it in that room backstage so I did the
first slide will say that so Hoss is
here which is fine you know with
empirical fact the then basically I’ve
done a few things in life and after I am
Cal I went worked with coca-cola for a
while and then I was with Nakia because
in those days it was a big company I
think your generation may not know it’s
a company which used to make phones so
but you know I left well before all of
the carnage I wasn’t responsible in any
way because I didn’t like it that much
long-winded route to my presentation so
yeah so then I started my first company
called channel play with a bunch of
friends at I am Cal we said the AIA
entrepreneurship those were the days
when entrepreneurship wasn’t cool like I
these days when I talk to entrepreneurs
and I asked them so what did your
extended family say when you said you’re
quitting your job and starting a company
and no one seems to be freaking out
anymore like the extended family is like
yeah go for it
back in my day they used to be what
you’re leaving a company back Nakia I’m
starting some random company but that
was how entrepreneurship was it’s good
that has changed then after Channel play
for some time I I like beverages because
I mean when I was at coke it was it was
good fun the Volvo versus Pepsi thing
amazing fun so so yeah so highly
connected with this former boss of mine
and he was coming back so and we said
let’s start a beverage company so anyway
the point of that slide when it comes up
now remember this is getting more
complex and I can claim something else
for this one popping
so this long-winded story is where I
basically say that there were these two
or three things I could have talked
about during this TED talk but during
this TEDx talk but I thought about it
because the whole idea seems to be to
think about it and share with you what
one is you know thinking about and so I
thought it has to be more Universal
because I’m not here to give you a
template of how you should start your
beverage company right
and nor am I here to say hey listen
there is this cool stuff I am doing in
technology and which will change through
the health care I’m sure it will but
that has to be an aside because that’s
what I am doing and what will make more
sense to you probably not saying that
you should start following it is I will
I just thought what is the common thread
what if I enjoy it in all of this like
starting companies and all this what is
the one common thing and I start
thinking about it and so I thought it’s
basically I would really like this right
now because you know I think the rule is
that if I want to put one slide in your
sort of cache memory you will keep it
and I will say we have been through this
but now we are sort of on slide three we
are not on slide three
but you know should I bring it should
I’ve engaged I can I can do that
oh yes this is the one we talked about
right you remember the slide I am here
right yes this is the one we are talking
about yes
so this broadly is that classic what
have I been up to kind of stuff you know
yeah I missed this fact last couple of
years I have not been doing anything
actually in this whole story it seemed
like I have been doing things all
divided but last two years I’ve been on
one very big holiday because the hectare
thing worked out very well I exited and
I realized I haven’t traveled enough
apart from work and so I started
traveling lived in different
places when two different countries
basically take what would used to be
called walking the earth to even edit
that and then slowly I started getting
sucked back in you know like yeah this
is what you should do and so basically I
got back and recently just this month
few weeks back I just started my third
company you should look that up
it’s called tardigrade and people say
it’s a disgusting name and if you don’t
know anyone here knows what a tardigrade
is yes that’s why you gave a company
that so I know some of you will look it
up and the good thing is the ones who
will look it up are the ones I would be
interested in anyway so you know because
the ones who are not interested in such
things
it’s a such a good selection you can
start your selection process at the
naming the company stage right I don’t
know why people give companies obvious
names it should be always something that
you have to go and look up somewhere why
would anyone call a company this ugly
sounding name look it up later so so I
basically said the thing that I’ve
enjoyed the thing the reason I’ve done
all of this is because I’ve enjoyed
arguing essentially I like logic and I
and therefore I thought I’ll make this
about what within argument I like like
the argument itself what do I like about
it I have no locust and I to speak about
it except what I’ve read and thought
because I’ve not studied this as a
subject but essentially I thought this
is the one common thread this is the
reason I quit company this is the reason
just to have more intelligent arguments
with people I work with if I boil it
down that is it that’s the reason we
start companies with friends that’s the
reason we make friends we make friends
because we have good arguments with them
so I shouldn’t say we I will say I I
don’t think everyone makes friends so to
argue with them but I do so so so anyway
so this is my take and I just take you a
little bit about my tape on it and I
don’t know how much use it will be but
we
that later so yeah so I was small story
to tell
now why I have sequence the next few
slides you know with few words is
because I got the feedback that I use
too many words but all said and done
soon we’ll have a lot of words I’m so
sorry but this time round I’ll read a
story out so can we go on please no just
one tip on that thing
yeah so this is the story of a very
delightful argument real like this
argument and and we’ll just move on so
it is from 1949 and more specifically it
is from the time when the Constitution
of India was getting framed third
September I got this from the minutes of
this meeting there’s so much data
available in this world it’s amazing I
mean you know you can leave anything it
can be of absolutely zero used to you
and you can spend hours do you think
about it they just love that see ya then
so like I said I have not studied
history I’m not a student of history at
all I’ve not studied civics or beyond
you know ICSC or whatever but so but
still I’m going to do this trip so so
there is this meeting going on in Delhi
3rd of September 1947 49 and in the
chair is the vice president there is mr.
national Dinanath who opens say sir so
what I will do is because I don’t want
to have too many words that you have to
read so I try and enact it so when I’m
speaking from here I’m speaking at mr.
as mr. Latino dynamic whom you’ll get to
know quite well when I go and speak from
there I’m speaking as dr. P murrah
obeyed that you know very well right
so dr. materially nemyt opens this says
sir I would seek your permission to make
a verbal change in my amendment number
290 minded to 90 to 90 number 289 has
been moved by mr. commas I wish to move
the next entry and I seek your
permission to make a slight verbal
alteration I know that the amendment
will never be accepted that never even
be considered so there is no harm in
making the amendment look better
am I going too fast thank you but you
are always kind I mean people never say
yeah you just slow down
so anyway so basically mr. emmett wants
an amendment he wants to change the
words in the Constitution which say when
can imprisonment be done where it says
to prevent overthrow of the government
by force he wants it changed to the word
security of the state so he’s drawing a
distinction between government and state
so the vice president says the SS go
ahead with the amendment and so mr.
Emmett says I beg to move we move on I’m
here now which as you remember very well
is dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar speaking so he
says sir may suggest to my friend that
if he is prepared to accept the wording
as I suggest now namely connected with
the security of the state so he’s saying
yes I get your point sort of that I
shall be prepared to accept it because
we’ve already used it previously so at
this stage it would seem that mr. Hamid
would accept being a medical giant of
the Indian legal system also at this
time a towering personality but what I
find fascinating is that mr. I know that
the state says that I am grateful to dr.
Ambedkar but this is exactly the change
which I was asking the vice president to
permit me to make so just to summarize
dr. Witt has said yes yes you’re right
we will I am with you but he says but I
want to ask the vice president to make
let me make this change and there is a
bit of an argument
I just speed up because we draw some
slight sometime on the sides so
basically dr. Ambedkar says okay don’t
ever you need to speak about it if my
honourable friend will move the
amendment as a celestial then I’m
prepared to accept it please move on
then mr. Ahmad says but I must move my
amendment it is important for him to
move the amendment even though dr. Baker
is accepting it which the vice president
says is accepted why are you why are we
still arguing and he points out that my
honourable
sorry they said to know this was here so
if my honourable friend fails to
recognize that I was going to move an
amendment which is correct and exactly
corresponds to his ideas then I cannot
help it I just repeat what the amendment
is the amendment is that there is
provision to imprison people if they are
planning overthrow of the government he
won’t just change to the overthrow of
the state because he’s saying the state
and the government are different dr.
Whittaker has agreed but he’s saying I
still want to put this on record so we
go on go on this one aside so dr. Baker
says yes that’s the reason I accept it
because we we get what you’re saying and
but sorry this is very quick so but I
didn’t get any exercise today anyway and
then dr. Hodge says but sir he has not
made it clear why he’s accepting it
so the point for him is not just that
there’s a Clemente but the point is why
is there agreement so dr. Baker says I
just do it shorter since I have said
that security of status proper he says
that expression is proper let’s go with
security of the state let’s not worry
about security of the government those
are two different things
you are getting the difference between
government and state right government is
what is in past state is the entity the
idea of India itself right so the
important point and I’m twisting through
I I had more of a performance planned
around this but dr. it says the house
should know why is there this
nervousness about the exposure of bad
drafting and at this stage is where I
see the genius of dr. Ambedkar he says
he recognizes what has happened
he says if my honorable friend is
satisfied with an admission on my part
that I have made a mistake then I am
prepared to make it now just put this in
perspective one of the most towering
leaders at that time in this debate says
yes I made a mistake there’s another
back and forth eventually dr. Ambedkar
says very well we have bungled the shall
we say so at this point what you realize
is this towering figure who could have
used his four
personality to win this argument
realizes that this other person is
making the logical point and is happy to
concede why I had this long story and
the performance is because I thought
this was a great example of an argument
being about nuance about reason and
about a certain things and I thought
I’ll use this example to define what I
think a great argument is so now could
you put this on full screen is full
screen please yeah and you can go on
yeah so so within this if one sees there
are a lot of a priori assumptions that
both parties have agreed to they are now
talking of amendment 290 so they are not
bringing up things which were already
covered up to amendment 289 which is
very very important because very often a
lot of bad arguments are just about the
same thing being repeated multiple times
while in this case this is a whole new
point and both parties are respecting
each other enough to say yes we know
that broad story up to 29 let’s not go
there this is 290 right so they’re
serious about this the second point is
now in argument number n comes up which
is derived from these a priori
assumptions right you had a certain set
of assumptions and now the new argument
is on the table let’s say I have said
this based on this that’s the structure
of the argument which opens up the
counter argument at this stage the
counter argument can be accepted not
accepted it could be verifiably true
very badly false in our number of ways
to intelligent people or multiple
intelligent people will analyze it and
eventually one will say yes you were
right I was wrong
now this to me is is in some ways it’s
the is the greatest level the human mind
has gone
and which is why I said that it’s the
thing I enjoy most because this is the
way the hot progresses this is the way
what sets us apart from everything else
living is our mind is put to work and
and this structure this constant
exercise is what I thought was my
Universal common thing which I would
like to share from whatever else I have
done I just move on a little bit but now
there are many disincentive I mean not
now they probably have always been there
are in disincentives for can you see
this graph is it visible back
should I read can you see it sorry this
is a problem so yeah so if we think of
the disincentives for for the conceit
akin argument because not everyone will
will have the confidence of the self
esteem to say yeah I can see this one
someone like dr. Ambedkar doing get
putting it on record for people you know
60 70 years later like people like me
who have nothing better to do but eating
it oh yeah this is great
so but he has done it he’s put it out
there he considered an odd one okay so I
mean I just quickly this through the
other problem is that we label quality
of hash tag is important quality of
hashtag usually works in the opposite
direction of complexity so you know
there is that much disincentive to be
making an argument a strong argument
needs to be articulated quite well and
like we just saw just three minutes left
and this was a strong argument coming up
right so we will move on yeah
this this you know this green this what
sad thing this this is something I
wanted to talk to you about what’s going
on
you have arguments which the instead of
arguing we have forwards right I mean
there’s forward one this forward to
for what three cent from some cousin’s
husband who doesn’t just want India to
you know fight its enemies in its
neighborhood but once Indian army to
invade the world or something like that
and and and then I’m about to write and
my mother somewhere else in some other
city see sue Hodges typing she calls me
up says don’t fight it my family grow
they are all my relatives don’t argue
with my relatives and then and then when
you eventually can’t help it and you
make the point and then suddenly
pressing your anti-national I just to
get it I’m confused about this whole
thing but it’s happening it’s right here
right please let’s go on I’m more good
whatsapp jokes
you are sure right they’re easy jokes
but I can’t make them um even this last
American election was building from the
point of view of arguments like if you
take any five arguments made in that
campaign at random this whole
presentation is made like this one this
this this tweet this guy says yeah
gunner tom has been talking about voter
fraud and but cannon and everyone’s
criticizing him for it but can you prove
that there was no voter fraud that’s
that was so far out and it was far out
in itself but then this tweet from a 16
year old was retweeted by the north
President of the United States this is a
standard logical policy you cannot turn
an argument around and say hey prove the
negative very difficult do so so the
burden of proof should be on the person
making the claim but now we are in a
situation where you can make the claim
and not have to prove it should fight
that right can we go on this is too
complex to the skip there are a number
of logical fallacies in in this whole
game when you are making your arguments
it’s good to look up what are the
classic errors what about three well
people would know about it right what
about real is right you are saying
something I am saying something I am
saying that’s a logical and you say yeah
you’re criticizing me for being
illogical but you never say anything
about Salman Khan movies
cuz I’m all the time this is my point is
I don’t like that argument the point I’m
making is there was that one great
argument that these arguments and I am
totally online now so I could have when
I was thinking about this TED talk I
could have talked about beverages and
you know the great story small start-up
fighting fighting Pepsi so on and so
forth there are some great stories if
you’re interested at some stage it’s a
down proper I could have talked about
the inspiring stuff that I’m not trying
to do with rural health care and
technology and I would obviously like to
talk to some of you about it at some
stage but obviously today we don’t have
that time but it’s Ted what I thought is
that keep it reasonably simple yeah that
my play didn’t work out very well
between doctor MIT but but still it’s
still quite simple right what I’m saying
and the point is what I thought is I
leave you with a wish basically to have
a lot of arguments are you often are you
long but are you good by which I don’t
mean argue aside I just mean argue the
way you are to argue right be logical
about it and I’ve kept it on time you
can write to me my email id must
circulate now around teleport you can
very happy to respond you can reach out
to me on LinkedIn because obviously there are more things to talk about