Reflections from 31st December, 2011.
“The trouble with being in a rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” – Someone wise.
We are all rats. But not ordinary rats. We no more like cheese. We like to race. Life has become a rat race. We seldom know what we’re chasing. But we cannot afford to stop and think. There is no time to waste in thinking. Thinkers are mostly losers in rat races.
Another musing from 2013.
Order arises from rules, written and foretold. Implicitly or explicitly followed with reckless abandonment of diligent thought.
Fortunately or otherwise, order is maintained by those in power. For themselves, disguised under the pretext of greater good – a delicate balancing act. Continue reading “Order and Chaos”
“Keith, we never love people for what they are. We love their impressions in our minds.”
A short story from 2012.
Thanks to the encouragement from Saumya and the privilege to write something for her blog, here is my attempt at writing a short story from 2012. You can find her meticulous pieces of writing on this link.
“Two cups of cappuccino, please. Make it quick.”
“Would that be all, Sir?”, asked the waiter.
Keith nodded. He had been waiting for an hour now. His eyes were tired and dreamy. They drifted across the paintings on the restaurant wall and settled on a stream of starry light coming from a distant grand chandelier. It reminded him of her starry eyes. He had not seen Michelle over the past twelve months. They had broken up a year ago and had decided to part ways. But she texted him that very morning. “Keith, I want to meet you today. Meet me at Blueberry Truffle at seven. Please be there on time. From: Michelle.” Continue reading “The Purple Envelope”
There is no past. There is no future. There is no time.
Thoughts about the greatest mystery ever, the arrow of time. Only in retrospect can you decide whether reading this article was worth the effort.
Majority of decisions we encounter in our lives can be reduced to optimization problems. But as frequently encountered in reality, the cost of setting up and solving an optimization problem exceeds the benefit from the solution itself – a situation referred to as ‘analysis paralysis’. And only in retrospect can we look back and confirm whether a problem could be solved. It is impossible to know in advance, whether trying to solve a problem is worthwhile. Continue reading “In Retrospect”
“The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.” – Blaise Pascal
I’ve been living through a terrible experiment for the past few months. And here is a summary of the results. Doing “nothing” is easier said than done. The idea of doing nothing after a while of doing everything is extremely appealing. But apparently, there is no joy in doing nothing.
A passage from 2005.
Wrote this as a child in class X (2005) when I thought too much. It is interesting to share this after a decade. We are now closer to understanding this phenomenon, but its only the beginning.
If you’re reading this then you are certainly gifted. Gifted, not just literally, but also in a fundamental way common to all of ‘us’. We think. More than that, we are aware of our very own existence. We know we exist! I often pity those brains who have not yet realized this remarkable gift which differentiates us from others. The realization about the very basis of thought, that one exists. Continue reading “I Think :. I Am”
“Oh great Deep Thought, have you attained the answer to the ultimate question? The question… to Life, the Universe and Everything ?”
An interesting subplot from Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” that sets the tone for this blog. Also, spoiler alert.
Once upon a time, a race of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings sought to learn the answer to the ultimate question. The question that would solve the mysteries of the universe. The question that would explain life, god, and everything else as such. The ultimate question… of Life, the Universe and Everything!
Twishmay Shankar 