Supertiny and Superbig

Is our perception bounded by the scale and lifetime of things we can measure? If the multiverse theory is correct and there is empirical evidence that it is correct, then our universe or any universe is the smallest building block in that collection of universes. According to one theory there are many times more universes than the number of atoms in our observable universe. Now think of us as observers in our universe and the scale and the life time of things we can measure, from galaxy clusters with super massive black holes to fermions and hadrons. We know these exist, because we can measure their scale in some way, either direct or indirect. This is what our universe is composed of or so we think. What lies beyond our power of measurement? Is there a universe which completely lies within the confines of the smallest subatomic particle? A universe with a lifetime so small it destroys itself even before it can be measured? It's more of a question of philosophy in science rather than pure science but then science and philosophy do meet very often. A similar question can be asked on the other end of the size spectrum. Is there a universe so huge and with a lifetime so vast that we can't measure it? Beyond our universe, multiverses where we are relatively small like a fermion? A universe so vast that it has remained practically unchanged in the last 13.8 billion years our universe has been alive? To an observer in that huge universe are we like a tiny universe which would disappear in a millionth of the time it takes to blink his eyelid?

Of this and that

Last one month has been busy but productive, a bag of joy and disappointment but generally good. It started with writing the comprehensive report for which I was already late and in the end only had 3 days to document almost 5 years of my work. Didn't do a particularly good job but at least I’ll have a second chance when I write the dissertation. Then there was the hastily arranged comprehensive exam which went OK  Relieved to say the least. In between all this, worked on the papers, submitted some re submitted and re re submitted. In between all this my phone decided not to cooperate and stopped working. Took it to a repair shop, which charged $44 for opening it and then the incompetent fellows returned it back. So repaired it myself and upgraded it to jelly bean. Hope to be more productive and get more work done this week.

Image: Mauna Kea, Hawaii  http://link2hawaii.groupsite.com

Random Post

I have this strong urge for renaming my blog to .. "Sorry I crushed your Nimbu Mirchi ..." ... fists clenched ...  counting from 100 to 1 .... lets see if the urge goes away.
Update: The urge is still there and I made a quick picture with free internet clip art

Welcome Back Windows

The experiment with Ubuntu seems to be over. Ubuntu desperately bum-kicked Windows on my laptop and sort of installed itself, while also formatting my hard disk and leaving no trace of all my data. I seem to remember it happened when the dinosaurs were still around, but it’s only been about 45 days. As they say, it was fun while it lasted. I taught myself a number of things, including the fact that nearly no half-decent video chatting software works on Linux. Except maybe a pre-Roman-Empire-era version of Skype. Nevertheless (yay I get to use it!) Ubuntu is useful if you actually want to do some work and be productive. But since I am a grad student and spend most part of my year writing beautiful text in Word like software and making beautiful presentations on powerpoint like software, Ubuntu seems as useful to me as the large hadron collider to a caveman. Last week I made a powerpoint presentation on a borrowed PC and accidentally opened the file in Ubuntu (Libre Office) and saved it in the source. Libre Office made sure my beautiful, animation laden presentation was successfully made unreadable and I had to redo it. So that was that, and in spite of Ubuntu not willing to allow Windows back in a gentlemanly manner (which is a whole different story), I installed Windows back.  

The Customary New Year Post

It has been a fantastic beginning to the year. Ubuntu was so desperate to get installed on my laptop that it completely kicked Windows out with all my data. Those people who are reviewing my paper better accept it as it is, since I don't have the figures and the data anymore. Some of my code also got the boot, so I will have to rewrite it. I am still trying to figure out what would be the best way of telling my adviser about this catastrophe. Any idea which does not involve projectiles being hurled vaguely in my direction would be welcome. Ubuntu is definitely handy, I hope I don't miss Windows though. I love the feeling of using free software without any need for piracy.

I wish to write something,.. anything everyday in this new year. That's a sort of a resolution. Apart from that I hope I graduate this year and that one thing I have dreamed of for years comes true.

Image: Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica. http://costaricawaterfalltours.com/jaco-arenal-volcano-tour/

Excuse me! Your shoelaces are undone.

My shoelaces come undone a lot and people get concerned that I would fall down. Strangely I have never fallen down because of my untied shoelaces. So this got me thinking, can shoe laces really cause people to fall down and if so how have I escaped almost every day. I did a 2 minute exercise and had this observation. Since while walking you never lift or put down both of your feet at the same time the only way you can fall is when you step on your undone shoelace. Moreover to fall down you will need to step on the shoelace of your other foot. Now when you plant your foot on the ground your shoelaces naturally tend to get thrown forward because of momentum.  Assuming that the shoelaces are thrown straight up in the direction you are walking and stretch to their maximum length, to make you fall down your other foot will need to land on the shoelaces. This means that your foot should not go beyond the distance that your shoelaces extend to. In other words in order for you to fall down your shoelaces should be bigger than or at least equal to half the size of your footstep. Taking that into account it is impossible for me to fall down since I have long footsteps. People who have smaller footsteps and long shoelaces however still may fall down and small children especially. This is not to say that tall people may never fall down. For example in sports where you run a lot and change direction and size of footsteps suddenly, you are still prone to falling down, because of undone shoelaces. In normal walk or run however there are very less chances of that happening. So next time you buy shoes/ shoelaces make sure they extend less than half the size of your average footstep. ;) Enjoy!

How People Form Opinions and How To Evaluate Them

When people come across a statement on which an opinion can be formed, they instantly form an opinion, mostly based on biases. The bias usually arises from relevant or irrelevant information previously gathered.  Once an opinion has been formed, they then search for support of their opinion. This is not the correct way of forming an opinion but I am yet to find a person who follows the correct procedure of first figuring out the support of all the possible opinions and then choosing the best one.

In spite of, people following the wrong way of forming an opinion a lot can be said about them and their opinions by seeing the kind of evidence they produce as their support.  I usually classify support in the following eight categories listed in the descending order of acceptance.

1.  Peer reviewed journal and conference papers: This is the best form of support anybody can have for their opinion and would have my immediate attention and the most chances of convincing me. A person with such a support would say something like this, “I believe X is correct because all these papers published in journal P, Q and R say it’s correct”.
2. Cumulative expert’s opinion: Sometimes you cannot find peer reviewed papers for your opinions. I in such cases if you can find a number of experts agree on an opinion, I would take that. A person with such a support would say something like this, “I believe Messi is a good football (yes football) player because a number of experts say so”.
3. Single expert: An opinion which is formed on the support of the verdict of a single expert or a very minuscule number of experts will draw attention but will not be sufficient to get me convinced. A person with such a support would say something like this, “I believe global warming is not happening because 2 % of climate scientists say so.”
4. Blogs: A number of people form opinions by reading blogs by other people like them. This can be very misleading since bloggers are often taken as experts while they are not. You need to understand that a bloggers opinion may or may not be backed up by facts and this will result in you having a very hollow opinion. The best you can get out of me by producing such support is a shake of a head. A person with such a support would say something like this, “I believe X is correct because I read it on a blog.”
5. Own Experience: A single person's experience can be a tricky thing and is really difficult to judge. This kind of support would be the one which would get me to do more research of my own on the opinion.A person with such a support would say something like this, “I believe X is correct because I have done X this way and it worked.”
6. Social Networking Sites: People actually do form opinions based on support from stuff posted on the facebooks of the world. Any evidence produced from a social networking site would at best produce ridicule from me. A person with such a support would say something like this, “I believe X is correct because I saw a picture posted on facebook which said so.”
7. Word of Mouth: Even fourth graders of South Park know not to trust word of mouth. This is the second worst form of support anybody can produce. To believe in something that you heard from someone else is almost as ridiculous as it can get. A person with such a support would say something like this, “I believe X is correct because my friend told me so.”
8.  Belief: And this is as ridiculous as it can ever be. A person with such a support would say something like this, “I have firm belief that X is correct” or “I have faith that X is correct.” Such a support is not even worth considering and would immediately convince me what you are saying is not correct and you are trying to protect your incorrect beliefs by shielding it with such statements.