In the midst of cynicism

Ever since my first forays on the information superhighway, I have been indoctrinated with the culture of cynicism and skepticism especially when dealing with 'forwards'. After years of receiving emails with subject lines like "forward this to ten other people", "Prince XYZ wants to give me a million dollars", "Service XYZ is deleting account" etc., I have begun tossing such emails into Trash/spam without even having to think about it.

Naturally when I received an email with a subject-line "Fwd: An appeal", I tossed it straight to Trash after just a cursory look. However it turns out that this time the appeal is probably genuine, since I could trace a chain of people to the family in question (pretty much the same way digital signatures are generally verified).

The appeal is for a seven year old boy in Mumbai named Piyush diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblast Leukemia. His family needs to raise a total of about USD $350K for his treatment (last checked, they had raised about USD $160K). The details for donating money can be found at www.aidmyson.com and Piyush.

One of the aims of this post is to send a word out for Piyush (assuming someone reads this post on a blog with near zero traffic). However it is also a reminder to me that though my skepticism protects me from falling prey to all the scams out there, sometimes genuine issues can be lost in the midst of cynicism.

Winters in these United States

We finally had a week of heavy snowfall in the Twin cities. After the miserable 20 odd days of below 0F temperatures with no snowfall, it has finally begun looking like winter! We had about 6 inches last weekend, which was followed by about 6 more over this week. As a result, driving can now be categorized an adventure sport, it looks enchanting outside and I have my own little snow-hill on my patio (picture on the right) .

Of couse I cannot talk about winter without mentioning Hougton, where I spent my first two winters. With an annual average snowfall of 250 inches, it is easily the most intense snow that I have experienced. The picture on the left shows the pathway leading to my house in Hougton. Believe me, thats how it stayed through most of winter.

I am always amazed with the drastic changes in appearance that occur with the change in seasons. It is almost like a poem describing cycles of optimism, fulfillment and apparent despair; Winter when snow beautifully covers latent potential, Spring when everything is in full bloom and Fall when nature goes out in blazing glory. The irony is that if you think about it Fall could symbolize destruction and despair, but instead it symbolizes hope; nature spectacularly accepts a temporary setback knowing that spring shall come again.

Comic crystal balls ?

I am always amazed how true comics like dilbert and phdcomics can be sometimes....Its almost as if we live in a comic strip. However I dread the day when these become reality .

Of robots and men

Almost every work of science fiction depicts the future replete with humanoid robots. For example, Asimov's robot series mostly portrays robots as highly-intelligent machines governed strictly by the three laws of robotics. However books/movies such as AI and Bicentennial man explore robots that evolve to become more human than humans themselves. Rationally speaking, I do believe that we cannot create machines more intelligent than us. However I do optimistically wonder if "more-intelligent, more-human" robots can perhaps evolve from the sub-intelligent robots that we create. However after joining the medical device industry, I have become increasingly aware of various recent (and not so recent) technological developments that made me realize that there is more to this issue.

One of the most fascinating technologies is BrainGate. To paraphrase its description, "BrainGate is a system consisting of a sensor that is implanted on the motor cortex of the brain and a device that analyzes brain signals". To put it simply, it aims to interface the human body and mind with a computer. Other interesting breakthroughs include Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago reporting that Jesse Sullivan could control his artificial limbs by "just" thinking about it and McGill University Health Centre performing trials on mechanical hearts that have more longevity than transplanted hearts. While these technologies are far
from commercial use, there are other interesting (atleast to a layman like me) commercial products like Boston Scientific's* 30 year old spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system for chronic pain which uses electrical impulses to mask pain signals.

Amidst all this human-machine integration, the geek in me began wondering if we would create robot-like humans (artificial body with human brain) before true humanoid robots evolve. On the other hand, the minuscule non-geek part of me began wondering more philosophically... What exactly makes us human? Perhaps as long as we do not become Dr. Octopus and the human brain is controlling the machine-body complex, we will remain human. Perhaps we are all already robot-like .... continuing our day-to-day existence without acknowledging humans around us. Which brings us back to the same question "What makes us human?". Perhaps the answer is "empathy" or "compassion" or 42. I guess only time will tell.

Update: Financial times reported that the UK government is expecting sentient robots by 2056 and is discussing their rights and status.

*I work at Boston Scientific/Guidant :)

New York

I spent a weekend in New York with a couple of friends. It was a wonderful to visit to city that never sleeps. We did the mandatory pilgrimage stopping at Liberty and Ellis island, the financial district, Soho and Greenwhich village, Times Square, Central Park and a climb on the Empire state building.
New York had an interesting mix; a city that looks as if it is continously changing, while retaining its intrinsic nature. Instead of rambling on about New York (most people have been there and done that..), I'll sign off with a set of pictures below. The first two pictures show Ellis Island and the immigration waiting room in 1920. The next two pictures show Ellis Island and the immigration waiting room today. (Of course, the immigration room has been restored).




The first picture of this next set is a picture of a newspaper discussing the immigration issue in those days...looks like somethings never change after all. The second picture is flag that flew over the UN's Baghdad office (eventually damaged in an attack). The last picture is of a sculpture that was used to be within WTC. It is now a part of a memorial in Battery-park....a true testimony of the courage and spirit of New York.

Lage rahon....

Putting in two consecutive posts on movies is surely going to paint me in the light of a film buff, but this movie is worth the risk.

I watched the movie Lage Rahon Munnabhai
with a couple of friends, and I have to admit..it is one of the finest movies I have seen in a long time. The movie makes you laugh for each minute of its three hour run with very witty dialogue, able performances (Arshad Warsi put in a super-performance as Circuit) and a mind-blowing script. It is only after the movie do you realize that you have actually had a three hour demonstration of Gandhi's principles. It just goes on to prove that meaningful movies can be entertaining. All I can say is 'Lage rahon Munnabhai '.

S for Science Fiction

People like science fiction for a variety of reasons; some like the futuristic technology, some believe that "We are not alone", some arelooking for little green men and some have religious reasons .

I tend to like science fiction, because it allows one to explore ideas in a detached context. This keeps things free from controversies and bias. The movie "V for Vendetta" is one such popular example*. Set in futuristic England, it explores the theme "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". The movie starts with V, a mysterious terrorist who sets off a series of blasts....and of course such activities can never be condoned. However as the movie progresses, it paints V in the light of a person trying to win freedom for his countrymen. While watching the movie, one can't help but approve of V's ultimate goal of freedom, while disapproving of his means.

Taking real world examples, this theme is very controversial with the ability to hurt sentiments. This in turn creates a bias in judgement and inhibits meaningful discussion. However a science fiction movie like "V for Vendetta" can explore the issue from different angles, because it occurs in an almost unreal world. This ability to explore concepts without restriction is truly the most fascinating aspect of this genre.

*There are several works of science fiction that would have been better examples. However the movie is probably more well known.

Mandatory first post

It seems to be mandatory to have a first post, so here goes...In case you did not figure it out from the title, I am a slightly geeky guy, whose primary passion is technology and profession is programming. But I am normal enough to ponder about the real world, which for some reason does not follow boolean algebra. Anyways thanks for stopping by and ... thanks for all the fish !