What if we use 100% of our brain?!

I recently watched this movie titled, Lucy. Concept is similar to another Hollywood movie, Limitless. A pill increases your brain usage / IQ. I was wondering, how can people think we do not use brain 100%?

Then I realised that its a popularly believed myth that we do not use 100% of our brain. While in Limitless, it was shown that the characters who consume the pill increase their IQ by organising information well it is close to reality.

While in Lucy there is a scene, where she keeps typing on a laptop at a rapid pace and the machine responds! How ludicrous. All of us know that Software and hardware development do not go hand in hand. Then, as the movie ends, once Lucy attains 100% of her brain power, she disappears, now we are forced to believe that she is equivalent to God or whatever your can imagine using your at the max....10% of brains!

But seriously imagine (try)...you're not using your computer and your processor is idle. You start your system and try opening couple of applications (or processes). CPU will be used to process data. At one point, 100% of your CPU could be used, that wont make the system disappear.

If there is something which I liked about the movie Lucy was the more she starts using her brain, she becomes aware of the surroundings. I partially agree here. In other words, you use your brain 100% if you're a fully fit and functional human, but the more you discipline your mind the more you become aware of the surroundings, organise information properly and will be able to focus on doing things clearly in minimal time and effort. This was always known and you can achieve by Yoga or Meditation. So meditate or train your brain by keeping it active and young by solving puzzles, Sudoku, Crosswords, playing chess / games, learning a language etc., 

Who cares about IQ!!

Indian Board Game - Business rules

Its fun to play business the Indian version of popular board game Monopoly. My friends and I recently bought this board game but unfortunately lost rules. It was difficult to source rules for this Indian version of the game. Finally, after some browsing could gather the rules, presenting this for the benefit of those game lovers who are looking for rules. There are more than 1 way to play this game, depending upon your interest you can decide how you want to proceed with the game, this post is on general rules which me and my friends play by.

Game Play

1. Number of Players :  2 to 4 players (ideal) and another player could be banker

2. Cash at the start of game: INR 15,000. (Bank can never run out of cash. You can use plain paper to make currency)

3. Turns: Here there are two ways:

a) All players take turns and cast their dice till they score '12'. Whoever scores 12 can start moving. All others will remain at 'Go' till they cast 12. Once a player starts moving, he has to reach/pass 'Go' after travelling through the cities once and only then s/he can start buying Property.

b) All players will cast dice once. Player who obtained highest score in the previous cast will begin the game, and this follows in descending order. Once a player starts moving, he has to reach/pass 'Go' after travelling through the cities once and only then s/he can start buying Property

4. Every time a player lands on or passes 'Go', s/he will receive INR 1500 from bank (or as mentioned over board)

5. If a player lands in a city (e.g. Mumbai) and is unable / not interested in purchasing it, bank will auction the property and will sell it to highest bidder. If no one purchases, property will remain unsold

6.When a player lands in jail, if its during an ordinary course of play, you're just visiting no need to pay bail out amount. A player is sent to Jail only if they cast three doubles (two 1's etc.,) thrice in a row or if You're sent to jail by landing in such a space i.e through chance / community chest. Then:

a) Pay 200 as fine to bank and will be able to take next turn and for that particular turn, when player crosses "Go" again they will not receive INR 1,500

b) Cast dice three times, within which s/he'll have to cast dice in doubles (i.e two 1s or two 4s etc.,) if succeeded, s/he can get out without paying penalty else player will miss the next turn

c) While in Jail you'll not be able to purchase property

7. If a player lands in Income/ wealth tax, pay INR 200 to bank

8. If a player lands in Club house, pay INR 100 (or any denomination you decide) to bank for using it

9. Once a player owns 3 city cards of the same colour, rent is doubled

10. Once a player owns all the (city) cards of the same colour, they can erect hotel / house [ there could be some relaxation, either all the cards or 3 cards of the same colour]

a) Player has to erect hotel / house on all the properties only then they can erect a second house / hotel

b) If, player A has a hotel on only one property and Player B lands in that particular city, Player B will pay rent for the value of 1 Hotel only, but not doubled. If player B lands in on any other city (part of the 3 card group, where 1 city has a hotel) of Player A  where there is no hotel, Player B pays rent only but has to pay double the rent

c) If bank runs out of houses, players have to wait until one of the players will sell the house back to the bank

d) Players can chose to buy house/hotel at any point in play (of course, they need to have 3 or more same colour cards)

e) If player B lands in a city owned by Player A with no house / hotel on it and then player A decides to erect a house / hotel player B pays rent only [ Alternatively to end game quicker: Player B has to pay rent for Hotel / house value but this must be made known before game begins]

f) If bank has only one house or hotel left and if there are multiple players wanting to buy it, bank can auction it and sell it to highest bidder

11. A player can sell their property to bank or any other players. Bank will act as a regulator and see that all such transactions are a fair deals [ Player C may gain advantage over Player A and D by buying a title from Player B, that is ok, its part of the game. However Player C cannot purchase a title less than its market value specified on the card)

12. Rules pertaining to 'Chance' and 'Community Chest' are present on board

13. If any player lands in Rest House will miss their next turn. If it so happens by chance that all the players end up in Rest House in the same round; players will not be allowed to take rest. They will have to continue with the game play

14. At any instance you cannot buy more than one property from Bank against a loan. Only once you repay the loan, you can ask for another loan

15. If a player throws doubles, they move as usual, the sum of the two dice, and are subject to any privileges or penalties pertaining to the space on which they land. Retaining the dice, they throw again and move their token as before. If they throw doubles three times in succession, they are sent to Jail for over-speeding

16. After at least 10 rounds, players run out of cash, if all the players / majority agree bank can reissue grants up to INR 10,000 for all the players. ( This is just to increase the time of game play!)

17. If any player goes pauper, player with the highest Net worth wins. If its a tie player with highest number of title cards will be declared as winner

I have presented some rules which we use while playing. Monopoly standard rules may differ.

How to make the container bigger?

I was reading this book called "Letters to Sam" by Daniel Gottileb. It is a book written by a grandfather for his grandson. A particular story from the book attracted my attention. It is based on zen tradition about a young student who is suffering so terribly that, he can't get a moments rest. So he goes to his master to ask for help. The teacher advised him to put a tablespoon of coarse salt in a glass of water, stir it around, and drink it down. The student did as he was told. Of course, the water tasted terribly salty.

Now, teacher indicates a spring that's bubbling from the ground, and tells his student, "I want you to pour tablespoon of salt into the spring water. The student is then asked to drink water, and he finds the taste of salt imperceptible. Teacher explains,  "The problem is not the salt. The problem is the container you have. Try to make the container bigger".

Ever thought about some of the ways how we can all make our containers bigger?

Well here are 10 ways, the list is infinite, I have come up with a list which is best according to me:

• Get a pet home.No matter which one, it takes hell lot of a patience to keep them at home. Especially is you're expecting a baby, try get a "Pug".
• When you come across someone take initiative and greet them. Be nice particularly to those who aren't nice to you.
• Join community service. If you have a Gurudwara close by visit it on Sundays. You'll get an opportunity to serve others. (This is one example)
• Make food and share it with others - They say sharing is caring.
• Watch videos / read stories on heroes like these:

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3MWOJUUrYY

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMXcVPuJkcU

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlXWp6vFdE

• Make a greeting card and send it to a friend on his / her birthday
• Learn a foreign language. It keeps your brain sharp and knowing different cultures will enlarge your vision
• Meditate / Pray - It has its own positives
• Meet your teachers, especially the ones who taught you at school. They wouldn't hesitate a second to tell you, how exactly you changed!
• Last but not the least: Proactively do things to others (socially and legally acceptable of course), which you would have liked if they would have done to you

  Best wishes!

Intention of God

Disclaimer: This post has nothing to do against or for God. Its just a collection of various thoughts which may sound heretical or devotional.

Ever wondered why God created humans? Am sure some of us would have pondered over this thought and would have come up with his/her own conclusions. Every time, I posed this question, to different friends of mine, I manged to get different responses. Each response was based on, if he/she believes in god, nature of their upbringing, circumstances etc.,

It is interesting to note that, while most of them believed that there is a power greater and beyond human conscience and grasp no one ever witnessed (seen, smelled, touched, tasted or heard) "God". This by no means discouraging those who are trying to know God, but, on a lighter note, may be my friends and I are not so lucky yet.

Let me start with the one who triggered the conversation. He is into video games. According to him, God created us to wage wars. So, this act of ours to wage wars, struggle and survive just like most other animals on this planet is justified. Peace is for cowards he added.

One other believes that, the entire universe is filled with the energy, called, God and quotes the law of conservation of energy as to why this creation and destruction happens.

Another thinks, there is nothing like 'Universe', this has to be a 'Multiverse'. So according to him, multiple events occur simultaneously and parallel universes comes to existence for any "n" number of decisions that may / might have happened. (This may seem impossible, but remember, "infinity" and "imagination" are undefined). So, with all the possible experiences, when a person's cumulative knowledge increases beyond a certain value, he attains the status of "God" and there could be few animals/humans who have already attained the status.

A couple of friends from all the religions are ardent believers in God. They cannot think of a possibility that there is no God. They are performing all the rituals to their best as mentioned in their holy books and are trying to be in good books of the God to avoid hell.

There is a TV series called, Ancient Aliens, which states, Aliens visited Earth (they may be frequenting now too...but I always wonder why people living in USA manage to spot an UFO every time) and our ancestors believed them as Gods. Now, if aliens are Gods, I wonder who created aliens then? If aliens also evolved as per Darwin's theory, then there is no God, its just evolution. But, is there something beyond everyone's' comprehension?!

Should capital punishment be abolished?

This has been a topic of discussion in my country, India, in the recent past. The country, esp women’s faith on their country, for their safety, shook greatly, when several rape incidents occurred across the country. People were outraged and staged massive protests. There was an emotional outburst across the country demanding for death sentence of rapists. Nation’s pride was at stake. One evening a friend of mine and I were discussing on this topic and he asked me to express my views on capital punishment. Here is an attempt on the same.

Before we jump to the 'punishment' part of any offense, let us first take a look at, what does the word, ‘Law’ mean. Well, according to Wikipedia, there is no universal definition for the word, ‘Law’ but its a set of rules and guidelines. So the fact is, it depends upon a person's ability to interpret the laws or guidelines upon which a verdict is given.

Given that, we are societal animals, we are governed by set of rules and guidelines for the smooth functioning of society. Since most of us are very religious! (Let's check this out in my next blog post) we have framed certain religious laws as well. So are there any factors which any law should satisfy. What could be its virtues?

* Fortitude - firmness of purpose. Does it have sound purpose for framing it?

* Equality - Is it applicable universally? Or at least to all the citizens / refugees of the land? The law should be the same even to accused until proven guilty

* Timeliness - A law should not only last for a reasonable time (again scope for interpretation) but should be amended according to current circumstances and ensure if any punishment is awarded, should be delivered in time

* Ethical - Does the law have morals? 

Now why should any Law change with time? Is it not possible to make a Law permanently once and for all? Sadly, human behaviour isn't so simple to predict. The way each generation matures, learns, survives, grows and thinks is different. Had it not been for noble thinking by a couple of great men and massive effort by North Americans, African American slavery would not have been abolished. They would not have been allowed into schools. Women (around the world) would not have been allowed to participate in Olympics, have education, vote and work. LGBT community wouldn't be having their rights, though most are evolving worldwide right now.

Now let's assume, Indian laws are up to date. Should capital punishment be allowed in India? 

The problem is two fold, one capital punishment is awarded only if, guilt of the accused is proved beyond reasonable doubt and is a rarest of rare crimes. Now, it depends upon Judge's prudence if the crime committed is rare and he/she is absolutely sure about the punishment. Mulling over these two issues, 

http://www.dl.ket.org/latin2/mores/legallatin/legal01.htm

If you're interested you may want to watch the following video clipping, a debate on capital punishment NDTV – A question of life and Death

Disclaimer: These are my personal views and I haven't studied law. Views may vary and do not represent Indian Law in any official capacity .