Varieties Of Intuition - MBTI: Ni And Ne

I have been intrigued by intuition, and the difference between extraverted and introverted varieties. 

After going through the definitions of N, and various articles I was sure that I was S and not N. A friend of mine would insist that I was N. 

I kept thinking.

Intuition is the ability to see patterns in data, the ability to see possibilities, the ability to intuit - "a ha, the butler did it (the murder)" rather than painstakingly go through all the clues to figure out who did it. 

As I reflected further, I realized that N had two distinct halves, I had one half and none of the other half. I could see pattern, I could sense a pattern, condense data but ,for the life of me, I could not see intuit (in the dictionary meaning of the English word).

I now understand the two halves this way. One part which goes downstream from data which perhaps is deduction (Ni). Another part which goes upstream and sees what could have caused the data (Ne). The latter is very close to what is generally known as feminine intuition.

If you look at the data here which shows the details of each MBTI type and statistics... you will see that there is a marked difference in the prevalence of Ti and Te (as dominant functions) between the genders. You can filter for the dominant function to be Ti and Te and see the sum of male percentages and sum for female percentages. 

Same for Fi and Fe across the genders. Now when we come to Ni and Ne, we find that male percentage of Ni is almost double of female percentage while female percentage for Ne is about 20% higher than male percentage.

Doesn't this seem to indicate that Ni goes with T and Ne with F? Meaning that the N/S and T/F are perhaps not independent dimensions. Look at the correlation between F/T and J/P. F constitute total (Male + Female) 60% of population, of which half is FJ and half FP. But if we look at T which constitute 40% of population, 24% is TJ and 16% is TP. But that is going to be a different post about interrelation between different parameters.

A good explanation of the difference between Ni and Ne is given here in the comment by sociotronics. Ni eliminates ideas to reach the one and only "best fit". 

A simple statement "I am fine" would be perhaps seen by Ni as just that. No other information or possibility could be derived. While an Ne could see what caused Jim to say "I am fine", that Jim perhaps wasn't feeling good when he said that, may be.... See the difference? When you take a data point and go downstream with it, sometimes you can't go anywhere because there is no pattern to be found, yet. But if you went upstream you could see a possibility. Ne is from the heart. Ni is from the head!

I am reminded of a maths problem about dividing 17 camels. Which of Ni or Ne could solve the problem? I think Ne.

Additional reading:
http://www.personalitypathways.com/education.html

Communication, Marketing And The Dreapta Foot Forward

I have been reading a few articles on what makes you look fat and how to care for your tresses. And I thought, wow.. These are the need of the hour for the modern woman. All said and done, if it's your bad hair day and if you look fat, what else you got... :(

Then I read about the rape of a woman by a Uber taxi driver in, where else?, Delhi. And Uber's response that the company carries no liability insofar as the behavior of the drivers are concerned. Any personal damages suffered by the passenger is to taken up with the driver and/or the owner. And not with Uber. And this is the same company till yesterday mentioned that it's the safest rides on the road. 

No, I am not saying Uber is any less safe than other taxis. Delhi is an awful place for any man, woman or child or cat. Nevertheless, when an entity that proclaims itself to be the safest and also says that it is not responsible for the safety of the passengers (only the driver / owner of the taxi is responsible), one wonders...

I am reminded of an advertisement for bharatmatrimony.com which I see on TV. "Hum unse milate hai jo aapko samjh paate hain"  - we connect you to such people who understand you

If a marriage with a partner you found on bharatmatrimony doesn't work, do you get to sue Bharatmatrimony? How different is a Bharatmatrimony from Uber? Both seem to claim things which they cant follow through ("safety" in the case of Uber and well, aaah ummm, connecting you with right partners in the case of Bharatmatrimony). 

Who are these people, companies who say all those cute words but are very sure that they will not be accountable for those words? How many other such people are there around us?

The point is that there are some assertions made by entities which sound very good but they will not put it on paper. How do you know which assertions belong to this kind?

Art Of Negotiation

I was watching Mahabharata today - the scene where Satyavati tells Bheeshma that she will not marry Bheeshma's father Shantanu because Bheeshma is the crown prince. That her children would never become the prince, they would only be lowly soldiers while he, Bheeshma, would go on to become the king and she could never accept that.

I wonder. She was a fisherwoman and the king was in love with her. And she said categorically that she would marry him only if her children could ascend the throne in place of Bheeshma.

What kind of a person was she? Such an ambition.

And I can't help thinking of Wallis Simpson who was in a similar position with Edward VIII (Uncle of Elizabeth who is the current queen) in England in late 1930's. Did she negotiate thus? 

Could Shantanu have abdicated in favor of Bheeshma and married Satyavati? What kind of people were Shantanu, Satyavati and Bheeshma and Satyavati's father?

A friend of mine showed me the Bengali version here. Satyavati apparently gave Shantanu two options, either give up his kingdom as Edward VIII had done or make her the queen and ensure that her children would become the prince in place of Bheeshma.

Well each version of Mahabharat tells the story with a different flavor. Which version depicts the real Satyavati or the real anyone in that epic for that matter? My comment on Satyavati above was with respect to the character I saw on Vijay TV showing a Tamil version. I use the article "a" and not "the" as I am not sure how many Tamil versions there are.

Focusing on the Bengali version, Satyavati gave 2 options. Either that Shantanu give up his kingdom or ensure that her children would go on to ascend the throne. While both the options were painful to Shantanu I myself perhaps look more kindly upon the first option. But is the 1st option really so much better than the 2nd? Does the 1st option make Satyavati's character much better?

Telephone, Radio, Train, Car, Cycle Songs

After my previous posts on Horse Songs and Piano & Dance Songs, here is a post on Phone, train and cycle songs. As with other posts this is just a beginning and I expect to edit this post as when I come across other such songs from the golden era. 

A nice train song is Chalte Chalte Yun Hi Koi Mil sung by Lata in the movie Paakeezah (1972, MD: Ghulam Mohammad). Another nice train song is Hum Dono Do Premi sung by Kishore and Lata in the movie Ajnabee (1974, MD: RD Burman). RD Burman gave some good songs in the early 1970s. Zeenat looks gorgeous in a (green) sari. Even though she is not plump, sari also suits her well.

A very cute train song is Yeh Rang Bhare Baadal sung by Rafi and Asha in Tu Nahin Aur Sahi (1960, MD: Ravi). The train is shown often. The woman, Minu Mamtaz I guess, looks good.

Mere Sapnon Ki Rani Kab Aayegi Tu sung by Kishore for Rajesh Khanna in the movie Aradhana (1969, MD: SD Burman) is a lovely song. The photography is beautiful and so is the narrow gage toy train and Sharmila (and the very young Farida Jalal who comes later on in the movie). The Darjeeling scenery is gorgeous and so is Sharmila reading a James Hadley Chase novel) while Rajesh Khanna is driving by on a jeep. 

A sweet train song is Lata singing (for a very cute Sadhana) Hum Ne Tujh Ko Pyaar Kiya in the movie Dulha Dulhan (1964, MD: Kalyanji Anandji). Raj Kapoor was 1924 born and Sadhana was born in 1941.

The song Rukh Se Zara Naqaab sung by Rafi in the movie Mere Huzoor (1968, MD: Shankar Jaikishan) is a melodious one. Jeetendra sings while in a train thinking of Mala Sinha. The train compartment is of an old design - wooden colored compartments. The music aligns itself with the sounds of the train. 

Raahi Matwaale Tu Chhed Ek Baar sung by Talat Mehmood and Suraiya in the movie Waaris (1954, MD: Anil Biswas) is a beautiful train song.

A relatively new melodious train song I like is Chhaiyya Chhaiyya sung by Sukhwinder Singh / Palghat Sriram and Malgudi Subha in the movie Uyire / Dil Se (1998, MD AR Rehman). The visual in the song is absolutely stunning. I think part of the song (where they show the train crossing a bridge high above the road) was shot in Kollam district in Kerala. Incidentally the dance in the song is also very appealing.

Another new nice Tamil train song is Chiththirai Maasam Pournami Neram sung by P Susheela in the movie Raman Eththanai Ramanadi (1970, MD: MS Viswanathan). This song is melodious in direct contrast to the title song of the movie. And it is very similar to the (non-song) sequence in the movie Thillaana Mohanambaal. Sivaji Ganesan in both movies while Padmini was there in the Thillaana movie, KR Vijaya supported Sivaji in the Raman movie.

An offbeat train song is Chaattai Kaiyil Kondu sung by Cheergazhi in the movie Anantha Jothi (1970, MD: TK Ramamurthy) - a cow song (not a horse song!) with a train sound. Nice combination.

A sad lovely train song is Asha Chhilo Bhaalobhaash Chhilo sung by Kishore in the Bengali movie Ananda Ashram (1977, MD: Shyamal Mitra). Since the song is so nice, I happened to notice the lyrics. Wonder why I am reminded of the song Na Kisi Ki Aankh Ka Noor Hoon sung by Rafi in the movie Laal Quila (1960, SN Tripathi). The sadness is overpowering in both the songs - just like Raha Gardishon Mein Hardum in Do Badan (1966, MD: Ravi).

Kelvi Piranthathu Andru is a lovely train song in Tamil. It is from the movie Pachchai Vilakku (1960, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy).

The song Kaise Bheegi Bheegi Pyaare Hain sung by Rafi and Lata from the movie Apna Ghar (1960, MD: Ravi) is a cycle song while the beat would make you aver that it was a horse song. The song is beautiful, nevertheless. The pair go doubles cycling in the song.

A melodious cycle song is Maalaiyum Iravum sung by PB Srinivas and S Janaki in the movie Paasam (1961, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy). The guy is Kalyankumar. I wonder who the lady is. 

Maalaiyum Iravum sung by PB Srinivas and S Janaki in the movie Bantha Paasam (1962, MD: Viswanathan Ramamuthy) is a lovely cycle song with Kalyankumar and Devika in the song sequence - reminds me of Nenjam Marappathillai. Matter of fact most songs in both movie are good.

You have to listen to Mukesh and Lata in Bikra Ke Zulfein Chaman Mein Na Jaana in the movie Nazraana (1961, MD: Ravi). The music is sooo beautiful. Vyjayanthimala is slim and beautiful. They do show a couple of cycles right in the beginning of the song. And notice it's a Ravi song in the early 60s.

A lovely song is Ban Ke Panchhi sung by Lata in the movie Anaari (1959, MD:Shankar Jaikishan). Nutan and Shubha Khote are shown in the song sequence. Nutan, like Jayalalitha, is a good singer as well.

A beautiful cycle song is Santhippoma Ini Santhippoma sung by PB Srinivas and LR Easwari in the movie Chiththi (1966, MD: MS Viswanathan). The music is gorgeous in the song. I guess the effect of Ramamurthy was still there on the music director Viswanathan.

The next cycle song Vaadikkai Maranthathum Yeno வாடிக்கை மறந்ததும் ஏனோ - is a reasonably good one. It was sung by AM Raja in the movie Kalyaana Parisu (1954, MD: TG Lingappa). 

Now we come to an interesting cycle song - Cycle Pe Haseenon Ki Toli sung by Manna De,  Rafi and Asha in the movie Amaanat (1977, MD: Ravi). It's one of the most awful songs I have come across. Ravi created this song? OMG.


A beautiful cycle song picturized on actress Nanda by a music director who is not known for such songs is Kaise Bheege Bheege Pyaare Hai Nazaare, sung by Suman Kalyanpur and Rafi in the movie Apa Ghar (MD: Ravi, 1960). The tune of this song reminds me of another Hindi song from that era. I am yet to figure out that song which has the same tune as this one.

Saanson Ke Taar Par Geet Gaaya Pathhron Ne sung by Mahendra Kapoor and Asha in Geet Gaaya Pathharon Ne (1964, MD: Ramlal) is a lovely cycle song. Rajashri and Jeetendra look terrific. You get to see a lot of sculptures too. Surprising that Jeetendra was still acting in movies with Jayaprada and Sridevi in 1980's twenty years later.

Mein Chali Mein Chali sung by Lata in the movie Padosan (1967, MD: RD Burman) is a decent song. The music is average, Saira Banu and the color and the scenes make it worth watching. Worth hearing? Hmmm not quite.

An old Tamil cycle song is Vantha Naal Muthal sung by TMS in the movie Paava Mannippu (1962, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy). This is a slow song showing Sivaji Ganesan riding a cycle. I wouldn't rate this song as my favorite.

A decent cycle song is Jab Din Haseen Dil Ho Jawaan sung by Rafi and Asha in the movie Adaalat (1958, MD: Madan Mohan). Strange to see Pradeep Kumar and Nargis cycling. Not only that, the video on youtube seems to have a strange aspect ratio with low height and larger width resulting in everyone looking pregnant (with twins) :(.

Jalte Hain Jis Ke Liye sung by Talat Mehmood in the movie Sujata (1959, MD: SD Burman) is a beautiful phone song. If I am not mistaken there is a lot of Bengali influence in this movie. Read the wiki entry in the link above.

I love Johny Walker, the comedian for whom Rafi a good many songs. Jaane Kahaan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji sung by Rafi, for Johny Walker, and Geeta Dutt is a melodious phone song in the movie Mr and Mrs 55 (1955, MD: OP Nayyar). 

Neend Ud Jaaye Teri Chain Se Sone Waale is a sweet phone song sung by Suman Kalyanpur picturized on Shashi Kapoor and Nanda from the movie Juaari (1968, MD: Kalyanji Anandji). 

Aaj Kal Shauqe Deedar Hai sung by Rafi And Asha in the movie Leader (1964, MD: Naushad) is a phone song. You can give the song a skip. What Naushad was thinking about when he created the tune I wonder.

The next song Hello, Hello, Hello, you guessed it, is a very sweet phone song - sung by Rafi and Asha in the movie Minister (1959, MD: Madan Mohan). Madan Mohan has created some lovely melodies in this movie.

One of the best phone songs is Chaand Zard Zard Hai sung by Rafi and Asha in Jaali Note (1960, MD: OP Nayyar). This is one song that will make any unromantic person start tapping his toes. This also has a whistling towards the end.

Now we come to radio songs.
Thamizhukkum Amuthendru Per sung by P Susheela in Panchavarna Kili is a very nice Radio song. KR Vijaya looks very young and pretty unlike her normal plump self. 

Zindagi Bhar Nahin Bhoolegi sung by Rafi in the movie Barsaat Ki Raat (1960, MD: Roshan) is one of the most beautiful radio song in this collection. Madhubala is lost in her love for Bharat Bhushan. Roshan and Rafi have created pure magic. Though I am not particularly keen about looks, Bharat Bhushan really makes even me yearn for some facial reaction, something lively.

Next we have Amitabh in Abhimaan (1973, MD: SD Burman) - the song Meet Na Mila Re Man Ka sung by Kishore. You had Roshan in 1960 in Barsaat Ki Raat and SD in Abhimaan in 1973. Just 13 years, both music directors of the highest class. Yet the Abhimaan song if you listen in isolation is decent. But when you hear Barsaat Ki Raat, you want to take the radio in Abhimaan and throw it, perhaps at Bindu?

A beautiful train song is Mein Hoon Jhum Jhum Jhumroo sung by Kishore in Jhumroo (1961, MD: Kishore Kumar). This is one of the yodeling fun songs that Kishore is famous for. 

That reminds me to tap into nice car songs. 

The first that came to mind was the Mukesh sung Jo Tum Ko Ho Pasand Wahi Baat Karenge in the movie Safar (1970, MD: Kalyanji Anandji). This was during the heydays of Rajesh Khanna. I wouldn't consider this a classy song.

The next which happens to be a beautiful car song is Aise Tho Na Dekho sung by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur in the movie Bheegi Raat (1965, MD: Roshan). The trees, the colorful flowers, the gardens and Pradeep Kumar and Meena Kumari are worth watching as much as the song is worth listening to.

A nice car song with Ashok Kumar is Badli Mein Chhupe Chaand Ne Kuch Mujh Se Kahaan Hai sung by Hemant and Lata in Shatranj (1956, MD: C Ramchandra). Interesting to see Ashok Kumar paired with Meena Kumari.

I was listening to this song Hai Un Ki Woh Nigaahein sung by Asha. The lilting music and the rhythmic beats were reminiscent of OP Nayyar. No the song was from the movie Aankhri Daao (1958, MD: Madan Mohan). Nutan sitting in the back seat of a car singing this song. So beautiful - Nutan and the song. I think this is the first time I have come across a song sung by a heroine in the back seat. And another girl sitting next to her whistling. Amazing. Incidentally Nutan is also a singer. 


A lovely and interesting car song is Chaand Aahen Bharega sung by Mukesh in Phool Bane Angaare (1963, MD: Kalyanji Anandji). It's strange to hear a car song from Mukesh. Somehow I would never have associated Mukesh singing in classy circumstances. And looking at Mala Sinha, I get a feeling she looks like the Tamil actress Lakshmi (the heroine in Julie) - very classy looks in this song sequence.

A lovely car song is Vaazhnthu Paarka Vendum sung by PB Srinivas in the movie Shanthi (1965, MD: Viswanathan Ramamurthy). This must have been one of the last movies where the due created music together. And surprising that the movie was in black and white despite being released in 1965.

A very old and sweet car song is Jeevan Ke Safar Mein Raahi sung by Kishore in the movie Munimji (1955, MD: SD Burman). Looking at the video one wonders - Does Nalini Jaywant ever smile? She has the original pout. 

Another car song with Dev Anand is Hum Hai Raahi Pyaar Ke sung by Kishore which also includes a whistle. This is from the movie Nau Do Gyaaraah (1957, SD Burman). May be Osama Bin Laden loved this movie so much and that's why he chose the date nau gyarah (9/11).

A nice car song is Paravaigal Palavitham Ovvondrum Oruvitham sung by TMS Iruvar Ullam (1963, MD: KV Mahadevan). An interesting thing I want to mention here. No matter how nice a Tamil song is compared to other Tamil songs, they seem to be wanting (in music) when compared with a Hindi song of the same era (1950s and 60s).

Additional reading:

• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/04/piano-duets-in-hindi-movies.html
• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/10/melodious-horse-songs-in-indian-movies.http://dustedoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/ten-of-my-favourite-car-songs/
• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2010/12/old-indian-movies-songs-and-actors.html
• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/02/music-directors.html
• Someone else has written about Cycle songs. This is another nice post on Train songs by dustedoff.

What Is In A Name

My friend LEH, whose Tamil is very good, asked me what the word in Tamil for "Cake" was. I thought for sometime and I couldn't figure it out. I told her I had no idea and that I had never come across the Tamil word for cake. I added that perhaps it was better to use the English word itself "கேக்". She wasn't happy with my suggestion. She thought someone, an authority in Tamil, would have translated the word and she only had to find what the word was. And it was, as per her, imperative to use the appropriate Tamil word always.

I told her that there are plenty of words which are not there in the Tamil dictionary, and even if they were there, they are not known to most Tamil speaking people. I cited examples of such words: biscuit, coffee, cloud (as in internet) etc. And I suggested that we just use the English words in such cases. Matter of fact, such words don't exist in Hindi or Bengali etc either. I sought the help of other friends who are proficient in Hindi who agreed that they were not aware of those words in Hindi.

I told my friend that trying to find the right Tamil word for such nouns was a silly waste of time. And if some scholar were to coin words in the vernacular for such words, it was a colossal waste of time.

She was furious. She said the language (Tamil) had to keep up with the times and words which are now in common use in Tamil were once not there. It is our responsibility, as Tamilians, to keep the language current and to coin new words where necessary and inculcate the use of such words.

Hmmm. Maybe she has a point. So I tried my best. Here is my attempt below, though, slightly longish.

Cake = பெவாபிமூவிமு (abbreviation for பெண்மணிகளுக்கு வாழ்கையில் பிடித்த மூன்றே விஷயங்களில் முதன்மையானது - The other two being chocolate and ice-cream). For those of you who can't read Tamil, here is a rough translation: the first among the only three things in life that women like.

Hope I have made my friend happy. For her deep interest in knowing the Tamil word for Cake, I hereby recommend that she be known henceforth as CakeDG (I am loosely copying a theme from the Tamil movie Thillana Moganambal, where the heroine Mogana is given the title Thillana because of the extraordinary skill she displays in dancing to that Ragam).

Additional reading about my friend:
http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2013/09/speed-at-work.html

P/E - Markets - Potato, Tomato, Sensex And Nifty - PE Variations And Correlations With Returns

Prices today (Jan 2011)of :

1. Potato: Rs 55/Kg
2. Tomato: Rs 24/Kg
3. Sensex (P/E): 18.55 (note that values for Dividend Yield, P/E etc given for a year, month etc are average values for the period and not the closing values for the period) and latest value here (without history).
4. Nifty (P/E): 21.16. 

There is more than a 10% variation in the prices of the two indices. Hmmm.

Well tomato at another shop is Rs20/kg. There is more than a 10% difference in the prices of tomato also.

As on 2015 Jan 22:
P/E for Sensex = 19.7, That for Nifty = 22.21 (about 10% difference)
Tomato and Potato prices are about the same as mentioned above.

As on 12th Oct 2015:
Stocks that are likely to enter Sensex in the next decade: https://www.valueresearchonline.com/story/h2_storyview.asp?str=28987

3 year returns from equity correlated with P/E: http://craytheon.com/charts/nifty_pe_ratio_pb_value_dividend_yield_chart.php : 

• Buying at P/E (of Nifty) less than 22 gives a positive 3 year return. 
• See also this NSE article: http://bse2nse.com/fundamental-technical-analysis/189-nse-nifty-pe-chart-p-e-ratio-last-10-years.html 
• This article for Sensex and PE: http://www.dalalstreet.biz/forum/sensex-nifty/historical-sensex-forward-pe-chart/

P/E analysis for NIFTY: www.stableinvestor.com/2015/03/PE-Ratio-Analysis-India-in-2015.html and https://www.stableinvestor.com/2017/03/nifty-pe-ratio-analysis-2017.html

17 year returns of Sensex: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/markets-business/sensex-rises-5x-in-17-yrs-dont-pull-out-when-you-can-get-multibagger-returns-2302991.html

A Sensex historical P/E chart from 2008 to 2017 is given here: https://www.equitymaster.com/5minWrapUp/charts/index.asp?date=04/27/2017&story=1&title=Ten-Year-Sensex-PE


Additional reading:

1. http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2015/07/interesting-mutual-fund.html
2. Sensex data in the year 2008: http://bse-2001-2010.blogspot.in/p/bse-sensex-historical-prices-in-year.html
3. http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/01/pe-ratio-for-stock-market-index.html
4. http://www.fundsindia.com//select-funds
5. http://www.moneycontrol.com/mutual-funds/compare-funds/All
6. http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/how-to-choose-the-best-mutual-fund-for-your-portfolio/1/15779.html
7. http://www.investing-in-mutual-funds.com/standard-deviation.html
8. http://www.morningstar.in/mutualfunds/f0gbr06rc2/tata-balanced-fund-growth/risk-ratings.aspx
9. https://m.economictimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sensex-pe-jumps-16-in-a-day/articleshow/68162388.cms Sensex PE ratio jumps from 23 to 26 in a single day on account of Tata Motors' loss

Whistling In Songs

I have loved melody in songs. And appreciated people who sing well. While in college, there used to be a sweeper who could whistle so well that I would wait up to listen to him.

I was listening to the song "Neerodum Vaigaiyile" from the Tamil movie Paar Magale Paar and was enjoying the song and the sound of the whistle. I browsed about the latter and came across this very interesting post, that too in FB.

This song has a nice whistle: Aankhon Mein Kyaa Ji (1957, MD: SD Burman).

And here is another link, apparently there is a whistler's association.


Additional reading:

• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/04/piano-duets-in-hindi-movies.html -  Piano and dance songs
• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2011/10/melodious-horse-songs-in-indian-movies.html

EINSTFPJ - MBTI - Basic Theory

This was part of an earlier post. I removed it from there and created a new post here.

What I want to focus on is the kind of responses each personality type gives in various scenarios. This post is on understanding MBTI and its relevance to Vedic astrology.

I have been analyzing the various aspects of our personality for some time and trying to correlate it with the indications of planets in our horoscope. When I use the words horoscope and astrology I am not talking about Sun signs. I refer to Vedic astrology and I do not consider Uranus, Neptune, Pluto which are not part of Vedic astrology.

My specific focus is in splitting our personality layer by layer into our emotions, our mind, our desires, our drive, ability and so on. I want to find out which of these are synonyms or always go together and which of these are independent characteristics. For example desire and drive may not always go together. A person with a low drive may have a high desire or vice versa.

Guess, I have made clear what I want to understand.

This post will contain stuff on MBTI types. I will includes (links to) articles of interest and occasionally my own feelings. At present this post is unstructured and may not be reader friendly. 

Nice posts on MBTI:

• http://insightgame.org/intro.php
• Classroom learnng and MBTI types: http://personalityplaybook.com/2013/10/27/classroom-learning-and-the-16-types/
• http://infj-mbti.tumblr.com/post/102588507108/mbti-misconceptions
• http://www.newdirectionsconsulting.com/leadership-engagement/are-we-compatible-using-the-mbti-personality-assessment-with-couples/
• http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.htm
• http://www.inc.com/adam-heitzman/can-the-myers-briggs-predict-your-entrepreneurial-success.html
• http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/
• https://ebliz.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/why-you-behave-the-way-you-do-mbti-personality-types/

These are related articles on different MBtI topics:

• Inferior functions: 1
• Nice post on introverted sensing: 1
• Ti and Te: 1
• T and; F, ego: 1, 2
• J and P: 1, 2
• N and S: 1, 2, 3, 4 (nice one on misconceptions about S and N)
• Ni and Ne: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4
• Conflicts in TJ, FP etc: 1
• Difference between Ni, Ne and Women's intuition: 1
• Ni, No, Si, Se: 1 , 2
• Fi and Fe: 1
• Fi and comparing with other attributes: 1
• All functions in real life: 1
• NF: 1
• Relationship difficulties for N types: 1
• Gifted students: 1
• Gut feel: 1, 2
• Statistics on various MBTI types: 1, 2
• Differences between J(udging) and P(erceiving): 1
• Difference between T(hinking) and F(eeling): 1
• Forer effect on how predictions / analyses can sound nice and authentic and non unique and fits just about everyone/everything: 1, 2 (Lovely post.)
• Difference between S(ensing) and iN(tuition): 1 - While most articles tend to give an abstract definition of the two, this article seemed to me to explain the difference well.
• INTJ, INFP, INTP, INFJ Relationships, Compatibility, & the Inferior Function: 1 - very nice article.
• INTJ and INTP difference: 1, 2, 3
• On NF, NT, SF and ST - 1, 2 - both nice articles. 
• MBTI types in the classroom: 1, 2,
• Influential people: 1,
• Holland's 6 personality types or codes: 1, 2, 3
• Stress in different personality types: 1

Numbers given above are hyperlinks to different articles.

My discomfort with the definition of N or S is that they are defined on the basis of GATHERING info. I would say they are different in terms of storing info. Issues in relationships happen primarily because of differences in N and S and T and F. Intuition of the feminine kind is of a survival nature. Intuition as in NT (MBTI type) is to do with understanding the model of this world. N and F are similar in this nature - understanding or knowing what is not visible or obvious. F, E and P attributes are grounded with dealing with people. Such people deal with people much better than I, OR NT or J. Note that I used NT together.

We (rather, the definition of the type) say that N doesn't work with data, only the S does. But T processes the data and hence NT also possibly does. So when a person works with data, does it mean he is T and not N? See the confusion.

Put another way, if you see a person who is comfortable mulling on data, then is he NT? ST? SF? Definitely not NF. Read this to feel a good confusion about N (yes, you heard right).

Read this article. This article deals with intuition as defined in English. It has nothing to do with MBTI's N. The policeman who suddenly says (and maybe rightly) that the butler did the murder... Is NOT N. That kind of intuition is more F.

N, I think is about abstraction, about summarizing. Some people summarize, theorize based on data. These perhaps are the NTs. Some summarize without data whose opinions or theories are proved later when data become available. These perhaps are the NF's. N is the ability to see a pattern which others don't. Others see only disparate data, they are the S's. Is my understanding right? I read this lovely article today about the difference between abstract (perhaps "N") and concrete thinking (perhaps "S"). 

Relating MBTI to astrology:

A friend of mine told me this:

P stands for duality and Libran traits
J stands for fixed signs. I is all water and earth signs
E is all fire and air signs
N is a fire and water trait. S is an earth trait largely
T is an air trait
F is a water trait.

Venus refers to feelings, a keen grasp of sensory information, a need for comfort and hates to be rushed. It loves, is addicted to, comfort. and hence would refer to S, F and P. Saturn is thoughtful, cold and impersonal and pushes itself - it would refer to IT and J (as in MBTI). N would perhaps come from Rahu / Ketu. 

I tried to see whether the states defined in transactional analysis (TA). MBTI type ST. S seems to be the parent state, F the child state and NT the adult state.

It is said that N uses deduction while S uses induction. Some say that Ni uses deduction and Ne uses induction. A friend of mine and I keep arguing this point but we have not resolved it. 

Hearing what is not said, gut feeling and classic INTUITION are all F. These, I think have to do with MBTI N. N abstracts all data and stores only the theory behind it. This theory can be explained to an S but the S may or may not understand the theory. The S definitely won't agree with the theory, rather won't agree that the data points can be summarized so neatly into a theory. 


Here are some articles that explain the difference between induction and deduction:

• http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rmuhamma/Algorithms/MyAlgorithms/DeductInduct.htm
• https://suite.io/isaac-m-mcphee/jvn2y0    https://school.carm.org/amember/files/demo3/2_logic/deduction_induction.htm
• http://www.ekahimethod.com/demystifying-intuition/

A friend sent me this link. About the person whose quote is shown in the link: Is he an F or a T?

Additional reading:

1. http://zombiesintelligently.com/non-fiction/myers-briggs/
2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/give-and-take/201309/goodbye-mbti-the-fad-won-t-die
3. http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2012/11/bad-venus.html
4. http://vbala99.blogspot.in/2012/01/modified-five-factor-personality-type.html
5. http://vbala99.blogspot.in/2012/05/know-any-hsps.html
6. http://vbala99.blogspot.in/2012/06/new-vedic-astrology-mars-venus-saturn.html

Jesus, How Much More Complicated Can Life Get

The advent of DNA dealt a great blow to the issue of lying about paternity. Now we have this. What will a DNA test show? That the father is an earlier partner or the current one? If a man had an affair with another woman prior to his marriage, would his child resemble the other woman? (just kidding)

Additional reading: 

• http://vbala99.blogspot.com/2009/08/common-mistakes-in-perceptions.html

Disgusting

I have been trying to find what disgusts me. A friend of mine asked me to express what disgusted me.

I can think of couple of things.

• A tendency to establish superiority through words (by constant spamming: sending extra verbal messages which aren't exactly required for the subject being discussed but which are sneaked in to add "value") or mentioning association with things or people with high brand value ("dropping names").
• A desire to get things without providing equivalent value; usually through fraud, emotional manipulation or by expressing need.
• Extraordinary sense of loyalty to persons and sacrificing justice / fairness.

I watched a scene of Mahabharata the other day when the five Pandavas express deep anguish when they hear that Karna was their brother. All this long when the brothers didn't know the real birth details of Karna it didn't matter to them. That he had some positive attributes, they couldn't see. Now, the moment they knew that he was their elder brother, they couldn't but grieve. Now, how is that?

Another example is of Shakuni goading Yudhishtra to stake his brothers one by one in a game of dice.

"I don't think I / my sister / father /  daughter / husband / mother could have done such a thing. No way." "Our billing system could never make such a mistake" - these are examples of high loyalty.

What is the common thread running through all these? There is an alternate language being spoken here. Something quite different from the way I like. The language of Venus, I will call it for now, for want of a better expression. 

Do You Think I Should Have A Baby

This story begins with the line "Do you think I/we should ...?" - what I call a feminine line (used by men and women with a strong Venus) who ask this question after having made a decision. 

They go through this line a purpose: To establish that others/you were consulted before taking any action (note that I use the word "action" and not "decision"). For any risk that you/others might come up with on their plan of action, they figure out counteroffensives - but rarely do they change decisions.

But this story is very nicely written.

Jayalalalitha - Verdict In The Disproportionate Asset Case

Jayalalithaa was born on Feb 24 1948 near Mysore at 2:30PM. 

I see that she has Gemini Lagna with Jupiter in its own house in Sagittarius. Her 7th (Kendra lord) is powerful in its own house. I read a book a few years back by Gayatri Devi Vasudev where she mentioned that Jupiter, usually considered the best benefic, becomes a terrible malefic for Gemini Lagna as Kendrathipathi, being 7th lord.

For Gemini, Jupiter is the lord of the 7th and 10th and is a maha malefic. And she was running the swabhahara of Jupiter (Jupiter dasa and Jup bhukti) till Oct 20 2014 as per Jagannath Hora software. 

As a hugely malefic lord,  during its swabhahara, Jupiter perhaps brought down Jayalalithaa.

Maybe this is one of those infrequent instances where astrology gives a nice explanation to life's events.

Additional reading: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/jayalalithaa-verdict-assets-case-disproportionate-special-court/1/393035.html and http://www.thestatesman.net/news/79065-tight-vigil-for-jaya-assets-case-verdict.html (read the comments).

Added on 16th Feb 2017 after J's death couple months back and after Sasikala was sent to jail. It surprises me. How did Bangalore court acquit her? How do people like these survive and thrive? (not that Maran's are any better). And still the whole state is Head Over Heals with them. What with the Jallikattu incident and the DA case, I feel Tamil Nadu is no better than backward states like Bihar and UP.

• http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/da-case-justice-roy-blasts-jaya-and-co-says-magnitude-nefarious-gains-startling-57262
• http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/In-2000-it-took-three-days-for-Special-Court-to-assess-Jayalalithaa-Sasikala%E2%80%99s-jewels/article17301734.ece

Maths Puzzle

A friend of mine gave me this puzzle. Find the next number in the series: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 6, 2

Kunti, The Mother Of Pandavas In Mahabharata

When Arjun won the swayamvar held for Draupadi, the Pandavas along with Draupadi come to their mother to announce what happened. The Pandavas intimate to their mother that they have brought home something very special. The mother, perhaps busy, tells them to distribute what they have brought among themselves. And that is how, Draupadi ended up marrying 5 brothers.

Now, what kind of a person says to her sons "distribute it among yourselves"? That phrase, I believe, is one used by a person who usually resorts to rules blindly without taking the trouble of finding whether the rule is applicable in every circumstance. Now, if the mother thought that her sons said they brought peanuts, one can imagine her giving that response. But, what did she hear her sons tell her? She heard them tell her that it was something (or someone) special.

Was Kunti someone who blindly apply a rule? Such tendency to blindly distribute equally comes from a person who is out of sync with the world, someone who sees the world without feelings. Was that her nature? Why did she give such an uncharacteristic response to what, she could suspect, was a fairly important question? What would have been the response of Kunti, as we know her from the rest of Mahabharat? My guess is "I am busy, wait". She would never have told her sons to distribute equally.  

Why did the author of Mahabharat create an incident where a character behaved so differently from her usual self? Is this the right way to write?

Unsung Heroes - Teachers

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-educationplus/unsung-heroes/article6389607.ece

I am posting this link with respect to a conversation I had the other day with a friend. She was mentioning that one person she knew was not as good as some other teacher, whom also she knew. That started a train of thought. 

How is one teacher really better than any other? What is the purpose of a teacher? I guess a teacher is supposed to make the student (a) understand the subject better and (b) become better socially adapted. Does a teacher serve any other long term purpose?

Now if we say that teacher A is a good teacher, then it has to mean unequivocally that A meets at least one of the two criterion above with respect to the majority of her children. If we say A is a better teacher than B, then A has to meet the 2 criteria better than B does.

A teacher is not a crutch for students. A teacher is supposed to make the child (student) better and enable the child to do well without needing her, to become independent. 

We make ourselves indispensable only by making ourselves dispensable. We think our mother is our first teacher. But many mothers want to retain the close bond with their offspring by making them dependent on themselves (the mothers). Is that the mark of a good teacher?

It's like when we learnt cycling, we had our father or some older person who would catch hold of us while we were cycling. After some time, when we were able to manage they would still run behind us with their hands close to the seat or close to our waist, just in case. Once we were confident, they would stop coming after us. 

The process is the same while teaching any subject. Do we know how to guide? And how to let go? Are the teachers well socially adapted themselves to teach the children what should and should not be done?

Do our teachers make our children independent and better? Do we know enough of any two teachers to say that one is better than the other? Do the teachers know how to make a difference to the students?

These were the thoughts that I had had in my mind for a long time. After a recent discussion with a friend, I tried to put together a few points to evaluate.

Now let's see how to evaluate a teacher. There could be multiple perspectives. That of a student or a parent or peer teachers or the principal. Here I am focusing on the student. I am assuming that the student is old enough to understand the following questions and provide meaningful answers.

The questions I would ask of a student about the teacher are:

• How much interest in the subject did the teacher create in me? (1=Hate the subject, 5 = I love the subject)
• How does she compare with other teachers who taught me the same subject? (1 = She is in bottom 20% of all teachers, 5=top 20%)
• Do I think of her as a role model? (1=God forbid, 5=OMG, Yessss)
• What do I like in her apart from the subject?
• How much have I changed because of her? (1=very little, 5 tremendous positive change)
• If the rating for question above is more than 3.5, explain in which aspects I have changed and how.

I am not, at this point, interested in seeing how the evaluation results will be used - whether to set targets for teachers to score at least so much or their tenure or salary linked to these scores etc. My goal here is to see whether I know how to evaluate a teacher and have a means for differentiating a good teacher from a not so good one.

CBSE on how much homework is appropriate: http://m.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-society/cbse-weighs-the-pros-cons-of-homework/article6402056.ece/

A friend talked to some students (class 9 to 12, basically high school students) and parents about what students expect from a good teacher. And what she found out is mind boggling. Students, both boys and girls, want a teacher to be a "mother" first to them. I still am shaking my head when I write this. A mother? Eeeek.

Articles related to the question above:

• http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov08/vol66/num03/What-Students-Want-from-Teachers.aspx
• http://scs.tamu.edu/?q=node/94
• http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/va01000586/centricity/domain/63/hanover_research_--_effective_grading_practices_in_the_middle_school_and_high_school_environments.pdf

Lord Krishna, Reincarnation, Mahabharata Etc.

It is part of our belief that we believe in reincarnation. That the body may die but the soul doesn't. That we are reborn. That only the soul which has reached the highest state of consciousness is not reborn. Now this may make sense if the population is dwindling. How do we apply the above belief in a case where our population is increasing? There must be some (thousands of) births every year which didn't exist the year before. Where did the soul of these new births reside earlier?

We also believe in poorva janma palan. That we enjoy or suffer the fruits of what we did in the previous birth. What happened when we were born the 1st time? Or as outlined above, what happens in the life of those souls who are born the 1st time now? There was no poorva janma for them?

And for those people who are going through their 2nd, 3rd etc births we believe that they go through what is accumulated in their account from their previous births - that's what Krishna says in Mahabharata, if I am not mistaken. If what happens in this life is a result of what we did earlier, there really is no free will in this birth. Why are we judged then? Judging people assumes a free will. The only time we had a free will was when we were going through our first birth. And subsequent events carried forward the backlog from one birth to another, with the amount of free will getting reduced. As in "Ass", a card game popular in India, where the person who loses the game carries forward an Ace to the next game. And if he loses the next game, he carries forward two Aces to the 3rd game and so on. Poorva Punya seems to be like the Ace in the card game.