The Quest for The Theory of Everything

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Bandhumitra

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As a casual student of science (I am just an engineer), I have always been interested in how we have managed to progress to the current state of scientific prowess. I always wanted to know what inspired these great scientists in their pursuit of eternal truth. The best thing of course was that scientific theories are based on mathematics which means they can be verified by anyone and everyone, and they are completely un-biased. I would like to share with you some of the current work being done by the brightest minds in science and their possible philosophical outcomes.

More than 100 years after Copernicus proved to the western world that Earth revolves around the Sun, a small incident occurred in the life of Isaac Newton. Of course I am referring to the now legendary apple story. The most impressive and inspirational leap of mind Newton experienced on that day was a small hunch: that the invisible force which is causing the apple to collapse on to earth is also the reason why the earth orbits the sun and the moon orbits the earth. Of course in order to prove this theory, he had to advance the mathematical knowledge of his generation by introducing the concepts of calculus. Calculus from then on has contributed immensely to the advancement of human civilization.

But more importantly what Newton had done was start a scientific chain reaction to understand the laws of the universe, to understand the reason of our existence. The next most important contribution came from the world most famous physicist of all time: Albert Einstein. He solved the next puzzle. He proposed the Theory of Relativity which included “time” in the equation to understand the universe and corrected the theory of gravity proposed by Newton. The magic behind electrical and magnetic forces was already beautifully fused into a set of common mathematical equations by Maxwell. It was then that Einstein, like Newton, had a hunch.

His gut feeling was that God, the creator, has created the most elegant universe and that all the different types of forces, like gravitational force, electromagnetic force, nuclear forces, etc, can be ultimately represented in a simple set of mathematical equations (much like his mass-energy equation E=mc2). It can be understood as our own philosophy of Advaita with uniqueness/qualifications. All the different forces acting in this world stem from the same cause but behave differently based on the different conditions. This yet to be discovered theory is called “Theory of everything”. This theory of everything is crucial as it alone can possibly explain why we all exist the way we are.

But his quest was seriously undermined by the postulates of Neils Bohr. Neils Bohr’s work was directed towards how matter interacts at atomic level. While Einstein’s equations failed miserably when applied to electrons, protons and neutrons, Neils Bohr theory was extremely bizarre as it included the mathematical concepts of probability to explain the chaotic behaviors of sub-atomic particles.

The world, according to Neils Bohr’s Quantum mechanics, is a game of chance! “Uncertainty” rules which mean existence of any particle cannot be proved with any certainty anymore! Nothing is real anymore! Ah! Wasn’t this already realized by our ancestors that Ishvara rules the world with Maya?

Failure of Einstein’s efforts did not dampen the quest to find the Theory of Everything. A combined effort from many eminent scientists has led to the proposal of theories like the Quark Model and the String theory which takes into account 11 dimensions (we are aware of only 4 dimensions now: Length, Width, Height and Time) and multiple universes [1]. The Large Hadron Collider has specifically been built to explore the sub-atomic particles so as to test the validity of these theories.

And just after it was commissioned in 2010, the Collider is spitting out results faster than it can be absorbed by us. Just recently the particle which is responsible for mass of all matter called, the Higgs Boson (nicknamed as the God particle), has been detected. Anti-matter, a weird concept introduced by Paul Durac, was successfully isolated for a significant amount of time. There are lots of other hypothetical particles yet to be discovered. But the most fundamental assumption that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light has been experimentally proved to be incorrect!

Just when everyone thought that we are heading in the right direction in understanding our universe, God playfully shook the very foundation of modern science. These are exciting time in the world of science as scientists probably have to start from scratch!

By concealing the Theory of Everything, maybe God does not want us all to understand the universe at the same time! Isn’t moksha (which is what the Theory of Everything would sort of help us attain) supposed to be a personal endeavor that has to be undertaken by each person based on his own capabilities? Who knows?

Who really knows? As the famous Nasadiya Sukta (the creation hymn in Rig Veda) concludes:

ko addha veda ka iha pravochat | kut ajata kut iyam visrushtih |

arvagdeva asya visarjanaya | atha ko veda yata ababhuva || 6 ||

But, after all, who knows, and who can say

Whence it all came, and how creation happened?

The gods themselves are later than creation,

So who knows truly whence it has arisen?

iyam visrushtiryata ababhuva | yadi va dadhe yadi va na |

yo asyadhyakshah parame vyomann | so amga veda yadi va na veda || 7 ||

Whence all creation had its origin,

He, whether he fashioned it or whether he did not,

He, who surveys it all from highest heaven,

He knows - or maybe even he does not know.

[1] There are multiple reference to the existence of multiple universes in our Puranas. Such as this one:

dyupataya eva te na yayur antam anantatayA

tvam api yadantarANDanichayA nanu sAvaraNAH ||

kha iva rajAMsi vAnti vayasA saha yach chhrutayas

tvayi hi phalanty atannirasanena bhavannidhanAH || bhA 10.87.41 ||

Because You are unlimited, neither the lords of heaven nor even You

Yourself can ever reach the end of Your glories. The countless

universes, each enveloped in its shell, are compelled by the wheel of

time to wander within You, like particles of dust blowing about in

the sky. The shrutis, following their method of eliminating

everything separate from the Supreme, become successful by revealing

You as their final conclusion. (bhAgavata purANa 10.87.41)

WIKIPEDIA

The Melting Stalagmite

Back in the days when Orkut was still young and I was still uncivilized, my alter egos aka Fake profiles used to troll 'casually' in many controversial communities. In one such community, I had a long debate with a paki on the Indo-Pak soap opera, Kashmir. I lost the debate hands down because of lack of information. He seemed to have more credible information about the "realities" of the situation. The only defense mechanism I had then was to cry out "bogus" "bogus". As the debate ran into days, I started realizing the great blanket that had been covered over our eyes by the Indian Government and surprisingly the private media.

There is undoubtedly a strong separatist movement in Kashmir. What the Indian Government had been doing for years and years was to hold dummy elections in the state. The army was constantly put in a position where the thin line between peace keeper and human rights violation blurred. India till now has put in 60 years of effort to set things “right” and till now nothing substantial has emerged out of this. But is it worth it?

It always was for me. As a small child, all that mattered to me was the picture in which the map of India was layered beautifully with the drawing of Mother India riding a lion. Kashmir was where Bharath Mata’s head was place. Giving Kashmir away was like cutting the head of our dear Mother India.

As I grew up, I realized that my thinking was symbolically correct. Without Kashmir, India’s head would literally be cut. Kashmir is the final frontier for the very concept called India. It’s a place where we could prove that India is a nation built not just because of religious, regional or racial feelings. It is a place where we could finally disprove the narrow 2 Nation theory. It is a place which would justify the existence of almost 20% of Indians in India: the Muslims.

Now the Azadi movement of Kashmir has picked up pace. Ironically it was the BJP/RSS who contributed negatively. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee government who lifted the ban on Hurriyat conference. And now it is the Kashmir blockade by Hindus in Jammu that has poured fuel on the issue now. It has given a moral high ground for the separatists and has given them a reason good enough to go all out on this issue.

This was never supposed to happen. As cruel as it sound, in reality, as long as there was terrorism in Kashmir, the situation was pro-India. Neither were they ever going to embrace the non violence method propounded by the mahatma. But now with ISI concentrating more on Afghanistan than on Kashmir, the azadi movement has turned a new leaf. Mass protests are the order of the day. The State Governments apathy to control the situation indicates the strong support the movement has from the people of Kashmir.

There is only one solution now for us. Buy some time somehow. Break Pakistan before Kashmir breaks India into a million pieces. And with the US troops fighting Taliban IN Pakistan, the Baluchistan movement gaining momentum and with the Congress in power without the Left support, this certainly is possible.

Dasavatharam Review

Given the name Dasavatharam and that Kamal Hassan is playing 10 different roles, what would a sane movie lover expect? A mythological cum philosophical wormhole? A tale of 10 characters conveying a strong message? I thought of lots of possibilities but I must admit that I did not expect a mindless 'action cum thriller'. The first reason why I didn't like this magnum opus of Kamal Hassan is just because of the movie name. How can you name a film Dasavataram just because your lead role is playing 10 characters? Its like George Lucas naming Star Wars as CGI because of all the graphics used in the film !! There is nothing even close to something being an "avataram" in this film. The 10 characters played by Kamal are 10 different people all together. Those roles could have been played by 10 different people and the story would have been the same.

The second reason why I didn't like the film is because of the crappy story. The director did try to convey a message in this film but he made a 3 hour film to do that. The same can be done by filming this incident:
The canteen at the theater I went to accepts only cash. I wanted to eat samosa chat which costs $5. I have only $4 with me. So I turn back to see my friend Vijay in the line behind me. He wanted to eat a Chicken Roll which costs $4 and ... well ... he had a fiver with him. Now the Almighty God placed him behind me for a specific reason. All's fine in the end because I get to eat my samosa chat. :p

The director wanted to remind us that everything that happens happens for a specific reason. Sometimes we are able to understand it and sometimes not.

It starts off with a narrator who then absolutely fizzes out of the story. The point which annoyed me was if your story revolves around a real life incident like the Tsunami then why do you have have fictional events like George Bush coming to Chennai and giving a speech like a film star? What is the point of showing the date below in every scene when you end it with a totally fictional event which never ever happened? And when was the last time Presidents and Prime Ministers ever held a public meeting in a cricket stadium to "explain" anything? And how come Karunanidhi is on the dias as the Chief Minister in 2004?

The story is about 10 different people not related by any means. They happen to be at a particular place at a particular time effecting the journey of a biological weapon which comes to Chidambharam in India from US after a series of unfortunate incidents [sic]. Now because this film is shot like a fast paced action film it tests your nerve because it keeps digressing into the lives of the different different characters. As an audience I would be least interested in the characters personal lives when a bio weapon of mass destruction is living dangerously. So when the dalit Kamal is talking some serious stuff, I was thinking about the samosa chat that I had just eaten. I wanted to sleep through the Japanese flashback. The only offshoot I enjoyed watching was this beautiful shot song " mukundha mukundha".

I was completely at loss to justify the death of the dalit Kamal. I cringed whenever Sardarji Kamal came on the screen. I still can't believe that the bullet went through his throat removing the cancer but not damaging his vocal chord. Mithun da doing this scene in a B Grade flick in the 80' s itself was pathetic. But of all the people Kamal Hassan doing it in 2008 is really ___ ( I searched the web to see if any word can describe my feeling, but I failed ). I would have loved it if the sardarji died instead of the dalit one. The Sardarji deserved to die for singing a Himesh Reshamiya pop song while doing Bhangara steps on the stage.

Fletcher was one son of a gun whom you wished never existed. The story writer just put him in some places at his own will just to irritate us. His most unwanted appearance was during the last fight when he suddenly out of nowhere jumps from a boat to the scientist Kamal. And I thought Indian cinema stopped doing this kind of screenplay for good !!

The third reason why I didn't like this film is because of the technical ascepts. It was actually quite difficult. Nothing like this has been done before by Indian cinema. In some of the scenes 3-4 Kamal Hassans was there in the same frame. Now when you are shooting such a scene either you pump in money and get it done by experts or you make it simple. Instead you have the camera swrilling round and round in all the scenes and what we end up seeing on the screen looks pathetic. The graphics was a huge let down in the 12th century story. Scenes that could have been shot for real were replaced by poor graphics. Editing was really sloppy. In order to make it a fast paced action, they over did the editing part and the whole film looked amateurish because of that.

As usual, the comedy part saved the movie. The CBI officer had everyone in splits whenever he said something. But unfortunately some of Asin's jokes were straight from the PJ community in Orkut.

Now seriuosly, it was a really difficult film to make. No doubt about that. The director did a decent job even though he was hugely let down because of the story, screenplay and graphics. It must have been a nightmare for him to plan the shooting of the whole film. Kamal Hassan does deserve a pat on his back for continuing what he is best known for: experimenting. His body language for each of the characters were different. Though since I saw the telugu version, all I could hear was SP Balu's voice but still it was really impressive. Apart from that the film is a huge dissapointment.

Youtube India

Its no secret that a large portion of my time is dedicated to Youtube. The first video I saw in Youtube was a thrilling fight scene of our beloved Balayya babu (someone posted that link in the famous "I hate Balayya" community way back in Jan 2006 (??) ). From there on both Youtube and I have come a long way. Finally because of Maitri, I could finally post my own video in Youtube (yaay !!) Right now my profile says I have seen 2,572 videos which is very misleading to say the least.

No wonder then that I got a shocking surprise as I heard the news that youtube now has started an Indian edition. Now what does that exactly mean ? It means that viewers who access this site in India will now have a different page all together. The featured videos will be different. The video section which has different sections like "most viewed" "most recent" "most popular" will be different. And most importantly the channels will be different. The first thing I did when I visited the Indian "domain" was the directors channels in Youtube India. I was obviously disappointed to see no one is having fun with the cam in their free time. Undoubtedly I can see a big change in the type of channels within the ... hmmm ... ok ... let me not guess.

Then I quickly checked the most viewed videos. No surprises what so ever.#%^$&!. I am surely not expecting a change in this for god knows how many years.

Then I went to the featured videos. A strange feeling swept over me and I was suddenly wondering how they choose those videos. What I then see is a grumpy looking old man with a vlog. Too many puzzling questions came to my mind. How many would see it? How many would appreciate it ? How many would care to type a text response to it? How many would be negative? (and how negative?) This old man then claims this: "I am a virtual brand Ambassador for You Tube India. My services were actively used in organizing launch function. I do not require appointment letters or money." (woooooooooooow :p ... ok ok ... he has already posted 534 videos ... so he has the right to say that :p)

Surprisingly he goes on to sing in Hindi. Hmm ... Would Youtube feature a video where someone sings in a regional language? How would the comments for that video be? Suddenly I realized having a Youtube India is not such a thrilling thing after all. Suddenly I was reminded of the logic that no set formula can ever apply to India.

The next day iself (ie today) I get my answer. "If you go to Bangalore...Veena Player" has more than 10,000 views. (cant say how many views were recorded today). But it has only 12 ratings. And 18 comments and already the boring debate of "talk in Hindi" "national language" in full flow only because the poor guy opened his mouth to talk in his mother tongue. Orkut is full of that shit. Now its the turn of Youtube (as if it isn't already)

The joy that Youtube India exists suddenly has been completely crumpled by the fear of failure. I dont want Youtube India to fail. Again ... only TIME will tell :(