Three Things

Three things i want to read more about

1. Law of unintended consequences - In the context of mainstream India.

2. Free Trade and Societal Structure - What is the relationship. I hope one day i actually read The Great Transformation and also The Bottom Billion by Collier. In the merantime, you can read this by Delong for context.

3. Economic Situation in Bihar - Even articles will do. What is happening in there. The last good article that i read seems to be one by Aditi phadnis in Business standard

Blogging as Procrastination

How diffuclt it is to procrastinate and blog..i think easy..whatever gets me out of the "Restructuring" mode. Ome hellhole of an assignment. I just hope i get out of it unharmed. My blogginess just hopes that my blessiness works this time too and get me out of all this messiness.

The fear of going Meta

As i may have mentioned before..i have this great fear of flying..during almost all my journeys..i envision the plain ncrashing down..(the best part is- i always chose the aisle seats so that i dont look at the window and then i will keep looking at the window to see i f the plane is banking too much etc..)...
anyway..in all of these nightmarish scenarios i always feel like i should call home etc etc..i mean the intention is to close out my life in abalnced manner...but lately since i fly around once a month..i have had the thots so many times..i have started going meta..and now one of my worries is..if i m really crashing down..i will think of something arbit and my last thopught will be "you bugger..this is waht you come up with a syour last thought"

Gilly Retires

One of the most important reasons for the Australian cricket team's phenomenal success has been this man. He was one player..who for a long time was the worlds best wicketkeeper and to top it all one of the real match turners coming at no 7, while batting. I am talking about test cricket here ofcourse. Gilchrist i feel was the element that really made the aussies invincible. Other teams had good bowlers, good batters, better captains, but none had a player of the worth of gilchrist's class coming at 7. A truly great player, and one of my favourite players of all times. Have fun in your retirement man..you deserve it

The Charm of "The Wonder Years" (TWY)

I really like the show.
What makes the show good?. As mentioned here

"What makes "The Wonder Years" so appealing is that many can identify with what was happening in Kevin's life. Not only could those who lived through the 60's and 70's relate to the historical events, but almost anyone who was a teenager can relate to Kevin's personal adventures. . Most of us ..... experience all these other pivotal stages on our trip through puberty and adolescence into adulthood. These times really are wonder years, the time when we learn how the world and it's people work. "

Mayur says it even more lucidly here

"So many years after the show ended when I saw Kevin Arnold's pic in one of my friends computer screen NOSTALGIA did HURT. I mean it brought back memories of the yesteryears. It was very easy to relate to everything that Kevin was going through although I was from another world in India. His love interest the cute Winnie Cooper made it all the more interesting. Loved his best friend, though he did look like a nerd. I specially remembered a scene when Kevin kissed Winnie in the beach. Saying this might sound like saying a lot but it is just the truth. Sometimes the show seemed to me more important the books that I studied in school. A tutorial. It will always be close to my heart and fondly remembered. I can assume its like this for many of us around the world"

Ofcourse, I also feel that TWY rings the Nostalgia bell so beautifully is the fact that, most of us remember our childhood as a bunch of incidents. But TWY reminds us, that each incident was part of a growing up process. The wonderful voice over by Daniel Stern brings the sentiment to the fore, that each incident made us learn something, feel something, regret something and aloowed us to feel bad, good, sorry or proud of oneself, but all in all those were the years that improved the quality of life itself.

The Perth Story

Two things about yesterdays victory really make me happy.

1. The 16 match winning streak ended by India - The Aussies press's gloat would have been too much. What makes it doubly sweet is the fact that, India has already done it once before. Also in the cricketing sense, I think Steve Waugh's team was much better than the current Aussie team. The opposing teams then also were of a slightly higher standard i feel.

2. I have always marvelled at the Aussies Bench strength - eg Slater retires- Hayden is there..Hussey, Clark, Kasprowicz etc etc..but in this test..Pathan and Sehwag came from the bench for India and Tait and Rogers from Australian bench..and look who did better.

P.S - Also, do check out my friends amusing take on the win yesterday

The Case for Social Security

I think the need for a social security problem in India cannot be overstated. A functioning social security system will ofcourse provide direct benefits to the people most in need of it as of now. But as i have often argued..A functional social security will also fulfill the following criteria

Movement away from Caste Based Largesse distribution to Need Based intervention - The slowing down of the identity politics - This is very indirect, but as the State moves from caste based bounty distribution to need based social security..I don't think the upside of identity based politics will be very high

"Abilty to Pay" becomes a non factor in PPP or Community based initiatives - Right now the 'ability to pay' factor means that much of the PPP initiatives can be argued against. A social security system will lessen the need for govt intervention in implementation and maintenance of facilities in the agri and other social sectors eg Irrigation Projects, Water supply etc.

Halt to mass migration to Urban areas - As the social security kicks in, People from the rural areas will be loath to live in sum urban hutments to get a livewlihood. And surely thats good for everyone. Frankly much of the desperation in the society that goes on with earning your livelihood will be removed, making everyone a lot more civilised.

As i mentioned earlier in the blog also, community participation and PPP initiatives is the most potent way in which we can improve the implementation mechanism for government schemes. The other way is ofcourse through use of Information technology. Technology here i think is just a prop to bring about change. Even just information dissemination will do, but that alone will not be allowed to happen. But all this in a separate post.

Disclaimer : Ofcourse the big assumption here is- How to effect a functional Social Security system and do we have adequate resources for the same. I am afraid we have unsatisfactory answers to both the questions. But the point of this post is, while there is need to point out the apparent lacunae in schemes like NREGS, a potent case for a Social Security system should also be made. Lat our governance system outgrow the subsistence mode.

Need Theory Stage 5

" You know, it’s kinda hard just to get along today
Our subject isn’t cool, but he fakes it anyway
He may not have a clue and he may not have style
But everything he lacks, well, he makes up in denial"

~ Offspring

P.S - Happy new year everyone..

The Mistake

One of the major lacunae in Pkaistani batters is their approach to batting and failure to play with application. India by batting first and pi,ling this large score in the last two tests has sort of made it easier for pakistanis to apply themshelves, one by showing how easy it is to bat and number two by anyway putting a victory out of the equation for Pakistan, so now their batters know that there is no excuse for them to paly a risk shot and get out. So..maybe Kumble should have bowled first..but still gioven the pitches, i dont think it would have mattered. Also, it feels gopod to see India dominating Pakistan

Blog Reading Level

Information Assymetry

The Rama conundrum - Lets talk about the Ill fated 'Agni pariksha Phase of the rama' - (Aside: This moment sort of decided the issue that Krishna will be considered the Omniscient one while Rama's place will be more of a model Ruler, Son etc. Now, Rama asked Sita to take the Agni pariksha because of Information Assymetry. (Rama says that - he believes Sita, but the general public will need verifiable evidence, hence the test). So the basic problem is, as far as i can see is Information assymetry, Just as i mention in the post 'Zero Sum Game', Information assymetry is also one of the underrated factors in decision making. Informatrion Asymmetry gives roise to many issues. Lets take a better example. Suppose you are suddenly face to face with a snake. What will you do - Most prob you ll run away, and more often you will try to kill it, as you simply dont know that the snake is poisonous or not. But you will have no hesitation in wlaking by a stray dog even if it carries rabies. Both are the examples of us acquiring a given set of stereotypes, and in absense of any situation specific information, We use our stereotypes.

What sort of conclusions, you can draw from all this
1. Information asymmetry carries a deadweight loss
2. The first response to many problems should be to see if you can find more about it. Many people seem to discount this conclusion
3. Being in a position of Rama is tough. But i am sure Rama could have handled it better.

The Week Gone By

Some observations

• The banality of Fed winning events is slowly diminishing...good times ahead.
• I don't really like Kumble being the Indian captain, but for Dhoni it would have been a case of too much too soon. And even though Dhoni is a smart guy and he would have realised it would be too much of a responsibility and try to mitigate, it would still be too much too soon. Sometimes just the realisation of a problem is not enough. Its like the 'Hopstead's law' or something.. Completing you work takes longer than expected, even when you take Hopstead's law into account.
• Om Shanti Om was a disappointing movie. And Kareena failed to spoil 'Jab we met'...its a sweet movie.
• Some people just dont own up to their mistakes

And above all

• Spending your birthday alone is no fun

One more -

• The bullet symbol in this template sucks

Zero Sum Game

One of the most underrated of the factors being utilised in decision making is the realisation whether the outcomes are zero sum or n0t. Based on this knowledge, the approach to solving the problem should differ markedly, and failure to recognise this phenomenon makes for improper decision making, and people can be persuaded via wrong analogies.

You want examples, let me give you one. Lets take the example of selection of Indian cricket team.
Only 14 can be selected, so if 1 player on the margin is selected, then 1 player for margin needs to be dropped. (Now suppose both the players are of equal caliber). Thus this makes a zero sum game and the selector has to drop someone. So it doesn't makes sense for the selector to be in good books of every player in the squad. But suppose you are a coach of the same team. Then, if you invest in some players and try to build a team spirit, and that player is dropped to bring another person. This is not a zero sum game and the coach actually loses in this scenario.

So we can see that, for a selector and a coach, the rationale for decision making is not same and both have different incentives. So to come to the point, when Greg Chappell and Kiran More sort of ganged up on Ganguly, it weakened their case that they are a doing it for professional and not personal reasons. So all in all, apart from all the base sentiments coming to Dada's rescue, Dada's supporters were right at some level.

Nascent Creativity

One of my dear friends has started a blog. The first topic is about the movie KHNH, about which we have had many a chats. The movie is good. Shah Rukh Khan seems to like it, my friend seems to like it...many other like it, i kind of liked the movie too. Of course the movie sort of bombed but thats hardly an indicator of the quality of the movie. But some people tend to like the movie very much. You can find such people in numerous orkut communities dedicated to the movie.

Now my point of view is, You like a movie because it was well made, the story surprised you, the music was good etc etc., but what makes you really love a movie, that happens when you really identify yourself with the protagonist or one of the major characters in the movie. For Example, take the case of RHTDM, a big hit in the south of India, but people in the north failed to relate to Madhavan's Character. If you have seen even the clips of South Indian Movies (I have seen only clips), its very evident that the Heroes there sort of revel in being very blunt and sort of irreverent. In the Hindi version however, those things sort off put off the people and ofcourse a good performance by Saif didn't help the movie.

So now, coming back to the actual movie in case, i think one of the reasons many people sort of idolise this movie is because it allows people to revel in mediocrity. Here is a small town boy (Shah Rukh), with bad manners, bad ethics, suffering with inferiority complex, but we are supposed to come out of the movie hall thinking that the heroine should have chosen that boy over a perfectly fine specimen (Deepak Tijori's Character) because he was a very good musician (Remember - Even Tijori'c character is made out to be very much in love with Ana- the then ms krishnamurty). THus, what this movie sort of gave was the vehicle to relate to a similar character not deserving the girl, but should have got her because he wanted her so much..

I dont think so..

Rafael Nadal Redux

At the start of the match between Nadal and Nalbandian , i got this thought that watching nadal play is like watching a formula 1 car which is ahead of a slightly faster car. The car behind it may be faster , but to overtake it needs to be 2 seconds faster. (Aside: - Not to think that Nadal is not very good, just that Nalbandian is in such a form and Nadal is such a fighter and retriever).
But by the end of the day, it was clear that Nalbandian was 4 seconds a lap faster.

Are Economists Happier

Its a good question and has been discussed here and there. I am an interested party here as I fulfill the criteria. Nobody can doubt that I am happy, the bone of contention is whether a 3 years degree in the hallowed Patna University makes me an economist. I don't think it does. But keep in mind, i took some eco courses in C, even then I don't think i fulfill the criteria of being an economist just because of that. However in my mind what clinches the fact that i am an economist is that i know enough economics that i can pass off as an economist to laypersons. So now that we have established that i am happy and an economist, let us attack the question, is studying economics in any part responsible for some of my happy demeanour?? definitely yes..is economics more useful in this regard than lets say 'Psychology'..tentatively yes. I think Economists apply some tools and methods which help them simplify the real world, the same principles sometimes help us economists to make sense out of the real world, plus the principle of price discovery sort of removes much of the dissonance that we have in life. eg somebody is performing poor, straightaway think in terms of overall work compensation and you will be content to know that overall that jerk is going to be paid less precisely cos of the tendency that pissed you off.

Kimi Raikkonen - F1 WDC 2007

The best result on many levels. Lewis surely winning as a rookie would have sort of understated the charm of WDCs, Alonso being upstaged by a rookie for most of the season didn't deserve the title. That leaves Kimi, with the most wins, potentially the fastest of the lot..and none more deserving the title...and i am so happy for that.

On a side note, the most thrilling portion of the race came through the livetiming, where i could see Rosberg and Kubica fighting for 4th and for 2 consecutive laps, the difference was 0.0 secs and i was hoping like hell that those two don't crash and give the title to Hamilton. Must admit, those two are pretty good racers.

Meta on Mundane Things

I was just wondering, Is writing about "Mundane Things" on a blog titled "Mundane things a mundane activity or not. I think not, it shows my grasp, my awareness of things happening around me in many spheres of life. Also such an observation obviates the conclusion about having the posession of an ability to step one step back and observe things.

But maybe not, as the tags say

Compartmentalization

Well as you can guess from the title, procrastination is one of the centre pieces of my blogginess. Well, one of the solutions that keeps coming to my inventive mind is - Compartmentalization. One obvious advantage is..you quantify your work work into ordinal compartments...that gives you very visible targets to work on..plus the incentive to reduce the workload....otherwise generally the case is that there will be an unpleasant feeling about all the stuff that you have to do.

The question is..how to compartmentalize...as per my previous experiments..Notepad is no good...ATNotes suck....Google desktop sidebar is quite effective.

So we have arrived at a problem and a solution and dealt with the Hows and Whys. but i still have to put in one disclaimer..Even compartmentalization is work and if you procrastinate in that..ultimately you wont be any better off.

Repetitive Alliterations

Every once in a while, you finally achieve something which you can be proud of. Something about which you can call your friends and crow about. Something on which you can blog about.

Well!! My friends, today is such an occasion., my bravenet site counter site shows 1000 hits.

There are many persons to thank to, but keeping with tradition, I must thank myself, as i must be the returning visitor atleast 300-400 times thus significantly contributing to this significant momentuous moment.

Thanks to you all too.