The Week Mind - 23rd to 29th Aug

 

If something is free, then you are the product. I read this maxim in 2013 in the unauthorised biography ofJulian Assange. It was such a powerful statement I kept going back to it. It became a talisman on making any important decision in life. It led me to think what is in it for the other party to gain. Transactions and negotiations became even more interesting. But what I failed to notice is that we are prisoners of our habits.

You must have come such situations. You are having a conversation with a group of people and in order to prove your point of view, you turn to Google (or any other search engine). You take pride in being right and Google is the holy grail of validation. There is always that odd fact that people won’t acknowledge unless Google says so. During dinner conversations with friends, you vaguely remember that the husband of Hillary Clinton could have been the first First Gentleman of the White House, but you tend to forget to pay the Bill. What do you do? You turn to google for help!

As we age, we tend to forget. For example, I don’t exactly remember my best friend Sangeet’s birth date. Is it March 30^th or 31^st? But what I do remember is that Sharon’s friend Janani’s birthday also falls on one of those two dates. So, what I do around the last week of March is to google Janani Iyer and go to her Wikipedia page to know her birth date. The other date is Sangeet’s and I wish him and Janani without fail. So much to remember birthdays!

Imagine how difficult it is remembering facts that do not matter, but you need them in an instant. So, we make the transaction with Google by giving a plethora of data on what device we are using, where we are, what we are searching for (which dictates our personality), our browser history (through cookies) and many more such things. Google makes you happy by giving you what you ask for, for free. In the background, Google profiles you and serves you advertisements across YouTube and other websites. Ever wondered why the flight search that you did on makemytrip appears on your Times of India homepage? Welcome to the world of cookies and Google Display Network. It’s an interconnected world and we are the products.

 

Want to know how Google has profiled you? Please visit this Adsettings Authenticated page

What were the weird things that you saw in your Google profiling? Mine are

1. Cookware & Tableware
2. Dating & Personals
3. Education Status: Bachelor’s Degree
4. Gems & Jewellery
5. Parental Status: Not a parent
6. Rings

Somewhere, even we could try to fool Google!

On this positive note, let’s dive into this week’s mind!

 

A. Political

How China surveils the world,Mara Hvistendahl, MIT Technology Review

When I read 1984 by George Orwell, I always thought USA is where the Big Brother will be based out of. Their first mover advantage into technology made us believe that. May be America still is, without the common man knowing that they are the Big Brother. What a disguise that would be!

But, without any disguise or pretension, China is leading to become the Big Brother and no one dare stop them. This interview with Samantha Hoffman of the Australian Strategy Policy Institute brings to the light we are already a little too deep for comfort in the quagmire of a surveillance state. With profiling to the barest detail, every activity is monitored. Do we have a way out? I think we do. I am exploring for options and will share what else we can do here.

B. Technology

The lesson we’re learning from TikTok? It’s all about our data, Brian X. Chen, The New York Times

This is not just about TikTok. Every free (mostly) app does it and we marketers make a killer statement in our budget presentations saying, Digital is so cheap and effective for a new brand like us. We can pinpointedly target the right consumer and serve the right product just when she is looking for one! Digital advertising is cheap because we as consumers don’t value our data. We give it for free in exchange for search results and entertaining ourselves harmless 15 sec TikTok videos.

How can we undo the harm? I do not think we can undo anything. Whatever is up on the internet is going to be there forever. But Brian has some useful tips to help us out. Although not all of them are fool proof, yet the damaged can be minimised.

C. Marketing

Nothing interesting here!

D. Economics

Phew!

E. Sports

In the world of football, it has all been about the GOAT – Lionel Messi. After reports came out that he will be looking to move out of Barcelona, a lot of clubs are clamouring for his signature on the dotted line. It is going to be an interesting two weeks on how this pans out. In my opinion, Messi has attained God status at Barcelona. Him moving out will scar that image. For all the things that the club has given him, it is time that he gives back by being a part of the rebuild. But Messi can prove a lot of people wrong and choose to be a mortal like the rest of us.

Arsenal won the FA Community Shield Cup beating Liverpool on penalty shootout. Wembley Double for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta has got an interesting project going on.

In the world of cricket, IPL has been dealt with a scare. With a lot of people from CSK testing positive for COVID, will the authorities be able to control and contain the spread? Among players, CSK’s Deepak Chahar and Ruturaj Gaikwad have tested positive. Suresh Raina will not participate in the IPL after he returned home to attend to a family tragedy. Harbhajan Singh will fly in on Sep 1^st and will be quarantined. He will miss a major amount of practice. It doesn’t augur well for CSK for sure. But, if this is the tip of the iceberg, will Dream11 realize its dream of being an IPL sponsor?

F. eCommerce

Nothing interesting here!

G. Behaviour

Why writingis harder than you think, Swanand Kelkar, mint

Swanand takes us through the mind of a writer. He shares his experience of how difficult it is put words together and make a meaning out of it. There are a few useful tips on how to become an effective writer as well. I agree with a lot of things struggles. But I am not as strong as him to take a sabbatical to write. That requires a lot of grit and perseverance. Nevertheless, it’s a breezy Sunday read.

H. Books & Cinema

I finished reading The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth. It’s a fast-paced spy thriller, but not Forsyth’s best work. The strength of the story depends on how strong the antagonist is. Since there wasn’t much of a reveal of the character, it was difficult to judge how the mouse was going to outwit the cat.

I started Range by David Epstein. It is one of those books that works on bringing some clarity to the thinking process. Will share more on it in the coming weeks.

 

Sharon and I have finished The Hunters. I was waiting for her reactions for the last episode. And she was like, I guessed one of them. The other one was indeed unexpected. Here I was expecting a bone chilling reaction, but she was all normal!

With that, we wrap up this week's musing.

Do share your list of interesting articles that you came across.

Do share your thoughts on what was good and what can be improved.

And that's word no. 1302!

The Week Mind - 16th to 22nd Aug

I could not cover the retirements of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina last week. I needed some time to come to terms with the news. I still haven’t read Raina’s announcement or watched the video shared by Dhoni on instagram. In my mind, I have been avoiding those two announcements because I did not want to believe them. What if I do and it comes true? I lived in denial those first 2-3 days. Then I quickly went through the other stages of anger, bargaining and depression to arrive here at acceptance.

Why the denial you ask? How am I going to watch an ODI and T20 without Dhoni on the field anymore? My frequency with ODIs reduced after Sachin Tendulkar retired. And now, with Dhoni gone, it might come to an end altogether. At best I might (just might, I tell you) watch the World Cup and Champions Trophy.

But what helped me truly in getting here to acceptance was selfishness! Dhoni and Raina will continue to play for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). And as CSK veriyan (fanatic), I would like to gloat over that fact while holding onto that just a little bit longer. It helps me sleep better for now. I am sure to go through the other stages of grief prophesized by Ross and Kessler when Dhoni and Raina retire from IPL as well. Of course, I am under the safe assumption that Dhoni will grace us for at least 3 more seasons before he pulls off another shocker of a final word, here at the Chepauk stadium.

Let’s jump into this week’s mind!

A. Political

Hundreds of police killings in India, but no mass protests, Jeffrey Gettleman & Sameer Yasir, The New York Times

We are scared of the cops now. Even a soft contact like a policeman asking for directions to a house on your street, sends jitters down the spine. Growing up, our parents always told us to not mess with police of any kind. ‘Never instigate them or you may feel their wrath’ is something most households believe in. My experiences have been a mixed bag though. This may be owing to the fact that my uncle was a policeman and I have spent a lot of time in his police post in Anna Nagar.

One sweet encounter (the normal meaning) I have had with the police was in Mumbai. Sharon and I got out of the Freeway at Chembur on a bike. The police stopped us and informed that bikes weren’t allowed on the Freeway. We genuinely did not know this. They checked that our papers were in order. But we will have to pay Rs. 100 as penalty at a court in Navi Mumbai. I told him I do not know where Navi Mumbai was and feigned innocence. Our bike was TN registered and they realized that we were not natives of the city. Connecting the dots, they asked us who we believed would win the IPL clash scheduled later that day, between MI and CSK. We were in a dilemma – do we stay true to our love for CSK or ingratiate a couple of policemen by posing as MI paltan. While we were still trying to gauge the situation of fighting loyalty, the policemen offered us sherbets to drown the heat. We told them right there that we bleed yellow! Some cheerful banter followed. We paid the Rs. 100 fine, for which the policemen asked us to collect the receipt the next day. We then resumed our journey back home to Ghatkopar. A couple of months later we met the same policemen at the same junction, this time in a car. CSK had won the IPL. I did not choose to be a bigger man. But we all still had a good laugh.

I wondered if I will ever have such an experience with policemen in any other part of India. Definitely not! They only instill fear in us. May be they inherited the ways of how the British police controlled the Indians before independence. And the ironfisted way to rule over us just followed from there. I still hold the belief that there are good and bad cops, and we encounter (the normal meaning) a lot of bad ones more frequently than not. But, yeah, stay away from them as much as possible!

B. Technology

The messy, secretive reality behind OpenAI’s bid to save theworld, Karen Hao, MIT Technology Review

Once in a while, reading a long form portrait is soul-soothing. And if it is about an organization that can change the way humans behave, it becomes bone-chilling. OpenAI, which started as a non-profit, AI research-focused organization, was backed by Elon Musk, Y Combinator’s Sam Altman and Paypal founder Peter Thiel. The intentions were clear – to research on AI and reach the status of AGI responsibly. The follow-up objective was to ensure that technology is not used for any evil purposes. AGI stands for Artificial General Intelligence which essentially means that a machine is as intelligent as a human being. The point when a machine reaches human level intelligence is called singularity. Now, depending on which side of the debate you are on, this can be a good thing or a disaster. OpenAI started with good intentions, but according to Karen Hao’s account, they are slowly meandering towards a disaster in the making. Read more to find out.

C. Marketing

 Nothing interesting here!

D. Economics

The gloomy reality of Gulf returnees, Nidheesh M.K, mint

Gelf, as pronounced by any Malayalee, refers to the Middle East, which has traded economic upliftment for a Malayalee’s sweat and blood. Now, because of the pandemic, there is an economic downturn everywhere. The Middle East is slowly starting to turn their backs on the people who were the main cogs of the wheel that is Middle East. It is a saddening tale that people are returning by scores. It is even scarier to imagine how things will pan out. A riveting read from Nidheesh.

E. Sports

MS Dhoni’s final ODI: An imperfect finish for the perfectfinisher, Boria Majumdar, mint

A must read! Boria Majumdar is a gifted cricket writer, who was at the right place at the right time. This is an imperfect tribute to the perfect finisher. The piece moves you if you are Dhoni fanatic. It is also heart-wrenching to relive the scarcity of two inches of that semi-final match in England. It is worse when you realise that the man with the Midas touch had to bid goodbye to his passion on that note. It might be difficult to read and you may not even complete it. But, that’s ok. Once in a while one needs a good cry. And this is it.

Athletes aren’t products, they’re human, Rohit Brijnath,mint

You set a goal and you achieve it. Then comes the looming question – What’s next? Often times, even someone as ordinary as I have felt it – the emptiness after achieving something monumental like securing a seed fund for a start-up idea or winning a badminton tournament. There is an emptiness after the happy photographs are taken. I would find it difficult to fall asleep later that night and would rely on strain taking over, mostly after a movie. The morning-after is one of the most depressing ones! It is almost as if a purpose is now lost. And to come back from that low point needs enormous mental energy and a lot of counseling. This article made sense since I came to know that even the best of the bests go through similar emotions. It was heartening in a weird way.

And Champions League final tonight. May the best team (Bayern Munich) win!

F. eCommerce

Nothing interesting here!

G. Behaviour

Bosses started spying on remote workers. Now they're fighting back, Alex Christian, Wired

So, companies are doing this. As much as it affects the psyche of the employees, it is sold as a panacea that these software help in improving productivity. Every employee knows the truth and it significantly erodes the questionable trust between the organization and employee. An important factor in retaining good employees is to score high on the trust factor. But, with such software noting down every keystroke, the employee feels violated and starts to put on a show. It is at this point, the ingenuity is lost. Creativity and freedom of expression is hampered. In turn, productivity that cannot be measured objectively plummets. To control a few rotten apples, a truckload of good ones are being set on fire!

H. Books & Cinema

I am still reading The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth. Since I have been doing a fair amount of writing, I had to sacrifice my reading time. Otherwise a spy thriller from Frederick Forsyth would not spill over to the second week.

Sharon and I have finished 5 episodes of The Hunters. So far it’s been riveting for her. Hour long episodes just whizz past us. Hopefully, by the next edition of The Week Mind we should have moved on to watch a movie.

With that, we wrap up this week's musing.

Do share your list of interesting articles that you came across.

Do share your thoughts on what was good and what can be improved.

And that's word no. 1549!

The Week Mind - 9th to 15th Aug

Last week’s edition saw writing gone bad. I apologize for sending a lot of my readers on that tailspin. It was an experiment with a new style on how my world may have been had the lockdown continued till 2023. Guess the humor was lost and the joke was on me.

There were a few good souls who texted me to find out if I was doing alright. A few of them sent me job consultant contacts and one person sent me his company’s IJP (Internal Job Portal) posting as well. As long as there are people who pick up such signs and reach out, one is never lonely. The silver lining from this experiment is that there are many who unconditionally care for others. Thanks to these benevolent souls, my confidence in the human race’s future is restored.

Connecting the dots, in one of the product returns discussions over MS Teams, the CMD confidently assumed that the majority of the consumers don’t cheat. Yes; a few, here and there, do cheat. But one cannot not design brand promotions because a few cheat. This stuck with me and helped me reassess if this majority of people are good or bad. Are stereotypes true or not?

Imagine, I just landed in Chennai from outer space. My first experience is with an autowala. It is not one to savor. It goes beyond the economic transactions of ‘you take me to a place 7 km far for what is worth 150 bucks’. The way he rides, rudely talks, ill-treats fellow-bikes and -cars, spits and overtakes, gives me an unsettling feeling. He uses the ride as an outlet for his pent-up anger. I console myself by owing this unsettling feeling to ‘the poor guy probably having a bad day’.

I put that experience behind me and try to start afresh in using autos. Time and again similar experiences haunt me. May be an odd good fellow somewhere out there, but majority of the experiences continue to be bad. A bias against autowalas builds up (Remember that I came from outer space with a clean slate and fresh mind). Then I talk to a few friends and they also concur that their experiences have been pathetic; they are better off with Ola/Uber cabs.

This bias of what to expect while taking an auto becomes stronger by the day. With each and every interaction, there is an affirmative feedback to the bias. With such powerful prejudices, our attitude towards dealing with autowalas change. And with such an intense bias and disagreeable attitude towards them, the autowalas - in their heads- recoil at how impertinent and distasteful their customers are by the day! This loop is never-ending!

This ability to develop strong biases is what makes us love or be indifferent to fellow humans. I didn’t use the word hate here, because to hate someone there must be stronger indoctrination or a personal loss/conflict.

May be, we can’t really eliminate our biases. But we can surely be aware of them at best! Watch Indian Matchmaking on Netflix. It is a mirror to our soul.

Let's dive into this week's mind!

A. Political

Do my tweets really threaten China's National Security?, Jimmy Lai, The New York Times

Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Digital which publishes Apple Daily, succumbed to the new set of rules in Hong Kong. Apple Daily is one of the stronger newspapers which stood up to the Chinese Communist Party and called out their draconian policies. This article published on May 29, was written by Jimmy Lai. He explains his reasoning for the recent changes in Hong Kong and how one day he will be arrested. Lesser than three months since his prediction, he was arrested. End of free speech, once again!

B. Technology

The return of Anonymous, Dale Beran, The Atlantic

This is not an out and out tech article, but mostly a cultural one.

Remember, remember, the 5^th of November

Remember this famous line from V for Vendetta? The first image that comes to our minds is the Guy Fawkes mask. Today’s pop culture is around the Dali mask, popularized by MoneyHeist. 

Pic Courtesy: As the watermark says, Reuters

Both, in a way, have a common theme – justice. Dale Beran’s article explores the reason behind the Anonymous revolutionary tales. He flirts with Wikileaks for a moment. BLM is the recent Cultural Revolution. Will Anonymous have a role to play? And all these cultural upheavals are backed through tech means!

C. Marketing

I have not come across anything interesting apart from the deck that I create day in day out.  :P

D. Economics

Nothing to write home about.

E. Sports

Dhoni Retired.

F. eCommerce

Turn right around!

G. Behaviour

When will the Indian male by truly 'atmanirbhar' at home?, Sandip Roy, mint

Hilarious and drives home the point. With data, Sandip Roy describes how men are trying to evolve during the lockdown period. We can all look at the brighter side and affix names to the lockdown. But, the single biggest turnaround has been men contributing to household chores. Speaking from personal experience, I have changed from being that odd dishwasher to a permanent one. I went from being the weekend coffeemaker to the everyday chaiwala. I wish to become the PM one day.

But what has been the incentive for the change? Introspecting, I found two reasons:

1. The ‘we are all in this together’ cliché. Of how I can do my two bits to #ShareTheLoad

2. I get uninterrupted time to listen to podcast (Secretly, this would have been the reason no.1)

But the larger point is that not everyone wants to do everything for the sake of doing it. With the right reasoning and incentives, they can be motivated to do things that they don’t want to do.

H. Books & Cinema

The Lounge guide to India in 50 books, mint

The mint lounge team released a list of 50 books that acts a guide to understand India better. My count is 7/50 with at least 6 books waiting to be read. The list covers all possible genres except business and management. I would have loved to see Gurucharan Das’s India Unbound or PrakashTandon’s Punjabi Saga as a part of the list. These two books chronicle what the business environment used to be, in India. People from my generation and thereafter have not seen such an India.

I can definitely recommend the titles listed in the article as starters for a long voyage of reading as a habit.

The Kill List by FrederickForsyth has been an interesting read. It’s a typical Forsyth spy thriller.

Sharon and I finished watching Schindler’s List. To come to terms that these things happened is horrific. But, to see that we aren’t far away from these things happening once again is bone chilling. What will be interesting to know is how German commoners became the perpetrators. What was promised and how were they motivated? If there are any literature/books/movies/documentaries, kindly direct us. We would love to get into the mind of a Nazi to better understand the innate motivations. So that history doesn’t repeat. And when it does, we know what we’re facing while looking into the eyes of such a person.

On a follow up to Schindler’s List, we have started watching The Hunters. Just like Schindler’s List, it’s a rerun for me. Enjoying reruns knowing the climax is so much fun. You wait for the other person’s reaction and there is some excitement in that. Sharon had this pleasure with me watching Game of Thrones for the first time while it was a rerun for her!

With that, we wrap up this week's musing.

Do share your list of interesting articles that you came across.

Do share your thoughts on what was good and what can be improved.

And that's word no. 1310!

The Week Mind - 2nd to 8th Aug

With the 77th Independence Day coming in by the end of next week, I feel that the lockdown will be lifted. As a matter of fact, I’m starting to wonder who are they really saving with this lockdown. After the birthday week that went by, I am 36 years old now but I feel like 50 already. Although Friendship Day and my birthday fell on the same day (or consecutively to each other – unsure really), people still wished me for friendship day and ignored my birthday.

Going by the host vs. winner logic of the Cricket World Cup, India would have won this edition. Unfortunately, the logic could not be put to test this year.

2011 - India & Bangladesh (Host) - India (Winner)

2015 - Australia & New Zealand (Host) - Australia (Winner)

2019 - England (Host) - England & New Zealand (Joint Winners)

2023 - India (Host) - Did not happen

Last year Qatar would have shared its moment of glory had they hosted the FIFA World Cup. The talented English or the beautiful Brazilian team would have likely won. Nevertheless, that tournament didn’t see the light of the day either.

I sit in the balcony to see that odd aircraft carrying something (not people) fly by. I immediately call out to Kabir to show him how this used to be normal sight during ‘those’ days. He is too young to understand how something that seems peculiar today used to be a frequent-enough, often-missed, almost-unnoticeable sight, only a few years ago. Kabir is not impressed– he heads back inside for his boring lessons. I love homeschooling though. Imagine learning to count with ‘1,2,3,4, get on the dance floor’ and the alphabet with ‘ABCDEFGHI….JKLM…NOPQRSTUVWX.....YZ, I Love You/Tum bhi suno’.

My landlord has been benevolent enough to reduce our rent to match the 80’s cost of living. Unemployed for a year now, I have all the time in the world to do what I wanted to do. My skillset of marketing is useless today. Not surprising given there is nothing to market and no one to market to. We get by and make ends meet with the few writing and editing assignments that Sharon gets. However, we may have to say goodbye to our balcony if I don’t find a job soon enough.

We have survived thus far, thanks to our will power and Reliance Jio. They have practically given us everything for free. But – yeah - in the end, we are the product.

I don't have any interesting articles to share from this week because I have run out of money to renew my subscriptions.

So, I am just dipping into the archives, when we used to have first world problems to keep us occupied.

“The Week Mind – 2^nd to 8^th Aug 2020

What a week it was! Feels weird to turn 33! It feels like I was in Shanzi Chinese restaurant just yesterday, jointly celebrating ARC uncle’s birthday which falls on Aug 2^nd. Hard to believe that 20 years whizzed by already. Will let nostalgia do its job here reminiscing the first time I ate chicken at a fancy restaurant. My second family - Kanthimathi aunty, Magesh and Babu - were hosting it for ARC uncle. I remember even Mani anna was there. Easily one of my most cherished moments in life! We were a happy bunch. Times were certainly simpler then and it didn’t seem to take a lot of effort to just be close with family.

A lot has happened during this past week. I got wished “Happy Friendship day” more than “Happy birthday”. I don't expect people to wish me on my birthday. It’s unfair because I don't usually reciprocate the same as I have a hard time remembering dates. But, this is fun!

Now, let's dive into The Week Mind

A. Political

Witnessing Nuclear Carnage, Then Devoting Her Life to Peace,Motoko Rich, The New York Times

Hibakusha, the Japanese term for the atomic bombings survivors, is a bone-chilling term. They lived to talk about one of the worst massacres carried out by humans. Motoko Rich profiles Setsuko Thurlow, one of the Hibakusha(s), who is also a joint Noble Peace Prize winner of 2017. Ms. Thurlow wishes that no one ever should have to witness an Aug 6^th,1945 ever again. And that's what her struggle is about - Nuclear Weapon Disarmament

B. Technology

What would happen if you fell into a black hole, Eric Betz,Astronomy

What a fascinating read! Would it be wishful thinking to want to read it from inside a black hole?

The movie interstellar has misled us into believing that we can go gentle into that black hole night. As much as Kip Thorne may have let his imagination run wild, Eric Betz captures all possible scenarios and explains from a logical standpoint of what is possible and what remains wishful thinking.

C. Marketing

How the pandemic will drive digital politics, Rajesh Jain,mint

I have categorized this article under Marketing, because Rajesh gives valid explanations on how political ideologies will be marketed in this pandemic-hit world. It addresses how the future of political parties will be carved using digital marketing of segmentation and targeting. But I think there are more lessons on marketing and people behavior than about politics in its truest sense. This is the definite read of the week!

D. Economics

Nothing here, turn around!

E. Sports

Chris Woakes is the new star of this English Test team. I pity the Pakistan team. They had everything under control (except their second innings batting) and yet lost the game, thanks to one blitzkrieg innings. England is 1-0 up now!

And England played an ODI and Test back-to-back, with two different squads. True innovators of the modern game as well!

Juventus and Real Madrid are out of the Champions League and deservedly so! Manchester City ran over the depleted Madrid team, while Juventus couldn't tame the Lyon.

Chelsea's exit was much expected with Bayern bossing over them. Barcelona the under dogs, made it count against Napoli.

Amidst all the fanfare, City looks the strongest followed by Bayern, not too far behind. I expect a surprise or two from Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.

My preference of teams winning Champions League:

1. Atletico Madrid – Because Liverpool lost to them, this gives me some closure that we lost to the eventual Champions.
2. Atalanta – People will now get to know of a club that’s been in raging form. They can finally stop getting it mixed up with the Atlanta in US.
3. RB Leipzig
4. Lyon
5. Paris Saint Germain
6. Manchester City – Here is hoping that they reach the finals. And be tired enough when the next season begins. Then they’re that much lesser of a challenge to Liverpool.
7. Barcelona – They are down the order because they are also aiming for their 6^th, which would then equal Liverpool’s 6.
8. Bayern Munich – They are here for the same reason as Barcelona.

But, the probable order of teams winning the Champions League is:

1. Manchester City – Absolute beast of a team under Pep!
2. Bayern Munich – What a form they have been in, crushing opponents down in their journey.
3. Atletico Madrid – Double-decker buses fitted with cannon balls, which is a very dangerous combination to face in a knock-out format.
4. Paris Saint Germain – If Mbappe recuperates in time.
5. Barcelona – One word: Messi.
6. Atalanta – What a season for them!
7. & 8. RB Leipzig/Lyon – A very difficult proposition though.

F. eCommerce

Turn right around!

G. Behaviour

Nothing to write home about.

H. Books & Cinema

I finally finished Guns, Germs and Steel! That’s right – you read it right. As my friend Nishant had put it, it’s like a textbook. Meticulously researched by Jared Diamond, he opened up jaded spaces in my head that needed an overhaul in terms of thinking. It is definitely a must-read if you enjoyed reading Sapiens. I wouldn't compare the two though – each adds immense value in opening up newer perspectives.

After taking two months to read Guns, Germs and Steel, I needed a fast-moving fiction. I’ve now started on The Kill List by FrederickForsyth. Let's see how that goes!

Sharon and I are watching Schindler’s List, even as we complete Indian Matchmaking. What a contrast! We have watched 1 hr 15 min of Schindler’s List and I had to console Sharon at least twice already. Another two hours of the movie left and we hope to complete it today, if Kabir permits us.

We still have 12 minutes to go, to complete Indian Matchmaking. We could have completed watching this sooner. But I think Sharon and I spent more hours discussing our individual biases than watching it – which should ideally be the actual take-away from watching such a show. While Indian Matchmaking has been a mirror to the Indian soul, Schindler’s List is a gentle reminder to Indians of what to expect if we don’t have things in check!

With that, we wrap up this week's musing.

Do share your list of interesting articles that you came across.

Do share your thoughts on what was good and what can be improved.

And that's word no. 1073!”

How simple 2020 was! Now, imagine living in 2023!

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The Week Mind - 26th Jul to 1st Aug

We are unofficially entering the sixth month (atleast in India) on whatever we are going through as humankind. Life has changed dramatically and as we have evolved over the million years, we will get through this as well.

A few things I have stopped doing/using are perfumes, work shoes, jeans pants, formal shirts, watches, yoga classes, scooter, motorbike, metro ride, reading while commuting, ordering lunch from restaurants (I had a MTWTF schedule), building social capital during lunch/chai-sutta breaks, efficiency improvement conversations with the metro station guys, badminton and cricket over the weekends, taking that two hour rushed date with Sharon at some place outside while Kabir slept, a sense of normalcy (which I didn't know then) and looking forward to a break/holiday.

We all stopped using or doing a lot of things from our yester lives. What was yours? Think about it!

This biggest lesson that these five months have taught us is that it is okay to be imperfect. We don't have to lose our mind in pursuit of perfection. We need to indulge ourselves with things that would make us feel better.
It's okay if we put on a little weight.
It's okay if we turn in that presentation a little late.
It's okay to be not okay with the things the way they are.
It's okay if we procrastinate a little.
But, it's important that we come out alive along with the people whom we love and care for.
Where is the fun without watching people do their stupid and hilarious people things!

Let's dive into The Week Mind

A. Political

The Amazon, Giver of Life, Unleashes the Pandemic, Tyler Hicks, Julie Turkewitz, Manuela Andreoni, Jeremy While, The New York Times
This photo-article should be viewed on a big screen to be appreciated. If there is a poetic way to narrate the sadness without ever using any negative words, this article is precisely that. It's an amalgamation of photos, words and graphics to convey how a pandemic spread through a river. How people are affected and how they react to it! In the end, it's all about hope and a lot of us put it on the God above to rescue us. As a cliche disguised atheist cleverly put, "God helps those, who help themselves".

B. Technology

How India became a hack-for-hire hub, Prasid Banerjee, mint
After or while reading the article, when you are gonna search for certain terminologies like 'Tor', 'deep web', 'dark web', etc., I suggest you use DuckDuckGo search engine. At least to an extent, Google wouldn't track you and send your coordinates to someone who shouldn't have them.
Prasid has lucidly written about how the whole dark web operates. There are still a lot of questions that will come to your mind and that is the reason why you should use DuckDuckGo. While watching Mr. Robot on Amazon Prime, there was a lot of questions on where these dark web guys based out of and how does anyone gets in touch with any of them. Tor may be an answer. But, it is the dark side of technology where it is better to be a prospective victim like the billion others on the planet rather than the perpetrator. Nevertheless, a fun read!

C. Marketing

Nothing great I came across!

D. Economics

Nothing great I came across!

E. Sports

Stuart Broad is a fighter and he proved it time and again with a magical performance in the third test to win the #raisethebat Wisden Trophy for England. For someone to be ignored for the first test, to come back and win the second and the third test for his team along with the Man of the Series trophy is sensational. Well deserved 500 wickets as well!

How Marcelo Bielsa steered Leeds back to the Premier League, Samarnath Soory, Sportstar
The Madman coach, who left SS Lazio in two days and Lille OSC in a few months, has resurrected one of the success craving, aristocratic clubs of English Football, Leeds United. He could have been back to the top-tier last season by being a stickler for rules and playing foul against Aston Villa. But, he held sportsmanship above everything else and undertook the hard journey to the top. Welcome back Leeds United to the EPL!

F. eCommerce

Nothing great I came across!

G. Behaviour

Resign or be terminated is not really a choice once Option A and Option B for severance pay are explained, Cyril Sam, Medium
This is reality and this is happening around us. A few of us have been spared but that doesn't mean it won't happen to us. For everyone who has been working for someone else, this will happen at least once in our working career - being fired. And it will happen in the most unexpected and ruthless fashion. We need to be cognizant of the fact that this will happen and equip ourselves with skillsets that we can trade for a monthly income. Today, it may be the economic slump due to a virus pandemic which is making the organizations fire employees with zero humanity. Tomorrow, it will be AI (more on that next week)
This article is the must read for this week where Kavitha Iyer's email to her colleagues at The Indian Express is reproduced by Cyril Sam with her permission.

How to stay productive when the world is on fire, Alan Henry, Wired
The inspiration to my rant! Although Alan Henry has written it from an American perspective, a lot of it is useful hacks for the folks working from home. I loved the Pomodoro technique of working deeply for 25 minutes, then taking a break for 5 minutes and repeating the cycle for 4 times or so. Will implement this from tomorrow and see if my mood gains uplift or not. There may be some useful hacks that may help you out as well. Check it out!

H. Books & Cinema

I am still reading Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond since 7th Jun. No changes there.
Just like the whole world, we are watching Indian Matchmaking as well! First I thought, it is so bad that it is so good. Then I thought that non-Indians view Indians as people who sweep equality under the carpet of traditional values. That's atleast a step above snake charmers, so I will take it. At times, the narrative is staged and biased, but there is a lot to learn about ourselves and our biases.
Our bias for good looking people, that they don't cause any harm.
Our bias for inequality, but portraying to the outside world that we stand for equality.
Although implicit, our bias for money, caste and religion.
The list never ends.
We all end up saying that these are the rules of the house and we need someone to abide by the rules than rewrite them. We are comfortable in our zone and wouldn't want to experiment. That is us. Us, the humankind!

Take care of the kindness part in humankind and we will be alright!

With that, we wrap up this week's musing.
Do share your list of interesting articles that you came across.
Do share your thoughts on what was good and what can be improved.
And that's word no. 1211