Siddhartha Gauthama

  On seeing I had always wanted to be a scientist. I remember the primary school days, before the textbook of science underwent fission into a bagful of subjects. There was an introductory chapter: the scientific method. Going through it, "Keen observation" was a phrase that was imprinted on my mind. Now, with the experience of a few years in my practice of scientific method, I can definitely vouch for what was written in that book. Keen observation is the base on which hypotheses are built and also the crux of experimentation using which hypotheses are tested. As someone who wants to do their job well, keen observation is obviously something I would like to work on. As vision-predominant animals, more than quarter of whose brain is dedicated to processing visual information, keen observation to us is mostly seeing what is there to be seen. That, unfortunately, is way more challenging than it sounds.  What is challenging about it!? We do see things unless we conscious...

Story of the Pleistocene Park The Stage Our story is set in the uninhabited siberian lands near the northpole. We all know, the top most layer of earth that we call soil, is a mixture of organic (dead plants, fallen leaves etc) and inorganic matter (like sand and water). Near the poles of our earth, a thick layer of soil remains frozen through out the year, and thus, is called PERMAFROST. This permafrost contains tons and tons of organic matter (from plants and animals that lived and died before the soil is frozen)that remained frozen since thousands of years, waiting to be decomposed. As we all know (I hope) we have been heating our earth on carbon flame since about 150 years, and the Arctic tundra(which also includes our stage) is heating up twice as fast as the rest of the world. As a result, this PERMAFROST is now melting. As the permafrost melts, the organic matter that is locked up for all these years gets exposed to microbes. And when the microbes munch on these delicious dead b...

How to not solve a problem???? My dear readers, it is a shame that ever since our childhood, we are always taught, especially in those monstrous mathematics classes, how to solve a problem. But sooner or later we realize, that the real problem is to know, how to not solve a problem. You might be a politician who knows you can’t get rid of unemployment. You may be the head of a philanthropic organization who knows you can’t improve the environment. Or you might be a CEO who knows you can’t stop plundering your employees. Then arises the need for this most useful skill "how to not solve a problem". Sorry, sorry my bad. "How to keep solving a problem forever". First you gather all the involved parties and debate over the existence of problem. Once you realize that you can not deny the fact that there is a problem, you unwillingly admit to it. Only if you fail to delocalise the problem, you localise it. Now you try to forget the actual solution of the problem, as you kn...

I'm an optimist, in the face of reality I poke my eyes I'm an activist, I fight for the freedom of those who can't think for themselves I'm a humanist, I fight to mitigate the suffering of those ailed for eternity I'm a philanthropist, I strive for the good of the greatest evil I'm an innovator, I create things for those obsessed with destruction I'm a doctor, I save lives of those habitual killers I'm a seeker, I seek truth only to build a defence against it I'm an enlightened soul, my greatest wisdom being of it's lack in myself I'm an artist, I transcend the limitations of myself, only to be found in someone's perception. I'm a hamster on the wheel of life, running to feed my need for purpose.

"that is because you *see* Watson, but you don't *observe*." Sherlock Holmes' most famous line. You can see Dr. Arthur C Doyle speaking here, as he parallels the most cliched line in any medical college. "The eyes see only what the mind knows" a line injected into every medical student, more so, to a student of Pathology. Only when we know what to look for, do we search for it, and then find what has been staring at us all the while. While this is indeed true, not everything becomes clearer as we search. There are things that Sherlock Holmes, the expert observer, could not find. "Hence the cocaine. I cannot live without brain-work. What else is there to live for?"says Sherlock. In his opinion, solving crime is the only way of life worth living. While Sherlock was solving crimes in Baker street, Henry D Thoreau was doing nothing in concord, and was doing it well. He had a different opinion about seeing and finding things. "Will you be a reader,...

As I moved into the cave, I was surprised to see that it was already occupied. He looked strong and threatening, and gave me an anxious look. Certainly he was surprised at the intruder. A mixture of fear and anger is all I could make out on his hairy face. I was distracted by the strong stench that filled the cave. It was revolting. I met several people of my kind, but none of them had such a stench. They smelled like the forest, fresh and soothing. I rushed out of the cave for a breath of air. I tried to slow my pacing heart. The stench seemed to have an affect of fear as well. It started to get darker and darker. The falling snow reminded me of my mother. "Move into a cave, as soon as it starts to snow" her last words. Never understood why she was so persistent about the winter. The seventeen winters that I had been through were all short and relatively warm. Infact, I've never seen it snow before. But, this winter, they say, is going to be harsh and long. I gathered my...

PROGRESS It was a night of celebration. The full moon was shining bright on the still waters. The huge fire by the river bank was fuming with passion, holding serenity at bay. By the fire stood a huge pot, full of fuel. Fuel that burned inhibitions away. It was an invaluable brew made from the sweet potatoes gathered over the year. At the center of the group stood Manu, drinking heavily. Not because he had any inhibitions to get over, but because he had a girl to impress. She was dancing, going around the pyre, along with her sisters. She had a grace that always made her standout form the rest, and with the fire illuminating her feminine beauty, no wonder all the eyes were fixed on her. Manu had been trying to get her hand since a month, but Shiva, another suitor was his main competition. They had been rounding up each other for some time, and that night might be their last duel. Shiva was sitting near the bank gazing at full moon. Though not very popular among the gro...

Why? To a student of physiology, the purpose of most organs in a human body is self-evident. The complex machinery aimed at maintaining the homeostasis, the optimal internal environment. Optimal for survival. These organs have evolved over millions of years and are very committed to doing only one thing. Keeping the person alive. At any cost. Thus, it seems counter-intuitive, when a human, under the influence of few neurons in his cerebral cortex, decides to go against all his other organs; and kills himself. The product of millions of years of struggle. That which, the humans think, keeps them at the pinnacle. The human intelligence. How can it violate the primary purpose? Why then, do humans still house in their cranium, that, which can destroy them? The tiny neuronal threads. The tiny threads that can come together as a canvas depicting beautiful imagery. The tiny threads that can sound complex notes on the strings of a guitar. The tiny threads that can also wrap into a...

Parikrama I rang the bell and folded my hands into a namaste, trying to calm the excitement. Infront of me stood the idol of he who is said to be omnipresent. I was in a small temple at the foot of the hill, that around which millions walk every year. The stories of their journey made me look forward to this day, when I embark on it myself. The custom says one has to walk around the hill thrice, starting from this temple. After each parikrama, one has to offer his prayers to the god in the temple and prepare for his next. Though I had no experience of how it was going to be, I was confident that I could complete it, and that I would enjoy it. I started my first parikrama and soon the plane turned to an uphill. The steps carved into stone were marked by the wear and tear of travelers over the years. The cool breeze from the trees on either side of the path brought pleasantness to the mind. I took up a song and went on with it. I was surprised when I saw a deer, amazed at a pe...

Today when I woke up and came to the balcony, like all other Delhiites, I was welcomed by smog rather than sun. As I started to think what would clear the air, I realized that the main problem is, the smoke doesn’t affect our smart phones. Seriously!!!! Just imagine what would happen if our smart phones start to switch off, unable to function in the smoke. The government would panic “Why isn’t my WhatsApp propaganda penetrating???” Google and Facebook would go “WHERE IS MY DATA???” People would join in streets and revolt “I invested a lot on this phone, why isn’t this working?? It’s my right to have a working mobile.” It would be an enforced “No Nut November”. There would be no Instagram and people would not know what to do with food. Social media is gone, and people will not know what to do with their lives.   Data doctors (who will shortly be our doctors) would soon diagnose the disease. They will come up with a way to revive the phones, and just in case, th...

Caught between two random events, Moving amongst infinite possibilities, Quantifying things to give them a sense of importance, Probabilizing outcomes to give ourselves a sense of control, How powerless we are! How powerless we are! v