction someone might give when hearing about "now your fairness will increase by three scales".

Cosmetics are not entirely pointless. They are often a huge confidence booster for certain groups regardless of gender but you know you have an issue when they start permeating that layer they maintain. I mean alright keep it as a shield why start pointing the guns inwards?
One does not need to go into the explanation of being a naturalist and stating its importance. We all know about the wonders of smiles and have too often now heard someone crack the "smile-mile" joke in its many variants, so why would we want anyone to take that away from us? What kind of a plastic world would we live in where utilizing facial muscles is frowned upon.....or not. What will you achieve by being perfectly wrinkle free. It's not like the afterlife has a deal where you give them a face that looks unused then they'll give you another one to try. The one which you get is the one with which you live (except unexpected circumstances). Why try to preserve it at the cost of  happiness?

Again I am not targeting a brand or the cosmetics industry. I mean to tackle this kind of thought which has started permeating in the world which thinks that the best way to look is less human, more plastic and why that is okay with people. People advocate all kinds of crap and the saddest part it those who do themselves are aware of their bullshit but as long as someone buys their yarn all they'll hear is $ka-ching$.

Honestly, please do not think there is anything wrong with expressing yourself but to actively coax yourself to be regretful of it is shameful. It isn't just a irresponsible media but a horrible message as well. Please do never curtail those 32 (unless it is inappropriate). Most of all remember if you feel burdened by all the pseudo-helpful messages and do think that it is actually affecting you way more than it should, probably the only "make up" you need is for your mood. Nothing else.

Cheers!

Steady As She Goes

So after my last entry, I did something any blogger worth his salt might do. I spammed some of my closest friends about it, so a big shout out to them (even if they didn't respond with any input. Not like I care. Pft.).

Anyway. This entry is a about fresh starts. Probably should've been ideal for the previous entry but as they say, hindsight is 6/6.
What you realise after having made multiple starts in life, such as resolutions is that probably nothing like a "fresh start" actually exists. Think about it. Saying fresh start implies that it is some new beginning. Though, in all honesty, is that really even possible? They say we are a sum of our experiences. Doesn't it stand to reason that obviously there isn't any running away from it?

"Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it"

I think nothing captures the argument better than this. Of course some people use "fresh start" to imply the removal of obligations and reset to a base level, but really is that even possible? Haven't you moved beyond that level of being a greenhorn? It just seems to me there is a lot more to be learnt and remembered from our mistakes than to try to forget them. As for fresh starts, agreed they might be something which are needed in really dire situations but too often I have seen that we've become a generation that is ready to quit at things too easily. We're so eager to cut our losses that we actually start causing them. Tenacity is something which probably most of us need a lesson in. When you look at the world you see that some of the best victories, the biggest empires,corporations, armies that managed to not only survive but flourish were those which simply refused to give up no matter what the odds were. It is an extreme end and a bit of a deviation but what I am trying to convey is probably our world these days is probably so obsessed with "fresh starts" that they fail to give enough effort in their previous one.

We're a generation that was reared on choices. We've had different options for foods, cultures, religions, entertainment to the extent that all of it begins to lose its value.What they've also caused is a decrease in attention span as no longer do we follow see one thing through, but we are always looking for another option more suited to us. Trying to find a perfect fit at an age where we ourselves are still trying to make ourselves in the first place.In a time before changing your employment was something done by senior employees for broadening their horizons, now a days right at the collegiate level people are ready to jump ship. We end up trying so many different things that we fail to commit and take one thing forward.

It's not to say it isn't a good thing. It has of course caused the development of a cross trained workforce and those who already have a plan of doing so should continue with it. But what about those who try something new simply because the present is too tough and the rose tinted glasses of beginning are now fading to show their real colours. This quality manifests itself everywhere. In relationships, education everywhere. Failure to commit is probably the best way to commit a failure (I will be so disappointed if someone hasn't said that already).

The main thing I am trying to convey here is that we need to learn to commit to ourselves. We need to learn to really trust and believe in ourselves. We need to take the bull by the horns and not try a different sport. We start a battle and give up at the toughest. Probably that's the best time to continue because how worse could things get? So that's it. Don't take a fresh start. Refresh the old one.

Foreword

Hello, it's me. I was wondering if you'd like to have a chat over a cup of tea?
Yes I was thinking of going for song, but midway thought of doing a chai-pe-charcha thing which is almost the single most paradox of an activity in India. Also I spent roughly the last 30 words discussing about the first line. That has to tell you something.

So this post is more than 2 years after my cryptic-and-talk-in-poetry phase. It didn't go too well as you may imagine not many people like poetry or cryptic messages. More importantly people don't have the time.So here I am trying to start again. Is this blog going to be redefined? Now that is a subjective thing, because honestly the purpose is just as a method of thought and creative outlet without a website that knows my "Likes".  It still is of course maintained by someone  who is in the most comfortable, stable, defined period of his life. Early 20's of course. It is the time when everything is sorted and settled. For all those unable to follow, it was absolute sarcasm. So this thing might be all over the place.

Right now, I am employed with an IT giant, in Bangalore (aka: Bengaluru, aka: India's Silicon Valley, aka: The Place where traffic can violate laws of time and distance). Hailing from an extremely nomadic life, it is a refreshing change after the last 7 years I spent in Delhi (aka: "Allow me to introduce you to my dad" city). However it is even a bigger change as it marks the first time I have set out. Of course it isn't like one of those hard resets people do when they just pack shop and move out of the city. Then again, it's not like I have offended enough number of people......yet.

It is pretty crazy though. The entire experience of it. I mean right now I am doing something which in a manner of speaking can be quantified. People actually ask you more mature questions and have a hugely different set of expectations. I think the best way to describe it is that it is, different.

A cousin of mine got married this January ( to put it in perspective he was one of the guys who in our youth battled my argument regarding my friends by using the unbeatable logic of  " She is a girl, who is your friend, hence girlfriend " that should probably tell you how back we go). So anyway, here I am at his marriage and meeting these people some of whom for the very first time in my life and I realize how easy it is for us to completely remain oblivious to someone's past and history. I personally believe that anyone who doesn't know about my Power Ranger phase doesn't truly know me. I would say Pokemon phase but that hasn't ended (don't expect it too either. Charizard ftw!).
So what used to be a general introduction where in you would tell someone about your school, friends ,etc being sufficient to narrate your life story, by now you have enough in your life for them to be unable to understand you in a casual setting. It might not be such a big thing, but when I think of it in  perspective regarding all the people I know, it is mind boggling to know that someone who they might never speak to again has a better idea about them than their present friends. Of course it also means I most probably will have an equally wide set of people I need to get to know. We as a species are social, that would imply that knowing each other's story is of relevance. I think we might've forgotten that.

We use social networking sites but I think they are probably the equivalent of judging a book by the cover, or if you will.....Face ( a zillion points to Gryffindor for being so smooth with that). So to anyone out there reading this, try to find people's story. Like most they'll teach you a lot. What you've read here might probably the best way to give a foreword to you for life. I think we should all be told this more often. Everyone is and has a story. Know it to know the true breadth of the world and the creatures in it. Honestly, if you're not doing that you might just actually be wasting your time here and quite frankly wasting a lifetime can be fatal. (I had to and spent 5 minutes thinking how best to phrase it. I have no regrets. Yes the irony about time wasting is clear to me).

Anyway hope to blurt more soon. See you around!
Cheers.