A Fascinating Trip to Humans Manufacturing Site

“What is happing to this world order? Why do some people participate and spread acts of terror and many just support them in their nefarious syndicates?”

“Why can’t all humans be same which will remove all differences and reasons for crimes and wars?”

All of us try to find answers for these questions whenever we look around and see acts of wrong doing and sufferings of other people. Most of us try to find answers to these questions in the political or religious realms but these are just excuses and misinformation spread by few leaders with their own motives.

This book from Dinesh N. Verma is an endeavour to look for answers for these outside these commonly held believes. In this book he brings forward a very different perspective and view point by comparing human nature to animal traits and explains why these differences exist in real world. It is very common to use animals as metaphors to describe some attributes of humans, but in this book author beautifully describes how creator used mix of animal traits to manufacture human beings and giving them different nature.  

The book is a fiction set up in backdrop of Manufacturing Site where creator develops different recipes and mixes for different life forms in this universe. Author along with few other characters are hi-jacked and taken to this site where they are shown and explained the complete process of human creation. It also highlights the dichotomy of how gift of brain and power of communication has taken humans out of jungles and into current world at the same time these two have also taken world to wars and unimaginable acts of crimes. In current world super powers are not based on arsenals of nuclear bombs but those who have power of brain and communication. We all know how fake news is becoming a preferred weapon of all. At one point creator, author and readers start thinking if the world would have been better if humans did not had power of communication? Last part of the book focuses on author’s desire and willingness on taking the message from the divine power to rest of the world.

Though I have read very few fiction books but after reading this book I felt that this book is not very detached from real life. Though the plot is a fiction however the theories and arguments made in the book are relevant to our real world past, present and future. With all the development and advances we are making in artificial intelligence we are in a way trying to create a manufacturing site visited by the author and others in the book. The scene at Divine R&D department is very similar to R&D at any firm working on developing Artificial Intelligence and making robots to think and communicate as human beings. As humans we are trying to give machines a Brain and power to Communicate. Although a fiction I feel book also acts as checkpoint for us to do a reality check and ensure that we as a creator do not end up in same dichotomy as our creator God Almighty.

The Pixar Touch

There was a time when only name people used to think about when referring to children animation movies, Walt Disney. It was almost impossible to think of someone else making animation movies for children. Then came TOY STORY and it felt world has changed. Animation movies were no longer about Mickey Mouse and Barbie fascinating kids they became a serious business and were competing with other main stream movies attracting both kids and adults. Animation was not just about Tom and Jerry fighting with each other it was much more complex now taking cues from real humans and showing them on screen using more characters like Woody and Buzz Light Year. This was followed by other hugely successful movies like Cars, The Incredible, Finding NEMO and more.

All these movies changed 2 perceptions around animation movies first that animation movies can be entertaining for both kids and adults at same time and another animation movies does not always mean Walt Disney. These movies established PIXAR as another major player in the field of kid entertainment. Obviously one of the reason I bought this book was because Toy Story, Cards and Finding Nemo are among my favourite movies but also I always used to wonder how anyone can stand against a giant like Walt Disney. This is a good read for anyone who wants to know what goes inside making a great animation movie and how determination and focus can make impossible possible.

Initial few chapters introduce you to the team behind PIXAR, a team which dreamt about something which was way ahead of their times. Almost everyone in the team encountered number of challenges and rejections from people who were established in the world of animation but they did not leave their dream and kept looking for ways to move forward. And at the end they found Steve Job who believed in them and let them do what they wanted to do. It is not very clear on what was Steve’s role besides providing financial support to the team. I have read Steve Job’s biography as well, in that his role in Apple was more like an authoritative and micro manager, but in this book it feels like his role was more like a Chief Financial Officer responsible for financing PIXAR projects and negotiating with Lucas Films and Walt Disney in ensuring a deal which was helpful for PIXAR.

Book is not meant to be a technical manual for those who want to create animation movies. But it does provides a view inside the world of animation. It breaks the myth that animation movies only require a computer and a computer animator. Yes making animated movies do require computer and that message is very loud and clear in the movie. They don’t require just any windows laptop but much more powerful computers which were built by the PIXAR teams. In addition to all this technology another important ingredient is the story itself. Compare Toy Story to Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck animation, difference is for all to see. PIXAR movies have a strong story line and all characters show emotions just like real humans.

Book also provides kind of timelines on how animation movies have moved from one step to other and how technology is improving with every movie. It explains how every movie was a step forward in a direction of bringing animation to life. As a movie watcher we do not think about how Nemo moves in sea or how colony of jelly fish move under sea. But as a creator of these movies people at PIXAR do lot of study on what is being created. A very good example is preparation they had to do for Finding Nemo, team worked with experts to understand how fishes behave, they went under sea to feel the underwater world. After reading the book I have developed much more respect and appreciation of hard work that goes in making of an animation movie.

PIXAR Touch also gives a view of the corporate world and fighting and difficult negotiation which keeps the corporate world moving. The fight between SKW and Walt Disney is clearly an example showing that animation means serious business for adults and not just kid entertainment.

Overall a good readfor anyone who wants to know more about PIXAR in specific and who wonders what is required to make Woody smile.

Big Data@Work

One of the most heard and talked about terms in IT world now is Big data. I had heard this many times but had no idea about what it is and how can it change the IT landscape. When I saw this book I was very excited and thought it will solve the puzzle. After reading the book I am happy to say that it was a good decision to buy this. However being a technologist i expected a bit more on technical front.

Thomas very precisely explains what big data is and its relevance. With so much of data being generated around us, big data seems to be the answer for generating insights from the data. Book has number of case studies providing examples on how organization are using big data and related technologies to find trends and make decision based on it.
In chapter 4 Thomas explains what type of skill set are required for organization to move into big data. Though i don't fit any of those moulds however it does gives an idea of what should one be looking for when building a big data team.

Chapter 5 on technology for big data seems to be a bit 30000ft view and does only mentions what technology products are available for big data. I had hoped to get a bit more detailed view.

To summarise this book is a stepping stone for whoever wants to understand what Big Data is and what it can deliver to your business. 

The Phoneix Project

The Phoenix Project a novel about IT, DevOps and Helping Business Win” this is what it says on the front cover. Believe me this is what this book delivers at the end. I bought this book because I was getting overwhelmed by hearing DevOps and agile in every meeting and discussion I have been to in last few months. After working in organization which has been strictly cruising in waterfall model, this sudden change towards agile and DevOps felt like a daunting task.

One of my colleagues recommended me to read this book, to make the transition smoother and most important to understand why this change is required. While purchasing the book I thought it will be a book similar to PMBOK or coding manual for some language with full of terminologies and techniques to work in IT. I was suspicious about the usage of word Novel on the cover, how can book on IT and Devops be a story it has to be technical reference manual. But to my surprise it has been written so beautifully and in such simple language that you don’t even once feel like you are reading a book on IT.

From starting till end book will keep you engrossed, and it was like reading what you might be encountering in your current role or faced in past. It is not difficult to associate to challenges Bill is encountering in day to day work. It is like reading a story with you being one of the characters.

It explains in simple English terms what DevOps is and how it can help in resolution of these problems.  After reading the book you will realize that DevOps is not rocket engineering but simply a change in way of thinking and approach towards your day to day work by focusing on streamlining, monitoring and feedback process.

Another important message is that IT is no different from manufacturing or any other area of work. All the ways that Eric explains to Bill actually came from the assembly plant. This is very interesting as it breaks the myth that IT is different from other streams and hence problems in IT can only be solved by people in IT.

BOUNCE - MATTHEW SYED

BOUNCE is a great book which successfully delves into one of the great questions that everybody has around how to become a legendary sport star. It breaks the myth around what is perceived to be the reason behind being success in sports i.e. God Gift.

In very simple words Matthew has explained how "purposeful practice" can bring success to anybody who desires. The number of narratives he has provided in this book reinforces the fact that it is only sheer dedication and purposeful practice that has converted normal human beings into legendary sports personalities.This point is reinforced in different ways in the book starting in part I and also in part III where purposeful practice can allow additional bandwidth available to brain to focus on additional information available to individual.

In chapter Mysterious Sparks Life-Changing Mind Sets, he beautifully describes how purposeful practice coupled with a positive mindset can turn a failure to an opportunity to learn and succeed in future. Placebo effect to me is another interesting chapter which delves into beliefs which people think make them successful and as correctly Matthew said is an "irrational way to triumph in the strange game we call life"

In part II of the book his analysis on choking, bottling, bricking or cracking is another myth which is broken by Matthew i.e. it is not "Less Focus" but "Too Much Focus" which causes people to fail in most important and crucial situations in life. His techniques of avoiding chocking can be very useful in all walks of life.

Chapter on usage of drugs in part III of the book seems to be out of place and is difficult to relate it to the central point of focus of the book i.e. breaking the myth around being a legendary sportsman. It is sad to read about how usage of drugs have physically and mentally effected sportsman in east Germany and other part of the worlds. Also I tend to not agree with the suggestion of allowing restricted use of drugs in sports to gain some benefits in the field.

Last but not the least chapter around blacks being superior runners brings to light reason behind why some of the sportsman from Africa perform better than other sportsman. It clearly breaks the myth around genetics playing any hand in being a fast runner.

Overall the book is a good read and points discussed in the book are not just applicable to sports but can also be applied to almost every other field including personal or work.

It would have been great if at the end Matthew could have included kind of synopsis of the complete book which could have been a great way of ending this great book