Keep It Simple!

Lets start with a Cliche - There was a time when computers were only for the scientists and mobile phones only for the super rich and the very important. So naturally i remember the complicated and costly things were, the more premium they commanded. I remember during my college days any gadget that was easy to use was err...uncool, whereas something that was very complicated and had a big manual was always the most desired thing....

I realize now that it all boiled down to sophistication, the earlier times loved sophisticated things. Sophisticated tools, Sophisticated attire, Sophisticated demeanor and what not.

Thats the reason why everyone tried to pretend sophisticated - even corporate logos were much more complex those days.

But Something happened down the line... Everyone NOW is trying to pretend simple, lovable and cute.

Look at the logos of the tech companies for instance - most of them, although working on the cutting edge try to keep or have reinvented their logos as something simple and cute.

I somehow feel that being sophisticated is no longer cool! Simplicity and being lovable is the "in thing".

Thats the reason why probably the blackberry is slowly losing out to the more cute and lovable Androids and Apples.

and so it also looks like bold statements are out and only the humble and approachable is in!

The Question is WHY? Why is everyone suddenly trying to change our perception - from being sophisticated to being something simple!

In my opinion there are 4 reasons.

1) We have more options now, Everybody can do Everything! If its not HTC we have the Samsung. The hardware is same, the platform is same - the only differentiating factor is the

how they make us feel ( the UI) and how they treat us ( the service)

2) We are more intelligent and we don't rely on flashy and overtly sophisticated logos to influence our decisions, instead we rely on the internet, on the reviews; to find out the real picture. Nobody can fool Anybody.

3) We have become more humane these days. There is no apparent cold war, we are global citizens and we breathe brotherhood. We loathe Arrogance. We are a generation which supports wikipedia! And naturally the "Show-off" kinds are not welcome here!

4) The icons of the new generations are simple. Google , wikipedia, Sergy Brin, Mark Zukerberg. And not Armani and Donald Trump!!!

What do you think?

The Purpose

I have always pondered like many of you - why are humans so different from other species.

Well, if you look outside of this human kingdom, we can more or else make out that the "others"

are pursuing their life doing the most basic things...

While we are busy watching movies and blogging ( read increasing carbon footprint) "others" are just eating, hunting, sleeping or having sex.

At this time, just take a moment to think how you spend the whole day... For many of us we would not put the basic things of the "others" in our list of "productive" work.

But the fact of the matter is .... these things are in-fact basic!

If someone strip me off my money and throw me on the road i would be the reduced to one of the "others"

My day will just be reduced to eating, hunting ( for food) , sleeping and err... we will come to that later.

So when we talk about purpose of being born in this world what are we talking about.

For most of us the only thing we are doing in this world is making life tough for the "others" to live in this world. Lets admit the brilliant we are the more are we responsible for destroying our beautiful earth.

The scientist and engineers of this world are responsible for depleting the ozone layer and driving the honey bees mad.

So how can the purpose of living life on earth be one for us and another for the rest of the living species?

The truth of the matter though controversial is very simple - There is no separate rule for us, We made the rules for ourselves.

The purpose as Darwin would say is Continuity of our Species.

So, if you see all around us everyone is busy making babies right from the minutest cell in our body, the lice in your hair, the trees in your neighborhood park, the elephants of Asia and Africa - everyone is busy making babies.

Killing for the perfect mate, Dying for the sake of passing on the gene ( read the black widow's unfortunate hubby)

In fact the moment the copy of our gene is passed on,

Our job on earth is done!

So whats your purpose in life?

Find a Mate. Have Sex. Make Babies. Die.

:)

Further Reading:

Darwin on Natural Selection and civilized society

"With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health. We civilised men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilised societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. It is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man himself, hardly any one is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed.

The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly an incidental result of the instinct of sympathy, which was originally acquired as part of the social instincts, but subsequently rendered, in the manner previously indicated, more tender and more widely diffused. Nor could we check our sympathy, even at the urging of hard reason, without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature. The surgeon may harden himself whilst performing an operation, for he knows that he is acting for the good of his patient; but if we were intentionally to neglect the weak and helpless, it could only be for a contingent benefit, with an overwhelming present evil. We must therefore bear the undoubtedly bad effects of the weak surviving and propagating their kind; but there appears to be at least one check in steady action, namely that the weaker and inferior members of society do not marry so freely as the sound; and this check might be indefinitely increased by the weak in body or mind refraining from marriage, though this is more to be hoped for than expected"

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Descent_of_Man,_and_Selection_in_Relation_to_Sex

[2] http://bertie.ccsu.edu/naturesci/Evolution/Unit13DescentMan/DescentMan.html

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origin_of_Species

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Charles_Darwin

...IS A JOY FOREVER

There was once an article I read in a National Geographic magazine, a very old one; which I brought for Rs 10 from the busy Dariyaganj street in Delhi , famous for second hand books and magazines. The article tried to explain things like - why we love every thing beautiful, what is the definition of beauty? Does it just lie in the eye of the beholder or do we have a more complex and unexplainable science behind it.

The article concluded by asserting that the definition come pre programmed in our genes when we were born. So, no matter how many stories you hear in your lifetime that defines a beautiful girl, a handsome boy, a beautiful house or magnificent scenery; Deep inside, you get attracted to them because you were programmed before you were born to like them. To prove this they put forward a survey where it was seen that even 1 year olds got more attracted to things , which we, as adults perceive as beautiful…a beautiful painting , a beautiful doll and even a beautiful baby sitter.

But what is it, that makes people love certain things over others - shoes, bags, cars, girls, boys, house , landscapes , kitchens… we always have a dilemma choosing the right one.Would you go for a thing which is durable and not beautiful? lets say a car which is very fuel efficient , very powerful but is not upto your expected…lets give it a name…beauty index. Whats amazingly true is that’s the most important thing in the mind of most of us when we choose something. The beauty Index reign supreme when we get a choice.

But what makes a thing beautiful?

Well I would defer from the saying “it lies in the eye of the beholder” this would mean that some of us would not find the Taj Mahal beautiful. How about Cindy Crawford or the iPOD? Do you think they are ugly?
Ok lets try this one, all of you…think of something which you conceive to be beautiful ( leave you girlfiend/boyfriend/husband/wife alone for once, will you? )
Done? So how many people you know also find them ugly … Lets be pessimistic and conclude a minority does think that the thing you considered beautiful is actually ugly.
But we have a majority here to support us that beauty doesn’t lie in the eye of the beholder…Don’t we?

So we (well, atleast I) think now that beauty doesn’t lie in the eye of the beholder… it rather lies in the object itself.

So, what is it that makes us believe that the thing is beautiful? May be that’s the color?
I beg to defer again, I still love that black and white photo of Madhubala or Marilyn Monroe or the Eiffel tower.

There is a much simpler explanation to beauty than Color.
Its Symmetry

As indivisuals of this planet we seek to be in equilibrium , or as physics puts it the state where we need to spend the least energy. Right from the electron in an atom to the whole of Solar system , science has observed that everything want to be in equilibrium.
This is a potent force within us that’s so powerful that all we seek every minute of our everyday is equilibrium…or as we put it Stability. Sounds familiar?
There is no denying that we all need a stable job, a stable family, a stable economy, a stable currency and what not.

So, what do all these have to do with beauty?

Everything in this world is related. If we extrapolate our definition of Symmetry to a more philosophical way what we can conclude is Symmetry resembles stability.
Why? Symmetry defines balance, an equal distribution and equibrillium.

As humans and living species in this world we have learnt to seek stability right from the moment we are conceived in the womb.

What makes the pirate so ugly and sinister ( think of his eyes ) ; what makes you feel uncomfortable when you see the leaning tower of pisa or just think of any odd thing you thought was ugly. Why is even even (divisible by 2 ) and odd odd .
You have found your answers … They lacked symmetry.


symmetry (plural symmetries) Latin symmetria, originally from Ancient Greek (symmetria) < (sym), “‘like’”) + (metria), “‘measure’”); i.e. like measure or similar measurement Noun
symmetry (plural symmetries)
Exact correspondence on either side of a dividing line, plane, center or axis.
(uncountable) The satisfying arrangement of a balanced distribution of the elements of a whole.


Ever wondered why we always look for sharp features.
What makes the person with a sharp nose attractive? The answer again lies in symmetry. A sharp nose will accentuate the Symmetry and hence, the beauty.

The more the symmetry the more attractive or beautiful we find the thing. Why? Because they don’t disturb the balance, the equilibrium of the system. Their symmetry makes them cancel their overall energy and brings about harmony in the system.
When we see an ugly ( as perceived by us) thing… we are threatened by the powerful energy it radiates due to the lack of cancellation of energy and hence we develop the dislike. Without our knowledge. So the more the asymmetry the more is the disturbing energy , and the more tend to avoid such objects. An asymmetric object can never attract us what most it does is they shock us.

So the next time you appreciate a thing of beauty just think again, what you might be appreciating is the actually the symmetry!