Book Review - Project Hail Mary

Last week, I read two renowned science fiction books - Rendezvous with Rama and Project Hail Mary. Both books. I loved reading both of them for different reasons. Rendezvous with Rama is a brilliantly written sci-fi thriller which depicts a realistic, most likely scenario of what would happen if we were to encounter a more advanced life form in the universe. I would highly recommend for anyone to read the book and explore the mysteries of the spaceship - Rama. 

Project Hail Mary on the other hand felt like a more comfort read written for widespread consumption. It has all the components of a book which doesn't require much thinking but readers can still enjoy a light science fiction read. Overall I would still recommend this book if you are interested in reading a science fiction book which isnt too heavy on science and does not require a lot of background knowledge, but is still thrilling and a page turner. 

To help you decide on whether to pick up Project Hail Mary, below are some goods and bads of the book based on my read

The Good 

• Rocky - Rocky is absolutely the best character of the book. Without spoiling much of the book, I would say Rocky is likable right from the start and keeps the book engaging and the story moving forward. Enough said! Read the book if you want to find out more about Rocky!

• Simple and engaging Storyline - The storyline and the way the author has written the story is simple and linear. Earth faces an existential crisis, our hero embarks on a journey to save everyone and wins. Easy peasy. However despite the simplicity, the story still has many unexpected twists and turns that will keep you engaged. 

• Interesting theories on evolution of life: I loved the multiple times the author asks great insightful questions on why life evolved a certain way and then proposed theories to support that. I personally never thought about those and really liked the reasoning behind the theories. I understand they might be widely accepted in the scientific community and the author probably just added those in the book. However i still found it very interesting to read and understand that. 

The Bad 

• Unrealistic character actions: Some characters like Stratt for example act significantly differently than how humans would in a real life situation. In the book, the world gets together and pools its resources to fight against the threat. However, I feel that's different from reality. The movie “Dont look up” is more realistic in depicting how humanity responds to an existential threat. The infighting, the greed, prioritizing short term and personal gains over the longer term approach, how leaders and officials look for their benefit and survival over that of the others reflects reality. PHM on the other hand paints a picture of leaders working together to a common good to save the world. Even going to the extent of bombing Antartitica to buy time to save half of humanity. 

• Deus Ex Machina: there were a lot of times where the story used one of the characters as a Deus Ex Machina whenever the story required. Grace, our main character, faces issues or problems and there will be a Deus Ex Machina ready to help him out of the situation. I liked it and enjoyed the first few times where it felt believable. However towards the end it just felt like the author was throwing twists and turns to lengthen the story and would need the Deus Ex Machina to get him out of the situation. 

• Rushed Ending: The ending of the book felt rushed and not polished. It also felt very predictable. 

Overall I really enjoyed the book and finished it in one setting. I would highly recommend everyone to read this book and give it a try. 

Why we change our jobs!

Its almost magical how an organization falls apart when a leader is unjust. They have to be cooperative to cultivate an environment of fundamental ownership. The reluctance share responsibilities and accept the blame for any failure will create distrust among the employees.

An environment where the leader has lost all credibility will only give rise to chaos and mistrust. To avoid such dire consequences, he should crystallize the feeling of solidarity with the employees. Only after being one of them will he make them eager to share ideas.

Personally I think everyone including me don’t like dictatorial leaders. Despite studying leadership, such qualities are often difficult to learn unless experienced or overseen in past engagements. However it is also possible for organizations to dissuade its managers from practicing such unprofessional behaviors. A flat organization structure, 360 degree feedback and trainings (Yes. Proper Training is the best means to tackle any situation. Unfortunately it has been abused too much) are just some of the few steps that we can undertake to avoid these authoritarian leaders.

Rush

Rush

450 bhp. 167 mph. 25 drivers. 16 races. 1 World Champion. Numbers won’t sell it but the story will.

The movie starts with the fated day of August 1 1976 the German Grand Prix and on the most dangerous track the Nürburgring circuit. The race starts and then never ends. The epic rivalry shared by our two protagonists ( yes we have two protagonists and probably the only villain here is the heavy rain ) – Niki Lauda and James Hunt meanders through the circuitous tracks across the Formula 3 and Formula 1 and ends at where it all began – The thirst to be the best. And they do become the best but at what cost. One loses his wife his love while the other almost his life. This begs the question – should you put everything on line just to prove that you are better than others.

Philosophical bullshit aside, the movie was a treat. The tense races, the bacchanalian Thor, the tight-nerved, almost puritan Austrian all come together to paint on screen the masterpiece of World Championship of 1976. What stands strikingly out in the movie is the different persona of these two racers. Its not just Niki Lauda vs James Hunt but dedication and discipline against Passion and aggression. And even until the end you’ll garner points to support either of the two. Personally, I prefer the independent disciplined and cautious Niki over the ardent but uncontrollable Hunt. And even you, as an impartial viewer would appreciate the slow, gentle but the definite rise of Niki Lauda from shadows to stardom.

Other than the Story and the actors, a special praise goes to the Director – Ron Howard, who despite his freedom, told each and every aspect creatively but truthfully. He brilliantly portrayed the story contrary to the typical sports movie where a single hero is on a path to inevitable glory. What further  sets this movie apart from other car race movies is the direction. Instead of overburdening us scenes upon scenes of cars zooming by, the director creatively used camera shots from just about everywhere - down at a driver’s feet inside the cockpit, behind spinning wheels, up above trees that hide speeding cars and obviously by the side of the track as cars whip by.

In the end, it was worth spending 3 hours to watch The Rush twice.

Of Shutdowns and Credit limits

With the US government shutdown moving into the third week, the fear of US defaulting for the first time in history has intensified. The credit limit set at $16.7 trillion will be reached by mid October -17^th the treasury presumes. The Republicans are using this predicament along with the recent deadlock over the fiduciary budget spending for the new fiscal year to delay Obama’s signature Healthcare policy – Obamacare.

The Deadlock:

The reason the US government is in a state of semi-paralysis is due to the senate’s inability to finalize the current continuing Resolution or CR. Republicans are using this opportunity to postpone the implementation of Obamacare and hence has proposed a bill to implement the budget cuts, the next fiscal year budget and to delay the healthcare plan by a year. The democrat controlled Senate however has refused to give in to the demands and has sent the bill back to congress for ‘Reconsideration’. Because of this, the government was unable to fund itself post 1^st October, their new fiscal year and has asked its 800,000 of 3.3 million strong workforce to stay at home (A bill was passed last week to give back-dated wages to about half of them).

Not all government functions were closed  from Oct. 1 — Social Security checks will still get mailed, and veterans' hospitals will stay open. But many federal agencies shut their doors and sent their employees home, from the Environmental Protection Agency to hundreds of national parks.

So in short, because of its inability to spend the government is unable to continue its less essential services like tourism, research, overseas embassies, etc.

( More details can be found at : http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/30/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-about-how-the-government-shutdown-will-work/)

The Credit Cliff :

In his letter to the US house speaker John Boehner, treasury secretary Jack Lew warned the congress that on October 17,US would reach its credit limit of $16.7 trillion. If the congress fails to  increase the limit, the government will have to survive on the 80 million payments accrued per day which is far from sufficient to meet the daily requirement – a whopping $60 trillion. Hence the request.

(FYI - Since 1960, Congress has raised the debt ceiling 78 times.)

Consequences of not increasing its borrowing limit - running out of money to pay its bills, increase in interest rates, crash in the value of dollar, gravely wounding the economy, and perhaps even throwing it back into recession.

However, the speaker Mr Boehner is using this opportunity to not only pressurize the democrats but also to trash the democrat’s reputation. He wants the people to realize that “The debt limit remains a reminder that, under President Obama, Washington has failed to deal seriously with America's debt and deficit."

Ultimately whether the shutdown is reverted or the debt limit increased, congress’s reputation has taken a major hit and has proved that it is impossible for the two parties to work cohesively.

The Search

All our young lives we search for someone to love. Someone who makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope. All the while wondering if somewhere, somehow, there's someone perfect, who might be searching for us.
 - Wonder years

Drink Aurora Borealis

This drink feels like a concoction from the outer space. A drink with a pink natural color but which glows aqua marine in black-light - the two main colors of Aurora Borealis. And here's the recipe for the drink - courtesy TCC: 

• 2 liters Gin or Vodka
• 9 Liters Tonic Water
• 3-4 Bottles Roses Mojito Passion, OR 3-4 Canisters of Pink-Lemonade Concentrate
• Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix all ingredients together shortly before the party begins.
2. Add ice as late as possible before drinking.

Cheers!

Note : The actual drink will not contain stars and galaxy as depicted in the picture.

Math of Music

Have you ever wondered why our musical scales have twelve notes and not ten or eight? Why some notes sounds good or melodic together? Why most of us are able to identify when a note is out of place in a song even though most of us musically illiterate? Well folks, the answer lies in - Frequencies and ratios. 

In Western music, the primary reference tone is the pitch A - a frequency of 440 Hz. The next higher A in the musical scale is at frequency 880 Hz or 440 X 2 Hz. the difference of 440 Hz makes the two A an octave apart. Every octave is divided into twelve notes, the frequencies of which are mentioned in the table below.

A	440
B flat	466
B	494
C	523
C sharp	554
D	587
D sharp	622
E	659
F	698
F sharp	740
G	784
A flat	831
A	880

Lets consider the major triad - A, C# and E or the A chord.

Notice that A is 440 Hz. Now 440 X 3 = 1320 and 1320 / 2 = 660 ~ frequency for E. I.E. A and E are harmonically related  - 440 X 3 is E one octave above the note A - 440. 

For somewhat more arcane reasons, the interval between A and E, which is a frequency rise of 3/2, is called a fifth. The note 3/2 above E has frequency 988, which is an octave above B-494. Another 3/2 above that is approximately F sharp (740 Hz). Continuing in this fashion, multiplying frequencies by 3/2, and then possibly dividing by two, you can approximately trace the twelve notes of the scale. This progression is called the circle of fifths. The notion of key in music and a scale are based on this circle of fifths.

How is C# then part of the major triad?

440 × 5 ≈ 554 × 4 or C# is 3 octaves above A - 440. 

So A C# and E are harmonically related. Hence when you play the notes A C# and E together you find the resultant sound "musical".

In short,the human ear hears frequencies   and frequencies that are harmonically related tend to sound good together - they are consonant rather than dissonant. People prefer musical scales that have many consonant intervals. And such scales contains frequencies which equal the ratio of small integers ( 3/2  and  5/4 as in the case of major triads ). 

There are seven basic consonant intervals in the musical world - 

Basic Consonant Intervals

2/1	octave	harmonic inverse of 1/1
3/2	perfect fifth	harmonic inverse of 4/3
4/3	perfect fourth	harmonic inverse of 3/2
5/3	major sixth	harmonic inverse of 6/5
5/4	major third	harmonic inverse of 8/5
6/5	minor third	harmonic inverse of 5/3
8/5	minor sixth	harmonic inverse of 5/4

But why the number twelve in octave - not 20 or 10?

The answer is  - The twelve-tone equal-tempered scale is the smallest equal-tempered scale that contains all seven of the basic consonant intervals to a good approximation — within one percent.

This can bee seen below for the note C  

Number of Semitones	Interval Name	Notes	Consonant?	Simple ratio	Twelve notes Scale	Difference
0	unison	C-C	Yes	1/1=1.000	20/12=1.000	0.0%
1	semitone	C-C#	No	16/15=1.067	21/12=1.059	0.7%
2	whole tone	C-D	No	9/8=1.125	22/12=1.122	0.2%
3	minor third	C-Eb	Yes	6/5=1.200	23/12=1.189	0.9%
4	major third	C-E	Yes	5/4=1.250	24/12=1.260	0.8%
5	perfect fourth	C-F	Yes	4/3=1.333	25/12=1.335	0.1%
6	tritone	C-F#	No	7/5=1.400	26/12=1.414	1.0%
7	perfect fifth	C-G	Yes	3/2=1.500	27/12=1.498	0.1%
8	minor sixth	C-Ab	Yes	8/5=1.600	28/12=1.587	0.8%
9	major sixth	C-A	Yes	5/3=1.667	29/12=1.682	0.9%
10	minor seventh	C-Bb	No	9/5=1.800	210/12=1.782	1.0%
11	major seventh	C-B	No	15/8=1.875	211/12=1.888	0.7%
12	octave	C-C'	Yes	2/1=2.000	212/12=2.000	0.0%

My favorite melodic scale is B-minor. Here is a link for a B-minor arpeggio played over the Piano.