It's a small world after all...

This is the third post in the series about a "Being" theory of reality. For earlier posts in this series, click on the label " Theory of Being " in the sidebar. Thus far, we have seen how reality can be divided into (at least) two realms -- the energy realm and the information realm. Energy realm is what constitutes physical reality, for which we have different interfaces in the form of sense organs. The information realm consists of concepts , the reality of which are perceived through the mind -- or cognition . In that sense, I view cognition as our "sixth sense" or our ability for "Extra-sensory perception" -- it perceives objects that our sense organs may not be able to perceive. Based on the above, let me try and formulate a theory of reality combining the two realms. Existence  To begin with, I would like to assert that: Existence is formed by the interaction between energy and information .  An object is said to "exist...

This is the second post in the series where I'm trying to develop a theory of reality based on a concept of "Being". Click on the label "Theory of Being" on the right, to see all other posts in this series. In the previous post, we had seen about uncertainties that lie at the heart of quantum mechanics, which gives it several possible interpretations. We had also seen a specific interpretation from David Bohm about a "non-local" hidden variable as a means of explaining quantum entanglement. The "standard" interpretation of the quantum wave function that is widely adopted, is called the Copenhagen Interpretation . This states that the quantum wave function does not represent the objective state of reality, but rather, represents the observer's knowledge about the objective state of reality. When we do a measurement, it is not objective reality that collapses, but the uncertainty in the observer's knowledge. This interpretation i...

Our current day understanding of physics leaves several knowledge gaps. In my previous posts, I have argued that ancient Indian thought based on the concept of  धर्म or dharma (sustainability) and भव or bhava (Being) can help address some of the open questions in physics. This post is the first in a series, that tries to make this case a little more coherently. In this post, I'll be addressing some open questions in physics and how some theories to explain these phenomena, have touched upon the notion of "Being". Before I begin this series, some notes about the vantage point is necessary. There are some scholars who say that interpreting dharmic thought through the lens of Western universalism (making the Western way of thinking as the fundamental framework through which we interpret other frameworks), does a lot of disservice. It only results in "digestion" of dharmic thought into the Western worldview, thus losing its essence, and reducing it to super...

EDIT: Some Related Literature about the interpretation of dharma as sustainability: Dharma, Brahma, Rasa   Dharma as Universal Principle of Equilibrium  Over the last few months, I have been increasingly posting about the concept of dharma and other notions that are found in South Asian thought. Not surprisingly, I've promptly earned the label of a "Hindu Nationalist" (whatever that means) from some section of my reading population. One even went to the extent of hoping that I would "allow" others express themselves, given that I am now a Hindu Nationalist. Not surprisingly, I've often choked on the overload of irony in such situations. Firstly, a brief look at my posts over the years would make it apparent that if there is one thing that I fundamentally value, it is liberty . A liberal society is any collective that designs its norms and laws based on the legitimacy and integrity of the individual. And the reason why I find the concept of dharm...

Life as we know it, is an interplay between two abstract forces: homeostasis and evolution . Homeostasis refers to the tendency of life to preserve itself and its integrity. The term is usually used in the context of the biological being, but in its essence, it refers to a more abstract property of a system to preserve itself, by staying in a region of stability. Even physical systems like atoms and molecules exhibit this property in their tendency to settle down at low energy "stable" configurations. However, regardless of how efficiently homeostasis preserves life, life is finite and is bounded by physical constraints that limit how long a creature can live. Also, a stable region that homeostasis strives to preserve may be "optimal" but not the "optimum". A stable region is one that minimizes the cost of existence and maximizes utility. A region may be stable in its neighbourhood, but there may well be other, even better stable regions, with even l...

One of the current hot topics among researchers of artificial intelligence (AI) is about consciousness . Consciousness has been an object of interest for philosophers from several centuries. It is only in recent times that scientific curiosity into consciousness is gathering momentum. The reason for this new found interest is rapid advances in "autonomous" machines, which can be programmed to act rationally and take decisions "on their own". Rationality is fundamentally driven by two elements: self-interest and utility maximization . All living beings are rational. But there are several nuances as well. Utility maximization is an optimization problem at its core, and depends on how much information the autonomous agent has about the situation, how much it can afford to compute, and so on. And autonomy is not all about rationality. Humans and other animals which are known to behave autonomously, exhibit several other characteristics in addition to being drive...

In management lessons, we are taught about " Maslow's hierarchy " that details the different layers of human endeavours. Human needs are layered in this model into five layers: physiological needs , security needs , social needs , esteem needs and finally self actualization . Self actualization is said to be the highest endeavor where the person is concerned with personal growth and with fulfilling one's potential. Self actualized people are less interested in social acceptance or esteem and are more focused towards unleashing their potential. The theory as a whole is profound and very pertinent. The notion of self actualization as the ultimate endeavour is also a profound thought. However, the nuances lie in what constitutes "self actualization" and it is here, where I have some issues about how it is interpreted. Self actualization is often interpreted in a crude sense as the dominance of one's self over the environment. Such an interpretatio...

Recently, we were visiting Malaysia and in our hotel room, we found this magazine talking about local cultural events. One specific entry caught my eye -- the "Mek Bungo" dance. Here is a portrayal of the dance: The apparently "storyless" dance feature As one might see, the dance is about a girl and a boy who fall in love. And that's it. This apparently "storyless" dance feature was familiar to me at a deep level, and it took me back to my childhood, when we were taught something unique in our homes -- celebrating harmony . We were taught to see systems comprising of multiple, interacting elements, regardless of what abstraction level we were addressing. Be it the human body or societies or the climate or atoms -- they are all systems comprising of multiple interacting elements. Systems are characterized by states of stability or "harmony" where some aspect(s) of the system is (are) optimal. In traditional Indian thought, such sta...

This is yet another post in my informal series contrasting between the East and the West, in their ways of thinking. Within the context of India, this informal series tries to clarify my understanding of the oft-cited chasm between (Westernized) India and (indigenous) Bharat . Before I start, some usual disclaimers: None of my writings are meant to "invalidate" or "illegitimize" either the West or the East. Sure, there will be scholarly and objective criticisms about some world view being applied to solve some problem. But this does not mean that I reject one world view in favour of another.  All these posts are of a scholarly intent (including those where I appear to rant) -- the idea behind these posts is to provoke thought and gain better understanding. These posts do not represent any form of cultural or political activism or agenda.  ~*~*~*~*~*~* As noted in my previous posts, Western thought is largely reductionist in its approach, and is built ...

For a long time now, I have resisted any effort to bring research on topics like language, culture and history into my lab. It is not that I think that these topics are unimportant. But it is because I think that as a society, we do not have the skill to extract ideas from identity for scholarly perusal. Topics like language, culture, history etc. are teeming with issues and controversies regarding social and cultural identities. Identity driven politics is an intense element that we endure daily. A research lab is by definition, a battleground. It is a battleground for ideas , where ideas clash and transform and evolve. But when identities masquerade as ideas, it spells nothing but trouble. A clash of ideas is invigorating, dispassionate and impersonal. We end up energised and enthusiastic after a successful clash of ideas. A clash of identities is disspiriting, passionate and deeply personal. We end up feeling battered and bruised after a clash of identities. Much of the...

In several of my earlier writings and posts on social media, I have talked about how south India is notorious for its high rates of depression (much of which goes unreported due to social stigma). It is comparable to that of Scandinavian countries, which has the highest depression rates in Europe. However, there is an important difference. Depression is primarily driven by physical causes in Scandinavia (specifically, lack of adequate sunlight in winters). In south India, it is primarily due to social causes. For this reason, much of the cases of depression in south India -- severe, as they may be -- are not "clinical" cases. However, perhaps due to a lack of adequate literature, or perhaps due to the fact that "Science" is still predominantly characterized and driven by the West, most "mainstream" therapists treat these cases as clinical and prescribe medicines -- usually hormone supplements or mood stabilizers. But then, the patients would not...