There was a time, a long long ago, in the era of cassettes, when one had no idea about whether the entire soundtrack of the movie would be good. One just bought it on the first day of release, sometimes relying on the music director/s, or snippets heard as ‘forthcoming attractions’ from the previous soundtrack released by the same company, if it was T-Series, TIPS, HMV etc, or by begging the shopkeeper to open that cellophane wrapper and play the tape for a while. And thus, in those days, one would sometimes receive serendipitous delight and be transported by the music. Closed eyes, smile on the lips, and body slowly rocking, lost in the world of some ethereal track. These days, even if you don’t go searching for tracks, they find you, either on FM or through the algorithm of some feed that is supposed to have gleaned your preferences. (more…)
Author: manuscrypts
-
Cometh the Hour
Jeffrey Archer
This is what I’d call a publisher’s book on at least a couple of counts. One, the slow movement of the different plots suggest that this could have been the book to finish the series, but we will have to wait for the next. Two, the ethnicity of the characters – while it could be argued that this is a reflection of the changing times (as per the plot’s timeframe, late 70s) it could also be an indication of the markets the publisher wants to specially address – the US, India and Turkey.
While the first and the last were natural progressions from the previous books, the presence has been greatly enhanced. The second, I found to be an unnecessary detour that added nothing to the overall plots, unless that somehow happens in the next book. Add to that, the deceptive cover that almost implies there is a significant India play in the book, and we have my reasons to believe that the publisher dictated the proceedings. (more…)
-
Sidewalk Kitchen & Bar
Except for when my professional duties (while writing reviews for Bangalore Mirror) forced me, I have avoided Marathahalli’s restaurants. There’s something about the place that puts me off. But in the first weekend of Jan, when we wanted to step out of Whitefield, but didn’t want to go all the way to Indiranagar, we found ourselves at Sidewalk, whose tiny entrance belies the expansive space they have within.
The place was reasonably crowded even at 7 PM. We actually got in a few minutes after 7, and I was disappointed that we missed happy hours. But apparently, that was effective only from Mon-Thu. I realised later that we had dodged a bullet there! Despite the looks of the place, the first put off for me was the smell. After we sat down, D thought I was referring to the room freshener that was being liberally sprayed. I said it wasn’t, and she then assumed it was the hookahs. But it wasn’t that either. It’s a smell one is familiar with if one has stayed in and around 4th Block and ST Bed in Koramangala. I didn’t mention it to D, maybe I’m getting old! (more…)
-
Heartificial Intelligence
John C. Havens
The title might seem like a bit of a corny wordplay, but I think you’d find it hard to come up with an alternative that best describes the premise of the book. Artificial Intelligence is slowly but surely becoming an inherent part of our lives, and I’d say that our situation is a bit like the ‘frog in boiling water’ scenario. That’s not to say that we will be ‘cooked’ but our sensitivity to the challenge is not really at the levels it should be at. Most of the discussions are around two themes – the extermination of our species by malevolent robots, and the increasing automation of jobs and the economic and societal repercussions. Both usually end up with polarising stances.
One of the reasons I liked this book is that the author is not on either of the extremes – doomsday or paradise – his approach is very pragmatic. The first six chapters take the reader through the process of understanding the lay of the land – from describing how our happiness is slowly getting defined by tracking algorithms, and the complete lack of transparency and accountability in those who have access to this data, to the economics and purpose of a human life and how it’s changing, to the (seeming) limits of artificial intelligence, and finally the need to have an ethics/value system in place as we go faster in our journey of designing increasingly complex AI. (more…)
-
Naturally good
Towards the end of The Way of Zen, Alan Watts has a line that creates a binary between natural and good. I must admit that I felt some validation there!
Over many years and experiences, the resident (and dominant) cynic in me has come to believe that “naturally good” in terms of a person’s character and behaviour can only be an act. This is also coming from the unoriginal observation that we have a “delusion of free will”. The choices we make are less based on a conscious free will, and controlled more by a combination of genes which have fought and survived over millennia and one’s own experiences and environment. While cooperation and goodness are indeed a part of the survival toolkit, they are not the dominant aspects. We’re selfish, the only difference is in the degree of the act, and how much we have trained ourselves. (more…)