What dictates our passion?

I am entering my final year of Engineering and needless to say , I now have to decide on what path to choose after my graduation. I have been trying to figure out for sometime now where my passion lies.Because once I figure that out I can decide on my options after engineering-be it research,a career in industry or swithcing over to MBA. But, as I try to figure out what  my passion is,another thought comes into my mind-What makes someone passionate about something? When people say,'I am really passionate about my job,I love doing it',what makes them passionate about the job? I find this really interesting because we often know what our passions are but we can not answer why we are passionate about those things.Be it singing,mathematics,finance or creative writing-why are people passionate about some things and not so inclined towards others?

There is one possible explanation for this:Neuroscience tells us that different areas in our brain are engaged in different functions.So different activities such as sports,drawing,speaking,analytical thinking etc use different areas of our brains.And each profession such as medicine,engineering, accounting or football ,to name a few involves engaging in different sets of activities and hence engage different parts of the brain.Now, I come to the crucial part:some areas in our brain are stronger than others.What this impiles is that each of us have a range of activities that we are inherently capable of doing well.This is what we call 'aptitude'.These activities are the ones that are controlled by the stronger areas of our brain.When you take up one of these acitivities that suit you, it will immediately tickle your interest because you already have an aptitude for it.And as you invest more time on it, that activity or a job that involves such an activity might become your passion.

But,here is the twist in the tale:your brain structure is constantly changing.This concept is known as Neuroplasticity.A particular part of your brain that is weak today may be strenghtened by regularly giving it a work out.So, don't give up when you think you are not good at something.But, instead regularly engage in that activity because in that process your brain will be forming new neural connections in the weaker area of your brain.And after some effort you will gradually get better at it and you will begin to enjoy it.

In conclusion,it is great if you can choose a career that suits you or if you are already in a job that is your passion.We will be more successful at our jobs if it also happens to be our passion.But if you find yourself in a job that you feel is not for you,dont give up just yet.Start approaching your job in a positive way knowing that you can become really good at it with some efforts.And once you are good at it,there is no reason why you will not love it.

The Social Network Part II-Fall of an empire!

It's finally here! And I am finally in it!Google has launched a potential Facebook killer in Google + and I think it's here to stay (at least until something else comes around).The most ironic thing is Google + seems to be getting some free publicity on it's rival Facebook.Everyone is posting about it,everyone is commenting about it,it seems to be the hottest buzz on Facebook.And rightly so.Google have given a lot of thought into this one and have come out with a brilliant product.

Not that Google has tried this before.It actually pioneered social networking with Orkut but soon was thrown out of the frame by Facebook.And it then came up with Google wave and Google buzz which frankly are not even worth a mention.But,now,it has come up with a real crowdpuller.Google + ,still in it's Beta version (for how long?will it be another Gmail?) has generated so much buzz that Google has temporarily suspended invitations (I found out a roundabout way on the net to signup but it seems Google has already blocked it).I think it deserves every bit of it.My very first impression impression of Google + was that it was refreshing.I was already getting sick of Facebook and now I have found a better alternative.Change is the only constant!Organizing your friends into different groups is a fantastic idea and this is what makes Google+ stand out against Facebook.Also,features like video chat,hangouts etc all add to it's appeal.That it integrates with your Gmail account,the most popular email service,is an added advantage.

What will be interesting to see is how the social networking empire,Facebook fights back.If Google has copied some of it's ideas ,then why not incorporate some of the Google + features on Facebook? And Facebook has to respond quickly.Once people start migrating to a new social networking site,even those people who wish to stay back are forced to migrate,since all their friends are gone.This is what happened to Orkut.Let's see if Facebook shares the same fate.Let the battle begin!!

DAN BROWNED!!!

 Hello everyone (I know there aren't many to greet ,but still !...)
I am back after a long time.The last time I posted,I was in my home.Times have changed a lot since then.I am back in my college doing what I do best-procrastinating!I got my brand new Lenovo Y560 Laptop.(One of my relatives bought it  for me from US for a damn cheap rate).Surprisingly,after a few weeks got net connection in my room with pretty decent bandwidth.Exams came and went-as they always do.

Well,last week I decided that I must make more 'constructive' use of my laptop.What about reading e books? I had a whole folder of about 7 GB filled with ebooks that I had never opened.And after some brooding,I did start reading an e-book -Dan Brown's digital fortress(hmm...did I say 'constructive use'?) and for over six hours  it had me fixated at the end of which I realized the story looks familiar! It was a typical Dan Brown work-the unlikeliest person happens to be the person behind all the mess.I had the hunch all along that who would be that villain-and in the end I was right.After reading the novel I had one thought in my mind-was this novel a good one or a bad one?.And I couldn't decide!

There are a lot of literary purists in the world who argue that Dan Brown is the worst writer on the planet. Salman Rushdie once said about Da Vinci Code- "Do not start me on 'The Da Vinci Code,' A novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name."Nice one Sir!.Actually, though Salman Rushdie was harsh he does have a point-Dan Brown's works are not the greatest works of literature.But still ,probably Dan Brown has outsold Salman Rushdie 10:1 ! That's the truth .That's what the figures say! In some way, Dan Brown's novels are like those TV series that I watch -you know that they are not the best work of art but you still watch them!Maybe its time for all those critics to accept the fact that people still want to read Dan Brown despite whatever they say.Dan Brown is a very successful novelist and we must respect him for that.There is simply no use judging his works-we know we will end up reading his novel!
                          

C W G - Commmon man's Wealth Gone?

Common Wealth Games-it's almost upon us.Years of wait is almost over.But one question seems to be in everyone's mind-will it bring recognition to our country or will it spoil our image?

It is already the most expensive games ever- even beating the previous host Australia-but how successful it will turn out remains to be seen. Our media has been all over the OC and Suresh Kalmadi over alleged corruption for quite some time now.While it is undeniable that there is huge amount of corruption involved I recently came across an article on the web that shed new light on what's really happening behind those media reports.Well ,regular readers of Times of India would know that they are getting an almost daily dose of  this scandal.This article says that as many as 109 articles were published in the newspaper containing some negative news about CWG since January this year.This article alleges that this is mainly because TOI lost a lucrative contract to be the official newspaper of CWG.It shows several letters written by TOI to the CWG OC in this regard.If what this blog claims is indeed true,then it is quite shocking for a commoner like me for it poses a very serious question-whom shall we believe? It seems that in our country there are no white and black elements -all are grey.The person who cries foul in our country only does it if it benifts him.

IN A FIX!!

This time it's the 'spot-fixing'. Controversies and cricket always seem to go hand in hand. Three Pakistani players were caught in a sting operation conducted by a British tabloid (Big catch ,eh!) last week.This seems to have put the cricketing community and the fans (who cares about them!) in a shock.This is probably the last thing that should have happened to cricket at this stage.It seems improbable however that the concerned authorities did not smell a rat.I think they have probably decided that the best way to stop corruption in cricket is by pretending that it does not exist!The way in which Pakistani High Commissioner tried to defend the players in question was in one way horrifying and at the same time hilarious .Off course they have the same 'Indian- interests- working- against- Pakistan' line to defend themselves (Pawarji beware!!) .
One more point,it is pretty clear that this incident is not isolated.I think the anti-corruption unit will have to not just investigate the Pakistani players but also players from other nations (Money not only attracts Pakistanis after all!!) .I think there were for too many no-balls and dropped catches in IPL too.The ICC should not be scared to unearth what's happening inside.I think apprehensions do more damage to sport than knowing that corruption does exist but there are people to take care of that whenever it raises it's head

First Post

Hello every one
This is my first post in this blog.I hope to share some of my thoghts and experiences with you.Lets see how it turns out!!!!!!!!!!