Suresh Chandrasekaran's Blog, page 9

They exist but do not live?

Life is a strange thing. I mean, in one sense, if you are not dead, then you are living. But a philosopher would make the distinction between your merely existing and truly living. In a sense, they have a point. If you merely satisfy the biological definition of life but make no more impact on the world than a stone or any such object; if your contribution to the rest of the world is based on

Enter to excel?

You know, there are these times when these great philosophers speak words that actually resonate with me. It happens rarely but it does happen. And, no, I am not lying. And THIS is the proof I am not for this post is all about advice that I live by.Tiru has this to say about how to choose your profession:Thondrin pugazhodu thondruga aqdilaar thondralin thondraamai nandru - TirukkuralEnter a

Seek Critics?

They keep telling you that good advice is normally bitter. It's like food, you know. Whatever tastes good is bad for health and whatever you truly hate the sight of is what makes you healthy. (Yeah, yeah, I know that you could find people who drool at the sight of broccoli and are revulsed by the smells of baking but, really, what are the odds?) In like manner, anything that is pleasant for you

An eye for an eye?

I'd rather not be talking as though I feel that everything that's being said today was said way back in India by our sainted ancestors. It's sort of become a standing joke...what, in the idiom of today, may be called a meme...when someone, especially someone my age, says anything that can be construed as something akin to 'We had drones and AI from the Ramayan times.'But...I mean, come on,

The greatest power?

You know, the strange thing about these philosophers is their odd ideas about things like wealth, power and the likes. I mean, when us ordinary mortals think of wealth, for example,  we think of the BMWs and, perhaps, the odd island or two that we could own...simple things like that. AND, as you have seen in these very annals, talk to philosophers and they will prate of what's in your head -

Good Parenting?

Yeah, yeah, I know that you guys are sniggering at my writing anything at all about parenting. Though why you should is a mystery since I am certain to have been at the receiving end of parenting - good or bad. And, in all the whole wide world, the ones who are the most vocal about ANYTHING are those who perceive themselves as victims of that thing - administration, leadership, whatever - and are

Useless AI?

Technology has always proved to be a huge let-down for me. They first talked up automation and, now, they are all talking up this Artificial Intelligence thingy. And I am sure that this is going to end up disappointing me the same way all the previous disruptive technology did. Though, yes, nowadays I couldn't care less given that the benefits which I sought from technology are, in a way, mine

Worthy Silence

In childhood, I used to always get told 'Children should be seen but not heard.' The problem, though, is parents very seldom stick to their own rules. I mean, I was all for remaining silent but then they would call on me to recite 'Baa Baa Black sheep' or some such crap. What happened to the virtues of silent children then?Tiru comes around also preaching the virtues of silence but sort of offers

Desiring suffering

You know, I am not aware that, anywhere else in the world, philosophers were so down on desire. A stray chap, here and there, may have sort of moaned about desire being the root of all evil but he generally got drowned out by the cacophony of others shouting the opposite. In India, though...I mean go to Hinduism, Buddhism, whatever and, sooner or later, up pops a diatribe about desire.Can Tiru,

The limits of fortune

This question of Fate and Fortune is a never-ending thing with none giving a satisfactory answer. I mean, if you are fated to lead a certain life and achieve a certain level of success, then why bother to put in effort? On the other hand, if everything is dependent on your own efforts, how do you explain the role of luck in it - the chap in a bad mood who denies you a bulk order which leads to