Re: [Fsf-friends] this may be off topic but ..

Pramode C.E. wrote: I was thinking that maybe a beginning needs to be made by searching thru patents etc and networking information. We may have a lot of hidden talent that OUR MEDIA has not even unearthed (as compared to the hours and hours of painstaking research that western media does about its own scientists and experts in various fields). Once the beginning is made, we may unearth facts which are unknown till now. A few years ago I had read about a young Indian who went to a conference in Singapore to be acknowledged there for a paper on computer security techniques that he had discovered (without a formal background in computers or mathematical sciences) just by reading very advanced books that he had access to, thru his father who was a research scientist. Then there was an article in rediff.com about a pioneer and entrepreneur (from chennai) who launched a company in Singapore which was listed on the Australian stock exchange. This person discovered a new way to compress image data and was using the new algorithm to make a medical radiology product. The new algorithm was far more efficient than the jpg algorithm( i think atleast 20 times more efficient and it was claimed to be lossless too) (but there is no independent verification of such astonishing stories from a team of acknowledged Indian experts or academy of science etc --so such possibly great stories are not put in the limelight and do not last long enough in the public memory). One reason is that all academies of science in India are basically govt owned - -so there is no independent and prestigious grouping of scientists who command outstanding respect and authority(unlike the situation in the west). Was just reading an old edition of "india today" (feb 6 2006 edition) which has the google story on its front cover and on page 36 we have a small clipping/writeup on key Indians who have helped put google on the map. But there needs to be more information of this sort put on a permanent or almost permanent place (on the lines of goodnewsindia.com) with more details dug up about the algorithms used or the lives of the people in the writeup. Basically give the story a human touch and make it more interesting such as the struggles and the ups and downs these people had before they were successful. That would really help making Indian role models, establish pride in hacking or do it yourself culture. A few things we lack terribly are -- 1 how to work in teams 2 how to resolve conflicts and understand why and how they happen 3 present or communicate properly/intelligibly 4 not sharing information --phenomena of extreme competitiveness (crab mentality) 5 readily acknowledging our peers and 6 making a welcoming environment for newbies or laymen Kush