Be a 'man with a Plan'

One of the best pieces of advise I came across some time back was from a horrible dark comedy by the name of 'Pain and Gain'

There is a section in it in which a motivational speaker says the following.

'Be a man with a three finger plan'

'Get a Goal'

'Get a Plan'

'Get off your ass'

Simple really.It sets up the three stages of Goal setting,Planning and Execution quite wonderfully.

I follow this personally.And I don't miss to mention this particular piece whenever I take any classes for my Juniors back in the Institute where I did my PG Training Program.

One thing not to forget is to write down the first two steps somewhere.Having a proper written data of your goals,plans and your progress goes a long way in maintaining your enthusiasm and it will be firmly embedded in your subconscious mind.

And one of the best way to do this is have a wall bulletin board.This is how I keep track of my goals and progress.

Top Five Muslim Scholars you should know

           In the recent years the image of Islam has taken a beating due to the various terrorist groups wrongly claiming to be followers of Islam and doing the god's work. Everything good thing about Islam is overshadowed by these terrorists and the world believes Islam to be a religion of intolerance and  backwardness.However this was not the case always.Once upon a time,called the golden age of Islam,It was at the forefront of the values of tolerance and equality and also in the field of science.     To raise awareness about this period and the scholars who came then and afterwards I present this small list of Five Muslim scholars who everyone should know.
   
             In the period before the European Renaissance unfairly called the Dark Ages, much of the world thinks that there was no progress made in science.But in the Islamic world which was spread over the middle east , a golden period of science and learning was taking place.It was accelerated by the Caliph Al Mamun who started arguably one of the most significant movements in the history of mankind,the translation movement.The translation movement led to the growth of a number of scholars in the golden age of Islam and directly and indirectly influenced much of the modern world.
Here is the list of top five famous scholars of the Golden Age of Islam and after.This post has been directly influenced by Jim Al Khalili's book 'Pathfinders'

1-Al-Khwarizmi
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
   Suppose you are given a equation to solve.For example
                           2x-10= 90
the first step to solve this is,as most of you will have learnt in school,adding 10 on both sides
the equation then becomes
                       2x-10+10= 90+10
This step of adding/subtracting to cancel terms was first described in Al-Khwarizmi's book-'The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing' This step is known as Al-jebr.By know you must be getting an idea about where I am going.The term Algebra is derived from the word Al-jebr.In this book Al Kwarizmi presented the first systematic solutions to linear and quadratic equations

Areas he is known for:
Mathematics,Astronomy,Geography

Legacy:
A crater on the moon is named after him.
In 1983 the soviet union issued a stamp commemorating Al khwarizmi's 1200th birthday.

Born-Died: 
780CE-850CE

2-Ibn Al-Haytham
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
His book on optics 'Kitab al-Manazir' or the book of optics was read by and greatly influenced European scholars like Leonardo Da Vinci,Galileo,Rene Descartes and Johannes kepler.His theory of vision was very influential and inspired many other works of later centuries.Some call him 'The Father of Modern Optics'

Areas he is known for:
Optics, astronomy, mathematics, meteorology,visual perception and the scientific method

Legacy:
The crater Alhazen on the Moon is named in his honour.Also an asteroid is named as Alhazen

Born-Died: 
965 CE-1040 CE

3-Ibn sina
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
He wrote the book 'The Canon of Medicine' which is about health and diseases. It remained a standard medical text in Europe and the Islamic world till the 17th century.Even now in colleges of India and Pakistan it is followed as Unani system of medicine.

Areas he is known for:
Medicine,Astronomy,alchemy,geography,geology,psychology,logic,mathematics,physics,poetry

Legacy:
George Sarton, the author of The History of Science, described Ibn Sina as "one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history.His portrait hangs in the Hall of the Avicena Faculty of Medicine in the University of Paris.

Born-Died: 
980CE-1037CE

4-Ibn Khaldun
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
 He was regarded among the founding fathers of Economics,Histriography and sociology.Historian Jim Al Khalili goes on to say that when compared with Adam Smith,the man many economists of today consider to be the father of economics,it is Ibn khaldun who is more worthy of the title.He wrote the 'Muqaddima' which is a treatise on human civilization.He was one of the first who called for creation of a science to explain society.

Areas he is known for:
History,historiography,economics,sociology

Legacy:
There is an Ibn Khaldun award given by Tunisian Community to any Tunisian/American whose works constitute a direct or indirect service to community.

Born-Died: 
1332 CE- 1406 CE

5-Al Jazari
Someof the many reasons why you should know him:
 He invented the camshaft and the crankshaft.It is one of the most important inventions in the history of mankind.A crankshaft is a mechanical part that can perform a conversion between reciprocating motion and rotational motion.Internal combustion engines used in vehicles have these to covert the reciprocating movement of the pistons into the rotary movement of the tyres. He also made many automated moving devices which later may have influenced Leonardo Da vinci.He wrote 'The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices'

Areas he is known for:
Mathematics,Mechanical Engineering,Inventions,Art

Born-Died: 
1136CE-1206CE

Based on the feedback I receive I plan to write about a few more scholars.

Book Recommendations.Part 1

I am starting a new series whereby I will be listing the good books that I read.

Book Recommendations- The top three books I read Recently.

            'Today a Reader,Tomorrow a Leader' so said Margaret Fuller,the first full-time American female book reviewer in journalism. And Abraham Lincoln said "The things I want to know are in books. My best friend is the man who'll get me a book I haven't read." So without much further ado let me get into the good books of everyone here by suggesting the following three amazing books.

3-Hot,Flat and Crowded by Thomas L Friedman

 This is book is by Three time Pulitzer winner Thomas L Friedman is about the State of Affairs regarding Global Warming,Globalisation and the growing Population.And What the United States could do to counter it.The title is about the convergence of Hot(Global Warming) Flat(Globalisation) and Crowded(Population rise).Friedman discusses the measures United States has to take, to stop the onslaught of the three factors.Along the way he shows various scenarios regarding the energy situation in the world and what the future holds for us.Though the book is primarily about what the US can do, it has a lot to offer to the readers from other countries.A must read for anyone related to Electric Power generation.

2-Good to Great by Jim Collins

Widely regarded as a modern classic of management theory, Good to great by Jim Collins is about how some companies with their unique factors make the transition from good to great.He defines what 'Greatness' is and with great detail Jim and his team give the case of a handful of companies which made this transition.The book became a huge bestseller, selling four million copies.

1-Outliers by Malcom Gladwell

Do you know Your date of birth could be a factor in deciding if you will be successful in life.No,I am not talking about astrology here.Malcom Gladwell in his book 'Outliers' offers a very different approach in explaining the reason behind great people's success.With examples ranging from the National Ice Hockey Team of Canada to the culture of Korea,Malcolm Gladwell moves around the globe giving you facts and information that will leave you astounded.Prepared to get shocked and enlightened at the same time.Let me leave a teaser question for you.What do Bill Gates,Steve Jobs,Vinod Khosla,Steve Ballmer,Eric Schmidt and Paul Allen have in common apart from the fact that they are giants of 21st century ? Answer-They were all born in the 50s.What is the significance of that? Read the book to find out.

Bungee Jumping!

                     I looked at my feet. Half of them were on the platform and the other half were hanging in the air.The drop was 83 metres.My heart was throbbing and my breathing became shallow.

                       I was standing at the edge of India's highest bungee jump platform. I felt the harness around me as it clung to me. Till the time the crew was giving me the initial demonstration of the exact way of jumping I was fine but as soon as I made my way to the edge I became painfully aware of the true extent of this extreme adventure activity. As I had my first glance at the drop, my breath was sucked away. My first reaction was to back away from the jump. Beads of perspiration formed on my forehead. Slowly as they glided over my skin the whole world around me came to a standstill. I was terrified. There was no denying that. I asked the crew to give me a moment’s time so I could steel myself.

                     My mind went back to the day I had actually decided to someday do this bungee jump. Me and my friends were sitting in a roadside dhaba and on television we saw a guy do the bungee jump. I remarked that someday I would do it. I was met with laughs. Someone asked why would anyone do this. For the answer I thought of George Mallory. When a reporter asked him about why he wanted to climb the Everest. He replied simply with 'because it is there' I said the same for the jump because it is there and also because I can.

                    So finally in my recent Uttarakhand Adventure Trip, Bungee jumping was the last and the most thrilling activity planned. After a week of trekking and rafting the time to do the ultimate adventure activity came upon me. All of that conversation played in my mind and with Mallory’s words ran inside me I was ready. Ready to jump off. I told my instructor that I was ready and he started the countdown. Three. My breath started heaving. My muscles clenched. Two. I bent my knees to take the proper position. My hands were now tightly holding the harness near my shoulder. One. I propelled myself and jumped. My hand dug into the harness and into my own skin. I fell. I fell with the acceleration of gravity. What was happening I knew not. The ground was rushing towards me with alarming speed. My mind all the time was in a trance. This trance was broken suddenly by a jerk as the bungee expanded. Whatever fear was left was gone now. Fear turned into exultation. I unwrapped my hands from the shoulder harness and shouted at the top of my voice 'Yes'! My voice echoed in the surroundings as I made a gentle arch in the air. I spread my hands outwards and shouted again 'Yes'! I had done it. I conquered the initial fear and made the jump. That moment of joy was the purest joy I ever felt. Slowly the bungee settled down and I hung there rocking to and fro gently. As I let down my hands and was hanging upside down I felt a sense of calm and serenity overcome me. Soon I was received at the bottom and a badge was given to me certifying that I had guts. The feeling of ecstasy that I felt during the jump is exactly why I travel and do these adventurous stuff