Loose Ends

So, we're done with our mid-point "final" presentations, the US fellows have graduated, and the day after, life seems much the same, save for the near-palpable absence of Deliverables, lectures and meetings. Oh wait, scratch that last, we've got at least four more before we fly home...

We came, avoided the man eating plants, did it "real" (precisely!) and learnt a ton (and won an award to boot! how unlikely is that!) and now we have to go back and do it Even More Real. (Pearl ate all the mushrooms)

And as Dan put it - there was no one single unifying thing that we all took away. This program has left an ill-defined, but extremely indelible, and personally unique imprint on each one of us, and we've all come out of it a little older, wiser, and better prepared for the future.

All the best to our colleagues from the Red, White and Blue teams. They're stepping out into the great unknown (which looks suspiciously like the inside of the Clark center...) to do great things.

Us SSB guys, we fly back to the familiar confines of our "system" and see if the box can indeed be thought out of, or perhaps jimmied or sprung.

Ken - and a bunch of people - said  yesterday that they expect great things for us... we're not sure if we expect them, but we sure are anticipating... :)

Stay tuned for next episode, when our heroes do battle with a gigantic eight foor tall beanbag!

You get what you put into it.

An interesting point surfaced last Tuesday during our meeting with the dshrink. Luke was belaboring on his point that we needed to 'do this for real', and at the end of June we needed a polished product to show to VCs. I was confused for a while. If what I've been doing is not real, have I been in some sort of alternate reality? Did Luke believe that the rest of us would dare to present an imaginary prototype to the world?


Then I realized that Luke's obsession can be explained using Super Mario Brothers. This year of training is like a game of Super Mario! As long as you avoid the man-eating plants, and eat a few mushrooms, you can pass the stage. Or, you can go all out: hit your head against all the blocks, go up every cloud and down every drainpipe, to rack up bonus points and level ups.


What kind of player am I gonna be?

What kind of player do I wanna be?

Need we say more?

"Luke's log. A*Stardate 16.02.2012.

We are currently embarked on a perilous journey through uncharted territory. Shadows lurk in every corner... well, actually they only lurk in East Palo Alto.

We are (sometimes) cold and (always) hungry, but have a nice curvy vehicle that achieves warp 9 in 2.4 seconds, give or take a microsecond. We have no complaints.

Had an epiphany today while listening to Col. Uday rhapsodizing for the umpteenth time about the Needs Statement.

As I watched his mouth move, I realised that the trick wasn't to listen to the individual words, but to hear what wasn't being said...

It is not about learning to differentiate right from wrong. This is not a lesson about learning how to do, but how to think.

There is no right.
There is no wrong.
There is only Risk.

Risk is diminished by continuously placing oneself in a position from which one can remain agile and malleable, yet sufficiently focused towards the goal. It is akin to armed combat - lunge too far and you are over committed, opportunities are missed and your enemy gains a foothold from which to counter-attack. It brings to mind the peculiar experiment our crew psychiatrist Doctor Julian-a performed on us a few days ago, involving geometric shapes and strenuous physical exertion. We barely escaped with our lives.

In a nutshell : Commit just enough to strike but remain ready to riposte or retreat - remain agile and you remain alive to fight another day. Fleche only when the stars align. Minimize Risk.

This is the nature of the Needs Statement.
This is Biodesign. This is bushido."