Perspective : The way you look at things

Perspective is a tricky concept. Everything looks different and justified ( well, not everything)  if you changed the perspective, the angle from which you look at things. You know, I have a friend, who is a problem-solver and a know-it-all. I think all of us would have one such friend, to whom we go to at the slightest hiccups in our life. Well, who am I to call a problem slight? It's all in one's perspective you see. Do you get it now? How big and vast this concept of a different perspective is... Oh shoot, wasn't I talking about my know-it-all-friend. Sorry I got lost in the perspective maze. The first thing she says to all sorts of issues is, "Try and look at it differently and from the other person's point of view. That by itself will solve most of your problems."

How true is that !! Now the thought for this entire post stems from this one forward

The person who forwarded it is a guy (obviously) and he said that he was feeling proud of all the husbands in the world and their unseen sacrifices.  After I read the forward, the first thing that came to my mind was, "why did the husband have to lie?" He could've told the wife the truth and that she needn't worry because he wouldn't let go of the other end of the bridge at any cost. Wouldn't that have made things easier for the both of them, thought I. And I was unable to see it any other way for quite quite sometime. 

Now, not wanting to hurt the feelings of the guy who had forwarded the text to me, I discussed it with my husband. My dear hubby said, "You are right dear. Why did he lie? I would've told you the truth and you would've trusted me and crossed over. Would've worked for us" After that, I was all the more confident that the husband in the forward was not a to-be-celebrated-man.

I happened to run into my know-it-all-friend a week from then and I brought this up among other things.  (simply because I love a good argument) As usual, she said, "Think from the guy's perspective. What do you think would be running in his mind?" I told her that I couldn't see it any different and asked her to 'enlighten' me. Now, what she said made my head reel.  

She said , "The  husband didn't want the wife to get worried about the broken bridge. Remember she was already scared  of heights and wasn't willing to cross a what she thought to be a good bridge earlier. What makes you think she will be able to cross a broken bridge?? Now, the husband wanted her to cross the bridge and come over to him. He cannot anyways leave his post and go to help her. And if he told her the truth she would never cross it (out of fear) and might lose the only chance of coming over to safety. So he had to assassinate the image she had of him, just to kindle her ego enough to let her cross the bridge on her own. That was the only way he could see it. So he lied to her."

That's it. I was open mouthed. Literally my mouth was open in shock, shock as to why I couldn't see that. Seems a very plausible and an obvious explanation. Why was I not able to see it? My friend shook me, and asked me if all was fine. 

I said, "See, I'm not a bad person. I'm not a biased person. I'm not a female chauvinist. Nor do I think men are evil. I'm level headed. I'm happily married. I trust my husband. I'm fairly above average intelligent. Why couldn't I see that ??"

She says, and very simply though, "C'mon girl. I know you. I know what you are. Please wipe that bewildered-cum-I-accept-defeat look off your face. What happened is simple. You read the forward. And the first thing that struck you was the fact that the person who sent it is a guy and he is feeling proud of husbands all over the world, as in, men all over. Immediately, you being a woman, saw that as a call for battle and picked the woman's side, all involuntarily of course. From then on, all your mind was asked to do is to defend the women kind. And that's what you did. And that's why ur mind refused to see it the other way.

And when you brought it up with your husband, the first thought that struck him could've been , "Yeah, she is right. I don't need to lie to my wife. She trusts me. She would've crossed the bridge for sure."

Now I had the enlightened look on my face . I said ,"oooohhhh... How complicated the mind is."

She says, "Yeah. That's how powerful perspective is. You know one day I met a couple of my school friends for coffee. We hadn't seen each other for like what seemed like a million years. We had to lot to catch up on. And after talking about everything under the sun, we got comfy enough to discuss personal lives. 

Girl1 ( g1) : Hey, I like the bag you are carrying. Very girlish. Like how we used to be in school days. I wish I could be like that now.
Girl2 ( g2 ) : It's not too late. Never late. It's all in your mind and how you feel about urself. It's not about the age. I can get one for you if you like.
G1 : Hmm sigh. I wish I could. But my family thinks it doesn't suit me. Because I'm all grownup now and have to look a certain dignified way, you know, 'ladylike'
G2 : Is it? The bag you are carrying now is swell dear. Let me take a look at it.
G2 : Wow girl. What are you cribbing about. Just buy more of these and carry them along. Wow. That's life man!
G1 : Hey, what about me. I don't like those. I like your girlie bag.
G2 : C'mon girl. At least your husband/family cares about what you wear and how you look. I don't even know if mine would realise I'm not in the room..
G1 : Well, at least you get to be 'you'

Do you see it? Both the girls had different perspectives of the same thing. And though both of them exchanged their views on the subject, neither of their minds was ready to accept the other perspective. If they could see it the other way, they would be happy. Now, I'm not saying they need to always change their way of thinking to be happy. Like, if we change everything about ourselves, what would be left of the original us. Right ? That's not what I'm telling . Just that sometimes simple things have simple solutions, and sometimes big issues might seem small if you used the perspective power.

Well, now, this example is just to point out the fact that the two girls weren't able to see the other side of things even when it was bluntly pointed out to them. One could argue that this is not a perspective thingie, but is a miscommunication or male dominance issue or female over sightedness.. no no, we don't go there. We just sit back and think whether things would've been easier for the girls, if only G1 understood that her husband wanted her to have the best and if only G2 understood the freedom she had in hand.

Also I'm not saying that this is a husband-wife issue. More importantly, (to pamper the girl spirit in me!?!) this does not pertain to women alone. I'm not saying ladies have to change their perspectives. It applies to men as well. For instance

A conversation we overheard from the table next to us. A group of guys catching up over dinner. 

Man1 : ( to man2)  Hey, why do you sulk when you see your wife's call? Is everything alright?

Man2 : My wife keeps calling me often. I need some space. Why does she need to call me couple of times during the day... I think she doesn't trust me.!

Man1 : C'mon man. I think you are overthinking the situation. In my case, my wife is too preoccupied to call and find out about me. You see, the out of sight and out of mind types.

Man2 : She doesn't call you at all is it.. Oh what peaceful life!! 

See, it applies to men as well. Like I said , doesn't pertain to only married couples or couples at all. It's just a thing  between two people. Could be an issue between good friends, colleagues , employee employer, mil-dil, parents and children. Anything, just two people. So the next time something like this comes up, think, "Could a shift of perspective solve this for us. What could the other person really be thinking?"

And saying that she concluded her sermon. I got up and bowed my head in front of her and said ," pranam maataji" ( meaning - greetings oh learned mother ) and she humoured me by letting the palm of her right hand touch my head , as if she were imparting a part of her wisdom to me. I chuckled, bade her goodbye and left ( for now )

And I left as a different person. A person who knows that a slight alteration to one's perspective, or a little will to see things differently, could do a lot of wonders to one's happiness, mental peace and maybe relationships too. And also as a person who is fully equipped and ready to impart this wisdom I learnt today. So the next time you see me, please bow your heads and put your hands together in respect and get ready for my sermon!!!

Jokes apart, the point I'm trying to make is, sometimes our mind tends to think in only one direction, tends to stick to one thought, tends to reach a conclusion prematurely even without  your knowledge. So open up your minds to that possibility and think twice before reacting rude/harsh to a situation. May the perspective force be with you ! 

The lightening enlightenment

All my life, I used to love rain. The pitter patter of the raindrops on the roof, while I stretch my legs adjusting myself to comfort of a cozy chair in a balcony overlooking the rain, with a warm cup of milk in one hand and either a romantic love story or a fast paced thriller novel in the other hand. There was once a time when that was bliss... Hiding behind the curtains to catch a glimpse of the beautiful electrifying lightning, or snuggling in with Amma when the thunder roared, or pestering amma to make hot hot samosas during that time... And as I grew up, a hand in hand walk in the rain with hubby or as the days went, making paper boats for my son to set sail in the puddles that were born out of the first rain of the season... Oh the lovely memories. 

The chennai floods and the devastation they've caused have marred the beauty of the rains for me . Well, that's a whole long story, and a story for another time. For now, the electrifying lightning is the centre of our discussion. What do we know about it? How does it occur? Why does lightning happen? How dangerous is it ? 

Before we get further into lightning, have you guys ever seen these scenarios? You comb your hair

with a plastic comb and see your hair standing at the end? You just remove your sweater and you see tiny sparks. You walk on a carpet barefoot and when you touch the door knob you kinda get a small shock and you withdraw your hand immediately. In the morning, when you get up after a peaceful night's sleep snuggled under your cozy blanket, you see tiny sparks when you remove your blanket. If you need to explain this is to your kiddo, perform the famous plastic comb attracts paper bits experiment. Shred paper into tiny bits. Take a plastic comb and run it through your hair or rub it against woollen sweater/sock several times. Now bring the plastic comb near the paper bits. You will find the paper bits sticking to the comb for a brief moment. All these are small scale versions of the lightning. Similar phenomena, but lightning is very large scale. 

One other thing we need to know about is the cloud. What are they made up of and how are they formed ? They are made up of tiny water particles. Water vapor is found in the air around us. As the water vapor rises into the atmosphere, it cools down into tiny water droplets and sticks onto the dust particles, ice or whatever small particles are present there, thus forming a cloud. These tiny particles of ice keep moving and rub against each other constantly. And when they do that, they rub off charge against one another. Just like the hair and the comb, these particles split up into positively charged particles and negatively charged particles.  And the positively charged being lighter rise up towards the top of the cloud and the negatively charged particles towards the bottom of the cloud. 

When these charges go on accumulating, and when the difference is wider, the electrons flow from the negatively charged side to the positively charged side to ease out the inequality,  thus forming lightning. This is intra cloud lightning. Similarly lightning can happen between two different clouds. Another scenario being between the cloud and the earth. The most dangerous form. It can cause real havoc at the site of incidence. The bottom of the cloud being negatively charged, repels electrons from the surface of the earth or anything that's jutting out of the earth. Thereby making that part positively charged. And eventually,  electrons flow from the bottom of the cloud to the nearest positively charged part on the earth. And the taller the building or the structure, the higher the risk of lightning strike. 

And these electrons while in transit, get so excited, when they return to their normal state they give out the energy in the form of light. And that's the lightning we see. The energy of the lightning is so huge that it rapidly heats the air through which it travels. The heat causes rapid expansion in the air leading to the monstrous thunder we hear. 

That being lightning, what can we do to stay safe ? We have lightning conductors that are placed on tall buildings to safely conduct the huge amount of electricity from the lightning into the earth, thereby avoiding the damage from it. Never stay near the trees during a storm. Try and switch off electric equipment during the storm. And if you see your hair standing straight during storm, meaning your hair is positively charged and you are at a risk of being a victim of a strike. Stay safe. Apparently, staying inside a car, without being in contact with the metal exterior can keep you safe. And that that acts like a faraday cage and could keep lightning away. 

Now, isn't that a new term. Faraday cage!

Just before learning about Faraday cage, let me pose another question. We understand that lightning happens when electrons flow from where they are abundant to a place where there is less of them. So potentially anything that is charged is at a risk. And the charges in the cloud come from constant rubbing or bumping of the tiny ice particles in the atmosphere, we said. What about a plane that flies high up in the air and happens to constantly rub against the particles in the air, or the cloud? Doesn't it sound like it is more susceptible to a lightning strike? Imagine how that would be... (God forbid .. touch wood and all the other good luck charms) Have you even given this a thought? How is the aeroplane protected? 

Two things. One I've to say that the plane also acts as a faraday cage.  (explanation a little ahead). And two, have you ever noticed small thin rods jutting out of the tail or the wings? If you haven't yet, do make it a point to look for them the next time you board the aircraft. For now, I'm attaching a picture of the rods here. These rods are called static discharge wicks. What do they do... give the electrons a way to escape into the air, thereby getting rid of the excess charge.Now the plane is neutrally charged. That minimises the chances of a spark or a strike.

However, in the unlikely event that the strike happens, the plane uses its other line of defence. It's aluminium body. The body acts as a good conductor and keeps the charge off the interior. There we are, that's what a faraday cage is. It keeps the charge on the exterior alone and shields the interior. So we are safe. Phew! A renowned scientist called faraday, conducted an experiment where he lined the exterior of the room with metal and passed current through it and proved that while the exterior is carrying the surge of electrons the interior is unaffected.

How does that work? I found a simple explanation from wikipedia. 

"Animation showing how a Faraday cage (box) works. When an external electrical field (arrows) is applied, the electrons (little balls) in the metal move to the left side of the cage, giving it a negative charge, while the remaining unbalanced charge of the nuclei give the right side a positive charge. These induced charges create an opposing electric field that cancels the external electric field throughout the box."

So the car is a faraday cage. Protects you from lightning. The plane is. New concept, but looks like its all around us right? Let's think of more examples to help you relate to it. Remember sometimes when we are in a lift, our phone conversation gets disrupted because of the loss of signal. I know what you are thinking. Cellphones don't use electricity to communicate. It uses radio signals. Absolutely. These radio signals are some form of electromagnetic radiation and the faraday cage tries its utmost to protect the interior from electromagnetic radiation.

If you are wondering what this new term 'electromagnetic radiation' is .. I'm going to break it up into tiny bits of essential information just enough to understand this article. Electromagnetic radiation has three terms : electro, magnetic and radiation. Remember, electric field and magnetic are inter related and one causes the other and vice versa. Radiation is the energy that is emitted out. To put it simple, energy released when certain electrical charges interact. UVrays , visible spectrum, IR, radio waves, gamma waves, X rays all are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. All waves. All have energy, length and frequency.That said, the faraday cage protects the interior from electromagnetic radiation.

Oh dear. Too technical isn't it? Let's deviate a tiny little bit and talk about something eerie. Yes, you heard it right, I did say eerie. We are going to talk about ghosts now. Spooky!! Do you guyz watch horror movies? That's one genre I honestly keep myself away from. Anyways, I happened to see one episode of a very popular television series called 'castle' where they investigate a murder of a ghost hunter. ( You guys wouldn't believe this .. but as of now, as I'm writing about this spooky subject, my lappy screen just turned on and off and the CD drive just automatically ejected the CD !!!) Hmmm.... back .. to .. the ... castle episode. So, while investigating they learn that ghost hunters use ElectroMagneticField Meter. It's a device that measures abnormal paranormal activity. ( God! I wish I had that with me now!!  ) That's one new term and concept I learnt the other day. Ghosts are or cause some sort of electromagnetic radiation. And that would mean ..... a Faraday cage can technically trap ghosts??? Wow.. what a thought! One other day, I saw yet another episode of yet another popular television series Doctor Who ( Yes, I do watch a lot of these series, but hey, look how informative they are !) , where they showed us exactly the same thing. Faraday cage and ghosts getting trapped in them. What an innovative use of a faraday cage that would be huh...

Some other uses of faraday cage : Electrical linemen wear faraday suit to protect them from electric shock. MRI room in a hospital is designed as a faraday cage to minimize interference from outside. Sometimes, high profile equipments are kept in a faraday cage to protect them from EMP, Electromagnetic Pulse. ( EMP destroys every electrical equipment in the vicinity.) How very handy.

That was about faraday cage. Now back to lightning. Have you ever wondered why lightning is never depicted as a straight line, and why it has a zigzag or a jagged shape? I read from the internet that lightning happens in many small steps. That is, when the bottom of the thundercloud assumes negative charge, the electrons take a leap, the first leap. Apparently, this first leap is only a few hundred metres long. Then, from the botoom of that leap, another leap happens and so on. Similary, the ground which had assumed a positive charge, sends its positive charge up in leaps and in steps. Now each of these steps are independent of each other and they chose their path of least resistance. Which is why lightning is zigzag.

Early men used to think of Lightning as a warning or punishment from God. We still do have that mythological stories talking about lightning as Indra's weapon Vajra, and as Zeus's weapon thunderbolt  according to the Greeks. But that was back then, when we had no knowledge of the science behind lightning. I hope this post has bestowed upon you the lightning enlightenment.  ( Is my heading justified now! Phew! )