Memory techniques

One ones are one
One twos are two
One threes are three

I am sure you started thinking of the time your primary school math teacher grilled multiplication tables into your head.

I was trying to remember a particular multiplication table the other day. I couldn't do a good job of it. It was 7 tables. And somehow 7 tables never stuck. From then until now. Something else always stuck though. Any guesses?

9 tables. It seemed to make more sense than the others. Apart from that, a grandmother's recipe to get to the table is to open up your ten fingers; have a starting point. I like to keep it on my left most finger - thumb. Start counting from that as one. Now for the technique. If you want to find 7 times 9, you close the 7th finger. The count on the left is the first number of the answer and the count on the right is the last. There you go!

I realized very few people know of/use this method. They just remember. Memory has never been my strongest point. So I have resort to measures like this.

Some others I always rely on are WE for West and East. I had a tough time keeping them in the right place until a teacher suggested I remember it as West and East. WE.

How do you know if a month has 30 or 31 days. Knuckles. Fold your left hand into a fist. Count the knuckles and the depressions for your answer. The knuckle bone is your 31 days and the depression in between two knuckles is 30 days. It even takes into account that July and August have 31 days consecutively.

We had diaries for our school. When you open any page you land in a week. The left page has three days and the right page has four. Even today three years after graduation I refer to that pattern to count days in between dates!

I am glad to have chanced upon these quirks! 

Art, for change

A friend posted Mallika Sarabhai's TED talk on Facebook today. A late saturday morning could not have been more inspiring!

With all the talk about Changing The World, I have often wondered how I can contribute. I have spent hours thinking about my capacities and bringing them to good use. Sarabhai's talk gives a bit of hope. Her innocuous questions about the bigger scheme of things our leaders chalk up and how it affects a basic need of the masses makes you think twice about what we are doing everyday at work.

We can't all drop our lives and take up justice as our motto. That's fair enough. However, what we can do is attribute a part of our schedule towards a cause. Planting a seed is all I ask for. You could write about your opinions on social change, discuss your ideas on the numerous social platforms we are part of, go to an NGO and meet these people who need a helping hand, tell your kids stories about injustice and inspire them to think of the right way, use your talent to make your point. It's just planting a seed in the minds of your kin.

Little drops of water make a mighty ocean. 

Pain

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place"

Listening to trees

“When we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy.”

-Hermann Hesse

I read this quote a couple of days back and it was sitting on my mind till today morning. How do you listen to trees? What does that feel like?

I was walking along a road that had dense canopy early today. The thought of listening to trees  jumped up and made me curious. Now that I was among these guys, I could try listening. Maybe the ignorance of a defined process is part of the learning. 

I sat among the trees and looked. I switched off the radio on my phone. I took a moment to place myself in the scene. The passage I had read earlier ran through my mind. Highlights of Hesse's words came alive. As they buzzed around I think I realised a tiny bit of what he meant. 

The trees seemed strong and sure. I saw myself agreeing to everything I read. 

Nature has a great way of assuring us, trusting in us and giving us hope. I went through a meditative calmness while I tried to focus on what I saw and heard. 

I felt like I truly lived in the moment those 10 minutes. 

Source for Hesse's words: Brain Pickings

Is extreme pragmatism essential for success?

A wisp of discussion wafted in our Communication class yesterday - about pragmatic people and their successful lives. I have always wondered about pragmatism in its most extensive form.

I have role-models who lead extremely cautious and careful lives. They plan and weigh their every move. They frame a question of essentiality over each problem and choose their options after answering that question. They know how to contain their lust. They know where to put their money. They know how to spend their time. They know whom to talk to. All these scenarios are chosen after answering the question of relevance, significance and importance to them.

I look up to these people in awe. Know that I am referring only to a certain type of people I have personally met and am not judging successful people in general. Sure, there are successful people who live lavish lives.

Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy did not get together. I personally think it was because she refused to be pragmatic. She refused to see the good their union would have done to her. She instead chose to be generous about the man she loved and let him go for what she believed to be the greater good. (They did turn out to be very successful in their separate careers though)

Focusing the light this discussion throws on me - I have analysed my decisions and attitude towards things. I have realised that I am not that realistic. I tend to be more on the side of optimism and hope. I like to believe that it will all turn out to be good. Does that mean I am not realistic?

I tend to work for what I think I want, even if it isn't the most realistic of thoughts. I have been doing quite well with that attitude, so far. However, I pause to think if it is good for my future. I am not going to be under my parents shadow forever. I am not going to stay in university where exams turn up only every 4 months and that's that. I am not going to be in this shell.

I am going to be surprised, pleasantly or nastily. I am stepping into uncertainty like never before. Will being more realistic be my armor against the 'Big Bad World'? Will being more realistic help me become more successful? Should I continue to dream a dream?

I am sure the answer is to find a middle ground. That's always the answer.

Balance.
Between dreams and sense.

I guess I am still trying to understand the extent of pragmatism I must embed into my outlook. I am still trying to figure how exactly I would be one. I am still trying to relate this outlook to success.

Spinning back on to the track

I have been heavy mentally, since last week. Too many issues to sort out. The problem in such a case is that I tend to get stuck on without moving forward.

I wasted last weekend without much progress on my work. As a result an eerie sense of irritation and feeling of dissatisfaction creeps into my mind. These two ghosts fog the head and are enemies of productivity, I have come to realize.

Today is the time I find a way around that. I took a paper and pen and put down my problems. I listed down the simplest possible to-dos for each case. And viola! Its amazing how an activity like that brings clarity to the mind. I know exactly what my worries are. I know the exact path to solving those problems.

It's very easy to get bogged down by the amount of work we have. Breaking things down makes things clearer and cleans the air around possible uncertainty. I am unwinding now for a while, with my favourite pakodas and some sewing to refresh my mind.

Back to list after!

Queueing in MRT Stations!

I was getting into the Kent ridge mrt, when I witnessed something amazing. People were queueing up outside the mrt doors on either side to get in. I was at awe. How does this country make it work?! No really.

If you have read my previous blog posts you are sure to know of my love for the order in this country. How they let it permeate into every strata of the society still impresses me.

Like the men say, 'Some how some way, things just work here'. Even if its just in one station. I am sure it will spread far and wide.

This blog post was waiting in my Evernote from last saturday! To my surprise I saw a post from the Singapore Kindness Movement about these sort of queues in a lot more stations.

Most of us take the MRT on a regular basis. The count of complain among the commuters about crowded stations and hence rude passengers is increasing to no end. An initiative like this is a light at the end of the tunnel. Let LTA work on its transportation management plans. In the meantime, let us try and make the best of the situation.

Way to go, Singapore! Proud :) 

#2 - Growing up and learning values..

My parents were very strict in their upbringing of my brother and me. Going to a school with kids who were freer to do what they wished did not help either. I was at war in the battlefield with my mum literally every other day in high school!

I came back from school one day wanting to go on a trip with a couple of friends. It was an adventure camp organized by a very prestigious institution. It was supposed to be three days of activities and a day of travelling back and forth. I was very keen on going for this trip for two reasons. Firstly, I would get to spend time with my friends and try my hand at some activities. Secondly, it would give me a sound recognition when I applied for colleges the next year!

My parents refused to let me go. They did not provide me with sufficient reasoning for their decision. They simply stated that it would not be the right thing to do at that point in time, when I was in the middle of exams.

With my parents and me being on the two opposite ends of the scale we had to find middle ground. I had to make them understand what that trip meant to me. They had to make me understand what their concern was. The situation needed some empathy.

That day we argued and I ended up getting impatient with them. I was not getting things my way and they were able to make me listen to them. They agreed to let me go half-heartedly after I threw a tantrum. The situation was ugly and we ended up hurting each other – simply because we did not express ourselves effectively.

I could have listed down my pros and cons. They could have brought up their concerns and dealt with them one by one. Do you think that would have been effective? What could we have done differently?

(Edited / 11 September 2012)

Why the Bill Clinton Speech worked for me

It was strong, passionate, effective and well-said. His charisma took off from the very first word he uttered. Rather from when he stepped on the stage. He spoke like he meant what he said. He made you believe what he wants you to believe in. He commanded your attention. He was firm.

He just made it work.

I am asking myself, 'How did he do it?'.

Not to mention, his delivery was the highlight of the speech. He supported his facts with numbers. He brought up issues which is the beef to the people of America. He served his argument on a sketch that common man can understand.

The energy in the arena was amazing! It lifted my spirits up so high - given that I am not an American, I have never heard Clinton at a DNC before and I am watching this on record.

I could not help but think about Indian politicians as I was cheering on along with the crowd. I have rarely seen such passion backed up with believable evidence. I have rarely seen such energy and passion.

I understand very little about the American political scene. That said, I do know one thing. This man can inspire. And right now, I just want to be sold.

It was pure magic. I hope to be able to deliver to an audience like this one day! I hope to be able to inspire and take people into my confidence like this man did today.

It was 45 minutes well spent! I think you should too. If not for anything else, just to see greatness!

Bringing a scintilla of unique touch to your customer

I have often spent my evenings wondering what I will do for a living and how I will do it. What will I sell? What will I create? How can I make my ideas different? How do I get to people?

How do I flatter my customer?

With a personal touch. 

I know I want to be in a business around the design of things.

Art, Clothes, Jewels, Things.

In those evenings I think about how I would innovate to stand out. Art, Clothes, Jewels and Things are too wide and too old. People have been selling these things and the design around these things ever since the idea of business and selling dawned on humans.

I read a HBR article that gave a wonderful spark of idea. The author focuses his arguments on one target. To serve people with a personal touch. To make people feel like it was created for them.

You can get treatment like that with a Chanel Limited Edition bag. However Chanel is Chanel. It's not for everybody.

That's where I can see an interesting challenge - How can I provide this experience to every Jane?

I am loving this spark of thought! The challenge is being creative in modifying your idea to suit a specific need.

Do read the article here and try to apply 'bringing a personal touch' experience to your idea! I'll be thinking in the mean time..