Thank the Gods I found HTMLy!
I am bit frustrated with WordPress as a blogging platform given how much content it downloads for just text content.
I had originally wanted to develop something on my own, in the hope that it might add valuable experience. But once again, thank the Gods for HTMLy.
Thank you for visiting.
It seems like the world, or at least the part that follows this topic, has moved on to a new term “UAP”. This new term stands for “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon”. I personally hate this term since its that many syllables away from simply saying “Unidentified Flying Object”. This is something that has been instilled upon me by George Carlin, a famous American stand-up comedian. He coined the term "soft language" to describe euphemistic expressions that "conceal reality" and "take the life out of life."
The new term, at least to me, takes “life” and meaning away from the original term “Unidentified Flying Object”. The original term, is EXACTLY what it means. An unidentified flying object could simply mean anything from an out-of-the-world (read alien) craft or simply a piece of garbage that one can’t identify at first glance. That’s all it should ever mean. Nothing more, nothing less.
With that out of that the way, let me make it very clear that I approach the subject of UFOs from a sceptical perspective.
I do not believe they are aliens. They are not time travelers. These are not “advanced flying machines capable of defying gravity” kept secret from the whole world.
Why UFOs aren’t aliens:
There are two kinds of people. Those who believe UFOs are aliens from other worlds and those who understand relativity.
Yes, we are talking about Einstein’s relativity. And to understand why UFOs are not aliens, we must go there. If you recall, Einstein wrote two eponymous papers on the subject. The first one, published in 1905, was called on special relativity. It was titled “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies”. His next paper on the was on Special Relativity and included gravity in to the relativity equation. This paper was title “The Field Equations of Gravitation”.
For the purposes of our discussion, we are ONLY going to focus on Special Relativity since that is more than enough to understand why UFOs are not alien.
Now I am no physicist. I have no formal training in physics. My knowledge of mathematics is very limited; as in I’ll struggle with anything more advanced than basic algebra. But that’s the beauty of Special Relativity. You really don’t have to go beyond basic mathematics to understand it.
Instead of delving into the original paper, we are only going to look at the implications of the paper. What the paper theorises, and proved later by experiments, is that we do not inhabit space and time separately. Space is defined by the three dimensions that you can physically move in. I can move in space either left or right, forward or backward, or up and down. Now, I can move through space, let’s say on my car at 30kmph. You could be stationery at your home, reading this very sentence, at 0kmph. Our speed through space is subjective and is different for different people.
Time, can be a bit more complex. There is enough literature out there on the internet that can make it seem that time is not real. But make no mistake, time is a very real part of the universe you inhabit. The biggest proof of that is in entropy. Now, that’s a topic for another day, but getting back to the point we all traverse through time at the same rate. Which is one second per second (or minute per minute... so on and so forth). This is a natural part of our experience so we don’t even have to think about it.
We have now understood how we traverse through space and time separately. What Einstein’s Special Relativity implies is that we don’t inhabit (or experience) space and time separately. We instead occupy something called “space-time”. And it doesn’t matter who you are, where you are, how fast you are travelling, whether you are in Earth orbit travelling at 26000kmph or at rest at home. We all move through space-time at C. Seems familiar right? Yes, C, here represents the speed of light through vacuum. This is the same C that Einstein meant when he derived the famous E = MC2 formula. But that’s a misunderstanding. In very simple words, C is the sum of your speed through space and the speed through time. To put it in very basic math,
(Speed through space) + (Speed through Time) = C
That’s it. That’s the basic gist of space-time. What special relativity implies is that C is the speed limit of the universe and that EVERYTHING in the universe is moving at C through space-time. Everything MUST move through space-time at C. C is a constant, and it CANNOT be changed whatsoever.
So, what happens if you start moving through space, say, on a Concorde? C must be maintained, but since you are moving at high speed through space, something in the equation must give. The universe will adjust your speed through time so that C is maintained at all times. This slowdown of time is imperceptibly small, but it exists. How the universe does this is beyond the scope of this article. But for now, keep in mind that this is real. We know this through experiments. Accurate atomic clocks on board an aircraft were used to measure time difference between clocks on the aircraft and one on the ground. GPS systems, as you know, depend on timing signals to calculate your location. Without accounting for special relativity, our GPS systems will start giving incorrect results within a few hours. The closer you get to the speed of light, the slower you time will pass for you.
And this is where the term Relativity will start to make sense. You see, time is relative. Time will flow differently for different people depending on how fast you are moving through space.
If you move through space at a significant percentage of the speed of light, you will experience time slower. However, nothing will change from your perspective. Time will still seem to go at 1 second per second. You will realize that time slowed only when you compare it with a clock that was stationery.
This is what Einstein meant to demonstrate by the famous twins experiment. One twin goes off on a journey through space at a tremendous speed, lets say a 99% the speed of light. Let’s assume that from teh The other remains on Earth. So what happens when the space faring twin returns back? Since C MUST be the same for both of them, time has passed slowly
There is a very famous quote by author Douglas Adams, the author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The quote goes like this.
Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.
This is a very true statement, and it's the only thing you need to believe that aliens are NOT coming.
Okay here it goes. Here's my review of Kantara.
People really like movies or stories with subsurface level details. This is why movies like Zootopia work. And also why I’ve never seen the Avatar movies again.
At the surface, Kantara seems like a story that’s a land dispute. The only difference being a deity who intervenes on behalf of the tribe. Even at this surface level the story works very well. There’s good, there’s evil, there’s a tiny little twist (where we find out the zamindar has been evil the whole time) and a great finish when good ultimately wins over evil.
I feel there’s more to that than this.
All gods are the same.
Every Pagan culture on Earth, no matter where they are from, South America, Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa... anywhere even when they are not in contact with each other.... has a deity that is essentially "The man of the forest".
This “man of the forest” is usually accompanied by a companion animal. Sometimes its a woman of the forest. But the theme is the same. These deities of the forest make themselves known through dreams. Which means every culture has had shared dreams of the same deity. This is why they all share the same traits.
Hinduism’s God, Shiva, is essentially a man of the forest. The film alludes to this.
We are lead to believe that the forest deity is Varaha Avatara. The protagonist is called “Shiva” though. There’s a scene where the forest officer finally manages to catch him and asks him to “Climb down from Kailasa”. Meaning they are one and same. Which make sense, since we have the same God in Hinduism having different names.
The Ego must die
There’s a beautiful sequence of events that unfolds in the movie. You see, for a deity to possess someone, the ego must die. The “YOU” part of self must die. Panjurli first appears in Shiva’s dreams, but Shiva is just too head strong. Too drunk, too self obsessed.
Shiva wrecks havoc on the forest. Killing the very animal that he’s supposed to be worshipping... felling trees for the zamindar etc. There’s a point in the movie where the forest has had enough and calls for help. This is when the tree falls on the forest officer almost killing him. This leads to Shiva becoming a fugitive. When he is finally caught, humiliated and jailed.. he suffers an ego death.
He’s almost ready at this point. When he is out on bail Panjurli comes to him one final time and I feel at this point, Shiva realizes what’s coming to him and what he must do. Notice how he hesitates when the final battle begins? Finally, he actually dies in that final battle when his head is bashed against the rock. Only after that Panjurli can possess him. After that Panjurli never leaves him. The Deity ensures Shiva’s lineage continues. The last dance where Panjurli gets everyone together is a scene of pure love. Imploring everyone to work together.
That’s when he gets called back. The debt to death must be paid and he thus disappears.
Festivals
Everyone raves about the last 20 minutes, but the first 15 minutes show the evolution of a festival. The initial event takes place and after some time there’s a muted festival consisting of only Panjurli’s dance. By the time of Shiva, it has become a full blown Kambala festival. I thought that was great.
Notice the “Panjurli” dance when Guruva does it? Guruva is Shiva’s cousin and in the absence of Shiva has taken up the job of becoming “Panjurli” during the festival. Notice how “fake” it looks? Because it really is. Guruva, I think, yearns, for Panjurli appearance. He is sincere and a true believer. Shiva on the other hand gets to be Panjurli..and I think it is tragic to know that Guruva dies without seeing Panjurli for real.
Overall.. many layers in the movie. For sure, I will be thinking of this for a long time.
Well, it has been a long time now since my last update. My apologies to my friends who visit my blog only to find no updates. I am more active on twitter and any blog updates will be tweeted.
I saw the movie "Enakkul Oruvan" and was pleasantly surprised. I went in to the theatre with no expectations and came out glowing and with the biggest urge that this needs to be written about.
If you know anything about Tamil movies, you'll know that this industry has patented that art of producing shit movies. Not exaggerating at all. Take a look at the recent movies released by the so called big name directors. (Actually no, don't take a look)
Shankar's Ai was such a disappointment. I generally do not have a lot of hopes out of high budget movies and avoid them as much as possible. But when you have a family that has been amped up with constant visuals and adverts you have to give in. I went to see it with zero expectations but still was disappointed. How is that even possible? Who still makes movies where the high point of the movie is the extravagant and unnecessary songs. Shankar, that's who.
Another big disappointment was KS Ravikumar's Lingaa. Why? Why go through the ordeal of making this? Why bother telling this very ordinary story? Why bother having 25 comedians and 400 characters? They are a big distraction and come in the way of whatever little story being told. This wasn't movie watching, this was an ordeal.
Another weak story was Gautham Menon's "Yennai Arindhaal". This one made me go... "What year is it? 1990?" Who still makes movies that has the protagonist barge into a Mexican stand-off and declare "I am Satyadev IPS". That's where I lost it and stopped paying attention. And what was with the antagonist played by Arun Vijaykumar? I get that he's been building his body, but does he really have to take off his shirt every time the camera is on him? In a lot of places I felt as if Menon was trying to change the story or at least had multiple story lines in mind.
Its not all bad though. There have been some movies that do make sense. Are coherent and hold your attention throughout. They are few, far between and are almost always low budget movies made by new directors and story tellers.
We went to see the movie "Enakkul Oruvan" directed by debutant Prasad Ramar. This is a remake of a Kannada movie called "Lucia", also by the same director. First off though. This movie was advertised on TV with this song --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePwiT-RH2NY .
Who the hell in their right mind will watch a movie that is advertised with this item song.
So when I booked the tickets, once again for the family, I went with no expectations whatsoever. And it promptly blew our collective minds away. They say, don't judge a book by its cover. This is a prime example of the saying.
This movie is still running in theatres, and for this reason I can't really give away anything without spoiling anything for you. I'll reserve the plot discussion for a post that I will make a month later.
However, I will leave you with this quote and a poem.
Maha-Vishnu then reclines in the waters of the Causal Ocean in a state of divine sleep, called yoga-nidra. Thus, it is said that the universal creation is but the dream of Maha-Vishnu - Rig Veda
Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things. - Zhuangzi
Do watch this movie. You'll not regret it!
Ah the comfort zone!
Oh how warm the comfort zone is!
That chess strategy I never waver from but keep loosing, That wrist-watch I am always wearing but never bother checking the time, That washbasin at work that I always use no matter how much it splashes, The coding routine that I have That idea that I will never convert to an app because I am too comfortable fixing defects! Those Rubik’s cube algorithms I will never stray from That computer language I will always use as a bench mark
Oh how satisfying you are my dear comfort zone. Like that itch I will keep scratching
and oh how bitter the medicine of change.
Change, forced or otherwise, you are the only enemy,
Oh you uncomfortable pain-in-the-ass bastard!!
Time, for a long time, was considered a construct of the mind. Not really existing outside of our minds. Time being an illusion is a common theme in Buddhist thought. Some philosophers even postulated that time, along with motion, and change were all illusions. Hindus had a concept of wheel of time, considering time as cyclical and consisting of events that repeat.
Modern physics tells us otherwise. We now know that time is a dimension. And based on the special theory of relativity we also know that it is strongly connected to space itself, thus the term space-time (or the space-time continuum). So connected are these two, one can infer that from the point of view of a single photon, (there is no such thing, but go with it) space has 0 size. When a photon crosses the universe, from its point of view it takes no time at all (zero). From our point of view of course, it will take an infinite amount of time. This is what is called time dilation and it is wonderfully explained using the twin paradox.
Another way we know time exists for real is because of Entropy. Entropy is a law that measures a systems progress towards thermodynamic equilibrium. A red hot ball of nickel which is in a higher state of energy than its surroundings will always lose heat in a predictive manner so as to reach room temperature. A closed (or otherwise called isolated) system always evolves towards thermodynamic equilibrium. Once equilibrium is reached that system has reached a state of maximum entropy. Simply speaking, Entropy is a law of nature in which everything (high energy) slowly goes into disorder (equilibrium).
Energy is key here. The more energy a system has the farther away from entropy it is. Want to keep a ball of nickel hot, keep it torched. The only way water will stay up in the tank and now flow down is having valves or taps; in other words, convert the kinetic energy of the water as potential energy.
Macro effects aside (fruit decay, water leveling or a red hot nickel ball losing heat), Entropy can be measured on the sub-atomic state as well. Free neutrons (neutrons not bonded in an atom) will spontaneously undergo beta-decay. Beta decay is a process that allows the atom to obtain an optimal ration of protons to neutrons.
That’s how we know that time has a direction. There is a definite forward and there is a definite backward. Like temperature, living beings can’t see it, but we have an intuitive sense of it. We know if a movie is being played backwards. And we definitely know something is wrong if a ball of nickel gains heat just sitting there.
So anyways. This post was not supposed to be about the physics of entropy or time. The idea was how Entropy can be observed in societies.
A group of humans always stick together and organize themselves automatically and always form a society and create rules for said society. Humans don’t need an external entity to organize, they organize themselves. And I hypothesize on such self-organized societies entropy plays a major role. Given enough time a society will always degenerate. Always. When a society reaches maximum entropy they split themselves into groups. These groups then form their own societies and rules. These new groups can then be said to be in minimum entropy. How else would you explain so many countries, so many religions?
Of course this is until there is external force acting on it. A group that has reached maximum entropy can be put together again if there is a threat to it as a whole. Indeed history is littered with examples of former rival groups getting together to fight a common enemy.
I also think that the more energy (in the form of food, electricity, gas etc.) a group has access to, the more time it will take for that group to degenerate. But in the end entropy will always catch up.
So that’s that actually. I thought it was a good explanation of what we observe in the world. And any problems you observe in a country can be explained by entropy.
One last thought. You know the meaning of life? Or rather what life is? You see the universe is in a constant state of change from a high state of energy (think the Big Bang) to equilibrium (Heat death of the universe). Life is simply in the way
Two things will always amaze me.
One is the fact that I am here.
No one has defined what consciousness (No I am not talking about the soul) is but the closest someone has come to explain it is that self-awareness (and therefore consciousness) is an evolutionary trait that gives a creature the ability to plan and execute rather than react to immediate environmental changes. Turns out that there is no seat of self-awareness in the brain. I have an area in the brain that is responsible for my heart rate, vision, hearing and so on for all senses, but consciousness does not have a center in the brain. It comes from an interaction of all these senses. Consciousness is self-arising. Like birds in a flock. No one designs their beautiful patterns; they just arise because of a few simple rules.
But the fact that I am here, out of a million different possibilities, and all of the histories starting from a single celled organism to Genghis khan have been responsible for me being here boggles my mind. The fact that I waste it away is an entirely different topic.
The second fact that amazes me is that all of this will end. It will cease to be. There’s a tiny part in my mind that hopes that all of science is wrong and there indeed is a beyond. But the fact that I don’t remember anything from before being here is solid evidence for me that there is no beyond as well. That should make me sad. But in some strange way, it doesn’t.
As long as I am amidst family and friends who care for me, I have nothing to worry about.
Today, Thursday, 11 July 2013, is a beautiful morning. It rained like heavily last night and that usually results in a cold and clear day. Perfect day to start blogging. Hopefully I will be able to keep up the blog despite my work. Wish me luck!!