Vantage Point

Things are not what they seem. It all depends on where you are standing and when. Though viewed as two different things, the position and time are actually not soo unrelated. For instance, a circle when viewed from an angle can appear as an ellipse. Its not just the viewer's perception, it can also be because the circle is not stationary. Thinking of things that way, nothing is stable or lets say constant. Then what are we basing our perceptions on? Logically speaking, its all based on floating assumptions.

Funny thing is its so easy to lose our way as we wade through the infinite possibilities. Trying to take hold of the situation doesn’t work always. Another example… a simple question:

Since school days, we have assumed that current flows from higher potential to lower potential. Then came the discovery of electron. The concept of potential stayed on, but the perception of the concept of current flow changed. So if current flow is actually due to electron flow then, why can’t we consider that as the direction of current instead of bringing in “conventional current flow direction"?

When I asked this question to my teacher in 6^th form, all I got was “there are far more applications than what u see now. Then there are rules, so even if your question is sensible, it doesn’t always have a sensible answer!”

Then came the wave/particle dilemma, as I termed it later. Years later I found sense in the answer, that didn’t make any sense then. There are too many possibilities to every question and a million more answers. But the success of design lies in the smart elimination of the less probable.

The importance of the vantage point becomes clearer with the question that didn’t become a rage because most people didn’t understand it in the first place. Simple question again:

Sum of the angles of the triangle is 180 degrees. But the position of the triangle can change it. What about it on a curved surface?

On a curved surface, the sum of the angles is greater than on a flat surface, also called a surface with zero curvature. So technically speaking, the basic “property” of the triangle is actually a special case. This discovery shook the basics of mathematics. When this question was raised, it was taken as an “approximation for all practical purposes”. That’s like saying the earth is flat.

So just think twice before you decide on anything… Just consider for a minute if you are in the right position at the right time to make the right inferences. :) :) 

Go Happy! :D

Labs are such a drag, especially after the viva. So we spice it up with some crazy talking. For instance, me announcing to my friends, “Lets hang out in the symmetry!”. I was surprised when I saw that ppl wanted to actually do that!!! Some cool ppl huh?! :D :P

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine cajoled me into talking with a college-mate I once considered “close friend”. As I promised, I did try but didn’t quite go that way. First, sulked, then “What the hell, screw it!”.  Thank you lab-classes, for teaching me that skill. :P Attitude learnt : What’s the point if you aren’t happy? :P

With the cycle tests around the corner, its back to scrambling for knowledge with the stupid tests bugging you all the time! I don’t mind the assignments(the meaningful ones, not the rote ones, one of which actually sparked me off to write this particular entry!), but cycle tests??!!! Well no use complaining.

Well, its time to get back to my assignment! For fellow SRMites, all the best and fare well. :) :)

Girls just wanna have fun!!! :D

Okay, that’s one way of saying it! Two days and the hostel life has already caught on me yet again. Nostalgia, longing and memories all mix up to give a pleasant feeling making us all smile at ourselves. Thanks to the holidays rent out to SRMites due to Milan ’11 and our hostel friends who most graciously covered for us in the hostel, we actually loved the awesome feeling that comes with breaking rules! :D

Even though the first day was nice, the fun part started with the advent of the meatball tin! Well, we ll get to that later. Punctuality is one thing we Indians will never learn! After a whole lot of planning, my friend who was supposed to be in campus by 10 15 reached an hour later. Tired from the heat of the sun, all of us decided to take shelter in the room. Talking, talking, talking….. then a movie. Halfway through, my good friend decided to go out. Well, I did finish the stupid movie(which was btw titled “Just Friends”, which you wouldn’t watch if you didn’t want an early death!! Just horribly boring!! :/). I was left at the mercy of a mute final year architecture student till my hostel friend FINALLY turned up! This is one thing we experience only at the right time. Even though we meet our classmates everyday in our class, its only at times like this that we actually realize how nice and helping some people are. Thank you people for making our stay there feel welcome and enjoyable, we owe you one!

At around 6 00 pm, my other friend, who had gone to attend the event I,Chef, returned with a perfect batch of cookies! Whoa! Just yummy! :D then it was soon dinner time. Now the actual fun started. My cookie friend, who was Kashmiri, had received a tin of special meatballs from home. Problem was that the tin needed a can opener and all we had was a screw driver. After a desperate scramble for something even remotely near a hammer, we gave up. Its in times like this, innovation can reach its heights! Back to the start, we took the hard way of locksmith hammering with a screwdriver. After half an hour of taking turns and cursing, the tin was finally open! Phew! A digital camera always helps. When my other friends toiled hard, we caught them on the reel. :D a memory frozen on a memory card! :D :D Hot after a boil, the contents of the can more than compromised for the trouble the holder had given. At 9 pm, we were the last people in the mess. The mess food I had hated a semester ago, suddenly tasted fine when I wasn’t paying for it! Maybe this is what they meant when they said anything free seems good enough! ;) :D

Another surprise! The SRM wifi actually is faster than normal broadband connections! Youtube videos buffered faster that they were playing! Checking out tracks, we had a good laugh with some of the dumbest roadies videos ever! :D it was getting late and we decided to hit the pillows.

Fresh after a good night’s sleep, and geared up with good free mess food ;) , we made our way to the auditorium. Substandard performances in the vocals competition left me astounded as to why none of my friends or I made it through the preliminary SRM round! Crazy people! Anyway, lunch at Choice was another good round of food!

At around 5 30, we made our way to the Shreya Ghoshal concert. At 6 45, I had lost interest and ended up selling my ticket! :D :D I m not much of her fan, so didn’t matter much. Turned out, I did a good job. The hyped singer turned up 3 hours behind schedule, delaying the concert to after 11 pm. My friends trapped in, were starving while I was going about tasting good food from the canteen. :D :D Ha~! :P Too tired from the walking around, I dozed off. My friends, I learnt later, continued the talking till early morning.

It was all back to packing and leaving in the morning… it may sound lame to you reading this account, but it was among of the memorable days of the semester. The good feeling is here to stay for a long time. Only a few people can make me feel this way. I m happy I have friends with whom I can have a good time with, with whom I can make memories and have fun my way! Thank you for the awesome time! :) :)