The Petabyte Age: Making science obsolete…??

1 Terabyte = 1,000 Gigabytes; 1 Petabyte = 1000 Terabytes

Did you know that Google’s servers process 1 Petabyte of data every 72 minutes?

The latest issue of WIRED magazine carries a series of articles on how the Petabyte Age is changing the world. While all of them make a good read, one in particular seems rather bold, to say the least…and has created a controversy of some sort…

 

 The End of Theory: All models are wrong, science is obsolete!

Click here to read the full article and judge for yourself!

The author suggests that today we have so much data and data processing (computing) power at our disposal that we don’t need models (simplistic representations of reality) and theories (generalizations that broadly explain the logic behind the data and the models). Rather far-fetched, I would think.

Every scientist, researcher and statistician understands that mere correlation between data means nothing for explaining causation. Petabytes of data on how many times this article was read, by whom, from where and for how long will say nothing about the quality of the article or agreement / disagreement among the readers. Sure, it might provide some hints, but data is JUST data…and will always remain that.

Interpreting data and converting it into information requires wisdom, which comes from knowledge, which comes from all the theories and science that constantly keep evolving. Garbage In, Garbage Out… and the more garbage you put in, the more of it will come out UNLESS it is processed scientifically.

 

Privately Smart, Publicly Dumb?

Recently read an interview of V. Raghunathan about his book “Games Indians Play“. I was planning on reading the book since the title sounded interesting…but after reading the interview (available at Knowledge@Wharton website; Requires ‘free’ user registration), I must say I’m put-off.

I think the author (unfortunately, bragging his ex-IIMA fame, and imho, brining bad name to it) has taken a very narrow and unconvincing view on Indian psyche. It is absolutely naive to say, for example, that the tendency to defect in a Prisoners Dilemma (PD) situation is greater in India than elsewhere. Or, that Indians cannot work well in teams.

All the examples cited in the interview seem carefully handpicked from a “Bible of Inferiority Complex“, wherein he is in awe of anything non-Indian and almost ashamed of anything Indian. I’m sure another person can cite ten times more examples and say exactly the opposite (although that might sound equally unconvincing, but thats another issue). The funniest thing, at the end, he finds hope for resolving the Indian PD situation in the Bhagwad Gita!! Well, if that was the answer, atleast some of 1.1 billion people might have learnt something from thousands of years of reading and chanting.

 

Anyway, dont take my word for it, judge for yourself…

 

The only positive example quoted in the interview is the case of TVS Group, which insisted on selling diesel engines at normal mark-ups even during World War II when supply was disrupted and TVS had the import license. The author says TVS refused to “defect” whereas I think this was not a PD situation at all!! If there was any defection, TVS “defected” from industry and market norms by not letting the price being determined naturally by demand-supply factors and arbitrarily (benevolently?) pegged the prices. The author further claims, superficially, that other traders that had profited during the war “went out of business one after another” while TVS survived. How was the profiteering linked to them going out of business is not clear.

 

“I have seen Chinese cab drivers stopping before a red light at 2:00 a.m. — no Indian taxi driver would ever do that. The number of medals they win during the Olympics shows that they have systems that work very well.“

 

Again, it is hard to imagine how stopping at red lights at 2 AM has got anything to do with winning Olympic medals. Is traffic behavior a good indicator of number of medals? Oh, maybe the author means “discipline” and “adherence to formal systems”. But hasn’t anyone heard, “there’s a method in madness”? The author’s view of India seems to be that of a distant outsider that does not recognise the intricate informal systems that underly the apparent chaos.

 

No wonder, in the end, the author admits that the book is an “expression of his frustrations” (read: dont expect any logical arguments). Quite right, but I, for one, dont share his frustrations (thank god!) and dont find them very convincing. I think his arguments smell of cheap marketing gimmicks. Pity!

 

Piled higher & Deeper…

Really worth a look, especially if you are doing a PhD, writing a Masters’ thesis or generally are spending more time at school than Bill Gates! ;-) Here’re some sample strips… Click here for more…

 

CouchSurfing! Seeing the world through the eyes of locals…

Ever wanted to have a local travel guide everywhere in the world? Here’s something I ran into about an year ago and have fallen in love with ever since. It’s called CouchSurfing and it’s an online community of travel-loving people.

Officially, “CouchSurfing is a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit“. Unofficially, it’s a belief-system… a way of life… and a passion that has overcome roughly half a million people from 225 countries… and the numbers just keep on increasing by roughly 1000 per day! (I know since I now volunteer on the site, sending welcome messages to new members or as we call ourselves, CouchSurfers)

Broadly, when you sign up, you define ways in which you would be willing to help travellers to your city - offering your couch and hosting travellers at your home or showing them around, meeting them for a cup of coffee or a drink, or simply offering them suggestions on places to visit, stay, eat and/or party while they are in your city. Likewise, when you travel to a new destination (or an old one, but in a different way), you can seek the help of local CouchSurfers for the same.

Already, I have hosted more than 10 people from all over (US, Mexico, India, Slovenia, Germany, Spain…) and have met numerous other wonderful people through regular CS meetings and it has been and amazing experience. I even managed to find a couch for myself in Ahmedabad where this guy let me sleep over at his place after knowing me for less than a couple of hours. Overall, a wonderful experience…so, the next time you’re planning a trip, do give CouchSurfing a thought… definitely worth a try. And if you do, don’t forget to let me know how it went…

You can read more about CouchSurfing here. Especially interesting is how the project almost died (system crash) and was recovered entirely by volunteers [read here... The Phoenix Story]

Update: Call it coincidence, or whatever else you may… the day after I wrote this, my application to volunteer as CS City Ambassador for Delft, the Netherlands got approved *YaaaaY* so now I can propagate CS and it’s spirit officially! Happy CouchSurfing everyone…

 

Somebody’s gonna get a hurt…real bad!

This guys is GOOOOOOOOOOD! If you’re an immigrant, or just living in another country for a while (irrespective of where you are from and where you’re living), you’re gonna love this. Russell Peters is a Canadian stand-up comedian with Indian roots. Having grown up in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in a pre-dominantly white country, this guy brings his keen observations and amazing wit to play and makes you crack twice every second… a definite MUST-SEE…