The View – Tower West – August 2021
Fiction or Fact, which is it? - by Raj S. Rangarajan
How much of what we read should we believe? How much of what we read is really true? Is there empirical evidence or factual confirmation that what we read is true? How do we know if something is fake?
These are some of the questions rational readers should be ask-ing these days, specially because of the amount of misinfor-mation, disinformation and mal-information being propagated in social media and in the guise of “news.”
In some parts of the world, unchecked data are being spread in the name of Covid-19. They are seen particularly now in view of the Covid-19 Delta variant and the recently-named Lambda Covid-19 variant. All this tends to disturb one’s sense of well-being.
According to the Council of Europe’s Information Disorder Report and further elaborated on by management consultant, Mike Kujawski (Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing), Mis-information is information that is false, but not necessarily created to harm, such as someone mistakenly posting material out of date. Dis-information is information that is patently false and deliberately created to harm a person, a group, or say, a business. Mal-information could be information based on nuanced reality intended to create harm or hatred often seen in political or agenda-driven scenarios domestically or internationally.
Al Tompkins, Senior broadcast journalist at Mediawise, a nonprofit, digital initiative, teaches us how to sort out fact from fiction. “Always ask: Who’s behind the information?, Why are they telling me this?, Who paid for this?”
Unfortunately, we are inundated with sites that revel in misleading us. As unwitting members of the digital community, it is imperative that we ferret out fact from fiction, check what is trustworthy and what is not. Alex Mahadevan, senior multimedia reporter at Mediawise, cautions: “the pitfalls of sharing misinformation could be detrimental if one is not watchful”.
Be skeptical, but don’t be cynical
With social media such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, TikTok and others becoming primary vehicles of communication for many, we have to be particularly aware. We should be concerned about what is uploaded and disseminated
While some of the forwards from YouTube or WhatsApp are perhaps humorous, we’ve to be alert and not let down our guard. We hear of folks signing up for websites without realizing that they have been duped. Often, there is no recourse!
At times, someone in the family or perhaps a friend alerts you to a juicy story on the daily news or on social media. The item appears so believable, but is it true? How many of us really have the time, the inclination or the resources to investigate a story?
Some indulge in the vicarious pleasure of being the first to inform others – of an outrageous rumor or a story; but without confirming that it is a reliable source, thus unconsciously spreading dubious information or images or gossip that is untrue.
It is a given that today school kids and teens are savvier than seniors. It is normal these days for younger folk to help out technologically. Whether we have adults and kids in the same household or not, we have to be particularly vigilant because of the incredible amount of bizarre and wild stories that populate our airwaves.
It behooves us to examine if a particular news item is true. We also bear the added responsibility and perhaps even an obligation to ensure that wrong information is not passed on to the gullible.
Hence some cautionary notes: Investigate the source of the information: Why was it being sent? Do you know the sender? Even if a friend or a relative or a friend’s friend, be alert! One never knows. Better to be safe than sorry!
In the U.S., we now have a whole bunch of fact-checking sites that are exclusively devoted to debunking false information. Here are some resources for ready reference: https://www.poynter.org; https://www.politifact.com; https:// www.snopes.com; https://spotfakenews.info.
Among the inaugurals were awesome SUV’s, sedans and trucks from well-known brands. Not to be outdone was a cute i-Road Toyota 2-seater 3-wheeler that is ideal for a romantic neighborhood romp or for a pleasant downtown dinner or even for the mundane, but necessary trip to the grocery.
We are all familiar with Lexus SUV or the BMW SUV or, for that matter the Lincoln or the Honda sport utility vehicle. With the American Independence Day weekend in the U.S. you should be seeing the 8-speed Levante SUV from the prestigious and distinctive Maserati stable. Aggressive looking, the front introduces tapered headlights with upper headlight unit connected to the radiator grille. 
Also seen in your neighborhood will be the first SUV from Jaguar, the F-Pace – a British import that offers a choice of 340- or 380-hp supercharged 3-liter V6 mated to an 8-speed transmission. Another England-crafted Bentley, imminently available is the Bentayga, powered with a twin-turbocharged W12 engine with a top speed of 187 mpg.
In the luxury 
It is fair to say that in spite of a sputtering economy, the car lover’s intoxication with speed, luxury, hi-tech gadgetry it seems a cinch almost always to equip oneself with new wheels. Add to that the average North American’s zest for attending a car show such as the New York International Auto Show, and one could be certain that
Raj S. Rangarajan *
Directed by Matthew Brown and shot in South India, where Ramanujan grew up and in Cambridge, U.K. where the twenty-plus clerk from the Madras Port Trust, propounded his theses, the bio-pic is a feel-good film. More so, if you are of South Asian (read Indian) origin.
The family setting in Kumbakonam was fairly authentic with Janaki (Devika Bhise – Queensbee) playing a subdued role, overseen by a domineering mother-in-law (Arundhati Nag, actor, director), clad in a nine-yard sari – normally draped by traditional Iyengar women. As a doting mother to Ramanujan, Komalatammal felt, her son needed all the concentration and meaningful time at Trinity College to complete his work. She hid Janaki’s letters to her husband: letters that had to be mailed to Cambridge. With no communications from Ramanujan ever, young Janaki decides to go back to her parents. There is no empathy from the mother-in-law.
In the film that emphasizes intellect, cinematographer Larry Smith has captured its essence admirably while accentuating that period’s sartorial costumes in England and in South India. Luciana Arrighi, who won an Oscar for Best Art Director in film Howards End) and costume designer Ann Maskrey (Dangerous Liaisons) have done ample justice to their craft. 
Hardy, has said in “A Mathematician’s Apology,” published in 1940, “I remember once going to see him when he was lying ill at Putney. I had ridden in taxi cab number 1729”. But the film version shows Hardy bidding goodbye to Ramanujan at the pier as the newly-minted F.R.S. leaves for India. Looking at the cab, Hardy says: “The number seemed to me rather a dull one, and that I hoped it was not an unfavorable omen.” Responded Ramanujan, "Actually, it is a very interesting number; it is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways."