OUTLIERS: Those who lie outside!

The illusionary world in which we live is set in some patterns. Da Vinci code by Dan Brown, explored the golden ratio of 1.618:1 in every aspect of nature be it the snail shells or attractive credit cards! Some patterns are quantifiable, some not. Statistically speaking there is something called data set. In layman's terms, data set is a group of data values which have an average and deviation from the average within the data group. They can be observations or any (meaningful) statistical data value. But there lies something absolutely outside the data set and yet they seem to influence the behaviour of the data set. In statistics, an outlier is an observation that is numerically distant from the rest of the data. They are called "Outliers". It literally means those who lie outside. This book called "Outliers" very well written by Malcolm Gladwell is truly an amazing book. It starts with a mysterious country side in the west coast of US called Rosseto. A replica of a Italian country side, where the people seem to have no health issues. While the US had heart attacks as epidemic the rosseto dwellers lived hale and hearty! What was the well guarded secret of their health? Why was it that the sportspeople born in the month of Jan thru' March were good at Ice Hockey in Canada? The entire statistical data on their performance didn't reveal something very obvious. Well, that was the outlier. But what was that obvious fact the analysts overlooked every time? Another chapter explores the wonder of people having astronomical level of IQ. Does an IQ of 150 mean that the person can fare better in the day to day life, than those with the IQ level of 130. Answers is, as mater of fact, NO. It is grossly misunderstood that higher IQ means that the person is more intelligent. But actually any higher IQ than 130 does not seem to make any additional difference! HOW? WHY? Aren't these interesting things to know about? Hey and let me tell you all one thing. I am an aficionado of Maths and stats, hence for me such explorations intrigue me. If you are interested then just grab this book and read. One more thing, This book is one that needs to be borrowed, not bought. It is a good book but not worth keeping in your book shelf. (unless of course you have ample space in the shelf) Overall, The author seem to miss one important fact. The fact that there are no co-incidences. He has explores the destiny of billionaires like Bill gates, Steve Jobs, great attorney Flom from Skadden Arps Law firm. etc, etc. He has justified their pinnacle of success with many attributes. How the opportunity fell on their lap. It was one in a billion chance to get such opportunities in their individual lives. I do not know whether the author has seen things from a wider angle. But it is true that everything is pre-planned and there are no accidents. That's the way it should have happened. The next review will be on a movie, Kung Fu Panda! O.A.K.

I'll be back!

This is the famous line from the movie The Terminator. A line delivered with panache and vengeance. This reminds me of a old roman empire story. There was a man, marcius, who used to spend considerable time of the day drinking wine and lazing around in the sun. One day, there came a hefty man. The drunkard and the hefty man got hooked up in some altercation and it led to a brawl. Eventually, the drunkard got beaten up very badly. The drunkard decided to return the blows back to the hefty man. He decided to give up drinking. He started exercising daily. He slowly regained his health. Within three years he built good body. He started participating in wrestling championships and won medals & accolades. He also started learning the habits of human mind. He realised how easy it is to make a mind lazy. To do something good the mind needs effort, but to do bad things mind does it effortlessly! Marcius decided to use this against his old enemy, the hefty man. The hefty man was now a little old but strong all the same. He did not want to fight directly with the hefty man. Hefty man was a treacherous person. He used all illegal means to defeat his opponents. So Marcius had thought of a plan. Marcius made a public announcement that the man of might will fight a lion in the arena. At the same time, Marcius used his contacts to hire some prostitutes for the hefty man. Marcius also got a gift, a bottle of wine. The hefty man had mucles but not the discipline. Brawns but no brains. When the hefty man was relishing his gift, and having sensory plesures, Maricus turned up at the hefty man's abode. Marcius was totally a new man now. Virile and strong. Mentally and Physically. The hefty man did not recognise the old opponent. Marcius started extolling the amazing feats of the hefty man. He praised his strength, his skills of fight. The hefty man then angrily asked Marcius, "I have never seen you, Why do you come with such pleseantaries and praise me. What do you want of me?" Marcius skillfully said, "Sir, There is a fight with a lion. The mightiest man in the town is offered to set match with this lion. If you win this match you will be the hero in the roman empire. No one will dare to fight with you, sir!" HEaring this the hefty man agreed for the fight. The next day the hefty man and the lion were in the arena. The fight lasted for two agonizing hours. The lion & hefty man were severly wounded. Both died due to loss of blood. This story we had in our 4th std. moral science. The moral is very simple. If you lead you life in discipline then you can fight even the mightiest enemy. You do not need muscles to fight. The strength is not in muscles, it is in the mind. The fight should not be initiated to propogate violence. Fight to "end" violence. This can be achieved only when there is peace in your heart. It hardly takes any courage to fight, but to say no to the fight one requires tremendous courage. Especially those who have the strength, arm, ammo to fight but avoids using it. Astalavista, baby!

Shelfari!?!

Hey! Did you notice a new widget on the blog? Its called shelfari. Shelfari is a webiste where you have an account. And in that account you cann add the books you've read, you wish to read, or you wish to buy. You can rate the books on the scale of one to five. This is a must visit website for the voracious readers like me. The list of books in the shelf of shelfari is just 2% of what I've read. To view my current bookshelf on shelfari go to http://www.shelfari.com/omkar890 Reading is a very good habit. I know that with the advent of Cell phones, laptops, internet; reading, per se, is being slowly dispensed with. But gals and guys, I tell you there is no other joy like reading. You go to gym to pump muscles and train you body. Reading is a rigorous workout for you brain. More you read more flexible you brian will be. So keep up the habit of reading! O.A.K.