Flower Power !

Taking a stroll by the Viceregal Lodge with Destiny, she goes crazy. The sheer number and variety makes her jump in joy... here are a few.  

Namaste... 

A first... and thanks for that

I began quizzing when I was in class 8^th (thanks Dhruv) and was a regular quizzer till class 11^th. Then the boards and destiny took prominence and I stopped.(Destiny, though, must be thanked for making me realize how unjust I had been in not allowing anyone else in participate in quizzes. So...thank you destiny )

I'm deeply regretful but leaving that apart, one thing that was common to every quiz that I've done till today (today is different (-: ), I've always come a close (not so close on many occasions) second. Never won a quiz till date. Yes, you got that right. None. Always second. Maybe it reflects on my abilities as a quizzer, maybe it doesn't. Never mind that.

Second...at Jack Kilby Science Quiz.

But today it was different. I won a quiz !!! More on that later. But first a small thanks...

I went to the LSR QUIZ today and didn't have a partner. Siting alone in a crowd, I was wondereing how bad I would perform. “Some one needs a partner?”. My hand goes up involuntarily. Then I see him... bald, french beard and a lanky walk. “Hi...I'm Varun” Skipping everything in between, let me get to the point. This guy is amazing. Period. We won the quiz of course. And I believe even Varun would say that my contribution wasn't zero, but then, the credit of winning the thing rests on Varun. Apart from the few tips I got from the seasoned quizzer, I learnt how a quiz is supposed to be played. “I didnt know shit when I was in first year, and then I realized that to get better, you just had to go for these things again and again.” Realizing that I'm in first year and then realizing that I didn't know shit either (I do, but compared to this behemoth, its negligible – this guy can make connects on the fly – he'll write the stuff and then I'd realize – Oh...I know this ). So, its uplifting to know that I have time and that I can (and believe me, I will) make it to this guy's league.

So, here's the thing. We won today ! A lot of money too. Maybe a small thing for him. But a first for me. Thank you Varun. Maybe it was the first and last time that we were a team. But it has changed my outlook. As you rightly said, “Enjoy the thing. Have fun, stupid!” .  

PS : And thank you Varun for helping me with my Valentine's Day budget. :-)

PPS : - I still have your pen...oooh never mind... :-)

Adios Chemistry

It wasn't so bad in my school days, that is up until 11th grade. Maybe thats because it wasn't yet the monster that it became. So, here I am, about to face it for the last time, ever! Chemistry Exam on Monday. Then never. Should I be happy or sad? Happy because the demon is off my shoulders or sad because the nitro boost for my total marks is not going to be there anymore. ( Its strange but i got more in Chemistry than in Physics.) I'm happy, very happy indeed. Marks don't matter as much in college. And the hatred that the subject (I'm going a lil harsh, i know) ignites in me is immense.
I remember a time when I used to be indifferent. Chemistry was just another subject. I don't remember how and when this malice for this branch of "knowledge" crept into me. From detesting attending the classes to full fledged plans to burn down the Chemistry department... its seems bizarre when I look back on it. What amazed me even more was when I found this malice flowing from the brim in my seniors and classmates (at least most of them, there are exceptions, as the chemistry people would put it). Talking of exceptions, the whole "Science" is full of it. You formulate a law and then go around counting exceptions. Don't you get it ? The law is WRONG !
Ok...(Pant...Pant...) I guess that lets it all out, for now at least. :) So... adiós Chemistry. . Nice knowing you. Shall we never meet again. Namaste.

Introductions...

As I start writing more, my posts are increasingly going to refer to people, locations and stuff... so...here's an introduction to my world...

Sundas

Me - Variously referred to as Sandeep, Vishnu, Sandy, Peednas, Sandal and
Sundas.

Destiny

My darling - Referred to as Destiny if not as darling.

Legolas with Shades.. :P

Legolas - A very close friend.


Rondu - My sis.


Mom, dad.

I hope i had this...

My computer - the lab

God's Book

and numerous books (mostly about physics) to be referred to as "God's Book".

To travel along and integrate...

I've been coaxing myself to sit down and write for a long time. It seems the habit that I once possessed... to read and to write stuff apart from what I was supposed to, has left me. This, here, is an attempt. An attempt to catch and integrate all that back into my life. :)
Now the important question... what do i write? ......O.K. Here goes...

Meissner  Effect

Ever since I learnt Physics, about the world in a more holistic and arrive-at-results kind of way rather than here-are-the-fact-and-here-is-the-reason way, its been a habit to look at things differently. Now I look at a car on the road, i don't just see a car. I see vectors- rotating vectors, linear vectors and accelerating vectors (rotating is accelerating, if you think of it). I see friction being overcome to move over an equi-potential surface. Some find it strange and rather sad. Not being able to appreciate the warmth of sunlight, the cool breeze, etc. as my darling puts it. But I do feel the warmth and the cold, only that i know its because of infrared rays or just pressure difference in the air. Science provides an outlook that only adds, never subtracts. And that is where actual knowledge comes in.

To know E=mc2 and to KNOW E=mc2 makes a lot of difference. To wade through a lot of the airways of mathematics (more on that later) and to arrive at this beautifully deceptive and elegant solution is something. While I knew what it meant, I never understood its implications. Thats where KNOWING comes in. To take a more simpler case.. I knew that a book moves when i apply force according to F=ma. But to know that i can find out displacement, velocity, et all just by measuring a few quantities was a huge step. In secondary school, I never bothered to know how much it moved. I just knew it moved because i made it move. Thats increase in the knowing is what I'm trying to impress on you.

To move from how to how much is dimension that was added to me only a few years back. I still do turn my head away when i know i can find out how much from how but its just the lazy me not wanting to work. I wonder how many more dimensions can be added. I do see one more growing, - what if.

The orbital of electrons around Hydrogen Nuclei calculated as probability distribution by a computer.

 Here's how I've progressed - how-how much- what if . The powers that computers provide allow me to create worlds where gravity points up and planets fly-off from orbits. I'm looking forward to the addition of more dimensions, travelling along integrating.... (just like the work integral.. hmmm... it seems this habit is creeping into my writing as well.. )
Till next time.. Namaste.