It all started with a forward with the message "no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
Perhaps he forwarded it to me to indicate/prick/poke me that I have, of late, not been spending quality time as I was drenched in my own apprehensions, anxieties, confusions, aspirations and commitments, slowly letting go the dose of reality and entering a monotonous melodramatic drama.

There's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend...and so did this saga start at Starbucks. This has been the second time we ventured into such planned unplanned trips. Since it was quite a long time since we met (almost about a year and half), the time was mostly spent on talking talking talking that morning and in the days to continue. Each updating the other of the lived and un-lived moments. For some reason, you get to talk more in person rather than by emails or even phone calls. That makes me wonder what it is that the physical presence does - any quantum entanglement phenomena triggered a cascade event?! Since I had saved time by executing an idiosyncratic plan well-ahead, we had more time that morning. It was then decided to explore the local delights and the downtown Singapore. However, the trip ahead was well punctuated as a result of the explorative nature of our minds. On the way to the destination was the Haw Par Villa which was not in our schedule...but finding it attractive, couldn't resist getting down - pressing the stop button in the bus as the bus was about leave from the stop. So did time pass by there moving around amids the chinese mythological characters and stories of good against evil. Time, though had started moving slow by then, did not fail in its job to induce hunger. Finally towards vivocity again for lunch at Thai Accent. But Vivocity is not a just another place! It has enough retreat for a gadget freak - my companion - that can last more than a day or two! The first target was Best, exploring 3D Tvs, i-products etc. But my hunger somehow realized it was 3.30 pm and was craving for some food that we had to ditch Best halfway to satiate my hunger at Thai accent. Interesting foods. To top it, the Green Apple juice was just amazing! Alrite, hunger satiated...what next? Return to Best to complete surveying the rest of the shop! And from there we slowly moved on to explore Vivocity and to freeze time within the Canon time machine. The phone pouch, the 3-D pictures, sun-activated T-shirts, Sound T-shirts, the pool on the top of the skypark, nothing was left unexplored. Vivocity was followed by Chinatown - Pagoda street - 3 for 10 dollar shops. Well, who can resist buying things over there? Ended up buying interesting stuffs over there. But all these places, we decided not to rush through since our aim was not to 'see' all places, but 'explore' the places that we go. Well, truly, we didn't quite explicitly come to this agreement, but I guess both of us came to an implicit understanding. However, I did nudge a little to keep moving on for the fear of sticking to just one place. Dinner at Chinatown, followed by a walk aside the Singapore River was refreshing. The beautiful night lightings around clarke quay was something I had noticed, but not enjoyed so far. I have enjoyed the evening walks over there though. At the end of these, we decided to explore Mustafa around 1 am. Mustafa, those who have visited it, will know what it is to shop there. It is an ocean of goodies...a one-stop shop for all your needs. A lot of shopping again here.

One might ask, is this all you did in Singapore? Shop...shop...shop? Well, actually yes, the first day was mostly so...but as somebody said, the joy lies while climbing the mountain than reaching the top as such.

The first day needs to be told in such detail because we couldn't freeze much of the time within our time machine - damn the batteries. However, starting the second day, the time machine - the camera - was in full use. So, no details! :-D {alrite, I am getting lazy}.

The five days ran through every minute. It is indeed true that "There's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend". The trick is to realize and honor it at the appropriate time. The apprehensions of the future will definitely cloud the mind always. But truly, the future is designed by the present. If you want to relish your future, you have to live the present!!

Anyway, here are a few tips for the readers:

1. Don't plan your outings to precise details unless needed (sometimes it is necessary to keep to proper eating schedules, especially if diabetic.)
2. Be a tourist who goes and explores the place, rather than knowing what to do in a place apriori. In doing so, you might miss out some places and some events, but you definitely will explore and relish the places you found by exploring!
3. If it is a short trip, give a vacation to your sleep as well!

Festivals, Society and Science

Snowflakes have always evoked a sense of awe owing to their beauty and elegance. Various shapes of snowflakes are used in Christmas cards mainly for an aesthetic value and to denote the winter season. However, it is not common knowledge that snowflakes are always six-sided - hexagonal - owing to water's property. For quite sometime now, I have counted the number of edges of snowflakes appearing in commercial ads...and was always intrigued by the nonconformity to the "six". I was getting into the impression that I was wrong about my knowledge of the hexagonal structure of snowflakes. However a recent correspondence in Nature by Prof. Koop from the Bielefeld University helped me assert that I was indeed correct.

I really appreciate Prof. Koop's effort to bring it to the attention of the media that many of the commercial ads are depicting the snowflakes against the laws of Nature. Even as we celebrate festivals and try to include Nature into our celebrations - or perhaps as sources of inspiration and beauty - let us do it the right way. In my opinion, this is one of the responsibilities of Scientists: ensure that the layman gets to appreciate Nature for its elegance and beauty in the right spirits.

Once he gets to learn the intricacies and complexities of Nature, his appreciation for Science would increase and critical thinking for productivity would be automatically be inculcated.

THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF SCIENCE

I thought quite deeply about the social responsibility of Science when I wrote my previous blogpost (click here). However, I was very skeptical of how much my view was right, though I did get a few feedbacks agreeing to my opinions. A recent article in SciAM "War in Peace" parallels my thoughts. The author very clearly points out "Discerning the merits of competing claims is where the empirical basis of Science should play a role". The competing claims may be in any area. I am indeed happy that I understood this aspect of Science, quite right, thanks to Feynman of course! But the question is, why don't everybody who holds a degree in Science understand this?? Wouldn't the world be a better place if everyone agreed to this aspect? In the same issue of SciAm, Michael Shermer (click here) informs us of a research work in psychology that identifies 5 innate and universally available psychological systems upon which our senses of right and wrong rest. The underlying basis of opinion difference is now delineated!!

Unbelievable

I don't think it could be common for someone to have seen a person in the morning, and after a few hours hear that the person is no more! It has come as a sudden news that Prof. Krishnaswamy, an Associate Professorial Fellow here at NUS, is no more. This morning, around 10.15 when I was running across to organize a seminar, I bumped into him. Though I knew him not personally, I knew him as a person the department respected most - the senior most - who was a great mentor in the development of the department. Around 4, I get the news from a colleague that he suffered a myocardial infarction around 2.45, and around 7, I hear that he is no more! In a way, he was probably lucky - not to have suffered the infirmities of old age - because he was working even that morning in the dept. But to accept that a person whom I saw this morning is no more in the afternoon is quite difficult. Infact, I have not been able to accept so far, any of the no-more's in our family. I weirdly get the feeling that they are some where else, still alive, just non-communicable. The logical mind contradicts,nevertheless, it is peaceful, sometimes, to keep away logic.

The Philosophy of a PhD

Since time immemorial, I have always been wondering why a PhD is called a PhD - Why 'Doctor of Philosophy' and not 'Doctor of Physics/Maths/Chemistry/etc...
It has taken great wisdom from my part to actually type 'Philosophy' in google to really find its meaning. I found 8 meanings - all related to explaining philosophy as a way of thinking leading to wisdom. I give one of it here: "Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline".
Not being satisfied by the meaning found through google, I became curious about the etymology of the word and found its origin to two Greek words : 'phil' meaning love and 'sophy' meaning wisdom - but where did 'moral self-discipline' pop in??
So, a PhD, I understand,denotes that the holder of the degree has a love for wisdom and knows how to pursue his love. Still, the meaning of PhD is incomplete without defining what 'wisdom' is!

On Education and Science

I was talking with my supervisor yesterday, as usual a highly energetic conversation! We touched on the topic of education when he quoted this ""Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." Isn't this the crux of education? We shall not give the fish to eat, but teach him how to fish! Translating to the education language; Do not give closed ended questions for which there exists solution; but give open ended questions that allows/makes/trains one to think. I think this IS education. Many people think science is all about exploring the activities and observations around us and making technological advancements. Yes, this is indeed one part of science. But in my opinion, the true contribution of science to the society is the inculcation of the 'thinking process' in an individual, in turn to his family and in turn to the society as a whole. Doing science is not that easy or that fascinating as everybody (or most) think. It is a process that you undergo when you drag out all the intuitions within and spill it rationally and ratify your intuitions. Shortly put, it is extreme skepticism followed by productivity. Definitely doing Science is not the only way for such rational and critical thinking. But it is the best possible way! When you start practising so, you are automatically illuminated with moral and ethical responsibilities, something religion does (as some claim to) but blindly!

Education and Science should teach an individual to be extremely aware of whatever he thinks!

Friendship...

Human happiness may always be related to associations. At different ages, different associations give happiness. Friendship, a predominant association atleast until one gets married, shapes one's character and self-esteem. There are many theories and studies from how friendship blosoms and influences on the shaping of one's character to how to maintain friendships (quite a number of good websites came up when I googled!). On some reflection coupled with some google searches (and coupled with my natural inclination towards psychology), I realised three important factors/phenomena/act that create/sustain friendships. One is the reciprocity between friends. I tell something very personal to my friend, and I expect my friend to be open with me on his personal feeling. This is very much essential in the initial stages of friendship and sometimes this is expected even after several years of friendship. But there are friends who understand that experience and exposure varies as we grow and venture into defining our own lives. Then a mature relation is established and each other acknowledge each other for their transformation. This is especially true in case of high-school friends. Each friend enters different schools for their degree and comes out with different experiences and perceptions towards life. The second factor that I realised is important in creating and sustaining friendship is a common interest. People who have common interests easily bond. This is because humans tend to like to be acknowledged for their thoughts and interests. Also, common interests form a platform over which friends talk over several subjects ultimately leading to intimacy. Third, I felt demostration of the feeling of friendship is important and gives a significant boost to the strength and length of friendship between two friends. When I acknowledge and introduce someone as my friend (friend, not as in the corporate world), the social recognition and identity that is created gives a significant boost to the self-esteem and confidence for both the friends. This is again due to our social-living nature. Apart from this, altruism is often a mark of true friendship. So friends who read this blog, please reciprocate, acknowledge and demonstrate your friendship by (giving comments to this blog!) keeping in constant touch with friends (especially who are away from homeland) and lending an empathetic ear. You may never know how this act of kindness brings a change in them, but it definitely is needed.

Only when you are deprived of something do you realise its need. I think, this is Experience-based learning...or simply Experience?!