Are you a master or slave?

I have lived long enough to have experienced almost primitive technologies of 1940s and 50s ( especially in a country like India where penetration of Science and technology advancement used to be slow,) through rapid and the present unbelievably rapid or instantaneous update of technology globally. I am quite savvy as far as technology is concerned and happen to be a pioneer in adopting new technology fast, unlike many of my friends who always wait and watch.Be it a washing machine or microwave oven or dish washer or even a robotic vacuum floor cleaner we are the first to possess. We have all gadgets at home including a WiFi camera through which we monitor our home both outside and inside from wherever we are in the world. Of course, my wife gets. motivated through children in USA. Ours is one of the very few houses where WiFi is on 24×7 irrespective of our availability in the country.
It is nice to put technology to maximal use. Today it is awesome and unimaginable. As long as we are masters of the technology we are safe and can enjoy life. For example, electricity which was scarce in many countries just a century back, has enslaved humanity today and we can not live without it even for a day. Our life every minute is entangled with electricity and everything we use has to be operated by it. If power supply gets disrupted for more than what an inverter based UPS can manage, we will go mad or try to move elsewhere. I have lived in a kerosene dependent electricity free house during school days with out feeling bad about it. But today I am almost a slave for electricity. Same is true for communication. Those days, we use to write letters or send telegram if there is an emergency. When I was in USA in eighties, my family could contact me only once over phone as otherwise writing letters was the only way. Today I am in touch with everyone through various means such as emails; What's app or Hangout messaging; Tweeter; Facebook, voice or video chats through various apps all almost free of cost. Even telephone calls cost a pittance. If you don't hear from someone close to you for sometime, you get jittery. Many of us have already become slaves to smart communication. As students, we used to spend several hours in the library reading, comprehending and jotting down points. Then came photocopiers and scanners to avoid spending time in libraries. Then came computers: desk tops followed by laptops and tablets enabling mobility and avoiding sitting in a place and reading. Now you don't need any of them for information. Your smartphone and for some purposes your smart watch is enough to get all the needed information including directions to navigate. The elderly with cardiac issues can continuously monitor their activities, sleep patterns, heart rates and even heart function (ECG) and report directly to the physician if needed all through Android wears and phones with some apps. What a dramatic change in life style! Some geeks even predict a doomsday forecasting the take over of humans by Artificial intelligence and robots. I am not willing to fall a prey to such cynical and pessimistic imaginations of negative astrologers. No need to be scared of the future and avoid making life easy and pleasant today. I feel that we can always be masters and not slaves of technology. Dependence should not be misconstrued as slavery and loose the unique opportunity to enjoy the benefits of Science and technology. Considering oneself a master or slave is purely an attitude problem.

Publicity at the cost of privacy

There is nothing wrong in aspiring for publicity and become popular. In fact, fame is one of the main driving force of human psyche. People adopt various ways and means to gain publicity and become famous. Popularity may come through positive or negative means. Becoming popular through good deeds and acts is what one should normally aspire for. There is a difference between becoming popular for wrong reasons and becoming notorious.  One may become popular by being the butt of a joke all the time or getting wrongly caught for things that the individual never did. But notoriety is negative popularity by being wicked or egregious. These days, thanks to the proliferation of visual media a totally different type of popularity is being attempted by poor and middle class whose thirst for fame and popularity is quenched by appearance in electronic media. Either they directly participate or force their wards to participate in the innumerable reality shows and competitions happening in every television channel. These channels compete with one another in outbeating the other through improvement in TRP rating which is essential to attract advertisements, that is their bread and butter. Surprisingly, the basic concepts and themes happen to be identical in all channels of all languages. There are shows with dance, singing and game competitions for various categories of people and ages. In some channels, because of their reputation, the competitions assume very serious dimensions. Often in shows involving kids, the parental and peer pressure is so high that kids go crazy. Some reality shows intrude too much into the privacy of people. The gullible public with the sole intention of getting popular by appearance on TV screens, do not mind exposing their personal information beyond reasonable levels and some pathetic people believe in solutions offered to them by unqualified anchors. In one show of a popular Tamil channel, topics used to be so chosen often on flimsy pedestrian grounds and two groups of opposite opinion are brought together and involved in a discussion that is often endless. The anchor used to put intrusive personal questions and the ignorant people would get exposed. Protected privacy seems reserved only for some who care. Popularity at the cost of privacy is the order of the day for majority of middle and lower echelons of society.

Why simplify when it's so simple to complicate?

I don't know how many would agree with me when I say that we are unnecessarily complicating simple things all through our lives and in all aspects of our life. I feel, developed countries complicate much more than undeveloped ones, as do learned people against illiterates. If you look at a simple tribal community, the complications are minimal but there, the community leaders and chieftains try to introduce a certain amount of complication by pronouncing regulations and customs. All festivities are part of this complication. The basic idea or motive of most complications I believe, is an attempt just to distinguish and standout. It may be between animals and themselves for primitive folks and between primitives and them for more civilized. After all the fundamentals of life for all living creatures is : birth; growth; finding food; reproduction; rearing the next generation and death. From these basics,  step by step complications are introduced, as societies evolved and advanced. These complications are in each and every aspect of life. If you start thinking carefully and step by step, you will realize that most complications are anthropocentric and entirely for the welfare of a single species "Homo sapiens". However, some of the complications are simply meant to be different or difficult. Fashion is a typical example of this category. The efforts made in the direction of healthcare and longevity is also a complication that has resulted in a surge in the numbers of this species by bringing down death rate. I can't comprehend the complications in dressing; makeup etc., which typically is the result of the philosophy "why simplify when it is so simple to complicate". Anthropocentrism, has created an irreversible imbalance in nature and the human species has increased in numbers disproportionate to its level in the ecosystem affecting homeostasis. Gigantism is believed to have led to the extinction of creatures like Dinosaurs. Likewise, increase in number out of proportion in an ecosystem could also lead to ultimate extinction. Stability and simplicity would  go together just as complexity and instability would. Don't you feel I am just trying to complicate simple things. This is what most philosophers do in my opinion. Philosophy and religion like fashion are typically the result of restless human mind that is full of imagination and for not knowing what to do has engaged itself in doing this. Well,then, how to find out what is complication? If you don't do that or do it differently, is it affecting you? If it does, it is not complication. If it doesn't, it's complication. I think I have simplified complication enough. To put it differently, can I say, doing something for the sake of doing is complication. But I have to admit that it's one's fundamental right to complicate but it is not right to force it on those wanting to be simple.

Olympic games - some thoughts.

In the year 2020, the Olympics(Summer Olympics for some) is scheduled to be held at Tokyo, Japan. Hosting Olympics once in four years has become a prestige issue and not all countries can get the opportunity and many cannot afford to host even if offered. There are 196 or 195 countries(depending on Taiwan's status), of which less than a dozen countries alone have had the opportunity to host Olympics. Seven cities in the world have hosted more than once. The reason for several countries not offering to host, is the volume of financial burden( around at least six billion dollars at present), the infrastructure and human resources required. From 1896 till 2016, the category and number of games and sports events have also been increasing. However, several events appeared and also disappeared in various Olympics over the years. There were only nine types of events in the first modern Olympics in 1896 which rose to 28  in London Olympics in 2012 and continued till Rio Olympics in 2016. There are totally 306 events in these 28 types of games and sports. In addition, inaugural and valedictory functions have to be also held. Hence, Organizing Olympics is nightmarish even for governments of several countries. I believe Olympics is the biggest global event happening once in four years with the participation of maximum number of countries. It is a Herculean task to successfully organize this event for any country however big or small it maybe. Apart from all routine problems you may visualize in organizing such an event, the last to be added was in 1972 in Munich, Germany . This problem is the protection from terrorism. Hats off to all the countries who have been organizing this Magnum opus and Brazil in particular, as this is the latest successfully completed. It is easy to find fault in any event,however well it would have been organised. Fault finders are invariably incapable of doing anything good.
Until now, I don't think there is any major or significant opposition to the conduct of this event. Still, I feel that this should not remain an event for the few endowed and empowered countries only. At present It is so, because of the magnitude of the event and almost total participation globally. Demand for inclusion as event and willingness to host are much more than what could be met. Why not resize Olympics and make it smaller and manageable for many countries to host by sorting it as water sports; field games; athletics; gymnastics etc. and hold it either simultaneously or one after another in a sequence and with required time intervals in different countries and different continents. This could ensure greater participation in organizing as well as competing. More opportunities thrown world wide for business and other development oriented improvements even in less privileged countries and populations. I don't think that what I suggest is immediately feasible or acceptable to many. But the purpose is to generate an alternative thinking and healthy critical discussion leading to new and exciting changes. Several changes happening today might have been outright rejected those days. But I hope and wish that a new thought process is initiated in the right direction. Initial acceptance can be limited and it does not affect the final emergence.

Is future so scary?

Many old fashioned thinkers as well as environmentalists always scare you with predictions of future by sheer extrapolation of small time happenings. This could be because they really feel that way or they think these type of predictions would caution people to desist from their destructive attitude and activities. Extrapolation seldom works perfectly even in science. From time immemorial, these people have been saying the same, but data appears to contradict the doomsday approach. Life has neither been shortened over time, nor has become miserable, compared to the past.
In fact, according to a 2011 estimate, the global birth rate is 15000 per hour but the death rate is just 6316 per hour indicating a doubling of the population much faster than we have thought. In 1960s it took 33 years for an addition of one billion to our population where as by the end of the last century(1999) it reduced to twelve years and now it's much faster. Remember that this increase in population is happening inspite of voluntary and forced birth control as well as increasing infertility. Among several reasons, considerable reduction in foetal mortality and the significant decline in general death rate, are two important reasons, thanks to advances in medical sciences. Even in such a short period as five years from 2009 to 2014, the death rate has reduced from 8.37 to 7.89 per thousand. This is inspite of the dreaded increase in pollution levels and all negative and fearful attributes to the modern world such as new devastating diseases like HIV. More than fifty years ago, tuberculosis, and epidemics of plague, cholera, small pox, malaria etc were believed to be ringing the death knell for humanity. Recently, HIV and Cancer were predicted to wipe out considerable populations in at least a few countries. But we are on the verge of breakthroughs in treating them and have already succeeded to the extent of lengthening lives. Global warming and melting polar caps are now projected as beginnings of doom for life on earth. In many populous tropical countries, famine like conditions due to shortage of food brought about by monsoon failures and rapid use of arable lands for housing as well as aridity and desertification due to rapid dwindling of fresh water are predicted to take them close to the end. In reality, the standard of living has been considerably and consistently on the increase in such countries. Improved agriculture produces several times increase in food. As more and more problems arise due to anthropogenic activities, newer and newer solutions are discovered. Whenever you think a dead end has been reached, a door always opens up. Some decades ago, a scare was created suggesting a global energy crisis as nonrenewable energy sources were understood to be rapidly depleting. People could not believe that renewable sources would be developed to replace them. Even now some people are skeptic and unconvinced of the non conventional energy sources. I am reminded of the " Theory of compensation" which me and my friend (who is no more), proposed after years of extensive and intensive discussions. We are convinced that everything positive is always accompanied by a negative and everything negative has always a positive accompaniment often not readily visible. It is the incapacity of our brains that does not allow us to visualize the two together. The optimists always try to see the positives and the pessimists the negatives.
If you are unbiased, you will find both positives and negatives in things happening around us. Painting a scary picture of the future or predicting the approach of Doomsday, are really overdoing caution and uncalled for.For some, future has always been, is and would be scary. From the days of civilization, elders have been painting a gloomy picture of the future and praising the past. Young people have been optimistically going ahead and succeeding. This is going to happen all along.

Is honesty genetic?

Importance of bringing up children has always been emphasized in developing good and capable citizens in any country. But the concept of child rearing has not been understood properly by most parents especially in populous, developing countries. Bringing up children the right way, has assumed importance and a high priority these days, as life is becoming increasingly difficult with increasing competition and there is a need for exceptional skills to achieve things and even to survive. Conditions have changed so much and the children have much higher IQs and excellent exposure, old methods of strict and authoritarian regimentation will not only not work but could also become counterproductive. I am addressing this problem especially for people in the third world countries. It has been established that right from foetus stage, learning process starts. In the name of tradition and culture, several unnecessary restrictions and superstitions are imposed and children are not respected and often ill treated or abused . Many in the name of discipline refuse to discuss and explain to children, why they make children do something the way the children don't want or like. Some assume that children cannot understand. It is essential to basically believe that children can understand almost every thing and try to tell them. If they fail to understand,it only means that you don't want them to understand. Good creative thinking can be promoted in children only by treating them equal and discussing with them. They must also be encouraged to discuss their issues with us. We are often tempted to think that good bringing up is just giving the best clothes; best play materials; good school and all expensive facilities. A good upbringing need not have to be expensive at all. How much you care for your children especially mentally, while deciding on things in which they are involved or relevant to them. Same way, in giving them freedom to do what they want except guiding them on what is right and wrong and educating them on the consequences of their actions. At least in India, I can authentically say that parents and elders force children to do only what they want, right from what they buy, dress, eat, and study. In some cases they also decide the persons with whom their child can move or become friendly. It's all due to unwanted fear of their child getting cheated. Whether controlled or given freedom, the child getting cheated is essentially based on its upbringing and circumstances. Many think that obedience is doing everything the way they want by asking them. Obedience is not asking your permission and doing things. Obedience is following right ways and doing right things so that no disrepute is brought either to you or to themselves. The worst aspect of upbringing is the fear of punishment and unwillingness to accept mistakes. I often use to wonder as to what causes children to tell lies and refuse to accept mistakes. The answer I could arrive at was upbringing and environment. The children watch with intent,their parents, other elders and peers especially for their honesty. Sometimes parents force children to tell lies on their behalf, to save them from embarrassment or punishment. This trains them. Further, if a child is honest and accepts its mistake, it is punished often heavily. It is the fear of punishment plus the observation of others' when they commit mistakes that prompts it to tell a lie to escape. When it successfully escaped punishment with a lie, there is a reinforcement on the benefit of dishonesty and continues with it sometimes quite unnecessarily. I am convinced that if honesty is appreciated and either no punishment or minimum punishment such as a warning depending on the mistake, is given children would be encouraged to be honest.Parents need to be extra careful and should not be dishonest when children are watching let alone using them for it. I do agree that it is not easy in a society so far away from honesty in personal, professional and political life to suddenly switch over. It's a pity that although no child is born without honesty by the time it grows the first thing learnt is to tell lies and be dishonest. Criminality could be genetic but not honesty. It's just the training and upbringing.

Would it just be a day dream?

At least to me the reasons attributed to Brexit and the subsequent success of the idea in a referendum are neither convincing nor acceptable. It is a negative decision indicating the impact of the negative and parochial attitude of a group of cynical politicians drawing majority support. In referendums of this type unanimity and not majority should be the deciding factor.The establishment of EU was such a great achievement for humanity just on the heels of merger of East and West Germany inducing people to anticipate a similar happening in Korea which is presently not feasible. I am sure well meaning people around the civilized world would feel sad over any disaggregation or disintegration, be it EU or Srilanka or any part of the world. Separation is several times easier than unification because it is more instinctive, primitive and retrograde. It is like entropy. Evolution and civilization should teach us, more understanding, tolerance and consideration not only for fellow human beings but even for fellow living beings and differentiate us maximum from the early Neanderthal humans.
A country like Britain with all its hegemony of the past should not become parochial and try to split away for selfish reasons. If you resort to referendum mode, no country can function. Fellows in government in Democratic countries should act as knowledgeable representatives of the people and take positive decisions.They should not go to people with a referendum for every decision. Maybe they take this as a plank in fighting the next election. Election should act as a referendum where more than one individual from a party with a choice of plans/ ideas contest and whoever wins finally implement the changes. Divisive and negative forces are more powerful and influential with the masses. Forces of unity; understanding; appreciation and concern have to fight a long battle but need to succeed. When people don't want territories of a country like Ireland/ Scotland to separate from U.K.why they want UK to separate from EU. The noble and far-reaching concept of one world, one people and one government seems just a day dream and next to impossible with even a vestige of the existing generation. Compassion should be the only religion to unite us all.