Thumb Goes Haywire

What Whales and Dolphins Left Behind for Life in the Ocean  

Quote from this article: 

In general, Dr. Hiller said, the rule of thumb in evolution is that genes that are not actively being used tend to disappear or be inactivated. But the new study suggests that the same process can purge the genome of genes that would make a new way of living too dangerous, extra baggage that emerging species — which became today’s whales, porpoises, dolphins — were better off without.

The above quote seems to indicate that evolution has a design behind it, that is it seeks to address a purpose. And that if something is not useful then shed it. 

While I have suspected this, all definitions of evolution state that mutation and other events that cause evolution strictly are random and that there is no goal that evolution heads towards. 

Which is true?

Survival Basics 101

Essential skills for survival

1. You do what you want to do but do preach the virtue of being honest, generous, hard working, diligent, focused.
2. You should tell people how others are trying to take advantage of you - explain who is doing what to them. While you yourself surreptitiously might do the same with others.
3. You should tell people you how helpful you are. It doesn't matter that when others need help you are somehow unavailable.
4. You should say that people ought to be evaluated based on their pain and on their intentions to do the right thing and sweetness rather than on their actions. Actions are very obvious while pain and intentions are not. This gives us a lot of cushion to not do stressful things while not being punished for not doing those things.
5. Make sure you don't take up any job that gives you inadequate returns. 
6. Make sure that you never say No directly. Explain your situation so that it becomes obvious to the other person that your answer has to be a No.
7. Make sure you always do the rewarding jobs first - do not make the mistake of finishing jobs just because they are in the queue. If your queue is empty, people will fill your queue. To achieve this end make sure everyone knows how sick, poor or busy you are. You will be excused for not being able to take up a job while at the same time you get the leeway to pick and choose things that are rewarding socially, financially or emotionally.
8. Always delay helping others until they become desperate. The value of your help increases when people are desperate than when they aren't.
9. Always delay doing things until the deadline. Doing it earlier wont give you bonus points - remember you are not in school. In life, if you delay there are many advantages. Example: A. Someone else might end up doing the job. B. You will get more clarity on the job through feedback from people who did the job earlier as to what is expected of the job (applicable in cases where many people have to do the job). 
10. Always ensure people are aware of your help. If they aren't your then situation is no better than if you didn't help. 
11. Make sure your actions are never rule based and consistent. That will push you into a corner. Your behavior becomes predictable and hence easy for others to manipulate. Inconsistent behavior is always better than consistent behavior.
12. Be empathetic. A kind ungenerous nature is always more rewarding than an unempathetic but generous behavior. 
13. Our resources are limited. Say often that you like or love others. But like or love others only as a chocolate and not as a child. Do not squander your resources on "children" that are not yours. (Read https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2017/02/understanding-love.html)
14. In a situation where you have both rights and obligations, make sure you enjoy the rights before others. And ensure you are the last to be handed the obligations. 
15. If you aren't happy, you can't make anyone else happy. People avoid those that are unhappy. Make sure you do things that make you happy. Far better that you do things that make you happy and feel a little regret than forgo those things and live a lifetime of regret and unhappiness. Life is about doing what you want. To that end make sure you A. say the right things, B. Do what you want and finally C. If asked to, explain your circumstances and get a clean chit. Remember that saying the right things does not mean doing the right things. People value what you say. The marginal utility of doing the right things is minimal.
16. Learn the right things to say. These are crucial to make the right impression. A. We should be generous, our left hand shouldn't know what our right hand is doing. B. I am your benefactor. I always love to help. C. I never intended to ... D. It's not enough if you are generous, intelligent, honest. How you make others happy is what is most important in life. D. I work 18 hours a day. E. My health isn't good but I have to keep working in order to...
17. Never sacrifice your best interests for someone else. "Allah ko pyaari hau Qurbani." - Let Allah and Christ practice it, not you.
18. Know always which resources are critical. Never cede control of those critical resources (property, spouse, son etc).
19. When someone accuses you of something, you don't have to consider their allegation and check if it's true. We are not born in this world to be arbiters of truth. We are here to survive. So we can go through the "I didn't mean it routine". There are even better ways to handle the situation. We can make ourselves the injured party by claiming that we are extremely hurt by the allegation. See, we have not even accepted that we did whatever was alleged. We have twisted the issue to one of us being hurt. Not many people would continue to deride us with what we supposedly did, they would be on the defensive and backtrack immediately. Score: 1 for us, 0 for them. Other variants include us finding their tone to be too harsh, their looks to be lecherous (if the genders are appropriate) and so on. The assault has been thwarted. To quote a cliche, "shikaari khud ban baya shikaar (the hunter has become the hunted)".
20. Remember survival is a line function activity. Every act of yours has to ensure the survival of you and your nearest / dearest. We come with limited resources into this world and we can't squander them. Hence we have to focus on knowledge on a broad range of topics (even if limited in breadth in each) than get lost in the depth of one topic at the cost of breadth. Leave staff function to suckers focusing on depth or to other morons who are best hidden in a staff function. 
21. Never pledge your own resources in any venture. Beg, borrow, steal or volunteer someone else's resources. But keep your own resources safe.

Make sure you hang on to people who do not have these skills. They are good banks to withdraw from without having to deposit much.

Never make these skillsets obvious to others. You don't want others to know what you are doing and you don't want more people to do what you are doing. It's absolutely essential that your actions be camouflaged under appropriate gestures and words. Human beings invented language primarily for this purpose. 

Remember it's not easy to change your behavior. But if your child displays these behavioral traits be happy. They will survive better than you can.

I wish we were taught these skills in school than reading, writing and Rithmetic. It's only later in life that some of us realize that the 3 R's can't hold a candle to the Survival skills listed above.

To some of us, these survival skills are part and parcel of our genes. We don't need to be taught these. Other people that might benefit from these - to understand what's happening around them and, if at all possible, to exhibit the same traits. 

Remember we are not here in this world to be a runt and die. We have to survive. Only if we survive can we do anything good for others. If we don't survive, we can't do much for others anyway.

To test if you are feminine enough, you can answer the questions here https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2019/09/female-c-comprehension-and-application.html)

Female C&A (Comprehension And Application) Questions - Sample

We all understand what C and A questions are. But the ones we are accustomed to are what I call the CA male kind. There is another kind - CA female kind. For a long time I have been trying to set questions for the female kind C And A.

Here is a sample.

Comprehension questions

1. When a husband smells of a new perfume what does it mean? Easy question just to get ready for more difficult ones.
2. Why is empathy important?
3. When a woman suddenly wears a new sari what does it mean? (Sure she went shopping but why?). Or put another way, how do you decide what to wear? Describe the factors, apart from aesthetics, you would consider.

Application questions

1. What comments do you make in order to make someone do what you what them to do?
2. How do you guide someone into a defensive position by tweaking the meaning of a normal gesture? 
3. How do you convince another person that you mean well when you are actually trying to take advantage of that person? How does saying these help - "I am like a father to you" , "I really like you ("as a chocolate")?
4. When someone tells you their problem, how should you respond? Rush to help? Or are there other ways?
5. Is it possible to monetize your pain or trauma? Explain how you would do it and how not to do it.

On understanding feminine nature - the 36th Chamber

1. Why is it important to know others' personal details? (Not userid and pwd, you dummy!)
2. Is an action important or the things that led to an action more important? Justify. Put differently, is it more important to understand the consequences of an action or to understand the events that could have led to the action? Justify.
3. When should the focus be on the words and when should it be be on the body language or action?

Plausible Deniability - Cartoon

Plausible deniability (PD) as applied to oneself.

If talk is broad in scope and not like ASSIGNMENT STATEMENTS in a computer programming language, then anything can mean anything else.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/us/politics/ukraine-transcript-trump.html

In a sophisticated negotiation, one never says "If you do this for me, then I will do that for you. The bribe or extortion is implicit. A classic example of PD is from a Hollywood movie Rowdy Rathore where the villain's son has kidnapped the police inspectors wife. The inspector arrives at the villain's den ostensibly to ask for the latter's help in searching for his missing wife. The villain tells the inspector that he will help "find"the inspector's wife in two days. Everyone knows that the wife is currently at the den being relatedly raped by the villain's son. But appearances are maintained through Plausible Deniability.

Coming back to Trump, his own later Micheal Cohen while testifying before Congress indicated Trump's tendency to talk broadly while the meaning was exact to the speaker (Trump) and to the listener (Cohen). I guess for Trump PD is a way of life. His first reaction to anything is denial.

This article says the same thing. 7 takeaways from the rough transcript of Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president

This article explains his character. Trump thinks Biden pulled a scam in Ukraine because it’s what Trump would have done

There are 3 stages in a typical PD (Plausible Deniability)

1. It never happened. If it's proven that the event happened then
2. I didn't do it. If it's also proven that you did it then
3. I didn't mean it or it's taken out of context.

Anytime when someone says they didn't mean it there might be a larger PD lurking. Meaning that the said thing was done by the person who was aware of what they were doing.

Additional reading
Donald Trump might get impeached? Donald Trump?

Kannathil Muthamittal "If Kissed On The Cheek" - Character Review

The character Amudha in this movie is interesting. Her father Tiruselvan (played by the same Madhavan in 3 Idiots) tells his wife (Simran) that both she and Amudha are a cauldron of emotions. 

Now Simran is an introvert in the movie. Her emotions are controlled, felt intensely perhaps but not revealed. 


Amudha's emotions on the other hand are uncontrolled and expressed. So much so that it's sickening to watch her - even if she is only a child and that too it's only a character in a movie and not real life. The fact that the movie brings about such a strong revulsion in me speaks volumes about the way the director has sketched the character.  

Every time I watch the movie, I wander off in my thoughts. How is it to meet Amudha as an adult? Does she ever think of anyone else? Everything she does is about herself. And so expressive.

What would Amudha grow up to be as? 

My thoughts wander.

Inner Beauty And Intelligence

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/530518-a-thing-amiss

"Sexualising children must be avoided and so should emphasizing the ‘prettiness’ of little girls or their ability to carry off a multi-layered gharara. Children of either gender are to be admired for their curiosity, their intelligence, their delight in exploring the world and their inner beauty. This does not need to be enhanced."

Oh my. Which world are we living in.

If women were to be admired only for their intelligence, inner beauty.. Heck what will happen to the self esteem of majority of women?" How many of them will deserve admiration?

Ms Hyat doesn't seem to understand that most women are quite unlike her.

Damn These Hindus

https://www.dawn.com/news/1506697/trump-modi-show-unity-at-houston-rally-protesters-raise-rights-of-kashmiris-outside-venue

It's sad that we think (maybe it's true also) that Modi dealt with Kashmir because it is a Muslim minority state.

It's equally sad that Pakistan vociferously objects to that act - likely again because it's seen as anti- Muslim. 

Can people think ANYTHING outside of the purview of religion?

Maybe terrorism would cease in the region, maybe pakistan would come out of grey in FATF. 

If only we all treated each other as human beings rather than viewing things though a religious (jaundiced) lens.

PoK and Pak

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/529743-pm-imran-heads-to-us-from-saudi-arabia

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/530114-kashmir-s-moment - "Imran has already flown to the US, refusing India's offer to use its airspace to do so." I wonder which part of India comes geographically between Pak (or Saudi, remember https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/529743-pm-imran-heads-to-us-from-saudi-arabia) and USA.

How will this end?

The army takes over because the PM isn't able to drum up international support on behalf of Kashmir? And then the army takes action against India? And get a drubbing? So that not only PoK but Pak too becomes part of India?

Oh boy. Wild thinking!

Fiction Or Feeling?

So? There is always a war between fact and feelings. Our behavior depends on which of the two we want to be honest with.

Trump is the smear artist — not the New York Times

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/19/trump-is-smear-artist-not-new-york-times/

Why Do I Read A Newspaper?

What do I read a newspaper for?

To get news obviously. Sports, weather, politics, movies. But recently I decided to stop subscription to a newspaper. I subscribe to a few and it had been nagging me for sometime. Finally I wrote a mail and requested that the subscription be stopped.

I wondered what exactly I didn't get from that newspaper - a much acclaimed one.

I look at the numbers of articles I click and read. More the number, better I feel, considering of course how much I enjoy reading the article. 

That leads to the question: which articles grab my attention? Articles are of two types:

• Who did what when where.
• Observation of a trend or an analysis of a situation that gives a bird's eye view. I find that this kind of article is what grabs my attention. 

I then thought. Why is it that I don't make my own analysis from the first type - from the What When Where etc. These articles provide excellent fodder for analysis. For some reason I am unable to analyze these unless I have a pre-existing interest in the subject. 

When there is such an interest then even just plain data stimulates analysis. In the absence of such interest, I just see the article as data and find myself unable to process it. 

The NF (as in MBTI) I think it's capable of taking any kind of data for analysis - because of their interest in almost anything. 

Not bring NF, my interests are very narrow. So, either the article has to be an analysis or present data in a subject of my interest. 

Unfortunately the person who replied to my request to stop the subscription to the paper never asked me the reason. That remains unknown to the paper unless they come across this post and somehow link my cancellation request to this post!

Value Of Labor

Is it possible that some of us women value our babies that were born after a long intensive labor and not value those babies that were born easily. Kinda like we didn't do much effort for their birth, so not really valuable.

Don't we value those things more which we spent more resources on than those which we got cheap or as a gift?

Could our love for our babies follow the same paradigm? If so, should we insist on a Cesarean delivery if we want to be sure that we value our baby? 

Pain

Often people say they are suffering or that they gone through a lot of pain. 

I wonder.

The life, that is held by a person to be remarkable only because of the pain one faced and very little in terms of heroism while undergoing the pain, is rather poor. 

At the end of the day, if you recall only your pain and nothing that you achieved or did for others, it's pathetic.

Justice Metrics

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/justice-system-at-breaking-point-warns-judge-anthony-lowe-frustrated-by-delays-20v2kpnh9

I am surprised that a judge feels awful that there justice is getting delayed. It's quite difficult to feel empathy for your customer when you are a service provider. The judge is amazing.

What would be the statistics for India? Who is worried about the crores of cases pending in various courts in India for years, (sometimes more than 10 years)?

How i wish that justice was not delayed?