The research dilemma...

Let me begin this post by offering no kind of apology to my loyal readers (all the two of them) for ignoring this space over the last two months (almost). I am also not going to give any reasons (read: none that I can think of right now). Oh wait, this one just came to my mind, I blame Dave Barry. He was not only funny but also was born earlier than me and got an unfair head start in the business of writing humor columns. I wanted to write about crowded mall parking lots, but he was there before me. I wanted to conjure up funny names for rock bands, but he was there before me. I wanted to write about exploding toilets... no, actually not.

But gentle readers don't you worry, you haven't missed anything. I am still in the PhD world with graduation still a distant dream. And while I am sitting in my room, almost freezing to death, I cannot help but wonder about this wonderful dilemma I have with research. Ummm... looks a bit anachronistic, it is spring already. You cannot be possibly freezing in spring. Ah! That! Didn't I ever tell you? Tell me what? That my room follows the weather patterns of Australia? Ooookay... Will I regret it if I ask you to explain yourself? Yeah, my room follows the weather patterns of Australia. See, Australia is in the southern hemisphere, so when it is springtime in northern hemisphere it is autumn in Australia and vice versa. I know Australia is in southern hemisphere and all that. Why (or should it be how) is your room following the weather patterns of Australia? I think my room thinks that it is in Australia. It even says mate in Australian accent. I know it is stupid and impossible, but I am more curious now. Are you theorizing some sort of space-time curvature and some wormhole contraption wherein your room is somehow mysteriously located in the outskirts of Perth? What? No! Nothing of that sort. I was just saying that the stupid designers who designed the heating system in my apartment were either permanently brain damaged or were drunk. They put the heater/air conditioning unit in the kitchen, and then ran one pipe over a distance of over 30 feet with vents opening out in each room at roughly 10 ft. Now, my room being the closest to the unit gets the hottest/coldest air depending on the northern hemisphere weather patterns... I mean hot air during winter and cold air during summer, I know it is confusing. In that sense it seems to follow the weather patterns of Australia. Ha ha ha... space-time curvature and wormholes... where do you come up with such things... can you not think of a simple explanation? Someone needs to cut down on their daily sci-fi TV dosage. Sigh! I knew I would regret it. Who would have thought there would be some rational explanation when it comes to you?

But my research dilemma does involve some of the quantum theory aspects. I think my research is more like schodinger's cat, or may be not, I am not entirely sure. Phew! I was getting worried for a moment there. So you are still crazy and all is normal with the world. I am sorry but I have this feeling of relief sweeping over me. Oh what was it that you were saying? Anyway, I was saying... my research it is like Schodinger's cat... or rather my code is... or rather the bugs in my code are... that is assuming they exist, which they might not. Either they exist or they do not exist. I won't know of the existence of these bugs/errors/modeling inconsistencies in the code unless I run a test case or actually peruse the code i.e., make an observation. But then if I do not make an observation then the bug might not actually exist or its nonexistence might be superimposed over its existence. The appearance of the bug might be due to the very fact that I chose to look for it? I mean there must the possibility of "a bug free research code run by me" being played out in one of the several parallel universes. And as long as I choose not to observe it... it might as well be this universe. So I have chosen not to look/work on my code. While this has allowed me to relax like never before, it has an unfortunate side effect of filling my inbox with irate emails from my advisor about some lack of progress. What lack of progress? How can we no there is no progress unless we make an observation? But my advisor is not much into relativity so...

Come here, let me give you a hug. I am so glad that you are "normal." I am not sure now, you are watching way too much of soap operas if you ask me. Eewwww.. I hate human contact.