Friday, July 2, 2010

NARA'S NOTEPAD

VOLUME 6

JULY 2010

NUMBER 7



SUPPORTED


BY


READERS LIKE YOU



CULTIVATE


YOUR COMPETENCE

MEMO FROM NARA...


Will it be possible to live in a peaceful world in future? A very big question asked by one of my friends to me. My immediate answer was a big ‘No’ because people want more power and comfort. Aspirations like these lead them to suppress others. Contradiction in opinions and viewpoints in fact, create misunderstanding and non friendliness at individual or group levels. Even though many countries follow the democratic principles for governance there is always opposition parties to criticize and oppose. These parties are formed for liberating a section of people who are neglected in the development process. The reasons may be reasonable. However such disappointments in the minds of certain sections of the society induce them to fight for their rights. Fighting for rights is an accepted norm adopted by a free society. Some countries do not respect the peoples’ voice. Those countries do not allow the people to raise their voice and try to suppress them. As a result, a section of our society is always unhappy with the attitudes of rulers and those who are rich and super rich. The only way left to them is agitation and disturbing the peace. It leads to terrorism and killing people who may be security forces, common men and women and children. Such activities are going on all over the world. Millions of innocent lives are destroyed every year in the world. How can peace will prevail? Religious leaders and spiritual gurus are advising people to live in peace. Thousands and thousands of people congregate to listen, the convincing motivational speeches of these great men and women, everyday and everywhere on earth. But still the peace in the world is a rare commodity. As the population and technology explode, people instead of using their knowledge for the betterment of human life, they create an atmosphere of peacelessness and fear in the minds of people. I feel that peacefulness itself is a reason for the peacelessness in our planet!

SUPPORT FROM SPONSORS SOLICITED

To meet the printing charges of NARA’S NOTEPAD
sponsors are requested to contribute:
For 3 issues Rs. 1000/- or for 6 issues Rs. 2000/-
For 9 issues Rs. 3000/- or for 12 issues Rs. 4000/-
Cash or Local Cheque or Demand Draft may be sent favouring:
A.Narayanan, Coimbatore.

THEY SAID...


All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. – Walt Disney

A man, who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it, is committing another mistake. – Confucius

The price of greatness is responsibility. –
Winston Churchill

Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.
-
William Sprague

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out – Robert Collier

JUST TO LAUGH...

A young man went to his grandfather's place to stay for the weekend. He was sitting down to lunch when he noticed that the spoons and forks were encrusted in a thin filmy substance.He asked his grandfather, "Are you sure you washed it properly?""As clean as cold water can get it" was the reply.So the young man shrugged and started eating.The next day at breakfast he noticed that the plates were dirty and grimy. It also smelled a bit like dog.Are you sure you washed it properly?"Clean as cold water can get it" was the reply again.The man, a bit suspicious for his health, looked at his grandfather, than at his plate and started eating.As he was leaving, his grandfather's dog jumped out in front of him, growled and generally blocked him from going forward."Cold water, leave the poor boy alone!" shouted the old man from inside.

Sign on a Septic Tank Truck:
Yesterday’s Meals on Wheels.

VALID VIEWPOINTS


· Caste has no relevance in the 21st Century. It is the mark of an orthodox society. It serves no positive, and is an impediment to economic development. It runs counter to the country’s ambition to become a super power. The stratification of people is a political gimmick. A section of politicians is bound to take advantage of a caste-based head count. To fulfill their ambitions, our politicians want to drag India back by a few centuries.
· The caste system in India suited the colonial British rulers, as it facilitated their policy of divide and rule. Elections to provisional assemblies were on communal basis. This evil of division had percolated even to sports. The founding fathers of our Constitution wisely made a provision for special reservation to schedule castes and scheduled tribes for the first 10 years. This was proactive measure to uplift the socially and economically oppressed sections of society. Later, politicians belonging to various parties have extended the privilege, making it almost a permanent provision in the Constitution.

ROREY FREEDMAN’S ADVICE


1. Don’t say “yes” when you mean “no.” It’ll make you resentful. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
2. When driving, if someone wants to get in front of you, let him in front of you. And do it with a smile. It’ll make his day better, and it’ll make you feel good. You just changed the world.
3. Try to make a gratitude list each day. Include big things and little things. Invite your friends to make their own lists; you can all email one another each day, sharing your gratitude.
4. Don’t be a problem solver when a friend just wants you to be a listener.
5. Call your parents or grandparents. Sometimes, a five-minute phone call is all they need to feel loved.
6. Be a good neighbor: Be considerate inside and outside your home/apartment so your noise doesn’t bother those around you. That includes opening and closing your front door quietly.
7. Pee in the shower. If we each did this once a day, it would save an enormous amount of water and toilet paper (trees).
8. Write a “fan letter.” Tell someone you know, or someone you’ve never met, why you admire him or her. You’ll make someone’s day.
9. Curb your jealousy. Be happy for others.
10. Be willing to be wrong. If someone has a grievance with you, really try to see her point of view. If called for, apologize. It’s hard to do, but it feels really good and makes life so much easier.

CYBERNETICS












Cybernetics is derived from a Greek word ‘Kybernetes’ meaning the art of steering. It means to plan out objectives or goals and then make efforts to achieve them. In the mid 1950s the term was popularized by Norbert Wiener. Cybernetics involves a multidisciplinary approach to the interaction or communication in machines and biological entities or between them. It is about gathering information. It involves the study of various subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), electrical engineering, biology, neuro-physiology and psychology to name a few. Today cybernetics plays an important role in our daily lives. For example, the biometric systems are used in officer for recording entry and exit details of employees. With the development of new software programs and AI, the machine-man interaction is gaining importance in the study of cybernetics.

Easy is to judge the mistakes of others.
Difficult is to recognize our own mistakes.
Easy is to talk without thinking.
Difficult is to refrain the tongue.
Easy is to hurt someone who loves us.
Difficult is to heal the wound...
Easy is to forgive others.
Difficult is to ask for forgiveness.
Easy is to set rules.
Difficult is to follow them..
Easy is to dream every night.
Difficult is to fight for a dream...
Easy is to show victory.
Difficult is to assume defeat with dignity.
Easy is to admire a full moon.
Difficult to see the other side...
Easy is to stumble with a stone.
Diffcult is to get up...
Easy is to enjoy life every day.
Difficult to give its real value...
Easy is to promise something to someone.
Difficult is to fulfill that promise...
Easy is to say we love.
Difficult is to show it every day...
Easy is to criticize others.
Difficult is to improve oneself...
Easy is to make mistakes.
Difficult is to learn from them...
Easy is to weep for a lost love.
Difficult is to take care of it so not to lose it.

COMMUNICATION


Communication is the most important skill in life. There are four modes of communication - Reading, writing, speaking and listening. And most people spend 2/3 to ¾ th of their waking hours doing those four things. Of those 4 communication modes, the one that represents 40-50% of our communication time is listening - the one mode we have had the least training in. Most of us have had years and years of training in reading, writing and speaking. But no more than 5% of us have had more than two weeks of formal training in how to listen.

Seeing us, others will follow!
Meet you next month –AUGUST, 2010
Prof. A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP
E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com Ph : 0422 2423017 Mobile : 98422 42301

http://www.nara.tumblr.com/ (NARA’S DIGEST)
http://www.nara1.vox.com/ (NARA’S POSTCARD)
http://www.nara2007.blogspot.com/ (NARA’S NOTEPAD)
http://www.nsdigest.blogspot.com/ (NARA’S SCIENCE DIGEST)