India's Quest for the World Cup (infographic)

Woo Hoo! Congratulations to team India for bringing the World Cup back to India, after 28 long years.

There is something about superstition when you talk about Indian cricket. Especially if it is the title match of a tournament. More so if the tournament in question is the Cricket World Cup. I went back to my lucky bathrobe after the two wickets fell at the opening of the Indian chase. The wife made sure she sat on my correct side. Brother skipped watching the match with a group, because he had to make sure he sat at the exact same place as the successful quarter & semi finals. Hey - whatever works!

Here is an attempt at putting together an infographic depicting India's performance in all the Cricket World Cups. Go, India! Go!

Grand grand Canyon

The first time Grand Canyon took my breath away was when I saw this on Google Maps while I was researching our trip to the place. In what was otherwise a massively flat landscape, there was this sudden explosion of geography, like a massive fractal generator gone rogue. The scale of the natural wonder does not sink in, until I realized that the loop of road, from mid bottom to the bottom right corner, is about 20 miles long and takes half an hour.

Our trip to the Grand Canyon, was a day trip with no time to hike. That meant we were mostly interested in lookout points that provided great views. Curiously enough, for all the information there is about this natural wonder, we couldn't find many sites that definitely talked about key details of lookout points. Hence this post. In no way is this complete, but hopefully some of you may find it useful.

There are two rims to viewing the Grand Canyon, the quieter (and difficult to reach) North Rim and the more touristy (but equally grand) South Rim. If this is your first trip, go to the South Rim and keep it simple. The main route to the park is Arizona highway 64, that goes into the park itself through a checkpoint (where you can buy entry tickets). Continuing on the highway gets you to the visitor center and the first view point called Mather Point. As you can imagine, this is one of the most visited points. Off the highway to the left is the Grand Canyon Village, where you can find lodging and boarding if you so desire. Continuing on AZ-64 takes you onto East Rim Dr., that goes along the South Rim, passing a number of view points ending at the Desert View about 20 miles away.

All the points below are between the Mather Point and Desert View. There are a number of other points along the south rim that you could take a shot at, but these were the ones that worked best for us.

Mather Point: This is the first view point that comes up while driving north on AZ-64, and is linked to the visitor and learning centers. There are three parking lots, each of which connects to the main visitor area. The overlook with guardrails is located about a five to seven minute walk from the visitor center. The patch is mostly flat, well paved and accessible. The place is always busy, but the overlook is big enough to accommodate.

Yaki Point: This is the next viewpoint to the east of Mather Point. There are two ways to get to it - take the free shuttle from Mather Point, or park by the highway and walk the 1.2 mile connector road to the overlook. The connector road is not open to the public, only to the shuttle. There is also no parking by the road - there is a picnic spot by the connector where you can leave your vehicle instead. The shuttle starts early in the day, so this is a good alternative to Mather point for a sunrise experience.

Grandview Point: Grandview Point has a lot of historical significance, being among the first overlooks to be discovered. The views from here are spectacular with the Hance rapids visible from here. The view is accessible after a short drive through a connecting road ending in a loop that has some parking. The overlook is just beyond the parking.

Lipan Point: This overlook is accessible after a short connector road, just like Grandview point, with a loop at the end having some parking available. A pretty good view, but nothing you would not see from the next location.

Desert view: The Desert View is the eastern most point on East Rim drive, and it is a treat. There is a large parking just off the AZ-64, and walking about 5 minutes from the parking brings you to the historic watchtower. Not only are the views fantastic, but the watchtower itself is a treat. The river is visible from here and will probably be a great place to watch the sunrise from.

If you go to the Grand Canyon, you should probably spend some time and hike around the place. If you are unwilling or unable, and want to just want some views the places above may be a good place to start.

Update: Here is a photo-gallery of our trip to the Grand Canyon.

Deceptively incorrect

Michael Shermer is the founder of a fun little magazine Skeptic. Skeptic magazine espouses skepticism towards ideas not supported by science and reason. The following snippet from the site says it best...

Some people believe that skepticism is the rejection of new ideas, or worse, they confuse “skeptic” with “cynic” and think that skeptics are a bunch of grumpy curmudgeons unwilling to accept any claim that challenges the status quo. This is wrong. Skepticism is a provisional approach to claims. It is the application of reason to any and all ideas — no sacred cows allowed. In other words, skepticism is a method, not a position. Ideally, skeptics do not go into an investigation closed to the possibility that a phenomenon might be real or that a claim might be true. When we say we are “skeptical,” we mean that we must see compelling evidence before we believe.

The video after the break presented at TED, talks about the brain's pre-disposition towards survival, that is the root of all superstition and nonscientific attitudes. In essence it boils down to two things:

• A tendency to incorrectly find or ignore patterns in natural or random phenomena. Michael calls it “Patternicity”.
• A tendency to infuse patterns with a causation agency, often invisible beings from top down. Michael calls it “Agenticity”.

With these two ideas, Michael attempts to explain the need for the unexplained - Conspiracy theories, souls, spirits, ghosts and God. While you may not agree with either the precept or his interpretation, you cannot ignore the idea of linking the brain's evolution to the need for our own belief system.