Outliers

I am trying to decide if the title of this book should've been "Final Destination" or "Luck - by chance". Given that the book focuses on success stories instead of darkness/failures/death, I am going to settle for 'Luck by chance'.

I liked Blink and Tipping point, but Outliers was a little less interesting. The concept was good, the research done fairly well to support the theory, but I think Malcolm Gladwell needed to collect his thoughts before putting them in the book. The information seems all over the place. Hockey players and Bill Gates' chapters are interesting and focused, but the immigration chapters are the ones that got to me.

MOST immigrants and their kids are hard working, not just Jewish. My theory is the farther away you are from your home country, the harder you have to work to establish yourself. So, for example, immigrants in the United States from Mexico or Canada don't necessarily have to work hard... just because they have a very simple fall back plan due to the socioeconomic similarities, for example, between Canada and the United States, or the geographical distance, for example, between Mexico and the United States. Of course I am being profession specific. A LOT of immigrants from Mexico don't want to go back and work REALLY hard. But for the highly educated immigrants, its not the same. Europe is economically superior to the United States. Today, the Jewish theory doesn't even hold. In his defense, he is talking about 1800s and 1900s. In his defense, Jewish people are supposed to be very academic. But did they get to be educated and academic because of the money they made, or did they make the money because they were educated? The data seems to get lost in his theory. And I HATE this specific generalization as it tends to put a group of people above others. His other chapters exclusively call out he isn't generalizing. I am sorry to say but this chapter did sound like 'Children of God' :(.

The chapters on Korean air were eye opening. I've always thought that certain groups of people are just not good at certain things. It is difficult to come up with ways to correct that though.

I loved the chapters on divergence tests. This is something we had in our class in the seventh grade. We had something called 'EREHWON thinking program' where the visiting instructor would ask us to think of all the things we could imagine when looking at a picture of a circle with spokes. I do owe a lot of my imagination skills and random paper generation skills to this program (and some to novels:)). I also agree with his theory on collective intelligence as opposed to IQ as the determining factor of a person's success. I also believe in the 10000 hours of hard work to make an expert. I will be one... in music... one day.

Jamaican theory proves there is nothing that is absolutely right or wrong. I like how he talks about himself and his family so he doesn't sound like a racist :P. Wonder if he got away with it being remotely related to Colin Powell and all.

I'm not sure about KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) schools though. I definitely agree they are for kids who don't get the kind of attention at home. I'm worried we are becoming robots with all these things:(.

- Sonia

Mass energy equivalance and me

All that stuff that is mentioned about nirvana and salvation and all the joy and all the eternal bliss made me realize that this is all about the mass energy equivalence.

We are put into physical form (mass) so we feel pleasure and pain. Because flesh feels pain. To get out of the pain, we must need to get out of the physical form. And since

E=mc²

it must be, I realized, that nirvana is really conversion of mass to energy. Karma makes you stay in the physical form until you have paid all your debts. To be a form of energy is the ultimate goal... so you can transform flawlessly from light to electricity to any other form of energy.

That is what people (who are about to die) mean when they say 'I see light'. It because they are soon going to be converted to energy either for a short period of time (to be born again converted to mass) or forever (nirvana or energy).
- Sonia

Just be

I don't remember who I lent my copy of Hitchhikers to. Today I got it back, but the funny thing is I don't remember who I lent it to and I don't remember it being lost. Another thing that was lost and found.

I finished reading Many Lives many masters last week. Very informative book... speaks of reincarnation which Hinduism believes in a lot. Tells us how reincarnation was mentioned in the old testament, but references to it were removed from the new testament by the Roman king and his mom.

But most of all, the book talks about master spirits, who you interact with on a subconscious basis - in dreams, thoughts, when you get suggestions from other people - and how they guide you through your life. It talks about how groups of souls are born together because of reasons like debt (karma in Hinduism). So one thing that I thought about was soul mates... and how it all makes sense now. And the amazing thing is the person who I gave a gist of this book to - came to the same conclusion in the first couple of sentences. This is the person I speak of in the sense of connecting. Certainly some divine intervention here.

I have always been fond of the sound and the sight of a water body. I love the sound of the waves - both gentle and strong. I love the sight of water - calm in a lake, misty in a waterfall, rushed in the ocean. I think that is the guardian angels telling me to let go. I think I subconsciously like seeing water because it is so forgiving and yet so accepting. It continues to flow, or rather maintain its state of being, it just continues to just be. The master spirits have proved to me several times that if its mine, it will come back. I need to just be.

- Sonia

The Host

Just finished reading 'The Host' by Stephanie Meyer. The premise of the book is based on Hinduism's concept of reincarnation, but the focus is from the soul's point of view. I loved the way she describes what the soul goes through when making everyday decisions. The description of how the soul attaches to the body is so lucid and yet so scientific. It feels like the soul attaches itself to the central nervous system.

I was a bit disappointed with the end though. One couple with a big age difference (Jared and Melanie) was enough. Didn't need Wanda and Ian to be like that too :.

All in all a good read though.

- Sonia

Venus and atoms

Chariots of the Gods is a great book! I can relate to so many things in the book... things I have thought about for YEARS. I am so glad I read this book. Now I want to go to Egypt and Peru. And now I have a bunch of theories...

1. One of the thing the book talks about is the orbiting of planets around the sun. Venus orbits around the sun in a direction opposite to the rest of the planets. This, to me, confirms the atomic model of our solar system (with sun being the nucleus, Venus being an electron and the rest of the planets being protons).
2. So given my first theory, my second theory is that since we have more than one atom of a given element (Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen) on earth, there must be more than one solar systems. This we already know.
3. So, my third theory is that since we have multiple solar systems - comparing it with atoms of a particular element - let's say Hydrogen for this example - there must be multiple solar systems with life-like symptoms as earthlings define life (btw he talks about definition of life too:)).
4. So, my fourth theory is that since we have solar systems very like our own, the possibility of the parallel universes is very high. I hope my version of me on a parallel universe is doing well.
5. But since no two apples are exactly identical my fifth theory is that life of me in a parallel universe is just a little different than it is here. While I must know very similar people there, interactions with them might be just a little different.
6. Since the book talks about telepathy and how strong human brains/mind can be, my sixth theory is that deja-vu and/or dreams might be things happening in a parallel universe... that is what gurus might mean when they say that your thought leads to creation/manifestation of that thought.
7. So my seventh theory is that we must be able to identify soul mates due to that vibe from a parallel universe.

- Sonia

One day...

I will be at peace. But today, no matter how much I try to see happiness by making others happy, I don't feel at peace.

All those things that people talk about soul mates... I see mine and I want him back. If the thief would kindly return what is rightfully created for me, maybe they will be at peace someday.

He is my soul mate - that's what I think. If he thinks the same, he will want to and will come back. Till that time comes, I will meditate and try to make sense of today.

In other news, my volunteering interview is the week after next. I'm excited. I think I will learn a lot from this experience.

- Sonia.

Bambi eyes

This woman I know - I've observed - I think makes people like her by talking like a 16 year old and acting like one.

Needless to say - sick.
- Sonia