Thoughts stemming from the back of a matchbox

Yesterday, I noticed this great quote on the back of an AIM series matchbox - 'A rational person is a nice contrast to the real world.'

That set me thinking about just how true that statement was. I think I'm going to buy a lot of AIM matchboxes just on that strength alone. It brought to mind all the irrational things I have seen, all the whimsical stuff done by people who in some way are in control of my destiny. Among all the whimsical and irrational things I have seen in my lifetime (makes me sounds like a bearded old relic - but never mind), the most bizarre and unjustifiable thing I have come across is religion. The whole concept of religion has intrigued me ever since, maybe, when I was in class 10.

I have had so many talk with so many people about this, and I have - to my belief - had an open mind about the subject, but I haven't been able to be convinced by anyone that religion has anything good to offer to humanity. Absolutely nothing.

I wrote about this here, and it provoked a vitriolic attack from an anonymous commentor, many of whose comments I have deleted. Actually that article pretty much sums up what I thought about religion.

I have tried to read books prescribed by at least four religions, and not one of them has been free of blatant contradictions and fallacies.

I thought of writing this post just to put down some quotes of some of those people who were a contrast to the real world, some, who were puzzled by the existence of religion, and after a while were plain disgusted by it.

"Religion is based . . . mainly on fear . . . fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand. . . . My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race."

"I am myself a dissenter from all known religions, and I hope that every kind of religious belief will die out."
Bertrand Russel

"I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religion than it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."

"I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism."
Albert Einstein

"I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say that one is an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn't have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or agnostic. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect that he doesn't that I don't want to waste my time."

"Creationists make it sound like a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night"
Isaac Asimov

"All thinking men are atheists."
Earnest Hemingway

"Religion is a byproduct of fear. For much of human history, it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more evil than necessary? Isn't killing people in the name of God a pretty good definition of insanity?"
Arthur C. Clarke

"Lighthouses are more helpful then churches."
Benjamin Franklin

"I'm glad some people have that faith. I don't have that faith. If there is a God, a caring God, then we have to figure he's done an extraordinary job of making a very cruel world."
Dave Matthews

"My view is that if there is no evidence for it, then forget about it. An agnostic is somebody who doesn't believe in something until there is evidence for it, so I'm agnostic."
Carl Sagan

"Nothing can be more contrary to religion and the clergy than reason and common sense."
Voltaire

"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one."

"At present there is not a single credible established religion in the world."
George Bernard Shaw

"The divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity."

"This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it."
John Adams

"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet."

"All religions have been made by men."
Napoleon Bonaparte

"If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be -- a Christian."
Mark Twain

The list of such quotes could go on. I have just picked up a few of my favorites from here.

It would seem that I am lookign specifically at quotes attacking Christianity, but in my mind all religions in the world deserve to be laughed at, for the absurdity it brings to our lives. I just haven't found quotes which interested me poking fun at other religions in articulate ways such as the ones above.

I visit this site at times to gloss over the inconsistencies in the Koran and Bible.

About the Hindu prescriptions for a good life. The Mahabharat, Ramayan, and other legends seem to me as amazing examples of male chauvinism in ancient India, where injustice was the norm rather than the exception. To go into that in detail would result in an epic in inself. They are fantastic reads though, especially the Mahabharat, if one looks at it as a thriller rather than a book with any spiritual value. This girl here has caught on the real spirit of the Mahabharat and is writing a great spoof on it. Follow the Mahabharat series link on the right sidebar of her page.

Some people would say it's best to keep quiet about such things, but I get so frustrated at the whole concept of religion, and the absurdness rampant among those who subscribe to it, that I just feel like shouting it out to everyone I see. Which is why a blog is a good thing. As Ashwini, sorry, @ashwini, said - a 'catharsis'.

sh"IT" Industry - how 'sh' came to IT?

You ask a layman where the technology jobs are and his reply will be “India”. But if you ask me, I would rather say “Down the Drains …” This is my opinion of the IT industry – Straight from My Gut … (thank you Mr. Jack Welch).

Sure, IT has brought in a lot of light to India but just as every rose has its thorn, the IT industry has a Dark side.

A company can be categorized as either a “Product” based or a “Service” based. You have “Work Security” in one and “Job Security” in the other. When working with a product based company, rest assured you will always have your plate full, something even more than what you can handle. Every ounce of your talented will be squeezed. Analogically speaking, you are the sugarcane and you will repeatedly go through the rollers, with lime and ginger as motivation and incentives. These companies will take the extremes of offering you the “Best in the Industry” package to the best “Severance” package. Little do they tell you which industry they are referring to when they say “Best in the Industry”. For those in doubt they are referring to the industry of “Slavery”. The severance package will be offered under conditions of Acquisitions, Mergers or simply – “the project has come to a closure - Sayonara”. But you have nothing to worry. Work with a service based company and you will have a 40-60 ratio of work to leisure. This comes with a bonus, Job Security. These companies are messiahs to the “impotents” and “incompetents” your leaders and managers basically. Imagine a company having its presence in Tahiti or some where in the Caribbean or even Goa. Your onsite assignments will on the beach with “Cocktails and Skin” … a voluntary retirement scheme.

You have often heard the term “Benched” … this is a requirement for all CMMI Level 5 companies. Companies like Infosys and Satyam have been on a rampage with recruitments because they want to hold on to their Level 5 certificate. How are they related? Well, one of the criteria of this certification says: you got to have a work force showing anticipation and readiness for work. The more you recruit, the more anticipation you show, the more will the “stock” be traded. While the recruited, get paid to indulge in a little Solitaire and as the new fads are: Sudoku and Blogging. For the record “I am not on BENCH” … I just don’t have work.

Ever heard of “Body Shopping”? This is when you are subcontracted. You are working for service based company and you are asked to work for a product based company. The work will be to clean the toilet after some one just pooped in and didn’t flush, put in the technological jargon you are asked to do Black Box Testing. Your incentive for doing this is a daily allowance of 100 to 300 Rs. and a high speed internet connection – for posting your resumes.

We have the MNC, the feel good factor. All “MNCs” start of as “R&Ds”, IBM did, Intel did. They initiate the design of some revolutionary product and just when its time to hit the market, they change their R&D centers to “Indian Offshore Development Centre”. IBM changed to IBM India. This way the tax on software export is rescinded. As the saying went in our college, the “R&D” has been reduced to “R A & D” or “R A N D” or just “WHORE”. Not to feel bad, there is an incentive here to … the engineers in the west get “Bangalored”. What’s “Banglored”? Type “banglored” as the search string in Google and the first result is:

“The US slang term 'Bangalored' refers to workers laid off because their jobs have moved to India.”

AMEN TO THAT

The end is the beginning is the end. The end of software jobs in the west is the beginning of those in India, but not for long, because this beginning will soon coin a new slang “China-ed”. This is where the Indian professionals get fired because his work has been moved to the Chinese. The Chinese are cheap, just like in their flesh trade and their quality is not Six but Seven Sigma … beat that Mr. Jack Welch.

What can we do? … we can only hold on to your “Swadeshi Tri-colored Knickers” to prevent the “Communist Bug” from getting up into our asses.

How does that feel !

READERS DIGEST - THIS

CATCH 22 – Joseph Heller
If you have the appetite to read some “humor in uniform”, then this is the book which will satiate this hunger. Acclaimed for its humor, this book has a backdrop set to the world war. It portrays the frustration and absurdity prevalent during the war with a touch of humor.

SATANIC VERSES / MIGHTNIGHTS CHILDREN – Salman Rushdie
This man is no stranger, the Islam clergy had a death sentence put out on him for his book Satanic Verses. “NO OFFENSE INTENDED TO ANY PERSON AND/OR RELIGION” ... The plot is developed around the life of 2 guys, the only survivors of a hijacked plane.
The second book is about INDIA. He talks about Indian states like Jammu and Kashmir, Goa during the hippie days, the Jallianwala Bag tragedy, the Indira Gandhi government. It’s a brief walk through our history at the time of Independence.

EATS, LEAVES and SHOOTS – Lynne Truss
If your English Grammar sucks, you better read this book. It’s a crash course in grammar with a twist. The twist being: HUMOR.

STRAIGHT FROM THE GUTS – Jack Welch
Jack Welch, the man that brought GE the glory it not basks in. It’s a kind of an autobiography. He talks about how he revolutionized GE’s process and style of doing business.

IACOCCA, AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY – Lee Iacocco
Like me, not many might have heard of this man. He was a VP at Ford Motors. Designed the Mustang. Fired by Henry Ford. Picked up by Chrysler, at the time when it was on the brink of bankruptcy. And the hero saves the world. All car buffs will enjoy reading this book. He doesn’t dwell into the nitty gritties of car design and engineering but colors a beautiful picture of the automobile industry and throws a lot of shit at the “king” - Henry Ford.

I, ROBOT – Isaac Asimov
I don’t know what the movie was all about, but rest assured reading the book and watching the movie will make you wonder if the movie was really based on the book. If you have read “Man in the Iron Mask – Sir Alexander Dumas” or “War of the Worlds – H G Wells”, you will realize that the book and movie have very few plots in common. This book can be viewed as 6 incidences. Each involving robots and the blunder built around them and how humans, the more intelligent ones, solved them.

HITCH HICKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY – Douglas Adams
Another humorous book you should watch out for. An earthling and an alien hitch hiking their way through the universe after the earth was destroyed to make a way for a pathway.
Remember the college days when most of us hitch hicked to college and meet up with some real “characters”?

DILBERT, THE WAY OF THE WEASEL - Scott Adams
Just read it.

Soham: give me my colors. Looking forward to for some book reviews

More wisdom from SRI SRI ATIT SHAH

With such an overwhelming response to my first post, i couldnt but resist to put up another parable ...

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven six nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.


There are a few interns here at Satyam from US, who strongly believe in the adage "When in Rome, Do as the Romans do" (i hope i got that right) ... anyways ... these guys dont seem to get enough of India. You will often see them rubbing "SUNLIGHT" on thier face, they will eat a full south indian meal (a lot of rice that is) with thier "HANDS". Had they seen someone, i bet they would even lick thier hands right from thier elbows to thier fingers to what get stuck in your nails. One of them actually grew a beard and looked more like a "Water Shy Kanada Hero" only with a lot of powder.

"WaterShy" ... i guess he hadnt had a bath for a few days.

O they just love "INDIA" and the "INDIAN WAY". The next time you have doubts that India is looked down upon ... let me know i will send you some video shots of these guys!

Why do we know so little about Africa ?

I was looking through a history book the other day, and it struck me that we (ie city dwelling folk) know surprisingly little about Africa. And I think it's safe to assume that most people in the world (outside of Africa, that is) are in the same state of ignorance about a continent, which is almost as big in area as Europe and North America combined.

I mean, we know things about North American history - admittedly not too much, sitting here in India, but at least the main bits. We know about the Anglo Frech wars, about the Native Americans who fought with the colonists, about George Washington and all that. Even in recent times, we are quite abreast of what goes on with Uncle Sam, and to a lesser extent in Canada and Mexico.

We also know the important bits about South America, about the Incas, from the Spanish invasion right down to Pinochet's excessses.

European history too, is not entirely lost on us. All of us have read at some point or the other about the British colonialism, The Renaissance, The Industrial Revolution, The French revolution, The World Wars, and many such events.

Hell, we even know more about Australia than we do about Africa. Not that there's a whole lot of Australian history anyways.

Asian history, being closer to home, is of course familair to us.

When it comes to Africa though, all we know of definitively is Nelson Mandela, and the fact that people starve in Somalia. South Africa and AIDS. We know next to nothing about countries outside of South Africa, Egypt and to some extent Zimbabwe. Only very recently did I come to know that Ethiopia has a great and colorful history, and that it has retained its independence throughout the troubled history of Africa. I don't know how many of us are aware that there was a Second Congo War fought between 1998 and 2002, and that the First Congo War took place between 1996 and 1997, or that the casualties in both these wars amounted to more than 4 million people. That's about four times as many people as there are in Goa.

I was not even aware, till I saw the film Hotel Rwanda, that in a conflict in Rwanda and Burundi (two pint sized coutried in Central Africa), about a million people died in tribal wars, fully supported by the government. Maybe this ignorance is something to do with my habit of flicking the remote button each time the main headlines are done with. And African news rarely make the top three news items.

Even a cursory glance at African history is fascinating. I don't think any other continent's map has changed so often in the last 100 years. And I don't know of any other Continent being treated as if it were pieces of cake by colonists. Now Africa is a Continent with 54 countries, about a 1000 languages, with about 900 million people living there.

I sometimes think why we know so little of Africa, and I remember that I read someplace : 'History is written by the winning side'. Thinking back, I guess all the history we ever know is what powers like the British and now the Americans want us to know.

At least now, with the internet, we have the choice to find out the truth about pretty much anything we want to.

No points for guessing that my staple reading now is African history.
Wikipedia and answers.com are great places for a first look into this, and indeed any other, topic.

SRI SRI ATIT SHAH imparting wisdom

A student asks a teacher: What is love?
The teacher said: in order to answer your question, go to the paddy field and choose the biggest paddy and come back.But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick.
The student went to the field, go thru first row, he saw one big paddy, but he wonders....may be there is a bigger one later. Then he saw another bigger one... but may be there is an even bigger one waiting for him.Later, when he finished more than half of the paddy field, he start to realize that the paddy is not as big as the previous one he saw, he know he has missed the biggest one, and he regretted. So, he ended up went back to the teacher with empty hand.
The teacher told him, this is love... you keep looking for a better one, but when later you realize, you have already miss the person

The student asked: What is marriage then?
The teacher said: In order to answer your question, go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn and come back.But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick.The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he has picked one medium corn that he fee satisfied, and came back to the teacher.
The teacher told him, this time you bring back a corn.... you look for one that is just nice, and you have faith and believe this is the best one you get.... this is marriage.

Arbit

Christmas is on Sunday. Bloody hell. I am goddamn frustrated. Why can't they make ti a rule that if a government holiday comes on Sunday, we can have a holiday on Monday.
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I watched No Entry for the umpteenth time in a bus from Pune to Bombay yesterday. I saw the same movie on Sturday from en route from Bombay to Pune. And the week before. I can't bear to talk about it.
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Ran the 3 km charity run in the Pune marathon yesterday. Legs are still asleep.
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Saw two movies in the weekend. Exorcism of Emily Rose. Scared me a bit. Apaharan. Good.
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XAT is 5 weeks away. Shit happens. Hope it doesn't this time though.
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I keep making wisecracks with Santosh about names of places in Pune. Like Pimp-ri. Bhosari. Landewadi. And, believe it or not - Sandas.
Wonder what would happen if I ever saw this town in Austria.
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IIT Newsgroup

Yesterday, we came across a thread on newsgroup. And after reading it we were laughing for hours.
Here are the contents in its original form, with unnecessray details eliminated:

Some background:
- Newsgroup Name: Computer Science PHD.
- Topic : Related to completion of Report.
- Actors(Senders):
1. We have "Hero" who plays main character.
2. "Prof. God" He is fundu algorithm professor.
3. Others, referred as "Stud-1" to "Stud-n"

Abbrevations Used:
ng - News Group
sp - Sujata Palace (Local Restaurent).

Here it begins:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sender: Stud-1

Yup.

What are you doing on NGs? Report done kya?

------------------------------------------------------------------

Sender: "Hero"

>>
>> Yup.
>>
>> What are you doing on NGs? Report done kya? :-)


r u ppl taking lots of time to write ur report's kya?
tons of results?
i finished mine in 3hrs flat ;)

btw, why is it called "re"search?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Sender: Stud-2

>> Yup.
>>
>> What are you doing on NGs? Report done kya? :-)
>
>

Working, working and working on the report. It's like Hanumanji's tail, never ending.

> r u ppl taking lots of time to write ur report's kya?
> tons of results?
> i finished mine in 3hrs flat ;)


Let's all attend your seminar and see how fast "they" finish you off ;)

> btw, why is it called "re"search?


I would as well ask why are we called "scholars"?

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Sender: "Hero" [In trouble]

>Let's all attend your seminar and see how fast "they" finish you off ;)

:O i guess i'll be a research "squealer" when "they" begin!!

ps: ne1 knows if Prof. God (= one of "they") reads this ng? :O

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sender: Stup-3


>
> ps: ne1 knows if Prof. God (= one of "they") reads this ng? :O
>

I suppose so. Sometime back when he was our facad, he would reply to postings on ng.
And I think he would surely remember your 3hr stunt ;)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sender: "Hero" [Enlightened]

>>ps: ne1 knows if Prof. God (= one of "they") reads this ng? :O
>>>>
>
>> I suppose so. Sometime back when he was our facad, he would reply to
>> postings on ng. And I think he would surely remember your 3hr stunt ;)


OH MY GOD!! lag gayi!!
bhai log, after my prog-sem, sp mein milte hain: if the seminar goes well, we'll celebrate :)
if it goes bad, to gam dubate hain :(

ps: abey Stud-3, on a serious note, tu fart maar raha hai na? [Our Hero still sees ray of hope.]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sender: Prof. God[Shocking Entry]

Yes I do, mainly to find information like this. It tells me more than
what your report does.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sender Hero:

>Yes I do, mainly to find information like this. It tells me more than
>> what your report does.
>>
>> AAD.


why is it that i feel like laughing in spite of a lump in my throat?
:O

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Three deaths in three weeks.

Death. The word itself is so creepy. We here about the word, at different places all the time. And every time we encounter this word, it makes us sad, not knowing why. The person may be someone whom you don't know at all. Its strange how a person whom you saw, you talked, do not exist anymore in any form.

The worst still, is when you come to know the person ended his own life. Three suicides in 3 weeks in 3 IIT's. Statistically number doesn't look too dangerous.
There is 1 suicide attempt in every IIT every 2 years, thats approx out of 5000 samples(students) in age group of 19-25 attempt suicide once in 2 years. The number is pretty ok when compared with any sample space from real world.

But! Suicide! How someone can gets so much guts to end his/her own life. I am scared when Doctor injects syringe, wonder how a person can get guts to bear the unbearable. Everyone here at IIT was shaken by the incident. So was I. Over a period of time things loosen. But during those moments of tension we realize, what is life. We realize something which cannot be told or understood. At that moment life appears so tempting and beautiful that death appears to the stupid thing to even think or worry about.

Few day came across these quotes of Isaac Asimov:
Life is Pleasent. Death is Peaceful. Its a transition thats troublesome.

Have Good Day

Golden ratio

These days, numbers intrigue me.

Pages like this , and lots of stuff in Da Vinci Code have got me hooked.