Pathetic government websites

 In the last month of August, for various reasons and at different times, I had to access the national websites.  Gosh, most of these websites were a nightmare, even to login; leave alone upload or download anything worthwhile! 

One of them is the one that foreign nationals need to use to register (or allied services) when they land in India and are to stay for anything other than tourist purposes.  I spent half a day (more than 6 hours!!) just to complete and upload an application, while assisting a youngster from Germany, who is here as a volunteer.  It was not about the internet speed, but everything about the website itself that just drags you on without helping you get on with it.  Logging in required an OTP.  That never came through.  So I had to register myself with all my Indian details - just to get an OTP.  Once we were able to sign in, uploading documents was another nightmare.  Clicking the browse and selecting file was one game of cat and mouse.  And when we did manage to bell the cat, the 'upload' button would be hidden behind the file preview!! To access the 'upload' icon, we had to get rid of the file!! Imagine doing this for a dozen documents.  

Then the instructions all along are nothing but a bunch of jokes!!  Of course, at that moment of frustration, jokes don't go down well!  At one point, the guidelines say, if a particular document is uploaded, then this letter is not to be uploaded.  But when you complete the process and reach the submit threshold, the submit icon does not get activated till that file which was earlier stated as redundant is uploaded!  And so begins the whole process, all over again!! 

The comedy of the matter is when some documents are totally unavailable and explicitly stated as not needed and yet one has to upload those files.  Well, Indian as I am, got around this, by uploading a random pdf file!!  Just a blank while page, saved as a pdf.  That got accepted and I could proceed to the next level!  

The same website had a scrolling banner which stated that a new website has been launched.  Clicking on that link led to a bit more decent looking website.  But my hopes for a faster and easier task were dashed when the whole website, which explains things in detail, but has no links or icons to actually do the work of uploading and submitting the application!  

As I struggled with this particular website, I could not but wonder what on earth would foreigners be thinking of our 'advanced IT claims' when they land in India and have to wade through such horrific websites, just to register themselves. 

Wipers on headlights

Next generation technology and ideas...
Or creative ideas that will fizzle out as ridiculous?

Came across this car with wipers on its headlights, during my walk on my first day of retreat at Farnborough. 

The world through the phone

For quite some time now there is this psychological tendency we are warned of and most often everyone is familiar with: living in the past.  The danger is that we forgot the present and miss out opportunities that the 'here and now' offers. 

Of late, viewing some videos of some significant events or even of accidents, I think we're now well into a different 'time-zone'.  Most people in the video, rather than cherish the event they are privileged to witness firsthand, in person, are busy taking pictures or videos of the event!  So rather than nourish the moment live, they're viewing it through the screen of their smart phones! Earlier there was this craze of getting our photos clicked by others. Today others need not be involved. Each one is a photographer. Each one is the one being photographed.  What about the scenery or the event?  That has relevance only in as far as it is 'captured' - not by me, but by my smartphone! 

Worst case scenarios are where people record an accident or incident and continue doing so rather than reaching out to the victim or standing up to some bullies or goons.  

The human voice

A simple reminder of the declining human presence in the world of technology and progress...

Anyone who has traveled in Europe, especially those like me from India, where public transport is anything but quiet, will certainly vibe with the sentiments brought forth in this video. 

Rationality or Irrationality

One particular programme that I happened to listen to today, stressed on the rational element of man.  Or rather spoke of human being as a irrational animal, in contrast to Aristotle's 'rational animal'.  This is based on the proved scientific theory that most human beings use only a minimal portion of our intellectual ability, our brain.  The vast majority of the brain's potential remains untapped.  Moreover, the human being today can predict with greater accuracy the consequences of a failure than a success.  This prompts the speaker to propose that rather than improve the quality of our reasoning or our rationality (which we have not really improved for ages, in spite of some progress), we should focus on creating systems and patterns which will help us cope with our failures and weaknesses - something we have engaged in since evolution of society.  So invest greater in technology, data production and analysis, ... and perhaps artificial intelligence too, which will complement the 'weak' rationality we human beings are satisfied/blessed with. 

However I disagree with the idea that it is better to focus on complementary systems which tend to reduce the negative impact of our failed reasoning than on improving rationality itself.

• Going further that line, will bring us to a time when we trust the system rather than our own rational ability.  Too disastrous for other aspects of life and living. 
• This notion, takes for granted that rationality is our greatest and most important defining element of humanity.  It is a major characteristic but not the only one.  The human person is a combination of various elements.  
• Rather than remedy the situation, it would be more proper to prevent the situation needing a remedy! (The Salesian Preventive system rather than remedial system). 

Though very subtle, the emphasis should be to view that what we strive for.  While it is easy to argue that what we create is basically to supplement what we lack, a better option would be to see our invention(s) as increasing our possibilities of ways in which we can do things differently.  

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Know not how and why, but have been reading quite a few interesting articles about Artificial Intelligence in the past two days. Not so much the technical or mechanical aspect but the rational and philosophical dimension of AI. My general impressions and views, as of now:

What Artificial Intelligence (AI) has actually achieved is 'human intelligence'. It has only managed to create what human beings can think or do, better. But isn't AI about rational thinking and independent behaviour? The machines and robots have been programmed or coded with the various possibilities from the vast amount of available data, and generated algorithms thereof, to choose a particular act. It does not 'think' beyond the given data or possibilities. The created AI has only inherited the collated and multiplied human intelligence, but with its limitations as well. (Now this supposes a distinction between human thinking/act and rational thinking/act.)

Secondly, the inherited intelligence is that of a select group of inventors, not of all mankind. Example is the response of Google assistant, American made and Alisa, a Russian make to the statement, “I am sad.” Google's reply: “I wish I had arms to give you a hug.” Alisa's reply: “No one said life is going to be fun.” The former reply is typically a Western capitalist response to an emotional state and the latter a hard hitting fact of life reply as per Russian culture.

While consensus on what exactly does 'cognition' or 'understanding' mean and how it is achieved is elusive, to expect or attribute the same to AI will be even more complicated. Other crucial issues AI is yet to address: subjective consciousness, creativity, meaning… (Or is it that AI researchers and developers are not interested in mechanizing these essential features of the humankind!?)

Relevance and meaning decide 'the obvious'

What is obvious is not what is out there, but what we sought to seek and find! The famous gorilla experiment, is an example in case.  We human beings always are looking for, not merely looking at.  Blindness and bias are not negative features of our human nature.  They merely indicate that the individual is looking for something else! Something else is relevant and meaningful and therefore, misses the 'obvious'.  (Theory decides the observation.)

Reminds me of Fr TD, who always used to harp on seeing the good in the boys rather than the mischief or the nuisance they create, and when caught in the act say, "See, I told you!"

But the far more important point is that we also need to recognise and investigate the remarkable human capacities for generating questions and theories that direct our awareness and observations in the first place. Bias and blindness-obsessed studies will never get us to this vital recognition.

At its worst, the fascination with blindness and bias flattens humans, and science, to a morally dubious game of ‘gotcha’.

So in the case of Artificial Intelligence (AI), both optimism and worry are justified and valid.  Optimistic that they are better at observation and statistical analysis than human beings; worry, because we human beings are passing on to them our limited framework of what to observe and how to analyse!  Relevance and meaning are vital to intelligence and rationality - computers being good at the latter, not the former.  (Insights and quotes from Aeon)

Mechanisation of labour

I'm sitting here in the library looking out for distractions, rather than concentrating!  And right outside is a mini-earth mover.  The width of the 'hand' is not bigger than two manual spades.  And the depth the person is digging is not anymore than a few inches.  That brings to my mind, the fact that there is no 'manual labour' in this part of the world.  Every bit of 'hard manual labour' has been so mechanised that it can hardly be called manual labour, leave alone 'hard'. 

To this day, I haven't seen anyone manually digging the ground or carrying a sack.  Everything is done using machines - small, big, simple, complex.  It's amusing to see these at work - not the people!  I'm sure there are several advantages of this development.  They certainly do take away the physical strain and struggle from any and every job.  However, feel it all a bit as distancing ourselves from nature, more and more. 

Phone addiction

Cartoon of the day (as in The Daily Mail)...

I guess this is true not just of the daughter of the gentleman here, but of most of us.  We're so lost in our gadgets that nothing else counts.  For some it is a matter of amusement; others use it for gathering information, staying updated; for some it is just work... but in all cases, addiction, none the less. 

From unbelief to belief

It is Mary Magdalene who is the first witness to Jesus' resurrection.  Of all the people, she first reports the incident to the apostles - evidently.  Then He appears to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. They too run back to Jerusalem to tell this to the apostles.  Yet the apostles are skeptical.  It is only when Jesus appears to them that they believe in his being risen.  Thomas is the only one among the apostles who misses seeing Him when He appears first.  He too does not believe - not Mary Magdalene, not the two disciples, not even his fellow apostles!  It is only when he sees Jesus for himself that he begins to believe. 

There may be many a thing we may spread and bear witness to.  Most people do believe when they hear or see someone testify about something they themselves have not seen or experienced.  However, personal experience, in most cases endorses that belief and leads to deepening of the conviction.  For some that personal experience may be the trigger. 

It all hinges on trust.  We basically trust people.  We believe that they will tell us the truth.  We trust that they will not mislead us.  However, in today's world, in spite of and perhaps because of the growth of communication channels there is a growing amount of suspicion about things.  Fake news. Alternative facts.  Post-truth.  Very many think it is due to growth of technology.  Not necessarily. It still boils down to human nature. The real antidote to suspicion and fear is trust; not regulation.  

Of watches and time

While at the British museum, the second gallery that I chose to view was of the watches.  Three rooms displaying the history of watches. While there it occurred to me that the people who actually felt the need of keeping time and those who actually started making watches were the monks!  They needed some instrument to help them be faithful to their recitation of prayers at fixed times - the watch! 

 Some interesting models of watches... 

The farmer with the staff pointed the time on a dial on which he is standing.
The cow being milked would actually squirt milk at fixed hours. Such was the mechanism timed and created! 

Senate house and resources

Today for the first time I visited the Senate house and the library therein, at London.  Part of it is the extension of Royal Holloway and houses the library of the University of London.  I did not explore the whole library because I knew that I'd be going there again. Philosophy section is on the 6th floor, up the spire!  However, I did get a membership (through my student ID at Royal Holloway).  There was also a lecture that I'd signed up for at the Senate house today.

The lecture was about 'approaching the thesis' which covered some of the general guidelines with regard to PhD and writing the thesis.  I've now realised that most of the common aspects spoken of with regard to methodology, ethics, research skills and analysis are most useful to everyone except those doing in the field of philosophy and perhaps mathematics!!  With nothing more than concepts to wrestle with, those of us doing a PhD in philosophy have merely books and articles to tackle.  Unless doing some interdisciplinary topic or theme, we have no interviews, surveys, field work, tabulation, protecting data and sources...

However, the lecture which was very informal and eliciting a discussion from the dozen of us who signed up for it, was quite useful.  I learnt of some resources which could be used for note-taking and planning and referencing... Aired my experiment of using a blog for note-taking, which the lecturer found very interesting and novel!  Heard some of the 'seniors' and the lecturer speak highly of 'zotero' - need to experiment with that.  Remembered the need to have a back up system in place, just in case my laptop conks off!  Am thinking of trying out Greenstone for that (heard of it years ago from Fr Julian Fox and the whole SDL section of the international online resource of the Salesians is based on it).  All in all, a very useful day. 

Then of course, the rest of the afternoon, roamed around London city! 

Google chrome not launching

This afternoon spent a good bit of time trying to resuscitate my google chrome browser.  For long there was this instruction flashing on the top stating that my browser needs updating.  So I downloaded the file and ran it using GDebi Package installer (I have a linux OS).  But after that the browser would not launch.  Click on the icon but nothing happens.  I carried out all popular and recommended measures cited (uninstall, reinstall, upgrade, restart computer...).  Even tried uninstalling and reinstalling through Terminal.  Nothing happened... till I did this (in terminal):

sudo apt-get install --reinstall libnss3

Found here

And lo and behold, chrome was up and about!  Writing this, not because I'm a computer technical geek but just as a reminder for myself and for anyone else whom it may help! Thanks to Kartik Agarwal who offered this solution. 

Jugaad - the art of getting along

In earlier days, much before the internet casts its web over the population, everyone did everything.  Only when one could not really manage the task at hand, did one approach an 'expert'. Slowly expertise itself became highly focused and technology made things impossible for one to do all things (or the vice-versa).  I remember days when I was a kid, that Dad used to repair the tape-recorder, the cycle, electrical goods and what not, at home.  We never called in painters to paint the home - Mum did it all!  We never ever employed a housemaid.  All the daily work of the house was done by us (mostly Mum!).  Of course, even the products of those days were sturdy.  Dad's wrist watch saw the small glass-encased cubicle of a technician only once or twice its lifetime of 50 years!

However, now-a-days even the minutest task requires a technician.  The task is so complicated. With the availability of information on the internet it should have been the other way round.  DIY should have become more a possibility than an impossibility.  Products are such that it is easier to buy a new one than repair the existing one.  Then there is always the argument about time - or lack of it.  The concept of jugaad - hindi word, meaning 'making it work and getting along' - is actually now used to denote incompetence or utter misery!  The word originally and actually means low-cost creative engineering to solve a problem.

Call it progress or advancement, I still prefer the days of old when one could dismantle a water pump, do the needful repairs and then reassemble it all by oneself.  Or replace every bit of the archaic air cooler - fan blades, belt, switch, cable, motor winding, hose pipe - even if it meant running to the market more than twice to replace required parts of the exact measurement.  And if it still did not work with its exact parts, tweak things around to get it to work - the additional noise it made or the occasional leak was not a big issue!  

Mechanical complications

Almost two months ago I burned our lawnmower.  Instead of mowing the lawn I was shredding leaves with it!  At one point it got too loaded and the motor got burnt.  But however I tried I could not open the thing to get to the motor!!  There was no way of reaching the motor.  The only thing possible was to change the blade.  That's it.  The mower was so designed as to prevent any other handling.

I remember distinctly an event many years ago. While in the Provincial house and on one of my many trips to the airport (to pick up or drop off someone - never once did I ever enter the airport!) I saw a taxi driver desperately flagging oncoming vehicles standing beside the road.  I stopped my vehicle ahead of his parked taxi and he came running to my side.  The spot was almost on the airport road itself.  He then pleaded with me if he could have some diesel.  He needed to be at the arrival spot to pick up someone but had run out of fuel.  He wanted just enough for him to pick up the person - would have been about 3 kms.  I did not have any reserve in my jeep but told him he could draw some from the tank itself.  He said none of the other vehicles stopped, even the rare ones who stopped did not want to share.  He was deeply moved when I agreed to his request. I said I have no clue of how to get out diesel from the tank but was absolutely willing to help him, if he could.  He said he knew.  Unfortunately there was no way he could draw out diesel from the tank.  The tank and engine were so built!  He said these modern vehicles are so built that any work on them could be done only by an expert and that too in a garage.  Unlike old vehicles which could be 'tinkered' with by someone with little expertise. However he profusely thanked me for my willingness and then began to flag down someone else.

My uncle a car mechanic, assembled a whole car from the spare parts he gathered over the years of his work.  Even dad could do much of the repair work of the car he was driving.  However, with modern cars there is nothing of this possible.  At the most refuel, top up screen wash or the radiator.  For anything else, however minor it may be, one would have to take the car to the showroom or garage.

Machinery made complicated or so intricate that it was just not possible to do anything other than use it.  And when encountered with a fault or repair, either approach the technician or discard it altogether!

So now I'm left with a lawn mower that I need to take to the recycling centre/dump! The only thing I can save of it is the rear end basket used for collecting the grass clippings - to grow one or two tomato plants this summer. 

To be scientific: validate or invalidate?

I was under the impression that something to be scientific a hypothesis needs to be proved or disproved.

However, it appears that according to Karl Popper's criterion of falsifiability, the capacity to disprove is what makes something scientific.  The idea is that if you go out looking for confirmation of a theory or hypothesis, he said, you are almost certain to discover it. By contrast, good theories or hypotheses are those that allow you to search for contrary evidence. It is possible to conceive of an observation that would conflict with one’s expectations. The capacity to be disproved is what makes a theory scientific.

[Came across this insight reading the following article on Aeon: Is linguistics a science?]

But I guess, any process that involves a systematic and immersed study, either to validate or invalidate, could be termed scientific.  Haven't read much about the falsifiability criterion but seems self-defeating, in a sense.  On the one hand, it keeps at bay the danger of 'assumption', of making something so fundamental and basic that it cannot be challenged.  While from another perspective, if challenged and proved wrong, then is no more valid.

Whatever it be, if in the ultimate analysis, the whole endeavour makes me a better person, willing to see the world in a better light, then that's it!  

Untapped energy

UK recorded the highest production of power from solar energy today (May 26, 2017) at about 8.7 gigawatts.  According to the National Grid office, it amounts to 24.3% of the total production/demand.  Of course, yesterday and today were quite sunny and warm day, by any comparison of British weather - even summer schedule!  And what was the maximum temperature of the day? 28 c.

The country's power generation sources and their percentage:

Alongside the contribution from solar, 23% of power came from nuclear sources, 30% from natural gas and just 1.4% from coal. 

Read the news article here.

While reading it I was wondering, with all the light and heat that literally scorches India around this time of the year, we could easily power the whole world!!  Yet we are unable to tap this renewable natural source of energy!  

Navigating

I used my mobile phone's google maps and navigation for the first time today to find my way to a neighbouring parish. I first was lost because I could see the church but not the entrance to it, to get in and park my car.  So I was going in circles.  The navigation was not a big help because it would tell me to turn right, but there wasn't a right there at all!  So I ended up going reaching a place where I could start the hunt again.  This time round the navigation took me straight to the Church.  Coming back was spot on.

If it were anywhere in India, all that one would need to do is stop by the road side and ask any passerby. Most would show you the way - even they did not know it themselves!  But here one can't just do that - neither stop nor ask any passerby!  So this technology is indeed helpful.

Generation iKids

Here are extracts from an article which was featured in the complimentary magazine of The Times (25.03.2017).  Written by Ben Machell, it is titled 'Addicted! Generation iKids'

The world to a baby is pretty unpredictable, but these devices are so well crafted and intuitive that they deliver something to a baby that is reasonably predictable. It makes them feel like they have command over an environment that they generally don't have much control over... (emphasis added) (p. 22)

Adam Alter, a psychologist:

The problem with modern technology, he says, is not that it changes so quickly, but rather that it changes just slowly enough for us to not really notice the effect it's having (p. 23).  

Technology today has widened the possibility of 'probability'. Earlier, one had to be at home, in front of a TV set to watch a cartoon. Not anymore.  Moreover there were barriers built into the TV viewing. The cartoon programmes were interspersed with news, "stopping rules".

Only, these stopping rules are being deliberately, systematically destroyed by Zuckerberg and friends. Everything is now designed to be endless... a sort of auto-binge option that prevents you from having to make the decision to watch another (p. 23). 

Alter adds

The biggest issue with interaction is that you get feedback. And feedback is the engine of addiction.... if you have a device that gives them instant feedback all the time, that means they don't have to try very hard to get feedback from the world (p. 23).  

Perhaps the most serious danger:

...phones and tablets allow children to pass the time in a kind of mental holding pattern: not bored, but not engaged with the world around them either (p. 23).  

The article rightly places the onus of the responsibility on the parents.  If parents are all the time facing the phone, they're not going to be far behind.  One of the serious suggestions of the psychologists: avoid using phones and digital devices when with children.  The main reason: they deserve your time and full attention.  Do not keep yourselves or them distracted with phones and tablets!

The article also lists the opposing view, namely that research shows not much of a damage is done to the child's learning skill or mental functioning.  However, I personally see the sacrifice of the actual world for a virtual world, a huge threat to human civilization. 

Phone booth

With the rapid growth in communication technology, gone are the days of the public phone booth. So was surprised to see one during my walk today.  Only when I reached closer did I notice that it is totally abandoned. But the phone and everything else was still intact.  The presence of cobwebs and the word 'dead' scribbled on the door, give way to the fact that it is no more in use.

To recall yesteryears, these phone booths were much in demand and significant landmarks.  The most striking thing about the advanced mobile phones in comparison to years when there wasn't any such facility, is when I go to pick up someone at the railway station.  Earlier, all the information we would have is a postcard or an inland letter stating the date, train name and the time of its arrival.  Equipped with just that piece of information, we would still locate the guests and escort them home without any difficulty.  Now even with the latest of technology, our concern for the guest has not grown proportionately.

Then, found another thing, just beside the phone booth which is nearing extinction: the postbox!