Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Monday, April 7, 2014
Lok Sabha Elections in India 2014
I have been closely following the extensive election coverage in electronic media -- I must say I find Indian Express's style of "Track your Leader/Heavyweights" very convenient (even though limited) as that makes it way easier to sift through the news pertaining to a particular political figure. This has become especially important because I personally believe that Indian elections are, for the first time, evolving into a US-like Presidential contest where people identify with and would possibly vote for personalities and not political parties. The counter point of this view being true only in the cities and disregarding the India far and beyond the confines of city's intellectual elite does not seem to hold much water given the opinion polls done by news agencies (the largest was done by NDTV recently) which show consolidated mandates largely driven by the charismatic heavyweights of different parties. Sure, the feudal structure of Indian polity necessarily factors and fosters the role of state governments; nonetheless, I believe (and hope!) that this election highlights the issues relevant at the federal level such as defence, foreign policy and economic policy. Not only are local issues such as roads, electricity, water, better addressed in state-wide legislative assembly elections, I think digressing or diluting the federal issues by warping them with state politics can be detrimental.
The three major players, who have emerged in 2014 presidential-like parliamentary contest, are:
1. BJP's Narendra Modi
2. Congress's Rahul Gandhi
3. AAP's Arvind Kejriwal
Narendra Modi has the maximum political experience out of all three, with 12 years as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, preceded by years as a junior BJP worker and RSS member. The infamous 2002 Gujarat riots, that happened within months of his assuming office, have been a stubborn dent in his ability to project an inclusive image. Plus his hard-hitting style has contributed to this image of his being an aloof authoritarian. He can harness this image to his advantage, if he is voted in power, by pushing for administrative and economic reforms which have been stalled under the outgoing weak government of Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Rahul Gandhi's inexperience and lack of political acumen are a butt of constant jokes. It seems, however, this would not have been much of an issue if it were not for the severe anti-incumbency against the Congress-led UPA government. I base this opinion on the thumping 2/3rd majority his father Rajiv Gandhi won in the 1980s while he was still a reluctant novice pushed into the political world at the behest of his mother Indira.
Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party have been quite some phenomena. He has covered the road from being a political activist to a political leader in no time and with no elan (unfortunately)! In addition to the debacle of AAP government in Delhi, formed with the support of the almost rooted Congress, he and his co-workers have served to make the electoral politics murkier (if that was possible) by their high-pitched little-substantiated shouting match with all and sundry. Kejriwal himself displays a constant disdain for politics and its practitioners without really offering a viable alternative --- not very surprising coming from a self-proclaimed anarchist. However, India has come a long way from being under colonial rule and Indians in 21st century should have little patience with being denied their due of a stable, able and honest government. A silver lining of the AAP phenomenon, however, is how it has catalyzed an unprecedented mobilization of usually disenchanted and cynical voters of India and nudged them into initiating a political dialogue outside the portals of power.
The hope is that the sanest voice prevails!
The three major players, who have emerged in 2014 presidential-like parliamentary contest, are:
1. BJP's Narendra Modi
2. Congress's Rahul Gandhi
3. AAP's Arvind Kejriwal
Narendra Modi has the maximum political experience out of all three, with 12 years as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, preceded by years as a junior BJP worker and RSS member. The infamous 2002 Gujarat riots, that happened within months of his assuming office, have been a stubborn dent in his ability to project an inclusive image. Plus his hard-hitting style has contributed to this image of his being an aloof authoritarian. He can harness this image to his advantage, if he is voted in power, by pushing for administrative and economic reforms which have been stalled under the outgoing weak government of Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Rahul Gandhi's inexperience and lack of political acumen are a butt of constant jokes. It seems, however, this would not have been much of an issue if it were not for the severe anti-incumbency against the Congress-led UPA government. I base this opinion on the thumping 2/3rd majority his father Rajiv Gandhi won in the 1980s while he was still a reluctant novice pushed into the political world at the behest of his mother Indira.
Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party have been quite some phenomena. He has covered the road from being a political activist to a political leader in no time and with no elan (unfortunately)! In addition to the debacle of AAP government in Delhi, formed with the support of the almost rooted Congress, he and his co-workers have served to make the electoral politics murkier (if that was possible) by their high-pitched little-substantiated shouting match with all and sundry. Kejriwal himself displays a constant disdain for politics and its practitioners without really offering a viable alternative --- not very surprising coming from a self-proclaimed anarchist. However, India has come a long way from being under colonial rule and Indians in 21st century should have little patience with being denied their due of a stable, able and honest government. A silver lining of the AAP phenomenon, however, is how it has catalyzed an unprecedented mobilization of usually disenchanted and cynical voters of India and nudged them into initiating a political dialogue outside the portals of power.
The hope is that the sanest voice prevails!
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Tanha
Is gul ka koi gulistan bhi nahi.
Ghar ko jaane ka koi rasta bhi nahi.
Jinke bharaose aa baithe the is mehfil mein
Jaana ki unse to hum wabasta hi nahi
Lateefein to sunane aate hain ab bhi humein
Par ab saath koi hansta bhi nahi
Kabhi dil ne baatein keh daali thi sab tumhe
Ab to dil bhi itna behekta hi nahi
Poochhte ho humse ki kyun itne mayoos hain hum
Sach kehna kya tumhe bhi ye pata hi nahi?
-- Archana
Ghar ko jaane ka koi rasta bhi nahi.
Jinke bharaose aa baithe the is mehfil mein
Jaana ki unse to hum wabasta hi nahi
Lateefein to sunane aate hain ab bhi humein
Par ab saath koi hansta bhi nahi
Kabhi dil ne baatein keh daali thi sab tumhe
Ab to dil bhi itna behekta hi nahi
Poochhte ho humse ki kyun itne mayoos hain hum
Sach kehna kya tumhe bhi ye pata hi nahi?
-- Archana
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Why Are There Still So Few Women in Science?
I usually refrain from talking about women in science issues to avoid the risk of being stereotyped as yet another shrill feminist selling a sob tale about problems faced by women in the male-dominated scientific era. Over the years, however, I have unwillingly yet unmistakably realized the importance of this issue which, even if doesn't affect the lucky few in their immediate surroundings or future, leads to an undesirable and unhealthy skewness within the scientific culture and its practitioners, who "by construction" should be unbiased if nothing else.
Eileen Pollack in her excellent article in today's New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/why-are-there-still-so-few-women-in-science.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
articulates convincingly many such problems and concomitant challenges faced by women in scientific fields. She is a Yale alumni and her undergraduate major was Physics, both facts which bring the story quite close to home for me (though, unlike Eileen, I was a graduate student there and had a very pleasant experience overall!). The article is a bit long but a very easy and engaging read.
One of the statements in Pollack's article which resonated with my experience more than the others was this:
...people’s biases stem from “repeated exposure to pervasive cultural stereotypes that portray women as less competent by simultaneously emphasizing their warmth and likability compared to men.”
This has actually manifested itself in a few varieties during my academic experience. Quite a few women scientists I know, who are very competitive in their fields, almost always tend to be slightly (and surprisingly!) apologetic about it. This subconscious or conscious feeling (hint: which is definitely not genetic or biological) necessarily forces them to "conform" in some other way and appear conciliatory in their personal interactions. Men, on the other hand, do not usually feel such inhibitions and even if they do it is a personal choice/trait not some social interaction protocol seemingly impressed upon by the community.
Eileen Pollack in her excellent article in today's New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/why-are-there-still-so-few-women-in-science.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
articulates convincingly many such problems and concomitant challenges faced by women in scientific fields. She is a Yale alumni and her undergraduate major was Physics, both facts which bring the story quite close to home for me (though, unlike Eileen, I was a graduate student there and had a very pleasant experience overall!). The article is a bit long but a very easy and engaging read.
One of the statements in Pollack's article which resonated with my experience more than the others was this:
...people’s biases stem from “repeated exposure to pervasive cultural stereotypes that portray women as less competent by simultaneously emphasizing their warmth and likability compared to men.”
This has actually manifested itself in a few varieties during my academic experience. Quite a few women scientists I know, who are very competitive in their fields, almost always tend to be slightly (and surprisingly!) apologetic about it. This subconscious or conscious feeling (hint: which is definitely not genetic or biological) necessarily forces them to "conform" in some other way and appear conciliatory in their personal interactions. Men, on the other hand, do not usually feel such inhibitions and even if they do it is a personal choice/trait not some social interaction protocol seemingly impressed upon by the community.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Link SING!
What is a really really fun ways to talk about physics? Answer: Music, as proved by the links below.
1. A cappella String theory, loops, renormalization (basically everything none of us quite understand).
2. A sonnet on Quantum Error Correction by Daniel Gottesman.
3. A poem on Quantum Cryptography by John Preskill. I liked it so much that I am putting it here.
Alice said to her friend
Eve,
"Why do you practice to
deceive?
You know I need to talk
to Bob.
Without that I won't have
a job.
"Bob can't know where
my note has been.
He thinks that you are
listening in.
He wonders if it's safe
enough
For me to send him secret
stuff.
"And Bob's right not to
trust you, Eve,
With quantum tricks stuffed
up your sleeve.
But he thinks we can freeze
you out,
With quantum tricks we've
learned about.
"With quantum states,
what we achieve
Defeats whatever you conceive.
So even Bob has to believe
That you can’t hear us,
can you Eve?"
(John Preskill)
You can "eve-sdrop" on some of Preskill's other verses here.
.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Link Think
Hi bloggers,
I am starting a new feature where I am going to share interesting web-links. mostly related to Science. These may include news articles, popular physics essays or even blog pieces written by the vibrant community of scientist bloggers. Here is the first installment.
1. John Preskill's nice piece, where he summarizes the different viewpoints prevalent in the scientific communities on the "Firewall Paradox", recently put forward by the AMPS team (the acronym draws from the initials of the four researchers involved this work --- Ahmed Almheiri, Donald Marolf, and James Sully, from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Dr. Polchinski of the KITP, Santa Barbara.) It boils down to a revisitation of the black hole information paradox, over which John Preskill had won a bet against Stephen Hawking in 2004. For an accessible commnetary, correct in essentials, see the New York times article here.
2. Scott Aaronson on NSA's recent claim about their groundbreaking cryptanalytic capabilities. He entertainingly alludes to the possibility of NSA acquiring a quantum computer from D-wave - a company of whose claims he is the self-proclaimed Chief Skeptic!
3. A slightly old, but really well written commentary in Quanta Magazine, on a recent theoretical breakthrough which shows how an untrusted or noisy quantum system may be employed for secure quantum key distribution.
I am starting a new feature where I am going to share interesting web-links. mostly related to Science. These may include news articles, popular physics essays or even blog pieces written by the vibrant community of scientist bloggers. Here is the first installment.
1. John Preskill's nice piece, where he summarizes the different viewpoints prevalent in the scientific communities on the "Firewall Paradox", recently put forward by the AMPS team (the acronym draws from the initials of the four researchers involved this work --- Ahmed Almheiri, Donald Marolf, and James Sully, from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Dr. Polchinski of the KITP, Santa Barbara.) It boils down to a revisitation of the black hole information paradox, over which John Preskill had won a bet against Stephen Hawking in 2004. For an accessible commnetary, correct in essentials, see the New York times article here.
2. Scott Aaronson on NSA's recent claim about their groundbreaking cryptanalytic capabilities. He entertainingly alludes to the possibility of NSA acquiring a quantum computer from D-wave - a company of whose claims he is the self-proclaimed Chief Skeptic!
3. A slightly old, but really well written commentary in Quanta Magazine, on a recent theoretical breakthrough which shows how an untrusted or noisy quantum system may be employed for secure quantum key distribution.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Book: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Author: Mohsin Hamid
The Reluctant Fundamentalist has been one of my overdue reads. I finally spotted it in the Carnegie Mellon Bookstore on a visit to my husband's office, and picked it up encouraged by the significant discounts offered on textbooks. I find I am still reeling under the effect of the three hours I devoted reading it in one-shot.
It is actually an easy one to finish soon --- partly due to its modest length shy of 200 pages; But mostly due to its vastly identifiable narrative, which gets even too close for comfort, repeatedly!Written in first person, it charts the life of a Pakistani immigrant named Changez in New York City, and the irrevocable changes the 9/11 attacks bring for him. Starting out as a princeton-graduated successful financier in New York City, he narrates the extinguishing of his American dream both professionally and personally, and his almost inescapable plummet into something the world would/can only identify as fundamentalism. His initial denial that anything can go wrong, the ensuing tension, doubt, self-reproach and final transition into a dark world outside neon lights of Times Square is described with heart-rending simplicity. It is the inevitability of this evolution, which Hamid conveys so masterfully to his readers, that makes the book so alarming yet so un-put-downable.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a chilling reminder that the emotional debris of WTC attacks extends far beyond ground zero; a poignant message that the fault-lines it created in hearts and minds will take much longer than 12 years to be healed. But it must be done before the fundamentalism takes over the reluctance...
Author: Mohsin Hamid
The Reluctant Fundamentalist has been one of my overdue reads. I finally spotted it in the Carnegie Mellon Bookstore on a visit to my husband's office, and picked it up encouraged by the significant discounts offered on textbooks. I find I am still reeling under the effect of the three hours I devoted reading it in one-shot.
It is actually an easy one to finish soon --- partly due to its modest length shy of 200 pages; But mostly due to its vastly identifiable narrative, which gets even too close for comfort, repeatedly!Written in first person, it charts the life of a Pakistani immigrant named Changez in New York City, and the irrevocable changes the 9/11 attacks bring for him. Starting out as a princeton-graduated successful financier in New York City, he narrates the extinguishing of his American dream both professionally and personally, and his almost inescapable plummet into something the world would/can only identify as fundamentalism. His initial denial that anything can go wrong, the ensuing tension, doubt, self-reproach and final transition into a dark world outside neon lights of Times Square is described with heart-rending simplicity. It is the inevitability of this evolution, which Hamid conveys so masterfully to his readers, that makes the book so alarming yet so un-put-downable.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a chilling reminder that the emotional debris of WTC attacks extends far beyond ground zero; a poignant message that the fault-lines it created in hearts and minds will take much longer than 12 years to be healed. But it must be done before the fundamentalism takes over the reluctance...
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