آغاز سال نو، با شادى و سرور.....

من نميدونم چطور توى اين همه سالهاى دانشگاه يك كلاس ستاره شناسى بر نداشتم. نميدونم چرا تمام واحد هاى انتخابى براى يك رشته فرعى در دوره ليسانس را در رياضى گرفتم. يعنى رشته خودم به اندازه كافى رياضى نداشت؟ يا اينكه فكر ميكردم با خوندن كامپيوتر به رشته مورد علاقه و ايده آل اوليه ام داشتم خيانت ميكردم و ميخواستم جبران كنم؟ نميدونم، اما واحد هاى اختيارى زيادى ميشد برداشت مثل پيانو، فرانسه، و ستاره شناسى. مطالبى كه هميشه دوست داشتم و دارم كه بلد ميبودم. شايد هم اون موقع ها انقدر بدبخت بيچاره بودم، فقط ميخواستم تند تند واحد ها رو بگيرم، فارغ اتحصيل بشم، و برم سر كار، و فقط چيز هايى رو بر ميداشتم كه به بازار كار مهندس هاى كامپيوتر كمك ميكرد.

به هر حال، قديم ها اول سال تحصيلى يا اول هر ترم دانشگاه ميرفتم خريد لوازم التحرير. از خريد عيد براى من لذت بخش تر بود، مخصوصا در دوران مدرسه در ايران. اون بوى نوى دفتر و كتاب ها، دفتر هاى صد برگ و دويست برگ با جلد هاى رنگ وارنگ، جلد كردن كتاب ها، همه و همه رو دوست داشتم. توى دانشگاه، اين كار تبديل شد به كلاسور و يا فقط كاغذ كلاسور خريدن، و البته خريدن كتابهاى گران، بسيار گران، به اندازه حقوق سه چهار هفته كار كردنم در اون زمان رو بايد ميدادم كتاب هاى يك ترمم رو بخرم.

خلاصه از اون موقع ها خيلى وقت گذشته، اما من اين هفته سر كار سه روز تمام قرار هست از صبح تا عصر سر يك كلاس ستاره شناسى بشينم. فكر ميكينم معادل يك كلاس آشنايى با ستاره شناسى دوران ليسانس باشه. استادش از دانشگاه آريزونا كه در اين رشته معروفه داره مياد. اين روز ها ديگه همه توى كامپيوتر نت مينويسند و همه چيز احتمالا آن لاين در دسترس هست. توى اداره ها هم در حد دفتر و خودكار به آدم لوازم التحرير ميدن كه آدم احتياجى به خريدشون نداشته باشه. اما من طاقت نياوردم. به ياد قديم ها رفتم يه دفتر خوشگل براى كلاس فردام خريدم. دوباره همون حس و حال اول سال تحصيلى رو دارم. خوشحالم نمردم و بالاخره يك كلاس تو اين موضوع دارم برميدارم، هر چند كوتاه و فشرده هست.

يادت باشد!

بقيه حالشان را بردند،
تو را آزردند،
گذاشتند و رفتند،
چوبش را من خوردم.
يادت باشد.

Happiness

Nowhere else you rather be,
Nothing else you rather be doing,
Nothing else matters.

كار دنيا

يه زمانى كه اينترنت نبود، ماهواره تازه رايج شده بود و ما هيچ وقت نداشتيمش، تلوزيون 2-3 كانال بيشتر نداشت، مجله دانشمند فهميدنش برام خيلى سخت بود، نيم ساعت اخبار علمى فرهنگى رو عصر ها سعى ميكردم از دست ندم، بلكه يكى دو جمله از آخرين اخبار برخورد شهابى با ژوپيتر رو بگه*، ببينيم بالاخره ژوپيتر كن فيكون شد يا نه، چقدر سوراخ شد، واقعيت با پيش بينى ها جور در اومد يا نه. يك موقع هايى هم همت ميكردم، اوتوبوس ميگرفتم تا كتابخانه حسينيه ارشاد، كه مجله هاى اخير انگليسى مثل نيوزويك و تايمز و ريدرز دايجست را داشت. اگر توى قسمت علمى روزنامه ها يك پاراگراف درباره اخبار ماموريت هاى فضايى چاپ ميشد، روزم ساخته ميشد. اگر هم يك موقع مقاله هاى بريده شده از واشنگتن پست طبق سفارشاتم از برادرم با مسافر يا پست به دستم ميرسيد كه ديگه توى بهشت بودم و كارم هم در اومده بود: بايد براى فهميدن هر يه جمله هزار بار ديكشنرى باز ميكردم. لجباز هم بودم. اول ديكشنرى انگليسى به انگليسى، بعد اگر نفهميدم (كه شامل نود در صد مواقع ميشد)، ديكشنرى انگليسى به فارسى رو باز ميكردم. يك مرتبه ميديديد من يه صبح تا شب بين يك مشت كاغذ و جلدهاى مختلف ديكشنرى هاى كلفت غرق بودم.

خلاصه فاصله ها دور بود، و اطلاعات در دسترس نبود و تازه اگر به دست ميرسيد با تاخير بود. حالا كار دنيا بر عكس شده. جاها عوض شده. صاف رفتم تو دل منبع خبر. تمام عقده هاى نوجوانيم رو خالى ميكنم (نميدونم چرا فقط تموم نميشه). روزنامه ها، تلوزيون ها، وب سايت ها چشم دوختند به ما، منتظرند آخرين اخبار و دستاورد علمى رو از ما بگيرند چاپ كنند. ما هم ميگيم، داريم روش كار ميكنيم بابا، به خدا داريم روش كار ميكنيم، هنوز همه داده ها نيومده. من هم تو دلم ميگم، حالا شما يك صبر كنيد!

* A brief introduction is available here. You can also see the
related NASA press release at the time. Interestingly enough that made another interesting July.

پ.ن. اين هم يك نشونه ديگه از اينكه كارهاى دنيا بر عكس شده: متن هاى فارسى با زير نويس انگليسى توضيح داده ميشوند، به جاى اينكه متن هاى انگليسى به فارسى ترجمه بشوند!

The sweet topic of judgement!

The popular topic of judgment is often discussed in different blogs. How we humans tend to judge too quickly, with wrong assumptions, and arrive at wrong conclusions. That is true too often, but I believe it is inevitable: we see, hear, sense, smell, read,......... and in one word receive so many signals from too many different sources at once. And what does our brain immediately do with any signal it receives? It processes it, analyzes it, comprehends it, and forms an opinion about it. The truth is everyone thinks something of what you say and do or do not say and do not do. There is no way to get around that unless their brain shuts down or we get full control of their brains. So, when someone thinks out loud and tells you about so many thoughts and questions that comes to their mind, they are giving you a chance to provide them more data and information, to correct their wrong assumptions, to maybe reach at a more accurate conclusion. By knowing what they think, what doubts and questions they have, and even what conclusions they have already reached, a dialogue about that topic is opened. A chance to discuss the topic is created. Your chance to correct a wrong assumption, to correct a wrong judgment is granted. Had they been silent and continued to judge you incorrectly silently by themselves without you having any clue about what they think about something, you probably would not have thought of providing more information about that topic.

So, I suggest instead of accusing someone "you are too quick to judge", "do not judge".... as if they have committed murder, think and ask about what pieces of information they are basing their judgment on. "What makes you think this way?", "you think so? how come?". Then, see what pieces of the puzzle they are missing. Provide that. Enlighten them. Open horizons. Of course, being aware of the fact that judgment in inevitable, we (ok me, myself, and I) can practice asking questions, asking for more information in proper respectful manner before reaching a conclusion. I have to practice that a lot, but I do not like being attacked just for asking questions, for asking for more information, for disclosing what is in my mind and letting you into my brain. I really do not have to let anyone into my brain to see what I think. Do I? Or maybe when people ask us not to judge or not to form an opinion about something, what they are really saying is I do not really want to know what you think about it or you do not really have to share what you think about someone or something. That, I can understand; Expecting brains not to function, I cannot.

p.s. Sologen had a related post in Farsi. I admit it is a little hard for me to follow, but I think I agree with the overall argument :-)

Big men raising little girls

We often hear about the struggles of single mothers, but not those of single fathers, especially single fathers with daughters. Single fathers who traditionally did not grow up talking and learning about girl's menstruation, nor did they get any education about it. What should they do, what is normal and what is not, how their daughters may be sensitive and not want to talk about it, but they have to tell him because they need him to buy them pads. Some single dads are clueless. All they can do is pick up the phone and call their sister horrified, and have a conversation about her monthly periods for the first time in their lives. They worry. "Is this normal? She is bleeding too much!" Yes, this is normal. "I am going to buy solution x for her so that she can clean herself with it". What? Are you out of your mind?!! It is amazing how these macho-appearing know-it-all men, who never paid attention to what all females around them go through and never gave any woman a break anytime, are faced with reality. "So, one week every month they have to go through this? I wish they were boys for their own sake...." he says. Really? You are saying this?

Life has a funny way of teaching people lessons that no one could teach them no matter how much one tried to.

Professional expressions

Do guys ever say in their work-related emails or meetings about a new project or partnership, that could very well be their own idea or related to their own interests and passions, "It is exciting!", "I am so excited about this!", "I cannot wait to get started", "I look forward to working with you/on this" .... or is it just that I have only experienced hearing such expressions from my female collaborators? Or is it that females feel more comfortable expressing these feelings with their female colleagues and such exchange of expressions does not happen in collaborations among opposite genders?

My male professional readers, have you ever used such expressions about your work? If so, have you only said it to your male colleagues or do you recall saying it to your female colleagues too? (and please, do not cheat if the female colleague is/was your wife or girlfriend). If you had these feelings and thoughts, and never expressed them, what was stopping you? I am just wondering!

I think such simple expressions can move mountains. It motivates and encourages people; makes them go the extra mile. It does not cost anything, try it! Of course, only if you feel that way. There is nothing worse than a fake expression in my opinion!