Tuesday, February 24, 2004
I saw "Lord of the Rings: The return of the king" this week. One word... Brilliant. Absolutely stunning visual-effects. So much praise has already been bestowed upon this movie and Peter Jackson, that I don’t need to say anything else. But after watching this movie, I was left wondering why doesn’t someone make a movie of this scale on Mahabharata or Ramayana. Mahabharata and Ramayana (written by Ved-Vyasa and Valmiki in Sanskrit) are considered by many as one of the greatest literary works. Although both of them are a part of the Hindu mythology, but keeping religion aside, both these works are fascinating. They have powerful stories which if told in the right manner, would appeal to everyone irrespective of their religious faith. Both Mahabharata or Ramayana have ample fantasy elements, which would allow the movie-makers to put plenty of special effects and computer wizardry. I bet if Peter Jackson takes on this project, it could even blow away the LOTR trilogy.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Ok... This is just another random thought in my head (I keep generating many!!)
It’s about Mathematics. I have come across this quite often. "Mathematics is a universal language". What does that mean?
Mathematics is a language which transcends all the boundaries one can think of. In other words, an intelligent alien culture located somewhere far-far away will be able to comprehend all our mathematical principles, theorems and equations.
Think about this for a sec…. This alien culture, may be completely different from us, from what we can possibly imagine in our wildest dream. Maybe this alien culture is residing in some parallel universe, where even the laws of physics are different. But even then, the language of mathematics would be the same. Same in the sense that the underlying concepts would still hold. (will they?)
Think about a right-angled triangle. It’s a 2-D shape, where the length of its three sides are related by a simple equation. This relationship will hold no matter where you go. Even if you are in this alien place, where the laws are physics are different, where there are 15 dimensions, where the gravitational force does not follow the Newtonian equation, where time is not linear but varies in sinusoidal fashion, the three sides of a right-angled triangle WILL still be related by the Pythagoras theorem.
Fascinating!!
It’s about Mathematics. I have come across this quite often. "Mathematics is a universal language". What does that mean?
Mathematics is a language which transcends all the boundaries one can think of. In other words, an intelligent alien culture located somewhere far-far away will be able to comprehend all our mathematical principles, theorems and equations.
Think about this for a sec…. This alien culture, may be completely different from us, from what we can possibly imagine in our wildest dream. Maybe this alien culture is residing in some parallel universe, where even the laws of physics are different. But even then, the language of mathematics would be the same. Same in the sense that the underlying concepts would still hold. (will they?)
Think about a right-angled triangle. It’s a 2-D shape, where the length of its three sides are related by a simple equation. This relationship will hold no matter where you go. Even if you are in this alien place, where the laws are physics are different, where there are 15 dimensions, where the gravitational force does not follow the Newtonian equation, where time is not linear but varies in sinusoidal fashion, the three sides of a right-angled triangle WILL still be related by the Pythagoras theorem.
Fascinating!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Down here in the south, you get to meet lot of religious people, who seem to think that they know everything. Almost everyone of them, that I have met try to prove the existence of God, or teachings of bible in the most ridiculous way possible.
Usually the conversation goes like this:
Zealot: Hi
Me: Wassp
Zealot: Where are your from?
Me: Where are u from?
Zealot: Uh.. I am from here.
Me: Yeah me too.
Zealot: OK
Me: Cool
Zealot: So what is your religious faith?
Me: None..
Zealot (Surprised and Happy): Well, I can help you
Me: I never asked your help.
Zealot: See, this is bible
Me: So?
Zealot: Read it and you will find answers to your questions.
Me: Really? Have your read it
Zealot (Proudly): Yes
Me: So tell me, if your God is so powerful, omnipotent, omnipresent, why the fuck does he care whether I worhsip him or not? Why does he (and people like u) get threatened by people like me?
Zealot: Because he loves you.
Me: If he loves me, then he is only human. Love is a pathetic human emotion. In order to be a God, one has to do better than that. How can he be God if he loves, hates and gets anxious and angry over trivial things?
Zealot: In order to make you realize that you are not alone
Me: Who told you all this?
Zealot: Its written here in Bible
Me: So what?
Its like, if I want to prove that A=B
- I start with a Hypothesis and say lets assume A=B
- From A=B, I derive B=C
- From B=C, I derive C=D
- and from C=D, I prove that A=B
This is how zealots try proving everything, by reverting back to bible. Its wriiten in Bible. So what? Its just a book.
No its not. Its a holy Book
Oh really?
Yeah.
Who told you that?
Its written in Bible !!!!!!!
Usually the conversation goes like this:
Zealot: Hi
Me: Wassp
Zealot: Where are your from?
Me: Where are u from?
Zealot: Uh.. I am from here.
Me: Yeah me too.
Zealot: OK
Me: Cool
Zealot: So what is your religious faith?
Me: None..
Zealot (Surprised and Happy): Well, I can help you
Me: I never asked your help.
Zealot: See, this is bible
Me: So?
Zealot: Read it and you will find answers to your questions.
Me: Really? Have your read it
Zealot (Proudly): Yes
Me: So tell me, if your God is so powerful, omnipotent, omnipresent, why the fuck does he care whether I worhsip him or not? Why does he (and people like u) get threatened by people like me?
Zealot: Because he loves you.
Me: If he loves me, then he is only human. Love is a pathetic human emotion. In order to be a God, one has to do better than that. How can he be God if he loves, hates and gets anxious and angry over trivial things?
Zealot: In order to make you realize that you are not alone
Me: Who told you all this?
Zealot: Its written here in Bible
Me: So what?
Its like, if I want to prove that A=B
- I start with a Hypothesis and say lets assume A=B
- From A=B, I derive B=C
- From B=C, I derive C=D
- and from C=D, I prove that A=B
This is how zealots try proving everything, by reverting back to bible. Its wriiten in Bible. So what? Its just a book.
No its not. Its a holy Book
Oh really?
Yeah.
Who told you that?
Its written in Bible !!!!!!!
