SHORT READS

A weird 18 year old with a different taste than others!!!

[leviathanshaktisuresh]

I Got Corona!

No not the beer, I got that little pandemic that’s hovering outside my house, and now inside!

As a 12th grader, I can say at that this year has been dire. Education has been on the ropes, Nobel winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman has said that this year will affect all students, for the rest of their lives.

The exclamation mark in the title has posed a dichotomy for me, am I happy that all my exams are postponed and have gotten more time to study, or am I sad that all my exams have been postponed and I have a perpetual sword over my head for the past 14 months, and have to study.

A feeling that all might feel, especially in this pandemic, is a sense of hopelessness. Martin Selinger says that, hopelessness occurs when it is sufferings you cannot control.

Obviously we can’t control the pandemic, so a sense of hopelessness is not abnormal currently. But this piece of information I learnt is from a book called “Grit : The power of passion and perseverance.” An important factor of Grit is Hope, without which no one can survive. Even the author Angela Duckworth does not know how one can improve one’s own individual power of grit. But being an optimist rather than a pessimist could actually increase your life span, would certainly help you get through corona.

Read a book while humans fight against this savage virus outside from their homes. Not necessarily Grit, but any of your choice!

Broaden your horizon, think in a logical and rational manner with no more assumptions, you have got the whole day to yourselves, minus the bit of studying, eating, and most importantly... SLEEPING. An outstanding way to do this is by hearing to podcasts! Youtube is addicting, so podcasts are a good way to learn about new things, on any subject ,be it F1, Economics, Psychology, history, the list goes on and on! My personal favourites would be No Stupid Questions, by Angela Duckworth and Stephen Dubner, the same Angela Duckworth who is the author of Grit, then F1 Beyond The Grid and Freakonomics radio.

Play some games, have some fun, you can’t spend the whole day by just reading books and looking at the faces you see everyday. As all might know, The Queen’s Gambit was a huge success for Netflix, and because of the pandemic, Chess population around the world grew exponentially, with myself succumbing to the temptation to buy a chess board. 

But there’s only so much you can see your dad think for long hours and trump over you occasionally, online chess is a great escape for that! Games ranging from 1 minute (Bullet Chess) all the way to 14 days for making a single move! I certainly do not have the patience waiting for 14 days for a random guy across the world to make a move just 24 hours before his time is up .I prefer bullet chess, because like most people of this generation, it is much more dynamic, and quicker! Pester your friends to play chess, get the chess bug! Thankfully some of mine already have been infected by this worldly game.

The amount of education this world has is extraordinary, and even more so that you can access all of this in a slab that is the size of your hand.

Did you know that a staggering 95% of all Wikipedia pages lead to philosophy? Am not saying that the world revolves around philosophy, but give it a read, and do tell if you follow any branch of it.

This next one might be chided by a few millenials, but take up some chores, you will be occupied, and your parents might have the slightest ray of hope that you are a tiny bit responsible.

Be a bit dynamic if possible, don’t do all of this in a single day, gets a bit mundane to even do something interesting over and over again. Keep changing what you do, and try to be a bit lively, not the ashen corpse face my sister said I had on the 5th day of home quarantine.

This too shall pass and muster hope from every cell in your body, agreed that I have been saying that for the past year, but our body has 15 trillion cells, so it certainly will take some time to run out!

[leviathanshaktisuresh]

Student Gamblers?

Rants, something which everyone has seen or done atleast once in their lives in front of your parents , friends, crowds packed with strangers etcetera(wouldn’t be surprised even if it’s a 100).

A rant which went viral was Vaibhav from Kota Factory by TVF, if you haven’t seen that series, no one’s wearing masks because it was pre Covid, but do give it a watch, it’s amazing!

Think of this as a rant post, something which hopefully students relate to who point at their ‘ device or gadget’ and say ‘that’s so me!’.

I would like to start of with , ‘Are we even taught the right kind of Math? ‘

Now obviously students will say ‘ HELL NO’ and if this discussion is with your parents, chances are, they will disagree. And if you reply back asking why, they will tell you to go and study.

But the the truth is everyone does not need everything one’s taught. It still boggles my mind that the Math learnt by a physicist and a Chartered Accountant were the same back in their 12th grade.

But let’s not go so far and think a decade down the line, let’s talk about the present, hopefully with the New Education Policy, once implemented, will nudge me to edit this post in thee future and write ’Now this post is redundant’, until then, wield it whenever necessary from your quiver.

The amount of times I have gotten angry at those Math textbooks of both 11th and 12th in order to understand Conic Sections, Straight Lines and the worst of the worst...THREE DIMENSIONAL GEOMETRY, atleast for me, Integration is pretty cut throat as well.

Mind you a Chartered Accountant has absolutely no use for 3D, nor does an economist...and still we are being taught, what is a vector.

Some of us have to learn all of this for an entrance into the college of our wants, which will have no importance in college, nice of them to make us a fool out of us and have a laugh!

But do u think any actual academicians and scientist could be on our side?

I am happy to say with a grin and glee on my face that the answer is yes!

The Nobel prize for the past few years have called the laureates from all the fields for a round table type discussion and ask questions about their research, questions within the laureates about each others study and what will they do with this new found fame. This STELLAR of a show is called as Nobel Minds.

One of my favourites is the Nobel Minds episode is the one aired in 2017. The conversation between the Economics laureate Richard Thaler and one of the Physics laureate Rainer Weiss was particularly sparkling.

The physicist had asked a question and wanted the opinion of the economist. He stated ‘ We teach the wrong kind of math, to our kids’ to which the economist agreed, ‘yeah’.

My ears heard a thousand cries, screams and a sense of relief that their are atleast a group of people that believe we are taught the wrong kind of Math, much more that it is from a physicist!

If actual award winning academicians and scientists could say and agree outright that we are taught the wrong kind of Math, what does this say about the other subjects? 

The economist had suggested that we teach the students to gamble, let the children know the odds and probability of what is that they are studying and going to studying.

We are taught probability, but never the probability of Risk Taking, we are rather taught the probability  of drawing 3 balls from a bag of 15 balls and all 3 are of the same colour, the hell is the probability that happening!

We are not saying we would have nations(s) filled with gamblers who would go to Las Vegas and win some money,  it is more about teaching us the math of Risk Taking with probabilistic reasoning to teach us odds of achieving something!

We have got to bring the culture in of reading, reviewing and having opinions on the work academicians write, we might not understand everything, and we need not, but just try to wrap your head around the theory they have written.

Our bosses(the government(s)) have no backing for what we are taught in some of the subjects as well. Oh the irony one learns from this is fascinating! Teach with no end and aim.

Hope some of you relate with this

Thank you.

[leviathanshaktisuresh]

Is This Unknown Self Tough Love Or Self Inflicted Forest Fire?

 Who is an impostor?

An impostor is a person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others.

What is a syndrome?

A syndrome is a set of medical symptoms that are correlated with each other and are associated with a disease or disorder.

So what is the Impostor syndrome?

Thee impostor syndrome is a feeling that makes you question are you as competent as you are perceived by others.

According to me, the Impostor Syndrome is a feeling, which is only faced by hard workers, like everything good happens out of sheer luck or coincidence, and all those lazy people out there feel everything happens because they set it right, they do everything as they are supposed to with no one’s help, according to them, and not according to their peers.

People like Jacinda Ardern, Emma Watson ,Steven Chu , Serena Williams and many more have faced Impostor Syndrome, and all have done very well and are accomplished in their respective fields. The Impostor syndrome affects women more than men ,does this say that women are more hard working than men? I don’t know.

In what way can Impostor Syndrome be perceived as? In a good light or bad lightning struck on a forest sort of fashion? Once one knows they have.

The good light could be you are unknowingly imposing self tough love on yourself, you look at yourself in the mirror with confidence that you are smart and you would prove it to yourself that you are competent and that you are not an impostor or a fraud as your mind dictates!

OR

The forest fire lightning could be seen as a punishment you are imposing upon yourself, filling your mind and brain with self doubt thoughts that hinder your brain from ground breaking discoveries and achievements with self doubt whether you are actually good or is it just a ruse.

I being an optimist would sincerely hope that it be the good light that a person thinks and does.

A nihilist won’t care because we are all going to die.

An egoist might opt for the first option, as they want self benefit.

A rationalist might choose the second as they have learnt it as a syndrome.(Might not necessarily be a pessimist)

A logical positivist will choose an answer over data and empirical evidence.(I could not find any)

What would you choose?

[P.S. : Hopefully this sows a question in your mind, and do share an answer :) ]

[leviathanshaktisuresh]

FUTURE: HOPE AMIDST UNCERTAINTY

To say that the year of 2020 was difficult, would be an understatement. The first few weeks of sitting at home and living life king-sized most of the time was nothing short of paradise.

But to see that stretch and have a million things to worry about all the way from  working sector’s finances to education for millenials, coupled with decreasing employment opportunities for the youth between the 2 categories has caused dejection and anxiety for the heart and souls of many.

We have to remember, humanity has always found ways to survive, however difficult the conditions might be! The adrenaline and instinct for survival has always been blessed upon us. The gift of intellegence to humans has only made it easier for us to grow and profit better than all of the other living organisms.

This pandemic has been another one of this instances which checks our adrenaline and mental strength to see if we can trudge and wade through this uncertain time, a blot of red on humanity’s long, wonderful and also frightening history.

Whatever we might say or curse on how ill fated this year has been, it has taught us all many things. To rediscover one’s own hobbies has been big, but to add to that list has been bigger.

A beautiful saying by my granddad, and I would like to plagiarize those words, “ Health Is Wealth”. To just be alive and healthy in these unprecedented and highly contagious time is itself a thing to smile about!

To see people use up years of savings to save a loved one has been gut wrenching, and worse when it ends with tears of despair.

But humanity will still withstand this. We always have and we always will! Whatever curveball we unfold onto ourselves, we will still prevail.

No matter what happens, humanity will always learn something. We now will be able to address our faulty and underdeveloped healthcare system, our future only looks brighter. Our success isn’t uncertain, it has just been postponed.

As an individual, as a country, and even as mankind ,we can only move forwards from now on, this has been one of our greatest setbacks and the learning we have gained is immeasurable. The upward trajectory is coming, and the future looks brighter than ever.

[leviathanshaktisuresh]

F1!

The fast paced world of F1. Oh how fun it is to see and hear about it! Every day we get to know something new. 

The margin for error we are talking about here are milliseconds, centimetres in contrast to the bigger picture of those rocketship cars making those kilometres feel like inches.

The perception of F1 is highly flawed, it isn’t just people driving around in circles. It is people putting those rocketships at the absolute limit at every inch of tarmac, hence they are the best in the world.

At an average F1 race, the driver loses upto 3 kilograms of weight. But before you think that this is a wonderful weight loss programme and that it is a good substitute for the Zumba class you have been neglecting, think again, it is difficult to just start this rocketship, let alone push it to an average speed of 300 km/h through the turns.

It takes us about 10 minutes just to get out of bed, but the pit crew in F1 can change 4 wheels in under 2 seconds!

The history of any sport is great, but the stories of F1 have always been untold. These stories should pass down the generations and not just be left in the dust on the pages of history. A sampling of these phenomenal stories are:-

1. Have you ever heard of a champion who was never crowned? It doesn’t make sense, but it is possible. The 1970 champion Jochen Rindt was an F1 champion but was never crowned. During the 1970 practice at Italy for the race 2 days later, Jochen’s car had speared off the race track at the Monza circuit(The Temple Of Speed) in the turn “Parabolica”. But by then, Jochen had already won 5 out of the 8 races with a fantastic win in Monaco just 19 days earlier. But in the gap of those 19 days, 2 drivers had lost their lives, one of them is his close friend Piers Courage and the other was the founder of Mclaren, Bruce Mclaren. What an astonishing story!

 Death has been a big part of F1's history. Thankfully, safety has improved but still persists due to cars sprinting around at 350 km/h.

2.The sport of F1 isn’t just about the driver, it’s also about the car that they drive. It’s very easy to say that the best driver drives the best car and vice versa. But it isn’t always the case. In my eyes, the greatest driver to ever exist is and most probably always will be “Sir Jim Clark”. The Scotsman who was the son of a farmer is the benchmark of accomplishments. The greats of F1 like Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have 7 and 6 titles(as of 2020 September).But Jim Clark has won just a mere 2 titles. But if we dig deeper in the history books, you will know why he is great. Driving for Lotus, and having a career of just 8 years,with a car that was so fragile, he could clinch some of the greatest honours. Not just in F1, in 1965 he won the Tasman series in Australia, the European series in France, The Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500) and the Touring car championship in just a year, is nothing short of brilliance. That’s a total of 63 races.The season today is just 22 races and is considered a long season. But, unfortunately aged just 32 in 1968 racing in a cold F2 race in Hockenheim ,Germany, he slid off the track into the forest. All that remained was just a distorted car in a space of 30 feet.

Sir Jackie Stewart(F1 legend) always said that a Lotus was fragile, but Sir Jim Clark drove in such a way that even after a race, the parts of the car always were in their pristine condition. Jim was one of Sir Jackie's greatest rivals but dearest friends

He was 1 of 127 drivers who died that year in motorsport, but his death had shocked the racing world. His legend lives on.

3. F1 isn’t just based around drivers , It’s also the cars in which they drive. Both Jochen Rindt and Sir Jim Clark had driven for Lotus. It’s normally car manufacturers who sign up for F1 like Ferrari , Mercedes , Lotus, Mclaren,Renault, Honda , Toyota etc. But there are few teams that have had to struggle their way to were they are. “WILLIAMS” was a company solely for racing. They had started out from nothing. Starting from a carpet factory, they had become a household name in F1, quite literally! Their family has been running the team in F1 for the past 40 years and have come 1st in the constructors standings 9 times.The founder of Williams “Sir Frank Williams” had suffered a major car accident in 1986, but with determination and grit, he had won the constructor’s champion, all while sitting on a wheelchair.Even the drivers had cried(Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet). But it’s a sad day for Williams. The 6th of September 2020 the Williams family have retired from F1, due to financial problems. A sad day for motorsport. Thank you Sir Frank Williams and Claire Williams.

These 3 stories are just a sampling of F1 history which started out in 1950.

The most controversial, outspoken, emotional sport in the world were the drivers, team bosses just let out their feelings regardless if their rivals like or dislike their comments.

It can be within the team also. Your biggest rival in F1 is your teammate. Everything is the same, then why are you coming second best while your teammate's on top of the podium.

Technology is improving, we all know that. A new phone comes out once a year and is constantly evolving. But just think about a new innovation for every race, improving upon the same car year after year to make it go faster. Stagnation in F1 is basically living in the stoneage.

Mercedes, the most successful team for the past 6 years and likely to win the 7th in 2020 have released a stat where they have saved 10 seconds in their car lap times comparing the cars from 2015 and 2020. All this done while the governing body of F1 (FIA) just puts out new rules at any point of time, sometimes targeted to stop the success of a particular team.

These HD cameras fitted on the car for judging any penalties is something magical. To see a car that is darting into you and is looking to overtake is like seeing a stingray chasing it's prey and the finish line is the shore.

My current favourite F1 driver is the Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas, he holds one of the hardest seats in F1 right now, the one next to 6 time world champion, Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton's biggest rival is infact Valtteri Bottas, the only person who can topple him. I believe he can do it, and he has always got everything the hard way. COME ON CORPORAL VALTTERI! It will be a David beating Goliath.

The only person to beat Lewis Hamilton in the turbo hybrid era is Nico Rosberg back in 2016 and Valtteri had to fill his shoes, the monumental task of doing so while still not having any wins and seeing that the previous world champion had retired is a herculean task!

The enthusiasm we have for different types of sports is no less in F1. The fans when they saw the rise of a new young driver who can win the championship in the form Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari fans(called as the Tifosi) had broken the gates of the Monza circuit in Italy to celebrate the win. It was a sight to see the sea of red in the main straight. 

The coming race in Mugello (Italy) will mark the 1000th race for Ferrari in F1. In honour of this achievement, Ferrari will be dawning the colour they had all the way back in 1950! 

My love for F1 has no bounds but I myself just know a drop from the ocean of history , politics and drivers from F1 , even after listening to more than 50 episodes of a podcast!

My favourite story from F1 has to be the 2009 story of Brawn GP ,a team that lasted just one season but had made a lasting impact from F1 and is one of the greatest fairy tales I have ever heard about. The drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello with the team and deputy team principal Ross Brawn and Nick Fry took an astonishing win for the drivers champion(Jenson Button ) and the Constructors Champion.

Well, this is my appreciation for this great sport and the little i could do to express it.