A few days ago, while chatting with a friend of mine, we were talking about one of the modern gimmicks of regional politics-that of renaming places. Thinking about it at leisure, I realised that it is an issue that is far more complicated than I initially thought.
Some of my views are biased by my perspective, of course, but it’s my blog after all, so I get to air them. Nevertheless, am sure you will find that my opinions do merit some thought.
I have so much to say that I am at a loss for words:)and finding it difficult to organize my thoughts.
Perhaps I can begin by first telling you what, in my opinion, should never ever be advanced as a defence for renaming anything important. My room mate Harsha is from Bangalore or Bengaluru (ugh!).When the change was made, we were arguing about it and I said “Bangalore” sounds so much better. He countered by saying that its just because I am used to “Bangalore” and that with time I would get used to “Bengaluru” as well. To me that is an asinine argument, for over time we get used to anything anyway-one of the greatest blessings and tragedies of the human race. If you ever heard the nicknames that are bestowed on people in engineering college hostels ( I unfortunately can’t cite examples because most are unprintable:) you would know what I mean. You don’t have a choice-you just accept whatever people call you, and by the end even abuses appear to be dulcet sounding. So suppose, I decide to rename Bangalore as say “Son of a bitch” or better still “Bang-Galore” or “ Bang- Lore” ( Sorry, but I just had to do this:), am sure people a hundred years from now will be used to it. That is no reason for renaming the city. But I didn’t tell Harsha this and hurt his sentiments:)
That also brings me to the dichotomy that is central to the issue-that between regionalism and history. Calcutta, Madras, Bombay and Calicut are Anglicised versions of their regional names, is a common refrain. But this argument too is specious in my view. For, how do you decide what is native to the region? How do you know that “Kolkata” is untainted by any foreign influence? Maybe it was called something else earlier just like Bengal was called Gauda in the past. I imagine some tribal chieftain named Kalikata from former Burma might have spent the night at a village here and seduced the village belle in a barn and gone on, naming the village after him. Not hard to imagine, is it? (The idea, not the nocturnal action, you perverts!! :)
Thus my point is that history is written all the while, and names keep changing .So you cannot retrace its evolution all the way. Besides, even if the names are Anglicised, so what? Are we trying to deny our past? As it is, everything about Calcutta, its drainage, the Howrah Bridge, the trams are contributions of the British rule anyway. When written in English, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay seem perfectly acceptable to me. It was always spelt Kolkata in Bengali anyway.
The economics of a name change I shall not go into, for that is obvious to all.
A name is about association. Some names immediately invoke a picture in your mind. In Assam an Englishman ordered “Dig boy, dig”. And so he did and struck gold or black gold rather. That place is named Digboi, site of India’s first oil refinery. Now think for a moment. Wouldn’t this wonderful association be lost if say, the town were to be renamed Gopinathnagar or something like that after Assam’s first chief minister?
Sometimes a name has an appeal by its very quirky nature. Dumdum airport in Calcutta is an example. While Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport is so impersonal, Dumdum brings back images of my first flight. I am from Calcutta and love the city, and it must be obvious to you by now, that I hate Kolkata. To me, another wonderful aspect of the city that has been lost is the names of streets. Calcutta had a road named after practically every Viceroy of India. Dalhousie Square, Canning Street, Elgin Road, Bentick Street, Ripon street, Minto park, Curzon park and so on. Every time I pass by them, the events of their reign cross my mind, at least whatever I can remember of class 9 and 10 history :)While I understand renaming the main thoroughfares after Indian freedom fighters, maybe the side streets could have been left alone, for people still refer to them by their old names anyway. Calcutta’s only boulevard, Southern Avenue goes right beside the Lake, and is also called Meghnad Saha Sarani.The name makes me wince and cabbies will stare blankly at you too. Same goes for Gariahat as Leelavati Sarani.
I must add that some names just sound better, my personal idiosyncrasy, if you like. So I
do think Udhagamandalam sounds better than Ootacamund (Ooty for you) though Calicut I prefer to Kozhikode.About Kanyakumari am confused. Though Kanyakumari sounds better to me (maybe because of allusions to kanya and kumari :) Cape Camorin is more informative as the southern most point of the Indian mainland, like the Cape of Good Hope.
It’s just the sheer lyrical beauty or musicality of some names I suppose. So if I had my way, I would prefer aerodrome to airport. In nursery that’s what I was taught and the only aeroplanes I knew then were toys. And I hate American airplanes-it’s always aeroplanes for me. Thank God they still call it aerodynamics, or am sure many students of air dynamics would have changed their majors:) In Rudraprayag at the confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini, I was bowled over by Alaknanda, not so by Mandakini.
Do I sound like a petulant child when I say this? My blog is the only place where I can say such things, some of which I have held onto since childhood.
That’s all I have to say about this. I hope you found this post entertaining. But I will leave you with a final thought-what if Delhi was renamed Indraprastha? :)
Finally, my dear readers, am sure you must have such quirky preferences too-some names that you like, some that you hate-anything irrational or illogical:) If so please share them with me, I am keen to hear it.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Androids
Since I am desperately in search of something to constructively engage my attention,I thought of resurrecting this blog.A pity that things in life cannot be undone as easily as this blog can be brought to life again.While cleaning up my desktop,I came across this travesty of a short story,written, so it says, on 25 th July 2006,around the time that I started blogging.I thought of it then as a juvenile attempt and didnt post it.But ironically,as time passes,opinions change, and so has mine.I have realised that you can make a career out of stating the obvious,the only pertinent question being obvious to whom.There are different levels of obviousness.The lowest level among these in my opinion,is populated by the ranks of management and HR "consultants". And in this circumlocution do not forget that I was actually lazy enough to write nothing new and pass this off as new instead.On with the story! I would be keen to see what comments it brings......
*****************************************************************
The man walked on. His pace had increased. Thoughts churned his head furiously. The 3 females following him continued doing so. The hunter and the hunted both knew which foot the boot was on.
“If they get me”, thought the man,"tommorows headline would read: Adam teasing reaches epic proportions: Roadside Juliets claim another victim” He thought, with irony, of the apposite name for this evil. It had become very unsafe for males to be travelling unaccompanied after sunset, yet he had ignored warnings. Why was I born a man?
He thought for the umpteenth time that God must be a She, for only then could She inflict such pain on men.
The mere birth of a boy was becoming a rare occurence, for male infanticide was a prevalent menace. The Government was trying its best to curb it; male infanticide was declared a major offence. Various groups were trying to spread awareness of this. The Presidents Award for Best Film had gone to "Pitrbhoomi", which dealt with that subject. Apparently the film showcased a perverted society where men have become extinct, and one man was husband to a family of 5 women.Well...that day is not far off...he thought morosely.
And even if boys do manage to cross infancy and puberty, very little could be done about benzene deaths.Yes, it was gross injustice but what could you say when the laws were not stringent and lawmakers themselves women. His own brother had been ignited with benzene for not conforming to demands made before marriage. He had paid 12 lakhs, got a ladies scooty, and could not do anything else.
And the android cycle and andropause.The lesser said the better. He often wondered why men should bear offspring. It was his misfortune that he carried the Y chromosome and he knew that it was not his fault if a boy was born. But he got beaten for that though the sex determining chromosome comes from the female. Right and wrong are decided by who is in power at the time. The laws of Fuzzy logic told him that. It indeed was fuzzy.
Come to think of it, he was one of the rare ones who was educated. Why education when you are going to become a househusband and merely an instrument of copulation, was the common refrain. Yet he had doggedly refused to listen. He was highly qualified now, despite all the quarrels with his wife over his job.
And the females were closer now. One more turn and he knew he would be safe.
Even as he broke into a run to take the corner quickly, he thought of particles and anti particles. He knew all about atomic and particle physics. Of every universe that has an anti universe which is diametrically opposite. He wondered idly where the alternate universe to this would be. He would give anything to be there. But he didn’t really believe in its existence. People can’t be so cruel anywhere else, he thought.
He turned blind at the corner and raced over the footpath.
It was a cul-de-sac.
*****************************************************************
The man walked on. His pace had increased. Thoughts churned his head furiously. The 3 females following him continued doing so. The hunter and the hunted both knew which foot the boot was on.
“If they get me”, thought the man,"tommorows headline would read: Adam teasing reaches epic proportions: Roadside Juliets claim another victim” He thought, with irony, of the apposite name for this evil. It had become very unsafe for males to be travelling unaccompanied after sunset, yet he had ignored warnings. Why was I born a man?
He thought for the umpteenth time that God must be a She, for only then could She inflict such pain on men.
The mere birth of a boy was becoming a rare occurence, for male infanticide was a prevalent menace. The Government was trying its best to curb it; male infanticide was declared a major offence. Various groups were trying to spread awareness of this. The Presidents Award for Best Film had gone to "Pitrbhoomi", which dealt with that subject. Apparently the film showcased a perverted society where men have become extinct, and one man was husband to a family of 5 women.Well...that day is not far off...he thought morosely.
And even if boys do manage to cross infancy and puberty, very little could be done about benzene deaths.Yes, it was gross injustice but what could you say when the laws were not stringent and lawmakers themselves women. His own brother had been ignited with benzene for not conforming to demands made before marriage. He had paid 12 lakhs, got a ladies scooty, and could not do anything else.
And the android cycle and andropause.The lesser said the better. He often wondered why men should bear offspring. It was his misfortune that he carried the Y chromosome and he knew that it was not his fault if a boy was born. But he got beaten for that though the sex determining chromosome comes from the female. Right and wrong are decided by who is in power at the time. The laws of Fuzzy logic told him that. It indeed was fuzzy.
Come to think of it, he was one of the rare ones who was educated. Why education when you are going to become a househusband and merely an instrument of copulation, was the common refrain. Yet he had doggedly refused to listen. He was highly qualified now, despite all the quarrels with his wife over his job.
And the females were closer now. One more turn and he knew he would be safe.
Even as he broke into a run to take the corner quickly, he thought of particles and anti particles. He knew all about atomic and particle physics. Of every universe that has an anti universe which is diametrically opposite. He wondered idly where the alternate universe to this would be. He would give anything to be there. But he didn’t really believe in its existence. People can’t be so cruel anywhere else, he thought.
He turned blind at the corner and raced over the footpath.
It was a cul-de-sac.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Even as life sucks.....it does go on....
I am really happy right now.The sun is out.The mild sun of winter,that brings with it its warmth,and makes you drop everything and just stand and stare.I am still working on the misery called Matlab,but I went out to take a break , and am glad I did.
Talking with my friend,standing outside the department,suddenly I stood transfixed.In the distance I saw a girl,and she was coming right at us.Oh how graceful she was,as she glided over the ground on her roller skates.She weaved,she dodged,jumped onto the sidewalk and made it seem as if she was born with wheels on her legs!Now a few mins later I dont even remember how she looked! For once,I wasnt watching the girl the way I normally do,so taken in was I with her grace;)
She disappeared into the crowd,but left me feeling great indeed.
I appreciate this moment all the more because the last week has been one of the most frustrating weeks of my life.Every night I go to sleep angry,and in the morning, I get up angry again.I am angry at myself,my friends,and feel quite sorry for myself at times.And lots of things have been going wrong too,just at this time.
I hope this week ends this agonising exam for good.I am sick,tired,frustrated, and in general have lost my good humour,all because of this dastardly thing called coding.
And maybe this is the time to share a thought about computer "science".(I would put a lot more quotation marks around that word if I could) A professor here told me in all seriousness how its the disciplines that lack science which go to great lengths to prove they are,and even have it in their names.Consider how ridiculous physical science,or chemical science,or mathematical science sounds.The word science is redundant, and implicit,and am happy that I dont belong to some "mechanical science".Now consider the other "sciences"- social "science"(trying hard to keep a straight face),political science(apoplexy!!), and I wont even name the other that I have in mind.
I am inclined to agree with him.
But all that doesnt change the fact that am sick ,tired and frustrated with everything! Life sucks to infinity.Indeed....
Talking with my friend,standing outside the department,suddenly I stood transfixed.In the distance I saw a girl,and she was coming right at us.Oh how graceful she was,as she glided over the ground on her roller skates.She weaved,she dodged,jumped onto the sidewalk and made it seem as if she was born with wheels on her legs!Now a few mins later I dont even remember how she looked! For once,I wasnt watching the girl the way I normally do,so taken in was I with her grace;)
She disappeared into the crowd,but left me feeling great indeed.
I appreciate this moment all the more because the last week has been one of the most frustrating weeks of my life.Every night I go to sleep angry,and in the morning, I get up angry again.I am angry at myself,my friends,and feel quite sorry for myself at times.And lots of things have been going wrong too,just at this time.
I hope this week ends this agonising exam for good.I am sick,tired,frustrated, and in general have lost my good humour,all because of this dastardly thing called coding.
And maybe this is the time to share a thought about computer "science".(I would put a lot more quotation marks around that word if I could) A professor here told me in all seriousness how its the disciplines that lack science which go to great lengths to prove they are,and even have it in their names.Consider how ridiculous physical science,or chemical science,or mathematical science sounds.The word science is redundant, and implicit,and am happy that I dont belong to some "mechanical science".Now consider the other "sciences"- social "science"(trying hard to keep a straight face),political science(apoplexy!!), and I wont even name the other that I have in mind.
I am inclined to agree with him.
But all that doesnt change the fact that am sick ,tired and frustrated with everything! Life sucks to infinity.Indeed....
Saturday, September 22, 2007
One fun filled day
Today was simply awesome.To cut things short,the cricket match made my day!
In the morning, Jagannath and Jhampala came over to watch the semifinal. After a lot of cursing,the links finally worked,and I settled down to watch my first complete cricket match in more than a year:) The last time I tried watching,I went away angry and upset at the Indian debacle against Srilanka at the WC.I was hoping today would be better, and thankfully it was.Shouting,cheering,and being simply awestruck by Yuvraj's pyrotechnics, the Indian innings passed by in the blink of an eye.
Then we wondered and feared what the Aussie response was going to be.It was all well until Symonds walked in.Then followed absolute mayhem. But I watched it till the end.I enjoyed the drama that unfolded, and finally savoured the moment of victory:)
It was an exhilarating feeling, something I have missed sorely the past one year. A few hours of this is worth a dozen movies any day!What I will also remember are the abuses we hurled at the bowlers,(the choicest ones reserved for Joginder Sharma in his first spell:) It reminded me of watching matches in Topaz.You would rather die than let your near and dear ones hear the language that is used in the TV room when cricket matches are in progress;)
I really liked Dhoni's attitude to the game-and he doesn't make any inane comments after the match.What I found so refreshing were his words to Joginder Sharma before the last over-that the Aussies were used to winning,and are expected to win from here too.So just bowl as you would in a domestic match,and let the batsman do all the work,if he could.
I think this match might just have rekindled my interest in the game.Incidentally,this might also sound the death knell for one day cricket as we know it.
After the match ended,I hardly got any time for lunch before we left for the temple-their 10th anniversary celebrations. The main objective was the food stalls-home made dishes that you could have after buying tickets.I had delicious pav-bhaji, absolutely ethereal chutney with vada,idli and dosa. All work has been deferred till tomorrow.
So I sit writing now, contented and happy.There ought to be more days like this, I reflect!
And I really don't care if we win or lose on Monday.Today was good enough:-)
In the morning, Jagannath and Jhampala came over to watch the semifinal. After a lot of cursing,the links finally worked,and I settled down to watch my first complete cricket match in more than a year:) The last time I tried watching,I went away angry and upset at the Indian debacle against Srilanka at the WC.I was hoping today would be better, and thankfully it was.Shouting,cheering,and being simply awestruck by Yuvraj's pyrotechnics, the Indian innings passed by in the blink of an eye.
Then we wondered and feared what the Aussie response was going to be.It was all well until Symonds walked in.Then followed absolute mayhem. But I watched it till the end.I enjoyed the drama that unfolded, and finally savoured the moment of victory:)
It was an exhilarating feeling, something I have missed sorely the past one year. A few hours of this is worth a dozen movies any day!What I will also remember are the abuses we hurled at the bowlers,(the choicest ones reserved for Joginder Sharma in his first spell:) It reminded me of watching matches in Topaz.You would rather die than let your near and dear ones hear the language that is used in the TV room when cricket matches are in progress;)
I really liked Dhoni's attitude to the game-and he doesn't make any inane comments after the match.What I found so refreshing were his words to Joginder Sharma before the last over-that the Aussies were used to winning,and are expected to win from here too.So just bowl as you would in a domestic match,and let the batsman do all the work,if he could.
I think this match might just have rekindled my interest in the game.Incidentally,this might also sound the death knell for one day cricket as we know it.
After the match ended,I hardly got any time for lunch before we left for the temple-their 10th anniversary celebrations. The main objective was the food stalls-home made dishes that you could have after buying tickets.I had delicious pav-bhaji, absolutely ethereal chutney with vada,idli and dosa. All work has been deferred till tomorrow.
So I sit writing now, contented and happy.There ought to be more days like this, I reflect!
And I really don't care if we win or lose on Monday.Today was good enough:-)
Monday, September 03, 2007
5 years hence and the beginning of a new sem
Just to remind myself of another trivial milestone,September 3rd,2002 was the first day of college.When hostel rooms were allotted, and sitting in the Barn,seniors eyed us ominously from the sidelines.Grabbing the best cupboard and the best cot in the room,and then going down for the most horrifying meal of my entire life.It was pongal,I remember clearly, an unimaginable,unpalatable gooey substance,to be had with a little sugar by the side.I have often reflected that they never could produce a worse meal in 4 years.It must have been one sublime effort the first day,designed to make sure that it only gets better.
I can actually see myself as I was then-younger,foolish but also with a burning optimism and romanticism about life-something that is still unchanged I think.
Cutting short my wistful reminiscencing, new semester classes have begun.This semester promises to be interesting,exciting and tough.In fact my life has already moved up a gear in one week.I also had a lot of fun the past one month with the other NITTIans and it reinforced what I always felt,that its so easy to connect with people sharing a common past, even if you did not know them before.
My blogging might become infrequent now that classes have started.But if inspiration strikes,in the form of zip codes or the by-now-popular(notorious) Preetha-Preethi Propositioning Problem:D (notice the skillful use of alliteration here:),then I will not let that moment pass.
Here is hoping for good grades, good life and good research for this semester!
I can actually see myself as I was then-younger,foolish but also with a burning optimism and romanticism about life-something that is still unchanged I think.
Cutting short my wistful reminiscencing, new semester classes have begun.This semester promises to be interesting,exciting and tough.In fact my life has already moved up a gear in one week.I also had a lot of fun the past one month with the other NITTIans and it reinforced what I always felt,that its so easy to connect with people sharing a common past, even if you did not know them before.
My blogging might become infrequent now that classes have started.But if inspiration strikes,in the form of zip codes or the by-now-popular(notorious) Preetha-Preethi Propositioning Problem:D (notice the skillful use of alliteration here:),then I will not let that moment pass.
Here is hoping for good grades, good life and good research for this semester!
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
The truth about arranged marriages
I had my final exam today and the paper being easy,the exam was a breeze.So 3 weeks of rest follow for me after a busy month of classes.After my exam,I happened to read this:
http://21writersblock.blogspot.com/2007/08/youve-got-mail-again.html
Now the author happens to be someone I am very fond of,and her earnest appeal to people in general to find a way to explain the idea of arranged marriage didnt fall on deaf ears.I took upon my frail shoulders the onerous task of removing the stigma(if I may call it that) associated with an "arranged" marriage.I know that the tone of my writing puts the word "arranged" at about the same level as the word match "fixing" in cricket.A thousand pardons for that inadvertent error.At the outset, let me issue the usual disclaimers that am neither married nor in love,and any views that I may express may be taken with many grains of salt.
To any prospective girls who might have an outside chance of falling in love with yours truly--I agree that after reading this your feelings for me would probably be not far from that you share for a brick on the road,or the friendly neighbourhood bulldozer, for that matter.I hasten to add that I am a romantic at heart,and its just my other side taking over for a brief period.I may be guilty of bringing down something as intangible as love,to something as mundane as mathematics.However,there are similarities-both are abstract:)) to start with.But if you look beyond the obvious ,am sure the parable am going to narrate will prove most instructive.
I shall assume that most of my readers are familiar with some numerical techniques for finding roots of equations.But the person for whom the post is intended, though clever, almost certainly doesnt,so a quick introduction.
A function f(x) is said to have a root at c if f(c)=0.Now consider an equation like f(x,y). The point (i,j) is a root if f(i,j)=0.
Consider an equation like x-cos(x+4)=0 or better still sin(x)-log(y) +6=0
I ask you to find a root of the equation.
To come to my point,I need 2 names.Lets take,err...preetha and preethi,for want of any better names:)).I give this problem to both of them, and allow them use of an elementary calculator.
Preetha,being a highly whimsical girl and a good programmer,insists on the following idiosyncrasy.She wants to arrive at the solution by chance alone,so with the help of a random number generator,she tries out numbers one after the other and tries to find if any of them is a root.Sometimes its love,oops! sorry, root at first sight.But often the random numbers turn out too random,and try as she might,picking a root by trial seems too difficult for some equations.But she is delighted whenever she does stumble on the root by chance:)
Preethi on the other hand is a girl singularly devoid of such eccentricity.She consults a book of numerical recipes and hits upon tried and tested techniques like the Golden Search method,Newton Raphson method,bisection method or for more complicated functions,Steepest Descent method and so on.The way these methods work is as follows.
Instead of choosing at random,from the general behavior of the given function,a smaller region is identified in the search space,where a root is likely to occur.Once the region is identified,simply do what Preetha does at random-try out numbers in the region and see which one fits.Notice that in the end, you dont accept a number as a root without checking its functional value.So you are not compromising in any way:))
The general name for such techniques is quite appropriate-Directed Search methods:))
Some more comments on this technique are warranted.An equation can have more than one root.But they all might not lie in the same search space.Also let us recognise a tacit assumption we have made that the equation in question has a real root,which might even be false.(sorry!!)
Assuming that both Preetha and Preethi arrive at the same solution,lets now explore the matter further.For one thing,would you expect that Preetha is happier than Preethi just because she "found" her root by chance alone?Likely not.Now how viable is Preetha's method? If she has time till kingdom come,its a foolproof method.But if you are short of time, then trusting the God of Randomness is not highly advised.
Then there is the problem of "irrational" roots:) In such cases people stop their search once they find an integer value sufficiently close to the root.:)How close?That's decided by the Convergence Criterion -the mathematical term for this.
Also let us remind ourselves that the best method actually would be to graph the function and simply determine all the roots by inspection. But such a process is feasible if you are looking from above ,which we are not.
Having said all that,when I have an equation of my own to solve,I will give the random numbers a chance first:)To my dearest random root finder I have this to say-I do wish with all my heart that the correct number pops up soon.Randomly,or with an algorithm,does it really matter ?:)
I believe in the fact that if you wish something for others,it comes true.And I say this in all seriousness.
http://21writersblock.blogspot.com/2007/08/youve-got-mail-again.html
Now the author happens to be someone I am very fond of,and her earnest appeal to people in general to find a way to explain the idea of arranged marriage didnt fall on deaf ears.I took upon my frail shoulders the onerous task of removing the stigma(if I may call it that) associated with an "arranged" marriage.I know that the tone of my writing puts the word "arranged" at about the same level as the word match "fixing" in cricket.A thousand pardons for that inadvertent error.At the outset, let me issue the usual disclaimers that am neither married nor in love,and any views that I may express may be taken with many grains of salt.
To any prospective girls who might have an outside chance of falling in love with yours truly--I agree that after reading this your feelings for me would probably be not far from that you share for a brick on the road,or the friendly neighbourhood bulldozer, for that matter.I hasten to add that I am a romantic at heart,and its just my other side taking over for a brief period.I may be guilty of bringing down something as intangible as love,to something as mundane as mathematics.However,there are similarities-both are abstract:)) to start with.But if you look beyond the obvious ,am sure the parable am going to narrate will prove most instructive.
I shall assume that most of my readers are familiar with some numerical techniques for finding roots of equations.But the person for whom the post is intended, though clever, almost certainly doesnt,so a quick introduction.
A function f(x) is said to have a root at c if f(c)=0.Now consider an equation like f(x,y). The point (i,j) is a root if f(i,j)=0.
Consider an equation like x-cos(x+4)=0 or better still sin(x)-log(y) +6=0
I ask you to find a root of the equation.
To come to my point,I need 2 names.Lets take,err...preetha and preethi,for want of any better names:)).I give this problem to both of them, and allow them use of an elementary calculator.
Preetha,being a highly whimsical girl and a good programmer,insists on the following idiosyncrasy.She wants to arrive at the solution by chance alone,so with the help of a random number generator,she tries out numbers one after the other and tries to find if any of them is a root.Sometimes its love,oops! sorry, root at first sight.But often the random numbers turn out too random,and try as she might,picking a root by trial seems too difficult for some equations.But she is delighted whenever she does stumble on the root by chance:)
Preethi on the other hand is a girl singularly devoid of such eccentricity.She consults a book of numerical recipes and hits upon tried and tested techniques like the Golden Search method,Newton Raphson method,bisection method or for more complicated functions,Steepest Descent method and so on.The way these methods work is as follows.
Instead of choosing at random,from the general behavior of the given function,a smaller region is identified in the search space,where a root is likely to occur.Once the region is identified,simply do what Preetha does at random-try out numbers in the region and see which one fits.Notice that in the end, you dont accept a number as a root without checking its functional value.So you are not compromising in any way:))
The general name for such techniques is quite appropriate-Directed Search methods:))
Some more comments on this technique are warranted.An equation can have more than one root.But they all might not lie in the same search space.Also let us recognise a tacit assumption we have made that the equation in question has a real root,which might even be false.(sorry!!)
Assuming that both Preetha and Preethi arrive at the same solution,lets now explore the matter further.For one thing,would you expect that Preetha is happier than Preethi just because she "found" her root by chance alone?Likely not.Now how viable is Preetha's method? If she has time till kingdom come,its a foolproof method.But if you are short of time, then trusting the God of Randomness is not highly advised.
Then there is the problem of "irrational" roots:) In such cases people stop their search once they find an integer value sufficiently close to the root.:)How close?That's decided by the Convergence Criterion -the mathematical term for this.
Also let us remind ourselves that the best method actually would be to graph the function and simply determine all the roots by inspection. But such a process is feasible if you are looking from above ,which we are not.
Having said all that,when I have an equation of my own to solve,I will give the random numbers a chance first:)To my dearest random root finder I have this to say-I do wish with all my heart that the correct number pops up soon.Randomly,or with an algorithm,does it really matter ?:)
I believe in the fact that if you wish something for others,it comes true.And I say this in all seriousness.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Important dates of the second kind ! :)
If you are starting to read it thinking its about my dates,you are wrong.I have given up on that and am resigned to the fact that nothing like that will ever happen to me :))
This post is more to remind myself than about writing anything funny or concrete.
Today is August 3rd.Exactly a year ago on this day, I got my visa. Maybe not everyone will think that event noteworthy,but I know otherwise.I was put through an emotional shredder for a month before finally getting it.And so how does it feel,I ask myself, a year hence?
Well, it mostly feels like a dream, as though all that never happened.And yet there is a residue of the disappointment, the uncertainty,the prospect of seeing your dreams crumble, that gets me disturbed simply by thinking.Now sitting in the future,it sometimes feels that it was not anything to worry about.And thats the peculiar quality of the human psyche.
I once read a book by Dan Gilbert titled Stumbling on happiness,and it is this quality that he often talks about.
The inability of the human mind (or heart, whichever you prefer) to reconstruct effectively or accurately the emotions felt in the past.I have felt dissapointment before, joy and elation too,but every time is like a first time. It is as if my own past experiences are vicarious to my own self.
As I wrote once before, I remember dates.So it is that I recall some important events that happened in August in my life.
Two years ago I wrote the GRE exam on August 1st. I rushed back to college immediately from Bangalore because Delphi was coming to campus on the 2nd.I remember walking bleary eyed past the ad-block as I saw my friends ,dressed smartly, rush towards A-2 hall.I remember being congratulated for what then seemed like a great score.Next thing I saw was the written test paper- had lots of microprocessors and programming in it and so that was the end for me:)).
However it was not the end for Pattu.The only mech guy who cleared the written,I can recall vividly,his face flushed, outside my room window,waking me up from my afternoon nap,saying: "Shriram mera ho gaya!!!" :-) There are few times in ones life that you really,and I mean really feel delighted at another's success, but life in college gave me numerous such occasions.
There were more things that happened that month.On the 10th I wrote the TOEFL.On the 27th,Pawan and I got placed (but never joined the Tatas:). Infact I landed here on the 13th last year.Maybe August is a great month for me!
But Pattu's story doesnt end there. Very soon after there was a report in the ET that Delphi filed for bankruptcy.There is no end to the fun it brought us at Pattu's expense.I kept the copy of the newspaper in Pawan's room, and whenever this pest would bother us as we were having some discussion of great import (generally of a nature too scandalous to be mentioned in a blog:), Pawan would point to that newspaper by the corner.Pattu the Pest would then slink away sheepishly ;)
Let me dedicate this post to Pattu-that pestilential creature who figures in most of the good times that I have had- and due to whom I gained so much and despite what am gaining now, realise all that am losing.
This post is more to remind myself than about writing anything funny or concrete.
Today is August 3rd.Exactly a year ago on this day, I got my visa. Maybe not everyone will think that event noteworthy,but I know otherwise.I was put through an emotional shredder for a month before finally getting it.And so how does it feel,I ask myself, a year hence?
Well, it mostly feels like a dream, as though all that never happened.And yet there is a residue of the disappointment, the uncertainty,the prospect of seeing your dreams crumble, that gets me disturbed simply by thinking.Now sitting in the future,it sometimes feels that it was not anything to worry about.And thats the peculiar quality of the human psyche.
I once read a book by Dan Gilbert titled Stumbling on happiness,and it is this quality that he often talks about.
The inability of the human mind (or heart, whichever you prefer) to reconstruct effectively or accurately the emotions felt in the past.I have felt dissapointment before, joy and elation too,but every time is like a first time. It is as if my own past experiences are vicarious to my own self.
As I wrote once before, I remember dates.So it is that I recall some important events that happened in August in my life.
Two years ago I wrote the GRE exam on August 1st. I rushed back to college immediately from Bangalore because Delphi was coming to campus on the 2nd.I remember walking bleary eyed past the ad-block as I saw my friends ,dressed smartly, rush towards A-2 hall.I remember being congratulated for what then seemed like a great score.Next thing I saw was the written test paper- had lots of microprocessors and programming in it and so that was the end for me:)).
However it was not the end for Pattu.The only mech guy who cleared the written,I can recall vividly,his face flushed, outside my room window,waking me up from my afternoon nap,saying: "Shriram mera ho gaya!!!" :-) There are few times in ones life that you really,and I mean really feel delighted at another's success, but life in college gave me numerous such occasions.
There were more things that happened that month.On the 10th I wrote the TOEFL.On the 27th,Pawan and I got placed (but never joined the Tatas:). Infact I landed here on the 13th last year.Maybe August is a great month for me!
But Pattu's story doesnt end there. Very soon after there was a report in the ET that Delphi filed for bankruptcy.There is no end to the fun it brought us at Pattu's expense.I kept the copy of the newspaper in Pawan's room, and whenever this pest would bother us as we were having some discussion of great import (generally of a nature too scandalous to be mentioned in a blog:), Pawan would point to that newspaper by the corner.Pattu the Pest would then slink away sheepishly ;)
Let me dedicate this post to Pattu-that pestilential creature who figures in most of the good times that I have had- and due to whom I gained so much and despite what am gaining now, realise all that am losing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)