BookMarks #128: How the World Really Works

Title: How the World really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, present and Future

Author: Vaclav Smil

Genre: Non-fiction, Science, Society, Future

Published: 2022

BookMarks

“We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works.” This is the premise of the book as it explains the seven fundamentals of how our world really works and offers a glimpse of what the future holds. Following are a few key messages from the book

The Four pillars of modern civilization - Ammonia, Steel, Concrete & Plastic

On progress - In two centuries, the human labor to produce a kilogram of American wheat was reduced from 10 minutes to less than two seconds. An average inhabitant of the Earth nowadays has at their disposal nearly 700 times more useful energy than their ancestors had at the beginning of the 19th century.

Energy conversions are the very basis of life and evolution. However, to quote Richard Feynman – “In physics today we have no knowledge of what energy is”. Energy Studies need understanding of physics, chemistry, biology, geology with history, social, economic and political factors.

Despite all the talk of decarbonization, the high relative share and the scale of our dependence on fossil carbon make any rapid substitutions impossible.

Haber-Bosch synthesis of Ammonia can be considered the most momentous technical advancement in the world. Fifty percent of humanity is dependent on ammonia as a fertilizer for food production.

Human activity with the largest impact on the Earth's ecosystem - food production. Overall, the world loses one third of the food supply. This is a significant area to manage.

Some Interesting Facts

• A gear lever knob in the 1916 Rolls Royce was the first industrial application of plastics.
• Portland cement is thus called because it resembles the limestone found in the Isle of Portland in the English Channel in colour.
• KLM was the first airline company set up in 1921

Water is the most universally mismanaged resource

On models & extrapolations

When constructing long range scenarios, we can plug in any arbitrary assumptions in order to meet preconceived outcomes. History does not unfold as a computerized academic exercise with major achievements falling on years ending with zero or five. It is full of discontinuities and unpredictable departures.

Projections involving complex systems that reflect interplays of many technical, economic and environmental factors and which can be strongly affected by a number of arbitrary decisions such as unexpectedly generous government subsidies or new laws or policy referrals remain highly uncertain. Even near-term Outlook results in a broad range of possible outcomes.

More complex models combining the interactions of economic, social, technical and environmental factors require more assumptions and open the way for greater errors.

On scientific temper

De omnibus dubitandum (doubt everything) must remain the foundation of scientific method. Unlike what the average internet user who likes to believe in everything they see on social media.

On Future

Asking for a risk-free existence is to ask for something impossible. While the quest for minimizing risks remains the leading motivation of human progress. Crises expose realities and strip away obfuscation and misdirection.

The future, as ever, is not pre-determined. Its outcome depends on our actions. The most likely prospect is a mixture of progress and setbacks.

Overall, quite an interesting read. Also, it helps that the book is written in a post-Covid world. I especially liked the fact that the author has directly named and countered the utopian future ideas (Human 2.0 and colonizing Mars etc.) 

Previously on BookMarks: 1962 The War the Wasn’t

Road To LA: Episode 5

Today, August 29th, marks National Sports Day—and there's no better way to commemorate it than by examining India's ongoing journey toward the LA Olympics. While fans experience a rollercoaster of emotions watching the performances, imagine the journey for the sportspersons who persist despite administrative lapses and official apathy.

We are re in that familiar phase of the Olympic cycle: the surge from Paris 2024 has settled, while momentum for LA 2028 has yet to build. Meanwhile, competitions continue in relative quiet, away from the spotlight.

Here is a rundown of Indian sports in the last few months - the highs, the lows, and everything in between.

The Neeraj Chopra Phenomenon

When a second-place finish at the Diamond League finale barely registers as news, you know an athlete has truly transcended expectations. He has breached the 90m mark and maintained a remarkable four-year streak of top-two finishes globally. But perhaps his greatest achievement this year was launching the Neeraj Chopra Classic - tournament that could reshape India's athletics landscape.  Now comes the real test: can our sporting administration build on his foundation?

Athletics

Indian athletics is showing visible progress with National records tumbling frequently. Yet we remain decades behind in most events. The gap is closing, but slowly - progress that demands patience.

Football

Indian football presents a study in contrasts. The women's team has qualified for the next Asian Cup despite all the off-field challenges. Meanwhile, the men's team appears to be in free fall, compounded by uncertainty around the Indian Super League's future. With no clear path forward, the free fall looks set to continue.

Our Shooters and Archers continue their stellar run at World Cups, consistently bringing home medals and breaking records. Yet these performances need to translate into Olympic success. 

The inaugural Rugby Premier League marked an important milestone for a relatively nascent sport. While rugby's Olympic prospects remain distant, any step toward professionalization needs to be applauded.

Looking Ahead

Away from the cameras and commentary, Indian sports continues its relentless march forward. The LA 2028 event lineup is set, but qualification pathways are yet to announced. But the sporting journey continues.

Until next time.

Links:

• Episode 4 
• Rating India’s sporting Federations performance: ESPN

India @ 78

Image generated via AI

Happy Birthday India!

Continuing the personal tradition of a small blog post on the occasion of Independence Day, now in its 18th edition. (2024 edition Link)

What a crazy journey it has been since the last edition. The past year has seen India living through the very definition of a VUCA world.

We witnessed a major terror attack, were briefly at war, a deadly plane crash with a single miraculous survivor, are currently subject to Tariffs with ever-changing rates, are seeing renewed calls for Swadeshi, have been caught in a geopolitical cross-fire with friends/foes alike in a state of flux, have overtaken Japan to become the 4th largest economy (by GDP), while stock markets have soared despite overhanging clouds, watched internal political chaos with Vice-President resigning and Election commission being questioned, and organized the Mahakumbh featuring the largest gathering of humankind at a single place… Quite an action-packed journey around the Sun.

During Operation Sindoor, the TV news jingoism reached new depths. While it is understandable that media is used for controlling the global narrative and what is happening at the ground doesn’t come out in the open. But the TV news channels instead of providing an assuring note, were pulling out narratives out of their own fantasies! Only satisfactory note - the other side was no better. We discovered during the course of those 4 days that amongst other things, not only was there a port in Patna, but it had been destroyed by Pakistani drones!

Meanwhile life in India continues to be cheap – stampedes at cricket victory parade, railway stations & festivals, manmade & natural disasters, a messed up infrastructure– all reduced to a mere statistic.

Worst of all has been the rise of the Ugly Indian Image outside – Indian tourists & diaspora doing if not illegal, simply cringe-worthy activities across the world. Although, is this case also, the spin doctors are doing their best/worst to paint this outburst of such news items as is simply a coordinated attempt by jealous foreigners to malign India’s shining image globally.

And finally in the battle of species, the Hon. SC is hearing the matter of removing dogs from the national capital streets while the financial capital is becoming a battleground for feeding pigeons!

But amidst all the doom and gloom were a few rays of shining light

• Subhanshu Shukla became the second Indian to go to space.
• Chess is home – Team Olympiad Golds, Open World Champion, Women’s World Cup Winner, More Grandmasters than squares on the Chess board - we are witnessing the start of an era of sporting domination.
• Bids have been submitted for the 2036 Olympics and the 2030 Commonwealth Games. While a great initiative, whether this will result in grassroots initiatives as well remains to be seen.

In other news, the registered post will cease to exist as will the post boxes. A practical decision to move on with times. Which is what many folks need to do in various other matters as well!

So that was a little post featuring a tiny sliver of events from the perspective of the world's largest populace! Hoping for quieter times in the coming year!

Happy Independence Day!

Jai Hind!

BookMarks #127: 1962 The War That Wasn’t

Title: 1962 The War That Wasn’t

Author: Shiv Kunal Verma

Genre: History

Published: 2020

BookMarks

We died, unsuccoured, helpless

We were your soldiers, men of bravery and pride

Yet we died like animals, trapped in a cage with no escape

Massacred at will, denied the dignity of battle

With the cold burning flame of anger and resolution

With the courage both of the living and the dead,

Avenge our unplayed lives

Redeem the unredeemable sacrifice In freedom and integrity

Let this be your inheritance

And our unwritten epitaph

The book is a tale of how the India-China war/conflict of 1962 was lost, not on the battlefield itself but much before through a combination of blind belief, lack of planning, poor co-ordination, and at times sheer incompetence of some of those in command. It is also a harrowing tale of bravery of the soldiers at the frontier who despite all odds - a well-prepared enemy, lack of supplies, incoherent leadership, kept fighting till the last breath. The sheer absurdity of the situation is highlighted by the fact that the Indian side wasn’t even aware of the unilateral ceasefire announced by the Chinese for more than a day!

A few interesting facts gathered from the book in no particular order

• Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report - a detailed study commissioned by Army Headquarters to document the events of October-November 1962 in NEFA still remains classified despite multiple government changes
• The Indian soldiers referred to the Chinese as afeemchis [opium smokers]
• Hari Pal Kaushik, then twenty-eight years old fought in the war, was part of Gold Medal winning Hockey team at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. (he would win another gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964).

On Politics & Indian Top brass

    Many countries that had become independent after World War II fell prey to military coups (the most pertinent example being Pakistan). In view of this, India’s politicians and bureaucrats pushed through mindless measures that systematically downgraded the status and influence of the army.

    In an interview with the Times of India in 1968, while discussing the Chinese invasion, Krishna Menon said: ‘We did not realize that whenever China had had a powerful government she has been expansionist. Secondly, China had come into power through violence and force and nothing else; she had been at war for thirty or forty years, and the bulk of the world’s people were in sympathy with the exploits of the Red Army. Thirdly, China wanted to show both us and the world that she was the largest nation.’ On the other hand, Menon was to admit that during this period ‘the pressure upon me from all sides was not to increase the Army efficiency and strength but to cut it down’

On China

• At the time of independence, India’s official position was that it recognized Tibet as an independent country while also recognizing the fact that it was under Chinese suzerainty.
• As per the author India grossly over-estimated Chinese military power. Gen. Thimayya (the first and only Indian officer to command a fighting brigade during the World War II) is quoted as “Whereas in the case of Pakistan I have considered the possibility of a total war, I am afraid I cannot do so in regard to China. I cannot even as a soldier envisage India taking on China in an open conflict on its own. China’s present strength in manpower, equipment and aircraft exceeds our resources a hundred-fold with the full support of the USSR, and we could never hope to match China in the foreseeable future. It must be left to the politicians and diplomats to ensure our security.”
• The Chinese knew everything, Indian deployment almost to the section and platoon level was known to them. Sometimes they knew what the Indians were going to do even before the decision was taken.
Even according to Chinese records, at no stage had there been any action that pitted more than an Indian infantry company against at least four to five times the number of Chinese troops.

On Warfare

It must be appreciated that in the early stages of any war the attacker will always have the initial advantage over the defender because he can choose the time and place for the attack and can therefore apply all his strength at any given point. Therefore, he will get into the defender’s territory and make penetrations. If this happens the defender must not lose heart because he will have his say when he has located the main thrust and moves his reserves to meet it -very likely on ground of his choosing. There he will give battle, stabilize the situation, and then steadily push the enemy back. This process may take a long time, but there is no other answer to it when one is on the defensive.

The fear of the unknown plays a great part in conditioning the behaviour of men, even if as soldiers they are meant to be able to face uneven odds at times. Those who had earlier combat experience were perhaps even more tense, with images of past encounters in their minds, knowing that they must put up a brave front. Patriotic ideals recede into the background, what now counts is the next man and JCOs and officers. They’re in it together and while fear has a numbing effect, a conscious effort has to be made to conceal it.

Overall, not an easy read – politicians dilly-dallying, generals not taking decisions, local commanders moving away from the field of battle, soldiers battling it out till the last breath. As the book concludes “No amount of post-war rationalizing can cover up the fact that there was a total collapse of command and control.” 

Previously on BookMarks: The Bhagavad Gita for Millennials

Road To Los Angeles: Episode 4

The Olympics are over 3 years away. However, we now have a bit more clarity on the events itself. There have been quite a few changes in the roster. The most significant impact is that LA28 will be the first ever Games with more female participants than male.

Also, the IOC has a new Boss – Kristy Coventry, herself a multiple Olympics medalist.

Overall, there will be 351 events across 36 sports compared to Paris which had 329 events across 32 sports. Here is a look at the sports wise changes made with respect to Paris 24.

Sports Dropped: Breaking

Sports Added:

1. Cricket: Men & Women Team events
2. Flag Football: Men & Women Team events
3. Lacrosse: Men & Women Team events
4. Squash: Men & Women Individual Events
5. Baseball: Men’s Team event
6. Softball: Women’s Team event

Changes within Sports

1. Swimming: 6 new events
• 50m Backstroke (Men & Women)
• 50m Breaststroke (Men & Women)
• 50m Butterfly (Men & Women)
2. Archery: Compound Mixed Team Event added
3. Athletics
• Addition: 4x100m Mixed Relay
• Dropped: Mixed Marathon racewalk
4. Boxing: One new event for Women. Weight categories have been rejigged for both men and women, now 7 each
5. Golf: Mixed Team event added
6. Gymnastics: Mixed Team event added
7. Rowing:
• Addition: Coastal Beach Sprints – 3 events (Men Solo, Women Solo, Mixed Doubles)
• Dropped: Lightweight Doubles Sculls – 2 events (Men & Women)
8. Shooting: Trap Mixed Team replaces Skeet Mixed team event (back to Tokyo format)
9. Sport climbing
• Addition: Boulder Event (Men & Women)
• Addition: Lead Event (Men & Women)
• Dropped: Boulder and Lead combined Event (Men & Women)
10. Table Tennis
• Additions: Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Team
• Dropped: Men’s Team, Women’s Team

Overall, quite a few changes with some of real interest to the Indian hopes (Cricket, Squash, Compound Archery, Golf, Shooting, Table Tennis, Boxing).

Now awaiting the details for the qualification pathways for the events.

Links:

• RTLA Episode 3  
• Detailed Event & Quota LA28 

BookMarks #126: The Bhagavad Gita for Millennials

Title: The Bhagavad Gita for Millennials

Author: Bibek Debroy

Genre: Non-fiction, Spiritual, Self-help

Published: 2020

BookMarks

The book serves as an introduction to Bhagavad Gita. It is not a direct interpretation of the full text but more of a commentary carrying key messages, and also how to read the Bhagavad Gita itself. A few key learnings from the book both about the Gita as well as its messages.

About Gita

• Ved Vyasa is not a single entity. In our present cycle of creation, there have already been twenty-seven Veda Vyasas.
• “The book, Gita, had not been much known to the generality of people before Shankaracharya made it famous by writing his great commentary on it. This has led some infer that Shankaracharya was the author of the Gita, and that it was he who foisted it into the body of the Mahabharata.”- Swami Vivekananda's commentary on Gita
• Writing of Mahabharat - from the original to the final version covers a period of 1000 years, from 500 BCE to 500 CE.
• There are four people who speak in the Bhagavad Gita: Krishna, Arjuna, Sanjaya and Dhritarashtra. Of the 700 shlokas, Dhritarashtra speaks only the first one

Messages from the Gita

• The Bhagavad Gita is about evolution, from a lower plane to a higher one.
• Knowledge, when it becomes fully mature is Bhakti.
• The heart is associated with bhakti, the mind is associated with jnana and the body is associated with karma.
• The definition of Religion is four-fold; Veda, Smriti, Sadacharah (good conduct) and Atmatushti (self-satisfaction).’
• One would need to have a very bloated sense of ego to presume that one could change the external world and others. All of us are insignificant. What we can change is our own selves.
• Quid pro quos, giving something in return for something else taken, is a feature of human relationships, not a divine one.
• One who considers oneself free is free indeed and one who considers himself bound remains bound
• Everything depends on perseverance and effort. The success or failure of any message depends on the transmitter, as well as the receiver.
• The jivatman does not die. Death does not come as an end. It marks a new beginning.
• ‘What is the greatest wonder?’ Yudhishthira answered, ‘Day after day, living beings go to Yama’s abode. Yet, those who remain, desire to live forever. What can be a greater wonder than that?’
• A king must learn from the conduct of a crow, a cuckoo, a bee, a crane, a snake, a peacock, a swan, a cock and iron. Perseverance from the crow, accumulation from the cuckoo, collection of taxes from the bee, patience from the crane, concentrated virulence from the snake, extension (of the kingdom) from the peacock, discrimination from the swan, arising at the right time from the cock and hardness from iron. Towards the enemy, a king must behave like an owl. At the right time, the king must act like an ant.
• It is extremely difficult to know what dharma and karma are. Therefore, what should be done is never evident.

General Knowledge

• A Kshetra is a place of pilgrimage where there is no flowing water and tirtha is a place of pilgrimage where there is flowing water.
• ‘Money is the root of all evil.’ We have heard it and we often quote it. The original is from the Bible. The correct quote, in an English language translation is, ‘The love of money is the root of all evil.’ The entire meaning changes.

Overall, an interesting read. However, the narrative does go all over the place at times probably like the original Mahabharat text itself. 

Previously on BookMarks: Corporate Chanakya on Leadership

BookMarks #125: Corporate Chanakya on Leadership

Title: Corporate Chanakya on Leadership

Author: Radhakrishnan Pillai

Genre: Non-fiction, Management

Published: 2012

BookMarks

The book attempts to convert the learnings from Chanakya’a Arthshastra into modern corporate leadership. The coverage is grouped under

• power of a leader
• responsibilities of a leader
• decision making
• nurturing people
• ethics in business
• how to prepare for competition
• what a leader should avoid doing

Overall, a succinct reading, but doesn’t go much in depth. A few more examples/illustrations would have been better to enforce the points. Gives more of a feeling of PowerPoint bullets than a text.

Previously on BookMarks: The Beekeeper of Aleppo 

Tea Making by George Orwell

• Use tea from India or Ceylon not China.
• Use a teapot, preferably ceramic. 
• Warm the pot over direct heat. 
• Tea should be strong, six spoons of leaves per litre. 
• Let the leaves move around the pot. 
• No bags or strainers. 
• Take the pot to the boiling kettle. 
• Stir or shake the pot. 
• Drink out of a tall, mug-shaped teacup. 
• Don’t add creamy milk. 
• Add milk to the tea, not vice versa. 
• No sugar!

Detailed instructions on how to make tea by George Orwell - the only Nobel Laureate born in Bihar. Quite insightful to say the least.

(The Guardian)

BookMarks #124: The Beekeeper of Aleppo

Title: The Beekeeper of Aleppo

Author: Christy Lefteri

Genre: Fiction, Historical

Published: 2019

BookMarks

The Beekeeper of Aleppo is the tale of a Syrian family and its harrowing journey to escape the war and reaching asylum in the UK. The story goes back and forth. Each chapter divided into two parts separated by a bridging word. The first part deals with the stay in England, interactions with other asylum seekers and the process of getting an asylum. The second half of each chapter narrates the origins, the journey of escape filled with own hardships. The book also deals with mental battles fought by the protagonists as they create their own illusions to escape the harsh reality around them.

Some of the lines which stood out.

• Inside the person you know, there is a person you do not know.
• Keep me alive as long as is good for me, and when death is better for me, take me.
• People are not like bees. We do not work together, we have no real sense of a greater good
• Sometimes we create such powerful illusions, so that we do not get lost in the darkness.

Overall, quite an engaging read. It’s a sad tale but also one which provides a faint glimmer of hope at every step. Just enough to help them overcome the hardships. It’s the hope which sustains them despite the uncertainties all round them. After all hope is a beautiful thing.

Previously on BookMarks: Robinson Crusoe 

Road To Los Angeles: Episode 3

The Olympics are still over 3 years away. And most of the Olympics sports & stars have receded back in the collective national memory. But some of us continue to trudge on.

Here is some of the goings on in the India Olympic sports scene in the past few months.

India submitted its application for hosting the 2036 Olympics. The way things are shaping up, there is a decent chance of it actually happening. Ironically it was a non-sporting event (the Coldplay concert) at the same venue which has boosted the chances!

Hockey

• India easily won the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy held in Rajgir, Bihar.
• The Hockey India League is back although marred by timing issues. However, good to see both the men’s & women’s editions run in parallel. The international exposure should help the game.

Cricket - The Men’s T20 team continues its blistering performance with convincing series wins away in South Africa and at home in India. On the other hand, the Women’s team had a comfortable home series win against the West Indies after a bad outing in Australia.

Tennis -  Is 15-year old Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi the next Indian Tennis star? The superb run to reach the semi-finals at Mumbai Open does bode good signs for the youngster! However, it is still very early days.

Boxing - Nishant Dev turned pro. Well, not really a surprise, given that the sport itself faces uncertainty with still no clarity on whether it will be part of the Los Angeles roster!

Off-the-field

• The Khel Ratna Awards had some unnecessary controversy. What should have been a celebration of sporting achievements left a bad taste for all. Although, in the end they did sort it out a bit.
• The wrestlers are off the mat again missing international ranking events, as the uncertainty in the Federation itself continues.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles has been struck by major wildfires with large loss of life and damage to property. This has resulted in some whispers about the preparations of the city for hosting the Games.

So that was it for the 3rd Episode in the Road To LA. Till next time.

Links: Road To LA: Episode 2