From & To Sathish #5 - Page 119

“Every choice has a long afterlife of consequences. No one can know the eventual outcome of any decision. All you can do is make the best choice you can make at the moment.”

Combinatorial explosion -The combinatorial explosion issue occurs when a number of possible combinations are created by increasing the number of entities. A small increase in the number of entities quickly increases the number of computations that need to be done and will cause it to reach the computational limit.

Our life when it begins starts with our parents and siblings if any, along with other immediate members of the family and then it begins to extend out and out and on and on. Each life in my mind is like a mini explosion, a stone in the lake, and its effects and ripples felt far outside its own epicenter.

Imagine the hundreds or maybe thousands of lives our own life will interact with through the course of life and the combinations that it throws up in the air. Yet, there is something called Fate and destiny that keeps each and every life on a certain predestined path even though all our lives throw up quadrillions of combinations. Nay, googol, and googolplex.

A googol is 10 to the 100th power, which is 1 followed by 100 zeros. While this is an unimaginably large number, there's still an infinite quantity of larger numbers. One such number is googolplex, which is 10 to the power of a googol, or 1 followed by a googol of zeros.

The word googol was introduced in Mathematics and the Imagination, a book written by Edward Kasner and James R. Newman in 1940 to survey the field of mathematics for the layperson. Kasner was a mathematician at Columbia University and Newman was both a mathematician and a practicing lawyer in the state of New York.

As explained in the book, Dr. Kasner's 9-year-old nephew, Milton Sirotta, came up with the word googol when asked to think of a name for 1 followed by 100 zeros. In the same book, the authors introduced another big number -- one so large that it cannot even be written. This number was given the name googolplex and is defined as 10 to the power of a googol, or 1 followed by a googol zero.

A few absurd thought experiments help demonstrate the size of these numbers. Given any reasonable estimate of the size and age of the universe, there's neither enough space to write all the zeros in a googolplex, nor the time to do so. If every part of the universe were filled with zeros, there still would be nowhere near enough space to hold them all. And, if all the supercomputers in the world today had been put to the task at the beginning of the universe -- 16 billion years ago, by most estimates -- they couldn't generate anywhere near that many zeros.

It would be impossible to assign names to all other large numbers, as there's an infinite number of them.

Every waking day is a new thought, a new experience and a new day to learn, and another chance to make things all right. Petty fights, silly squabbles, and messy arguments all pale into insignificance when you realize that they were just that. Insignificant moments that will neither bring happiness and peace to you nor the victor of that silly thought of a moment.

The French philosopher René Descartes said “I think; therefore I am ” and that little quote, a tiny sentence encapsulates the essence of life. Your thoughts define you and your actions. Your dreams can become a reality or turn into a nightmare.

In the end, it is all you and you alone. Control your thoughts and control your life and thus control everything that is out of your control for the moment you control yourself you lose the need to control, change and manipulate others around you.

Even the smallest of islands that rise out of the waters of the vast oceans stay their course and stay upright weathering the mighty waves that wash over them and many a time drown them. But they stay firm and finally emerge as the waters recede away only to gather force for another assault.

Life is like the waves and waters of the mighty oceans and seas and you and I are the small, big, and large rocks that weather them out.

https://youtu.be/K5fCJHavJD0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll9mDyklBOs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAHgtsO14tg

Avan, Aval Adhu 395

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum - if you want peace, prepare for war

The thousands of people who thronged the temple like flies swarming over an uncovered pastry were absent but for a handful of people who milled around like solitary bees. Only, the pillars of the temple, hundreds of them stood like sentinels and in near permanence and watched over the Gods that watched over Madurai.

After having lived life for more than 800 years, he knew that there was no such thing as permanence. Not even the granite pillars that supported the granite temple and the Gods that dwelled inside them. For even the hard Granite only ranked somewhere between 6 and 8 on the Moh's Scale of Mineral Hardness.

The Mohs scale of mineral hardness is a qualitative ordinal scale, from 1 to 10, characterizing the scratch resistance of minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material. The scale was introduced in 1812 by the German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs, in his book "Versuch einer Elementar-Methode zur naturhistorischen Bestimmung und Erkennung der Fossilien"; it is one of several definitions of hardness in materials science, some of which are more quantitative. The method of comparing hardness by observing which minerals can scratch others is of great antiquity, having been mentioned by Theophrastus in his treatise On Stones, 300 BC, followed by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia, AD 77.

' No, my lord. Nothing is permanent. The Mohs scale of hardness ranks Talc at 1 and ends at 10 with the Diamond. But, one day either in the near or in the distant future, even Granite and diamonds will eventually crumble to dust. ' Azhagan thought as his alert eyes flicked over each person as they passed him and as he passed a few people who stood lost in their faith and devotion to the Dancing God and his partner, the lady in green.

He opened his senses and felt everything around him. Through his senses, he heard and thus saw and felt what people around him were thinking and saying to God and to others.

He heard the conversation of the temple priests as they moaned about the lack of crowds which meant a lack of collections.

He slanted his head and glancing to his right heard one man complaining loudly, ' The whole town is crawling with police, and all the barricades and checkpoints they have put in place means traffic jams. Most of the people have either turned back and returned to their homes or are sitting in their vehicles hoping to get through the checkpoints '.

The man who he was complaining to replied sharply, ' It's okay for it is worth it. I have no problem with all traffic and barricades and am willing to even brave it for the rest of my life if it means an end to all these corrupt cops and officials.'

Finding a quiet and secluded spot, Azhagan sat down and drifted away into a state of deep thought. A passing stranger's first thought seeing him in that state would be ' meditation or some state of Nirvana' and he would have been right and he would have been wrong. How can that be?

It can be and right and wrong when a person can perfect what some animals do and do it instinctively.

They can sleep with half their brain wide awake and with one eye closed in sleep and one eye awake and aware.

This state is called Unihemispheric slow-wave sleep.Unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS) is sleep where one half of the brain rests while the other half remains alert. This is in contrast to normal sleep where both eyes are shut and both halves of the brain show unconsciousness. The phenomenon has been observed in a number of terrestrial, aquatic, and avian species.

Azhagan liked temples for a particular reason. It offered solitude, privacy and since it was the house of Gods, it offered sanctity to both the temporary and the eternal and unlike the homes of humans that were more like a house of cards.

But even that sanctity had been lost after God, religion, and places of worship had become money-laundering machines.

The priests took the sins, prayers of the devotees along with their bribes of money and Gold, and in return promised grace and forgiveness along with prosperity and health.

But today, in the solitude and quiet of an empty temple and sans people and money, Azhagan sat lost in thought of the thought that had been creeping up on him and those who were marked like him.

He heard the ring on its first wail and opening his eyes saw it was his son calling him and answered it.

' My lord, father, a Black Mercedes has just pulled up outside this lady's house. '

Azhagan smiled for he knew his son was being reticent about something and that meant that he was confused and which usually meant he was lost.

' Child, what is troubling you about that car?'

' Father, you have praised the power of my sight on several occasions, and yet right now I am not able to see through the windows of this vehicle. I am sorry but I am at a loss about what or who is in there inside that vehicle.'

Azhagan's senses went on full alert as he opened both his eyes and kicked his powerful brain into top gear.

Something about the vehicle that his son had just described had triggered his memory.

' Kula, please don't do anything without my orders.'

' I will not, my lord.'

' You said so and yet both you and your mother went on a killing spree?'

' Father, those men were despicable creatures and were doing things that are far more evil and violent than most of the criminals that they go after.'

Azhagan sighed sadly, ' I know, child but... All right, we will come to that later but right now, step back and follow that vehicle at a distance. Please don't reveal yourself. Promise me, son.'

' I promise.'

But history is filled with broken promises made by princes and paupers.

Like stones and diamonds, promises too will eventually be broken and reduced to dust when time and life take a toll on weak minds who then wreak havoc and rage on those who depend on them for comfort and peace.

Heaven and hell are what you make out of a moment. Making hell for another just because you are in one yourself does not make any sense and this conduct usually leads to a state of despair and solitude. Rather, solitary confinement.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sleeping-with-half-a-brain/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7X4XmQQIUc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6j8xTZufUc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yIETqEbprg

Cusp

Cusp is a point of transition between two different states. In astrology, a cusp (from the Latin for spear or point) is the imaginary line that separates a pair of consecutive signs in the zodiac or houses in the horoscope.

It rained late in the afternoon. Better still it rained early in the evening. The world outside my window was in cusp mode as the day was slipping into the night through twilight. The scorching heat of summer was getting ready to give way to the summer monsoon.

In the world that lies in my soul, I too am on a cusp and have been on that cusp for some time now. The whites in my hair have been gathering strength among the last weeds of black. As I brush my hair, I see the foamy white tips topping the dark waves of my favorite spot, the sea shore reflecting on my head and whispering thoughts of Abyss deep in my soul.

It rained heavily yesterday and I wonder if the tears of the clouds were in joy or in sorrow. Were the cloud-delivered water babies coming down for another round of floods and mayhem or were they swinging down to run around peacefully held in check by the banks of the rivers on the land called Earth?

The rain was heavy and pleasant but shortlived and it made me wonder if Mother Earth had been tasked with the same question that Lord Shiva had asked of Sage Mrikanda who had been praying for a son for a long time. The three-eyed God had offered him the choice of either a virtuous and pious son who would have a short life, or a dull-witted or malicious child who would have a long life.

I stared out of the window and up at the dark clouds and whispered, ' Short and sweet. I will take that option any day.'

It rained yesterday and the water from the heaven above washed the dirt and grime that darkened my windows and washed away the heaviness that had been clinging to my soul.

The cusp will be broken as the monsoon rains take over and triumph over the summer. The seasons have begun to change and suddenly in desperation, I peered out of the window, straining my eyes and the corners of it as time in the form of 2023 has begun its March towards December and towards 2024.

Time is flying. I mean it even though I do not understand it. I was just waving 2022 goodbye and I can see the Ghost of Time smiling and whispering, ' Idiot, that is 2023 slipping away. Savor it, child. Breathe now before it is too late to breathe anymore.'

It rained yesterday and I felt the rain entering through the windows and smiled and let the tears fall from my eyes and wash the grime and dust that are the memories of the dead and of ghosts long gone.

I am on a cusp. To let go of the crutches of painful memories that have served me well until now with their rage and power and begin walking on new legs that need a lot of therapy and begin living without ghosts of the past.

To be heaven or to be hell. A difficult choice, for both serve their masters well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u69CkyLJUKU

https://youtu.be/Ve9llaPbGyw

Avan, Aval Adhu 396

Brahma Ganesan slowly maneuvered the auto-rickshaw through the traffic glaring at the drivers of the vehicle who in their hurry to get through the police checkpoints were getting into the wrong lane and that only seemed to have created more chaos.

Ganesan cursed and complained about how two-wheeler drivers were the bane of modern society and kept gesticulating at the drivers as he whizzed past them.

Turning slightly, ' Master sir, we are making good pace and will be out of Madurai in another few minutes and the reason is that we are heading out while everyone seems to be heading into the city. Poor souls. I hope they are carrying food and water for it looks like they will be spending a few more hours on the streets as they navigate through the police checkpoints.'

Madhurima looked worriedly at Ravi, ' Jaanu, what is going on in Madurai? I can understand if something like this happens in the border areas of our country but this is Tamil Nadu which is supposed to have one of the best police departments in the nation.'

' I don't know Madhu. I have been racking my brain trying to think of reasons that led to the massacre of so many policemen. All I can speculate at this point is that whoever did this was one pissed off a group of people.'

Ganesan spoke in a loud voice filled with sarcasm, ' Master, I think they got what they deserved. The cops who were killed were not from your average and garden-variety police station. All of them belonged to the infamous narcotics bureau and it was in their own headquarters that so many of them have been killed.'

Both the men, master, and student fell silent but Madhu, sensing an undercurrent in their silence asked Ravi as to why Ganesan felt the dead cops were deserving of what had been done to them.

Ganesan raised his eyes above the windscreen and looked at Ravi in the rear-view mirror and seeing his master turning his face away, answered Madhu's question.

' Madam, the Narcotics bureau are bad people and are largely thought to be more evil and dangerous than even the criminals who deal in drugs and Ganja.'

Madhu sighed and nodded her head, ' Young man, it is the same all over the country and far worse outside it. Drugs have become a huge pandemic and I guess it is being dealt with very strictly.'

' I agree ma'am but some of the scum, rodents in the department use the powers given to them to extort money from innocent people and blackmail and rape women on trumped-up charges.'

Madhurima looked at Ravi who appeared to be disturbed about the whole topic and realized that there was some strong reason for his silence.

Ganesan accelerated the moment they broke out of Madurai city limits and at the same time explained loudly, ' Ma'am, those rats tried their tricks on me one night by stopping me for a routine check and while one cop was talking to me, another lifted the seat and found a packet of ganja and then all hell broke loose. Thankfully, the master arrived in time and the cops realizing who they had tangled with apologized profusely and let us go.

But, the news reached Periya Iyaa Dharmalinga Thevar sir who made a few calls which led to those corrupt men being transferred.'

Turning slightly after making sure that there was no oncoming traffic, Ganesan looked at Madhu, ' Ma'am, if it can happen to us, imagine the plight of the poor and the weak and even worse when they are from a lower caste.'

' Sad. Very sad. A criminal can go unpunished but an innocent being punished is sad and very bad. I am not sure what I would do or how I would react when I see such things going on. God, it is so tragic.'

Ganesan's face now turned read in anger and his voice became more ferocious as he spoke his heart out.

' Ma'am, you just mentioned criminals can go unpunished and that is exactly what is happening here in this city and the best example for that is the master's own nephew himself.'

Ravi broke his silence and uttered one word, ' Enough 'and it seemed enough for it had the desired effect on his ward.

Madhurima looked at Ravi, ' Nephew? So, Meenakshi has a son, and ?'

' Just a son whose name is Aditya. Nice kid ' and looked at her and Madhu read his eyes and understood all that he did not say and did not want to say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUTlLWgvMW0