Ask no questions, hear no lies.

It is said that there is no avoiding war. It can only be postponed to the benefit of our opponent. The question is; have we been able to identify our opponent? Or are we fighting a battle which our opponents are making us fight against our perceived opponents? The confusion and unrest is certainly going on within every mind but very few of us are actually battling out with our real enemies. We are running towards a goal which when we finally achieve might not be victory at all.

It is also said that our greatest opponent will hide in the very last place that we can ever imagine. More often than not, it lies within ourselves. Have we meditated enough to search for it before we began our battles?

The internship period for most of the post-graduates is nearing its end. For some it is already over. It is time now to once again ponder over it, if we have not done it as yet. There are two things that we need understand. One: being aware of what is happening around us. Two: Accepting what is happening in our environment and how it is impacting us.

Most of us have failed in the doing the first and not understood the meaning of the second. We had closed our eyes to the external world or the ‘game’ that was going around us. We became the pawns of the game and let the players decide the moves. We did not realize it then, we probably haven’t realized it yet. This game did not begin when we joined college. It started the day we were born. It is being played since the time man gained controlled over his mind. What is the quality of your game and what is the nature of the game in which you are playing, are questions that should be worrying us now.

There is not much of a change that you can bring into the environment all the time. However, if you accept to be a part of it, you need to be aware of it. You need to be able to see the games that are going all around you and be aware of it as an external agent and not as a participant. A bird’s eye view of the board is what is required rather than watching close-ups of others from within the board on which the game is being played. Have you accepted to be a part of the environment being aware of what is going on around you; is what we need to ask ourselves today?

The second year at college would begin and get over. Another game would be over and a new one would begin from there on. We need to get to a position from where we know if we want to play a game or just be in a game. If we want to make our moves in the game when others attack or if we want to be able to predict the moves of others? Even if we get hurt in the game, we might not get hurt within if we are aware of the game. That is a position where we need to strive and get.

What is disturbing and inspiring is that people do not question. We rarely question rationality and logic. We do not always look beyond what is obvious to explore what lies beneath. We just talk and when we talk in a grammatically correct manner, we start thinking that we are making sense. We start thinking that we are heading somewhere in the war.

Paraphrasing the obvious, should not be considered as deriving logic. Most of us have entered into a war-zone without questioning the reason for our presence there. Our leaders might be chasing a dream which when achieved will not get us anywhere. Then why are we just following instructions without questioning the reason for our presence in any particular game. We are usually fighting a useless war just because we need to keep on doing something as a part of living. Our actual war might have been lost somewhere else. It is extremely disturbing for a race and very promising for a sharp mind. Where do you see yourself amongst the two?

I feel disturbed when people live without thinking enough. We are a waste if we do not utilize our intellect to fight the real battle. A battle which goes beyond running for a degree, beyond looking for a placement, beyond waiting for an increment, beyond taking coaching classes, beyond getting married, beyond partying out, beyond white collar jobs, beyond scenic locations, beyond two square meals and beyond glamour.

The real battle is to be able to exit the game, to be able to watch it if we have to be a part of it.

Let us understand that. Let us understand that getting a job offer is not enough. Let us understand that getting a high score is not everything. Let us understand that getting a good package is not enough. Let us understand that studying what is being taught is not enough. Let us understand that doing what is being asked is not enough. Let us understand what it is to understand and then understand it.

There is infinite scope for a mind that is able to look within itself and then look at the world from outside while being a part of it. The mediocre is waiting to get fashioned into games when you know how to begin one. The mediocre just wants to experience the journey thinking that they are heading towards a victory. We just need to make them fight themselves. Most of them would not believe you even if you told them who their real opponents are. Most of them would not even believe you if you told them that they are fighting themselves.

Most of them would ask you questions and humbly accept all lies. I don’t want anyone to ask me anything. I do not like to lie.

Prisoner’s Dilemma

I was forced to think deeply over the concept of ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’ ever since we studied the topic in our economics class the other day. For those who are not aware of it, here is the explanation using an example from Wikipedia for your understanding:

“The classical prisoner's dilemma (PD) is as follows: Two suspects, A and B, are arrested by the police. The police have insufficient evidence for a conviction, and, having separated both prisoners, visit each of them to offer the same deal: if one testifies for the prosecution against the other and the other remains silent, the betrayer goes free and the silent accomplice receives the full 10-year sentence. If both stay silent, both prisoners are sentenced to only six months in jail for a minor charge. If each betrays the other, each receives a five-year sentence. Each prisoner must make the choice of whether to betray the other or to remain silent. However, neither prisoner knows for sure what choice the other prisoner will make. So this dilemma poses the question: How should the prisoners act?



In deciding upon this kind of a situation, both the prisoners will try to reduce their risk and also try to predict what the other prisoner will do. If Prisoner A confesses his crime and Prisoner B does not, he would walk free without having to serve any sentence at all and the opposite is also true. If both the prisoners do not confess their crime at all, both of them would walk away with a minor sentence of just 6 months, which seems like a win-win situation for both of them. They are also told that if both of them confess then they will both have to serve a term of 5 years.

In this kind of a scenario, it is usually seen that both the prisoners will not confess and hence serve a term of 5 years each. The paradox of the situation lies in the fact that that both of them will confess no matter what even though they are fully aware that they would be better off had they not confessed. This happens mainly when each of them try to judge how the other prisoner would behave and accordingly try to reduce their own risk.”

When the same is seen in context with various kinds of competitions and the system of relative grading in our college, the results could be startling. In the case of competitions which would provide a chance to individuals to mutually accept a win-win situation for both, they would not normally do so and would defect thus resulting in a lower win for each of the competitors. Even when it comes to relative grading, students could arrive at a common consensus where each would be benefit out of sharing rather than being frightened of their peers and over working or stressing out. However, would this does not normally happen and it leads to a situation where one is not sure about the other and at the same time wants to reduce his chances of losing out leading to a relatively poor result for both.

Research also shows that when Prisoner’s Dilemma is played more than once in succession (with both the players having memory of the previous encounter, then there can be more cooperative outcomes beneficial for both.

Will that be one of the situations that we could encounter on the campus?

There would definitely be many more such scenarios which we would come across in the course of our stay. From inter-house competitions, to individuals working in group projects, to forming groups to negotiate deals from the council or the management, to the placements; these dilemmas would certainly affect most of us. Our reactions would be interesting to study to see if we actually end up mutually co-operating with each other or not.

Things that all future generations at FLAME need to go through:

1. Sleeping with four other people in a room only meant for two.
2. Taking a cold shower at 6:30 AM.
3. Living out of a suitcase for a week.
4. Indira Parikh's Induction Lab.
5. Falling in love with a pre-fabricated cupboard.
6. Learning the true value of salt in food.
7. Sharing ONE toilet among fifteen people at 8:30 AM, when classes are starting at 9AM.
8. Watching Hazel Mehta tell a room full of students that Rajastan is backwards.
9. Watching hot water gush out of a tap after a week of cold showers.
10. The first two weeks at FLAME.

Editor's Note: It has just come to our attention that people believe that this post speaks badly about FLAME. This was not the intention behind this at all. The only way that a person will understand this, and the emotion behind it is to live the way we've lived for the past two weeks. You truly do become closer to people. Among all of this stuff we've gone through, we really have bonded. In the immortal words of Aman, we're now "FLAME-ily".

Most of you that know me from Orkut know that I pretty much disliked all of the PG students on there. Now, if you ask me, I honestly can't see why I disliked them in the first place. I really can't imagine life without Kunal, Miten, Mishal and the rest of them. As I sit at home now, sick, life at FLAME is the only thing going through my mind. That's after just a few weeks like this.

The power of ONE

The number system should begin at one and end there. There is no zero as it does not have any positive value by itself and there is no plural as they seem to show that they are stronger than one. Numbers cannot be combined with each other to form a new number as there is just one identity, one existence, one requirement, one purpose of living, one dimension, one method, one goal and just one road which leads to it. They cannot be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided with each other as they challenge the very power of one. There cannot be variables as there should be no variables. Variables have no strength. There cannot be ‘constants’ as there is just one constant and that is one. There is no history as there is just present. Future cannot be variable as it is a constant which is one. There is no variable in the present as present is one and that present does not have any co-relation with past just as one, the only number, cannot be combined with another one. There is just one desire, just one love, just one direction to move, just one purpose of existence, just one work, just one satisfaction and just one pain when you are not one.

There is just one death and so there is just one life. Why do people die more than once? There is just one self as that is the only thing that you are born with. Why do people stop thinking about themselves? There is just one nation as there is just one world. Why do people even try to divide it? There is just one belief and there is just one who believes in it. Why don’t they completely believe in just one and forget about anything more or less than it? There is just one sight though there are two eyes, there is just one sound though there are two ears, there is just one smell though there are two nostrils, there is just one feeling of touch though there are several cells, there is just one brain though there are two halves to it, there is just one thought as there is just one purpose and that thought is about the purpose of existence.