Extracts from a Diary

Introduction: How an AC Explains More Than You Think It’s peak summer. The temperature outside is 37°C. You’ve just switched on the AC and set it to cool to 24°C. A sensor detects the external temperature and notes it to be above the target temperature. The controller receives observes this gap and commands the system (in this case the cooling fan) to start the cooling effect. The fan begins cooling, initially with greater intensity due to the high error signal. A sensor constantly checks the room temperature. Gradually, the error signal shrinks, the fan slows, and eventually runs at the speed needed to maintain the target temperature. This post isn’t about how ACs cool a room; it’s about how most complex systems — teams, habits, cravings, cultures, and many other things — behave. We often think the world runs on linear relations and straight causal links. Instead, it runs on loops. This generalised flow: Goal → Sensing → Action → Feedback → Adjustment → Sensing → Repeat governs not j...

I had planned to write on another topic, but a recent experience proved far more compelling. Personal Context Yesterday, the wife, her parents, and I had gone for a musical theatrical play – Humare Ram ft Ashutosh Rana and Rahull Bhuchar ( link to BookMyShow listing of it; may expire in future). The wife and I had booked the tickets mostly hoping that the parents would enjoy it. And, generally expecting a great performance from Ashutosh Rana, who was playing Ravan. Myths, Biases, and a Misunderstood Ram Few disclaimers are in order – I’ve been an agnostic + atheist since mid-teens and between Mahabharat and Ramayan, I’ve always been a bigger admirer of Mahabharat. And so it goes between Shri Krishna and Shri Ram. I have not read the reputed translations of these epics but mostly relying on pop-culture and TV adaptations, I’ve found the Ramayan’s narrative fairly straight-forward as against the layered narrative of Mahabharat. The use of grey characters with different (and changing) m...

Unpacking the Hidden Signals, Status Games, and Feedback Loops Driving Human Behaviour Opening Illustrations: Four Scenes of Signalling in Action Scene 1: It’s about 11pm, and you’re walking down a dark street in an area with high crime rate. There’s a shabbily dressed drunk guy walking towards you. You can make out that they’re drunk, from the stagger in their steps. You switch over to the other side. The guy might be perfectly harmless but why take the risk, you think. Scene 2: You’re going for your school or college reunion after 25 odd years. You want the batchmates to see a certain side of you that the ‘school-you’ didn’t have. What dresses to wear, accessories to add, topics to bring up, that will best help highlight that. How do you showcase being a successful businessperson? Will they identify your Patek Philippe watch, or would you have to drop hints to its price? Will that be too obvious and be seen as lacking class? Or should you go for being more subtle? What if subtlety fa...