Written on Monday, September 26, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
Well i'm back and this time i bring new insights from another book i read.
Question:- how much time would you take to evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher.Or maybe a potential employee?2 days? 3 months? well research says it can be done in less than 5 mins.Suprised? Well dont be.
People we're asked to evaluate their close friends on the basis of 5 questions.Things like is he organised,compassionate,driven etc etc....So they all rated their friends.Then complete strangers we're asked to take a look at the rooms of the same people for 15 mins and rate them..Guess how well they did?Just as well as the "Close friends"
What i'm talking about is called the art of thin slicing.
Students in a particular class we're asked to evaluate their teachers in ten different categories.Then strangers we're shown A 3 SECOND VIDEO of the same teachers.They did rated the teachers just as the students did.Stunning? Yes.What's worse is that it goes against all logic.The more information you have the easier it is to make a decision right?Wrong.That maybe true only in some cases.
Consider this.A certain hospital had a problem that they had too many patients checking in for heart attacks.Doctors were swamped.Every one with a chest pain was being admitted.(because they always err on the side of caution.You could get sued if you sent someone having a heart attack home having diagnosed it as an asthma attack)
SO they made a heirarchy of three rooms.Observation,serious and ICU.Well that didnt help.They were still swamped.So what did they do.The head of the hospital implemented an algorithm(Made by someone else).This told the doctors to ask only eight questions and based on the answers they patients were either checked in or sent home(in case they had asthma or somethin minor).The algorithm was 70% better at discerning whether the patient needed to be admitted or not.
When the american army asked a few stockbrokers to come play simulation war games,the brokers did amazingly well.Why?Because just like army men,the brokers have learnt to make their decisions based on very limited information.They "thin slice" information to only what's relevant.That's the real world effect.
So why do i bring this up?It's estimated that by 2011,the world's coded information base(Books,mags,all reading material) will double every 11 HOURS!!!!Can you keep up?If we all want to go into management(and be good at it) we have to learn this art,because without it you'll probably have a nervous breadown by the time your 30.
For more info on this read:- "Blink"-malcolm gladwell.(I have it incase anyone wants it)
Adios
P.S. cheers to you two having gone 3 years and 9 months today.
Written on Saturday, September 17, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
I started reading about how we learn a couple of weeks back and it was quite an eyeopener...
Basically we have three systems for learning; Visual, auditory and Kinesthetic(Feeling). Every one of us is more inclined to one of these systems and the stimuli which affect this dominant one have the most impact on us... It's not easy to tell which one of your friends uses which system but it's not that difficult either.
Visual--- usually sort things out visually.Their speech is loaded with phrases like-"It doesn't look right","I just cant seem to see the whole picture" etc.They talk fast and their breathing is shallow.
Auditory:-- Words like" It clicked today","I like the sound of it",It just doesn't
sound right".THey usually have resonant voices,and calm,even breathing.
Kinesthetic:-They usually choose their words carefully i.e slow talkers, have deep breathing and use words like"it just doesn't feel right","I can't get a hold of it","It's beyond my grasp"...
Cool u say but of what purpose...Well the problem comes when education imparted is primarily visual with little auditory input and no kinesthetic.Einstein was kicked out school for not being smart enough...Did you know that he said that one of the main reasons he came up with the relativity concept was because he tried to feel what it would be like to sit at the end of a beam of light...Can u see how it affects us..(I'm visual..You should have guessed...)
Suppose your a salesman trying to sell a car to someone
1.If he's visual you'd stand the best chance if you showed him pics,Brochures,stats etc..Will this work with an auditorily inclined person.Partly.
2.For him you would probably be better off letting him hear how the car soundsetc.
3.For a kinesthetic person It's best if you let him sit in the car,feel the steering wheel,the leather etc.
We can now begin to see how important it can be to make this distinctions so as make communication simple
so if your to be girlfriend is visual, don't propose by texting,Phone or email....!!!
So here's something to do.Next time u have to ask somemone for something, apply this technique and see how things turn out.Try it!!
Written on Saturday, September 10, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
Ever since i've started putting little signatures at the bottom of my text messages things taken a cool twist.I don't put anything there that i don't absolutely believe in (unless it's funny ofcourse, in which case anything goes).
Every time i send a message i could get different responses.I could get ridiculed, laughed at, thanked or just ackowledged. All of us need a little inspiration every once in a while.But the fulfilling ones's are when my friends send their own little quotes back
Excerpts from some of the replies
There are three general events which happen to mankind ; birth,life and death.At birth we cannot sense,We suffer when we die and neglect to Live.
--- Sent by Girija Gaur
Love is invincible,There are no categories in it! Believe in miracles but don't depend on them.Better to understand a little than to understand a lot,Don't limit your challenges ,Challenge your limits
--- Sent by Girija Gaur.
You want and you get that's luck,you want and you wait that's time,you want and you compromise that's life, you Want and you wait and you don't compromise that's success
--- Sent by Ummehani
Written on Wednesday, August 31, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
Well, here we are again and this time i have a few questions for what seems to be a very limted Audience. It has to do with some of the intangibles i.e. the things that really don't have a physical presence yet seem to impact our lives a lot.NO i'm not talking about ghosts, or whatsoeveryoumay call them.I'm talking about things like say respect,honour,integrity,honesty etc.
How do we judge these things in a person is ofcourse a very subjective thing but none the less i wonder how much these impact our lives.It's quite a known fact that academic success(or say intelligence) plays only a 20% role in determining success while 80% are intangible's like compassion,understanding,determination,insight,guts etc. So how much do these actually play a part.Are they really that important or is it just that we'd like things to be that way.I believe they are.Ten years ago the argument between bussiness and morals raged but now has been settled with a company's values having utmost significance in it's working.Narayan Murthy once said that his company rarely had a problem making decisions between ethics in business simply because the foundation values were clearly defined and that nipped a lot of problems in the bud.So what do you think.Write in...
Written on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
OK i'm not takin credit for this.This one was penned by Rucha.
I've dreamed of many dreams that never came true,
I've seen them vanish at dawn.
But i've realised enough of my dreams,Thank god,
To make me wanna dream on
I've prayed many prayers,But no answers came,
Though i've waited patient and long,
But answers came to enough of my prayers,
To make me keep praying on
I've sown many seeds that fell by the way,
For the birds to feed upon,
But i've held enough golden sheaves in my hand,
To keep me sowing on
I've drained the cup of dissapointment and pain,
And gone many days without song,
But i've sipped enough nectar from the roses of life,
To make me live on.....
WOW!!!
Written on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
So ok im in my philosophical mood again.So i get to thinking.What is the life of dreams.Is it having everything u ever want or is it leaving the world with an indelible mark so you're remembered forever.And who's more succesful,bill gates or albert einstein. What success is to different people is what makes the world so diverse.But is there something,some common denominator which can tell you if a person is living the life of his dreams.
Where do u find the thin line between achieving and balance.Do u give up everything
to achieve your goals or is doing the right thing more important.or is there a third solution where u achieve both.
Am i supposed to think all this.Is ignorance bliss or is knowledge power?if you look around how many people are really happy?and if there are so many unhappy people then what do they all have in common
How do decisions affect the quality of life. And how do people forget what they really want and go off track.is it that easy.?
Written on Sunday, August 14, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
1. Saw mangal pandey thought it was really good .yeah a bit long but it's storytelling pace is frenetic.and Aamir is good though somehow a maharashtrian actor would be best to play the character i feel.Anyways it was beautifully directed and shot.Rani looks really fiery in it.But it started to make me think.We know that rulers write history so how important is this movie in shaping the character of mangal pandey in history.because as of now all we have is 2 pages on him,not even a proper photo and now this movie.in the future parts of this movie based on folklore, not written history, will be accepted as history.funny how history is written.No history turns into folklore,folklore into myth and myth re written as history.
So how uch do wanna believe personally i like him being projected as a hero even if there is evidence that he did what he did in a drunken state.Projection of a man into a folklore hero mostly helps people to remember the sacrifices made.
2.EPL the season has started and manu must win theres no alternative so i hope to see my team kick Chelsea's sorry A** ..
MANCHESTER UNITED FOR LIFE!!!
Written on Sunday, July 31, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
Ok this one is a little weird but do you get the feeling that the world is heading for a catastrophe?I mean look all around , things seem like the world is going to hell in a handbasket.I know it's sounds crazy but like the dinousaurs and rome every civilization reaches it's height before it collapses.Then we start again apparently having learned lessons but not really.9/11 started it.You have the tsunami, eatrhquakes, oil fires, suicide bombings, iraq,the humanitarian crisis in darfur, and now the floods in mumbai.The heaviest rainfall in a century,950 mm in a day.Seems like the flood to wash away the sinners eh?.It's weird but all around you you cant seem to see anything else.Death,destruction and lives washed away in an instant,Power in the hands of the men who use it to feed their own greedy ambitions.Is this the price that we pay for making the same mistakes as we did previously with ancient civilizations.So fat having had all the luxuries of life we've become blinded to the truth unable to see or even care for the sordid conditions in which others live.Let's face it our biggest motivation is to earn money to live rich,comforatble lives,oblivious to the apathy all around us.We choose to ignore these because it's too painful to face.I mean who in their right mind would give up their car to save their enviornment.But now every six months we try haplessly to control nature's fury.An angry planet,obese kids,drunk parents who get divorced like it means nothing.To borrow a line from the Matrix,Human beings are a virus, Feeding and raping and pillaging until nothing is left.All that's left to happen is a nuclear third world war.So maybe we can find another planet to destroy.Mars anyone.The world is praying out for a Mahatma.one with enough courage and integrity to change the world.but there is still hope.Human's are slowly waking from luxurious slumber to move to a more healthy lifetsyle and cleaner air.The age is wisdom is near im sure.Where when two people compete they look for a third solution,one that elevates the quality of life of both.Thank God India is still hanging on to tradition.Our strength will make sure that we survive.
Written on Friday, July 29, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
Pain is temporary.It may last a minute,or an hour,or a day, or a year but eventually it will subside and something else will take it's place.If i quit IT WILL LAST FOREVER.
-Lance Armstrong
P.S. congratulations Lance.AN inspiration for the uninspired.
Written on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
In what direction does this life lead?
Fate or free will, in which do we trust?
Instant decisions , perpetual consequences indeed.
Destiny lies in decision,
Whether we shine , whether we rust.
Do you feel incomplete, does it feel like a jigsaw,
In search of the missing piece,
Shooting in the dark, only blanks we draw.
Blazing night lights, all pervasive hawk eyes,
The Stillness in the eye of the storm answers our cries.
All you ever wanted is love,
But you never looked hard enough.
All you ever wanted to be,
Is to live in perfect symmetry.
Do you see the world in black or white?
X or Y, fight or flight, day or night.
Go free to see the colours, and be all that you can be,
All the risks to take, find your own destiny,
A masterpiece to create, one life for all to see.
Now everything flows from nothing,
The world glistens and you’re flying.
See it in the new sunrise, see it break on your horizon.
No longer part of the system,
Through space your star is streaking.
Written on Sunday, July 03, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
Hey everyone the tour de france is on and im rooting for lance armstrong to win an unprecedented 7th title in a row. what this man has done is absolutely inspiring. You should check out his life story to see how remarkable it is to achieve what he has.
War of the worlds: spielberg has done it again. more than anything it's the scale of the movie that left my jaw on the floor..It was really awesome seein that cathedral shakin..A sappy endin for sure but i loved the suprises along the way(The train scene comes to mind). so go watch it.Next week FANTASTIC FOUR(with Jessica Alba..Yummy).
Live 8:- i think it was the first time concerts were held simultaneously in 8 countries.It was for a good cause too. All and all a great event
signin off:-Go federer..
Written on Monday, June 27, 2005 by Rohan Koshy
hey everyone im back and hopefully u people will get off ur ass and post a comment..
1. coldplay, the new album- i havent heard the whole of X&Y but Speed of sound was an awesome song.. u have to listen to it if u havent heard it. long live VH1
2.San andreas.. not everyone plays games i know but this one is so big i keep tryin to figure out how they managed to make everythin a seamless axperience..
3.Batman. finally a movie worth the comic. made by cristopher nolan. the guy who made memento. if u havent seen memento then go see it. it took top honours in many film festivals. the batsuit is awesome. but the batmobile is like a on oversized tank on steroids.(in Black i might add).eight different versions were made of it costing millions. and it's real. no CG. well almost none.When u see it flyin through the watrfall thats a real 5000 pound machine flyin through the air. really cool.enginner's should check out www.howstuffworks.com so see the process of creating the batmobile.Next time... the JOKER. gonna be awesome.Bring on war of the worlds.
4.Placements:-I'm not really eligible having 57% and all but still it's quite a weird and funny experience. i keep gettin the feeling that i can present better than those HR people from the companies. I'm sure im not alone.
Written on Friday, August 06, 2004 by Rohan Koshy
Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away
Written on Friday, August 06, 2004 by Rohan Koshy
There was a hermit who saw a scorpion floundering in the water.He tried to save it by stretching out his palm,but the scorpion stung him.The hermit still tried to get the scorpion out of the water,but the scorpion stung him again.Someone nearby asked him to give up as the scorpion was hurting him.but the sagelyman said,"by nature scorpions sting and to me love comes naturally.Why should i give up my nature?"
Do not give up loving.Do not give up your goodness,even if people around you sting
Written on Sunday, August 01, 2004 by Rohan Koshy
Did you know that the average lead pencil can draw a line that is almost 35 miles long or you can write almost 50,000 words in English with just one pencil? Amazing fact! Now imagine an eraser that could match it !!!
Did you know the first bicycle that was made in 1817 by Baron von Drais didn't have any pedals? People walked it along
A galactic year is 250 million Earth-years. This is the time it takes for our solar system to make one revolution around the Milky Way Galaxy.
A cesium atom in an atomic clock that beats over nine billion times a second.
A jiffy is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second. Thus the saying, I will be there in a jiffy.
Back in 1920, the Russian transplant pioneer Serge Voronoff made headlines by grafting monkey testicles onto human males
(personal comment-YUCK!!!)
It takes the Hubble telescope about 97 minutes to complete an orbit of the Earth. On average, the Hubble uses the equivilent amount of energy as 30 household light bulbs to complete an orbit.
Written on Sunday, August 01, 2004 by Rohan Koshy
HAPPY FREINDSHIP'S DAY EVERYONE
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. -- Albert Einstein
Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right. -- Henry Ford
Written on Thursday, July 29, 2004 by Rohan Koshy
Chances are you've heard of pi i.e. 22\7 but have you heard of phi-1.618??It's called god's number.why you ask?Measure the distance from your head to toe .Divide by that from your belly button to your toe.Roughly it should be 1.618.Guess the ratio of the no of female bees to male bees in every beehive in the world.Same.Dist from your shoulder to fingertips divided by distance from elbow to fingertips. 1.618.This number occurs almost everywhere in nature.The distance of venus from the sun divided by the distance from mercury to the sun is 1.618 and this is true for every planet to an accuracy of almost 0.00043.Stunned yet?well i was.So visit
http://www.GoldenNumber.net
Written on Wednesday, July 28, 2004 by Rohan Koshy
Obstacles don't have to stop you.
If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it
- Michael Jordan
Written on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 by Rohan Koshy
Ever wonder how some of the stuff you see around you works.Well i have for a while.For example what do they really mean when they say that FRIENDS was the highest rated show on T.V.what exactly is quicksand?Did you know that the human body as an engine works at effeciency of more than 120km per litre.Put a human on a bicycle at that effeciency can go upto 500 km/litre!!!This is why most people are fat.The human body is way too effecient.To find cool facts like this go to http://www.howstuffworks.com
Written on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 by Rohan Koshy
Hey everyone,this is Rohan. This is my first blog.If you don't know what a blog is then think of it as an online journal.Somewhere where i can post stuff i feel is interesting.Whether you find it interesting is.... a different matter.
Anyways i'll be posting here quite regularly.If you want to share anything interesting then you can mail me and i'll put it here.
