Slumdog Millionaire – its about the low low and mid high class

I hear these words so often ‘you are so negative, skeptical and critical’, little do they understand that I wish to get the best out of life in the true sense. So when I posited to my friend on what I felt about Slumdog Millionaire (SDM) yesterday, her response was “ahhhh!! loser here you go again” and she shut me off at her cochlea level, not allowing my speech sounds to reach her auditory cortex. When I realized that I was pressurizing the air speaking, the heaviness around weighed me down and constrained me into silence, a very uncomfortable one at that. I doubt she will even pick my call, after all who would like to spend time with a ‘loser’?

I loathe traveling, I keep physical movement to the minimal level, can’t stand the pollution and the traffic. I know the ‘happy hours’ of travel and zip from one place to another. Road rage? Oh yes I indulge in it big time. I avoid the regular expletives, I use some really bad ones in Bengali that no one understands or I use John McEnroe phrases – imbecile, brut then I have some choice ones for special occasions – Cheeri Naayay (slumdog) or Mara Naayay (Tree dog)…. I avoid F’s & B’s since they are highly ineffective on the road, and more fun in regular conversations to highlight fonts in conversation.

The manner in which the brain processes speech to employ a meaning to it fascinates me. A word is a composition of speech sounds; the brain processes the frequency, intensity and the duration of the sound as a formation and while processing it draws heavily from our episodic and semantic memories to tag a meaning to that sound.

How why did Slumdog make it to the top of charts in popular culture? I was forced to think on this since I have wired myself to reject the hyperboles of the media, while such mindless rejection may lead to missing out the underpinnings of overall social behavior, I have taken it upon me to dig deep ( not deep enough) and to understand the possible reason on why SDH came up tops. I will not be assessing the performance of the performers; I am only looking at the word “slumdog” – period.

The portmanteau status of the term ‘slumdog’ is so powerful that it can bring to the forefront two images to the mind – that of a slum (depends on the slums you have been exposed to) and a neutral dog (learnt in LKG). Then quickly the mind can transfer the despicability of the slums on the neutral picture of the dog and give the dog a status of canine ilk of the lowest form with rashes and rabies. And when this insult is addressed to an individual this base imagery gets extrapolated on the target provoking him to come up with something more insulting to depreciate the opponents image lower than that of his newly acquired image in order to feel better about himself. While this transaction persists, the word acquires fresh meaning at every point getting baser by the day and hitting a point of no return that it automatically co joins with another word close enough to emerge with a new stature. Cut.

Now look at the bleak economic scenario triggered by the selfish banking czars floating on golden parachutes who gave themselves bonuses from the bail out packages. These millionaires, who were once eulogized, hit the slush image when millions went jobless and literally got pushed to slum dwellings. The word millionaire, at the other end of the word spectrum, had hit the highest point and with nowhere to go further had no choice but to hit ground level (slum level).

Slumdog Millionaire captured it all. The Oscar recognition to SDH is more than a mere recognition of entertainment values, the recognition for the role reversal of two diametrically opposite terminologies and for bringing them together to conjure different imagery to a whole cross section of population. To a man on the slum, he can be happy about the hope of becoming a millionaire; to a millionaire he can be constantly cherishing their achievement of populating the slums with hyper capitalist beliefs. The dogs can a feel proud of the bridge status it has acquired (what even Marx failed to achieve). Together the three have interacted so beautifully and millionaires have become multi millionaires. And the ones outside these categories celebrate this interaction as viewers probably making millionaires out of pirates.

With no offence meant, I am forced to compare the ones in the middle station with the dog, becoming the all important bridge betwixt two classes. What they say, do, speak, write, think and express will be crucial. Do I love Slumdog Millionaire? Let my friend decide, if she is reading this.

The Parthian Shot on Felony Frank

Felony Frank read the words of love
His fuse wire was a bit thin so on and off it blew
Granules of love washed off with acids red
Felony Frank was now a man to dread
He parked his car to a screeching halt
Put on his smile mask – and rushed to the mart
A quart of salt and some oil he bought

On his kitchen counter, where he seldom worked
He took a vessel and the oil he spread
Generously added the salt,
His thoughts, his learning, his mind he poured
Mixed them gently and pickled them for good
Walked to the balcony with a sinister smile
Shedding tears of a slimy crocodile

Felony Frank now sits empty headed and clear
His fingers script what his ears want to hear
His words over the cuckoos nest often fly
He is too insane to even be sly
Even the music finds no place to rest
As a ball thrown on the walls they bounce
And tired on the ceramic floor they fall

Now he inspects his pickled dish
Soft and soaked it needed some garnish
With deft hands he mixed the stew
Bu the pesky pickle from the vessel it jumped
Now Felony Frank chasing it all over the road
He fell in a puddle and smooched a toad
Blink !!!!! in a micro second flat

Appeared a radio jockey talkative and fair
Took Felony Frank straight on the air

Now Felony Frank pickles are the craze
They are baked, packaged and sell hot cakes
They come in hues so varied
There are some with nuts with twin flavors married
You can pick it at the mall, or order it over a email
While empty air is the guarantee for the price
Your soul and mind will be free of avarice

No more stress, and no more cares
No more challenges or pulling hairs
Felony Frank the greatest of them all
Is booked for years in seminar halls
His message is crystal clear
“Life can be lived with absolutely no care
Whether its here or there”
“Dont huff dont puff, he exhorts,
Over what you cannot see
Great pickles are the solutions for eternity.
So Just Be.”

The awe and thaw at the university

Some days can are made for cerebral pursuit, so when I rolled in bed unable to rise, pushed by the strong air from the fan, mobilizing all my will to sit up and scram for a cup of tea – the day seemed a lot different. As my limbs and my will, hand in hand, took a toll of my spirit while my mind, as a raging bull, seemed to make headway – the day seemed a lot different.

The trip to the university to lend my ears to some scholars who had spent years with tamil literature of the ages administered a wee bit of dopamine into my system, and the high fed me with the energy to reach the portals of knowledge – madras university.

The buzz that you see in the engineering set ups were missing, no college buses, no busy treks…. students seemed to carelessly loiter around devoid of direction and not even a glimmer of hope about their future in their world of work.

The imposing facade, the breeze from the sea, the large halls and the spacious parking lots, the absence of security personnel, a modest canteen all indicated of the glory of the past and the neglect of the present. I sat in awe listening to a few modest men armed with thoughts so magnificent. While in those hallowed portals basking in those glorious moments, the little beep from my wretched phone; as thud brought me back to the reality of material reality.

Brick walls, iron gates and the talkative Indian

Ever since I rejected the clock and the calender to measure time, I have taken this journey of moving across ages and eras with a bit of an ease. Sure it does at times, trouble me on handling the now, but understanding ‘time’ in an eternal sense, and measuring it with chunks of events can provide more meaning for the future while living in the ‘now’.

Thats’ when I journey across the time when life was very uncomplicated, when children knew the real source of milk and eggs and the adults actually journeyed on foot to go places. What fascinated me was the architecture of the old houses. They were constructed with the traveler in mind. The ‘thinnai’ or the front yard had a place for the traveler to cool his heels. refresh himself with food and drink and even spend the night sleeping there. The traveler carried news, he shared knowledge, probably in return for the care given. They spoke, sang, exchanged notes, as unto FB in real life – flesh and blood. The architecture hence was totally Indian accommodating conversation and dialogue, opening up the hallowed portals of home to a stranger was not an effort but a natural process. For a typical Indian was given to prolixity.

Generations have come and gone, the mortar and concrete phased out the lime and tiles. Cow dung spread anti septic flooring have vanished in a belch, ceramic tiles and marble have taken the pride of place. Wicket fences facilitated free flow of conversation have been replaced by the brick walls as unto a ‘fire wall’. Modern architecture is alas self centered, inward focused, shuts of social life, glorifies safety, finds comfort behind the iron bars and in short makes a idol of his own.

The Indian today wants to talk, he wants to share, he wants to throw his home open and let the words flow in. He wants to break down the brick walls and bring down the iron gates that has made protected the idol in himself. He wants to be free. Will the Son set them free??

Fly in a Spaghetti

I spend my hours in a limited geography, dovetailing all my energies on single point of study to go beyond the usage of my limbs for acquisition of knowledge. Sometimes those social straight jackets beckon me; a dear friend who dreamed of celebrating his 21st wedding anniversary in a top notch club hands over the invitation. My emotions are mixed. 21 years of married life, quite an achievement, but the party in the club celebrate is a bugbear for me. Then comes the dress code Collared shirt and shoes. I try to wiggle out gently slipping in the weirdest of stories, his resolve to have me takes a new dimension and it persists. I refuse to make a jotting of this event on my red book of ‘dos and donts’ planning the eleventh hour launch of ‘great escape.com’ .

Sunday evening, Iam promptly reminded with a call as unto a pop up window on my laptop, and literally pushed to attend the event. I relent.

The only black decent shirt, pressed and preserved gets out the shelf, but I skip that labor of shaving as its evening after all and my dark skin tones and my black shirt are sure to cover up my facial flaws. Can an evening at a club cannot happen without what is known as the ‘bottle breaking ceremony’?, and so I need to take a chauffeur driven vehicle, from the wide range of choice available to me yet Iam left with no choice but to plonk myself in one of those ubiquitous auto rickshaws. Its costs money and clean Rs150 bucks for a 10 km ride.

My trip had some wisdom of the auto driver added up to mine while we conversed on the economic scenario, the stingy upper class, some politics thrown in… To my surprise the roads were quite deserted and my drive, as unto a hot knife on butter, smooth and fast hit the destined place – the hallowed portals of the ‘silk stocking’. Now the rows of fancy cars on the parking lot overflowing into the road sent me a momentary daze as I was accosted by a thin ‘beedi like man’ on the gates who enquired of me my purpose of the visit. ummm.. haa I really did not know the name of the member… as I decided to stand in the gate and call from my friend and wait. The call was not going through hence I waited in smoke of burning coconut shells that were used to smoke the mosquitoes away.

Now my time of conversation began with Security staff on duty. I probably asked the most potent question to start the conversation – How are you? and Goodwin (name changed) took over as preacher with verbal dysentry. He started with his life in a hill station working for the TATAs along with his wife, all expenses met with a meagre salary, picking tea leaves and then his decision to quit the job to cover his loan taken to buy 3 cows (that died) and an auto rickshaw for his younger brother (who cheated him). His logical mind decided to take a VRS and clear up his debts and land up chennai with his family, and he hates it. Not an hour passes by without my fond memories of my days in Munnar, he said… moving him to tears as he lit his beedi.

I consoled him he was not very amused or impressed, and our conversation took a turn to silence, as I walked down towards the main road to take a look at the statue at the entrance. The statue was of a man. Mr K Kamaraj, once the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, who was barred from entering the club for violating the dress code. The club rules stood straight refusing to bend and apparently the statue was stationed at the gate as a fly in a spaghetti for the creme de la creme of Chennai to have a unavoidable glimpse of the backend of the man who was denied entry.

Quantum Internet

Quantum encryption is here, but the laws of physics can do much more than protect privacy
By Davide Castelvecchi
August 16th, 2008

A stylish new way of surfing the Internet is coming to Vienna this fall. Researchers plan to flip the switch on the next step toward a quantum version of the Internet. They will build a network allowing users to send each other messages as virtually unbreakable ciphers, with privacy protected by the laws of quantum physics.

The Vienna net is admittedly just a prototype for research purposes. It is also not yet a true quantum version of the Internet. Although it can transmit ordinary data with quantum security, it can’t transfer quantum information, which encodes the states of objects that obey quantum rules. Such a breakthrough might be years off, but it’s getting closer. link

Transferring Information Between Matter And Light

A team of physicists at the Georgia Institute of Technology has taken a significant step toward the development of quantum communications systems by successfully transferring quantum information from two different groups of atoms onto a single photon.

The work, to be published in the October 22 issue of the journal Science, represents a “building block” that could lead to development of large-scale quantum networks. Sponsored by the Research Corporation and NASA, the work is believed to be the first to demonstrate transfer of quantum information from matter to light.

The researchers, Assistant Professor Alex Kuzmich and graduate student Dzmitry Matsukevich – both from Georgia Tech’s School of Physics – report transferring atomic state information from two different clouds of rubidium atoms to a single photon. In the photon, information about the spatial states of the atom clouds was represented as vertical or horizontal optical polarization.

“A really big issue in quantum information systems today is distributed quantum networks, and for that, you have to be able to convert quantum bits of information based on matter into photons,” Kuzmich said.

“This is the first step, one building block. What we have done is create a quantum network node, and now the next step is to create a second quantum network node and connect them.”

Qubits, or quantum bits, are very different from the bits in conventional computing. Unlike conventional bits that exist in either a 0 or 1 state, qubits can simultaneously exist in both states. Qubits can also interact with other qubits, their properties “entangled” in ways unique to quantum systems.

These odd properties mean quantum computers could provide dramatic advantages over conventional systems in certain types of computation that are difficult for conventional computers.

The approach taken by Kuzmich and Matsukevich begins with two clouds of rubidium atoms, each cloud with a different state, forming a matter qubit.

By passing a split beam of light separately through each cloud (also known as an ensemble) and then recombining it, they were able to create a qubit that was entangled with a single photon.

Other research teams have been working to map states from a single atom onto a photon. Kuzmich says using the atomic cloud of very cold atoms as a matter qubit offers a simplicity advantage in creating the entanglement.

“The state of the qubit is the collective state of the atomic ensemble,” he explained. “Conversion from matter to light becomes efficient in one direction because emission from all the atoms add together to create a preferred forward direction, similar to how radio frequency antennas are able to emit directionally.”

Using optically thick atomic ensembles for the interface between matter and light in long-distance quantum communication was proposed in 2001 by a team of researchers (Duan, Lukin, Cirac and Zoller) from the University of Innsbruck in Austria. The Georgia Tech researchers built on that work, which has become known as the DLCZ protocol.

Transferring a coherent quantum state from a matter-based qubit to a photonic qubit involves three main steps:

An entangled state between a single photon (signal) and a single collective excitation distributed over many atoms in two distinct optically thick atomic samples is generated;

Measurement of the signal photon maps the atomic ensembles into a desired state, conditioned on the choice of the basis and the outcome of the measurement. This atomic state is nearly a maximally entangled state between two distinct atomic ensembles;

This atomic state is then converted into a single photon (idler) emitted into a well-defined mode.

Conversion of quantum states from atomic-based systems to photonic systems is necessary for long-distance communication. While the matter-based systems can provide long-term storage of information, efficient transfer of information requires that it be converted into a photonic state for transmission across optical fiber networks.

Once converted into a photonic qubit, the information can be processed and may not need to be converted back to a matter-based qubit.

“If you want to realize a quantum repeater, you must have two such quantum nodes,” Kuzmich explained. “But in this quantum communications approach, you don’t ever need to convert the photon back to atomic format.”

For their research, the Georgia Tech physicists used light at a wavelength of 780 nanometers. For transmission in conventional optical fiber networks, however, they will have to switch to the 1550 nanometer wavelength that has become standard in the telecommunications industry.

The Science paper reported on atom clouds containing approximately a billion rubidium atoms. Kuzmich says having 10 billion atoms compressed into the same space would boost efficiency. “We should be able to increase our efficiency by a factor of ten at least,” he said.

Practical applications are still at least 7-10 years away, Kuzmich estimates.

Detailed Explanation of Experiment Diagram: A magneto-optical trap is used to provide an optically thick atomic cloud of a billion rubidium atoms for the experiment. The classical coherent laser pulses used in the generation and verification procedures define the two distinct pencil-shape components of the atomic ensemble that form the memory qubit, L and R.

An infrared write pulse (780 nm wavelength) is split into two beams by a polarizing beam splitter (PBS1) focused into two regions of the atomic cloud about 1 mm apart and passed through it. The light induces spontaneous Raman scattering of a signal photon with slightly shorter wavelength.

The classical light is dumped away by the PBS2, while the quantum signal photon is transmitted by the dichroic mirror DM, passed through an arbitrary polarization state transformer R and a polarizer PBS5, and is directed onto a single-photon detector D1.

Detection of the signal photon by D1 prepares the atomic ensemble in any desired state and thereby concludes the preparation of the quantum memory qubit.

Following memory state preparation, the read-out stage is performed. After a user-programmable delay a classical coherent read pulse of 795 nm wavelength illuminates the two atomic ensembles.

This results in a single (i.e., quantum) idler photon being emitted in the forward direction. This accomplishes a transfer of the memory state onto the idler.

The idler is reflected off the dichroic mirror DM. After passing through the state transformer R and PBS6, the two polarization components are directed onto single-photon detectors (D2, D3) thus accomplishing measurement of the idler photon, and hence the memory qubit, in a controllable arbitrary basis.

Can be Teleport between current to desired state?

Quantum teleportation, or entanglement-assisted teleportation, is a technique used to transfer information on a quantum level, usually from one particle (or series of particles) to another particle (or series of particles) in another location via quantum entanglement. It does not transport energy or matter, nor does it allow communication of information at superluminal (faster than light) speed. Its distinguishing feature is that it can transmit the information present in a quantum superposition, useful for quantum communication and computation.

Motivation

The two parties are Alice (A) and Bob (B), and a qubit is, in general, a superposition of quantum state labeled |0\rangle and |1\rangle. Equivalently, a qubit is a unit vector in two-dimensional Hilbert space.

Suppose Alice has a qubit in some arbitrary quantum state |\psi\rangle. Assume that this quantum state is not known to Alice and she would like to send this state to Bob. Ostensibly, Alice has the following options:

1. She can attempt to physically transport the qubit to Bob.
2. She can broadcast this (quantum) information, and Bob can obtain the information via some suitable receiver.
3. She can perhaps measure the unknown qubit in her possession. The results of this measurement would be communicated to Bob, who then prepares a qubit in his possession accordingly, to obtain the desired state. (This hypothetical process is called classical teleportation.)

Option 1 is highly undesirable because quantum states are fragile and any perturbation en route would corrupt the state.

The unavailability of option 2 is the statement of the no-broadcast theorem.

Similarly, it has also been shown formally that classical teleportation, aka. option 3, is impossible; this is called the no teleportation theorem. This is another way to say that quantum information cannot be measured reliably.

Thus, Alice seems to face an impossible problem. A solution was discovered by Bennet et al. (see reference below.) The parts of a maximally entangled two-qubit state are distributed to Alice and Bob. The protocol then involves Alice and Bob interacting locally with the qubit(s) in their possession and Alice sending two classical bits to Bob. In the end, the qubit in Bob’s possession will be in the desired state.

Assume that Alice and Bob share an entangled qubit AB. That is, Alice has one half, A, and Bob has the other half, B. Let C denote the qubit Alice wishes to transmit to Bob.

Alice applies a unitary operation on the qubits AC and measures the result to obtain two classical bits. In this process, the two qubits are destroyed. Bob’s qubit, B, now contains information about C; however, the information is somewhat randomized. More specifically, Bob’s qubit B is in one of four states uniformly chosen at random and Bob cannot obtain any information about C from his qubit.

Alice provides her two measured qubits, which indicate which of the four states Bob possesses. Bob applies a unitary transformation which depends on the qubits he obtains from Alice, transforming his qubit into an identical copy of the qubit C.

Remarks

* After this operation, Bob’s qubit will take on the state |\psi\rangle= \alpha |0\rangle + \beta|1\rangle, and Alice’s qubit becomes (undefined) part of an entangled state. Teleportation does not result in the copying of qubits, and hence is consistent with the no cloning theorem.

* There is no transfer of matter or energy involved. Alice’s particle has not been physically moved to Bob; only its state has been transferred. The term “teleportation”, coined by Bennett, Brassard, Crépeau, Jozsa, Peres and Wootters, reflects the indistinguishability of quantum mechanical particles.

* The teleportation scheme combines the resources of two separately impossible procedures. If we remove the shared entangled state from Alice and Bob, the scheme becomes classical teleportation, which is impossible as mentioned before. On the other hand, if the classical channel is removed, then it becomes an attempt to achieve superluminal communication, again impossible (see no communication theorem).

* For every qubit teleported, Alice needs to send Bob two classical bits of information. These two classical bits do not carry complete information about the qubit being teleported. If an eavesdropper intercepts the two bits, she may know exactly what Bob needs to do in order to recover the desired state. However, this information is useless if she cannot interact with the entangled particle in Bob’s possession.

Understanding Momentum

I have been dealing with the principle of the inherent desire in human beings for momentum in my training programs. The three key elements required for momentum being – concept of space, energy and time. While we have this inherent ability to understand space and energy is very much part of us (probably in a narrow sense) the concept of time needs to be acquired. For if we are born with this desire for momentum and if space and energy are inherent in us and if we do not possess the concept of time then there is a backward momentum.

On a very practical level if I come to the last day for payment of a particular bill then I use my understanding of space (distance to the billing counter) and my energy (the last minute tension and rush) to wait in the long queue (spending time) with many like me.

Now its important to understand time in relation to space, time in relation to energy and time in relation to space and energy. Only then can forward momentum take place.

Time goes beyond the clock and the calender. Its the understanding of patterns and formations quite complicated. Its combines the empirical and logical concepts embedded in the math skills and in the complex nature of the language skills. Throw in the the pattern of the musical skills then a man can posses good sense of timing.

As we step into Quantam Mechanics and try to unpack the concept of ‘teleportation’ the concept of speed emerges.

Hence effectiveness of a professional in a work arena can be measure a persons understand of time. Its time that determines both content and ability.

HUES of RED, POWER & WEALTH

A rouge, a petty gangster, with limited vision hogs headlines,
basking in the glory of attention
with fangs that thirst for POWER.
The law of the land pursuing down on him
as a feather tickling his armpits.

Shedding innocent blood to stain a muddy path
or the black tarred road
binds fundamentalists across religions,
for to them its akin to breaking a pumpkin on the way side
or staining the walls with the saliva of paan.
These wild animals masquerading as humans
derive strength from the thick redness of life and death.

Then the petit and suave corporate entertainer
bites on the strawberry of Wimbledon
rubbing shoulders, rolling his tongue
reveling in the waterfall of WEALTH.
The sophistication of his deeds
far exceeds the cruelty of the former.

He deftly dilutes his hard drink
with the milk of social responsibility
Holds his glass of celebration for the world to see.
As he gets his high diluting
the blood and toil of starry eyed,
innocent educated competent breed.

His coffee table is dotted by the journals of pink
His misdeeds have come to an end
His balance sheet is blood red
Now pink slips stare at the toiled faces
But there is no blood left to boil
not even to redden their eyes.

While the former deserves chaddies of pink
The later deserves many that stinks