Why walk alone

Some journeys are very lonely,
you have no support, you'd have to fight it out,
they're a test of your character, of your mettle,
But why endure so much? Why asks your mind?

The mind asks the heart, the heart trains to explain,
but the heart mansplains and the mind doesn't understand,
for how would you explain a journey which never been pursued before,
the heart says don't give up, but mind asks what's the point

Well, the fruit of a journey propels many more journeys,
this pushes the wanderers and the explorers, they keep going,
but what about the beginners? How do they realize the luck?
How do they know that the entire universe is waiting for them?

We don't unfortunately have answers for that, we just don't know,
there are way too many entry barriers to this heaven of freedom,
way too many obstacles to this journey- the process of becoming,
but then what's in store at the end of the journey

Well, first they ignore, then they laugh at you and then you win,
you start gaining support gradually, the crowd is behind you,
you win small battles, you win big battles, you win them all,
you just don't realize how you got there, you're just ecstatic

What an irony, you fight it all and then you find the support,
you find the support which you were craving for, but at the end,
well, may be, this is the support for your next big journey,
and the even the euphoria can't mask this joy from the new found support

You're gonna be so happy that you'd be blank,
you'd be a true yogi, you wouldn't know how to react,
you've finally won the war, you've found the support
and then breaking the silence, you scream- I am not a Lone Warrior!

The Power Within

Is it impossible? How good are you?
Is it possible? Can you do this?
Is it worth persevering?
How can you do it?

Few legends have been making, the impossible possible,
and this has been happening althrough human history,
their answer is simple, how do we miss it?
but, how can you do it?

There is a force, a mysterious all powerful force,
Darwin found it out, it has designed us,
It explains why we are the way we are!
 but, How can we use it?

But, evolution too makes us sub-optimal,
We think short-term,we may miss the big picture,
We had to fight for daily survival, but now?
so, how can we do it?

It turns out there is a counter-design force,
a force which can help us rewire our brain,
rewire the suboptimal design shaped by evolution,
so, how does this work?

Evolution wants you to try and get the goal,
Evolution puts you in a hurry, in a spot,
Evolution makes you desperate,
so, how do you get over it?

Let the counterforce act, let it tackle,
it will make you realize, that you needn't,
you needn't chase success, you just persevere,
so, how do you do it?

The counterforce asks you to stick, to processes,
you'd get what ever you deserve, not what you desire!
You'd just have to recognize it when it happens,
wait, how do we do this?

Well, stop listening to your heart for a while,
just continue working, without worrying about the result,
It'd happen and you wouldn't even realize
And that's how you unleash the power within!

The Hurt Leader

Don't go there, you'll be hurt
parents scream out of love, we don't care,
Don't do that, it's a huge risk,
mentors scream out of care, we don't care

Did I change or am I still like that five year old?
May be people have outgrown, maybe status-quo is inevitable!
Why am I still like that five year old child?
May be it is this childish ambition which keeps me going!

As a baby, we were very explorative,
there were so many things we liked,
As an adult, I'm the same, I take massive risks,
but not as many things which I like

Do I realize that it is just a piece of plastic?
Why did I lose interest in all those toys?
Am I now going after the real things?
Why only a few things? Why so few?

May be it is not just a few things,
May be it is just one thing which I love so much,
I'd probably forego anything for that thing,
I'd probably die for that one thing

May I'll have to fight a lot of battles,
May be I'll have to pick my battles,
May be I'll to have lose a lot of battles,
I may have to lose myself

I may have to lose myself,
I may have to lose everything,
it may be nasty, but can I take it?
it may be draining, but do I have the mental strength?

I have had a bad past, I have been hurt!
I am scared, I am scared of being hurt!
I am scared of my past, i'm scared that it'd repeat!
But I realize something, I do realize something

I'm a hurt Leader, I can only disappoint,
I can disappoint disappointment,
I'm a Leader, I have got character,
my past has only hardened me up

I have never seen success in defeating others,
I have never seen success in winning my battles,
I have seen my success in losing myself,
I have seen my success in making my people win

As a child, I loved to win, I love to succeed,
As a leader, I loved to lose, I love to let go,
As a child, I loved to fight, I loved to conquer,
As a leader, I love to see beyond, I love to dream

Whenever I see a personal pain,
I move away from myself, I move away,
I see it through the society's lens,
I kill my ego, I kill my self-interest

Did I really kill my self-interest?
Am I selfish? Am I self-centered?
Maybe I'm Socratic selfish,
Maybe I'm promoting my virtues

Can people see this? Can people understand?
My selfishness is not derived from Ayn Rand,
but my virtues and my self-interest are derived from Socrates,
I'm harder when I lose this self obsession

Yes, I'd have to lose my self obsession,
I represent something, I am beyond me,
once I can see the great ideals I represent,
no pain can hurt me, no such pain was ever born

Pain can hurt a human, events can hurt a person,
but ideas are immortal, what if I am an idea?
Socrates died and I continue, I can die,
but the idea shall not die, I am immortal

But, am I a human or am I an animal?
Am I good or am I bad?
Am I strong or am I weak?
Am I a person or am I a leader?

This is a conflict, one which tries to hurt,
a conflict between the animal and the human,
between strength and between values,
but who can help me win this conflict?

The force is within me,
The world is within me,
All the people are me,
If they win, don't I win?

And so yeah, if I lose and if they win,
I do win, I can never lose, for all players are me,
I do realize so many lesson which pain teaches,
pain lets me disappoint disappointment

Once I look beyond myself,
once I see success in the world's success,
I see that I cannot lose, I have been hurt enough,
I am a Hurt Leader, I have failed enough

I am a Hurt Leader,
the most powerful force,
which has changed mankind,
althrough history

I am a Hurt Leader,
I see those highs which were seen,
these were only known to poets and leaders,
and these keep me going, my secret power!

I am a Hurt Leader,
I have experienced so many strokes of intellect,
I have gained the wisdom,
which can push the human race forward


I shall store these great moments,
I shall treasure these invaluable experiences,
until I'd get hurt again, I shall store them
I am a Hurt Leader

An Innocent Girl

Is this world amazing?
Is my life interesting?
Is my journey exciting?
But, is my soul repenting?

Don't let your soul ever get hurt,
said Socrates, definining virtues,
but they've forgotten their soul,
and they've forgotten their virtues

I tell myself, I always tell myself,
you are our only support, the only support,
never ever get into a position, where you lose,
where you've got to forgive yourself- your only support

And so I ask, why do I feel so guilty,
why am I ashamed on this gene?
Do I blame Darwin, Do I blame nature?
Why do all men have this gene?

Why does this gene influence us?
Why do we always wanna conquer?
why exploit? Why can't we look beyond?
Why can't we see the Innocent girl?

The "shameless gene" wants to spread,
the "shameless gene" leaves no stone unturned,
the "shameless gene" doesn't care,
doesn't care, can't see the innocence

They look at her as an object,
They look at her as flesh,
They look at her as an opportunity,
to bring the evolutionary animal out,

Did they read Darwin, from Ghenghiz to now,
the "shamless gene"  has been on the rise,
But then we do have the "noble gene" I guess,
the noble one which is making me speak,

I look at her as a sentient being,
I look at her  as a bundle of happiness,
 I look at her as an opportunity,
to bring the human out, to make me smile

The noble gene helps me preserve this innocence,
let the roses stay, let the garden smile,
let the innocence stay, let the world smile,
The noble gene asks for a renaissance,

Did I read Tagore, Did I read Rawls,
or was it just the noble gene?
If the "shameless gene" grew to spread mankind,
the "noble gene" spread to protect humanity

Did I read Amartya Sen, did I read about HDI?
Why should I care, why should this matter?
It does, it should, ignore Tagore, ignore Rawls,
think about the next generation, think about the future

We need a generation which is brought up with love,
So they could think like Tagore, like Sen, like Rawls,
We need a generation which can succeed,
so they could think like Darwin, like Socrates!

But what do we do? We can't ask Darwin, we can't ask Rawls,
maybe we have to stand by the ones who know,
maybe we can't just be a bystander,
maybe the Innocent Girl needs your help

She has been hurt,
She can take all the pain,
She has been ignored,
She can stay all lonely,

She doesn't need your sympathy,
you'd realize, if you could empathize,
She doesn't need your pointless advice,
only if you could empathize, but how?

We have got the shameless gene, we've got the noble gene,
it's time to realize that we can rise beyond, we can be human,
we've inherited knowledge, we've got wisdom,
it's now the time to think, time to act

Forget Darwin, forget Rawls
You are actually a gardener,
Let the roses blossom,
get the Innocent girl to smile

Forget Darwin, remember Tagore
You are a creator, you've got the power,
you can transform the garden, your life,
Let the roses blossom, Let the Innocent girl smile!


---
Dedicated to all those wonderful women who helped me smile, who helped me think, who helped me grow, thank you for everything, this is for your, this is for you to know I am not a bystander.

Questions go on forever

We are all on a journey, seeking answers,
connecting the dots,  chasing the stroke of insight,
but do we realize, what the baton tries to say,
generations missed the baton, the secret,

That every question only leads to two more,
that, you can’t find all the answers,
that the answers may have to find you,
and so, we continue the journey, the inquiry

For, answers may come, answers may go,
For, Einstein may come, Newton may go,
But questions go on forever,
questions keep us going.

There are many more questions to ask before we sleep!
There are many more questions to ask before we sleep!

- Inspired by Robert Frost

Kids and Philosophy

Sujata School team's question - Should we believe in God or medicine? This question was coupled with another - do we believe in what we didn't experience so far? The student was strong in her stance on what appears to be a combination of empiricism(experiments) and intuitionism(experience). The discussion got interesting when she employed rhetoric by asking if the audience experienced it, Einstein chose to reply with a "Yes", for the sake of argument. This brought up two more questions- do we trust the experience of others? More importantly, what do we do if the society holds a view which is perpendicular to our view? Sister Niveditha school's criticism of empiricism is quite profound- "would you believe in America, as you've not experienced it"? What made this argument interesting is that they seem to have connected it to the previous argument around "Model Thinking"- how do we know the time in America right now? This was in response to the judge Ms. Shikha's question regarding digestion- how do you know that digestion takes place when you can't see that? The students seem to have connected the dots between both the situations- both talk about limitations of empiricism and the need for models and the need to trust theories or experiences of others.

A student asked a beautiful question- "What are the benefits of not engaging in Philosophy"? One interesting question to ask is - can Philosophy answer that question? Is it related to the question- what is outside consciousness/experience? If science can't answer this question, can Philosophy answer the previous question? These questions are probably related to Dr. Ritesh's question- "Can you think of one non-philosophical question"?

Are Science and Philosophy the same? Why? When a student replied with a yes, Einstein asked if Science questions Language and Literature, he received a no, he then counters the primary argument by asking that if Science and Philosophy are the same and if Philosophy critiques language, shouldn't science do it as well? Though students were not aware of the conceptual foundations of Science and Philosophy, they seem to be very interested in understanding the gray areas and where to draw the boundaries. Interestingly, science does ask questions about Language, so how do they both differ?

Center for Exact Humanities at IIIT Hyderabad talks of nurturing the trans-disciplinary confluence between Computer Science and Humanities. But what does the "exact" in Exact Humanities mean? The students seem to have arrived at that through a series of questions. They were asked- several theories in science were proved wrong, but why is it not a single theorem in Mathematics was proven wrong? Why is it that you have a proof in Mathematics and not Science? If everything is bound by individual perception, why do we have quizzes or the notion of one correct answer? Do we have a concept of absolute truth? The students seemed to agree that in a world created and controlled by us, like Mathematics, that's plausible, while that's not possible in empirical science like Sciences which concern about real-world problems which are beyond human control. The discussion also seemed to suggest why one would be interested in extracting models of formal/exact sciences (where truths exist) to model real-world phenomenon. This was quite a deep discussion on "Truth" and the process of finding it out.

-----

Comments on the Socratic Dialogue on "History and Philosophy of Science, Mathematics and Language", at IIIT Hyderabad- the 7th annual edition of Sciensation inter-school inter-disciplinary (un)quiz

A Youngster's Apology- the conflict of isms affecting originality of thinking

I think quite a bit, I speak quite a lot and I do write once in a while. But then I do recognize that all of this is influenced by people and ideologies. There is a clutter of too many isms around me. The Greeks, the Indians and Philosophers all over spent an entire lifetime digging fundamental questions just so that they could let the next generation have the fruit of a long journey. I stand as a proud descendent of this rich intellectual heritage. But is my thinking original or am I influenced by isms? The leftists call me a capitalist, the rightists call me a socialist, the religious ones call me a Marxist. the atheists find new labels for every argument- for I have no loyalties. But then, is my thinking original? Well, even my title isn't original, I hope G.H.Hardy won't sue me for that!

Amidst this confusion of economic ideologies, I realize we human beings have come so far! We have eliminated so many diseases, increased the average life expectancy and the standard of living has been improving. So much more could have been achieved, so much more is to be achieved and I'm sure the activists haven't lost faith in the Darwinian forces already. Socialistic thought helps me in ensuring that everybody acquires the threshold capability to achieve something meaningful while the capitalistic paradigm helps me in understanding productivity better. I have had nasty debates with Marxists about how Capitalism evolved new business practices, which most of them are not even aware of. Generally, a Marxist labels every landlord as a thief and my grandfather was a landlord who commanded about 100 farmers and yet I'm a Marxist and yet I speak out against Marxism!

There is a very interesting conundrum I have been grappling with, over the last few weeks. As a teacher I always believed in the Darwinian forces.I hated Jishnu Krishnamurthy Philosophy for the manner in which the so called Alternative Schools implement it, though I love the thoughts and have even greater respect for the man! But then, once I got into even more serious teaching I have had some startling obvservations. Over the last years, I worked with handpicked students who'd compete to get an opportunity to express themselves at the Sciensation platform and yes it was all about "survival of the fittest". But then there is an important rider accompanying Darwin's theory- a specie can survive only if it can adapt to the conditions around it. We come up with post hoc explanations with eulogies of the species which made it, but what about those who didn't? So in my class of 40 students, is it okay if 15 students don't make it?

Let us look at academic performance function (however it is measured)- would you want to optimize the cummulative value of the function or would you want to maximize the score of each and every participant? Does the class stop if a student doesn't understand? Sure, you have personalized learning, but then you have peer discussions which is precisely the reason why we all gather at a place to study. So do the peer discussions stop if a student doesn't understand? If it does, will it affect the learning opportunities of the other students? If you suggest that students should be grouped as per their potential, are we inventing another caste system? Is it possible that the student who didn't follow would bring in fresh perspectives and has stumbled across conceptual hurdles which were just ignored by the rest of the class? This is the probably the Socialism vs Capitalism debate expressed in a different context.

I have been looking to get the best of perspectives out of school students through competitions. I think the phrase sport/game might suit better and this probably comes in due to my Mathematics/Game Theory background. However, I met one Ms Gurveen Kaur, an old lady who has dedicated an entire lifetime for the cause of education. Whenever, I stumble across road blocks, I only think of her and ask myself- would I want to end up like her someday, as someone who has created a huge impact amongst few people and helped in making the "invisible and slow" Darwinian force work? She kept questioning my premise that Games bring the best out of people. But then don't games also make you change your inherent behavior? Doesn't incentive corrupt the natural decision making process?

But then is learning a natural process or do we train the brain? Wait, is the nature vs nurture debate coming up now? Too many threads to be resolved, but then there is one fundamental question here- what is the carrot for all the participants to engage in a Dialogue? Is it just learning? Can a social incentive bring the best out of them? Can some other incentive emerge so that you don't have to use competition as a tool? I have lived the last six years of my entrepreneurial career on this weapon called competition and Ms Gurveen has lived the last six decades fighting against cut throat competition. This is a dilemma which I'd probably understand better as I keep continuing my experiments with competitions and interestingly my next competition is about "Experiments with Truth" on Oct 2nd.

As far as original thinking is concerned, all we know of are either naturofacts or artefacts- we've built our knowledge basis other's thoughts or by observing nature. But wait, this isn't original thinking right, I'm just quoting Michael Shermer here! Let me sound a little more eloquent by quoting Steve Jobs- "Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things."

So please do accept my apology for all the isms which influence my thinking and thank you for listening in to various thoughts and questions which strike me.