THE DIARY OF Z

First things first. There’s a book called The Hologram. And no, this is no artificially-induced simulation of reality, but reality itself. And the upshot? That reality is much more fluid and changable. Which means, we are literally making reality as we go along by probing it and measuring it.

And then, there is the GEO600 German experiment looking for gravitational waves - ripples in space-time thrown off by super-dense astronomical objects such as neutron stars and black holes. While no gravitational waves have been detected so far, it might inadvertently have made the most important discovery in physics for half a century - that we could well be living in a giant cosmic hologram.

This idea is being propounded by physicist Craig Hogan, who is also the director of Fermilab’s Center for Particle Astrophysics. He says the hologram idea is a natural extension of our best understanding of black holes in theory.

New Scientist explain this phenemenon more succintly. The medical journal says the holograms you find on credit cards and banknotes are etched on two-dimensional plastic films. When light bounces off them, it recreates the appearance of a 3D image. In the 1990s physicists Leonard Susskind and Nobel prizewinner Gerard ‘t Hooft suggested that the same principle might apply to the universe as a whole. Our everyday experience might itself be a holographic projection of physical processes that take place on a distant, 2D surface.

My, my. It’s quite an idea, sirjee!

Statistics reveal much about the society we live in. Now there is a study that says married women sleep better than singletons. Though, I am not sure if many women I know agree (haven’t asked yet), I am wondering how such a thing can be generalised across the social spectrum.

But first, here’s what the study says. According to the study’s lead author Wendy Troxel, the assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, being stably married or gaining a partner is associated with better sleep in women than being unmarried or losing a partner. This research paper was presented by him on June 10, 2009 at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

There is more. The study gathered data from 360 middle-aged African American, Caucasian, and Chinese women drawn from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, with a mean age of 51 years. What’s more, he claims these results persisted even after controlling for other known risk factors for sleep like age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and depressive symptoms.

I feel the results could vary from home to home. If a woman leaves the autocratic regime of her parents and enters a liberated household where she is allowed to fly, ofcourse she will sleep well and even live well. On the other hand, if the case is vice versa, she might have more sleepless nights than ever before. So I am not sure if the study makes sense to the larger population.

What say, women?

Everytime, there are experts telling the government to increase outlays to education, reduce fiscal deficit, grant more tax holidays to new age industries like IT, insurance and so on.  I will do none of that. I will just reproduce what Ninad Karpe, CEO  & MD of Aptech Limited has to say about his pre-budget expectations…

“Indian education and training sector has not received the attention it deserves. Hopefully, the Budget will ensure the following 3Ps for education sector: Participation: private players should be allowed to participate and contribute to this sector in a more unfettered manner

Performance: quality provided to the students needs to improve and should be monitored especially in state managed education institutions

Proportion: larger amount of money from the Budget needs to be allocated, as it is really an investment in India’s future

If these simple steps are taken, it will have a Domino effect on the entire education and training industry”.

Is finance minister Pranab Mukherjee reading this?

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I agree with Indian cricket coach Gary Kirsten. He says playing in the IPL cost the Indian team the T20 World Cup. Why? Player fatique and injury.

Easier said. But then, why didn’t he sound an alarm when the IPL schedule was announced? Why weren’t senior cricketers and concerned sports buffs airing their views before the start of IPL?

They just needed a scapegoat and they have chosen the IPL for all their ills. Agreed, you cannot rule out player fatigue and injuries, but then, why can’t we have two teams, one for the IPL and one for the Indian cricket team. This way, things like this can easily be avoided.

It’s about time the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sat and took a collective decision on the issue. I am sure, there are many Tendulkars and Sehwags waiting in the wings. This can be the best chance for them to be hired for India and IPL.

This is new. After news that lightning and turbulance (read bad weather) could have crashed Air France 447 that killed over 200 people in one of the worst aircraft accidents, there are experts who don’t rule out the role of meteors striking the plane.

While the topic has invited many to offer up their opinions on what could have happened, some even cite Flight 800’s explosion and subsequent crash in 1996 to have been caused by a meteor the size of a plane.

But my considered view is that it could well have been extreme turbulence. Why not a meteor, you ask? Because most meteors disintegrate before they penetrate the earth’s atmosphere and those who don’t are too small to cause much impact on a giant aircraft like the 447. At best, they could punch holes on entry and exit, not explode the plane and these airframes can probably sustain that kind of impact in most parts and still fly (remember that Australian flight that lost the entire top of its forward cabin?).

However, one expert tells me that the Airbuses are completely fly-by-wire, no old-fashioned cable or screw backups, and if that goes dark in that heavy turbulence, you are totally out of trim before the backups can come up.

Hmmm.

First things first. Do NOT read this blog post unless you want to give up your job. Yes, Maverick businessman Timothy Ferriss says it with conviction and detailed plans to boot. That’s what you will get if you read his book, The Four-Hour Work Week. From mini retirements to outsourcing your life, it’s all here. Whether you are a wage slave or a Fortune 500 CEO, this book will change the way you look at work. And I have none other than The New York Times to back me up on this.

So what is it about this book that makes me so gung-ho about it?

For one, it tells you to earn a lot more by working a lot less.

That’s not all.

It tells you to enjoy life more and work smart, not hard.

But the biggest incentive comes with the book’s tagline: ‘Escape 9-5. Live anywhere. And join the New Rich.’ Here is where I have some observations to make.

For one, the 9-5 job we have is boring no matter how much passion you put into it. Here is why:

1. Your vision and capability is limited to just that and nothing more.

2. You cannot make the most of your other talents, because your 9-5 job sucks all the marrow out of your life, leaving you with no energy or motivation to do anything more.

3. You become blind to the merits of being your own boss.

4. You become a victim of habit. You wake up the same time. You go to sleep the same hour. You walk the same walk and talk the same talk.

5. Most of all, it robs you of your licence to enjoy life. Every other distraction in life, be it holidays, sports or hobbies, need special sanction from your employer before you embark on them. And even when you manage to take time out, it’s much less frequent.

So how does Ferriss show the way? Simple. Outsource your work and telecommute to work. What are your laptops, Internet connection and cellphones for?

A typical scenario goes something like this. You kick your job and become your own boss. You are a famous writer and start your own media firm. You outsource your work to different people. One person helps you in researching stuff on the Internet for a piece you are to do. Another rewrites stuff you’ve already written, so you can syndicate it to other publications. Yet another person acts as your assistant and looks after everything your job entails: fixing up interviews with celebrities; booking your air tickets, hotel room, and so on.

Showcasing actual case histories, Ferris shows you how people have enhanced their productivity and yet are working a lot less than before. If you still don’t get me, you could buy the book or check his site (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com). It’s worth all the time you spend out there. It will CHANGE your life. Best of luck!

Entertainment ke liye kuch bhi karega. That’s the reality show on Sony TV and not my clever one-liner. People from across India, from the rural hinterland to the more urbane metros come here to showcase their talent. The rider? You have to entertain the judges in under one minute. If you don’t grab their eyes and ears in the first 60 seconds, you are out. If you do, then you not only win a cash prize of Rs 10,000, but you could go to the final round where you could win Rs 5 lakh.

The judges are a good mix. Singer and music director Annu Malik and choreographer-film director Farah Khan. They not only balance the genders well, but also ensure a good mix. For example, in one of the more recent shows, there were some unique acts that left everyone spellbound. The question was whom to pick for the finals where they could walk away with the grand prize. They were to decide between a Bharatanatyam dancer who moved to modern beats and a magician who demonstrated his magical acts with such polished finesse that all other magic acts you’ve watched before pale in comparison. They were supposed to pick two acts and they had already picked one group of tinytots (aged five years and thereabouts) who enthralled everyone with their unique take on a folk dance (lavanee).

Guess, who they picked? The magician, ofcourse. After all, mix is as important as the performance.

Watch it and you will come away thoroughly entertained. Since I don’t watch TV that much barring news, reality shows like this and Dance India Dance do make you sit up and take notice. Since I am doing other things during prime time, I usually catch up with these programmes either latenights or early mornings and late afternoons. You can, too!

Njoy!

Sania is only 22 and the person she is to marry is only a year older. This pairing has more probability of going wrong than right for the following reasons:

1. The age gap should be atleast three years, and it’s scientifically proven that girls mature faster than guys. For the boy to catch up with the girl, his age gap should be anywhere between three to five years.

2. He is too young to marry. At 23 and still studying his MBA, her beau is yet to find a footing in his family business. Only later can he grow emotionally as well. And that would require some more time. Ideally, 29 would be just right for him.

P.S: Sania has said that she will not marry until he completes his education. I only hope, she changes this to ‘until he proves himself’.