The no-pareto rule

20% of X contributes to 80% of Y. This is Pareto rule and it applies satisfactorily in business/work. 20% of your products contribute to 80% of revenue. 20% of customers contribute to 80% of business. 20% of things you do, contribute to 80% of your results and so on. 

Its also straightforward where Pareto does not apply. In deeply emotional spaces- You cant say 20% of your kids contribute to 80% of happiness. Although I wonder if it is just a matter of having less than 10 kids. Maybe if you had 16 kids, the Pareto principle will apply. (So its true even in emotional spaces? ) As a rule, for less than 10 of anything, either it is too hard to quantify or it is likely to be unique/dissimilar enough that you cant apply the rule. For more than 10 of course, there is potentially a bit more homogeneity and thus the rule starts coming in. 

I am thinking of a place where Pareto doesn't apply even when the numbers are greater.  Are we unable to devote focus to more than 20% things ? The other nuance with Pareto is that a lot of times we dont know which is the 20% that works unless we do 100% of the things. So while it may be true that only 20% yields results we cant just do away with 80% 

If there is a point to this post, I havent found it yet. 

Why I like Daphne Bridgerton

 The biggest criticism of the female lead of Bridgerton Season1 is that she is too bland and delicate. In other words she is too much of a girl. People love feisty spunky heroines - Elizabeth from P&P or her Bridgerton equivalent- Kate Sharma. They are defiant, strong, opinionated characters and dont conform to what society expects of them. If they were to be born in 90s, they would be the conformists, but by virtue of being born in Regency Britain or wherever they are considered rebels. 

Daphne and her ilk on the other hand are conformists, even within their society. Their expectations and desires are more or less in alignment with society or their mothers expect from them. Usually the language of the TV shows portray such characters as insipid with no ability for original thought. Mostly they exist as a contrast for the feisty character, to show us what the heroine is not. However Bridgerton the TV show takes a slightly different stance on the heroine. They have made her a conformist heroine, but one with a mind of her own. One who makes her way in the restricted opportunities open to her, without whining about how unfair life is to women. 

This makes sense, because of course most women are smart, know what they want.  And whatever the reasons may be, a lot of their desires maybe similar to what society wants for them. Daphne recognises that she is a conformist, and she is not dismissive of her spunky sister ( Eloise). The problem with non-conformists is that they come from a place of condescension towards the conformists rather than treating it as a preference. Daphne in understanding herself and the others in her universe, comes across as someone you would like to be around because she is authentic and understanding, rather than pissed off and intellectual.  

Not sure why the writers chose this heroine, because the book heroine is similar to Kate than the TV Daphne. But am glad they did. And I think it is important to normalise that it is okay to be conformist. Being in majority doesn't necessarily make you inferior or mediocre. What's important is to be authentic to who you are, and that is sufficient. 

New year new post

 and all that

Thinking a lot about Scandinavian and Japanese cultures. So different, so fascinating ( one because of the other? ) Earlier the West used to be obsessed with France- lot of francophiles trying to wrap scarves in a stylish way. Now the fascination is with hygge, ikigai and what not- What triggered the change? Just exposure? Or is it a feature of the generation - The older ones aspired for achievable stuff- France is just different enough to be achievable- ikigai belongs to another world ( another world view ) altogether. 

I am fascinated by Jap stationery/washi tapes/ and the artwork style. I dont know what the style is called but the mount fuji covered by cherry blossom look is my favorite artwork style. I have not fallen yet for the Korean craze although the Korean skin care brands are totally my thing. 

What specific look does India have? is it just the profusion of colour? The chaos & madness?

The joy of breaking rules

I dont consider myself a rebel. In most cases my preferences are strictly average and I may be an outlier in a couple of things- but am sure thats true for evryone.  Based on those few outliers, we may like to classify ourselves as off-beat but I rid myself of that delusion years ago. Now I am happy to be average - not happy to be mediocre, but a person with average taste/ opinions rather than eclectic ones. 

I mostly follow rules without much thought and that includes general home cleaning rules. But sometimes I stumble upon something that works for me, that is the opposite of whats recommended. One such recent discovery was that I like cleaning the house in the morning before work, rather than do it in the evenings or weekends. 

I love a productive morning as much as the next person and I used to consider any morning without either reading or exercise as unproductive. But lately I have been getting such a kick out of cleaning , even if it is just for a few minutes that I cannot believe I hadnt discovered this before. 

It feels like such a waste of time and yet I know that it isnt. It checks all the boxes - I enjoy it, Its always better after the activity than before, and there are insta pages dedicated to it - what can be the problem doing it in the morning? 

Productive Netflix

 An oxymoron if there was ever one. 

I have been addicted to The Home Edit on Netflix recently -  where two home organisers go to a celeb's house and a normal person's house and organise their mess. Its like what Masterchef is to cooking- its vaguely in the area of interest, you may get a couple of tips, but end of the day its just drama. I know it and yet I cant stop myself from watching those two women clean out, organise and give a makeover. 

I love makeover/transformation stories- my fav movie is The Devil wears Prada and my fav montage is the one right after Anne's transformation. I wonder if this speaks to some subconscious desire of mine to transform, but until I figure that out I will rewatch the intro and the transformation montage to no end. 

The Home Edit is similar, except it is for rooms/closets. Watching that doesnt make my room any more organised and there are barely any usable tips that I can immediately implement- what they do is pretty much my current system. I dont find the women super interesting ( they arent annoying, but I dont particularly watch it for the banter). I am currently cleaning my house draw by draw and I thought its a nice complementary thing to watch. Thats how it started but what has happened is that I am now watching the show instead of cleaning my house

Ah-- the best laid plans of me! 

Micro reading

 There are some books that I never end up finishing. I start, and then read 20-30% and then just forget about it. Inspired by Laura Vanderkam who read one chapter of War and Peace everyday to finish it by the end of the year, I have decided to do the same. My books are The Gene, The Ancestor's tale and Behave, by Sapolsky. I aim to read a few pages every day, much less than what I usually can read. That way I hope I can sustainably finish these books.

I will continue to read other books at my usual pace, but finish 2-3 pages of the big one that I am tackling. Gene is by far the easisest and I am starting with it. I guess I will be done by Mar- Apr. After which I think Ill get into the Ancestor's tale, I am hoping. 

Things I miss in Bangalore

 Road side tailor- for those little tears, simple alterations and random stuff 

Roadside cobbler. - I remember fixing the zipper on a couple of my handbags in Chennai. What do I do with non working zippers now? 

Simple 5 min walk to buy whatever- kind of clears your head. 

Zepto, Instamart all are superb and extraordinarily helpful. But am a lot more productive with mindless stuff like fixing things in Chennai. Could just be muscle memory of going out and doing? 

I had been wanting to go to Westside in blr for so long and kept putting it off. Chennai I stepped out to buy something basic and decided to walk for a few more minutes to the store. 

Is it a coincidence then that I have also been writing more in Chennai? Despite extenuating circumstances? 

I seem to have only questions these days.