Dr. Venkatesh B. Iyer
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Saturday, June 27, 2020
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Mindsets - Perceptions
mindsets outline our perceptions
mindset = established sets of attitudes held by someone
American Psychologist Carol Dweck in her book Mindset
illustrates how accomplishment in school, work, sports, arts, and almost every
area of human endeavour can be intensely influenced by how we contemplate our
own talents and abilities.
mindset is an assemblage of thoughts and beliefs that
shape my habits. My habits affect how I think, what I feel, and what I do since
they are related to mindset, it helps me to understand attitude and beliefs.
She goes on to add there exists two types of mindsets –
a) growth mindset, b) fixed mindsets that shape our lives
The fixed mindset is entrenched in the credence that an
individual’s personal qualities are engraved in stone, at birth, we are granted
a certain amount of intellect, morals, talent, etc. and that there is nothing
we can do to grow it more.
The growth mindset “is imprinted on the belief that our
rudimentary qualities are things that we foster through our hard work, our
strategies, and the resulting benefit from others. Even though individuals may
differ in their initial talents and abilities, interests or personalities —
everyone can change and grow through application and understanding.”
To narrate an example a man was passing some herd of
elephants, confused he paused and observed the fact that these huge creatures
were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no
cages. It was apparent that the elephants can, any time, break away from their
shackles but for some purpose, they did not.
His eyes fell
on a trainer nearby and inquired why these animals just stood there and made no
attempt to get away. The trainer responded, “when they were smaller and much
lesser in size, we used the same sized rope to leash them, at that age it was
adequate to hold them, but as they were bred, they are conditioned to believe
that they cannot break away. They believe the rope can keep them immobile, so
they at no time try to break free.”
The man astounded thought these animals can time break
free from their bonds anytime but because they believed they couldn’t, they
were stuck right where they were.
Each one of us can relate to this fable and the sense of
having botched at something over all our developmental years.
Alike the elephants, many of us go through life holding
on to a belief that I cannot do something as I have already failed at it. Over
time, I begin to think that I am incapable of doing specific things and start
accepting that as the reality and bound myself to a very narrowed world.
Internally I start contemplating I did try that earlier
but since it didn’t work out for me, there is no point in trying it again and
wasting my energy and time, I want to look good and don’t want to appear as a
fool!’, giving rise to shrinking of my capabilities as I look for an external
cocoon to find solace within.
Can I start looking this as a process of elimination i.e.
when I start looking at failures as stepping stones to success I start
responding positively with a sense of satisfaction that I tried and failed
which makes my next step easier or when I acknowledge that I failed, I only use
it to my advantage and make sure the mistake never happens again
To quote another example is Shamu the Killer Whale albeit
on a positive side. How did they get a killer whale to jump 25 ft’ out of the
water over a rope and dive the headfirst back into the water?
This procedure
is broken in a few steps. The 1st step is to start with the rope below the
surface of the water, just high enough from the bottom for the whale to swim
under it if the whale swims beneath the rope, the trainer overlooks it,
however, each time the whale swims above the rope, the trainer positively
reinforces it and the whale gets to indulge fish.
The whale later starts to think there is an interesting
analogy between the rope and the food.” So, the whale swims over the rope more
often, gradually the trainers keep raising the rope, and lo because of its
conditioning od mind the whale does its viola act.
Remember the legendary Michael Jordan’s testament in
Nike’s commercial on failure "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my
career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I've been trusted to take
the game-winning shot and missed. I've missed over
and over and over again in my life.
So, don’t bound yourself to a small world, stop limiting
yourself to a life that is constrained, break free of your mental restrictions,
and enlarge out into this wonderful empire that we live in.
Monday, June 8, 2020
Practise makes it perfect
Recently Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on took to Twitter to urge people to not wait for the novel coronavirus enforced lockdown to end before honing their skills.
"Once, Lord Indra got upset with Farmers, he announced there will be no rain for 12 years & you won’t be able to produce crops. Farmers begged for clemency from Lord Indra , who then said , Rain will be possible only if Lord Shiva plays his Damru..." began Swamy.
In a series of tweets, the Rajya Sabha MP narrated what happened next. Lord Indra secretly requested Lord Shiva to not agree with the farmers' plea. When they arrived to plead their case, Shiva said that he would play the damru after 12 years. The disappointed farmers decided to wait for 12 years.
"But one Farmer regularly was digging, treating and putting manure in the soil & sowing the seeds even with no crop emerging. Other Farmers were making fun of that Farmer," writes Swamy.
After three years of the same, the other farmers asked him why he was wasting so much time and energy despite knowing that there would be no rain for quite some time.
As Swamy narrates, the farmer said that while he was aware of this, he was "practicing" to ensure that he didn't "forget the process of growing crops and working in the field". He adds that this farmer intended to "produce the crop the moment there is rain".
His comments piqued the interest of Goddess Parvati who told Shiva that there was a possibility that even he could forget how to play the damru.
"The innocent Lord Shiva in his anxiety just tried to play the Damru, to check if he could….and hearing the sound of Damru immediately there was rain and the farmer who was regularly working in the field got his crop emerged immediately while others were disappointed,"
It did not matter whether the lockdown was lifted after two weeks, two months or even two years.
"Don’t wait for rain , that is the lock down to be lifted and then start something… focus on our skills today, upskill yourself so that you are ready to meet the challenges
Tit-for-tat: After Google drops “Remove China Apps”, Beijing may face more Indian trouble
https://www.revoi.in/tit-for-tat-after-google-drops-remove-china-apps-beijing-may-face-more-indian-trouble/My Article in Revoi - Published on 04 June 2020
China
paranoid at Indian response to the border dispute.
More
Indians retaliate, uninstall Chinese apps
Alternate
ways for uninstallation after Google Play Store drops
China
to face more trouble from Indian whizkids.
Even
after Google Play Store dropping the Remove China Apps, despite a whopping 50
lakh downloads in a couple of weeks, a recalcitrant China, currently flexing
its muscles on India borders, is likely to face the ire of nationalist Indian
information technology professionals.
The
First Response to the Chinese Dragon’s Designs on Indian Territory.
IT
sector sources said more action is in the offing against Chinese IT products
which have
thrived at the cost of their Indian counterparts. “Now is the time
for us to get even with China”, said an IT professional, who is keeping a close
watch on the developments. He, however, refused to divulge more.
The
Remove China Apps, developed by Jaipur-based OneTouch App Labs in mid-May,
became instantly popular garnering 50 lakh downloads before it was suddenly
pulled out from Google Play Store early this week. Professionals suspect
China’s ‘invisible’ pressure on Google in this regard.
But
even after Google Play Store suspending it, the immensely popular app will be
downloadable. On Thursday, for instance, IndiaTV disclosed how to download and
install it on Android in five easy steps: (1) Download the Remove China Apps
APK file; (2) Tap on the downloaded file; (3) If prompted, allow your browser
to install the app from an unknown source; (4) Hit install and (5) Once done,
tap on ‘Open’.
The
app helps the Indians identify ‘Made in China’ apps installed by the users or
third-party websites. Without any login, they could simply identify China-made
apps on Android phones and uninstall in a moment.
If
the rest of the world suspects China for allegedly masterminding the spread of
COVID-19 into a global pandemic, Indians are far angrier with Beijing, their
new villain, for amassing troops along Sino-Indian borders and virtually
threatening to launch a war against India. Even China’s official media, like
CCTV and Global Times, have been relentlessly spewing venom against India in a
psychological war, indicating China’s nefarious plans.
These
twin crises have triggered a nationalist fervor across India and the Remove
China Apps was its first expression in the IT arena.
With
controversies like the ongoing pandemic outbreak with China as a cause, the row
between TikTok and YouTube, the impasse on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in
the Union Territory of Ladakh, have all snowballed into a strong anti-China
sentiment across India.
A
clarion call for the boycott of all Chinese goods was also given by
entrepreneur and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, also known as Phunsukh
Wangdu of the Bollywood blockbuster “3 Idiots” fame. Actor Milind Soman became
the first celebrity to uninstall TikTok, a Chinese short-video making app,
followed by 40 lakh others.
But
it would not be easy to shake off the Chinese yoke. In view of huge Chinese
investments in different Indian sectors over the years, any comprehensive ban
on the use of Chinese products is too multifaceted to comprehend.
For
instance, three Chinese conglomerates Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance have made
‘strategic investments’ in India. The Indian technology start-up sector has
more than $4 billion in Chinese investments, in 18 of the 30 unicorns. These
start-ups include Big Basket, PayTM, Zomato, Snapdeal, Byju’s, Dream11,
Flipkart, Ola, and Swiggy.
TikTok,
created as a short video app by Bytedance, a Beijing-based technology company,
tried to overtake YouTube but gradually lost its sheen.
India
may face a challenge in replacing imported Chinese goods in the electronic
sector. In the Indian smartphone market, Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Vivo, and
Oppo have a 66 percent market share. Similar is the story of all kinds of China’s
cheap and substandard products being dumped into India, the world’s largest
market.
According
to a report by The Gateway House, some Chinese funds route their investments in
India through offices located in other countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, and
Mauritius. For example, Alibaba’s investment in Paytm India was made by Alibaba
Singapore Holdings Pvt. Ltd. and this does not figure as Chinese investment in
Indian government data.
In
their quest to ban Chinese products’ invasion, youths are also trying hands
with ‘Made in India’ apps like “Say Namaste”, an answer to Zoom, and “Mitron”,
the answer to Tiktok, have gained popularity.
However,
Mitron was pulled out by Google Play Store this week for violating spam and
repetitive content policies, or minimum functionality policy. This app was
downloaded more than 50 lakh times as it grew very quickly because of its
perceived Indian origin. It was, however, discovered later that the source code
had been purchased from a neighboring country with a changed name and logo.
Tit4Tat, again: Fresh ‘China twist’ as Twitter does a Google with Amul!
https://www.revoi.in/tit4tat-again-fresh-china-twist-as-twitter-does-a-google-with-amul/
My article in REVOI dtd. 06 june 2020
After
Google, Twitter also falls in China’s line - Removes
Amul weekly ad temporarily - Amul
refuses to withdraw.
On
a day India was actively engaged with China in military-level border talks to
reduce tension in an ongoing standoff in Ladakh, Twitter went hammer-and-tongs
against Amul, the Taste of India, by temporarily pulling off its weekly comment
on current affairs—this time on “Exit the Dragon” theme which apparently
irritated China.
The
Baby and the Dragon!
Recently,
Google Play Store suspended the “Remove China Apps”, which facilitated the
deletion of China-made apps, and also the Tik-Tok replacement Mitro’n app,
without assigning any clear reason. Google was suspected of being under
pressure from China. It is no secret that several multinational companies have
historically toed the Chinese line, even crawled when asked to bend.
Twitter
may have tried to keep China in good humour and ‘Enter the Dragon’ as the
micro-blogging site is not allowed to function there!
On
Friday, Twitter suddenly pulled the plug on Amul by temporarily blocking their
twitter handle, @Amul_Coop, for putting up a routine news-based topical
creative, although now it is back: “Exit the Dragon”, the Amul girl warned
China in the weekly comment from Amul, Made in India.
As
usual, Twitter tried to explain it away: “Caution: This account is temporarily
restricted. You are seeing this warning because there has been some unusual
activity from this account. Do you still want to view it?”
Interestingly,
Twitter is engaged in a war of even with US President Donald Trump as well. In
America, Twitter claims freedom of expression; in China, it toes the Chinese
line!
When
Revoi sought comment, an Amul official refused politely: “We do not want to get
into it. We do topical advertisements with a very clear intention to comment on
what is the mood of the nation. We don’t favor anybody, we don’t spare anyone.
But our ads are humorous. Twitter and Amul are in touch with each other to
understand the technicalities.”
Asked
if Amul would delete the “Exit the Dragon” message, the official rejected: “No,
Amul is not going to change its stand and will stick to it. The only issue was
that Twitter did not inform Amul before taking any action.”
Amul
Butter Topical is recognised as one of the longest-running advertisement
campaign in the world. The Amul social messaging was launched in 1967 from
Mumbai. With increasing popularity of the weekly comments, Amul increased its
frequency to four or five campaigns a week, changing theme each time.
Amul’s
advertising agency D’Cunha Associates began popularising the theme with its
Chairman Sylvester D’Cunha at the helm of affairs along with Usha Katrak and
Eustace Fernandes as illustrators.
Sylvester’s
son Rahul D’Cunha took command in the early 1990s, supported by Manish Jhaveri,
the sole copywriter, and Jayant Rane, the illustrator, for Amul campaigns. The
posters are still hand-painted. And the famous Amul girl, in blue hair and red
polka-dotted frock, has stayed in the campaign. In March 1966, when the first
topical ad was launched, she was seen riding a horse with the pun
“Thoroughbred”, followed by the famous slogan “Utterly Butterly Delicious”
slogan.
The Still Flight
4 monks decided to meditate silently without uttering a word for two weeks. On the 1st night, the candle began to flicker and then goes out.
The 1st monk - "Oh, no! The candle has gone out."
The 2nd monk - "I thought we had an agreement not to speak?"
The 3rd monk an in irritated tone - "Why must you two break the silence?"
The 4th monk smiled with pride and said , "Ha! I'm the only one who didn't speak."
*Reflections*
"Individually each of the 4 the monks spoke for different reason, each of which is a shared stumbling block to inner journey, meditation, distraction, judgement anger and pride.
The 1st monk became anxious by one element of the world - the candle- losing sight of the rest and forgot what was more important.
The 2nd monk was more concerned about rules than the meditation itself. He was quick to criticise / judge others without noticing the he himself is guilty.
The 3rd monk let his own anger at the first two to affect him . The singular eruption of anger ruined his energy.
And the 4th monk was lost in his ego because of pride. He was convinced that he was superior to others, proving his ignorance, had he simply maintained his silence, he would've been successful in his endeavour.
But if he had continued likelihood the other 3 would've possibly continued to argue and not even observed his stillness.
I know many people who are like the 4th monk; their motto: If I'm doing something good and no one is watching (or no one notices), I might as well not be doing it at all. They believed that the reward is not in the determination, but in the acknowledgement.
It is clear from reading the story that none of the 4 monks are spiritually ready to perform the difficult. Unfocused and easily distracted by their surroundings. I see the moral of the story is 'to plan thoroughly and be solidly ready before embarking on an action. Focus your mind repetitively in reaching your purpose, and the objective will be reached, however difficult.
What would you have done if you were the 5th monk?
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