Analytics and Life

Human beings bestowed by the intelligence, sometimes tend to overuse it. We overestimate causality to that extent that we sometimes tend to fit patterns or try to find reason for something that is complete random. The world is so overwhelmed with data and data analytics tools that usually we succeed in finding the reasons for random event as well. Due to advent of technology and enormous computing power at our disposal, we can search pattern even in the complete random event. It seems like that humans are so arrogant of their reason that they are not able to accept that there might be some event that may have no reason at all. This is something call as fooled by randomness these days. The real challenge is not to be blinded by Socratian Logic. I guess Logic is bit overrated.

We in data analytics call it ‘noise’. One of the major challenges of modern day data analytics is separation of information from the noise. For any robust model data sanity is of paramount importance. If the data selected for the modeling is wrong the model is bound to fail. Usually analyst defines the scope of the project that how much the model can predict and for what time horizon. There we tend to be very cautious and predicts with disclaimer. The funny thing is in business problem we are very aware that we are doing prediction based on historic data, which might go wrong if data pattern changes or say situation changes.

But in real life we are so confident of ourselves that we do prediction with conviction that too on the basis of insufficient data/experiences. We are somehow so blinded or arrogant that we extrapolate our prediction on entirely different situations. We don’t bother to see whether our experiences are even worth using or not .In technical term we don’t care that the sample being used for analysis is information or noise.

The whole point is to understand that everything in universe needs not to have reason behind it. Something might be accidental but yet have profound impact on our lives. I am not saying that we cannot predict at all. Of course, we can but with some probability of failure as well and under the constrain that situation will remain similar to what we have experienced in past. I guess this much humbleness is not an unjustified expectation from the predictors of humanity.

Why We Need Justice for Ruchika?

I was following the Ruchika Molestation case quite closely after the famous crooked smile of Mr. Rathore was splashed in the media and ultimately led to the uproar in the nation for the justice for Ruchika. When I myself followed the whole story I felt the outrage against the ballant misuse of power and the helplessness against the injustice. The whole sequence where Mr Rathore used the whole police machinery to break a helpless family sent shiver through my spines. I guess this was the feeling that united the whole nation against Mr. Rathore.

Our fathers and grandfathers were the generation when India was struggling for freedom or new country adjusting with new place in free world. They were the generation who had a collective aim to build a new country. They fought for the freedom and after that they worked with the purpose to build a great nation. After that a time came during 70s and 80s when corruption, unemployment were at its peak. That was the time of famous angry young man era. The youth felt like cheated and betrayed by their politicians. The dream of great nation handed to them by Nehru and Gandhi was not fulfilled. He woke up in the era of unemployment, feminine, poverty and corruption. After that from 90s country realized and adjusted with the changing world. Our market was opened and we started taking on the world’s competition head-on. We didn’t do badly either. There was a time when we were seen as economically failed society and now is the time when world want us to take lead to pull it out of the economic mess.

We are the generation who are sure of ourselves. We are competing with the international players and beating them in their games. We are free of the mental slavery. We are working with US and European countries and realizing they are not better then us. We are the proud Indian with confidence that we can excel in anything that we venture out to do. The feeling of helplessness is entirely new to us. Even the thought of it is outrageous for me. This is the reason why nation woke up to call of Ruchika’s family. It was not for the sake of Ruchika. It was for us. The justice imparted reinstate my faith that we live in a society where everyone is equal and provided with equal opportunity. All is equal in eyes of justice. Someone may play with it for the time being but not for ever.

This feeling that we live in true democratic society is the greatest achievement of free India. Every society needs some collective aim. The aim of our generation is to build a great nation. When you work for a purpose you productivity increases manifold. The government should realize this that they should also safeguard the spirit of nation. They should not let this spirit die. The events like Mumbai attack, attack on Indian parliament impact the morale of the citizen. The preparators of these crimes should not go unpunished. The country should fight and retaliates when required against these terrorists. This help in building the character of the nation.

Today after reading the news of justice imparted to Ruchika I felt a huge relief as if my faith, my value system has got revalidated. I have a similar feeling like the one, which I have when I listen to our nation anthem in attention pose. I feel proud to be Indian and the part of society where Ruchikas can get get justice against mighty like Rathores.

Jai Hind

Random

From past few days I am reading a lot of books on philosophy. Books mainly about life, meaning of life, purpose of life, aim of life and even how to attain the ultimate aim of life. I won’t name the books, as some of them are really famous and might offend people. But I suppose, its not important what book is all about and what actually author wants to convey. The important thing is what reader understood and what thoughts the book invokes. Being a mathematician the first thing that came to my mind is to check the validity of the questions. I started with is really our life have a meaning or if we really need a meaning to our life. What is wrong if our life is complete random and shaped by the chances rather than destiny. We all think that we are the blessed children of the lord. Actually we should consider the possibility that we might be the unwanted children of the God and we must learn to live with that.

Now the first thing that came to my mind is there really any purpose of life. People talk all the time about meaning and planning for the life but comfortably ignore that life might be simply an accident. It might be possible that we are not sent in the world with some great mission. At least statistically we can assume this much. The real question is why from centuries we are running behind some questions which might not have any solutions.

The man is not agile or has the strength of other animal. He had to cooperate and collaborate in order to survive. The only strength that human possessed is intelligence. But intelligence can’t be shared or collaborated. In animal community the law and order is restored or maintained by the strength. The power is exercised by the brute force . But in case of human the intelligence had to be reined in to establish the order.Every thought is required to be in same direction. But the thought or intelligence is not the thing that can be controlled by the force. There is nothing like collective intelligence. No discipline can be ever forced on the mind of people. In order to establish a social order the leader of our society decided that its easier to kill the creative minds rather than motivating the people to think for the same purpose or collective aim. So to control the minds of the people, the leaders and preachers of this society decided to commit a fraud. They created things that were intangible and vague. They created these things to make people intellectually drained. They created these unsolvable riddles to prove that every man is worthless and incapable as far as thinking is concerned. They made human to think that they are inadequate and hence forced them to submit to them. They created the theories like aim of life and make people to pursue it. They made people to seek something that don’t exist at all. They created a false purpose of life and gave false ego to every living being. Everybody is special and has an aim in life and people need to find that out. This is good enough to keep him engaged and occupy his mind for the life. At the end he will feel that he is not good enough and then he will willfully submit to the system. He will obey the system and will do anything that will be asked of him. The funda is to beak the spirit of man; his freethinking spirit by proving that he is incapable and inadequate. Make him so dependent on the others that he starts thinking in terms of others. He values, sense of right or wrong, successes all will be measured in the eyes of others. He will start living for the others and others for different others. In this vicious circle no one will ever live for himself. These unhappy people will run to priests and guru to seek happiness and peace. These people then can be united in the name of religion or ideals and then this group with no independent thinking can be broken to be ruled. These are the groups that formed the great civilization.