The Building Technology Behind Skyscrapers

When planning and constructing high-rise buildings, the aim is to create safe and livable rooms in very tall buildings; the buildings have to bear their weight, withstand wind and earthquakes, protect residents from fire, but also have to be easily accessible on the upper floors. Utilities and a comfortable climate for residents Most high-rise buildings have a steel frame that allows them to be built higher than typical reinforced concrete structural walls. Buildings are characterized by window areas created by the concept of a steel frame and a curtain wall; However, skyscrapers can also have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls and have a small window area. This is made possible by cheap energy from fossil fuels and industrially refined raw materials such as steel and concrete.

The construction of the skyscraper was made possible by the construction of steel structures, which increased the brick and mortar construction of the late 19th work. The usable area for ever-larger supporting pillars is reduced. Tubular skyscraper structures have been used since 1960, reducing the use of materials (cheaper: Willis Tower uses a third less steel than the Empire State Building), but allows for greater height; allows fewer interior columns and thus creates more usable space . The elevators are characteristic of skyscrapers, a safety elevator with which passengers can be transported comfortably and safely to the upper floors option was to use a steel frame instead of stone or brick; Otherwise, the walls of the lower floors of a tall building would be too thick to be practical.

Today’s leading elevator manufacturers are Otis, ThyssenKrupp, Schindler, and KONE. Advances in construction technology have caused skyscrapers to shrink in width and increase in height. Some of these new techniques include mass dampers to reduce vibration and oscillation and gaps to allow air to pass through, which reduces wind shear.

Basic design considerations

Good structural design is important for most construction projects, but especially important for high-rise buildings because, given the high price tag, the likelihood of catastrophic failure is small but unacceptable. For civil engineers, this is a paradox: the only way to ensure reliability is to test all failure modes in the laboratory and the real world, but the only way to understand all failure modes is to identify previously known failures. Thus, no engineer can be sure that a given structure will withstand all the stresses that could lead to failure, but they can only have a sufficiently large margin of safety to make failure acceptable due to some form of myopia or some unknown factor.

Loading and vibration

The stress in a skyscraper is in large part due to the strength of the building material itself. In most building designs, the weight of the structure is much greater than the weight of the material it supports beyond its weight., The load on the structure is much greater than the payload . The amount of building material in the lower levels of a skyscraper must  be larger than the Empire State Building. Thus the shape results exclusively from the load-bearing capacity. Posts can come in a variety of designs, the most common of which is for skyscrapers. can be divided into steel frames, concrete cores, pipe-in-pipe construction, and wall shear walls. 

Steel frame

By 1895, steel had replaced cast iron as a construction material for skyscrapers. Its malleability enabled a variety of shapes and rivets, which ensured firm connections. The simplicity of a steel frame eliminated the inefficient portion of a shear wall, the center portion, and load-bearing elements, which were consolidated in a much stronger way by allowing horizontal and vertical supports throughout. the distance between the support elements decreases, which in turn increases the amount of material to be supported. In buildings over 40 floors, this becomes inefficient and uneconomical because the usable area for the support column is reduced and the increased use of steel. 

The elevator conundrum

The invention of the elevator is a prerequisite for the invention of high-rise buildings because most people can (or can) only climb a few stairs at a time. Elevators in high-rise buildings are not only necessary aids such as running water and electricity but are also closely related to the design of the entire building . Taller buildings need more elevators to reach more floors, but elevator shafts consume valuable living space. 

Many high-rise buildings use non-standard elevators to reduce space requirements. Buildings like the former World Trade Center Tower and the John Hancock Center in Chicago use elevated lobbies where express elevators take passengers to higher floors and serve as a base for local elevators. Architects and engineers can stack elevator shafts on top of each other to save space; However, celestial corridors and high-speed elevators take up a lot of space and add to the time it takes to move between floors. Double-deck elevators, so that more people can take an elevator to two floors at each station. More than two floors can be used in an elevator, although this has never been the case. The main problem with double-deck elevators is that if only one person needs to reach a particular floor, then everyone in the elevator will be forced to stop. d Mall, Petronas Twin Towers, Willis Tower, Taipei 101 The Paradise lobby on the 44th floor of the John Hancock Center is also home to the first multi-level indoor pool, which is still the tallest in the United States.

ode on indolence by John Keats

“Ode on Indolence” was probably the second ode composed by Keats in the spring of 1819 after “Ode on Melancholy” and a few months prior “To Autumn”. When it comes to grouping of the odes together as a sequence “Indolence” is often placed first in the group, which absolutely makes sense, considering the fact that “Indolence” usually provides glimmerings of themes explored in the other five poems and also seems to portray the speaker’s initial struggle with the problems and ideas of the other odes. “Indolence” is an extraordinarily simple tale of a young man who spends a drowsy summer morning lazing around until he is nudged by a vision of Love, Ambition and Poetry. He feels brewing desire to follow the vision but in the end decides against it when the temptations of his indolent morning outweighs the temptations of love, ambition and poetry.

The principal theme of Keats’ “Ode to Indolence” holds the pleasant numbness of the speaker’s indolence state which is preferable over more exciting and engaging states of love, ambition and poetry. Anguish of morality- the pain and frustration caused by the changes and endings unavoidable in the life of a human being is one of the great themes of Keats’ poetry. In his Ode on Indolence, the speaker’s indolence in many ways seems an attempt to blur the forgetful lines that exists in this world, so that the “short fever-fit” of life can no longer seem agonizing . Love and ambition are rejected by the speaker simply because they require him to experience his own life too and hold the unavoidable promise of ending (of love, the speaker also wonders what and where it is, he notes the pale cheek and “fatigued eye,” and observes it “springs” directly from human morality). He is not interested to find out “how change the moon” and to be “sheltered from annoy” which is why poetry offers the most seductive as well as hateful, challenge to indolence. Poetry is not mortal, but it is detests to indolence and would requires the speaker to feel his life too acutely- hence, it possesses “not a joy” for him as sweet as the nothingness of indolence.

Inspite of the poem ending on a note of rejection, the endurance of the figures and the speaker’s impassioned response to them indicates that the he will eventually have to raise his head from the grass and directly confront love, ambition and poetry. A confrontation which embodies the other five odes, in which the speaker struggles with problems of creativity, morality, imagination and art. Many ideas and images in Ode of Indolence anticipates more developed ides and images in the later odes. Keats in other odes confronts some sort of divine figure, usually a goddess, in the Ode on Indolence, he confronts three. The lushly described summer landscape with its “stirring shades/ and baffled beams,” anticipated the imaginary landscape the speaker creates in “Ode to Psyche”, the experience of numbness anticipates the aesthetic numbness of “Ode to a Nightingale” and the anguished numbness of “Ode to Melancholy” the birdsong of the ‘throstle’s lay’ anticipates the nightingale and the swallows of “To Autumn.”

In this way, the “Ode on Indolence” makes somewhat a preface to all the other odes. It does not present a dramatic exploration of love, ambition and poetry, rather ignites a possibility of such a confrontation in a way that throws light on the behavior of the speaker in other odes. Its lush seductive tone and the speaker’s oscillation between temptation and rejection in the face of the figures’ persistent processional highlights a deeper and more acute poetic exploration to come. As for now the speaker is absolutely content with the numbness of his indolence.

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT

The word sustainable means able to retain at the minimum possible with best results and also helps the mother earth heal. Sustainability is a vast concept and is generally a long term process when it comes to results. Sustainable practices preached in day to day life helps one achieve long term goals. 

Such is the concept of SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION.The increasing pollution in day to day life is a major example of why sustainable transport should be an important goal of the people of the 21st century. The daily consumption of petrol and diesel by various vehicles, excessive carbon monoxide emissions, contribution to global warming, noise pollution are some of the reasons among so many more that deplete the earth’s natural resources and increase health problems. 

The only option of change is to switch to a more healthier, quick, effective and also less resource consumption way; In the fast pacing life of people where every two among three people own a car in urban areas, it is important that sustainable alternatives not only add value to human’s time but are effective at the same time. 

Here are my vision of some eco-friendly, sustainable and intelligent choice :

 To start with first is TO WALK, walk for the short trip and avoid your vehicle when possible. This won’t only help nature heal but also can make one lose weight if practiced regularly, also it will make you feel closer to the greenery around and you won’t need to wait in long traffic queues or find a parking spot when you arrive. 

Next on my list would be to CYCLE, if you switch a cycle from your bus, train or bike journey, this will help to reduce the emission of around hundred kilograms of greenhouse gases. It will help lose more calories in every round of your travel and the fresh air is complimentary with every trip. 

If it’s not possible for you to travel without a vehicle, choose more eco-friendly ones. One of the best options can be CARPOOLING, it is a way of sharing a vehicle for a bunch of people destined for the same place. It helps save fuel and the hassle of parking. Additionally it adds company for your journey and lesser cars on the road. 

The next time you are planning to go for a trip, go for some EXPLORE PLACES AROUND your residence, you never know there are so many around your place. Unplanned trips are amazing and the best  when not harming nature. It helps save fuel and energy, decreases pollution and helps one feel more close to nature and experience unknown places. 

There are a lot other ways too and everyday there is a new find by so many humans.GREEN TRANSPORTATION is a choice and every being should choose it as a responsible citizen. Choosing these means to travel helps the earth heal at its maximum and makes the air pure. SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION should be followed everywhere and by everyone as much as possible.

The Need of The society!

Smart Ways Of Writing With Keyla- The Laptop!

Laptop Cartoon - ClipArt Best

“If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.”

  • George Orwell

Today’s article features Keyla – The Laptop who shall be explaining The Smart Ways Of Writing. Good Morning Folks! This is Keyla. I am currently a renowned medium for the writing process. I understand that most of the ancient mediums of writing are depressed due to their extinction because of me. I apologize for that, from the core of my heart. However, it’s not our fault if people find writing on us, an easier task! It totally is based on the perspective of people who have regarded us deeply. I also admit that the digital medium involving me, doesn’t make writing a merrier process. Yes! That’s true. But, as I stated, the human perspective is something that gets into the way!

Anyway, since humans are glued to the digital medium and their love for me won’t diminish (is what I think, until some other medium doesn’t turn up ;)), I am here to explain the smart ways of writing easily without burdening yourself! So, I will be explaining that in a step by step approach!

Love The Writing Process!

A simple way is to love the process and admire the lengthy write ups! Writing long stories shouldn’t make you feel sleepy. If that is so, then you must avoid writing, because only a sound person, ecstatic regarding the process, can compose a good story.

Jot Down Those Ideas!

Every time you feel an idea pass through your mind, the sensible thing to do is to jot it down promptly before you lose sight of it! These ideas can prove helpful in composing good content!

Write In A Speech Format!

When you write, ensure that your content is interactive and not merely descriptive. Innovative content is much more interesting, than descriptions with facts! In short, address the readers and make them feel one with your content! Let them feel as if they are enjoying this conversation with you!

Write, When You Feel Like It!

Mood factor plays an important role in the writing process, so write only when you have the proper mood and stable state of mind to make the task interesting!

Write In Bits!

If you have a large amount of content to write, then you are free to work on it, in bits. Don’t try to write it in a single day, as it may stress you out and then disrupt the writing mood! However, if you are a huge writing fan and just can’t wait to read your completed story, and feel that you are well enough to write in a single day, then you are free to do so! The only thing that matters is that your mood remains intact.

Gobble Down Certain Interesting Words Or Facts Mentioned In Other Books!

There is an exception to this rule! You must read a lot here! Only when you read, can you write after all! Try reading all sorts of novels that would contain some interesting ideas which could be highlighted in your book! Don’t worry! Copyright issues aren’t prevalent here! 😉 That is what makes writing an interesting task. The more you read other works, the more you learn. You do not get blamed for copying. Instead, you get admired for learning whenever you read!

Write Frequently!

In order to not feel burdened for writing huge content later, make sure to practice writing frequently. After all, practice makes perfect, doesn’t it.

Imagine Your Content And The Story It Poses!

Try imagining all that you write. This makes it extremely easier to frame your content because you yourself feel lost in the process. So, an important thing to do is, not only make the readers, but also make yourself one with the process!

Thus, Lastly, I would conclude stating that the smartest way of writing is creating your own imaginative world and getting lost in that, visualizing yourself as a part of the story and getting one into that. So, write with love and utmost devotion. Have the power to get into that world you just created through your content!

Yellow Scribe is here to help you with that. Consult them and make your publishing dream come true! Let people be introduced to your creativity!

Thank You For Your Time, Keyla!

3D PRINTING

3D printing, also called additive manufacturing, is often defined as the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. The term “3D printing” is often explained as a spread of processes during which materials are deposited, solidified with computer control to present a three-dimensional object, with more material being added together typically layer by layer.

Looking at current scenarios 3D printing or additive manufacturing has been used widely for manufacturing, medical, industry etc. which facilitate 3D printing to become successful economical technology. The earliest application of 3D printing was on the toolroom end of the manufacturing spectrum.

HOW IT WORKS:

3D printers are available and are a neighborhood of the additive manufacturing family and use familiar methods to a standard inkjet printer- albeit in 3D. It takes a mixture of top-of-the-line software, powder-like materials and precision tools to make a three-dimensional object from scratch.

The various steps include :

3D Modeling Software:Modeling helps printers to form the merchandise come right down to the tiniest detail. The 3D modeling software ensures precision designs is why 3D printing is being hailed as a real and important changer in many industries.

Slicing the Model: Engineers are required to slice the model into layers to assist the printer to make the ultimate product. Slicing software takes scans of every layer of a model and can tell the printer the way to move so as to recreate that layer.

The 3D Printing Process: The printer acts an equivalent as a standard inkjet printer within the 3D printing , where a nozzle moves back-and-forth while dispensing a wax or plastic-like polymer layer-by-layer, expecting that layer to dry, then adding a subsequent level.

There are various types of 3D printing depending on size, shape and also time consumed in making one depends on these factors. 

ADVANTAGES :

  1. Fast Design and Production, helps design and print faster also production rate saves time. 
  2. Minimises Waste, little wastage compared to traditional methods. 
  3. Cost Effective, requires lesser products, machine cost can be saved by outsourcing the project. 
  4. Easy To Use, easily accessible by everyone. 
  5. Environmental Friendly, Fuel efficient and less wastage. 
  6. Flexible Design, helps design and print complex designs. 

SCOPE :

In the construction world , 3D printing is  used to create construction components or to print even entire buildings. Construction is well-accustomed to 3D printing as much of the information necessary to create an product will exist as a result of the design process, and the industry is already experienced in computer aided manufacturing.3d printing  is not a new technology, followed since the 1980s. Making a three-dimensional model, or prototype, from a computer made design by adding successive layers of material is now standard practice in many industries, ranging from aerospace and architecture to medicine and high-end manufacturing.

3D printing encompasses many sorts of technologies and materials as 3D printing is getting used in most industries you’ll consider . It’s important to ascertain it as a cluster of diverse industries with a myriad of various applications.
A few examples:
– consumer products (eyewear, footwear, design, furniture)
– industrial products (manufacturing tools, prototypes, functional end-use parts)
– dental products
– prosthetics
– architectural scale models & maquettes
– reconstructing fossils
– replicating ancient artefacts
– reconstructing evidence in forensic pathology
– movie props

Monsoon!

Yeah! Its a season of joy, enjoyment, happiness, and we should enjoy it at the best.

A monsoon is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscillation of the Intertropical Convergence Zone between its limits to the north and south of the equator. Usually, the term monsoon is used to refer to the rainy phase of a seasonally changing pattern, although technically there is also a dry phase. The term is sometimes incorrectly[according to whom?] used for locally heavy but short-term rains.

The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the West African and Asia–Australian monsoons. The inclusion of the North American Monsoon and South American monsoon with incomplete wind reversal has been debated.

The term was first used in English in British India and neighbouring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the area.

So we should definitely enjoy this season!

Choices we made.

Sometime in life we all are any such kind of situations that we are about to give up on the way to the end of results.

We made choices for ourselves; we always try to make the best choice possible among to us. Every choice we make is going to decide our future we have known this, and it is a fact. During the journey in which we are on the way their come’s the situation we face too much of hardship and rough time with which one struggles to do or cope with something, sometimes the rough time which we are in right now will haunt us in future by remembering them, it will be like living those moments again in our life. Who wants such incidence to happen or to repeat themselves? The answer would probably be NO I DO NOT WANT THOSE INCIDENCES TERIFFY ME AGAIN.

We know this from the start itself that in order to achieve this goal we will face many challenges so don’t be afraid to face them go ahead…We say these lines to ourselves many time on our journey.

Key to the lock!

The definition of journey is: – the act of travelling from one place to another, usually on land.

Then what type of journey are we talking about. It is journey to achieve our level of success in our world without taking anybody else’s opinion.

Let us dig into that with one imaginary story: –

“There was a girl name Lucy She was neither very good at academics nor sports. Then unexpectedly she got admission in the most prestigious college abroad, the college was in completely different time zone and well their people were also little different. When she went there she was very happy  that she will be able to achieve what she wanted, she along with some more students from the same university used to share one room, the roommates were not bad but they we different from her like in many ways was not same with them so she faced various problems which get  her to be in anxious, but kept with it within herself and  resulted in various health issues after dealing with them alone for a long period of time. She went to get consulted, which helped her improve not only her mentally but physically. After which she went on to achieve her goals”

What did you get from this story ?

Lucy had choice to  study abroad which she chose she knew these were the seeds for a fruitful fruit(her fruitful future).Lucky knew it will be hard for her to get along with others in another country but then she challenged herself and made her choice.

Lucy struggled there very much (anxiety, physical and mental problems)

Lucy went to get consulted (to help her move forward)

She achieved her dreams by taking small steps!

 “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” — Napoleon Hill

By following these step may help you with something.

Keep fighting.

Wanderlust is enchantment

“Travelling – It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a story teller”.

-Ibn Batuta.

Traversing new lands and frontiers. Exploring people and culture has always been of significant importance for mankind. Nowadays travelling has become too mainstream with planned packages, theme parks, resorts which kind of rob the good old ‘free travel’ of its essence. Going solo, which gives you the feeling of being independent, entirely self dependent and the accomplishment of something unique has become some what of a prized adventure.

Even trekking(taken from the Afrikaans word ‘trek’ meaning to hike/travel) which has always been in the conversation of ‘free travel’ has become some what stagnant and less exciting because of it being planned down to the smallest of details. This isn’t entirely a bad thing as it’s done for the safety of travellers, but the charm is diminishing none the less.

Because of this, ‘Road less travel’, has become the ultimate toast of travelling. Going with a small group of friends or family or even alone, on journeys which are spontaneous although reserved for pragmatic changes.

As time goes by, the solo travel, synonymous with the 60s Hippie culture is on a resurgence. Our land, India, is a fertile ground for such adventures! As we see many foreign tourists travelling as if they were a local, and this is what led me to write this blog in the first place.

Hope we all will have plenty of stories to tell.

WTC Final- day 5

It rained in the morning at Southampton. Many were disappointed that there would be no cricket on day 5. But luckily rain stopped and covers were off. Play started at time. Each session was planned for 2 hours respectively. New Zealand started the day with a score on card 101-2 with still trail India by 116 runs. Captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor were at the crease. Since the conditions were cloudy and overcast, the ball started swinging well. So Indian captain used his 3 prime fast bowlers for the whole 1st session.

Session 1

The plan of New Zealand was to play safe for the 1st session. It seemed that the runs didn’t matter much to them. They scored 34 runs in 23 overs in the 1st session. They played riskless shots. They wanted to go without any wicket loss at the end of 1st session. Their plan worked well until India’s senior bowler Mohammad Shami took the wicket of Ross Taylor. It was a good catch by Shubman Gill inside the circle. Then the left hander Henry Nicholls came in. Ishant Sharma bowled a well constructed outswinger outside the off stump. Nicholls played to get caught on the slip. Rohit Sharma took the fantastic catch. After him, BJ Watling joined Kane. He was removed in his 2nd ball by Shami by a inswinger that hit the middle stump. After Watling, their all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme joined hands with Kane. But then, there seemed to be a change in their plan. de Grandhomme looked to play shots. Also, he was conscious about tackling the good balls.

Session 2

At the end of 80th over, India took the new ball. Shami used the new ball very well. He took the wicket of de Grandhomme tactically. He bowled 3 outswingers from position close to the stumps. Then he bowled a inswinger from wide of the crease. Then happened that lbw shout and the batsman gone. Players came in and went out without making a long partnership with Kane. Kane remained at one end without help. Kyle Jamieson joined Kane this time. His attacking plans worked well. He scored some boundaries. He hit Shami to a six after which Shami bowled a good bouncer to take him for a catch at the fine leg. That was a very judged catch by Bumrah. Then Southee came and scored. Kane was dismissed at 49 by Ishant at the slip. Then New Zealand’s innings ended at 249 runs.

Session 3

India opened their 2nd innings trailing New Zealand by 32 runs. Gill and Rohit gave a good start until Southee took Gill for a lbw by an inswinger in the 11th over. Soon Rohit gone scoring 30 runs. The team score was 51 at that time. Some expected a night watchman since the day was nearing the end. But Kohli came at no.4 without discussion. He joined Pujara at the crease. India finished the day-5 at 64-2 with Pujara and Kohli standing at the crease.

Hope there would be no rain on the reserve day and expect a result rather than a draw.

Competitive Programming

“I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer, should learn a computer language, because it teaches you how to think.” – Steve Jobs

If you are a programmer, you may understand the deep meaning of these words quoted by Steve Jobs, and you may also have this experience even if you turn off the computer, you continue to think about the programming or code you use in it. The project has been written. In programming, you just don’t learn programming, you also learn the “art of thinking“, the method is to break the code into smaller parts, and then use creative, logic-based thinking to solve problems from different angles. Programming is very interesting and it is like brain training. Programming is an intellectual sport. When this sport is practiced by sports programmers on the Internet, it is called competitive programming.

Coding contests or competitions usually require the host to have a series of logical or mathematical questions for the contestants, also called puzzles (ranging from ten to one thousand) problems. Scoring is mainly based on the count of problems solved and the time required to write a successful solution, but other factors (quality of results obtained, execution time, program size, etc.) also do count.

The goal of competitive programming is to write source code for computer programs that can solve specific problems. Most of the problems encountered in the programming Olympics are essentially mathematical or logical problems. Typical problems fall into one of the following categories: combinatorics, number theory, graph theory, algorithm game theory, computational geometry, string analysis, and data structure. Challenges related to deadlines and artificial intelligence are also popular in certain competitions.

These coding contests provides young and talented coders with the opportunity to measure their skills and compare them with other programmers around the world. Some of them are listed as-

1) The ACM-ICPC International Collegiate Programming Contest

2) Google’s Coding Competitions

3) The ICFP Programming Contest

4) BME International 24-hours Programming Contest

5) Microsoft Imagine Cup

6) Facebook Hacker Cup

Book Review for Haemin Sunim’s ‘Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down’

The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down-How to be Calm and Mindful in a Fast-Paced World. As long as the book title is, it is small book with 173 pages but an ocean of thought. Published on 13 January 2013, this book sold over 4 million copies worldwide. I came across this book recently when the second wave of corona virus hit the country and all hopes of going back to normal were lost and honestly this book helps.

Haemin Sunim began this book with a simple question, “Is the world that’s busy? Or is it just my mind? The world moves fast but sometimes it is okay to take out some time for yourself and that does not make you selfish. An advice that the author gives in the beginning og this book is to take your time and to not rush thorigh it like a novel and to be honest, that is the only right way to read this. It is simple yet powerful. It has 8 chapters addressing various aspects of human’s life- rest, mindfulness, passion, relationships, love, life, the future and spirituality. He uses his real life experiences like when he first fell in love or when his teacher taight him the real meaning of spirituality or the time when he went backpacking trip with his friend and that increases the authenticity of this book. He says, ‘life isn’t a race against your friends, it is a lifelong marathon with yourself’. You have no one but yourself to compare to.

Everyone should give this book a chance. Its a real mind opener. For me this book was definitely a 5/5 and a 100% recommendation.

Want To Make Better Decisions? Do This

  • POWER OF DECISIONS!…

Do you ever look back on your decisions and think, “Why I on earth did I do that?”

We all make bad decisions.

  • Buying an SUV that sucks up all your cash
  • Starting a relationship without being in love
  • Saying yes to a job that you’re not passionate about
  • Creating products that no one needs

Shit happens (the above examples are all about me). But the funny thing is that bad decisions never seem like bad decisions at the moment.

I’ve been reading about the decision-making process of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, two of the most successful investors of all time.

In Alice Schroeder’s biography of Warren Buffett, I read that Buffet and Munger have a learning strategy that’s based on what you should avoid doing. They identify mistakes and do their best to avoid those mistakes. But as Charlie Munger says:

“Smart people do dumb things.”

You can never avoid making a mistake. However, you can do your best to avoid making dumb decisions.

Plus, by learning from other people’s mistakes, you can make their mistakes your own. You’ll learn faster that way.

Don’t Overthink.

Smart people are way too preoccupied with doing the right things. They want to have a perfect life, career, house, business, car, holiday, etc.

When you put too much pressure on yourself to make the right decisions, you get analysis paralysis.

I recently spoke to a friend who wanted to make a career move. I asked him to walk me through his thinking process:

“I like the company I work for, but my job isn’t engaging anymore. I’ve been doing this work for four years. And sure, I’ve been promoted twice, but it’s still the same work. So I’ve been looking at other companies. But what if I go somewhere else and that doesn’t work out? I’ll have to move on quick. And that won’t look good on my resume.”

I remained silent.

“Just hearing myself talk leads me to another thing: Overthinking it.”

We both laughed our asses off. I can do the same with overthinking. And I bet you’ve been there too.

When you overanalyze every single decision, you become paralyzed. Result? Nothing. Now, that’s a bad outcome!

That’s how people end up wasting their lives.

The only way you can stop overthinking is by making yourself aware of your thinking process. When I asked my friend about his thinking, he became aware of how irrational his process was.

You can’t control the future. So stop thinking about it.

Do This Instead: Make Small Decisions. Decide Often.

I recently read Seeking Wisdom by Peter Bevelin. It’s about the way Charlie Munger thinks. One of his decision-making strategies is to avoid mistakes. But that can be interpreted in different ways.

You can fear decisions altogether because you might make mistakes. What happens is that you don’t make decisions at all. As Munger says:

“The difference between a good business and a bad business is that good businesses throw up one easy decision after another. The bad businesses throw up painful decisions time after time.”

You can interpret that Munger quote in different ways. I interpret it as follows:

When you make small decisions early, before they become big — it’s easy. When you put off decisions, they become big — and painful.

For example, I’m not happy with the email provider I use to send out my newsletter. Their support is slow, there’s no good integration with my online courses platform, and readers have complained about not getting my newsletter.

This is something that’s on my radar for more than 1.5 years. At the time my list was less than half of the size it’s today. I also had only one online course. Now, I have three.

The hassle of moving to another provider gets bigger every day. Had I moved early, it was easy. By now, it’s a painful process.

In life, it’s exactly the same. The longer you stay in a bad relationship, the harder it gets to leave. It’s also true for your job.

Earlier Decisions Lead To Better Decisions

The earlier and more you decide, the more chance that you make better decisions.

I often say that there are no right or wrong decisions — only decisions. That’s not entirely accurate. Of course, there’s a difference in the quality of our choices. That’s the topic of another article.

But here’s the thing: NOT making a decision is also a decision. If that’s a conscious move, that’s okay. You think about something, and you decide that doing nothing is the best option.

However, I’m referring to not making a decision as in “I’ll put it off until another time.”

No matter what, you’re making decisions all the time. Instead of making fewer conscious decisions, we need to make them earlier.

Because all you need are a few good choices in your lifetime anyway. What will be your best? You only find out after, you guessed it, you’ve made a decision.

3 best Books That Teach You To Be Rich

BOOKS CAN CHANGE ANYTHING

What’s your money strategy? Do you even have one?

If not, it’s not uncommon. Until two years ago, I didn’t have a financial plan, whatsoever.

Even though I’ve been reading about money, finance, and investing ever since I made my first few bucks as a teenager, I never created a financial plan.

But now, I think every single working professional needs a financial strategy. How do you spend your money? How much do you save? What are your thoughts about debt? How do you invest your money? How much money do you need to retire?

1. The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason

This book was published in 1926 and as far as I can tell, it was the first popular book on personal finance.

Usually, I’m not into parables. But this is a great book. It’s the only parable that I’ve read that makes the message of the book even more powerful.

What it comes down to is this: Rich people are rich because they save their money, don’t get in debt, and don’t spend their money foolishly.

Clason recommends to save 10% of your income (I believe you should save 50% — more on that later). He calls saving “paying yourself first.” That’s an important mindset.

You only get rich by paying yourself. Don’t foolishly spend all your money on things you don’t need. When you do that, you pay others, not yourself.

Everyone should read The Richest Man In Babylon — the earlier the better.

2. Your Money Or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

What I enjoyed most about this book is that it teaches you to transform your relationship with money. This will change your life.

Money is something you trade your life energy for. Think about it. You work to earn money.

But you spend your time to work. That’s why Robin and Dominguez spend the first part of this book to make us aware that more is not better.

More money is especially not better if you have to put your own well-being on the line. It’s never worth it. Just ask the family of the bankers who committed suicide during any recession.

If you want to live a healthy and wealthy life, you must detach yourself from money. Instead of striving for more, get better at managing your money.

Save it. And don’t waste it on stuff you don’t need. Your Money Or Your Life starts out strategically and gets more practical towards the end.

One thing I don’t agree with is retiring early. I don’t want to retire and sit on a beach. That’s because my mentors, who are beyond the retirement age, still work and are very happy. I aspire to do the same.

But I also want to build enough wealth that I don’t “have” to work if I don’t want to. That’s one thing Robin and Dominguez also believe in.

3. The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham (with commentary by Jason Zweig)

I bought my first stocks when I was 20 years old. At the time, the finance sector was doing great, and I thought it would be good to invest in ING, the major Dutch bank.

Oh yeah, I should mention that this was in 2007, right before the financial crisis. I invested €1500 in ING and €500 in AEGON, a Dutch asset management firm.

It was about half of my savings at the time — a lot of money for a student. And a few months later, when Lehman Brothers collapsed, my stock portfolio was worth only a few hundred euros in total.

Man, I was so pissed off. I can’t even tell you how livid I was. But looking back, I understand that losing money is a part of investing.

And fortunately, I didn’t sell and waited until the stocks recovered. That took eight years, though.

I decided to not invest in individual stocks anymore. And The Intelligent Investor is one of the most important books that helped to realize investing in stocks is not for me.

If you already know that you don’t want to invest in individual stocks, you don’t have to read this book. However, if you are interested in finance, I highly recommend it. The commentary by Jason Zweig, a WSJ columnist, is also excellent.

P.S. I skipped the chapters about stock analysis because I’m not going to use it.

On Productivity and It’s Determinants

Productivity refers to the ratio between the volume of output and volume of inputs. Inputs here refer to factors of production like land, labor, capital etc. According to definitions, productivity is the residual output that is not explained by the direct contribution of input resources. It refers to goods and services produced in relation to resources used in their production. High productivity indicates that the resources are being used efficiently. If resources are economically the overall production will increase. This also decreases cost of production. It leads to higher production using minimal resources. It is an important critical indicator of economic performance. Residual output is called as Total Factor Productivity (TFP). Increase in productivity benefits the economy by making it possible to start new industrial units and generating more employment opportunities. Higher productivity is necessary for the growth of any nation.

Higher productivity helps in producing quality goods at lower cost. This will lead to lower prices increasing the standard of living.  Profit maximization is possible because of higher productivity. This facilitates internal financing of expansion programmes. Factors of production can be used efficiently. This also increases income for workers. Higher productivity determines the standard of living. Lower productivity means low standard of living. GDP measures the total output. So, the total output is equal to the economy. This is the reason why American workers are richer than workers of any other developing nation. For example, let us consider Munro as  an  economy. He catches his own fish, grows his one vegetables, and makes his own clothes. His production and consumption can be considered as a simple economy. If he is bad at doing these things, he lives poorly. The standard of  living of his economy depends on productivity. A country’s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services.

The two variants of productivity are labor productivity and total factor productivity. Labour productivity measures the amount of output per worker. Total factor productivity measures the amount of  output per unit of  total input. Total factor productivity is total product output divided into index of all inputs like land, labor, capital etc. Output growing faster than inputs is higher productivity. Productivity increases as a result of advancement of technology, invention of new methods, newer processes etc.  Increasing returns to scale, larger inputs and production will lead to higher productivity.  Even with other factors remaining constant, economies of scale would contribute to productivity. If a product can be produced more efficiently when produced together than apart it creates a different kind of efficiency. It happens in the presence of economies of scope. For example, this happens in the software industry.  When consumers buy software to prepare their federal income taxes the CD-ROM usually contains several other modules, including a link to a Web page, government documents, and a tax preparation manual. This shows economies of scope because the different modules can be more inexpensively produced, packaged, and used together than separately. Economics of scope are like the specialization and division of labor that increase productivity as economies become larger and more diversified. Economies of production and scope are also reasons for increasing productivity. Economies of scale and mass production have been important elements of productivity.

There are other factors that determine Robinson Crusoe’s standard of  living other than productivity. From the example mentioned above we can call other determinants as physical capital, natural resources, and technological knowledge. These factors have a role in real economy.  

Physical capital: physical capital per worker is important as workers will be more productive if they are provided with proper tools. Tools, equipment and structures used in the process of production of goods and services is called physical capital. The processes become easier and simpler with more tools and equipments. A worker with basic tools cannot produce more. Inputs to production are called factors of production. Physical capital is produced factor of production. Capital is an input into the production process that in the past was an output from the production process. Capital is a factor of production that is used to produce all kinds of goods.

Human capital: It includes the knowledge and skills that workers acquire through education, training and experience. The skills and experiences are a result of time spent in schools, programs, colleges, job trainings etc. It is an intangible capital. Like other determinants human capital also contributes to nation’s productivity. Human capital is a produced and completed determinant of productivity. Proper human capital which has effective and efficient workers requires proper educational facilities, teachers and institutions etc. Students are the future workers. They are the human capital that will be used in future production. 

Natural Resources: Natural resource is another determinant of productivity. It includes rivers, land, minerals and other resources provided by nature. Natural resources are of two types: renewable sources and non renewable resources. Renewable resources are sources that can be created again or replaced easily. The supply is infinite. Examples include trees, fresh water, solar energy, biomass etc. Non renewable resources are sources that cannot be created again or replaced. The supply is limited. Examples include oil, gas, coal etc. Natural resource disparities are responsible for some of the differences in living standards around the globe. The historical success of USA was driven in the part by the large supply of land well suited for agriculture. Other examples are countries like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. They are well off because of oil resources. Though natural resources are important, they are not solely responsible for higher productivity. Japan is a good example for this. Despite having low natural resources, it is one of the richest countries in the world. It imports many natural resources from other countries and exports manufactured goods to those countries.

Technological knowledge: Another important determinant of productivity is technological knowledge. It simply means using the best ways to produce goods. Technological advancements have made production process simpler. Once farming required a high input of labor to produce food for the entire population. Now, it has been made possible to produce for the entire population by employing a small proportion of the population. This has allowed labor to focus on other sectors. Technological knowledge has many forms. Common knowledge spreads to everyone after one uses it. For example, Henry Ford introduced production in assembly lines, other carmakers followed it. Rest is proprietary. Only the company that discovers or invents it knows it. Example: Coco Cola recipe. Some inventions are proprietary for short time. They become available to everyone after the patent expires. These forms of are important for the production of goods and services. Important difference between human capital and technology is technological knowledge refers to society’s understanding about how the world works. Human capital refers to the resources expended transmitting this understanding to the labor force.

Let us discuss about other determinants for better understanding of this. Other determinants of productivity are innovation, education, market efficiency and institutional infrastructure.

Innovation: Invention of new technology leads to development of high value added activities and improves the performance of existing economic activities. When we look back at the past we can know that only few countries have created new technology. They have invested heavily in research and development (R&D). Studies have revealed that creation of new technology is associated with higher TFP. 

Education: There is a positive relationship between productivity and education. It is evident when we look at developing and developed countries. Studies show that the number of schooling years and completion rate of secondary and tertiary education is important in explaining the improvement of TFP for many countries.

Market efficiency: Studies have shown that market efficiency s related to variation in productivity across countries. Inefficiency in the allocation of human and physical capital is the main explanation for a low income among many countries. Estimates reveal that if capital and labor had been allocated at the same level as USA productivity in India and China could have been 1.6 times and 1.3 times higher than USA respectively.

Institutional infrastructure: Quality of governance that includes political stability, rule of law, the absence of corruption and so on is positively related to TFP and economic growth. Governance works as a channel for geographical endowments, such as temperate locations and proper growing environment for grains, to contribute to the growth of economy. Government size is also related to economic growth. It paves way for well executed government investment.

By studying productivity and its determinants we can understand the importance of productivity to an economy. Productivity ensures higher standard of living. It improves the income of labors and helps in developing the economy of a country. Determinants should be strengthened to increase productivity. Government should invest on infrastructure and education. Resources should be used properly. Higher productivity is essential for all nations.

Narada case: SC judge recuses himself from hearing appeals of Mamata Banerjee, Bengal minister Moloy Ghatak

Justice Aniruddha Bose said the issue will now be placed before CJI NV Ramana. Banerjee and Ghatak will submit information about their role in CBI’s arrest of four TMC leaders

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice Aniruddha Bose on Tuesday recused himself from hearing appeals of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and state law minister Moloy Ghatak about their role on the day of arrest of four TMC leaders by the CBI in the Narada sting tape case 

As soon as a vacation bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Bose assembled to commence the day’s proceedings, Justice Gupta said his brother judge is recusing himself from hearing these appeals.

Justice Gupta, presiding over the bench, said the issue would be now placed before Chief Justice of India NV Ramana who may take the decision and the pleas may be listed for hearing during the day itself.

The top court was scheduled to hear three appeals including that of the state government challenging the high court’s denial for filing of affidavits by her and the state Law Minister in their role on the day of arrest of four Trinamool Congress leaders on 17 May by the central agency in the case.

It has been alleged that the state ruling party leaders played a key role in stopping the CBI from performing its legal duty after arresting four leaders in the case.