Sunday, December 28, 2008

My First Successful Radio Controlled Airplane Flight

Last few days I have been practicing flying on my new RC airplane, Multiplex Easy Cub. It is a great beginner's plane and anybody interested in more details about this model may find further information here.
The few flights have been really exciting and as an Aerospace engineer, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Below is a video of my third flight.


The take-off and climb were smooth. The Easy Cub has a large wing area which enables it to fly at slow speed. Therefore, there was enough time for me during the loiter to adjust to the controls and the flight characteristics of the airplane. During the landing, however, I forgot to flare the airplane. This resulted in a rough landing. Due to the very compliant nature of the landing gear, this impact load was not transmitted to the fuselage; it was rather absorbed and later released resulting in a bounce !

I will suggest RC flying to anybody pursuing aerospace engg. One can clearly see the various concepts and fundaes that are taught in class at work. The experience will help appreciate Aerospace Engg. and foster interest in the subject.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Forms of market organization and the theory of evolution

Today on my way back to the lab, I was hit by a cool idea:

There seems to be a strong link between the acceptance of a market system and the theory of evolution.

That is, in a capitalist society, an individual is allowed to hold private property and pursue wealth. It is clear that more the wealth, the more successful one is in successfully raising his children and, to a certain extent, help his relatives, all of who share his genes. More importantly it significantly increases the chances of the individual's own survival. Therefore, an individual will possess a strong instinct to accumulate wealth and to also retain it.
If the 'excess' wealth he possesses is taken away by the state who may give it to the needy, the individual's survival instinct might see this move threatening. Also, the person who may be awarded this 'excess' wealth may not be related at all to the individual.
However, a poor individual in the society might benefit from such a move in the sense that his own chances of survival and his children's are improved by the state grant. So the poor and the lazy may favor a more socialistic or communistic form of market ! Of course, this inclination that has been suggested is not deliberate but rather instinctive.

So if we conveniently (!) neglect the other aspects that influence human action, like education say, then the above arguments suggest that the form of the market arrangement would depend on (a) the ratio of the wealthy to the poor (b) the cost/ease of protecting one's wealth from being robbed, confiscated by society/ government, etc.

Can this hypothesis be tested by considering animal behavior or ancient civilizations of humans?