STEVE JOBS V/S WILSON GREATBATCH: A REFLEXION ON OUR VALUE SYSTEM IN 21ST CENTURY

Steve jobs died on Oct 5 this year. He was the man who co-founded Apple computers and recently made the company very successful with introduction of iPads, iPods and iPhones. It is mainly the last one, the iPhone that made him hugely famous and his company a big corporate success. His death was major international news and was covered by almost all the news media of the entire world even in the poorest countries where only a handful could lay their hands on one of his creations. His obituaries appeared in every newspaper and magazine including millions of blogs and twiterlogs. Many described his innovations as word changing. Even the most powerful man of our world the president of USA lamented, “The world has lost a visionary”

On Sept 27 this year Wilson Greatbatch died. He invented the first practicable cardiac pacemaker in 1960. The heart has a collection of specialised tissue that initiates regular and orderly contraction of its chambers to pump the blood around our body. In many patients this area does not work properly which leads to failure of the heart. In these patients, cardiac pacemaker is implanted to do the same job.  Not only the pacemaker but also the long lasting lithium battery was also introduced by Greatbatch.   Now more than half a million pacemakers are implanted each year. Greatbatch held more than 300 patents. The implantable pacemaker was cited as one of the 10 greatest engineering contributions to society. It has saved and continues to save lives of millions of heart patients. His obituaries only appeared in few news papers, which generously devoted a couple of inches in a hidden obscure column.

Job was a man of vision but only for the ever-wanting consumer society. His creations no doubt beautiful and efficient were but elegant and cool toys for rich.  After everything is said and done, his company produced improved glamorised entertainment equipments. However it did make a lot of money and very fast. In 21^st century, that is probably the benchmark not just of success but of greatness as well!

Why Rawan will have to be burnt again and again?

Last week we went to Dashahra celebrations arranged in one of the largest parks in Manchester. In spite of a cold, wet and windy weather thousands of people came.  They all jeered when the large effigy of the ten headed demon king Rawan came in the view and cheered when it was burnt following the bull’s eye hit by Ram’s arrow.

We are very enthusiastic and gung ho about burning not only the the Rawan of Ramayan but anyone who we perceive to be as evil as Rawan as long as he is not one of us. If he is our kin or we are directly benefitting from his evil deeds, we gladly tolerate him, even praise him and sometimes worship him.

 It is not only true for the individuals but almost all human institutions, whether it is a small charity organization or a big country. Even a cursory look at recent history of Saddam, Gaddafi and Taliban and their relation with different countries will prove the point. They had quite cosy and mutually beneficial relations with all the countries and kings who were capable of restraining them but choose not to. They were all attending different forums and meetings (the modern Swayambaras and Yagyas) with them at one time or another.

 Only when Rawan chooses to kidnap Ram’s Sita, all hell breaks loose.  Murder of thousands and suppression of millions in Iran, Libia and Afghanistan only raises Ram’s eyebrows not his all-powerful bow, until “nine eleven”!

The reason Rawan gets up and has to be burnt again next year is that each of us shelter a bit of him  within us and we choose not to kill it, till it attacks our own hearts and even then the Amrit of our self interest revives him back in no time. 

PROUSTIAN MEMORY: SMELL, MEMORY AND REALITY

Sun was shining; it was a completely blue sky. I sat in the garden with a book and a cup of coffee.  In the border near where I was sitting, there was a Marigold plant laden with flowers. The colours of the petals were a combination of dark red and bright yellow like flames of fire. Impulsively I plucked a couple of flowers and put it on the table. 

I opened my book and started reading. As soon as I opened the pages, a waft of familiar smell hit me. The smell was coming from my fingers, which I had used to pluck the marigold flowers. This familiar smell brought the memory of my high school days with such intensity that I felt physically transported in that big colourful marquee in the school field on a Saraswati Puja* day. I could see the statue of the goddess in bright yellow and red sari and the whole dais covered with marigold flowers. Most of the decoration was done a few days before but we arranged the flowers in the early hours of the morning so that they would look as fresh as possible. We also pinned a number of flowers to the fabric behind the statue in a gushing fountain design. I could see the face of my classmate who drew this design with a piece of wood charcoal.  I saw myself pricking my finger and reflexly sucking the tip. And there were my fingers, tinged green, yellow and red with intense smell of marigold just under my nose. This memory was like a hologram engulfing me, almost real.  

This kind of memory, where an unexpected re-encounter with a scent from the distant past brings back a rush of memories, is called “Proustian Memory" named after Marcel Proust, one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century.

I have smelled marigold before but I never felt like that. This time I think it was not just the smell but also many other sensory clues were similar. The day was sunny, temperature was not too cold, not too hot, very like late February or early March in India. I was sitting in a green grass lawn very similar though much smaller to the field in my high school. All these sensory inputs together probably reproduced exact environment, which I had once experienced, and the mind converted the memory into virtual reality.

Come to think of it, the reality we perceive is actually a creation of our mind.  The raw material with which mind creates reality is memories. I am now sitting in my study writing this blog. I am aware of the date and time and the fact that the bookcase is behind me and the telephone on my left side only because of my recent and not so recent memories. Though I am only seeing or touching a small fraction of my world, I am fully aware of it only due to this wonderful gift called memory. My present reality is based on my memories, not on what is actually there at exactly this moment. Another interesting topic for another blog.

*Saraswati Puja (also known as Basant Panchami) is a festival devoted to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music and art. The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm in the schools & colleges of India.

RECENT RIOTS IN UK: AN UNFORESEEN EVENT OR A SLOW DEATH OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY

12/08/2011

A friend of mine is in UK at present. He came from India last month to see family and friends. He is going back in a couple of weeks. He was very impressed with general orderliness prevalent in this country. He was particularly praising the educational opportunities present for the young people here. The Recent rioting, violence and looting in many parts of the country was a real shock to him. He could not imagine these things happening here. He always thought British society being very cultivated and having good civic sense. Of course, his views are comparative and he can be forgiven for thinking that way.

For most of the common people living in UK, it was not such a surprise. It was a disaster waiting to happen.  But the funny thing is that many of the officials who are responsible to prevent and to deal with such events also thought like my friend.

Our atavistic herd mentality, a strong desire to belong to a group with common interests surfaces from time to time breaking our highly individualistic modern life style; may it be looting and vandalising or creating and caring, throwing stones on police or shouting and screaming at/with the pop stars.  An event happens and an opportunity to form a herd is created. What the herd will do depends on type of opportunity present and the inclination of a certain number (threshold fraction) of individuals in the herd.   The number of people in that initial group comprises of a tiny minority but it works like a nidus or catalyst. When it reaches a certain mass, a chain reaction starts and inhibitions of the majority of the individuals in the herd is overcome. The result could a disaster and devastation or relief and creation depending on the nature or motive of the individuals in the nidus. All societies bar none have some very bad and some very good individuals (a Bell curve). In a mob which of these groups forms the nidus first, determines the behaviour and further course of the mob: violent looting or peaceful demonstration.

It is impossible to predict which course the mob will take and hence impossible to plan with limited resources the law enforcement agencies have. If the police are very strict and present in large numbers, the bad individuals are deterred from forming the initial nidus and a peaceful demonstration results. You would think that in this scenario, everybody ought to praise the law and order agencies, but the reality is just the opposite. Both the Police and the Government are criticized by the media, politicians, human right activists and many other opportunistic individuals and groups for using so much police power on peaceful demonstrators.

If the police are a bit soft and not visible in large numbers, the bad elements are encouraged and form the nidus first and the result is mayhem. Again, police is criticized for not being forceful and pre-emptive. 

How to square this circle? When a mob collects role of police should be to discourage the bad nidus from forming and facilitate the good nidus.

Effective intelligence is the only answer. The very good and very bad individuals are usually known in the community. Effective intelligence and good community relation are intertwined and law agencies have to be good at both.  I would even say that a good community relation would automatically result in effective intelligence. 

At present in many democratic countries, the government agencies have poor community relation. People do not feel that the govt is of the people, by the people and for the people. To effectively manage the law and order situation on a more permanent basis the government in general and the law agencies in particularly have to really work hard to improve community relation. And it can only be done by working with the local communities not by appointing expensive public relation firms which now seems to be the norm for all the government agencies. 

If a liberal democratic government feels the need for appointing a PR firm it is the beginning of the end.