As some people question based on inadequate understanding &…

As some people question based on inadequate understanding & stereotypes, I'll write a longer blog explaining it later. Now, 🧵to explain briefly. Key to understanding is that science as we know it is a SUBSET of REASON... they are not one & the same. 1/n

I will do Pitru Tarpanam today as it is Amavasya Tithi. That sits perfectly well with the scientific temper I gained from studying at @IITKanpur @IIM_Calcutta @UChicago. Our rishis created these processes with deep understanding; they are NOT superstition for those who understand https://t.co/6g6hcvzKFT
— Prof. K V Subramanian (@SubramanianKri) August 27, 2022

A parallel using statistics to explain: Consider a simple regression (w/ figure below) y=b0+b1*x+e, x is a variable explaining outcome y while e is "unexplained part of variation in y", often incorrectly called "error term". 2/n

Key point #1: JUST BCOS ONE CAN'T EXPLAIN THE "e" IN THE REGRESSION DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT DOESN'T EXIST. Does recognizing that "e" is unexplained part of y, but it does exist, imply superstition? No!! Read on as I connect this to life, scientific temper & Vedic rituals. 3/n

What's essence of "science as we know it"? Replicability! Scientific experiments must be replicable. Can you replicate what you can't measure? No! So, replicability needs measurement, which needs observation using 1 or more of 5 senses, which is the "explained part" x below 4/n

Key point #2: "x" IN A REGRESSION CORRESPONDS IN LIFE TO WHAT CAN BE OBSERVED USING ONE OR MORE OF THE FIVE SENSES. 5/n

Now combine Key points #1 & #2. What can be observed/perceived using 1 or more of the five senses is not the ONLY part of what exists life. Or, just bcos you can't observe/perceive something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. 6/n

Our Rishis had the phenomenal understanding that limiting our life experience to only what is observed/perceived using the 5 senses is v limiting. The REASON behind many Vedic rituals got lost over time. We threw away the banana & kept the banana peel, which is slippery. 7/n

As the Rishis left this wealth of knowledge in our Vedic literature, those who have made the effort to read & understand this literature have experienced the pleasure & benefits of eating the banana instead of only seeing the banana peel. 8/n

Understand as follows: If one gets a better understanding that y can be explained better using one more variable z that is a "proxy" for something unobserved/unexplained (apart from observed x), the R-squared (=part of y that is explained) goes up. 9/n

Another parallel using Linear Algebra: Think of "perceiving" an n-dimensional object using a space of only m (m

If I project a 3-d object on the floor I see an image. If I project it on the wall, I see a different projection/image. Just bcos I'm limited by the 2 dimensions of wall or floor, does the 3-d object not exist? Is recognizing the limitations of perception "superstition"? 11/n

Using this 3-d example, now return back to the n-dimension object & m

Finally, read this speech by none other than Swami Vivekananda, where he explains many of the deeper concepts that our Rishis understood v well. A framework where why u r born where u r born is taken as a lottery is no framework whatsoever. 13/n https://t.co/Ccr4QOWqx6

If where u r born (to what kind of parents), which determines sooo much of life's outcomes, is thought to be a LOTTERY, is that even a framework??? It is not as "Anything goes" is not much of a theory!!! Vedic literature doesn't have "Anything goes" as the framework of life! 14/n

If one falls prey to stereotypes, one can neither recognize nor appreciate deep concepts. THINK using this thread, which is what our Upanishads exhort a human being to do. End of 🧵 n/n

As some people question based on inadequate understanding & stereotypes, I'll write a longer blog explaining it later. Now, 🧵to explain briefly. Key to understanding is that science as we know it is a SUBSET of REASON... they are not one & the same. 1/n

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