To cut the long story short

 Last weekend, Nestor complained that I wrote too long a blog.

  

 I went back to my room and tried to read it myself. 

 I almost fell asleep.

 On his suggesttion I have edited them. 

 They are now divided it into a series of 3 blogs.

 Howzzaat ? 

 

Scientific Skepticism : Part 3

And what does these deliberations teach me as an engineer ?

As an engineer my pupose is to use scientific knowledge and creativity  to produce a technology for the upliftment to human lives. 

But there is a catch. Actually two catches !

1.Science is inexact. Engineer cannot rely completely on Science to create/design/modify his technology. He will have to use his imagination and intuition , which is beyond systematic step by stem evaluation system of  contemporary Science. It sometimes takes just a Blink to assimilate the complexity of a technological problem.

2.How will an engineer know what technology is best for the industry and in turn, society? (remember upliftment of humans) 

In the Institutes of Technology all we learn is Science (and in some better universities, technology). Do they also teach how to evaluate the benifits of technology ? I am proud to say that TU Delft confronts this problem through its emphasis on Sustainability. However, we students need more training in sustainable thinking to be able to apply it in practice.

I have come to realise that although an industry is driven by Technology, it is manoeuvred by Economy,Ecology,Ethics (ideally) on the path of Sustainability. It is therefore the essential for an engineer to be aware of these aspects. If misguided by frivolity, his invention and innovation can lead to disasters. The History teaches us from the horrors of Atom Bomb and the current global economic crisis. They both are  perfect examples of the need for a Sustainable way of thinking. 

Scientific Skepticism : Part 2

I differ to the claim that one day we will be able to discover that Ultimate Universal Law of nature solving all mysteries of nature. Its not that I am being pessimistic. There are so many events far way in universe , in this world, in our minds and souls which are beyond the receptory organs of petty humans.  We can only TRY to 'touch', 'see' 'taste' or 'smell' them, but they will always remain elusive to our observations and we might never know that they even exist.

Does that mean we are doomed to state of perpetual ignorance ? 

I am very optmistic in answering the question. I believe Science will keep discovering new facts and figures refining the understanding of the Nature, recieving vivid and varied interpretations. 

And what this means is that we are blessed with exciting  quest for knowledge perpetually !!

It also means that contemporary science needs reform. It must expand its scope to include unconventional domains like spirituality and meta-physics. Science must be more holistic in scope and in approach. 

Today,the scientific advancements are guided solely by technology and materialism. 

Gone are the days when science was the quest for knowledge guided by logic and spirituality.

The quest for 'hard' facts and figures has become the sole quest for a scientist. 

Scientists are  struggling to become specialist, striving to learn more and more about less and less. 

Scientific Skepticism : Part 1

Sanjay Joshi once commented in his blog that history is an Inexact Science, open to interpretations. 

He is right and he is wrong. 

History is inexact but so is SCIENCE. 

What is Science ?

Its a systematic study of reduced natural events (called experiments)  and proposal of rule (called Laws) which can manupulate future events (called technology) with certain accuracy.

And History ?

Is it not a systematic study of residuals of events (fossils,texts,artifacts) in nature and proposal of rule (Racism, Universal Rights) which can manupulate future events (politics, social behaviour) with certain success.

Napolean once said "History is but a fable agreed upon".

I say, " Science is but a theory agreed upon".

Newton's laws, once considered universal, were mere approximations to a more complex and bizarre Eintein's Equations, which also were not universal. They did not explain various events of nature like electro-magnetism, and quantum mechanics.

Some say we just need to discover the Ulitimate Unified Theory to explain all the Laws of  Universe. Once we do that, every event can be predicted precisely. There will be no scope for interpretations or approximations.

  

Now THAT is mountain bikinig

Mondial Du VTT Descente de Venosc caméra embarquée
by 103TuRtLe

Simple Truth

Siddhartha got me the book from India. I wanted to read it for quite some time. So when Sid decided to go to India over weekend, I had pleaded him to get me 

" My Experiments with Truth " by Mahatma Gandhi.

Did you know that Mahatma Gandhi wrote this book in his mother-tounge,Gujrati entitled 

Satyana Prayogo athva Atmakatha?

The first thing that struck me about the book (after reading couple of pages) was the blatant simplicity. I was expecting a highly sophisticated, phylosophically charged rhetoric with citations from Aristotle and Kant. 

I was blissfully dissapointed. Perhaps, I had forgotten that Mahatma Gandhi had always stood for Simplicity.

 

The Industrial Redemption

Today was the second day of 'De Delftse Bedrijvendagen' , a three day technology oriented career event organised in Aula, TU Delft. Its a platform to interact with more than 100 companies throught out Netherlands. 

The thing that struck me most was the absence of 1st year MSc international  students in the fair, especially, the Indian students. I was expecting the fair to be crowded with them. I met not even one !! 

Where are you guys ?

I am sure you all are looking for internships and industrial thesis. And this is the best opportunity that could land right on your campus (if not on your lap). 

DDB is a good forum to interact with  industry and get first hand information on their projects. The best part of the fair is the interview with the employees who are alumni of TU Delft. It gives you a completely different (and real) picture of the work place as compared to the company site or pamphlets. The In-House Days is icing on the top.

It was also nice catching up with some old friends too. Snehal and Sarita were jolly as always. They are finishing their MSc and PhD thesis respectively this month and looking for a job. Poor Max is also desperate to find an internship. I could not recognise David again, he has dyed his hair this time. He told me all about Carolyne's birthday party ! 

So, what did I learn from the DDB experience so far :

1. Recession has definitely affected the job scenario. Companies are interesting but not interested. On the bright side , none of them are laying off employees. Atleast our alumni won't be our competition ;). Those cheap bastards are however offering interships/graduation projects to get their job done for less.

2. Stop Matlab. Learn Dutch. The the only skill which will help you win that hard job is your Soft Skills.