In search of 'perpetual motion'!

Man has for long been fascinated about the idea of producing some thing from

nothing. Till this day, magicians enthrall audiences by producing all kinds of

things from their hats! It is something that strikes a popular cord somewhere.

Man's earlier attempts at creating a perpetual motion machine probably

stemmed from similar desires. But that was not to be. Science proved once and

for all that you could not produce anything in vacuum. Laws of mass and energy

balance prevailed.

But that has not prevented him from trying! So he tries to do the next best

thing–create as much as possible from as little as possible. (Actually, it is

just an illusion. But man is happy with that illusion) He thinks he is

succeeding because he only looks at one part of the picture. That his gain could

be someone else's loss does not really concern him.

The stock market is probably an extreme example of creating wealth from

practically no where (That is, if it happens and it happens to you! In fact the

stock market also reflects some of the other hidden feelings of man. That good

things will happen to you and bad things only happen to other!). In an upwardly

mobile market scenario, when even the worst of stocks move up, practically every

investor (or shall me say gambler) experiences wealth being created from

pittance. It is almost like the creation of a perpetual motion machine! No

wonder, the stock market has managed to remain as one of the favorite haunts in

man's life.

Studies show that the rise in population is higher among the uneducated poor

sections of society. Well, they may be poor, but that cannot prevent people from

having aspirations. They too would like to create something from nothing! And

these people have proved that exponential growth is definitely a possibility

here.

A not so evident manifestation of the perpetual motion machine syndrome is

man's fetish for miniaturization. He is ever trying to pack more in less.

Electronic circuits and chips are getting denser and smaller by the day. High

rise buildings pack more people per square foot of ground area! Tetra packs

store more material in lesser space.

Taking a cue, even over educationists are packing more syllabus in every

class and trying to push down as much study topics to lower classes as possible.

The child's brain is being tested to its limits. Case of creating more

information storage in the same little space! (May be those in the business of

storage Area Networks could learn a thing or two from here. After all even

falling apples have been known to inspire man!)

Talking of inspiration, our politicians have actually experienced how making

promises in vacuum works. It has opened the flood gates of public money to them.

Making money out of empty promises-well, that definitely is inspiring.

How I wish the Indian economy would also find some way of creating the

perpetual motion effect! It has been stuck on measly growth rates for so many

decades.

Can IT help! Well, it is trying to do its best, I guess. With the highest

growth rate among industries it is trying to pull the economy up. It also did

its share of creating something out of nothing. Remember the dotcom economy? So

many organizations, so much employment, so much of equipment sales. All out of a

mere idea!

Imagine, if fancy ideas could drive an entire industry into a state of near

perpetual motion, what ideas with substance could do? But for that the

individual with the idea should be capable of taking the idea forward on his

own. For he aloe can best visualize the significance of that idea. He alone has

thought through that idea and can foresee where it will take us.

The inventors of the early days were an enabled lot. A Newton made it on his

own. Probably in these days of applied research, that may not be possible, for

the level of investments and risks are much higher. Also, as it turns out, the

person with the idea may not have the resources and one with all the money may

not have the idea!

In the early days of Newton, one put his money where the month is. But in

today's scenario collaboration calls for trust–a healthy respect for the man

with a substantive idea and a genuine concern for the man who is willing to put

his money on someone else's idea.

A perpetual motion economy of sorts can still be created. But it definitely

cannot be created out of empty promises and a speculative mind. And it

definitely is not possible in an environment o mistrust. If only man learnt some

basic things–like 'goodness'. It just might set the wheel of perpetual motion

rolling. Are we willing to give it a try?

Sumit Sharma is VP, Microland and the author of the book titled "The

Corporate Circus.' The views expressed in this article are of the author and not

of Microland.