Solving the paradox of cold Black holes with high entropy

Black holes can described by just two external parameters: mass and rotation. [1] They are also generally considered “cool” with their “temperatures” close to absolute zero. But they are also the most entropic objects in the universe. How can such simple cold objects harbor so much entropy? This has always boggled me. Below is my speculation on why this must be true.

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We are like that only

I guess adding “only” for emphasis is part of Indian English. I think we have this emphasis adding words in all Indian languages. Hence it probably is part of the way we think.

Are you coming to the class?
Yeah! I am going there only!

Where do you get this biscuit?
In the same shop only!

Is there any other way to express the same emphasis in English? Or is it like this only?

Busy-ness

Came across this wonderful passage recently when I was reading about Gandhiji.

Gandhi was sworn to punctuality, and his life was governed by the watch to an unusual degree; though it should at once be added that despite keeping to a meticulous schedule for much of his life, Gandhi’s conception of time was never such that it did not allow him to make time for anyone, howsoever high or lowly, who should choose to enter into his life or make demands upon him. That pernicious word ‘busy’,1 with which we all excuse ourselves from the common obligations of humanity, and the onerous company of unwanted relatives, acquaintances, and others who seek to intrude uponour time, was surely no part of Gandhi’s lexicon.23

I guess there is a logical reason for this, notwithstanding the humanitarian one. It is that if you live by your plan, you close your mind to new experiences and in a way to life.

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  1. Emphasis mine []
  2. Emphasis mine []
  3. From ‘Hey Ram’: The Politics of Gandhi’s Last Words, Vinay Lal, Published in Humanscape 8, no. 1 (January 2001):34-38. []

Fiction and me

I am no big fan of fiction, let me correct that – I was no big fan of fiction. I have been converted by podcasts – escape pod and podcastle. Escape pod is a science fiction story podcast and podcastle is a fantasy story podcast.

I really liked stories such as Exhalation, which is a truly amazing story – an alien “on the origin of species”; Article of faith, which talks about a religious robot; N-words, which deals with racism of a very different sort etc. On the fantasy side stories such as Dragon Hunt and Komodo were very entertaining. Do give them a try sometime.