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I wish there were a few things in life which were not so complicated, for most part, the complication arises when people are involved. To make them quantifiable variables would be a step in the right direction. Perhaps then destiny would not be so hard to predict! and then maybe, maybe………..maybe
In a time in neuroscience where people are struggling to grasp the nature of consciousness and the like, I came across a recent report where researchers are now understanding the reasons for intelligence in Einstein’s brain. I am rather skeptical at this point about the study. Intelligence is a parameter that has no quantifiable measure. We make comparisions of intelligence based on our perceptions of people but then again it has no bearing on their intrinsic intelligence per se. Statisitics are helpful but the choice of the sample over which the relevant statistics are carried out is equally of great or if not greater importance.
In short the research is pointing towards a role for special cells called glial cells, that acts as an adhesive between neurons, in intelligence. The sample is the brain of Albert Einstein. The conclusion is that the number of glial cells in his brain outnumbers that in normal male brains. The choice of male brains is not a sexist move but in science one needs to make relevant comparisions. It is actually in the nature of such variables that I doubt the general applicability of the result. Moreover, I am surprised that number of glial cells is the key rather than the number of connections that each cell makes. I imagine that a larger network can compensate for number. I remember reading an article in the Scientific American a long time back that made a similair hypothesis. Here is an excerpt from the article:
“The recent book Driving Mr. Albert tells the true story of pathologist Thomas Harvey, who performed the autopsy of Albert Einstein in 1955. After finishing his task, Harvey irreverently took Einstein’s brain home, where he kept it floating in a plastic container for the next 40 years. From time to time Harvey doled out small brain slices to scientists and pseudoscientists around the world who probed the tissue for clues to Einstein’s genius. But when Harvey reached his 80s, he placed what was left of the brain in the trunk of his Buick Skylark and embarked on a road trip across the country to return it to Einstein’s granddaughter. One of the respected scientists who examined sections of the prized brain was Marian C. Diamond of the University of California at Berkeley. She found nothing unusual about the number or size of its neurons (nerve cells). But in the association cortex, responsible for high-level cognition, she did discover a surprisingly large number of non-neuronal cells known as glia–a much greater concentration than that found in the average Albert’s head”
- Douglas Fields, ” The Other Half of the Brain” , Sci. Am. (2004)
And for more on the recent report where the research was performed on Einstein’s brain, that seems to be the earmark for intelligence- Clue to Einstein’s genius
An interesting anecdote of another researcher’s findings: Why Einstein’s brain?
Recently the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign gave up its mascot of 86 years- Chief Illinweek. It was an issue that had been hotly debted on campus for two decades. It was a tie between the veil of tradition versus the underlying theme of mockery to an entire race. I’m glad the unversity gave up the symbol of the chief. Tradition is hidden under the dying tree of history. However, times change and so do people. Eighty years ago when the university instituted the symbol the minority probably had no voice and the symbol must have been something that was different in its overtones and appealed to the public. However, public is always a term that is associated with the majority. Any poll that you conduct would be biased by the votes of the majority. That stands as the bane of democracy and is a huge setback to the concept itself.
The same situation lead to an uproar some months ago in Europe over the cartoon issue of the Prophet. The paralells cannot be more striking. In the cartoon issue, a responsible press is the key and in the case of the mascot at the university the students were the key. I’m glad that people realized that it was time to give up the tradition of mockery. Sometimes we have to give up the old and make way for the new. Change is the order of the day. It sends out a strong message of the importance of the voice of the minority in our societies.
Unfortunatley in all these issues the blurs prevail. Many are indifferent to the variety of voices in the society and choose to ignore them since it doesnt affect their lives. In a world that is as diverse and as networked as hours, indifference hardly helps. I feel that to be an individual of any importance in the society, one has to be an individual sensitive to the needs of the society.
The past is an insignificant speck on the windows of the present.
It is not so surprising in recent times to see the war between creationism and science being waged at every street corner on the Internet. Scientists or people who ‘believe’ in science take a lot of pride in bunking any creationist argument.
Creationism is definitely something I don’t take comfort in. However as my advisor always says, belief is a bad word to use in science and to some extent it really boils down to the semantics of this word when people use it. So, one could as well think of science as a religion and people believing in it. It loses its credence at this point. I think a lot of people see science as being fashionable to rally behind the conclusions it makes.
The science of evolution is perhaps one of the most important questions that challenges this century of biology. Like any other field in science, it is plagued with its own problems. Evolution is not a matter of trivial chance. Complex systems cannot evolve or progress just as a result of freely floating molecules alone which all come together in a sudden burst, but builds on the interactions of multiple molecules. The way the scientific world projects evolution as being this sort of highly improbable event, at least when life first started out, is something which is a good deal of fodder for all creationists! There is no plausible and well tested theory. We like to think that sometime soon there will be one.
Anyone I think who supports the cause of evolution should have at least thought about it. What is evolution? What is the process by means of which it takes place? It didn’t strike me before but I realize how an over arching theory based on the general principles of fitness and natural selection could actually be an impediment to a deeper understanding of evolution. Again the society that supports evolution ‘believes’ these principles to be the answer to life, the universe and everything that we know.
The diversity of the world is something that is beyond our imagination. The diversity of the world we cannot see (microbial), more so. How are we going to explain all of this? How are we going to explain how certain societies of animals flourish?
I think to some extent language is a good start. It has evolved on the time scale of human civilisation and in general has several features that evolution has. This shared relationship is something I hope lends to a deeper picture of the biological world.
I’m glad I don’t work on evolution, as interesting as it is to think about it. Belief can sometimes be a bad thing.
It would be the last of the great snows for a long time to come. One foot is fairly a good deal of snow. However, its perhaps the closest that I will get to a desert! White sand. It rarely gets a literal as that! If you haven’t seen or played in a lot of snow, I can tell you the obvious- its cold. Its also quite fluffy and good fun to dunk people in. Frost bites are rather painful and have to be dealt with in ingenious ways. In a cold place, keep in mind, never get your socks wet. Unfortunately the paradox of spending prolonged periods of time in the snow with dry socks is quite a paradox. Such randomness in guidelines. Such randomness in thought. The memories seem to rush past with every passing moment. The present and the past have little distinction but depend on where I draw the line. The snow makes things rather blurry. I wonder what tomorrow holds. Thats the future? That one is clearly a whole new ball game!
This is what countries that are too comfortable start doing:
1) Get a huge vault that is made of the kind of steel that is used in armor tanks
2) Stick it in the middle of the mountain where it will be cold
3) Stuff it with a variety of grains most of which will remain intact for many decades
Why do all this?
When aliens decided that life on this planet has been around for long enough and zap us off the face of the earth the vault might be the gift we leave behind for posterity.
The total cost of this is: $ 5 million. It also necessitates a person who will continuously check on the food quality in that stupid metal barn.
Which country is this? – Norway
We have enough problems to deal with in the present but the Norwegian government takes this to a whole new level. (link)
Lalgudi Jayaraman
in particular his Thillanas
its a work of true genius
the incredibly articulate notes that float in manifold space
holding time still
for what I wish could be eternity
how is that for melodrama?
There is no denying it at all. L. Subramaniam is as fresh a musician as apples plucked off a tree, a lush green field, the blooming violet, or the thought of a falling star from a twinkling sky.
I also think he is made of some amorphous crystalline material. Definitely not something human.
It must be the saddest moment since the French Revolution. Even more sorrowful than the French almost ending up speaking German at the end of World War II. A moment of deep regret like no other.
Whenever i think of France, or Paris, I have the image of lean man, with a coat, wearing glasses, a wine glass that rests on the counter and his hand adorned with a cigarette. He looks up at the sky non chalantly while both cigarette and wine are consumed at a steady pace. It is a life that is immersed in art, culture and thought. Now, everything will stay untouched but the cigarette will be missing in the equation (link)
Such is life……….
