Aswath Weblog

Perspective with Humility

Just listened to an interview given by NEA’s Managing Partner Kittu Kolluri. There he says: "Success makes you look better than you really are; failure makes you look worse than you really are." I can use the quote as an excuse for myself, but for a person who is arguably a "success", it reveals that person's outlook. As Tamilians say, "Nirai kudam thathumbathu" (full pot does not slosh).

He also mentions a book "Fooled by Randomness". I have not heard of this book before. I am planning to read now. My telecom life itself is full of those events: a random encounter of a classmate got me into Bell Labs; a random utterance in a meeting gave me my first break there; accidental reading of Padlipsky's monograph formed my thinking on Internet. The list is too long, but of significance to one individual. Indeed many setbacks also seem to be random events, but considering them to be so may not be productive.

In any event listening to the interview gave an opportunity for some introspection.