Here is to the crazy ones

Here is to the crazy ones. This Apple advertisement, as narrated by Steve Jobs, was one of the most profound reminders that statesmen, leaders and thinkers always stand out from the crowd. They may be ostracized by the general public, and will probably divide public opinion. However, when they perform their heroic tasks, they stand out and will be remembered for a long time to come. These people come from all walks of life and have varied backgrounds. However, they have one thing in common. Belief in their ideals and thoughts and making sure to live through them.

It is ironic that this video is narrated by Steve Jobs himself, who by sheer dent of his innovation on the IT front, now stands among the greatest minds of 20th century.

Here is truly to the crazy ones.

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Pakistan in 1950s

Encyclopedia Britannica Archive

It is amazing to see how Pakistan has evolved since its independence in 1947 on one side and not at all in some aspects. We are still a rural and agrarian economy with 70% of our population living outside the cities. Literacy levels are better since 1950s but are still dismal as compared to international rankings.

Look at the video closely and you will notice that some of the tools used by artisans and farmers are no different from a thousands years or more. Yet, the artisans are extremely skilled and tend to work really efficiently with their bare hands. No electricity, no politics and no obstacle stops them. These are the people who actually helped create Pakistan for us to live in peacefully. It is our job now to take the nation to the next level.

Karachi in 1942 – A Rare Video Footage

Karachi was the original city of lights. A peaceful port city with all the modern amenities of its time. The video footage shows that there were street trains for mass transit. The building architecture was Victorian with massive structures built to support the running of the government.

Maybe one day, we will stop quarelling among ourselves in Karachi and build the city for what it is worth.

Indus Script – Holy Grail of Undeciphered Scripts

One of the world’s oldest cultures is known as Indus Valley civilization. A culture that was far more advanced than we give it credit today. For instance, 5,000 years ago they had cities built on a grid based system. A water distribution system to homes and most remarkably, a citywide sanitation system, world’s first, which allowed people to use the bathroom in their homes.

The society was well ahead of its times, and thousands of years before Greeks or Romans had something similar. The remains of their cities can be found all over present day Pakistan. The most famous of them is Moenjodaro. A city worth rivaling the best ancient world left for us to wonder.

The civilization also left behind remnants of their long forgotten language, the Indus Script. Today, scientists around the world are trying to use technology to resolve its mysteries and share with us what they said in those few tablets, seals and signposts that we have gathered.

This video shows one such effort of how they are getting closer to an answer. It is one of the greatest language puzzles of all time and a Holy Grail of undecipherable scripts.

A Must Watch TED Video on Reading the Quran

Sometimes you come across little gems that you never thought possible. Sometimes, you hear the right thing but from a very unexpected source. At times, you want to believe in myths and half truths, but then the real deal kicks in and you hear what is the absolute truth.

I was blown away by the following TED Video by Ms. Lesley Hazleton on Reading the Quran.

Click to see the video

It is always best to learn from the source, in this case Quran, about Islam. The Fox news version or Al Jazeera version just does not cut it.

>Inside the Google machine

>Here is a video I found online at the TED talks. It was shot 5 years ago this Februrary during the annual TED Conference in California. Here Sergey Brin and Larry Page talk about cool new products and services that are being rolled out by the Google Machine.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sergey_brin_and_larry_page_on_google.html

Services like Adsense and Orkut among others. At the time of the the video being shot, Orkut had only 100,000 users and almost 60% from USA. It also talks about their concept of letting their employees spend 20% of the time building cool new apps including the just released Google News among others.

The video is just five years old, yet it seems like a life time ago. In these preceding years, Google and its products have changed the way we use internet, transact and communicate with each other. It is amazing how the internet world has grown and changed around us these years and how technology is becoming more intertwined in our lives.