Rocket Science

It must be understood that either nothing is rocket science, or everything is.

Both approaches are equally relevant:

The first approach is relevant when approaching a task without much understanding of it. If one treats a task as a rocket science then it would be impossible to try it with an open mind.

However, treating a task as a rocket science is important if you want to better yourself at it. At this point, all its components need to be analysed and understood.

The two approaches must be kept independent. The first relates to actual execution and is very important to start with while the second is analytical.

Winning Quote

There's many versions of this quote by Bobby Knight, so I'm going to paste the one that I read first.

"Everybody has a will to win. What's far more important is having the will to prepare to win."

Another Good Quote

This is what a judge told a contestant on a regional talent hunt:

"There are two kinds of people in this world: some tidy their house just before a guest arrives, whereas others are normally in the habit of keeping their house in order. You seem to be the latter kind."

Pretty deep !

The Way of the Samurai

I sincerely recommend this book to all of you. I think that most of its observations are still perfectly valid and make a lot of sense. The book might seem a bit radical, but it is nonetheless correct. Many great ideas are radical anyway.

The Way of the Samurai - Hagakure (download pdf)

Don't Work Alone!

I have discovered that even in some sports and other professions where work has to be mostly done alone, it is better to work side by side with somebody.

The problem is one of motivation. I've realised that you are most motivated when your energy levels are high and least motivated when your energy levels are low. So really motivation rarely helps when you need it the most :) It is only the most highly motivated can actually work consistently, even when they're low.

As for us mortals, it's better to work with someone. When your motivation is low, the other person can prod you into working even when you don't want to. And you can prod him or her into working when he's down. It sort of balances the spirit....

Wit and Wisdom

There are two equally important factors that determine the quality of a decision. The first one is wit. the other one is wisdom.

By wit, I would like to point out the alertness of the mind and the amount of attention that one is paying to the present moment.

By wisdom, I mean the total knowledge relating to the subject of the decision that the mind has and remembers at the present moment.

Both these factors are equally important. Only a person who is both knowledgeable and alert at the same time can be entrusted to regularly take good decisions.

The Perfect System 2: Risk Reduction

I have one earlier post about how a perfect system should be flexible. Here's an expansion of that idea.

What I meant to say there was that when running very well a human system should run on the gut feel of the human beings involved and not on pre-determined procedures. So, the Brazilians that I had talked about earlier, when playing very well, do not bother about any theory of football and move on the pitch as they feel like without any apparent structure. Yet, they seem to be playing very well.

What happens when the gut feel goes away, however, is that they have no idea of what they should do. The same used to apply to Real Madrid also. They'll just go about listlessly playing very obvious moves and end up having their passes intercepted plus a goal or two in the back of their net.

Now, I would like to find a middle point.

What should ideally be done is to play without structure when your gut feel is strong. After the playing, have someone analyse why and how it worked. So now you have an idea of precisely what worked for you when you were playing well. This is what I would like to call the thought structure. Now, when the gut feel goes away, you play according to your thought structure. Just stick to your thought structure and keep playing. You won't play as well, but atleast you won't be as miserable as you were without it. When the feel comes back, you're back.

What we've done is covered the vulnerable underbelly of our 'perfect' system.

Construction and Beauty

A quick realisation.....

It is very important that things look beautiful in every phase of their construction if they have to be truly beautiful after they are finished. All good poems, songs and paintings looked very good to me even when I saw them in their 'making' phase.

Just contrast this with the buildings we see being constructed around us.... I don't find them good looking even after they are done!

A "Perfect" System.

I have realised that a system for producing near perfect results will always have to be a very fluid system, which will allow huge flaws just as it allows high excellence. This system cannot be consistent, and its results will vary very greatly. That is the price of perfection.

I visualise it something like the difference between solids and liquids. A solid has a fixed shape.. that is a metaphor for a consistent result. A liquid doesn't have a fixed shape.. it can be streamlined into any formation.. but then it can scatter all over the place.

I will take the example of football... consider a club like Real Madrid... they have had glory as high as noone else. But when the times are bad, they can be pathetic. If you can win 4-0 against good clubs, then that same system allows you to lose 4-0 against poor opposition.

Privacy

Take some time to be alone. Privacy frees one from others, and also from their way of thinking. It gives you physical as well as mental space, and it leads to independence of thought. Always, always, take some time to be alone. By alone, I also mean without your phone, TV, the internet, any book, your dog, etc. Alone means completely alone, where not a word needs to be said, heard, read , etc. Alone.

General Discourse on Life 2

It does make great sense to do a regular overview of what you plan to do in life, how you plan to do it, and the principles that you are always going to follow. The first two things can be done once in a month or so, depending upon the time span of your tasks, but I strongly believe that the third one should be done daily.

A daily refresher of the mind is really useful. These include some meditation, and the remembrance and acceptance of some principles of life. In the day to day affairs of the mind, it is very easy to forget the principles that you believe in, thus leading to a misled, or worse, an uncontrolled mind. This is downright disaster. Meditation calms the mind, and also, if done properly, stops the mind from thinking for a while. This is very important! Control over the mind is what discipline is all about, and, as I have said earlier, discipline is what life is about!

One should preferably do this complete refreshment in the morning, and if possible, include a short session in the evening.