Is History a Scalar or a Vector ?

We all know that Scalars and Vectors are measure of quantities .

• One is defined fully by Magnitude 
• The other requires Direction in addition to Magnitude for full description.

I cannot resist myself from finding a similarity between Study of History and Vector Science.
The thought originated in my II Year B Tech . Our teacher taught us Relative Velocity and this is what he tried to explain.
Imagine a Red car is travelling on road from Pune to Mumbai at a speed of 60 km / hr.

As a vector this is more accurately described as Velocity of Car 60 km / hr relative to earth ( or a stationary observer )  in direction of Mumbai
Now imagine the observer is chasing above Red car sitting in another car say Yellow travelling at a speed of 40 km / hr in direction of Mumbai.

The relative velocity of the Red Car with Respect to the Yellow Car would be 20 km / hr.

• The  position of the Observer changes the Magnitude .

We come across a parallel situation in case of recording the flow rate of a river.

Suppose we try to measure the flow rate of the river, the relative flow rate changes as the observer changes point at which the flow rate is recorded . So the flow rate of river is different when

1. Observer measures it at the top surface of river
   
2. Observer measures it at the bottom surface of the river
   
   
   
3. Observer travels in a boat in direction of the flow    
   

• The point I am trying to drive home is the Magnitude of the Vector is a function of the position of the Observer.

So how does History come in to picture in this context?
I read two books
1.The Last Mughal by William Dalrymple

2. 1857 चे स्वातंत्र्य समर by Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar

Both books are about the events around 1857.

• The first is written by a Foreign National.
• The second by an Indian Freedom Fighter.
• In the first the author ( Observer ) records the events in and around Delhi 
• While in the second the author records the events happening all around the Region Affected by The Uprising. 
• So the magnitude of the record is different.
• The first is a more Matter of Fact ( Say Flat in Direction )
• The second has a more Patriotic Flavour ( Say Upward in Direction ).
• So the directions of the two are different.

In that case which one does one consider to be an absolute true description ?

• The answer is best explained if one considers History as a Vector. 

The description of the events is a function of the Observer / Recorder / Author . The Magnitude and the Direction is equally important .

• History is limited by what the observer / recorder wants to reveal to the reader .  

So if we want to know more about let us say 1857 , let us explore all the available records of that time . Let us not limit our knowledge to what data is available in India . Let us try and explore what record is available in foreign press which covered the same event outside India.
And then may be we can have some knowledge about the event .

As my Generative Leadership Coach Mr. Sameer Dua says , "Let us change the way we observe the event and then more facets (of the event) may dawn upon us . 

Travel A Possible Cure for Stupidity!

Every Journey has a Story to tell. And family vacations are an opportunity to build memories with your children.

• I visited Chilka Lake, Orissa in December 2012. We booked our boat

and set off on a journey and this is OUR STORY. Travelling for about 20 minutes the boat took us to an island in the lake.

• On the Island, We were approached by three locals with a basket full of oysters.

• They offered to demonstrate how pearl farming and extraction was done in Chilka. It intrigued us and we found the display quite thrilling.Initially they exracted a beautiful pearl and later offered to show us

........real precious stones. Don't believe,....I have a video recording....!!!!!!!!

• The trio informed us that the government had floated bid and their bosses who hailed from Delhi were awarded one year contract to farm the gems in Chilka! And so if this was not sufficient, there was more on offer.

All harvested in Chilka!

• The yellow one caught my fancy and on inquiring "Who created facets to the yellow one?", the trio informed " येह तो कुदरत का करिश्मा है | " The lead sales man offered to sell it for RS 18,000/-!! To check how far this bluff could go we negotiated. His last offer was RS 11000/-. He even offered to accompany us to nearest ATM about few Kilometers from Chilka for the payment. The trio were at their Delhi best to hard sell the merchandise.
• And we were at loss of words on witnessing this Karishma. We politely but firmly turned down his offer.

So for the children it was a lesson in disguise. The incident was a way of teaching kids how to get along with different people and prepare for unprecedented situations. 

• Travel sharpens one's instinct.
• Travel is a possible cure for stupidity!
• Not even universities can make the stupid smarter, they just make them better educated.    

So when you travel with your children, it helps them develop.....

I am sure they build memories for life time!

Amol

Let us Tick in Synchrony !

• I am attaching a video  

Following is the explanation by the author of the video :
" In the video , there are pendulums oscillating out of phase with each other . These pendulums are "uncoupled" meaning there is no energy or information transfer between the pendulums. So these pendulums do not know each other.
How ever later when the pendulums are placed over two cans on a common board , notice that the cans themselves oscillate a little. The cans provide coupling. They transfer information between the pendulums. This forces synchronisation between the pendulums and all the pendulums now oscillate in unision. "

• This encourages me to draw and analogy between above experiment and the BNI Chapter, of which I was a member till recently. 

We were a chapter of about 45 business owners . Each one of us representing separate  businesses . Prior to BNI membership , we were all unknown to each other.
There energy in the group was contagious. So if one member was down psychologically the group acted as a moral booster. There were socials. BNI advocates fun in the fundamentals.
The group facilitated and promoted transfer of information . The members of the group had to follow a strict protocol during "One to One" meetings amongst each other. What needed to be discussed and exchanged was clearly defined and adhered to .
Like the cans in the experiment the chapter was firmly anchored on the shoulders of the Leadership Team . The team ensured the transfer of information between the individual members ( pendulums ) . BNI provided coupling between members. BNI Chapter provided a platform to tick in Synchrony!

• Result: Not only Synchronisation of performance , but spiraling of business volume for each member in the group.  
• Effective Communication is the Key to Success !

Amol Joshi

Failure … Version N.n

My friend Jay, once told me that when ever his wife speaks with him, she starts with a number followed by the content of the matter she wishes to communicate. On asking him the reason, he clarified that the number mentioned at the start of the communication is in fact the progressive count of the number of times she has reiterated the speech act earlier. So if it is a request, the number would indicate the count she has made the same request earlier, without desired results. 

She acts so under a belief that Jay, her husband does not pay enough attention to what she communicates with him. The counting of attempts brings out a distinction to the speech act. It creates a mood of shame resulting in Jay responding to the speech act.

The other day I attended a networking session of Social Entrepreneurs. There was a brain storming about the activities which could be incorporated in the successive meetings. One of the attendees mentioned that Entrepreneurs are shy to talk about their past failures. 

Failures are often looked down upon. Naturally, Entrepreneurs in early stage are shy to speak out. He further put forth an idea that the group would glorify failures. It is thus acknowledging that the Entrepreneur is active and trying generatively further to succeed. So if we start numbering the failures (and here I mean the failed attempts) won’t it be an acknowledgment of persistence of the person? 

Why don’t we all introspect? Introspect upon the number of failed attempts. Let us number our iterations. The practice of numbering creates a distinction as it created in the mind of Jay. Take for example; I am trying to close a deal and have drafted a quotation for my client. If I am unable to close the deal despite “N” number of revision in quotations, the value “N” might just create a consciousness for the customer at how persistently I pursued the inquiry.

So if I don’t generate an order at the end, I have something to pat my back : My “N” persistent efforts . Indirectly, I attribute the failure to the attempt and not to me.

At the end one can say, " I have not failed, my “N”th attempt failed !"

Amol Joshi