Humanity?!

Quite a topic isnt it?

The word brings a picture of kindness, passion and morality. But,is it really the case? There are a lot of work that indicates that if humans were to go extinct, then the world would not be affected at all. Infact, the other species would flourish better than ever before. Will humans ever go extinct? We have seen ‘n’ number of movies on killer viruses and natural catastrophes and alien invasion pushing the humans to the brink of extinction. But, somehow, the humans always manage to wriggle out of this tight spot and still continue to live. I had a chat with one of my friend’s about the same. Would a war make humans extinct? We agreed that humans are too lazy for that to happen

In this magnificiant age of technology, we have made some remarkable breakthroughs. We have stumbled upon some very powerful and fundamental laws of nature. Not only that, we have also discovered a way in which we can play around with these laws and “create”. Some dont see it as creating, they say its merely rearranging what already is there in nature. How powerful are these tools you might ask. Well, lets take the example of molecular biology, DNA synthesis in particular. Now, DNA is present in every cell and controls the cell. Its like heart and brain of the cell. You take it out, the cell is just a collection of chemicals.

Injecting DNA into the cell

Now, DNA is made of genes ( Segment of DNA that controls one particular function/trait). A collection of these genes is called a genome. Now, biologists are able to create the entire genome of a bacteria synthetically. Meaning, if you know the structure of the genome, you can create it in your lab. Not only that, they plugged this synthetic genome into a cell whose DNA had been taken out and guess what? The cell started functioning again. Further, you dont even need to have the same cell whose genome you  created! You can plugin the genome of a bacteria you created into a yeast and it will work. We have indeed progressed even more further where we have decoded the genes and have identified what functions they perform. Meaning, while synthesizing,if we want the cell to perfom any specific operation, then we just insert that gene into its genome! Imagine a bunch of microbes “programmed” to find and destroy cancerous cells. isn’t it such boon? Even more, you can have these microbes custom made for your own genome. Thats all fine. Now imagine the same microbes but this time programmed to destroy every living cell!!!

Its Intel Atom 1.86 GHz processor. It can do all the things that a computer can

Another example would be the supercomputing. As the chip design shrinks in size and its complexity increases exponentially, time is not far when a very small chip will be capable of performing very complex operations in real time. With the advent of technologies like DNA computing (Mainly used to find best possible solutions when millions of solutions are available), quantum computing and advancement in AI, it is estimated that the supercomputers will outgrow human brain. In other words, very small chips can be designed in the future, that are cleverer than humans. Now, combine this with artificial tissues developed from stem cells( Stem cell technology is where cells from your body are taken and using that they can grow an entire organ like retina or even kidney). Now, if you apply genetic modification to the stem cells and then grow an eye, then you can implement different type of power in it. Meaning, you can make that eye sensitive to IR rays just as normal rays. You can implant a small chip that detects sound directly to the nerves so that a deaf can hear. But, you can program this chip to do more than just listen to normal sound!!!! Variables are numerous!

After 1945’s infamous Atomic bomb explosion, it only took 7 years to develop the Hydrogen bomb (Thermo nuclear bomb) which was 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb. But, we are still struggling to convert that technology into a power resource. Constructive work is somehow much harder than the destructive work. So, care must be taken when using these technological advancements for the welfare of humans. One person’s flawed reasoning can bring the whole world down. So, as we give this world into the hands of these few people who are going to develop technologies that can either make or break the society, the need for ethics has become necessary more than ever. Lets hope people will feel that building stuff is much more necessary that destroying them

Education. What exactly is it?

This is something that everyone has discussed extensively. What ever I might say here may seem redundant and it might actually be true. But, the purpose of this blog was to give my opinion on anything that I am currently thinking. So, here it goes

The most common conclusion to this discussion is that we need to nurture the creativity and imagination of a student and allow it to grow properly and by its virtue alone that student will be successful in his life. Einstein once said, “Its a miracle that curiosity survives formal education”. And we tend to agree with him, not because he was a genius; we dont exactly need a genius to figure that out. So, everyone talks about this “creativity” and “imagination” a lot. But what exactly is it? I am pretty sure that not every kid is interested in art and drama. So, what is this creativity? Lets go ahead and call it as creative thinking. So, what does that mean? To give you an example, I can take you to my 5th standard mathematics class. We used to do the statement problems those days. The problem would be given in words and we should isolate and extract the numerical information and obtain the solution for the stated problem.

This was fairly easy job once you got hold of those numbers.  So, the major issue here was comprehension. My math teacher, for some unknown reason, had this thing where she asked us to write sentences from the problem that held the numerical information. And then from those written sentences obtain the numbers and do the subsequent math. Now you might ask, “Er… isnt it the way its done?”. Well here it is. The way you learn comprehension in English is way different than what is described above. Comprehension is based on the context and it is very essential. But, if we do it in pieces as we did while solving the problem, we lose that natural ability to comprehend on the go. Even now, I find it pretty difficult to solve a 5th standard statement problem in my head. Mind you they are very easy when compared to the differential equations. Point is, it made me weak in comprehension. English in my school was pretty much non-existent. So, by the time I entered college, I had become a slow reader and to this day have abysmal comprehending skills.

The above method of problem solving also squashes one’s imagination. Though I solved the problem in my head and wrote the answer, the steps used were demanded. Which meant, I had to follow their system of designed rules for problem solving. The rules are good, but they dont have enough elbow space. You cannot contain everyone in those rules since everyone is different. I agree these rules help, but even in my engineering math paper, if I am asked to show the steps of getting a solution to a quadratic equation in complete details, it just completely beats the purpose. That solution is so trivial when compared to the kind of derivation I am about to do, that it is a complete paradigm shift. To put it in other words, you lose the flow and the interest. This will not apply to everyone. I know. But, it will apply to a few people who think the same way I do. And, there are numerous other ways how one’s imagination gets shunted. If I use a scale to draw grass, why is it wrong? You dont mind when “great artists” spill paint on the canvas and display it in a gallery. If you can appreciate their coloured boxes, or the abstract paintings as they are called, then why question how I draw the grass? What ever we do, must inspire us. And if it inspires others too, then its just an added bonus! We must not be forced to create something that inspires OTHERS. Thats just silly. Maybe Mona Lisa inspired millions of people to take up painting, but it did not inspire me to do the same! Its all very subjective.

Let our own imagination inspire our creative thought process.

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Tag – By Shaivya

~~~LAST~~~

1. Beverage:  Tea, at home
2. Phone Call:  Mom
3. IM:  GTalk, the only one I use
4. Song listened:  The unnamed feeling – St. Anger, Metallica
5. Time you cried:  Around a month ago I think
6. Sms you received:  Google

~~~Have you ever~~~

1. Dated someone twice:  Yes
2. Been cheated on:  I dont understand this one!
3. Kissed someone and regretted it:  Yes
4. Lost someone special: Yes
5. Been depressed:  Yes

~~~Three favourite colours~~~

Red.
Black.
White.

~~~This Month Have you~~~

1. Made a new friend: Yes
2. Laughed untill you cried: Yes
3. Met someone who changed your life:  Nope. But came across some people online who did it. Does that count?
4. Found who your true friends were:  I know who they are.
5. Found out someone who was talking about you:  There is always someone
6. Kissed anyone on your friends list: Yes.. (This is annoying question)

~~~How many~~~

1. People on your friends list do you know in real life: Which friend’s list???!!!! Orkut – 10%, gmail – 90%
2. Kids do you wanna have: One probably
3. Pets you have:  None

~~~|~~~

1. Do you wanna change your name: Nope. Its good enough for me
2. What did you get on your last birthday: Lots of wishes
3. What were you doing at midnight last night: Debugging!! Honest response, make no assumptions
4. Name something you cannot wait for:  Nothing I can think of!
5. Last time you saw your father: Yesterday when he came back from office. I “saw” him morning in bed while I was leaving for college, does that count?!
6. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life:  I could think before I acted.
7. What are you listening to right now: Nothing else matters – Metallica, Metallica
8. Have you talked to a person named Tom: Yes. My senior, Graduated now.
9. Most visited webpage: Google – 50%, Google products – 30%, Rest are just random clicks from google search
10. What’s your real name: Anoop
11. Nicknames: Nick names
12. Status: www.diagrama.wordpress.com
13. Zodiac sign: Aries (I think)
14. Male or female: Male
15. Elementary:  Hubli
16. High School: Hubli
17. University: VTU – Belgaum (And if you meant college, then its BMSCE)
18. Hair colour: Black and White
19. Long or short: Short
20. Are you a health freak: Whats that?
21. Height: 5′ 11″
22. Do you have a crush on someone:  Nope
23. What do you like about yourself:  I love math! Maybe you wont understand this.
24. What don’t you like about yourself: Almost everything there is.. Mostly irrationality
25. Righty or lefty: Righty

~~~Firsts~~~

1. Surgery: I disected a cockroach.. But didnt sew it back
2. Piercing: Ears – The one that parents get done when you are an infant
3. Best friend(s): There are many. I dont name them. They know it.
4. Award: LKG – Set the record for fastest writing. I wrote from A to K. Missed out C and inserted a X and yet got a steel cup. I drank milk in that cup till I was in 3rd standard. Then it got replaced by those cool bournvita cups.
5. Sport(s) you joined:  Badminton
6. Pet:  A Tortoise. It had somehow come into my compound. It got kidnapped and eaten up by local villagers!
7. Vacation:  I can remember going to KRS dam, Mysore, Karnataka with my family a LONG time ago
8. Concert: None
9. Crush: Dont remember her name, was in 5th standard.

~~~What are you~~~

1. Eating: Nothing
2. Drinking: Nothing
3. I’m about to:  Go and eat dinner
4. Listening to: The wierd sound that the Tube light is making.. need to fix it!!!
5. Waiting for:  A revelation!!!

~~~Your future~~~

1. Want kids: Redundant question!!!!
2. Want to get married: Hmm… Do I now?! It seems to be in the plan!
3. Careers in mind:  Agriculturist/Farmer(in simple terms). Sigh!

~~~Which is better with the opposite/same sex~~~

1. Lips or eyes: Both. Otherwise it would be weird!
2. Hugs or kisses: Hugs.
3. Romantic or spontenous: Spontaneous romance.
4. Nice stomach or nice arms:  Again, both.
5. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive
6. Hook-up or relationship: Whats the difference really??!
7. Trouble maker or hesitant:  Mayhem!!
8. Lefty or righty: Ambidextrous would be cool!!!
9. Shorter or taller:  hmph! Irrelevant
10. Older or younger: Irrelevant

~~~Have you ever~~~

1. Lost glasses/ contacts:  No. I dont use lenses and I havent lost sun glasses( That my bro owns and I use )
2. Ran away from home:  No. I am pretty comfortable here
3. Kissed a stranger:  Well… Yes to be honest. Again, dont jump to conclusions!
4. Drank pepsi:  Yes
5. Broken someone’s heart:  Regretfully, yes.
6. Been arrested: No.
7. Turned someone down:  Yes…
8. Liked a guy/girl friend: Yes.. Like all of my friends!

~~~Do you believe in~~~

1. Yourself:  Yes. I think I am NOT imaginary.
2. Miracles:  Nope. Probability, now thats something
3. Love at first sight: Yes.
4. Heaven:  No
5. Santa Claus:  No. Not the fairy tail one. But, there are Santa’s in real life (Humans doing his work). I believe that.
6. Kiss on first date:  Its highly subjective.
7. Angels: Not the fictionals. But there are Humans who do the angel’s job.

~~~Answer Truthfully~~~

1. Happy with your life:  No.
2. Believe in God: GodS you mean? Nope.
3. Posting it as 100 truths on your blog: No, that title doesn’t go with my “ordering”. But If its an indirect way of asking if I have answered truthfully, then YES!

My opinion:

The tag was a bit lengthy and many questions were annoying and repetitive! 100, though represents a milestone, doesn’t necessarily mean you need to “stuff”  questions that are irrelevant!

I tag none!

Change the world

What one man can do.

If these was any doubt in mind, now its all gone!

Anything is possible!