The Flow

Recently, I borrowed this book Flow:The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly C from Chicago Public Library. I had heard a lot about this book earlier and once I checked it also in one of the bookstores in Bangalore, but didn’t buy it as the print of the book is quite small. However, recently, my desire to explore the book increased multi-fold, especially after interacting with a friend who is a lot into spirituality. So, I borrowed it and started reading it. The first chapter itself is quite amazing as it talks about what is a flow and the anatomy of the way our brain deals with “self” and consciousness. One very interesting thing which Mihaly talks about in this chapter is the  relationship amongst our  past experiences, goals and the way we process external stimuli. I am sure I haven’t got it right, but it was a new way of looking at why a varied set of experiences make an individual a different person. I should say that even thought the book is quite cryptic and requires solid attention while reading, I am thoroughly enjoying it. Wondering what it would take to get the book printed using big fonts. Time for Kindle, huh?

Technical Obsolescence

In last few months, I have been getting this feeling that I am getting technically obsolete. Since quite some time, I was hearing about Web 2.0, Social Networking, Facebook etc etc. Since I knew what these terms represent, I was comfortable even though, I wasn't using any of them. Then, slowly, I started using LinkedIn and later on Facebook. Frankly speaking, I still don't use them, the way, probably, lot of other people use it, but then it feels good to be up-to-date on technology usage.

Some time ago, I also started using Skype as a communication tool. I must say, I found the voice quality quite good (except once in a while), sometimes to the extent of being better than usual cellphone. I got so hooked on to it, that now-a-days that's the first thing I tend to use when I have to call someone.

Recently, there was almost a bombardment of new terms - Twitter, EtherPad, GitHub, Google Wave etc - on to me. It so happened that suddenly, lot of these jargons came my way and I was left dumbfounded with the feeling that I don't know anything !!! Trust me, the feeling of being left behind wasn't a very good feeling. The only comfort (albeit a sadistic one) was the fact that I found lot of my compatriots in the same situation. They were also lost at all the geek-speak and trying to figure out how to deal with it. While I still need to act (that too quickly) to catch up with this sudden upsurge in technology, it is amazing to see so many new products/tools are being created to enable collaboration amongst people. Wondering if this is an indication to a new trend ...