Outliers Complement!

So, as part of my holiday reading, figured I would start with least-likely-book-to-read when the momentum is high and proceed to the books-i-would-anyway-read as this dips.

Started with Outliers and am 3 chapters down - there have been 2 points made so far and I seem to fit neither of the arguments - as of now I am an Outlier complement.

Lets see how many readers on this blog (if there still are any left) fit this?

1. The first theory that MG makes is that of cumulative advantage - you start as the oldest kid in class which gives you an advantage (better grades, better co-ordination skills) and then that advantage gets honed as you get selected for team sports or you top the class and get selected for greater things!

Essentially if your school year starts in June (as it does in India) and you complete your xth birthday (x = minimum cut-off age to be in LKG) by June, you join the class - else you wait out the year and join a year late. So, people who are born after June have a head-start than those born earlier and this is the start of a lifetime of cumulative advantages.

Outlier complement's take: I am born in March and fit the disadvantage of being the younger kid in class. Additionally, given what a trial I was turning out to be at home, my parents managed to get me into school an entire year earlier than other people. Consequently, I have been the youngest in my class and I have still managed to top class, bla bla, bla blah! I defeat the cumulative advantage since I started out with a significant handicap and still fared better than most.I must be genius right? Apparently not - by the next point that he makes

2. 10,000 hour rule - Every one is born with a mild talent - hard work and practice converts that to genius! If you put in 10,000 hours at something, you will be good at it - well evidently you would.

Outlier complement's take: I have not put in 10,000 hours into anything and not that I am genius but I reasonably good at most things.

Bottomline - This book is for fighters - people who use the long route to get anywhere. I am more of a chotta "photcut" person so this will just be light reading I guess..

Next book on the list: Orwell's 1984 or Nabokov's Pnin

On the eve of 26/11/09

(Disclaimer - This is a random rumination. Don't go beyond the surface - you will find the silt at the bottom of the pool)

Predictably media hype kills any national sentiment or musings that the 1 year anniversary of the most publicized terror attack in India might awaken. I choose the adjective "publicized" instead of the "barbaric", "life-altering" hyperbole that is forced down our throats ad-infinitum by the media.

The bitter after-taste of any media exposure lingers.

But as I watch people (some sensible, others not) respond to the event, I try to understand what I feel about an event that has grabbed newspaper headlines, has heralded recognition for the police workforce in India, has allowed regionalism to rear and then cow down its ugly head but mostly, has been the closest brush with that omnipresent tangible in today's world- terror, for my generation.

As a seemingly involved but largely apathetic Indian, 26/11 lulled into me a false sense of patriotism - I pretended to be outraged just like everyone else that jihad had found its way into my backyard, that terrorism was now affecting people I knew and cared about; I laughed at the P3P's making fools of themselves on national television; I felt for the plight of the little orphan Moshe. But I did nothing. I did not raise my voice, I did not stop doing whatever it is I was before 26/11.

One year later, when the entire nation is whipped into a patriotic frenzy that we generally reserve for Indo-Pak cricket matches, I am a little more aware that this is a passing phase for most of us - like it was last year, like it will be next year.

So, does my apathy make me any less of an Indian than the jhanda-carrying-slogan-shouting girl who will be part of that procession in front of the Gateway of India?

We are both echoing our impotence in being able to change anything. She, by being part of a bigger identity, by trying - Me, by hiding my helplessness behind this veneer of complacence that the urban India calls awareness.

I don't know the point of this post - perhaps there is none or perhaps it is an open call - Can we do anything? I know we should and I know that if we know how, we probably will. But can we?

Tatvam #5

In my company, we dont have a glass ceiling - we have a mirror instead!

If you look up and like what you see, you automatically have a passport to the C-suite.

If you look up and don't like what you see, you will always stay on this side of the mirror. And every time you want to know why, the mirror will give you the answer!

Daily Tatvam #4

"Top heavy is always unequal equilibrium - hence toppling is inevitable.

This theory is as applicable to trees of tatvam 3 as to certain parts of cosmetically enhanced female anatomy....

Daily Tatvam#3

"Increase in technical expertise is analogous to the growth of a tree - upto a certain stage, you grow vertically. Then you start branching out and growing deeper roots simultaneously. "

Daily Tatvam #2

“Good Management is largely a spectator sport – You watch the players do what they do best and motivate them from the sidelines.” – Amruta, circa 2009

Daily Tatvam#1

This set is from my travels last month..

On Punjab:

After a visit to Amritsar, it dawned on me why irrational numbers are called Surds!

*Punjabis are not cultural - they are "agri"cultural

* - Borrowed from Adi

On Gurgaon (aka DehaatiVille):

You can take the dehaati out of the bullock cart, but you cant take the bullock cart mentality out of the dehaati!

Driving a car as you would a tonga with race-horses does exponentially increase your chances of getting hit by aforementioned dehaati in Gurgaon!

If you accidentally escape getting hit by a dehaati in a car, you will certainly meet the cows he left behind...

Travel Blog ahoy!

Hey ho!

I am back and this time for good..a blog a day is necessary to keep insanity at bay..

So the travelogues will follow in the succeeding posts..

I had 2 lovely holidays in September in the company of good friends and great food/alchohol not to mention no office emails to respond to.

The latter comment is significant since on Day 2 of my Denmark trip, I came to the painful conclusion that I was a Microsoft Outlook junkie.

The absolute self-loathing that this realization provided led to 2 positives!

1. I resolved not to buy a Blackberry or any mobile device that let me check my office email

2. I did not carry my laptop on my second holiday to Delhi..to hell with office emails..muahahaha

It has been 3 weeks since I am back at work but the "holiday-anti-email-patch" was successful and I am now a normal person with a healthy aversion to all things Microsoft!

So, now to write about my vacations..

Do Good Grades Predict Success?

There is an interesting article on this topic here.

My 2 cents on the whole affair can be seen below.

It set me thinking. Having been one of "those" straight A students all my life, I wonder if I can call myself successful? My B.E or the subsequent FCD (First Class with Distinction) that followed has not had any bearing on my success at NDS. Similarly that 3-digit CET rank has not opened any doors for me (except those of RV maybe) since.

To me, grades are a measure of success only within the school/college - it gives you access to better opportunities (such as placements, projects) more easily. But once you are in the company or project, your grade has no relevance. So good grades can be good predictors of opportunities and not necessarily success.

But, is this because our academic setting is tuned to quantifying accuracy in re-gurgitating obscure, sometimes irrelevant facts as grades? We are not really given marks for understanding what we learn by rote or for being able to apply those obscure theorems to relevant practical problems.

So, is there a relation between "learning" and success? I believe there is. Studying engineering may not have taught me anything that I can use as is in my career as an Integrator. But it did polish my analytical bent of mind which now allows me to strip a given problem layer by layer until I have gotten to the heart of the matter - a significant contributor to my success. If I had studied Liberal Arts instead and applied for the same job, I would have been severely handicapped without this attuned sense of objectivity.

As I mull over applying to B-School and re-entering the academic world, I wonder if I should focus on getting into the Dean's List or spread myself learning as much as I can without focussing on great grades. Which will be a more predictable launchpad for future success? Thoughts anyone?

He deserves to get fired!

I am talking about the Paris location-hunter for the Apple Retail store..their first in France and a much awaited one in teh City of Romance and Lights..

The proposed location is the Carrousel de Louvre..A mall in the Louvre museum underneath the glass pyramid that hosts mostly tourism-related stores..souveniers, books, a Starbucks and the like...Blech!!

When I learnt of this blasphemy last night (thanks Sandy), I started thinking of places in Paris that would be worthy of hosting an Apple Store..especially in the light of me drooling over their store at Fifth Avenue..more on that later..

So here are my top 4 recommendations for possible Apple Retail locations in Paris and why...

1. Place Vendome - Apple is all about exclusivity and pricey-ness. What better place to highlight then to have a store at the gorgeous Place Vendome, home to the Ritz hotel, Cartier and in the past has been home to Chopin and Coco Chanel. It is a gorgeous square that has at its centre a huge pillar topped by Napolean on his Le Cheval.

2. Grand Arche, La Defense - Right, so This massive arch (in white) is the beginning of an axis that has the Arc De Triomphe, Champs Elysses, the Concorde and ending at the Louvre pyramid..Just think of the view!

3. Invalides - This houses Napolean's tomb..has the Pont de Alexandre on one end(the prettiest bridge in Paris me thinks), a view of theEiffel and 200m of manicured lawns..On Bastille day, they hold awesome army/navy/air force exhibitions here...

4. Champs Elysses - An amazing avenue but as already stated, they could not get retail space here. An alternative would be Rue Du faberge St. Honoure, the Bond Street of Paris which is not too bad and houses the Elyssee palace at one end...not a bad neighbourbood for Apple royalty eh?

There...all above ground options for Apple to come up with a brilliant standalone store design instead of being holed up in an underground mall..I am disappointed to say the least!

Right sooo that! An imminent quarter life-crisis looms with the impending 25th around the corner, so I am indulging in an iPod Touch 2G..anyone who reads this and can think of a suitable reason for not buying this...please do tell!

I am also thinking of which would be my Halloween costume if I were to attend one of those parties  (brought on by an episode of How I Met Your Mother which is God's own gift to cynical, singles everywhere..Whatssa!)