Showing posts with label Random Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random Thoughts. Show all posts
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Idea Of Flight
If there is one area where evolution has shown an outstanding leap forward it is in the concept of flight. There is enough to ponder about how and why did terrestrial beings first felt the need to fly. Was the craving as simple as that of man, who tried all sorts of contraptions through the ages to be able to soar in the sky? Evidently their wish was far greater than what human beings have had in their relatively short existence. I am sure the need for flight was just absolutely essential for the very survival of the beings that first started hopping towards the sky.
Humankind has felt that need too, albeit for reasons far removed from survival. It is said that the tipping point in the design of first successful fixed wing aircraft was the slight curve on the top part of the airplane wings which made lift possible. Bernoulli's principle which governs this law of physics was written a century before it resulted in, arguably its best application, an airplane.
This post is inspired by the documentary film I just saw - Jacques Perrin's Winged Migration. If it ever crosses your mind to really feel what birds see during flight then this film will probably bring you closest to that vision. I quote from the DVD cover -
"..Witness as five film crews follow a rich variety of bird migrations through 40 countries and each of the seven continents. With teams totalling more than 450 people, 17 pilots and 14 cinematographers used planes, gliders, helicopters and balloons to fly alongside, above, below and in front of their subjects. The result is a film of staggering beauty..."
I tend to agree with the judgment passed in the last line above. The film really has some breathtaking photography of the actual flight of migratory birds. The close-ups are so vivid in motion that initially I thought that one of the birds in each group was carrying a camera attached to its body. As it turns out that is not the case and gliders were used. If you are very accustomed to documentaries on National Geographic or Discovery Channel this film would seem to lack in certain respects. On both of those TV channels, a documentary, whether it features birds, animals or insects, almost always has a very descriptive narrative throughout. That is not the case for Winged Migration; and I do not hold that against the film. I feel that this film, in several respects, is part of a different genre of nature-documentary films. Human intervention has been left to the very bare minimum and the viewer is left to spin his own story around the visual. Occasionally a narrative is used, but at most times only the name of the bird is provided in a subtitle. The sound, though, is different from the visual aspect. The intrusion of music is clear and very well defined. The choice of music too fits well with the sensibilities of the subject matter (and the particular scene). The end result is that the viewer feels he is actually on a migratory flight alongside these dozens of different migratory birds.
Trivia - Check the fascinating Arctic Tern which flies some 12,500 miles twice each year, from the Arctic to Antarctic! Some life, huh?
Humankind has felt that need too, albeit for reasons far removed from survival. It is said that the tipping point in the design of first successful fixed wing aircraft was the slight curve on the top part of the airplane wings which made lift possible. Bernoulli's principle which governs this law of physics was written a century before it resulted in, arguably its best application, an airplane.
This post is inspired by the documentary film I just saw - Jacques Perrin's Winged Migration. If it ever crosses your mind to really feel what birds see during flight then this film will probably bring you closest to that vision. I quote from the DVD cover -
"..Witness as five film crews follow a rich variety of bird migrations through 40 countries and each of the seven continents. With teams totalling more than 450 people, 17 pilots and 14 cinematographers used planes, gliders, helicopters and balloons to fly alongside, above, below and in front of their subjects. The result is a film of staggering beauty..."
I tend to agree with the judgment passed in the last line above. The film really has some breathtaking photography of the actual flight of migratory birds. The close-ups are so vivid in motion that initially I thought that one of the birds in each group was carrying a camera attached to its body. As it turns out that is not the case and gliders were used. If you are very accustomed to documentaries on National Geographic or Discovery Channel this film would seem to lack in certain respects. On both of those TV channels, a documentary, whether it features birds, animals or insects, almost always has a very descriptive narrative throughout. That is not the case for Winged Migration; and I do not hold that against the film. I feel that this film, in several respects, is part of a different genre of nature-documentary films. Human intervention has been left to the very bare minimum and the viewer is left to spin his own story around the visual. Occasionally a narrative is used, but at most times only the name of the bird is provided in a subtitle. The sound, though, is different from the visual aspect. The intrusion of music is clear and very well defined. The choice of music too fits well with the sensibilities of the subject matter (and the particular scene). The end result is that the viewer feels he is actually on a migratory flight alongside these dozens of different migratory birds.
Trivia - Check the fascinating Arctic Tern which flies some 12,500 miles twice each year, from the Arctic to Antarctic! Some life, huh?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Everyone Is Going Somewhere
There is an increasing agreement within the global scientific community that human beings (Homo Sapiens) originated in Africa and then spread out to the rest of the world in two or more distinct exoduses. Genetics has played a major role in confirming this idea (which really has been around since Darwin). Dr Spencer Wells is an American geneticist and anthropologist who has written a book titled Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey. National Geographic, in 2003, made the book into a documentary, which I recently watched. To me, the film was like cherry topping on a chocolate cake, since I just finished reading Jared Diamond's Guns Germs And Steel: The Fate Of Human Societies.
If we assume that this community of geneticists, paleontologists, evolutionary biologists and archaeologists is indeed correct then our history appears to be a rather short one (of about 60,000 years or 2000 generations) since the time we left Africa. With the rapid pace of technological innovation which is now underway it should not be long before we colonize the rest of the galaxy (or galaxies). Here we come.
To learn more about this incredible journey of humankind check this link.
If we assume that this community of geneticists, paleontologists, evolutionary biologists and archaeologists is indeed correct then our history appears to be a rather short one (of about 60,000 years or 2000 generations) since the time we left Africa. With the rapid pace of technological innovation which is now underway it should not be long before we colonize the rest of the galaxy (or galaxies). Here we come.
To learn more about this incredible journey of humankind check this link.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Teen Repeller
There has been an outcry by civil liberties groups across the developed world after a $1500 device called Mosquito was installed in a number of places to repel young adults and teens. The device emits irritating sound and thus drives away loiters (and or harmless bystanders) aged between twelve and twenty-something. The sound cannot be heard by either younger children or older people.
Read more about it here.
To find if your ear is sensitive to the sound, you may download an mp3 here and listen to it.
In a not-so-interesting way I learn that my ears are still sensitive (as I could hear the screech) - Phew!
Read more about it here.
To find if your ear is sensitive to the sound, you may download an mp3 here and listen to it.
In a not-so-interesting way I learn that my ears are still sensitive (as I could hear the screech) - Phew!
Friday, August 03, 2007
Two Newspaper Articles
Today's NYTimes carries an article titled "For Young Earners in Big City, Gap Shifts in Women's Favor" by Sam Roberts. To quote
"The analysis was prepared by Andrew A. Beveridge, a demographer at Queens College, who first reported his findings in Gotham Gazette, published online by the Citizens Union Foundation. It shows that women of all educational levels from 21 to 30 living in New York City and working full time made 117 percent of men's wages, and even more in Dallas, 120 percent. Nationwide, that group of women made much less: 89 percent of the average full time pay for men"
Another interesting article from the same newspaper - titled "Within Discredited Stem Cell Research, a True Scientific First". Its about the Korean scientist Dr Hwang Woo Suk who "was found to have fabricated much of his work. But according to a new post-mortem of his research, he did achieve a scientific first, though not the one he claimed.
..His embryonic stem cells were the product of parthenogenesis, or virgin birth, meaning they were derived from an unfertilized egg.
..Other researchers have since developed embryonic stem cells from parthenogenetic eggs, but Dr, Hwang's team would have been the first to do so had its members recognized what they have done.
..Although some creatures can reproduce by parthenogenesis, virgin birth would be a miracle in humans.."
Is it only me who sees a connection here?
"The analysis was prepared by Andrew A. Beveridge, a demographer at Queens College, who first reported his findings in Gotham Gazette, published online by the Citizens Union Foundation. It shows that women of all educational levels from 21 to 30 living in New York City and working full time made 117 percent of men's wages, and even more in Dallas, 120 percent. Nationwide, that group of women made much less: 89 percent of the average full time pay for men"
Another interesting article from the same newspaper - titled "Within Discredited Stem Cell Research, a True Scientific First". Its about the Korean scientist Dr Hwang Woo Suk who "was found to have fabricated much of his work. But according to a new post-mortem of his research, he did achieve a scientific first, though not the one he claimed.
..His embryonic stem cells were the product of parthenogenesis, or virgin birth, meaning they were derived from an unfertilized egg.
..Other researchers have since developed embryonic stem cells from parthenogenetic eggs, but Dr, Hwang's team would have been the first to do so had its members recognized what they have done.
..Although some creatures can reproduce by parthenogenesis, virgin birth would be a miracle in humans.."
Is it only me who sees a connection here?
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Work Less Live More!
I just chanced upon this book titled "Work Less, Live More The New way to Retire Early" by Bob Clyatt, an alumni of MIT Sloan. I just perused through a few pages it sure does have a few interesting tag lines. Maybe one of my readers can pick it up and let us know more about it :)
It reminded me of the incredible lifestyle of Louise Hornor and Sean Welsh. See the link below
Our Odyssey
Now, this is what I call living life in your own terms. Fabulous!
It reminded me of the incredible lifestyle of Louise Hornor and Sean Welsh. See the link below
Our Odyssey
Now, this is what I call living life in your own terms. Fabulous!
Friday, July 20, 2007
A Partnership of Minds
I am impressed with the article carrying the same title as this post and written by David Brooks in today's New York Times. I quote
"...It emphasizes how profoundly we are shaped by relationships with others, but it's not one of those stifling, collectivist theories that puts the community above the individual.
It exposes the errors of those Ayn Rand individualists who think that success is something they achieve through their own genius and will-power.
It exposes the fallacy of New Age narcissists who believe they can find their true, authentic self by burrowing down into their inner being. There is no self that exists before society.
It explains why it's so hard to tackle concentrated poverty. Human beings are permeable. The habits that are common in underclass areas get inside the brains of those who grow up there and undermine long-range thinking and social trust.
It illuminates the dangers of believing that there is a universal hunger for liberty. That universal hunger may exist in the abstract, but we're embedded creatures and the way specific individuals perceive liberty depends on the context.
It lampoons political zealotry. You may be a flaming liberal in New York, but its likely you'd be a flaming conservative if you grew up in Wyoming."
And further
"..In the information age, it seems fitting that we'd see people bonded by communication. It's not exactly new to say that no man is an island. But Hofstadter is one of hundreds of scientists and scholars showing how interconnectedness actually works. What's being described is a vast web of information - some contained in genes, some in brain structure, some in the flow of dinner conversation - that joins us to our ancestors and reminds the living of the presence of the dead."
"...It emphasizes how profoundly we are shaped by relationships with others, but it's not one of those stifling, collectivist theories that puts the community above the individual.
It exposes the errors of those Ayn Rand individualists who think that success is something they achieve through their own genius and will-power.
It exposes the fallacy of New Age narcissists who believe they can find their true, authentic self by burrowing down into their inner being. There is no self that exists before society.
It explains why it's so hard to tackle concentrated poverty. Human beings are permeable. The habits that are common in underclass areas get inside the brains of those who grow up there and undermine long-range thinking and social trust.
It illuminates the dangers of believing that there is a universal hunger for liberty. That universal hunger may exist in the abstract, but we're embedded creatures and the way specific individuals perceive liberty depends on the context.
It lampoons political zealotry. You may be a flaming liberal in New York, but its likely you'd be a flaming conservative if you grew up in Wyoming."
And further
"..In the information age, it seems fitting that we'd see people bonded by communication. It's not exactly new to say that no man is an island. But Hofstadter is one of hundreds of scientists and scholars showing how interconnectedness actually works. What's being described is a vast web of information - some contained in genes, some in brain structure, some in the flow of dinner conversation - that joins us to our ancestors and reminds the living of the presence of the dead."
Sunday, July 01, 2007
On Difficulties
Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.
Theodore N. Vail
Theodore N. Vail
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Another June afternoon
Its another afternoon like the one I wrote about earlier and I am sitting at home watching this movie Little Giants on HBO. Its about "a man who leads a group of misfits into competition against his brother's successful football team". My query in the earlier post is answered. Now I know why those kids give free car washes. Its to collect tips for their sports gear and stuff. Aha - my moment of Zen!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Atom Hear Mother, Relics(?), The Darkside of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, The Wall, Animals
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
On blogging
Why Blog? Well, why not? Once in a while all of us get that feeling that your head will just burst because so many ideas and thoughts are going through it. You need to yak yak about them with someone or want write them down. It so happens that there is no one to talk with today.
A few things about me - I am 28+ years old. I was born in South Asia and now live and work in New York City. I am single and love movies, books, traveling and food. Also I often dream of an Utopian world.
At most times I will write about movies that I watch. Occasionally, however, I will also scribble about the places I go to or the food that I eat.
The Golden Rule:
A few things about me - I am 28+ years old. I was born in South Asia and now live and work in New York City. I am single and love movies, books, traveling and food. Also I often dream of an Utopian world.
At most times I will write about movies that I watch. Occasionally, however, I will also scribble about the places I go to or the food that I eat.
The Golden Rule:
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