Our Belief System

You do not believe in God? Fine with me. Nor do I.

You believe in spirituality? Again, fine with me, though I think spirituality is religion in disguise.

You believe in E=mc²? I do too. Or that's what I thought till this morning.

But why do I believe in something that some scientist said and most others agree to?

It could be wrong, no?

Newton's theory of Gravity lies in shambles since Einstein came along.

Someone else may come along and E=mc² would be a passé too.

That's how science evolves.

But that is not the point of this blog.

Isn't it scary that our belief system is dictated by others?

Just because majority believes in god or believes in relativity or quantum mechanics, we take it for granted that it would be true. We start believing in it.

How are we different from those who believed that the Earth is flat?

Or from those who believed that the Earth is the centre of universe?

Have you ever questioned what you believe?

When was the last time you questioned all that you believe?

Nobody Understands

This is humbleness, greatness and reality check all rolled into one:

What I am going to tell you about is what we teach our physics students in the third or fourth year of graduate school - and you think I'm going to explain it to you so you can understand it? No. you're not going to be able to understand it. Why, then am I going to bother you with all this? Why are you going to sit here all this time, when you won't be able to understand what I am going to say? It is my task to convince you not to turn away because you don't understand it. You see, my physics students don't understand it either. This is because I don't understand it. Nobody does.

This was Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman giving lecture to laypersons in New Zealand on Quantum Electrodynamics, his work for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1965 for physics.

By the way, replace "physics" with "economics" in the above extract and you will not be far off! Only no one as great as Richard Feynman has had the courage to admit it.

Beware of neat theories

Centuries ago, Ptolemy explained the heavenly in a neat little theory. That the Earth is the centre of universe and the sun, the moon and the stars walk across the skies in predesignated paths. The universe was, of course, messier. Galileo and Copernicus discovered that universe is a mess. They came up with another neat theory - the heliocentric theory where the sun was the centre and earth and other planets revolved around it. The universe laughed and proved to be a bit more messy that these scientists thought. Today, the scientists are not sure - they have big unknowns and call them dark energy and dark mass (reminds me of Lord Voldermot).

Look at the other side of the universe - the smaller side. Scientists thought the have solved the puzzle with Quantum Mechanics. But, of course, they are still struggling with String Theory and alternatives.

Any system that has more than one parameter (player?) is by nature messy - marriage, for instance :D.
Neat - but not necessarily simple - theories cannot explain complex systems completely.
Beware of any neat theory that seeks to explain complex system.
Actually, I am wrong.
Look out for any neat theory that claims to explain complex systems.
You opportunities lie exactly there.
Be it science or economics or management or social sciences or market.

Learning From The Best Teacher In Modern Times

Richard Feynman American Physicist and Nobel Prize Winner
When the introduction to a computer course is like this ...

Computers can do lots of things. They can add millions of numbers in the twinkling of an eye. They can outwit chess grandmasters. They can guide weapons to their targets. They can book you onto a plane between a guitar strumming num and a non-smoking physics professor. Some can even play the bongoes. ...

Physics professor? Bongoes? ... you immediately know that this has to be Richard Feynman's lecture.

And you know that you will enjoy the book - Feynman Lectures on Computation - even if you are not a computer science student.

I chanced upon this book in my neighbourhood library. We have just joined a new library near our house - more of that at the end of this post - and I was just browsing books in the general section, as my kids went hyper with the complete set of Goosebumps (why do they read this stuff when they regularly get up in the middle of the night and disturb me with "bad dreams"?). Now, Feynman is associated with Physics. Checkout any book shop and all you will get is Feynman's Lectures on Physics, Surely You Are Joking Mr. Feynman, Six Easy Pieces, but not this one. It seems Feynman lectured on computation from 1983 to 1986. This is one is a compilation of the same.

So I have borrowed it to my kids' dismay - as they can borrow only 3 books instead of 4.

Ok here is a question for you - how many (popular) books, not papers - including Feynman Lectures on Physics - do you think Feynman wrote in his life time? Go on! Google it! I will tell you the answer. Exactly ZERO. Not one has been written by him though all of them carry his name in big, bold letters. They were all compiled by someone else. This includes QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter.

If there is one book you must read on Physics I would recommend QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. There cannot be a more ideal introduction to Quantum Electrodynamics. You come to know that Feynman was a genius when you read it. He has explained his Nobel Award winning work in 4 lectures without using any equation. Now that is an achievement!

Give QED to your teenager. I guarantee you that your kid will be hooked to Physics for life. Better still, you read it. Even if you hate Physics. You would have learned the art of explaining concepts to lay person without sacrificing the essence.


And why did I join this library (It is called Just Books) when I am already a member of the British Library? Answer: Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID for short. The library card and every book in the library is (passive) RFID tagged. And at the entry is a touch screen computer. You need to place your card and the books on the tray in front of the computer and voila! you can now either borrow or return your books. Just like that! I just could not resist this opportunity to try out RFID.

Call me a sucker for technology!