Outfocus November 2014 by the Feathers

QUANTUM 5 | NOVEMBER 2014 WWW.ISSUU.COM/THEFEATHERS

INDIANS RUN THE WORLD COVER STORY | 08

RATHINA KUMAR

PARALLEL UNIVERSES

LAST [5]

OPEN LETTER TO

SACHIN

CONTE CONTENTS

08 12 16 22 28 30 34

COVER STORY MODEL PORTFOLIO LAST. EPISODE 5 SPORTACUS LETTER TO SACHIN A GIRL’S PAGE PARALLEL UNIVERSES

Why not the best? I recently read Digital Fortress, Dan Brown’s first novel. The cover said “A new master of smart thrills”. I have had a strong desire to use the F word ever since. Yes, Dan is good, no doubt. But why is he so much more famous than the real masters of smart thrills? I read contemporary novels selectively, and among those I have read, Dan is certainly not the best. James Rollins has always impressed me with his work. The amount of research he goes into, the way he makes us question the truth. I was completely taken by surprise when I read his SIGMA Force books, especially The Judas Strain and the Doomsday Key. A man of his cadre, of his talent, deserves much more than he has now. I was saved when I got to know that a SIGMA Force movie is underway. With some luck, if this movie is a hit, maybe we can hope for more of his blockbuster books.

ENTS

EDITOR IN CHIEF ASSOCIATE EDITOR COVER PHOTO WRITERS

AR MUTHU KUMAR SGA THOMAS NEENA SABARI MENON SOMA SUNDARAM

EDITORIAL 03

Welcome to OutFocus. Did you know OutFocus is entirely an online based magazine? Members from all over India, organized by the Feathers, bring together this magazine for all of you out there. You can participate too. #TenthEveryMonth

Photography: Indhu Kanth [InK] +91 9445651095 Shiv Nadar University, Noida.

BHEJA FRY

Here is the solution to last issue’s Bheja Fry puzzle. Sadly, we didn’t receive any right answers, but for those who tried, better luck next time :)

SETTER: AFTERDARK

ADVERT 07

Arati Prabakar

IN(dian)FLUENCE on the world

COVER STORY | SGA THOMAS

Satya Nadella Earlier this year, Satya Nadella replaced Steve Ballmer as Microsoft’s CEO, underlining the rise of Indians and IndianAmericans in the US tech world. And below are three famous personalities who have, in their own ways, shown the world about the IN(DIAN)FLUENCE Arati Prabhakar For those who are fond of Action-fiction/Detective/Spy thriller genre, you must have come across the acronym “DARPA”. DARPA is the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. And it’s current head, Dr. Arati Prabhakar is ethnically Indian. Born on February 2, 1959, Ms. Prabhakar came to the United States at the age of 3 with her mother, who was seeking an advanced degree in social work at the University of Chicago. When she was 7 the family moved to Lubbock, Texas, where she grew up. Her mother encouraged her to pursue a Ph.D. from a very early age. She has a 1979 bachelor of science in electrical engineering

from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. She earned a Master of Science in electrical engineering in 1980 and a PhD in applied physics in 1984, both from the California Institute of Technology. She was the first woman to earn a PhD in applied physics from Caltech. Prabhakar subsequently worked at DARPA from 1986 to 1993, initially as a program manager but later as the founding director of DARPA’s Microelectronics Technology Office. Dr. Prabhakar has spent her career investing in world-class engineers and scientists to create new technologies and businesses. Her first service to US national security started in 1986 when she joined DARPA as a program manager. She initiated and managed programs in advanced semiconductor technology and flexible manufacturing, as well as demonstration projects to insert new semiconductor technologies into military systems. As the founding director of DARPA’s Microelectronics Technology

Office, she led a team of program managers whose efforts spanned these areas, as well as optoelectronics, infrared imaging and nanoelectronics. At the age of 34, in 1993, President William Clinton appointed Dr. Prabhakar director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a position she held from 1993 to 1997. After NIST, Dr. Prabhakar moved to Silicon Valley in 1997 as the Chief Technology Officer and senior vice president of Raychem from 1997 to 1998. She was then the vice president and later president of Interval Research from 1998 to 2000. She joined U.S. Venture Partners from 2001 to 2011, focusing on investment in green technology and information technology startups. On July 30, 2012, she became the head of DARPA, replacing Regina E. Dugan. Dr. Prabhakar is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a Texas Tech Distinguished Engineer, and a Caltech Distinguished Alumna.

COVERSTORY 09

“it’s execution and results that matter in the end, regardless of where you come from.” Seetharaman Narayanan The name sounds familiar ? Yes, You are right. I’m sure you stared at his name a lot, particularly when your Photoshop is loading slowly. Although he could probably retire and enjoy his life on a certain tropical island, Seetharaman Narayanan chose to continue his work in Adobe. His name appears right after the No.1 Thomas Knoll in the splash screen. Seetharaman Narayanan is the Lead Adobe Photoshop Engineer. Seetharaman (Seetha) is recognized for his amazing team working skills, strong ability to handle pressure and overall humble nature when it comes to taking credit for his outstanding work. Seetha first joined Adobe in 1991 as a deputy engineer on the team responsible for bringing Photoshop over to the Windows platform and later repeated his efforts for Lightroom. Seetha was also one of the key people responsible for the Photoshop port to Mac OS/X. Narayanan has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Regional Engineering College (now

National Institute of Technology – NIT) in Tiruchirapalli, India. He came to the U.S to pursue a Masters in Engineering at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and also obtained another Masters there in Computer Science. He was employed by CrystalGraphics for several years before joining Adobe Systems. Because of his work porting version 3.0 to Microsoft Windows, he is thought of as the “Windows Guy” on the Photoshop team. ‘After laying the foundation for the Windows effort, one of the first things I did for the product was to make it multithreadable.’ He worked on Bridge 1.0 and has worked on getting Adobe Lightroom ported to Windows. But he says “Photoshop is always my home”. Sundar Pichai: Appointed as Google’s new Product Chief by Google CEO Larry Page on 24 Oct, 2014, Pichai Sundararajan, better known as Sundar Pichai, is an Indian businessman and a Senior Vice President at Google, where he oversees

Android, Chrome, Google Apps, search, research, maps, commerce, ads, infrastructure, and Google+. Pichai worked in engineering and product management at Applied Materials and in management consulting at McKinsey & Company. Then he joined Google in 2004, where he led the product management and innovation efforts for a suite of Google’s client software products, including Google Chrome and Chrome OS, as well as being largely responsible for Google Drive. He went on to oversee the development of different apps like Gmail and Google Maps. On 19 November 2009, Pichai gave a demonstration of Chrome OS. On 20 May 2010, he announced the opensourcing of the new video codec VP8 by Google, and introduced the new video format WebM. On 13 March 2013, Pichai added Android to the Google products he oversaw. He serves as a Member of Board of Advisors at Ruba, Inc. He was a Director of Jive Software from April 2011 till 30 July 2013.

Pichai is married and has a daughter and a son. Born in Chennai, Tamilnadu, he did his early schooling in Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, Chennai. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree from IITKharagpur. He holds an M.S. from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was named a Siebel Scholar and a Palmer Scholar.

And the list doesn’t end here. It goes on. This cover story is just to give a breif outline of 3 Global Influential people in top US firms, who were born in India. “It’s just one more symbolic thing that validates that our world is becoming much more global and is crossing boundaries,” says Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer of Cisco Systems. And above all one study reports that around 15% of startups in

“Photoshop is always my home”. -Seetharaman Narayanan

Silicon Valley are founded by Indians.

What if they stayed at India ? Well, I will leave it to your Imagination. But Padamsree also gives us hope whilst stating, “it’s execution and results that matter in the end, regardless of where you come from.”

Seetharaman Narayanan

COVERSTORY 11

K Rathina Kumar About me : I am K.Rathina Kumar, 23, theatre artist, Director & Cinematographer. I have Directed & Acted in a few short films and some telecasted in Adhithya TV. Mobile Number: 9944362627 https://www.facebook.com/ rathinakumarthedirector Previous films:

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=n-8gVYpgNz4 https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=X1X7GjYEK0s https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wO_Sr9A6Vtw https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=lOiIQ9IrArk

12 RATHINA KUMAR

PORTFOLIOS

Photography: Neena Sabari Menon +91 9488859390 McGanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ooty School of Architecture.

FOTOGRAPH 15

I started shaking in fear as if I was a mobile on vibrate. The creature howled again. May be a signal. It came near to me. It eyes were cold and was fixed on me. Deep down, it haunted me. My breath started to calm down. It locked me down there for nearly 30 minutes. What was this thing waiting for? Why didn’t it kill me? We were looking each other eye without a blink. Fear was now at bay but not sure whether it would disappear. I stretched my hand; it went back a bit, looked at my empty hand and then me. It was 6 feet tall, and had two legs. It face had a two luminance eyes, that resembled those of cats. “Who are you?” I asked it. It stared at me. “Stop staring. Are you the Post Human? If you are, you could talk, right? “ A strange noise. A strange noise surrounded the atmosphere. Computer voices. I could see lines of program codes getting executed out of nowhere.

“WARNING!” “DISEMBODIED SYSTEM SUSPECTING ITS STATE” “WARNING!” “REQUIRED: ADDITIONAL ASSITANCE AND SUPERVISION” BEEP BEEP BEEP “WARNING!” “ACTIVATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOL: ACCESSING ARCHIVES” “PERMISSION REQUIRED” “PERMISSION GRANTED” I couldn’t resist the sound. It’s everywhere, filling the void. I shouted. BEEP BEEP BEEP ---The same breeze made my eyes open. The same beach. The same child is playing with his sand dolls. My professor and his friend were standing there and watching the boy play. My professor turned back and looked at me. “Hey, come! Up on your feet” “Sir?” “Come on.” “What’s happening?”

“Dude, come on man, Recreation process is going to begin”, his friend called him. “Give me a minute” “What is that? What’s happening here?” “Recreation”. He said with a smile. “Come with me.” He took my hand. Suddenly the whole beach turned into that bunker. “Did you brief him?” “I was about to” “Carry on” My professor turned towards me and said, “You very well know that dreams are part of your consciousness.” “Yes.” “This project was started to preserve a human’s consciousness.” “Why do we need to preserve?” “So that, during times of disaster, Dreams from consciousness would help us win.” “I am not getting it.” “The government has approved the POSTHUMAN PROJECT”. [to be continued]

LAST. ”RECREATION”

-SGA THOMAS

STORYSERIES 17

MATT

LEBLANC

INFLUENCIAL TRENSETTER DURING THE 90S

Best known for his role as Joey Tribbiani on the NBC sitcom, Friends and its spin-off Joey, Matthew Steven “Matt” LeBlanc was born on July 25, 1967 in Newton, Massachusetts. One of the most influential trendsetters during 1995s, LeBlanc found success in the role of Joey Tribbiani on Friends, and went on to play this character for twelve years — ten seasons of Friends and two seasons of Joey. “Friends” was successful and LeBlanc, along with his costars, gained wide recognition among viewers. In 2011, LeBlanc began appearing as a fictional version of himself

in Episodes, a BBC/Showtime television series about a British television series. In February 2012, LeBlanc appeared in the second episode of the eighteenth series of Top Gear, where he set the fastest time of 1:42.1 in the Kia Cee’d, narrowly beating previous holder Rowan Atkinson by 0.1 seconds.

and the Heartbreakers “Into the Great Wide Open” and in Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” in 1994. He has appeared in the films Lookin’ Italian (1994), Ed (1996),Lost in Space (1998), Charlie’s Angels (2000), and All the Queen’s Men (2001).His production company, Fort Hill Productions, coproduced the made-for-TV movie, The Prince, He appeared in two of Jon Bon in 2006. Jovi’s music videos: “Miracle”, from the Young Guns II He has won Screen Actors Guild soundtrack in 1990, and “Say Award and Teen Choice award It Isn’t So” in 2000. He also for Friends, People’s Choice appeared in Alanis Morissette’s Award for Joey and a Golden single “Walk Away” in 1991 Globe Award for Episodes.

SPOTLIGHT | TV SUPERHEROES 19

Photography: Indhu Kanth [InK] +91 9445651095 Shiv Nadar University, Noida.

FOTOGRAPH 21

TENDULKAR D E C O D E D

_SOMA SUNDARAM

‘Beating the Field’, ‘Straight talking about a number of from my heart’, ‘The Test of my aspects I have not shared in life’ public before”, as said by Sachin before, ‘Playing it my Can you guess the latest phrase way’ lights some of his secret in this series? Need a clue? cauldrons. Of that, his fallout They are autobiographies of with Greg Chappel, former Cricketers - ‘Beating the field’ Indian cricket coach gathered is Brain Lara’s autograph, attention in social medias. ‘Straight from my Heart’ is from Kapil Dev’s desk and ‘The Test of my life’ is Yuvaraj Singh’s. In the book, he shares as many Now, the list is extended and incidents, right from first picking this time the reviewer is Sachin up a cricket bat as a child, the Ramesh Tendulkar. practice sessions that expensed him four bus travel every day, his first international chance, “I knew that agreeing to write theories behind his scars, the my story would need me to be halcyon day when he recovered completely honest, as that’s from injuries, the depressed the way I have always played hours when he was called the game. It would require ‘endulkar’ and asked to quit

cricket because of his transient out of form, the quest for the hundredth hundred, winning the world cup finals against Sri Lanka at his own city, the final test he played and on. The book is co-authored by Boria Majumdar, renowned cricket historian and media personality. The book is pressed by Hodder & Stoughton for worldwide and by Hachatte for distribution in India. The price tag marks 899 Indian currency. However, the cost sounds reasonable as it is going to be used for the alleviation of malnutrition in children and for providing clean water to under privileged.

SPORTACUS 23

PATRIOTIC SERIES:

FALLEN,

BUT NOT FORGOTTEN! Abhimanyu Kumar Singh THE

Operations

this

terrain

KARGIL WAR

The Western Air Command required special training and

Air Operations

exercise Trishul three weeks that greater skills and training

conducted the three-week-long tactics. It was soon realized

From May 11 to May 25, before Kargil. During Trishul, the were needed to attack the ground troops supported by IAF flew 5,000 sorties with 300 very small/miniature targets the Air Force tried to contain aircraft using 35,000 personnel extant, often not visible to the the threat, assessed the enemy and engaged targets at high naked eye. dispositions and carried out elevation in the Himalayas. The various preparatory actions. IAF claimed to have flown 550 The shoulder-fired missile threat Entry of the Air Force into sorties in Kargil, though just was omnipresent and there combat action on May 26 about 80 were on or close to were no doubts about this. An represented a paradigm shift the target. Soon after Kargil, IAF Canberra recce aircraft in the nature and prognosis of both the commander-in-chief was damaged by a Pakistani the conflict. In operation Safed and senior air staff officer Stinger fired possibly from Sagar, the Air Force carried of the Western Air Command across the LoC. On the second out nearly 5,000 sorties of all were mysteriously transferred and third day of the operations, types over 50-odd days of to the Central and Eastern still in the learning curve, the operations. commands. IAF lost one MiG-21 fighter

and one Mi-17 helicopter to shoulder-fired missiles by the enemy. In addition, one MiG-27 was lost on the second day due to engine failure just after the pilot had carried out successful attacks on one of the enemyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main supply dumps. These events only went to reinforce the tactics of the IAF in carrying out attacks from outside the Stinger SAM envelope and avoiding the use of helicopters for attack purposes. Attack helicopters have a certain utility in operations under relatively benign conditions but are extremely vulnerable in an intense battlefield. The fact that the enemy fired more than 100 shoulder fired SAMs against IAF aircraft indicates not only the great intensity of the enemy air defenses in the area but also the success of IAF tactics, especially after the first three days of the war during which not a single aircraft received even a scratch.

The terrain in the Kargil area is 16,000 to 18,000 feet above sea level. The aircraft are, therefore, required to fly at about 20,000 feet. At these heights, the air density is 30% less than at sea level. This causes a reduction in weight that can be carried and also reduces the ability to manoeuvre as the radius of a turn is more than what it is at lower levels. The larger radius of turn reduces maneuverability in the restricted width of the valley. The engineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance also deteriorates as for the same forward speed there is a lesser mass of air going into the jet engine of the fighter or helicopter. The non-standard air density also affects the trajectory of weapons. The firing, hence, may not be accurate. In the mountains, the targets are relatively small, spread-out and difficult to spot visually, particularly by pilots in high speed jets.

The Indian airfields nearest to Kargil were Srinagar and Avantipur. Adampur near Jalandhar was also close enough to support air operations. Therefore, the IAF operated from these three bases. The planes used for ground attack were MiG-2ls, MiG- 23s, MiG-27s, Jaguars and the Mirage- 2000. The Mig-2l was built mainly for air interception with a secondary role of ground attack. However, it is capable of operating in restricted spaces which was of importance in the Kargil terrain. The MiG-23s and 27s are optimized for attacking targets on the ground. They can carry a load of 4 tons each. This could be a mix of weapons including cannon, rocket pods, free- fall and retarded bombs and smart weapons. It has a computerized bomb sight which enables accurate weapon delivery. These planes were, therefore, ideal for use in the mountainous terrain of Kargil.

PATRIOTISM 25

However, on May 27, the MiG27 flown by Flt Lt Nachiketa, while attacking a target in Batalik sector, developed an engine trouble and he had to bailout. Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja, in a MiG-2l, went out of the way to locate the downed pilot and in the process was hit by a Pakistani surface- to-air missile (SAM). He ejected safely but his body bearing gun- wounds was returned subsequently. The state-of-the-art Mirage-

2000s were used for electronic warfare, reconnaissance and ground attack. This fighter delivers its weapons with pinpoint accuracy. In addition to carrying free-fall bombs, it also fires the laser-guided bomb with deadly effects. In fact, it was this weapon that caused considerable devastation to Pakistani bunkers on the ridges at Tiger Hill and Muntho Dhalo. In the Mirage attack on Muntho Dhalo, Pakistani

troops suffered 180 casualties. Because of the need to engage Pakistani targets in the valleys and on ridges, the slower helicopter gunship became an important requirement. The load-carrying Mi-17 was modified to carry 4 rocket pods with air-to-ground rockets. This helicopter proved effective in engaging Pakistani bunkers and troops. On May 28, while attacking Point 5140

in Tololing sector, one helicopter and its crew were lost to a Stinger heat-seeking missile. Thereafter, because of the number of SAMs being fired, helicopters resorted to evasive tactics but persisted with the attacks.

the Indian side of the LoC. The targets were identified along with the Army and engaged by day and by night in precision attacks by Mirage 2000s and Jaguars. Supply lines, logistic bases and enemy strong points were destroyed. As a result, the Army was able to pursue its The operations restricted operations at a faster rate and to Kargil area did not lend with fewer losses. themselves to the use of air power. There was a constraint of To obviate the threat from SAMs, not crossing the Line of Control bombing was done accurately (LoC) to the Pakistan side. from 30,000 feet above sea The IAF was, therefore, not at level or about 10,000 feet liberty to destroy the Pakistani above the terrain. In these high supply lines and smash the level attacks, the infantryman logistic bases across the LoC. does not see his own fighters However, such attacks were and, therefore, feels that done on Pakistani facilities on air support is not there. It is

estimated that in operation Vijay, about 700 intruders were killed by air action alone. The IAF has intercepted a number of enemy wireless transmissions indicating the effectiveness of IAF attacks. Pakistan Air Force fighters were picked up on the airborne radar of our fighters but the PAF planes did not cross to the Indian side of the LoC. Nevertheless, as a precaution, IAF , strike aircraft were accompanied by fighter escorts. After all, in the recent past no war has been won without control of the air space in which operations are conducted. [will rage on]

PATRIOTISM 27

An open Letter to

Sachin Tendulkar

An Open letter to Sachin (well he is on a first name basis with me, I know him for 25 years) Well, to begin with an autobiography is one’s own story. That’s what the words mean right?? But, when you are amidst an intense media coverage for 25 years, there is very little of your life that is not known in the public space. At least, what you did in public. A guy like me can write an autobiography, and for everyone it is a revelation. Because nobody knows me. Or like some authors, I can write auto fiction. About what I wish happened to me and what if I acted differently in a situation. Here, we have someone who was a part of our lives (my boss whenever I cribbed about me getting less compared to someone else, used to ask me ‘why aren’t you comparing yourself with Tendulkar?) .. So from 1989 at least we know you and what kind of a prodigy you are. Well that’s not really fair. Many of us picked up a bat just when we knew how we can stand in two legs. And you, as we all knew was obsessed and like Malcolm Gladwell would say in Outliers, you simply practiced harder than the rest of the world. It doesn’t come as a surprise to me.

Shrikanth Thirumalaiswami We know you whom we called cup at home. God. And when you quit. (that And then I pick up something respect to the 22 yards). India you say you have thought about meant so much to you and you for 3 years and you gives me were demonstrative about it accounts of the matches you unabashedly. The tricolor in the played? Can we have a bet helmet and the grips of the last Mr.Tendulkar? I will tell you match. Don’t you think you can more about your career than do more for this country? Was what you would know yourself. it all about centuries? (well you That six of Aaquib Javed’s did them for us, I won’t bitch slower one in 1992 world cup about it) was a work of a genius for whom the game genuflected. You yourself ask whether any of our ex-cricketer’s comment No, I am not one of these on Ponting and Clarke would fashionable icon bashers. You find headline in Melbourne Age are the closest I ever was to and Sydney Herald. Then why theism. does Ian Chappell feature in your book? Greg I understand. You always had a stage. And He was associated with Indian people listen when you talk cricket. Your duty is to us. These however childish your voice incorrigible Indians who would was always. You were a man pre-order 1 Lack copies and whom we respect (note the spend 7 hours straight to read tense please). You had an what you said. If your life is opportunity to set something not interesting enough for 500 in motion about fixing. I don’t pages, I should just text mine. remember right, was it Singer Cup when you were told that the If you know, all middle class match was fixed, you wowed to Indians wherever they are and win it through your blade. I saw whatever they do and make it you terribly emotional thrice. somewhere, go through all of One when your dad died and what you did in the past, and you came back to score that we crib about our children not century and looked skywards. being us. But are we the same Then when we won the world people anymore?

You and Ponting, both got out to this guy Chandala whom we think is a fixer. You should have been fuming inside. I know that. And you don’t say anything about it. Who is even going to castigate you (a defamation suit maybe, but with your money and Indian courts, even Arjun Tendulkar would not have heard the end of that case). And about your Ferrari… Mate, we grew up together. I was somehow feeling that you will give me an answer to how to survive in this silly world. And all I get is, ‘focus on your work’… Wasn’t the same thing said thousands of years back in Bhagavad Gita? Sachin, I love you. That moppy hair kid with a printed shorts holding that bat is an image I will carry to my grave. And the reverberation of Sachin you mentioned, I was one in that chorus. The calluses in my palm of holding a bat for ages and still not scoring a century even in a side lane game with my cousin is the same as the guy who did 100 international centuries. Now I know.. The game… That is God. Not you….

OPENLETTER 29

KNOWING THE UNKNOWN

SARU MATHI

A voice, or perhaps a noise reached my ears while I came across a lady speaking a language that I never knew. Often we are exposed to various vibrations with or without our consciousness. Out of all those, our minds choose only those that we like. Our favorite song even when played from a long distance reaches us better than the voice of a person speaking next to us. Again, beyond the fact of liking there’s an aspect of knowing... Deep in the murky things that are unknown, a noise is hidden. This silent noise troubles the mind without our knowledge. Constantly and quietly our mind is in search of ‘knowing the unknown’. Sometimes we are caught in tantrum as an effect of this silent noise in us. In this life of mystery not that we can get an answer for all the questions. Still we yearn and try our best to attain the maximum quotient. Noise is not an entity of the external world but a matter that makes us. In other words, our life thread. Only the vibrations are built upon in every cell of our body. So always mind to let in the positive vibrations to be strung in you...!

A GIRL’S PAGE 31

NEENA SABARI MENON +91 9488859390

McGAN’S OOTY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

FOTOGRAPH 33

RESEARCH:

disproving the

ALTERNATE UNIVERSES theory

MUTHU KUMAR

Before discussing about alternate universes, one must understand the three major time travel theories. 1. C o n s i d e r yourself to have invented a time machine that can take you back in time. You go back to where Hitler was born and you replace the child with a different one. But the future will not differ. The child you replaced with Hitler will grow up to become the same Hitler who was misplaced. This can be called the theory of conservation. No one can change the flow of the universe. 2. C o n s i d e r yourself to have invented a time machine that can take you back in time. You go back to about 70 years and kill your own granddad. Hence your dad wouldn’t have born. So you wouldn’t either. You have disrupted the flow of the universe and

so you have changed the universe forever. Let’s call this the theory of changing universe.

There are an infinite number of universes. Or so some scientists have argued for a century.

3. Consider the same possibility. When killing your grandfather, you created a new set of possibilities. You will still exist (in your universe), but you have inadvertently created a new universe where both your father and you were never born. This is the theory of alternative universes.

But I beg to differ. So here goes why.

Let’s see it another way. You are standing at an intersection on a road. You can choose either to go straight or left or right. For each decision you make, you create a new universe. This, coupled with multiple other random factors, you can imagine how many universes can be created. So the universe we live in is actually one of millions of other universes created since the beginning of time.

Now for the first one. So the assumption is that we are able to travel back in time. If that assumption is nullified, the theory does not hold. Consider yourself in a train moving at almost the speed of light (hypothetically). Midway through the journey, you get up and walk in the direction the train is moving. This would add your velocity to the speed of the train. It should mean that your speed has exceeded the speed of light. But the universe has a way of avoiding that. The universe slows you down so that you wouldn’t exceed the ultimate speed. In your perspective, the time around you is faster than the time for you. If this goes on for a

RESEARCH 35

FORMATION OF PARALLEL UNIVERSES

considerable time, your time would be in so much out of phase from the time around you. By the time you return to Earth, you would be far ahead of your time. You would be almost the same age as you were before you made the journey but your colleague would have become old, or might have been dead. You have successfully travelled into the future. The problem is that the (hypothetic) technique will only allow an into the future time jump. It will not allow a reverse jump. Time is like a

piece of rubber. You can stretch or compress its length but you cannot make it negative. When time cannot run in reverse, the theory that a time jump will create a new universe is negated. The second idea is based on multiple possible outcomes of an event. Each new possible outcome creates a new parallel universe. What if there is only one possible outcome for any event. We just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know all the variables that affect an event. You might regret what already happened, but

in truth if placed in the exact same incident again, the exact same will happen again. Consider a coin toss the basic example for any probability theory. Two random outputs and there is no way to predict the output. Or is there? What decides the output of a coin toss? Some of the major factors are the velocity and direction the coin is tossed, the gravity factor and the wind factor. Though it is unlikely to measure all these parameters and predict the possible outcome, the fact is that the event

is indeed influenced by programmable. We just these parameters. don’t understand all the variables that influences You might think of a supposedly ‘random’ choosing a random apple choice. or orange as a random possibility. In truth it is not random. The brain With the knowledge is a complex mechanism and understanding I – we all agree on that. have today I argue that It is a mechanism. It the alternate universes is programmed, and theory, no matter how

good in fiction, is not possible in reality. If someone has a very good counter argument regarding how time can be manipulated to run in negative or how random events are indeed random, please respond to us at ContactFeathers@ yahoo.com

ALL THE UNIVERSES EXIST SIMULTANEOUSLY, BUT A LITTLE OUT OF SYNC

RESEARCH 37

YOU HAVE ENJOYED A PRODUCT OF

THE FEATHERS WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/FEATHERSINDIA

Photography: Thanks to Indhu Kanth [InK] +91 9445651095