Posts

Re visiting the foot prints

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April 2024 is a memorable month in my sabbatical. Not only did I have the privilege of reconnecting with numerous collaborators, friends, and colleagues across the East and West Coasts of the US, but I also dipped myself in nostalgia of revisiting locations that hold a special place in my heart. Baltimore On 5 th April, the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) of Johns Hopkins University (JHU) celebrated the 60 th anniversary. I arrived a day early to visit the Reza Shadmehr lab where I did my postdoc 22 years ago. I also made this an opportunity to visit the Thread initiative founded by my friend Sarah Hemminger, who was a PhD student at Shadmehr lab when I was a postdoc. Walking around the School of Medicine with Reza brought back so many memories about this amazing bastion of intellectual exploration. Reza came to the lab on a Saturday to show me some new experiments. His explanations on the blackboard transported me back to my postdoctoral days, bringing back fond me
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A formula to ignite youth tech start-ups in developing countries

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  I was invited to give a talk on “Trends in Robotics and AI – How Sri Lanka can prepare to ride the economic wave” to the senior policy staffers of the honourable members of the Sri Lankan parliament (225 MPs in Sri Lankan parliament). In the Youtube video below, I talked in Sinhalese but kept the slides in English as a compromise to make maximum impact. I am not sure how far my final recommendations would go, but I think any developing country can benefit from the formula I proposed. Here is the essence: Economic development cannot be spoon-fed. People should be challenged to stand on their own feet, and they should be rewarded for trying. Just like making origami, kirigami, and other crafts is a household habit in Japan, playing football is a street thing in Brazil, playing Cricket is part of life in Sri Lanka, any country who wants to be a leader in any field, it should be cultivated at a grassroots level. The next waves of AI and Robotics will be the same.  How do we make AI and R
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The art of forgiving and reconciling

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  As the year draws to a close, it's that wonderful time when families come together. We went to the airport to pick my daughter, Akina coming home from New York to spend the Christmas break. We went to the Heathrow airport on time, but she was late to come out because her airline somehow took two hours to locate the luggage of her entire flight due to some miscoordination in luggage collection. The waiting time was a good opportunity for me to have a chat with my 17 year old son, Seth about how things are going with him. He suddenly showed his phone, and asked if I knew a Buddhist monk who is quite popular in TikTok. I said yes because he shares short and useful quotes. I asked if Seth found those quotes useful. He said, mostly yes, but there are things that he cannot quite agree or understand. When asked for an example, he quoted a TikTok about forgiveness . I thought it was a great topic to discuss while waiting.   Seth has had some bad experiences wit
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Nature, mind, and body

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The other day I was going for a walk with my wife Visakha in Llanbedrog beach and hills in Wales. We saw a group of kids building a small pool in a stream by making their own anicut out of sand and rocks. They had such fun in their own natural pool. What is the price tag of that happiness brought without expensive "stuff"? When we grow older, however, we often find ourselves giving excuses to do regular workout, stretches, and to be with nature. We let go of our freedom in certain ways and confine ourselves indoors. Nature offers magical sensations to heal our minds, provides the space to reflect on things that bother us, and sometimes provides clues for ground-breaking ideas. We evolved in natural habitats. Therefore, a part of the "wisdom" that makes us happy and competitive is in natural woody areas themselves. I am 52 years old as of 2023. I practice karate as a sport regularly because it allows me to challenge my own mind and body. The at
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What to do when you fail?

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I am an academic and a founder of a precision agri startup , but I thought of taking a totally different experience to share some thoughts about bouncing back from failure. Since my childhood, I had a strong interest in martial arts and dabbled in various local forms without maintaining consistent effort. However, after relocating to the UK in 2009, I enrolled my son in a Karate dojo. It was then that I realized I should take this opportunity to try Karate myself. Soon, my passion for martial arts resurfaced, and I became a dedicated Karate student. Progressing quickly, I achieved my Shodan Black Belt in 2017. In 2020, I set a goal to attempt for the Second Dan Black Belt in Karate during the summer of 2022. This goal served as a motivating force to get back on track after the pandemic. With a 2-year runway, I began my journey, which included regular jogging in nearby Richmond Park, training 2 hours per week in the dojo under the guidance of an experienced teacher, and ultimately
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An appeal from all friends of Sri Lanka to come forward to prevent it from taking another wrong turn

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History repeatedly teaches us how seemingly benign political leaders turned dangerous autocrats by taking cover behind symbols of peace or legal frameworks set in place to protect human rights. Swastika was a symbol of peace in South Asia. Even this was used by Hitler to recruit people en masse to commit crimes against humanity. Martin Luther King said “remember, all what Hitler did was legal”, because he wrapped up repressive agendas in legal frameworks that appeared to be humane on the face. This presses upon the fact that legality does not equate to morality in the test of time.   Who might suspect that Sri Lankan government would abuse the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act to arrest media personnel who challenge the political status quo? Section 3(1) of the ICCPR Act of 2007 states that no individual should advocate national, racial, or religious hatred that incites discrimination, hostility, or violence. On the face of it this
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Being tough, being soft, being still

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  Wave after wave, the Ocean wrestles with a rock Revealing its shades under the setting sun The froth, the mist, and the cocktail of colours, never the same Oh, see how similar my own mind’s ocean is   Splashing on random encounters life presents The mind’s waves roll with no fatigue Look, the froth and the shades that never repeat Shining under the ever present, the unborn   Love, accomplishment, despair, joy, sorrow, and all other shades Rise like mist on the rocks, then fall and mix with the froth Recede, turn dark blue, then swing back, and turn something else What remains, what is mine, I do not know   Being tough, I wonder Is to be the rock, or the wrestling water? Or even to be the unborn that is aware? The best it appears to be the least tired among all  
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