Down the Memory Lane

As I was mugging up another boring string of characters for my electromagnetic course, I was observing the pattern in which I memorize. I don’t know how interesting I can make this post to you, but it was interesting to analyze myself. Well, I imbibe things much the similar way you download a high quality graphics picture from the net. Initially, I get a blurry image which then gradually, if at all, becomes sharp and distinct. I scan the subject several times and these are the steps I guess I follow.
Step 1 is generally very crucial for me. I cannot remember things unless I know where I am going. Even if I try, as I did for one of the ‘probable’ questions in the test, I feel so uneasy with the progress. I actually went back and figured out what exactly was being accomplished with whatever deduction I was supposed to memorize.

Step 1 ultimately eases step 2. Once I know where I want to end up, I can dispose of the unnecessary portions and concentrate on nothing but the gist. That might not be good if you are studying literature, but that definitely helps studying scientific derivations that involve mathematical expressions running for pages. Specially when the exam is the next morning :P

Step 3 and 4 go in a cycle. As the name suggests, this step can vary a lot from person to person. I find it easier to memorize a list if I note down points in a particular order. Sometimes it helps if some words or their abbreviations rhyme. I find it obviously easier to remember a mathematical deduction that flows logically from one step to the next. This stupid course however had ‘logical’ steps which declare that using the previous equations we can ‘easily’ see that the result follows. Since those were not very easy, I had to look for patterns that relate the initial and the final form. If patterns in step 4 are not apparent I might need to revise step 3.

The more efficient step 4 is the less important becomes step 5. However, step 5 is always there since I have to memorize at least small bits of information even if I have done a great job with step 4.

Example 1 – Q. What are common chemical hazards? (This is a question from a different test.)
Ans. Fire Hazards, Explosions Hazards from incompatible chemicals, Extremely Toxic Chemicals, Lachrymators (substances that irritate the eyes and produce tears), Vesicants (substances that can blister and burn body tissues by contact with the skin or inhalation), Carcinogens (substances that produce cancer)
Memorizing. Step 1 is obvious here. Step 2 would be to note the key words – fire, explosion, toxic, lachrymator (eye irritation), vesicant (burn body tissue), carcinogen (cancer). Step 3 I would note that there are 6 points and arrange them alphabetically Carcinogen, Explosion, Fire, Lachrymator (…), Toxic, Vesicant (…). However this order didn’t suit me much; plus the words ‘lachrymator’ and ‘vesicant’ were new to me. So I arranged them like this Fire, Explosion (Group 1, explosion follows lighting a fire), Toxic, Carcinogen, Eye irritation, Tissue burn (Group 2, toxicity is like a superset; causing cancer, eye irritation, tissue burns are like subsets albeit not exactly and the last three are in alphabetical order). Next is step 5.

Example 2 – I have to memorize the following equations –Note that equation (1) and (3) and similarly (2) and (4) are dual of each other i.e. I interchange ‘mu’ and ‘epsilon’ to get one from the other. It is easier to remember the even-numbered equations. Also in the whole system, there are actually two units. One is and the other is . The rest is a combination of these two. So instead of remembering the whole forms, I would rather remember the two units and how they are used to generate the rest.

Also if there is an equation which says A gives B. I would notice the differences (delta_AB) between the two and remember A and delta_AB and then derive B using the two. There can be a lot more examples. I would be happy to know if you do it in a similar fashion or what other methods you use to memorize. I have one more test to go in this semester. I could use some help.

Mind Freed

It is a bright summer day. The sun is blazing. It is hot, however thankfully not at all humid; a rare occurrence in this part of the globe, but still not something completely unforeseen. The boy is sitting under the huge tree, which by the way is the only object visible from there, other than the parched field all around it. There are still a few more months to go before the local farmers start tilling the land. The tree stands as a misfit to the whole scenario, like a protruding mole on an otherwise smooth skin. However, unlike being unwelcome as a mole, it is rather a bliss. It is the only refuge for a burnt soul in miles. Localites and strangers alike have availed this shelter since what seems like forever. Today, the boy sits quiet on an ancient root hair of the tree that has bulged out of the earth underneath, his eyes wandering on the vast emptiness in front. Nothing moves, save for the yellowish grass blades that flutter erratically in the wind. Suddenly a gust of air comes and lifts a bunch of dry leaves in a tiny whirlwind few inches above the ground; a minified exhibition of the power that the nature holds within. His mind goes free. The lack of motion, the sense of time standing still frees him from his thoughts. It seems like there is nothing to worry about. It is a moment that the world, with its mundane hassles, objectives and aspirations is completely forgotten.

The Subway Melody

This Sunday, I was returning from yet another pointless solitary stroll in downtown. I went down the subway on the Jackson Boulevard. It was stuffy inside and I decided to take my coat off. Along with the coat, out came my ipod earphones. That is when I felt the melody in the air. There was an old Hispanic lady sitting behind a pillar. She was of medium build, wearing a red sweater, a bunch of keys dangling from her neck like a locket. An instrument case was neatly kept on the side and a battery powered music box was filling music to the otherwise bland station. She was playing what might be an improvised version of a violin. And … she was marvelous. I mean she was MARVELOUS. I don’t know whether it was because of my mood at that moment or just because she was too good, I felt like I could listen to that forever…. However (sigh!) it actually lasted too short, I believe not more than ten minutes by the standard watch. The next train rumbled in shattering the music on its way. I dropped two dollars in her kitty. She looked at me and smiled. A smile of gratitude. Little does she know, her music is worth much more than a few bucks.

Weird Offness!

Well, I wasn't planning to make this post. Not after the puja and the excitement. But then, many posts are made on an impulse. It is one of them. My older blog ended in a similar note http://mumbaidays.blogspot.com/. It is the feeling of being off. It is odd. It is not like being sad or disheartened or worried or distressed. It is something I cannot describe in proper words. I am doing all regular stuff. I finished some pending work in the morning, got done with some puja stuff, had a very important meeting with my boss and our collaborator from a different university this afternoon. It all looks well; doesn't feel that way. I don't like anything I do and I can't do anything I like. To be more specific, I don't even know what I would like to do. 'I sometimes donot know what to do with myself'. Right now, I am grading a huge bundle of copies as a part of my TA assignment. It sucks. But somehow this boring repetitive job keeps my hapazard mind steady and it functions okay with ocassional breaks in youtube and blogger. Let me know if you have any suggestion to get rid of this. Be quick because I will be okay by tomorrow anyway. Somebody suggested that I am in love, which I assure you is a complete bullshit for the current situation! And don't suggest watching movies, right now no apetite for those.
This song is a good solace for me ...

http://www.esnips.com/doc/b0433ef9-85c2-44ff-874d-9b317e44b426/AkhilBandhu---Oi-Je-Aakasher-Gaay-Durer-Balaka

Oi je akasher gaai durer balaka bhese jaai
Ora basa bandhe na
Ora chanchal, ora uddam
Ora karo byathai kande na

The Y Factor

I have always complained to my mom that she worries too much for me. Even when I was going to Mumbai for my job, she cried so much in the station. I was 22. I remember the person next to me, asking if it was the first time I was going out without my parents. I sighed and added that I had been in boarding schools since I was nine. The laws of affection defy logic. I just named it the Y factor.

My mom’s ultimate defense for all arguments has always been the age difference; that I would realize her point once I turn her age. As obvious, that ends the discussion. Since I never catch up with her age and I don’t remember arguments we had 24 years back, I was never able to pursue a single argument to my favor. So to understand the Y factor, I am supposed to have my own kids, which still is a distant future; at least it seems so. However, in this case, I sort of have a pre-hint. And it’s about my kid brother. He is just two and a half years younger than I am. Not a huge difference. But still I think of him as a kid. I find it hard to believe that he can manage everything on his own. My brother, who used to sit in my class with me in kindergarten rather than his own, who couldn’t finish even a single pack of ‘frooti’, who always sticks to me in a gathering, who has to explain all the new toys and comics he has amassed while I was away from home, who plays with his large collection of discarded plastic items, paper boxes and railway tickets, who innocently asks to lower my shoulder so that he can blissfully fall asleep every time we travel together in a bus or a train or a cab; well, whatever his age is, I find it difficult to visualize how he is attending a meeting or giving a presentation or arguing his case with his boss. It might seem odd to you. But for me, it’s really amazing! Deep down something within me doesn't want to accept that my little brother has actually grown up.