Whenever I get time, I tend to stop, sit back and think about life. And again and again one thought keeps coming back to me – the uncertainty of life. Everything that we do is uncertain. Think of a stochastic programming problem in optimisation with multiple objectives and numerous constraints – phew! Unsolvable – nobody has got around finding a closed form solution to it. Similar is life, and there exists no closed solution.
Take this mundane example – by chance for the first time you found the cheapest coach ticket online that you have ever seen. You are ecstatic. You have been using the website for 2 years now and never have you got any such offer. This time while you are booking the ticket, you think that finally your loyalty is being paid off. You tell people around while you are booking about the special offer and if they also might want to try. You make the payment and finalise the plans of what you will do with the money that you have just saved in that ticket. And lo! The website throws an error message – “It has taken unusually longer to process the transaction and hence it has been aborted. Please close the page and start afresh. No payment has been taken and no tickets booked”. Dejected you start the process all over again only to find that the website does not show the same prices anymore.
The morale of the story is – never take anything for granted. Anything – be it health, beauty, relationship, love, work, studies, knowledge, wisdom. There is nothing that you can really boast of is yours. Life is a learning experience which is as uncertain as the shape of an amoeba. It can change anytime. Therefore, do not boast of what you have and do not feel bad for what you don’t have. It is all a matter of chance, a matter of time and a matter of the dynamics of life!
All that we have is a sham, and all that we don’t have is an illusion. Hinduism says that the only thing that is true in this universe is soul. Everything else is an overlay and is subject to variability. Love the reality and not the plasticity. Love the soul.
Watching the movie Dhan Dana Dhan Goal, it’s about an Indian player waiting to get into an English football club. I have just seen 15 minutes or so, and the movie makes no sense to me. The more I watch it, the more I dislike it. Absolutely mindless. Can’t stand it any more, I am going to switch it off, what a mockery!
Happy Women’s Day to all the women who are walking in their lives with their heads held high. Those who are still struggling just remember one thing, you are the best thing that God could have created, and those who do not have respect for you, does not have respect for God and hence no respect for their own self. So somebody who does not respect oneself, cannot respect you, so simply ignore and move on. Open your arms, embrace the life and keep a smile!
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Risk & the Financial Crisis
As promised, I have been dwelling over the idea to come up with a post on the financial crisis which has gripped us all - the effects still noticeable like the cracks in the castles which are always visible and incur huge monies in repairs.
I conducted this small poll to test how much people know about it - statistically insignificant dataset to infer any meaningful conclusions from the results. Distribution skewed to the left by which I mean 'somewhat' knowledgeable population. Just an idea for you - while conducting polls never give odd number of options for responses as in such cases most of the responses would tend to be the median value. Try to give even number of options to choose from as it then forces the responder to choose one direction, thereby resulting into a decisive mandate.
Well, I just drifted away a bit. Coming back, what has this financial crisis done to people – everybody knows. But what has it done to the bankers – nobody wants to know. In one of the informal discussions at work, I heard a colleague of mine complaining – “I have stopped telling people when asked what I do, that I am a banker. I just say I am a modeller”. Leave it to them to understand what that means, because if you make it easy for them to understand, you get the reaction.
I am not going to bore you with what caused the crisis (as most of us already know that - courtesy my polls). To be honest, I did not get any time to draft a detailed post to write down the whole story. Just Google for words like financial crisis / credit crunch / subprime crisis and you get loads of websites talking about them. So I am not going to bore you with any more of techy information. What it definitely has resulted in is an increased attention to risk management in banks.
Before the crisis dawned upon us, I was somebody who could have become an investment banker but landed up becoming a risk modeller. I was not sure that time if I wanted to remain in the same profile for long, but now I am so sure. Risk management in banks have picked up momentum. It is a field where you can show your flair - not much done in the field and hence you constantly research and improvise. Risk systems are getting more capital allocations and risk reports are now coffee table discussions. With Obama overhauling the regulatory systems in the US and the world following suit, the day is not far off when CEOs of banks would be people with extensive experience in risk.
I think it is very important to be risk conscious. That does not mean that I suggest going to an extent of becoming risk averse (no risk means no return), but do not become irresponsible that you forget what the stakes are. Exactly knowing your risk appetite is the way forward!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
YO! Weekends
I hope I will not be charged for copyright infringement by YO! Shushi. The reason I took the name is not because I had a Japanese dinner this weekend, but because I have started getting the YO! feeling for weekends. You know, there used to be a time when I would find it hard to understand why people crave for weekends so much. In fact to an extent, it used to be the other way round where I would feel like HUH! Weekends.
You may want to pop up and conclude that this clearly means a) I used to enjoy my weekdays i.e., work then much more than I do now, or b) I enjoy my weekends now much more than I used to then. No, don't jump guns, it's neither - because I enjoy my work now and I enjoyed my weekends then. Then, what is it??
It's an anticipation. Anticipation of a fun-filled weekend. A weekend that will make me forget who I am or who you are. Somewhere in an unexplored island with nothing. The anticipation of experiencing a complete vacuum or may be an emotional over-fill; of experiencing the extreme. Does it sound vague? If you understand it, please help me understand.
On another topic, I feel a blog post on the financial crisis is long over due. I have been thinking of writing my opinions / take on it, but before that thought of conducting this poll to gauze the level at which I should project the content. Please leave your views.
You may want to pop up and conclude that this clearly means a) I used to enjoy my weekdays i.e., work then much more than I do now, or b) I enjoy my weekends now much more than I used to then. No, don't jump guns, it's neither - because I enjoy my work now and I enjoyed my weekends then. Then, what is it??
It's an anticipation. Anticipation of a fun-filled weekend. A weekend that will make me forget who I am or who you are. Somewhere in an unexplored island with nothing. The anticipation of experiencing a complete vacuum or may be an emotional over-fill; of experiencing the extreme. Does it sound vague? If you understand it, please help me understand.
On another topic, I feel a blog post on the financial crisis is long over due. I have been thinking of writing my opinions / take on it, but before that thought of conducting this poll to gauze the level at which I should project the content. Please leave your views.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Am back
The last few months that I have been away have been very eventful with some good and some not-so-good experiences.
Anyways, this blogpost is not going to be about me, it's going to be about you. You as in you who read it, you as in for whom I write it. I know by now, you must have blown away like the wind that keeps tapping at the window hoping that one would open it after getting annoyed by the disturbance, but alas! You must have waited and waited - may be on Diwali - nothing! then may be about London's Christmas celebration - nothing yet again, oh may be on the New Year for sure. Hmmm... nothing again. No posts, no news, no updates... You say - I waited and waited and then I looked away.
But hey, look I am back now. Please don't look away as I am back. I am back with my small posts on what I see, observe, feel and think. I have changed the template of my blog! I have changed the tempo of my blog - now I will talk directly to you in my posts. You and I - first and second person, no third person allowed! What I will not change is that I welcome change. Read On!
Anyways, this blogpost is not going to be about me, it's going to be about you. You as in you who read it, you as in for whom I write it. I know by now, you must have blown away like the wind that keeps tapping at the window hoping that one would open it after getting annoyed by the disturbance, but alas! You must have waited and waited - may be on Diwali - nothing! then may be about London's Christmas celebration - nothing yet again, oh may be on the New Year for sure. Hmmm... nothing again. No posts, no news, no updates... You say - I waited and waited and then I looked away.
But hey, look I am back now. Please don't look away as I am back. I am back with my small posts on what I see, observe, feel and think. I have changed the template of my blog! I have changed the tempo of my blog - now I will talk directly to you in my posts. You and I - first and second person, no third person allowed! What I will not change is that I welcome change. Read On!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Swayambar
Swayambar is a Sanskrit word, Swayam in Sanskrit means Self and Vara means choosing or wanting. It is a practice in which a girl of marriageable age chooses a life partner amongst a list of suitors. In an epic like Ramayana in Hinduism, princess Sita chose her life partner Lord Rama out of hundreds of other eligible bachelors (prince or kings from other kingdoms) by subjecting them to take a tough test.
Recently the reality show by an item-girl (weird nomenclature, means an actress who dances on cheesy songs in movies) Rakhi Sawant brought back memories of the hundreds of years old tradition. She confidently hosted the show – subjected each of her suitors to tests, and finally chose one of them to spend her life with. I was impressed to see the audacity of a relatively new actor to sell an idea like this which has been long forgotten. She impressed me in her honesty and integrity in reasoning to reject many and then finally select one.
I do not deny that the show was a bit dramatic at times – but surely not as dramatic as some other Indian soaps are (i.e., the K series). I do not deny that she might have used this serial to improve her image from an item-girl to a girl dipped in Indian values – but what is wrong in that. I do not deny that nobody used to consider her seriously until this happened and this too people brushed off as a publicity gimmick – but what is wrong if she showed us that we can come up with hit serials on indigenous ideas instead of always copying what exists.
She impressed me by bringing forward something we had not thought of. You may agree or may not agree, but you simply cannot ignore.
Just now I saw a news clipping on Rahul Mahajan, the son of the late Pramod Mahajan, a well respected politician going to kick off a similar concept. I know I was impressed with Rakhi, but somehow Rahul embarrasses me. I foresee that we will now start making movies / serials / shows on this same concept until the concept rots and begs to be forsaken. People out there will keep showcasing dummies to exploit this idea as much as they can until somebody like Rakhi breaks the chain and brings something new to the platter. However, I will be keen to change my views on this.
Recently the reality show by an item-girl (weird nomenclature, means an actress who dances on cheesy songs in movies) Rakhi Sawant brought back memories of the hundreds of years old tradition. She confidently hosted the show – subjected each of her suitors to tests, and finally chose one of them to spend her life with. I was impressed to see the audacity of a relatively new actor to sell an idea like this which has been long forgotten. She impressed me in her honesty and integrity in reasoning to reject many and then finally select one.
I do not deny that the show was a bit dramatic at times – but surely not as dramatic as some other Indian soaps are (i.e., the K series). I do not deny that she might have used this serial to improve her image from an item-girl to a girl dipped in Indian values – but what is wrong in that. I do not deny that nobody used to consider her seriously until this happened and this too people brushed off as a publicity gimmick – but what is wrong if she showed us that we can come up with hit serials on indigenous ideas instead of always copying what exists.
She impressed me by bringing forward something we had not thought of. You may agree or may not agree, but you simply cannot ignore.
Just now I saw a news clipping on Rahul Mahajan, the son of the late Pramod Mahajan, a well respected politician going to kick off a similar concept. I know I was impressed with Rakhi, but somehow Rahul embarrasses me. I foresee that we will now start making movies / serials / shows on this same concept until the concept rots and begs to be forsaken. People out there will keep showcasing dummies to exploit this idea as much as they can until somebody like Rakhi breaks the chain and brings something new to the platter. However, I will be keen to change my views on this.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
What's in a definition?
I just managed to stumble upon this in my email - an article I had written 4 years ago. Sounded interesting and relevant so thought of posting it here.
Somebody asked me, "What is Mathematics?" And queer enough but true that I did not have a prompt readymade definiton framed in a few words for mathematics as you have for the other subjects. Being in the 'elite' company of mathematics for nearly five years now I still do not have a concrete idea as to how mathematics can be actually defined. I say 'elite' because people tend to look at mathematicians as esoteric and absent-minded geeks totally lost in their world full of theorems and their proofs. Either they carry an image of a mathematician as Prof. Calculus of the Tintin comics or mistakenly believe that calculating prodigies like Shakuntala Devi are mathematicians. Okay so let me try to define it here.
Greatest mathematician Carl Freidrich Gauss once said, "Mathematics is the queen of all sciences." True to every word indeed. Well mathematics is the science behind every imagination, the spark for every thought and the logic behind everything bizzare. But does it sufffice to call it a science? The morning tea you make, the yoga postures, the bus to work you take, the phone calls you attend, gardening in the evening or switching off the lights before going to bed all use mathematics in some form or the other.
Mathematics these days has its presence in a wide range of human activities. Theory of chance and probability are extensively used in predicting which team will win a cricket match or what will be Anand's next move in chess! Optimization theory has found wide applications in industrial production and marketting scene. Advanced mathematics is used in fields as wide as astrophysics. Invention of calculus aided the study of motion of planets or the well-known theories of Relativity or Gravitation have their base on mathematics. From stock trading to running an economy mathematics is everywhere. Be it natural sciences or earth sciences or social sciences or no science at all mathematics can be traced. Theory of warfare has got excessive importance these days and is a product of mathematics. From counting of election votes to calculating dates of historical monuments or fossils or predicting the next Tsunami, mathematics reigns. Can I actually stop somewhere. No. The list goes endless. Very correct is a saying in Sanskrit whose English translation goes like,
"Like the crest of the peacock and the jewel of the serpent,
Mathematics stands at the head of all sciences."
But wait the examples I cited surely must have made you accept that mathematics is not just a science but an art too. From music notes to drum beats mathematical theory finds a role. We say that giving examples does not mean definition in mathematics though. So I still have not got an answer to that somebody's question.
So let me try again, "Mathematics is a science...or rather its an art...or a vocation...(still confused).......ladies and gentlemen so this mathematics and it can confuse anybody anytime and hence keeps you engaged all the time.
Dated - 5th Sept 2005
Somebody asked me, "What is Mathematics?" And queer enough but true that I did not have a prompt readymade definiton framed in a few words for mathematics as you have for the other subjects. Being in the 'elite' company of mathematics for nearly five years now I still do not have a concrete idea as to how mathematics can be actually defined. I say 'elite' because people tend to look at mathematicians as esoteric and absent-minded geeks totally lost in their world full of theorems and their proofs. Either they carry an image of a mathematician as Prof. Calculus of the Tintin comics or mistakenly believe that calculating prodigies like Shakuntala Devi are mathematicians. Okay so let me try to define it here.
Greatest mathematician Carl Freidrich Gauss once said, "Mathematics is the queen of all sciences." True to every word indeed. Well mathematics is the science behind every imagination, the spark for every thought and the logic behind everything bizzare. But does it sufffice to call it a science? The morning tea you make, the yoga postures, the bus to work you take, the phone calls you attend, gardening in the evening or switching off the lights before going to bed all use mathematics in some form or the other.
Mathematics these days has its presence in a wide range of human activities. Theory of chance and probability are extensively used in predicting which team will win a cricket match or what will be Anand's next move in chess! Optimization theory has found wide applications in industrial production and marketting scene. Advanced mathematics is used in fields as wide as astrophysics. Invention of calculus aided the study of motion of planets or the well-known theories of Relativity or Gravitation have their base on mathematics. From stock trading to running an economy mathematics is everywhere. Be it natural sciences or earth sciences or social sciences or no science at all mathematics can be traced. Theory of warfare has got excessive importance these days and is a product of mathematics. From counting of election votes to calculating dates of historical monuments or fossils or predicting the next Tsunami, mathematics reigns. Can I actually stop somewhere. No. The list goes endless. Very correct is a saying in Sanskrit whose English translation goes like,
"Like the crest of the peacock and the jewel of the serpent,
Mathematics stands at the head of all sciences."
But wait the examples I cited surely must have made you accept that mathematics is not just a science but an art too. From music notes to drum beats mathematical theory finds a role. We say that giving examples does not mean definition in mathematics though. So I still have not got an answer to that somebody's question.
So let me try again, "Mathematics is a science...or rather its an art...or a vocation...(still confused).......ladies and gentlemen so this mathematics and it can confuse anybody anytime and hence keeps you engaged all the time.
Dated - 5th Sept 2005