Have you ever wondered what's the probability of anything occurring in this world? I'm sure most of you might have dabbled with some probability concepts at some point during your formal learning years. Depending on what kind of a person you are, you might have either been a genius at it and totally relished it; or you might have been like me - you might have been insanely incompetent at it and absolutely loathed it.
It's not that I didn't put in any effort to make some sense out of probability concepts - I rolled a lot of six sided fair (and unfair) dice at least a few thousand times; I tried picking out different cards from a very cheap looking deck of cards; I tried waiting at a bus stop to "sample the space" that the bus arrived in; I even managed to board the same bus to visit a shop on the other end of the city that sold objects of different colours and shapes - I bought these and put them in a big box and tried to pick one out randomly. However, in spite of doing all this, I just couldn't fathom this seemingly ridiculous concept.
And then it happened! I had it nailed to a T. The utter obviousness of this entire affair was just mind blowing. The probability of anything in this world is 1 by 2, or 50%! Just think about it for a moment - the probability that anything will happen is exactly 1/2 - either it will happen or it won't. I can back this claim with more examples as illustrated below -
- Hey what's the probability that the card I pick is an ace of spades - 50%, either you will pick it or you won't.
- Hey what's the probability that the cafeteria food won't suck today - 50%, either it will suck or it won't.
- Hey what's the probability that the hot chick sitting on the 2nd floor in office is from Poland - 50%, either she is from Poland or she isn't.
- Hey what's the probability that Neal 'n' Nikki (the film) will get a cult status - I would treat this as an exception to the rule - I think we all know the probability of this one!
I could go on with many more examples here but hopefully you get the point. On realising this obvious truth, I have started to feel a lot more comfortable about throwing in probability concepts in my everyday talk and I strongly encourage you to do the same. I use lines like "Yeah boss, there's a good probability that I'll have that presentation ready by tomorrow EoB" a lot more frequently in my emails. So far, no one's complained.
Now before I sign off, can some one tell me what's the probability that the actual probability theory will be changed to adapt to my concept?
It's January again and here's wishing everyone a very happy 2010. 2009 seems to have zoomed by within no time. With this in mind, I thought it would be interesting if I could list down some of the better films that I caught in 2009. Note that these are entirely based on my liking and they aren't listed in any particular order. Also, since I haven't seen all of the films released in 2009 yet, I might add some more to this list as and when I see them. So here they are: my favourite films of 2009 -
- Inglourious Basterds - Tarantino at his best yet again! I find it odd that I am one of the very few people who actually find this movie better than Pulp Fiction. Probably because I watched IB on the big screen while I watched Pulp Fiction on my (not-so-big) LCD screen. Nevertheless, this movie reminds us that fact & fiction can be mixed together to create some awesome entertainment. Director - Quentin Tarantino. Highlight - Christoph Waltz as SS Colnel Hans Landa; Brad Pitt's amazing accent & expressions. IMDb Rating - 8.5/10 (as of this posting)
- Star Trek - I haven't been a Trekkie all along; I just vaguely remember watching the original series on DD. However, I was blown away by this installment of the 'oh-so-many' Star Trek Films. I suspect a major part of this film's success is thanks to the reasonably young and not so famous ensemble cast who perform brilliantly. Director - JJ Abrams. Highlight - Zachary Quinto as Dr. Spock; visual effects. IMDb Rating - 8.2/10 (as of this posting).
- 500 Days Of Summer - If you ever want to see a rom-com without most of the cliches that one normally finds in such films, 500 Days Of Summer is highly recommended. This movie comes uncomfortably close to reality. Agreed, there may be a few predictable moments but that is easily excusable. Director - Marc Webb. Highlight - The scene which juxtaposes Tom's imagination & reality when he attends Summer's party - it is simply brilliant! IMDb Rating - 8.1/10 (as of this posting).
- District 9 - No other film involving aliens has been so much thought provoking and packed with intellect than District 9. It would be hard for anyone to ignore the subtle comparisons to many socio-political issues that are present in today's world. Director - Neill Blokamp. Highlight - Documentary style of story telling; the way Wilkus says 'fuuuuk' ;) IMDb Rating- 8.4/10 (as of this writing).
- Avatar - The prerequisite to appreciate this film is to watch it in 3D. Because once you don those cheap 3D glasses, you are literally transported into Pandora with all its wilderness either at your feet or in your face. True, the story is as predictable as any other, but the visuals are simply out of this world! Director - James Cameron. Highlight - The breathtaking visuals rendered using state-of-the-art CGI; the entire movie experience. IMDb Rating - 8.8/10 (as of this writing).
This might just be one of the first meaningful post that I might have made here on Nevermind! If anyone wants to get themselves tested for H1N1 (A) virus commonly referred to as Swine Flu infection, here are the testing details for people in Bangalore -- The test is carried out in private hospitals (e.g. Manipal Hostpital) on an in-patient basis only i.e. not on an out-patient basis.
- For out-patient, the test is carried out in Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Chest Diseases.
- This hospital is situated very close to NIMHANS in the Wilson Garden/Jaynagar area.
- At the hospital, one needs to register himself/herself and get a test card by paying INR 10.
- Then, one is sent to see a doctor - pulse rate and chest/breathing is examined.
- Finally, one is sent for the actual test; one needs to sign the consent form at the lab.
- A throat swab followed by a nasal swab test is carried out next. The results take around two to three days.
Change is supposedly the most certain thing in life. In keeping with this statement, there is a small change that has happened here at Nevermind! From now, Nevermind! shall be accessible at http://blog.sandeepnargund.com. I’ve finally managed to get hold of a domain name for myself and hence the change. Happy reading!
Just how successful do you think you are? Is there any proven way to measure success? In order to try and answer these questions, one would need to feel that he/she is successful in something. And to help you reach there, and at the risk of posting something that some of you might already know, I have finally decided to post the two golden rules of success -
1. Don't tell others everything you know.
2.
That’s precisely the big idea that a person’s resume should convey when he/she applies for a new job. A typical resume would range anywhere between two to four pages, all with details about the person’s qualifications, skills, achievements and so on. However, I recently came across a very brief resume which was sent across to me by my brother after he managed to pick himself up from the floor. That's because he was sure to have been rolling on the floor laughing after going through this masterpiece – he was screening a bunch of resumes and happened to come across this one.
I’ve seen good resumes, I’ve seen mediocre resumes and I’ve seen bad resumes. One common trait amongst all these has been that they usually have been more than one page long. But the resume which I mentioned before is a true masterpiece. I have pasted the contents of the resume below –
Looking for job change in Java & J2EE to work in creative & challenging environment where I can deliver my potential
Yes, that’s it! That’s all that there is in the document. Obviously, this is a winning resume! I would hire the guy without even bothering to interview him. After all, his oh-so-brief resumes tells a lot about him, doesn't it? I mean, one would have to be supremely confident about one's abilities to sum them up in one word and use the rest of the sentence to highlight the area of interest. This resume oozes confidence all around it. Heck, it has even got a total stranger dedicating an entire blog post to it! Talk about power of the written word. I am sure that this would set a new precedent in the job market by which resumes would shrink from numerous pages to single sentences, and who knows, maybe just a word! The day may not be far when I would prepare a new resume for a job posting as below -
Job posting - Looking for candidates with 4+ years of experience in 'Sarcastic Blogging'. Candidate must not be a team player and should refuse to work as part of a global team.
The resume that I would post - Me!
One of the best places to snooze is undoubtedly the grand chair at any men’s hair salon. It has one of those magical qualities which renders any person sitting on it feel extremely sleepy. And I say this with more than 20 years of experience! But this post isn’t about the chair, in fact it is about the interaction between the person sitting on the chair and the person who operates around it – the barber (or hair stylist [HS] if you like) and the common man customer (like me). This is for those of us who don’t go in for designer hair styles but prefer a simple trim. And in such a situation, there is a very finite set of instructions that one can give to the HS. One of the most commonly used (and yet one of the most mysterious) word is ‘medium’. This is used to signify quantity or amount. Either one could have his locks trimmed short or let them be long. Somewhere in between these extremes is ‘medium’. It is an untold understanding between the HS and the customer specifying the exact amount of trimming required without actually specifying the amount (yeah, that does sound weird!).
HS: “Saar, full short madla?” (Sir, shall I make it full short?)
Me: “Short beda, medium irli.” (Not short, let it be medium.)
The alert ones would notice that in the above conversation, nowhere has medium been elucidated upon. It is just that. Perhaps it’s some kind of telepathy which ensures that the HS understands just how much of medium is enough! It is because of this telepathic understanding that one can afford to snooze blissfully on the chair, while the HS goes about doing his job. So the next time you go for a trim, just say ‘medium’ and snooze away!
P.S. Disclaimer – if you snooze and your HS is an exception to the above mentioned rule (and doesn’t know when to stop), please don’t blame me!
