No investigation, no talk

This is a lesson I was taught early on in my young intellectual life.

No glib talk. Glib talk is very dangerous and misleading.

Very often people hold very strong opinions and say things without having done basic 'research' into what they are talking about. This is more pronounced in the age of social media, where spouting nonsense and sometimes moving the needle has become easier. Media are also guilty of this.

If you haven't done the investigation, please be honest and make it clear that you're merely sharing your (possibly uninformed) opinion. Don't present opinion as fact, and worse, don't present uninformed opinion as gospel truth.

Gain and loss

Many a time observers and the public reach conclusions on a person’s (especially leaders and politicians) decisions and actions on a particular issue without giving due consideration to the factors that may have been at play. Without any empathy.

I read a story the other day that illustrates the point. The controller of a leading newsweekly magazine noticed a “hockey stick” rise in miscellaneous expenses for his company in September. He checked the data for the past few years and, sure enough, the pattern repeated. The situation was important enough to bring to the attention of the chairman.

“What’s causing the problem?” asked the chairman. “Well, it appears that in September, all our reporters, journalists, columnists, editors, and researchers are providing their children with school supplies for the coming term.” The chairman thought about the situation and said, “Make sure we get the best quality.”

Obviously, what the company stood to gain was a decrease in costs. Not so obvious, what the company stood to lose was the goodwill of the employees. The chairman wasn’t willing to trade the morale of the employees for the cost saving; what he stood to gain wasn’t worth what he stood to lose.

Un-ringing the bell

Don’t you just wish you could un-ring the bell?

Take back a decision you made, or un-say something hurtful or stupid you said?

Alas, once a bell is rung it can never be un-rung. It’s a sunk cost, really

Better to let the past go and focus on your next decision, the next thing you say. That is within your control

Indispensable

Werner von Braun was indispensable to the Nazi war machinery. Such was his value that he was a prime target of the Americans at the end of WWII, not to be tried for war crimes like others. And he became indispensable to the American space efforts.

Bill Gates is not indispensable, but he's in charge of his own destiny. So is Warren Buffett, or Jeff Bezos and others like them.

If you want to future-proof your life, become either indispensable or create an environment where you are in charge of your own destiny.

Fruit tree, metaphor for life?

I have a mulberry tree in my garden.

The fruit ripens at different stages for about a month or two. The leaves are relatively big compared to the berries, so the ripe fruit is often hidden from view and you have to part the leaves to expose it. Frequently, also, the ripe berries are not easily accessible at the top, or in-between branches.

If you really want to eat juicy berries, sometimes you have to be prepared for the discomfort of stretching for the top, or being scratched by the branches.

Some of the ripe fruit has already fallen to the ground, and you may have to pick it up and blow the dirt away or wash it.

Birds compete for the berries, so over time I only reap a fraction of what the tree has produced.

I sometimes wonder: are there any life lessons here?

Humans are ambitious

Ambition seems to play a big part in motivating humans to do stuff.

The ambition for power, or wealth, or fame or all of them. To pretend otherwise is to delude ourselves.

Altruism or selflessness may drive the actions of many for a time when there are common goals or obstacles to be overcome. Once these are attained, however, we revert to the former.

Contrary to how some want to portray things, there's nothing wrong with ambition. Acknowledge it, create agreed rules of the game, and let's get on with it.

Black Hole

Seeing the image of the blackhole must have evoked many emotions and thoughts,

Awe,

Admiration,

Celebration,

Spirituality,

Wonder and deep thinking about the science behind it all.

Perhaps disbelief from the flat-earthers

It is clear, however, that this is a concrete demonstration of the human spirit,

What is possible from belief in our capabilities,

A constant endeavour to reach farthest in space and time, to hone our skills, improve our equipment

A belief in possibilities

Human ingenuity, from the telescopes, to the organising, to the code that created the algorithms

At this point it is fair to ask, to think, is there anything that is truly impossible?