57 Cents

A sobbing little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it "was too crowded." "I can't go to Sunday School," she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.
Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, that she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.

Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings and the parents called for the kindhearted pastor, who had befriended their daughter, to handle the final arrangements. As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump.

Inside was found 57 cents and a note scribbled in childish handwriting which read, "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School. For two years she had saved for this offering of love.

When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion. He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building.
But the story does not end there!

A newspaper learned of the story and published it. It was read by a realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands. When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered it for 57 cents.
Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000.00--a huge sum for that time (near the! turn of the century).

Her unselfish love had paid large dividend. When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacity of 3,300 and Temple University, where hundreds of students are trained.

Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of Sunday Schoolers, so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time. In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is a portrait of her kind pastor, Dr. Russel H. Conwell, author of the book, "Acres of Diamonds" A true story, which goes to show WHAT GOD, CAN DO WITH 57 cents.

Return to Ithaca

When you set out for Ithaca
Ask that your way be long,
Full of adventure, full of instruction.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
Angry Poseidon -- do not fear them;
Such as these you will never find
As long as your thought is lofty,
As long as a rare emotion
Touch your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
Angry Poseidon -- you will not meet them
Unless you carry them in your soul,
Unless your soul raise them up before you.
Ask that your way be long,
At many a summer dawn to enter --
With what gratitude, what joy!
Ports seen for the first time;
To stop at Phoenician trading centers,
And to buy good merchandise.
Mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
And sensuous perfumes of every kind.
Buy as many sensuous perfumes as you can,
Visit many Egyptian cities
To learn and learn from those who have knowledge.
Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind;
Your arrival there is what you are destined for.
But do not in the least hurry the journey.
Better that it last for years
So that when you reach the island you are old,
Rich with all that you have gained on the way,
Not expecting Ithaca to give you wealth.
Ithaca has given you the splendid voyage.
Without her you would never have set out,
But she has nothing more to give you.
And if you find her poor,
Ithaca has not deceived you.
So wise have you become, of such experience,
That already you will have understood
What these Ithacas mean.

Mathematics at its Best

To prove once and for all that maths can be fun, we present: Wherein it is related how that paragon of womanly virtue, young Polly Nomial (our heroine) is accosted by that notorious villain Curly Pi, and factored (oh horror!!!)

Once upon a time (1/t) pretty little Polly Nomial was strolling across a field of vectors when she came to the boundary of a singularly large matrix. Now Polly was convergent, and her mother had made it an absolute condition that she must never enter such an array without her brackets on. Polly, however, who had changed her variables that morning and was feeling particularly badly behaved, ignored this condition on the basis that it was insufficient and made her way in amongst the complex elements. Rows and columns closed in on her from all sides. Tangents approached her surface. She became tensor and tensor. Quite suddenly two branches of a hyperbola touched her at a single point. She oscillated violently, lost all sense of directrix, and went completely divergent. As she tripped over a square root that was protruding from the erf and plunged headlong down a steep gradient. When she rounded off once more, she found herself inverted, apparently alone, in a non-Euclidean space. She was being watched, however. That smooth operator, Curly Pi, was lurking inner product. As his eyes devoured her curvilinear coordinates, a singular expression crossed his face. He wondered, "Was she still convergent?" He decided to integrate properly at once. Hearing a common fraction behind her, Polly rotated and saw Curly Pi approaching with his power series extrapolated. She could see at once by his degenerate conic and dissipative that he was bent on no good. "Arcsinh," she gasped. "Ho, ho," he said, "What a symmetric little asymptote you have I can see you angles have lots of secs." “Oh sir," she protested, "keep away from me I haven't got my brackets on." "Calm yourself, my dear," said our suave operator, "your fears are purely imaginary." "I, I," she thought, "perhaps he's not normal but homologous." "What order are you?" the brute demanded. "Seventeen," replied Polly. Curly leered "I suppose you've never been operated on.""Of course not," Polly replied quite properly, "I'm absolutely convergent!" "Come, come," said Curly, "let's off to a decimal place I know and I'll take you to the limit." "Never," gasped Polly. "Abscissa," he swore, using the vilest oath he knew. His patience was gone. Coshing her over the coefficient with a log until she was powerless, Curly removed her discontinuities. He stared at her significant places, and began smoothing out her points of inflection. Poor Polly. The algorithmic method was now her only hope. She felt his digits tending to her asymptotic limit. Her convergence would soon be gone forever. There was no mercy, for Curly was a heavyside operator. Curly's radius squared itself; Polly's loci quivered. He integrated by parts. He integrated by partial fractions. After he cofactored, he performed runge - kutta on her. The complex beast even went all the way around and did a contour integration. What an indignity - to be multiply connected on her first integration. Curly went on operating until he completely satisfied her hypothesis, then he exponentiated and became completely orthogonal. When Polly got home that night, her mother noticed that she was no longer piecewise continuous, but had been truncated in several places But it was to late to differentiate now. As the months went by, Polly's denominator increased monotonically. Finally she went to L'Hopital and generated a small but pathological function which left surds all over the place and drove Polly to deviation.

The moral of our sad story is this: "If you want to keep your expressions convergent, never allow them a single degree of freedom."

History of Stanford University

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walk timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office.

The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge.

"We want to see the president," the man said softly.

"He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped.

"We'll wait," the lady replied".

For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.

"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave," she said to him.

He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.

The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.

The lady told him, "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."

The president wasn't touched.... He was shocked.

"Madam," he said, gruffly, "we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."

"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the
physical buildings here at Harvard."

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.

The lady then turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded at that.

The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

You can easily judge the character of someone by his attitude towards others he thinks beneath him.

A TRUE STORY
----- by Malcolm Forbes

TRIZ: 40 Inventive Principles

The 40 Inventive Principles

1. Segmentation

a. Divide an object into independent parts

b. Make an object sectional

c. Increase the degree of an object's segmentation

Examples:

• Sectional furniture, modular computer components, folding wooden ruler
• Garden hoses can be joined together to form any length needed

2. Extraction

a. Extract (remove or separate) a "disturbing" part or property from an object, or

b. Extract only the necessary part or property

Example:

• To frighten birds away from the airport, use a tape recorder to reproduce the sound known to excite birds. (The sound is thus separated from the birds.)

3. Local Quality

a. Transition from a homogeneous structure of an object or outside environment/action to a heterogeneous structure

b. Have different parts of the object carry out different functions

c. Place each part of the object under conditions most favorable for its operation

Examples:

• To combat dust in coal mines, a fine mist of water in a conical form is applied to working parts of the drilling and loading machinery. The smaller the droplets, the greater the effect in combating dust, but fine mist hinders the work. The solution is to develop a layer of coarse mist around the cone of fine mist.
• A pencil and eraser in one unit.

4. Asymmetry

a. Replace a symmetrical form with an asymmetrical form.

b. If an object is already asymmetrical, increase the degree of asymmetry

Examples:

• Make one side of a tire stronger than the other to withstand impact with the curb
• While discharging wet sand through a symmetrical funnel, the sand forms an arch above the opening, causing irregular flow. A funnel of asymmetrical shape eliminates the arching effect. [add picture here]

5. Combining

a. Combine in space homogeneous objects or objects destined for contiguous operations

b. Combine in time homogeneous or contiguous operations

Example:

• The working element of a rotary excavator has special steam nozzles to defrost and soften the frozen ground

6. Universality

Have the object perform multiple functions, thereby eliminating the need for some other object(s)

Examples:

• Sofa which converts into a bed
• Minivan seat which adjusts to accommodate seating, sleeping or carrying cargo

7. Nesting

a. Contain the object inside another which, in turn, is placed inside a third object

b. Pass an object through a cavity of another object

Examples:

• Telescoping antenna
• Chairs which stack on top of each other for storage
• Mechanical pencil with lead stored inside

8. Counterweight

a. Compensate for the object's weight by joining with another object that has a lifting force

b. Compensate for the weight of an object by interaction with an environment providing aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forces

Examples:

• Boat with hydrofoils
• A rear wing in racing cars which increases pressure from the car to the ground

9. Prior counter-action

a. Perform a counter-action in advance

b. If the object is (or will be) under tension, provide anti-tension in advance

Examples:

• Reinforced concrete column or floor
• Reinforced shaft made from several pipes which have been previously twisted to some specified angle

10. Prior action

a. Carry out all or part of the required action in advance

b. Arrange objects so they can go into action in a timely matter and from a convenient position

Examples:

• Utility knife blade made with a groove allowing the dull part of the blade to be broken off, restoring sharpness
• Rubber cement in a bottle is difficult to apply neatly and uniformly. Instead, it is formed into a tape so that the proper amount can be more easily applied.

11. Cushion in advance

Compensate for the relatively low reliability of an object by countermeasures taken in advance

Example:

• Merchandise is magnetized to deter shoplifting.

12. Equipotentiality

Change the working conditions so that an object need not be raised or lowered.

Example:

• Automobile engine oil is changed by workers in a pit to avoid using expensive lifting equipment

13. Inversion

a. Instead of an action dictated by the specifications of the problem, implement an opposite action

b. Make a moving part of the object or the outside environment immovable and the non-moving part movable

c. Turn the object upside-down

Example:

• Abrasively cleaning parts by vibrating the parts instead of the abrasive

14. Spheroidality

a. Replace linear parts or flat surfaces with curved ones; replace cubical shapes with spherical shapes

b. Use rollers, balls spirals

c. Replace a linear motion with rotating movement; utilize a centrifugal force

Example:

• Computer mouse utilized ball construction to transfer linear two-axis motion into vector motion

15. Dynamicity

a. Make an object or its environment automatically adjust for optimal performance at each stage of operation

b. Divide an object into elements which can change position relative to each other

c. If an object is immovable, make it movable or interchangeable

Examples:

• A flashlight with a flexible gooseneck between the body and the lamp head
• A transport vessel with a cylindrical-shaped body. To reduce the draft or a vessel under full load, the body is comprised of two hinged, half-cylindrical parts which can be opened.

16. Partial or overdone action

If it is difficult to obtain 100% of a desired effect, achieve somewhat more or less to greatly simplify the problem

Examples:

• A cylinder is painted by dipping into paint, but contains more paint than desired. Excess paint is then removed by rapidly rotating the cylinder.
• To obtain uniform discharge of a metallic powder from a bin, the hopper has a special internal funnel which is continually overfilled to provide nearly constant pressure.

17. Moving to a new dimension

a. Remove problems with moving an object in a line by two-dimensional movement (i.e. along a plane)

b. Use a multi-layered assembly of objects instead of a single layer

c. Incline the object or turn it on its side

Example:

• A greenhouse which has a concave reflector on the northern part of the house to improve illumination of that part of the house by reflecting sunlight during the day.

18. Mechanical vibration

a. Set an object into oscillation

b. If oscillation exists, increase its frequency, even as far as ultrasonic

c. Use the resonant frequency

d. Instead of mechanical vibrations, use piezovibrators

e. Use ultrasonic vibrations in conjunction with an electromagnetic field

Examples:

• To remove a cast from the body without injuring the skin, a conventional hand saw was replaced with a vibrating knife
• Vibrate a casting mold while it is being filled to improve flow and structural properties

19. Periodic action

a. Replace a continuous action with a periodic (pulsed) one

b. If an action is already periodic, change its frequency

c. Use pulsed between impulses to provide additional action

Examples:

• An impact wrench loosens corroded nuts using impulses rather than continuous force
• A warning lamp flashes so that it is even more noticeable than when continuously lit

20. Continuity of a useful action

a. Carry out an action continuously (i.e. without pauses), where all parts of an object operate at full capacity

b. Remove idle and intermediate motions

Example:

• A drill with cutting edges which permit cutting in forward and reverse directions

21. Rushing through

Perform harmful or hazardous operations at very high speed

Example:

• A cutter for thin-walled plastic tubes prevents tube deformation during cutting by running at a very high speed (i.e. cuts before the tube has a chance to deform)

22. Convert harm into benefit

a. Utilize harmful factors or environmental effects to obtain a positive effect

b. Remove a harmful factor by combining it with another harmful factor

c. Increase the amount of harmful action until it ceases to be harmful

Examples:

• Sand or gravel freezes solid when transported through cold climates. Over-freezing (using liquid nitrogen) makes the ice brittle, permitting pouring.
• When using high frequency current to heat metal, only the outer layer became hot. This negative effect was later used for surface heat-treating.

23. Feedback

a. Introduce feedback

b. If feedback already exists, reverse it

Examples:

• Water pressure from a well is maintained by sensing output pressure and turning on a pump if pressure is too low
• Ice and water are measured separately but must combine to total a specific weight. Because ice is difficult to dispense precisely, it is measured first. The weight is then fed to the water control device, which precisely dispenses the needed amount.

24. Mediator

a. Use an intermediary object to transfer or carry out an action

b. Temporarily connect an object to another one that is easy to remove

Example:

• To reduce energy loss when applying current to a liquid metal, cooled electrodes and intermediate liquid metal with a lower melting temperature are used.

25. Self-service

a. Make the object service itself and carry out supplementary and repair operations

b. Make use of wasted material and energy

Examples:

• To prevent wear in a feeder which distributes an abrasive material, its surface is made from the abrasive material
• In an electric welding gun, the rod is advanced by a special device. To simplify the system, the rod is advanced by a solenoid controlled by the welding current.

26. Copying

a. Use a simple and inexpensive copy instead of an object which is complex, expensive, fragile or inconvenient to operate.

b. Replace an object by its optical copy or image. A scale can be used to reduce or enlarge the image.

c. If visible optical copies are used, replace them with infrared or ultraviolet copies

Example:

• The height of tall objects can be determined by measuring their shadows.

27. Inexpensive, short-lived object for expensive, durable one

Replace an expensive object by a collection of inexpensive ones, forgoing properties (e.g. longevity)

Examples:

• Disposable diapers

28. Replacement of a mechanical system

a. Replace a mechanical system by an optical, acoustical or olfactory (odor) system

b. Use an electrical, magnetic or electromagnetic field for interaction with the object

c. Replace fields

1. Stationary fields with moving fields

2. Fixed fields with those which change in time

3. Random fields with structured fields

d. Use a field in conjunction with ferromagnetic particles

Example:

• To increase the bond between metal coating and a thermoplastic material, the process is carried out inside an electromagnetic field which applies force to the metal

29. Pneumatic or hydraulic construction

Replace solid parts of an object by gas or liquid. These parts can use air or water for inflation, or use air or hydrostatic cushions

Examples:

• To increase the draft of an industrial chimney, a spiral pipe with nozzles was installed. When air flows through the nozzles, it creates an air-like wall, reducing drag.
• For shipping fragile products, air bubble envelopes or foam-like materials are used.

30. Flexible membranes or thin film

a. Replace traditional constructions with those made from flexible membranes or thin film

b. Isolate an object from its environment using flexible membranes or thin film

Example:

• To prevent water evaporation from plant leaves, polyethylene spray was applied. After a while, the polyethylene hardened and plant growth improved, because polyethylene film passes oxygen better than water vapor.

31. Use of porous material

a. Make an object porous or add porous elements (inserts, covers, etc.)

b. If an object is already porous, fill the pores in advance with some substance

Example:

• To avoid pumping coolant to a machine, some of its parts are filled with a porous material soaked in coolant liquid. The coolant evaporates when the machine is working, providing short-term uniform cooling.

32. Changing the color

a. Change the color of an object or its surroundings

b. Change the degree of translucency of an object or processes which are difficult to see

c. Use colored additives to observe objects or processes which are difficult to see

d. If such additives are already used, employ luminescent traces or tracer elements

Examples:

• A transparent bandage enabling a wound to be inspected without removing the dressing
• A water curtain used to protect steel mill workers from overheating blocked infrared rays but not the bright light from the melted steel. A coloring was added to the water to create a filter effect while preserving the transparency of the water.

33. Homogeneity

Make those objects which interact with a primary object out of the same material or material that is close to it in behavior.

Example:

• The surface of a feeder for abrasive grain is made of the same material that runs through the feeder, allowing a continuous restoration of the surface.

34. Rejecting and regenerating parts

a. After it has completed its function or become useless, reject or modify (e.g. discard, dissolve, evaporate) an element of an object

b. Immediately restore any part of an object which is exhausted or depleted

Examples:

• Bullet casings are ejected after the gun fires
• Rocket boosters separate after serving their function

35. Transformation of the physical and chemical states of an object

Change an object's aggregate state, density distribution, degree of flexibility, temperature

Example:

• In a system for brittle friable materials, the surface of the spiral feedscrew was made from an elastic material with two spiral springs. To control the process, the pitch of the screw could be changed remotely.

36. Phase transformation

Implement an effect developed during the phase transition of a substance. For instance, during the change of volume, liberation or absorption of heat.

Example:

• To control the expansion of ribbed pipes, they are filled with water and cooled to a freezing temperature

37. Thermal expansion

a. Use a material which expands or contracts with heat

b. Use various materials with different coefficients of heat expansion

Example:

• To control the opening of roof windows in a greenhouse, bimetallic plates are connected to the windows. A change in temperature bends the plates, causing the window to open or close.

38. Use strong oxidizers

a. Replace normal air with enriched air

b. Replace enriched air with oxygen

c. Treat an object in air or in oxygen with ionizing radiation

d. Use ionized oxygen

Example:

• To obtain more heat from a torch, oxygen is fed to the torch instead of atmospheric air

39. Inert environment

a. Replace the normal environment with an inert one

b. Carry out the process in a vacuum

Example:

• To prevent cotton from catching fire in a warehouse, it is treated with inert gas while being transported to the storage area.

40. Composite materials

Replace a homogeneous material with a composite one

Example:

• Military aircraft wings are made of composites of plastics and carbon fibers for high strength and low weight

Dollar Auction Game

The movie "War Games" produced in the late 80s concludes with the protagonists reaching the stunning realization that the only way to win in the game of nuclear war is not to play the game in the first place. The Cold War was yet to be concluded then and people still lived under the cloud of unease that a nuclear war would end it all for the human race. With perfect hind-sight one wonders if there was any point in the whole exercise of building incredible nuclear arsenals to obtain a balance of terror in the game aptly called MAD--mutually assured destruction. But games nations play often do not lend themselves to rational explanations. Individuals too can exhibit irrational behavior or at least they may seem to be irrational until one examines the structure of incentives that people face.

One enlightening model of human behavior is the so-called "Dollar Auction" which illustrates the sort of trap that conflicts can lead to with costly consequences. This auction proceeds much as a normal auction except that while the highest bidder gets to keep the $1 bill bid upon, the second highest bidder has to pay the auctioneer the amount of the second highest bid.

This game played at a party leads to some unexpected outcomes which result from the dynamics of conflict escalation. Players exhibit irrationality in most cases and often the $1 bill is auctioned off for many times its value. This happens because there is a trap in the structure of the game where the loser not only does not get the prize but also loses the amount he bid.

Suppose the auction begins with a bid of 5 cents. This is appealing to most since 5 cents is worth bidding for a prize of a dollar. But as the bidding proceeds beyond 50 cents, the players are caught in a trap. At this point the game changes complexion. Assuming that bids have an increment of 5 cents, the person with the bid of 50 cents has an incentive to outbid the higher bid of 55 cents. Otherwise he would lose 50 cents and the winner would gain 45 cents. Naturally, the bidding continues upwards. The auctioneer from this point onwards stands to gain irrespective of what happens next. When the highest bid is 95 cents, the situation is not at all rosy for the second highest bidder. He stands to lose 90 cents if he stops there. He also knows that his opponent stands gain 5 cents. Therefore the bid reaches $1. The participants quickly realize that it is no longer a game in which either of them would win. The question from then on is whether one can stand to see one's opponent lose less than oneself. Because at this point both lose money but the "winner" loses a dollar less than the loser. The only winner in this game is the auctioneer.

What are the modes of termination of the dollar auction? First, the players could realize right up front the nature of the trap and refuse to participate. No one loses and the auctioneer doesn't gain anything. Once the auction starts, it is still possible for the players to exit without losing. This happens if the players collude and decide to not outbid each other and to stop before the highest bid reaches 50 cents. They could agree to split the profits among themselves. And the auctioneer loses money in this deal. This scenario does not occur because co-operation requires accommodating one's opponent's interests which may be inconceivable in a situation of escalating conflict. Once past the 50 cent mark, the auctioneer is assured of a profit. The game continues till one of the participants exhausts his capacity to bid any more or one decides to cut his losses and fold. The winner is of course not as badly off but still has the winner's curse of having paid more than the value of the prize to win the prize.

The only way to win at a dollar auction therefore is either to not participate or if one does begin, then to either reach a compromise with one's opponent or to exit as early in the game as possible.

Wars too have the peculiar characteristic that both parties, winner as well as the loser, pay. The dollar auction game illustrates the trap that nations fall into in a process of conflict escalation given the structure of strategic games.

The dollar auction is a perfect model of the conflict that India faces against Pakistan, with Kashmir being the dollar being auctioned. The bids in this auction are the military expenditure of each nation and the auctioneer is the one who collects the spoils of the military expenditures of the two nations. Since advanced industrialized countries are the major suppliers of arms, they play the role of the auctioneer quite well.

Models are abstractions of the real world and their utility derives from their ability to predict outcomes that obtain in the real world and to the extent that they explain observed behavior, they are useful. Does the dollar auction model explain the observed behavior of the participants of this Kashmir conflict? Consider the motives of the auctioneer in the model. The auctioneer has an incentive to see that the conflict is not terminated. The imminent bankruptcy of one of the participants could end the game. The auctioneer could offer to lend money to the party on the verge of bankruptcy and at the same time encourage the other party to continue with the bidding. The recent IMF loans extended to Pakistan is an instance of this move in the real world that the model predicts. The intervention of the AICs to end the conflict would be parallel to the auctioneer, contrary to his interests, stopping the bidding game. This would not happen in the model and it does not happen in the world it attempts to model. One could be puzzled by the seeming irrationality of the IMF lending money to Pakistan while at the same time the AICs agreeing that India is the aggrieved party. All puzzlement disappears once one notices that this strategy precludes the possibility of the game ending too soon.

Nations are not monolithic entities. They are comprised of groups with different incentives and interests. Even in the so-called developing world there are groups whose interests align more closely with corresponding groups in the advanced industrialized countries. Politicians and arms dealers in poor countries stand to gain as much from conflict escalation as do the owners of the military-industrial complex of the advanced industrialized countries. The crowds who stand at the sidelines and cheer on the combatants are the leaders, the commanders, and the arms manufacturers of all the countries that are in the conflict as well as those that just supply the arms. The average citizens in both the countries stand to lose not just in terms of human lives but also in terms of a lower standard of living necessitated by the hardships imposed on them to pay for the military hardware bought from the AICs.

In a recent op-ed piece titled "Stopping America's Most Lethal Export" in the New York Times, winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize Oscar Arias wrote: "While the arms industry profits, people throughout the world suffer... the true weapons of mass destruction are the jet fighters, tanks, machine guns and other military exports that the United States ships to non- democratic countries--a record $8.3 billion worth in the 1997 fiscal year, the last year for which figures are available." Aside from anything else, the incontrovertible fact is that war is costly for all except for weapons manufacturers.

Kashmir has been immensely costly to India and in all likelihood Kashmir would ultimately kill the already crippled Pakistan. While India is likely to win in the end, it would have paid way too much in terms of blood, sweat and tears. The problem is that India played the game somewhat like a novice playing the dollar auction--raising the bid by 5 cents each time.

If the more powerful player in the dollar auction goes to the other in the initial stages of the game and makes a credible commitment of setting aside an amount greater than the amount the other can ever bid, then the second player would find it rational to not bid at all. This would be so because the second player knows that not only will he lose for sure, but that it will be a fatal loss. This way, the first player not only does not have to spend the money set aside but actually wins the dollar for just 5 cents. The winner has to make a credible threat to ruin the other party. Any vacillation on the part of the stronger party would preclude this outcome.

India should have announced that it was willing and capable of outbidding Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir irrespective of what Pakistan could ever afford to bid. A credible announcement does not necessarily amount to actually spending the outrageous amount; it only requires the demonstration of the will to do so if the contingency arose.

However, now the game is at a stage where each country has already bid an amount greater than the value of the prize. There are two outcomes: one, the game ends with Pakistan going bankrupt; or two, India and Pakistan negotiate an end to the conflict with the border status quo ante. It is unlikely that the interests that stand to gain from continued conflict would allow the first possibility. Every time Pakistan appears to be taking its last gasp, resuscitation in the form of financial aid would appear either from the AICs or from oil-rich Islamic countries. The second scenario is unlikely unless India makes it very clear that it is willing to risk losing a large number of its citizens in a nuclear attack by Pakistan.

Either way, India will suffer the winner's curse of having paid too dearly for the prize. As in the movie War Games, the only way to win is to not play the game in the first place.

Closures vs. Objects

The venerable master Qc Na was walking with his student, Anton. Hoping to prompt the master into a discussion, Anton said "Master, I have heard that objects are a very good thing - is this true?" Qc Na looked pityingly at his student and replied, "Foolish pupil - objects are merely a poor man's closures."

Chastised, Anton took his leave from his master and returned to his cell, intent on studying closures. He carefully read the entire "Lambda: The Ultimate..." series of papers and its cousins, and implemented a small Scheme interpreter with a closure-based object system. He learned much, and looked forward to informing his master of his progress.

On his next walk with Qc Na, Anton attempted to impress his master by saying "Master, I have diligently studied the matter, and now understand that objects are truly a poor man's closures." Qc Na responded by hitting Anton with his stick, saying "When will you learn? Closures are a poor man's object." At that moment, Anton became enlightened.

The Swedish Ship Vasa

In the 1620s, Sweden and Poland were at war and the King of Sweden determined to put a swift end to it. Gustavus Adolphus commissioned a new warship, the likes of which had never been seen before. The Vasa shown in the figure was to be the world’s most formidable instrument of war: 70 meters long, able to carry 300 soldiers, and with astonishing 64 heavy guns mounted on two gun decks. The king, seeking to add overwhelming fire power to his navy to strike a decisive blow and shortened the war, insisted on stretching the Vasa’s armaments to the limits. Her architect, Henrik Hybertsson, was a seasoned Dutch shipbuilder with an impeccable reputation, but Vasa was beyond even his broad experience. Two-gun-deck ships were rare, and none had been built of the Vasa’s size and armament.

Like all architects of the systems that push the envelope of experience, Hybertsson had to balance many concerns. Swift time to deployment was critical, but then so were performance, functionality, safety, reliability and cost. He was also responsible to a variety of stakeholders. First of all, in this case, the customer really was King. But Hybertsson also was responsible to the crew that would sail his creation. Also like all architects, Hybertsson brought his experience with him to the task. In this case, his experience told him to design Vasa as though it were a single-gun-deck ship and then extrapolate, which was in accordance with the technical environment of the day. Faced with perhaps an impossible task, Hybertsson had the good sense to die about an year before the ship was finished.

The project was completed to his specifications, however, and on Sunday morning, August 10, 1628, the mighty ship was ready. She set her sails, waddled out into Stockholm’s deep-water harbor, fired her guns in salute and promptly rolled over. Water poured in through the open gun ports, and the Vasa plummeted. A few minutes later her first and only voyage ended 30 meters beneath the surface. Dozens among her 159-man crew drowned.

Inquiries followed, which concluded that the ship was well built but “badly proportioned”. In other words, its architecture was flawed. Today we know that Hybertsson did a poor job of balancing all the conflicting constraints levied on him. In particular, he did a poor job of customer management (not that anyone could have fared better) and acquiesced in the face of impossible requirements.

The story of Vasa, although 370 years old, well illustrated the architecture business cycle: Enterprise goals beget requirements, which begets an architecture, which begets a system. The architecture flows from the architect’s experience and technical environment of the day. Hybertsson suffered from the fact that neither of those were up to the task before him.

Our goal is to give architects another way out of their design dilemmas than the one that befell the ill-faced Dutch ship designer. Death before deployment is not nearly so admired these days.

Source: Software Architecture in Practice

--- Len Bass, Paul Clements, Rick Kazman

We are in denial

Negating identity causes inaction, sloth and lethargy Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

If you come across a Communist, with a Hindu name, and ask him about his identity, he will deny being a Hindu. Yet, a Muslim Communist often claims his identity without hesitation. One wonders what causes this difference in attitude.

It is interesting to probe into the psyche of identity, which often is a source of security, insecurity, conflict and comfort. Perhaps the following reasons would answer the identity crises of the Hindus. The broadmindedness of Hinduism, its inherent inclusiveness and secularism, makes Hindus feel guilty about claiming their identity, as it is embedded in their philosophy that it is wrong to exclude others. Claiming a religious identity makes them feel they are excluding others and so they shy away from doing so.

Hindus have been traditionally groomed by the Vedanta to drop all identities. This has deeply influenced the Hindu psyche. Hindu philosophy is woven around egolessness. Let alone their religion, some sadhus don’t even say their name; they would say, “What’s in a name?” Sanyasis are even shy to talk about their parentage. A renowned ascetic in Rishikesh would meet with everybody, but not his own mother and family. When asked, he would say, “I am Vedanti; once I have taken sanyasa, I have dropped all my identities.”

This is an erroneous understanding of Vedanta. Why do we fear the identity so much? Seeing identity as stumbling blocks for one’s growth is ignorance. Sanyasa is transcending identity; it is being in that centredness from where you have equal love and compassion for all. It is the unshakable light and richness that one has found in one’s Being which is universal. Transcending identity is different from denying identity. When religious leaders themselves denounce their identity, the community follows suit. This is akin to the thought that secularism is anti-religion.

Caste identity is in some places much stronger than religious identity. The normal tendency is to go for one single identity than for a dual one. So, between caste and religion, many Hindus seem to go for caste. Hindus feel ashamed of the ills of Hinduism — its superstition, untouchability, and practices like sati are usually highlighted in the media, rather than its unparalleled philosophy and scientific temperament. Thus, for several centuries Hindu bashing has been a fashion.

The media seems to have given the prerogative of Hindu identity to the RSS and VHP and secular-minded Hindus would not like to associate with these two organisations. As a result they shy away from their own identity.

Within India itself, we witness a great deal of ignorance about the Hindu religion and its scriptures. Although Hindus form 80 per cent population of India, there is still only one university which teaches Hinduism — whereas there are five which teach Islam, five which teach Christianity, two which teach Sikhism and one that teaches Jainism. You would find every Muslim would know a couple of verses from the Quran; you can hardly find a Christian who has not read the Bible.

But Hindus who know Sanskrit or a few shlokas are rare. Most educated Hindus know the Bible; they know Christmas carols. When they know nothing about their religion, how can they take pride in it?

There are 1.25 billion Hindus in the world, a little over one-sixth of the world’s population, but you hardly find a single Hindu lobby at international forums. You will find a Christian lobby, a Muslim lobby or a Jewish lobby, but you can’t find a Hindu lobby. Just 12 million Jews in the world are such a powerful voice. Buddhists also have a voice and make their presence felt at world forums.

In countries of south and central America and in Europe, although they are secular democracies, they are not shy to proclaim their allegiance to Christianity. You will find the religious symbol of the Cross placed in their parliaments; chaplains offer prayer before every official dinner. While associations like YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) have gained wide acceptance. Why then is it that Hindu associations are viewed with skepticism?

A strong community is an asset to any nation. A weak community will always be in fear and because of insecurity will become aggressive. It is the pride in one’s identity which strengthens the community. Identity is in no way contradictory to universality.

People often ask, “Will not the concept of global family, Vasudhaiva Kutambakam, contradict patriotism? Similarly, will your religious identity not conflict with your universality?’’ The answer is “No”. Your duty as a family man is not a hindrance for your realisation that you are Brahman. You don’t need to run away to the forest to realise “All this is Brahman”. Your being spiritual in no way contradicts your being a socially responsible citizen. In fact, it enhances your ability to care and share.

The conflict in the world is because people are either stuck in their identity, and die for it, or shy away from their identity and lose their roots. One has to opt for a middle path. The ideal situation will be when every religion transcends its identity. Until that time, it is unwise for the Hindus to let go of their identity. We cannot, and should not, eliminate differences on this planet. We need to celebrate the differences. And this is the uniqueness of Bharat — from the atheism of Charvaka to Bhakthi Panth and Sufism, it’s one beautiful bouquet.

An identity is related to an action. Denial of identity will dump you in inaction, sloth and lethargy and hence Krishna reminds Arjuna of his Kshatriya identity even while giving “Brahma gyan” to remind him of his duties and responsibilities. Otherwise while giving this High knowledge of the Self, why would Krishna remind him again and again of his limited identity. The limited identity in no way contradicts the universal one. A policeman cannot perform his duties — steer the traffic — if he fails to acknowledge his identity. Similarly, if a businessman shies away from his identity, he cannot function. The same is the story of Hindu identity. India cannot make a distinct mark on the world if it ignores its religious and spiritual heritage.

Mokusatsu ...One word, misinterpreted...

A Japanese word, Mokusatsu, may have changed all our lives. It has two meanings: (1) to ignore (2) to refrain from comment. The release of a press statement using the second meaning in July 1945 might have ended the war then. The Emperor was ready to end it, and had the power to do so. The cabinet was preparing to accede to the Postdam ultimatum of the Allies – surrender or be crushed – but wanted a little more time to discuss the terms. A press release was prepared announcing a policy of “mokusatsu”, with the “no comment” implication. But it got on the foreign wires with the “ignore” implication through a mix-up in translation: “The cabinet ignores the demand to surrender”. To recall the release would have entailed an unthinkable loss of face. Had the intended meaning been publicized, the cabinet might have backed up the Emperor’s decision to surrender. In which event, there might have been no atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, no Russian armies in Manchuria, No Korean war to follow. The lives of tens of thousands of Japanese and American boys might have been saved. One word, misinterpreted.

Courtesy: “Power of words”

Stuart Chase