Prime Stream
thescian | April 7, 2008Bloody hell! Pseudo-scientific nonsense at a school near you. More at Bad Science. It seems the well-meaning but scientifically-challenged people would go to great lengths to mess-up our children's brains.
thescian | April 2, 2008First, this beebs report on why coffee is your partner in health, your muse and your burden (financially, if you're the coffee-to-go kinda person).
Coffee may cut the risk of dementia by blocking the damage cholesterol can inflict on the body, research suggests.
The drink has already been linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer's Disease, and a study by a US team for the Journal of Neuroinflammation may explain why.
Caffeine: A User's Guide to Getting Optimally Wired by Chris is a must read if you are coffee fan like me.
I have an elaborate coffee routine that starts every morning with picking…
thescian | April 2, 2008This type of brain drain happens when physicists get carried away by the ingenuity of their own brains. Lawrence Krauss is reminded of Thomas Aquinas' supposed theological argument about dancing angels (and their poop in the heavens). Read his column String theory's latest folly in New Scientist.
A quick search brought up this post at Cosmic Variance.
Not Even Wrong has a note.
thescian | March 26, 2008Former NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik writes in Economic Times:
...cost-efficient technologies that fit the socio-cultural milieu are yet awaited.
These examples point to a pressing need and an exciting challenge, representing a unique three dimensional convergence of technological capability, economic opportunity and societal need. The time is now ripe for this convergence: the growth of India's technology base has resulted in far greater capability to meet the needs. At the same time, economic growth -- though skewed and iniquitous -- has created an economically attractive market in rural…
thescian | March 20, 2008Was a poet ever kept in house arrest?
Taslima Nasreen
Was a poet ever kept in house arrest?
May be she has been a subject of politicking
True she caused clashes once in a while
May be an arson, too.
But no, a poet was never taken to safe custody.
This India, this civilization, this 21st century
They all had welcomed the poet
Ignoring its childish religionism, its merciless politics.
But today, the poet languishes in house arrest.
She has done no offense.
Having been deprived of the view of the sky
No longer she can tell how does the sky look like;
Deprived of the sight of men, no longer can…
thescian | March 19, 2008Arthur C Clarke is no more. What a life he has lived! Like the many millions who have read him, I was inspired by his visions of future in my young years.
If you have not read him, I recommend the novel that I devoured many times in my early years: The City and the Stars.
thescian | March 17, 2008Boston Dynamics' DARPA funded robot. Watch how it regains balance after being kicked and on slippery ice patches. Stunning! Via Gizmodo
thescian | March 17, 2008Tata's are paving the way for WiMax networks in India (WiMax is an alternative to cable and DSL. See). Like the televison and mobile phone networks, India is poised to leapfrog over old technologies and land right into the future of high speed wireless networks. It is fantastic. India's developmental model is unique. While we get WiMax, we also get temples and prayers.
It's a shrewd business move by the Tatas. In India, religion sells. That aside, it is interesting to note that religion may once again prove to be a developmental tool. I say 'once again' because there are precedents.…
thescian | March 14, 2008It's Pi day, everyone. Go do something irrational. If a circle doesn't bother to make sense, why should we.
Sciencebloggers on PI. An old post by yours truly on the distribution of digits in PI.
thescian | March 14, 2008 Checkout the In Our Time discussion about Ada Lovelace, the enchantress of numbers who envisioned the advent of modern computers. What a cool woman!
thescian | March 12, 2008Religion and Reason are sitting on a bench facing an ocean. What a pretty sight! They both acknowledge human fallibility, acknowledge each other and share a laugh. After a bit of chat about the weather, affairs of mutual interest, culture, ethics, society, daughter's marriage, etc, they fall silent. In a short while, one of them turns to look at the vast ocean in front, then bends down and picks up a pebble to examine it. The other turns back to look at the world, jumps up and picks a fight with a passing stranger.
Of course, not all people of faith pick fights with strangers and not all…
thescian | March 12, 2008Writer Shoba Narayan was born in India and came to the U.S. as a student. She settled down in the U.S., became a citizen, wrote for publications such as Time, Newsweek, Gourmet, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and authored a book, while her husband Ram had a successful career on Wall Street. After 20 years in the U.S., the family moved back to India in 2005. This is their story.
A honest account of every immigrant's dream. It is an illuminating read. I was mildly surprised when I read that she took her daughter to a Temple although she herself is an agnostic.
I wasn't…
thescian | March 11, 2008It's not very far off. From MIT TR:
Scientists can accurately predict which of a thousand pictures a person is looking at by analyzing brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The approach should shed light on how the brain processes visual information, and it might one day be used to reconstruct dreams
thescian | March 11, 2008The letter below is from Perfectly Reasonabe Deviations From The Beaten Track, a book of letters of Richard Feynman. It is one of the most moving letters that I have read. Tomonaga mentioned below shared the 1965 Nobel prize for physics along with Feynman and Schwinger.
A former student, who was also once a student of Tomonaga's, wrote to extend his congratulations. Feynman responded, asking Mr. Mano what he was now doing. The response: "studying the Coherence theory with some applications to the propagation of electromagnetic waves through turbulent atmosphere... a humble and down-to-earth…
thescian | March 10, 2008
Of course you do! You are such a good soul! Head over to TheScian.com. It's a two-part translation of the English essay 'Leaping into the void'. I had a long post in mind on how this is an attempt to start a discussion on science with my extended family back home in Namakkal, how language shapes culture and provides a vessel to hold those momentous thoughts, etc. But, there was a bit of trouble at scienceblogs.com today. Software glitches. We weren't able to post anything all day. All those exuberant words of self-praise have evaporated from my brain into thin air.
I don't know how many…
thescian | March 10, 2008I was checking who has linked to my blog (using technorati, which has recently improved from worse to bad). There were the usual link farmers growing penis pills and such, but one cowboy website stood out for its brazen display of daring and contempt for reason and sanity. It was a silly website peddling things like 'Crystals', 'Coils' and 'Monay Magnets'. They seemed to have decided that they must woo customers with the latest news on astrology and what-not. So, they have diligently setup a page which displays 'astrology' news (probably, a RSS feed grabber that takes in posts from all over…
thescian | March 7, 2008 From Economic Times:
The Kerala method of delineation of horoscopes using 'cowries' (sea shells) is highly valued for its accuracy, according to astrologers from India and abroad.
Well-known astrologer Kailasnath from Parappanangadi near Kozhikode said that no time of birth or place of birth is required for doing the predictions.
...
Kailasnath, who describes himself as a student of astrology since 24 years, says the workshop is an effort to teach delegates the unique aspects of the state's rich astrological wisdom, particularly 'prasnam vekkal' (suggesting causes of certain events and…
thescian | March 5, 2008One of the India's eminent female scientists Indira Nath is to be named World's top women scientists by UNESCO. From Telegraph
In her role as Director of the LEPRA - Blue Peter Research Centre in Hyderabad (built with money raised through an appeal on the BBC children's programme) she works at the fore of India's fight against leprosy.
Of the numerous people who may contract the leprosy bacillus, not all of them develop the same form of the disease. Among those who develop lepromatous leprosy, its most serious form, Professor Nath identified a deficiency in the immune response system that…