Appearances and usability

The web2.0 team spoke about it. The mobile team spoke about it. I see so much of importance given to design and appearance. We are having a few people around us who are studying Interaction Design. They just quoted John Maeda and Edward Tufte and have brought hoards of cool-looking books on design interaction.

I have always ignored so many aspects of good design and thought it to be bullshit, as must be evident from my horribly cluttered blog page. Although I did think that usability was high up in my head and that I quite empathised with users of IT systems, I never did care about the aspect of "look and feel". The stand was almost philosophical! (I am hoping that this statement doesn't annoy certain people :) ) What does appearance have to do with good design and usability, I would say? Now I might just end up being a convert. Or who knows, my interaction with them will only reinforce my belief. From the way things are going, it is likely that I will get converted.

The Delhi blasts

Someone>>It is the government’s fault. All politicians should die.

Me>>The government doesn't have a magic wand. I agree they don't do even what they can do. Our intelligence sucks. On the bigger picture, it is we who are idiots. All of us. The human kind. The inhuman and the unkind. Why do we do this to ourselves? For what joy? And now we have begun to accept it as normal as long as it doesn't directly affect us.

Someone>> Don't be impractical and bring your lofty philosophy into this. Don't support them. Would they have been as passive if it had been one of the politicians who died? See the Americans.

I'm not defending our politicians. They are idiots. But weren't they chosen by us? Won't we choose them again? Was what the US did really fine? And Israel? It is pathetic. We'll kill each other. Let us just do that shall we? I'd really like that. At least for philosophical reasons!!! What do you think the government would do if it were Sonia Gandhi or Manmohan? What did they do after Rajiv Gandhi? Nothing has changed. We just talk. We as a nation and culture are so stoic, it seems like we are almost habituated to the distress around. We only react if it happens to people we know.

Politicians plain don't do anything because of inertia. They would probably think rival parties would create problems anyway. So why do anything useful? We are better off fighting for and against the Amarnath yatra and Amitabh. We fight for just what we think would bring us the votes. Our people have poor memories and a high tolerance for terrorism. And if twenty families die, it is only that many votes that we lose.

It is of course vote bank politics that politicians across all geographies play. So what is so special about our politicians? I should actually ask, what is special about us, the people? We have been tolerant of exploitation for decades? Centuries now. We think it is a virtue to take rubbish and show our other cheek. But it is an irony that this is not really because we are a nation of peace lovers. It is just that we are a . We are an electorate that is still struggling to make ends meet. We need jobs to get us our daily bread and a god when that doesn't happen. Matters of importance to us are religion and reservations, which is why these are the only issues that politicians deem important and actively do things about. Their actions have so much of an impact that we now think this is all that directly affects our lives. It becomes a vicious cycle of dependency created by and imposed on us.

Occasionally we see vague semblances of the capitalist versus communist debates seen elsewhere in world politics. The Tata Singur project. The nuclear deal. This at least seems like a healthy debate to me, even if it might seem to some like it is just opposition for the sake of it. While to even others, it might be entirely pointless to care at all about. Do those issues really make any difference to us?

While I understand our stands and choices make sense to each of us, that we are wise individuals who know what is important to us, and this is exactly what a healthy democracy would promote, we must also take the bitter pill and understand that the fruits of democracy take their own sweet time to bear and then ripen. Under favourable circumstances. Who knows, in a few decades we might even get to taste them.

Meanwhile, the electorate is waiting for a better option. Or is it?

Women's lib

All the talk about women's lib has died down. They once used to be 'cool' words associated with rebellion. Now, these words are laughed at. The word 'feminist' is considered almost derogatory. It could be because it has been around a long time now. It is no longer a cool, unique 'fashion' statement that beauty pageant models use to win crowns. A lot of people have accepted that women play an important role in all aspects of a society, its government, its economy and growth.

But listen to this.

I met a lady who was working in villages in Maharashtra. She narrated to me some of her observations in the villages she visited. Like most other villages (and sometimes elsewhere), the women there get married at 15. They couldn't study after that even if they wanted to. Here's one reason. Because their husbands were 7th standard pass outs and didn't want a better educated bride. You will never guess why young men were only too eager to get married? It was at the prospect of getting a bike and cellphone for dowry! And of course I won't miss the opportunity to add - free, approved sex!

So what do young men do after getting married? Go on thrill rides on their shiny, new bikes. If they survive the rides, they get back home drunk, beat up their women, impose themselves and have a peaceful nights sleep. How does the family survive? On money from the girls parents. What does the woman do? Subject herself to pain, neglect and misery; give birth to children; suffer the agony of bringing them up in a pathological environment. If it is not the husband, its is her in-laws. And when she becomes a mother-in-law, she supposedly repeats the same cycle of hatred, misery to her daughter-in-law.

This does sound like a very generic, biased and silly narration to me. There are so many holes in the description. Who is the "responsible" father/mother who saves/borrows and offers the daughter the money she needs. Why should the girl grow old to be yet another hatred-filled, cynical, vengeful mother-in-law? Aren't there equal chances of the girl turning out to be the savior of her daughter-in-law for the very same reason having faced the agony herself and having learnt from the experience?

Whatever is said, clearly all is not well. Hopefully things will change in a decade or two.

Man and machine

Why is it that I do not particularly like Nadal and Hrithik? I do not dispute the fact that they have got talent. :P People might even argue that it is an understatement. But I have the right to put forth my opinion about them. So here goes. I think they are too plastic. Too machine-like. Too muscly.

Nadal plays like he has a mission to accomplish. He runs to and fro on the baseline, is agile, hits power shots at unbelievable angles and reaches the ball no matter where it is placed on court. He attempts shots to keep the ball at play, hits winners - ONLY from the baseline, and if lucky maybe from elsewhere, all of them with machine-like precision. Little wonder that he wins most games. And yes, his angles and the way he reaches for every shot makes one gasp, but I have somehow decided in my head that he is too plastic for my tastes. Agreed, after he finishes a match, when he wins and takes off his head band, I feel a sort of fondness for the emotional/non-plastic kid in him. The way he talks, his spirit - he is a sport and hence a sweetheart whether he wins or loses. When the win is against Federer, all this doesn't hold of course. :)

Federer on the other hand, has more variety. Watching his tennis is like listening to music, as so many people have rightly put it. And even a non-believer would agree, after watching fed's strokes in slow motion alongside the symphony playing in the background of the rolex advertisement. He can(or is it could) play against anyone, with any style of game, on any surface, improvises his game anytime required, and comes up with shots that are a beauty to watch. He is just art at work.

And Hrithik is another story. He dances well. Okay, maybe very well. But I just do not appreciate his dance. His movement is fluid alright. But again is so machine-like in precision. Like he was programmed to dance that way and he would move every muscle just as much as it was programmed to move.

This is how I see them. Maybe it is partly because I think perfection isn't human? No, it is because, I think to achieve perfection, one needs to be free. To be boundless. To be free to improvise. To do what one really wants to do. To do it in a split-second of thought or even without thought. To do it because you just knew it was what you ought to have done. To fail. And in the end maybe, just maybe, win. :)

monkey trouble

I was walking down the road to the IIT hospital with a bag of apples and bananas, when I saw this monkey that was heading for me rather aggressively with frightening snorts! I panicked and in the fright, it took me a moment longer to understand what it was that the monkey wanted. I let out a scream and dropped the bag down. But by the time all this happened, there was this "saviour" who shooed the monkey to a side with his bike! The monkey wasn't sure whether to take his threat seriously or to head for the alluring bag of goodies. By the time, the saviour-of-my-goodies shouted for me to pick up the bag and run to the hospital. I did just that. When I reached safe territory, I turned back and saw the saviour-of-my-goodies still dodging the monkey with his bike. "Thank you!" I called back to him. He gave me a sheepish, big smile. I returned the same. In an afterthought, for a fairy tale finish, I should have sighed loudly, "My hero"!

I still can't help laughing thinking about the incident. It is funny for more than one reason. One, I (but actually it was my bag!) was like a victim being saved. By a guy that I have begun to regard as the-saviour- which is absolutely unacceptable in my head except for the funniness of the situation. And of course the knowing smile I received in the end.

the cellphone lives

I have been using the Nokia 1100 for a while now. :(

No offense to the handset model. It is quite unpretentious about its functionality and has been serving me and my mom quite effectively for over three years now. But I really have a different worry about my phone. It has a life of its own!!

Just when a profound thought occurs to me about how god and men have a sense of humour and enjoy playing games, I receive a call on my mobile and notice that even my battery has been 'dying' to play games with me. My battery has a life of its own. It pretends to have 100% charge but 'dies' at the most inopportune moments. Like when my boss tries to reach me. Or when I need to ensure that transport is arranged for a group of 12 people including me. Or when I am in desperate need of a US open score update at office early in the morning. :P

As soon as I begin to feel that I have no use for my mobile it, turns on happily displaying full battery and a list all the calls I have missed. Ah the pleasure it exudes switching on and ringing aloud when I am away from my cabin at office! I rush to my room curious about what number my dear-old mobile deems fit to turn itself on for and connect through to me. I find a number I can't identify of course. I answer the call with the sweetest 'hello' to a pre-recorded message from airtel. Haa! I could almost see the wicked smirk on its face!

I really am planning to buy myself a new mobile. One that is just a piece of electronics. Something that hasn't got a mind of its own. Something that is at my disposal. Something that does exactly what I want. Something that I can control, own and exert power over! Not something that seems to be constantly reminding me "may god's will be done"!

I was waiting for the iPhone to hit the Indian market. I was dreamily hoping Apple would come to a silly arrangement with Airtel or something, to make the price of the phone “seemingly” affordable to me! Thankfully, they didn't do any of that. With 33K as the price, I wouldn't even dream of buying the phone no matter how smitten I am. So what do I replace my 1100 with? I am still in the process of deciding. Meanwhile, what do I do when I suddenly feel sentimental about my 1100?