The Power of Clarity in Thoughts

I came across one of the best descriptions of one's own work, yesterday. It was hosted by Tejaswi (most people wouldn’t guess this guy correctly, as I’m penning down this down – thanks to another Tejaswi, whom I considered a Role-model and a god-father during my schooling). Go to Google and type in Tejaswi – You’ll find him in I’m feeling lucky link (Lazy butts can click here) and then goto his Math Research link. Be ready to get awed – It is simple and elegant. I bow to you, sir!

This nostalgically reminds me of my Fiat Palio episode. I wouldn’t bother explaining the whole story now but it was in Jan 2005, when I was in a hurry to quit Ittiam that I needed to buy out Palio or transfer it to an Ittian (read Ittiam employee) or in the worst case, sell it at a loss (as it was a company leased conveyance). Without giving, my mental state as an excuse (I was shifting my job, boss), I must confess that I wasn’t any prudent in handling this issue. Enters Ashoki (also from Ittiam and PESIT) into the scene, though not intending (but destined) to clear my perplexity. I saw in awe, as he put everything on a paper, defined it as a puzzle and solved it within an hour! No big deal, it might sound now - but that day, sitting in the 4th floor of No.1, Richmond Road, I didn’t have any words to express how I felt (he did see my sigh of relief and must have understood).

We all have historically known Einstein’s quote about problem solving, but the question is how many of us and how many times do we apply it practically? Honestly, I don’t always define my problem completely before starting to solve it. I’m more and more convinced that the sieve that separates great men from ordinary, is their analytical thinking. I would consider myself blessed to have one such guy (Ashoki) as my close friend. More on him later!

It isn’t surprising to surmise that I’ve put developing an analytical thinking as one of the highest priority To-do in my life. Any offers of help?

PS: For those who didn’t know, Tejaswi is a Bangalorean (my batch mate who studied in VHS, NCJ), winner of Gold medal in 1998 International Mathematical Olympiad (Details), who gave up an IIT seat to pursue his math career and currently working towards his PhD at Caltech.