Principles Of Survival

What is a principled person?

I define it as a person who lives by certain rules no matter how much they affect the chances of his superior survival. And whose actions aren't based primarily with the motive of superior survival.

Both the hero in 3 Idiots (also the hero in DDLJ when he explains to his future mother-in-law about two options in life)  and the mythical King Harischandra eschewed running after survival, instead they chose to follow their own values at least at a point in their life, if not in their life.

All animals focus primarily on survival (eating and procreation and avoiding death). The concept of principle is largely unimportant to them.

Human beings, somewhere along the way, invented the concept of principles, things that would curb incidental individual freedom or chance of survival but what we thought would be good for society as a whole.

One might think that all of us have principles. Not really is my answer. Go back to the definition above. That kind of principles is lacking in most of us. 

Yes, each of us has principles in varying extent. 

The most famous example of a very unprincipled human being, a person who solely lives for superior survival, is the current American president. 

It does seem like principled living does not increase the chance of survival except, of course as depicted in the fictional examples given above. 
Extrapolating the logic, does it mean that every person who doesn't survive will is in a way principled? 
Sounds awful. What's the issue?

Carton Of Zubeidaa

Some make role models out of Carton (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Carton). 

Some make role models out of Zubeidaa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zubeidaa).

Some people look at things and wonder why one couldn't dedicate and sacrifice as a hero. They try to give up things, no matter what the cost while doing so. Their goal is the bottom.

Someone else looks at things wistfully and regrets those opportunities that one had but didn't take. Life is about being a hero, being happy and making the best of what one has, getting what one wants no matter what the cost.  The goal is the top.

Very different, aren't they? Wonder how stifling it must be for Zubeidaa if packed in the Carton!

Wolf Calling The Kettle Black

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/international/rest-of-asia/china-in-touch-with-india-pak-to-bring-down-tensions

China apparently is trying to bring down tension between Pak and India after Indian army supposedly attacked terrorists in POK. The surprising thing is that China does the same thing repeatedly in Arunachal and the last such incident was only a days back. At least Pak can claim it was all terrorists, Inshallah.. 

What excuse does China have for frequent incursions into India? And now, they are planning to mediate? Ain't that something?

The wolf said "Nee illaatta ongappa": https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/158022-China-gives-Modi-shut-up-call

In Tamil there is a saying, "ooru rendu pattaal koothadikku kondaattam".

And I really wish India didn't use the phrase "surgical precision". Such a phrase implies extraordinary accuracy. Perhaps that phrase was appropriate when US marines went inside Pakistan and nabbed Osama and killed him. In the current instance? Hmm.

It is really interesting that all this time India would accuse Pak of firing across the LOC while Pak would deny. And Pak would in turn accuse India of opening firing which India would deny.  Now for a change India is claiming to have attacked (with surgical precision) across the LOC. And guess what? Pak is saying "No, you didn't". 

What's happening? How does India decide whether to claim that Pak attacked India or to claim that India attacked Pakistan? Pakistan doesn't have a problem in this regard. Pak will just deny whatever India claims. It's India that has to decide - whether to whine or roar. 

I have a larger question. Why does Pak consider India its enemy? Is it because of Kashmir? But then Kashmir was never part of Pakistan. Matter of fact, Pak itself is a child born out of India.

God help Islam... If this is how Allah's progeny have turned out...blind fanatical and filled with hatred for anything that's not Islam...

Having said that there is an absolutely cute article, published by Alizay Jaffer a Pakistani lady, which echoes my own sentiments - except I couldn't have written it as well as her. http://scroll.in/article/818069/dear-india-and-pakistan-cant-we-convert-our-grudges-into-love (or this https://m.facebook.com/alizay.jaffer/posts/884096793617: same content in both links - just in case one of the links is removed in future)

Here is another article by another Pakistani who provides another point of view: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/155974-Pathankot



Additional reading: 

• Added on 26th Jun 2017: http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/chinese-troops-enter-india-in-sikkim-sector-jostle-with-army-jawans-destroy-indian-bunkers/736313/
• http://scroll.in/article/818027/the-strange-case-of-the-indian-soldier-captured-by-pakistan

Published on

9/29/16, 4:21 PM

India Standard Time

On Warranty

This is a nice article on warranty in a Pakistani Newspaper.

I had often thought on similar lines. I remember once dealing with a physiotherapist who was treating an elderly lady who had tremendous back pain. He said he could definitely cure her in a week. After a week, the lady still had pain. He said one more week. And then one more week. Then he said, things are not so easily predictable. Sometimes the body takes longer to heal but he recommended that the treatment continue.

I asked him if he would be willing to take payment only and after she was healed and forego the payment if the pain didn't go away.

The man was stunned. He said what I suggested was unethical. How can a person give a guarantee for a medical treatment. He looked at me as though I was crazy.

I remembered his earnest assurances to the lady when she first met him. Unethical, huh?

Published on

7/20/12, 12:06 PM

India Standard Time

ISI & Terrorist Links

I read this http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/wikileaks-isi-allowed-terrorists-to-attack-india-says-gitmo-detainee-104246 today.

This kinda ties up with what a taxi driver from Kashmir told me. He explained to me about the economy of Kashmir and life there. Youngsters are recruited and given a stipend of approximately Rs 3000 ($65) per month for undergoing military training across the border in Pakistanr. Very similar to what was depicted in the movie Roja, remember Pankaj Kapoor's little brother? Even the movie Sarfarosh was about something similar. Movie Fanaa also.

Another person told me that some Kashmiris prefer that Kashmir be aligned to Pakistan, some prefer alignment with India and some would like both India and Pakistan to let them be independent and leave them in peace. When this question (how do you want Kashmir to be aligned?) is popped to them, their heart, because of the religion, is with Pakistan. While their head says stick to India because of the economic advantage that India provides.

All this is fine and dandy, but I am unable to digest the recruitment and training of Kashmiris by people on the Muzaffarabad side with the sole idea of disturbing peace in India. 

What kind of a mind would find this to be a good thing to do?

Additional reading: 

• http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-06/pakistans-intellifence-chief-expected-to-resign-ahmad-shuja-pasha/#

Published on

5/8/11, 3:54 PM

India Standard Time

Molesting Isn't A Crime

Continuing from my earlier post on  "reason" / "why", I thought that at times we exonerate someone because a reason was not found for their (wrong) action. Because of an absence of explicit intent, the wrong act isn't punished as in the case of the judge's ruling in the case of Asians against Harvard admissions. Read the link below:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-determines-harvard-s-race-conscious-admissions-policy-is-constitutional-11569958184

In other cases, we exonerate a wrong act because there was a reason. "He came late because there was a traffic jam on the way" or "she couldn't deliver the project because her grandmother was in the hospital". 

The social reason given is basically to remove any trace of any material intent for the wrong doing and hence to give a clean chit to the party that didn't do the right thing.

Either the presence of a reason or it's absence could be used to exonerate someone. The insidious thing is that this is used not consistently across all occasions and all peoples.

Maybe the pedophile who molested your baby was just trying to learn biology. We really don't know why he was molesting, right?

Harvard's Rat Race

Judge Rules Harvard’s Race-Conscious Admissions Constitutional? 

“Even assuming that there is a statistically significant difference between how Asian American and white applicants score on the personal rating, the data does not clearly say what accounts for that difference,” she wrote. “In other words, although the statistics perhaps tell ‘what,’ they do not tell ‘why,’ and here the ‘why’ is critically important.” 

Wow. This is an example of exquisite reasoning. That police officers could pull the trigger more often on an innocent black person than on an innocent white person may not really be an issue because the "what" may be known but not the "why". 

That Hitler committed genocide may have been acceptable if we didn't know of his anti-semitic stance, right? Of course, knowing only the what" "without the why" is exculpatory.

When do we understand that the "why" doesn't change the what". Sooner or later, if you dig long enough" every why will have an innocent enough explanation.

Focusing on the emotional (or social) why" over the rational "why" is a sure way to get rid of any clarity. Read this https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2019/01/family-tv-serials.html.

Read also the sequel to this post. (https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2019/10/molesting-isnt-crime.html).

"Any algorithm that intentionally or not results in discriminatory treatment of women or any other protected class violates New York law,” from the link below.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2019/11/11/iphone-maker-apples-new-credit-card-has-an-awkward-problem/



Additional reading

• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2019/02/idmi-and-itbc.html
• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2019/02/idmi-and-itbc.html
• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2019/01/rita-and-sheila.html
• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2017/08/affirmative-action.html

Resourceful And Dutiful

When you have two resources, one of which which is resourceful and the other dutiful it's natural and perhaps essential that you delegate the duties to the dutiful and give our resources to the resourceful. That makes the best use of our resources within the constraints of the duties that need to be executed.

The opposite option of delegating our duties to the resourceful and giving our resources to the dutiful will likely result in suboptimal use of our resources. While delegating our duties to the resourceful will likely result in the duties not getting executed as expected. 

I define a resourceful person as a survivor and a dutiful as one who isn't. 

It's extremely interesting to note that the optical allocation of resources and duties come instinctively to most of us. When we have resources to give we tend to choose the resourceful while the duties are instinctively delegated to the dutiful. It's almost like when we have a toy car and a barbie doll, we know which one to present to a little girl and which to a little boy unerringly.

In essence, the dutiful becomes the chocolate, the resourceful becomes the child (read https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2017/02/understanding-love.html).

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)