Thursday, December 26, 2019
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Book - Lord of the flies
Just by serendipity I happen to land on the book "Lord of the Flies". This is a classic book by Nobel prize winner William Golding.
While I started this book couple of times but due to one reason or another I was not able to progress beyond first few pages. Then one interesting thing happened. I was watching movie "The Commuter". In movie actor discusses about this book for 2 seconds in the context of a book report. Movie is average action thriller, but this was a sign to get back to book.
I won't try to summarize this book, as it maybe one of the most popular books in world. Top 100 read novels and two movies based on this.
Anyways what touched me is the fact that how attitude of the hunters changed when they painted their face. Paint is the symbol here. I think by attaching ourselves to symbols we loose our senses and try to justify that symbol by all means.
Book also reflects on the absurdity of behaviors and the fact that what will grown ups say when they find them doing these absurdities. It is again a symbolism for any group of people doing something illogical in the name of accepted belief and not wondering what will an intelligent being (maybe God) think of.
While I started this book couple of times but due to one reason or another I was not able to progress beyond first few pages. Then one interesting thing happened. I was watching movie "The Commuter". In movie actor discusses about this book for 2 seconds in the context of a book report. Movie is average action thriller, but this was a sign to get back to book.
I won't try to summarize this book, as it maybe one of the most popular books in world. Top 100 read novels and two movies based on this.
Anyways what touched me is the fact that how attitude of the hunters changed when they painted their face. Paint is the symbol here. I think by attaching ourselves to symbols we loose our senses and try to justify that symbol by all means.
Book also reflects on the absurdity of behaviors and the fact that what will grown ups say when they find them doing these absurdities. It is again a symbolism for any group of people doing something illogical in the name of accepted belief and not wondering what will an intelligent being (maybe God) think of.
Smart watch and not so smart person
Today morning, I went to the supermarket in my housing society to buy few household stuff. After purchasing, I saw that a security guard was there to verify the purchase with receipt. With my receipt in hand I was quickly done.
Behind me was a gentleman who had few items in his bag. On asking for receipt he fumbled in his belongings for several minutes. Apparently has lost it. No big deal. It happens. However what he did next caught my attention. He tried to convince security person that he has a receipt by showing digital copy of it on his smart watch. Poor security guard was transfixed. From his bewildered look, I guessed that he has never used it. He may be wondering why is this fellow trying to show time to him, when being asked for a receipt.
With a smile on my face, I left that place thinking - "You can make devices smart, but what about people?"
Behind me was a gentleman who had few items in his bag. On asking for receipt he fumbled in his belongings for several minutes. Apparently has lost it. No big deal. It happens. However what he did next caught my attention. He tried to convince security person that he has a receipt by showing digital copy of it on his smart watch. Poor security guard was transfixed. From his bewildered look, I guessed that he has never used it. He may be wondering why is this fellow trying to show time to him, when being asked for a receipt.
With a smile on my face, I left that place thinking - "You can make devices smart, but what about people?"
Friday, December 13, 2019
Technological impacts through the lens of Tools and Weapons Book
"Tools and Weapons" deals with modern technologies such as Cloud Computing, Social Media, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the impact of these technologies on society, governance, privacy, etc.
This book is co-authored by Brad Smith who is currently serving as president of Microsoft. One of the remarkable learning is that Brad is by training a lawyer who is leading a very high tech company working on all the tech which has been mentioned in this book.
Book draws on the learnings of Microsoft when working with government agencies to help catch genuine wrongdoers and keep customer's privacy in mind. This is a fine balance to make and there are some fine learnings from that.
The chapter on Rural Broadband is fascinating to me to understand the challenges rural areas face and the potential application of TV signaling technology to connect them with the rest of the world.
The impact of AI to process vast amounts of data to get actionable intelligence is now mainstream news. It is unfashionable to say that someone is not working on AI. However, AI is as good as the person who trained the AI system and built a computational model. It has been proved to be biased. Social media feeds show you only those content that you showed an affinity to. There have been reports of automated resume screeners having a negative bias against females and certain ethnicities. The use of Facial Recognition is becoming mainstream in consumer products (cell phones, PC) and enterprises to provide targetted selling. This has a serious implication on privacy.
In conclusion authors (Brad and Carol) provide their perspective on technologies that are going to impact everyone's life and what are the challenges ahead along with some solutions. Governments, citizens need to be aware of these impacts so that they can safeguard themselves against the misuse of these tools and prevent conversion to a weapon.
This book is co-authored by Brad Smith who is currently serving as president of Microsoft. One of the remarkable learning is that Brad is by training a lawyer who is leading a very high tech company working on all the tech which has been mentioned in this book.
Book draws on the learnings of Microsoft when working with government agencies to help catch genuine wrongdoers and keep customer's privacy in mind. This is a fine balance to make and there are some fine learnings from that.
The chapter on Rural Broadband is fascinating to me to understand the challenges rural areas face and the potential application of TV signaling technology to connect them with the rest of the world.
The impact of AI to process vast amounts of data to get actionable intelligence is now mainstream news. It is unfashionable to say that someone is not working on AI. However, AI is as good as the person who trained the AI system and built a computational model. It has been proved to be biased. Social media feeds show you only those content that you showed an affinity to. There have been reports of automated resume screeners having a negative bias against females and certain ethnicities. The use of Facial Recognition is becoming mainstream in consumer products (cell phones, PC) and enterprises to provide targetted selling. This has a serious implication on privacy.
In conclusion authors (Brad and Carol) provide their perspective on technologies that are going to impact everyone's life and what are the challenges ahead along with some solutions. Governments, citizens need to be aware of these impacts so that they can safeguard themselves against the misuse of these tools and prevent conversion to a weapon.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Enacting a drama
In my village, Durga Puja is a big event. People staying in faraway cities also try to come and be present in this joyous occasion. This year I also got an opportunity to be there.
One evening while there is a group prayer (sandhya arati), I met one of my friends Mr. Lakshmanji. After some pleasantries, he casually asked if I am interested in playing a part in the drama. Let me tell you that the village drama is very prestigious. It typically starts around 10-11 in the evening and can go till up to 4-5 in the morning. It is watched by a large group of people and is broadcasted on loudspeakers. I have seen many dramas in Durga Pujas during my childhood. I have always been mesmerized by the meticulous performance exhibited by drama actors. Some village elders are still being revered for their drama prowess.
So naturally, I was excited and terrified of this opportunity. I have never acted in any drama before this. Either at school or in college. The closest I did was in BHU where there was a 30-minute training session. Nowhere close to what is being done here. After some thought, I decided why not. After all I got one life to try. I was told that drama will be tomorrow. It will be a Maithili (mother tongue of Mithila region) drama. I requested for a small role.
After dinner, I went to the rehearsal place. In one room, there were many people seated together and were discussing what to do and what not to do. Some of them are very senior to me and many of them I didn't know. Anyways they were very kind to me and asked me to review one character. After reading the script I found it to be very lengthy and found my confidence dripping. So I requested some smaller role with not that much lengthy dialogues. Finally, I was given the role of a one-eyed lawyer who is kind of introducing the main character Mr. Nilo Kaka to the audience.
I rehearsed that scene with the person who will be playing the main character. He is a very senior person and many times acted drama veteran. Further, his character was insulting my character in the drama which was unnerving for some weird reason. Initially, it was very hard. I was not loud enough. I was facing in wrong direction and so on. After couple of retakes I found some strength. By then it was a late-night and we parted.
The next day I tried to remember my lines as much as possible. Harassed my family members with my dialogues. In the evening I was messaged on the loudspeaker to meet. In the rush of all this, it didn't come to my mind to find out what will be the costume, etc. I presumed that drama committee will provide it. Obviously, I was wrong. It is volunteer work and I had to arrange a suitable dress. They helped me in finding the eye patch which is very essential for my character.
After a few more rehearsals with my friend Mr. Lakshamji I was as ready, I could be. One of the big learning for me was the importance of backstage support staff. There were few people who were helping artists with makeup. The atmosphere was very jovial. The role of women is also played by men. They were wearing saree and blouse and joking all around. The most important role is of the prompt reader. This person is responsible for reading lines of character in a medium voice so that the microphone doesn't catch it and at the same time, artists are able to hear it. The role is the lifeline of drama.
Anyways my turn came in and I was ushered in. I relaxed and tried to enjoy this moment. To my surprise, I did quite okay and so was told by others later. It was a very rewarding experience for me and I have so many learning lessons.
One evening while there is a group prayer (sandhya arati), I met one of my friends Mr. Lakshmanji. After some pleasantries, he casually asked if I am interested in playing a part in the drama. Let me tell you that the village drama is very prestigious. It typically starts around 10-11 in the evening and can go till up to 4-5 in the morning. It is watched by a large group of people and is broadcasted on loudspeakers. I have seen many dramas in Durga Pujas during my childhood. I have always been mesmerized by the meticulous performance exhibited by drama actors. Some village elders are still being revered for their drama prowess.
So naturally, I was excited and terrified of this opportunity. I have never acted in any drama before this. Either at school or in college. The closest I did was in BHU where there was a 30-minute training session. Nowhere close to what is being done here. After some thought, I decided why not. After all I got one life to try. I was told that drama will be tomorrow. It will be a Maithili (mother tongue of Mithila region) drama. I requested for a small role.
After dinner, I went to the rehearsal place. In one room, there were many people seated together and were discussing what to do and what not to do. Some of them are very senior to me and many of them I didn't know. Anyways they were very kind to me and asked me to review one character. After reading the script I found it to be very lengthy and found my confidence dripping. So I requested some smaller role with not that much lengthy dialogues. Finally, I was given the role of a one-eyed lawyer who is kind of introducing the main character Mr. Nilo Kaka to the audience.
I rehearsed that scene with the person who will be playing the main character. He is a very senior person and many times acted drama veteran. Further, his character was insulting my character in the drama which was unnerving for some weird reason. Initially, it was very hard. I was not loud enough. I was facing in wrong direction and so on. After couple of retakes I found some strength. By then it was a late-night and we parted.
The next day I tried to remember my lines as much as possible. Harassed my family members with my dialogues. In the evening I was messaged on the loudspeaker to meet. In the rush of all this, it didn't come to my mind to find out what will be the costume, etc. I presumed that drama committee will provide it. Obviously, I was wrong. It is volunteer work and I had to arrange a suitable dress. They helped me in finding the eye patch which is very essential for my character.
After a few more rehearsals with my friend Mr. Lakshamji I was as ready, I could be. One of the big learning for me was the importance of backstage support staff. There were few people who were helping artists with makeup. The atmosphere was very jovial. The role of women is also played by men. They were wearing saree and blouse and joking all around. The most important role is of the prompt reader. This person is responsible for reading lines of character in a medium voice so that the microphone doesn't catch it and at the same time, artists are able to hear it. The role is the lifeline of drama.
Anyways my turn came in and I was ushered in. I relaxed and tried to enjoy this moment. To my surprise, I did quite okay and so was told by others later. It was a very rewarding experience for me and I have so many learning lessons.
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