In Pursuit of the Unknown

Symbolism is a language in itself. Symbolism, communicates tonnes of information to the cohort. People belonging to several backgrounds relate to Symbolism in different ways. But for those involved heavily in quantitative science, one form of symbolism is predominantly mired into their thought processes. This symbolism relates to, agrees upon, disproves hypotheses or leaves it all in a deadlock situation. As a manifestation of this form of symbolism, equations have survived the odds of multiple centuries and 17 of those survivors have been brought into the limelight in Ian Stewart’s engaging book, “In Pursuit of the Unknown – 17 Equations That Changed the World”, which is insightful journey into the world of equations. Like how cells form the building blocks describing the structure and function of all biotic factors at a rudimentary level, equations seem to be their counterparts in quantitative science. Mathematics as the language of science is expressed in the form of equations. From the mathematician author’s perspective, the book beautifully blends math and history by way of describing the origin of the most significant equations that shook the world – that revolutionized mankind, for better and for worse. The author paints a comprehensive picture of all the stories and myths surrounding each of the 17 equations, the mathematicians & scientists involved in arriving at the intellectual breakthrough, the panegyrists and the naysayers, the geographical and cultural setting that the invention of the equation revolves around.

Ranging from the ever-famous Pythagoras’s Theorem relating the three sides of a right-angled triangle, the book subtly traverses upon the likes of logarithms as our initial step towards speedy calculations, square root of minus one as the key to complex numbers, the evolution of topology as the study of geometric properties unchanged by continuous deformations, Euler’s formula for polyhedra and normal distribution as one of the key players in probability and statistics. The author also portrays a few more striking equations that left an indelible impact in the development of human civilization. The story of the apple falling down leading to Newton’s law of gravitation is said to be for the most part, well, just a story. The importance of gravity in the working of GPS, surveying the earth, sending artificial satellites is how the author has emphasized on one of the most fundamental forces of nature. Interestingly, all of Newton’s invention of the calculus and gravity happened during the disastrous bubonic plague period of the 17^th century London. It’s intriguing to note that this duration of social depression had lead to remarkable scientific breakthroughs. The author also  highlights Einstein’s general theory of relativity as a reasonable depiction of reality, Shannon’s information theory that lead to the technological revolution in today’s communication and Fourier’s heat equations that eventually paved the way for developing the theory of Fourier transforms which are now the basis for most of signal and image processing. One more very interesting note about the financial crisis of 2008 has been attributed to the Black - Scholes equation. Calling it a double – edged sword, the author elaborates that this equation was responsible for the virtual cash transactions. The uncontrollable situation of trillions of virtual money had resulted in inflation.

 Every chapter starts out with a layman’s description of each term of the equation in hand along with its application in a punchline. The style of talking about math equations that are being applied in day-to-day life in a story-telling format is really stimulating and enjoyable. It vaguely brings back fond memories of high school and undergraduate mathematics. This book reminds us that, even as they are most often underrated, looked upon with a morbid fear of them being complicated; equations have played an undeniably significant role in shaping the world as it is today. They will continue to play a pivotal role in any quantitative scientific discovery. 

- For http://thecolloquium.net (Books & Travels)

A blessing

I do not want to emphasize how cliched the "day" concept is. Mother's day, Father's day, Valentine's day, Friendship day and the countless number of  "day"s of celebrating something or someone is such a farce. It should be a day-to-day affair and shouldn't be like deifying one day, degrading the next.
However, I would like to take this opportunity to write about this relationship that holds a special place in everyone's heart. Yet again, it is such a cliched statement to say one's mother is the best person in the world. But more often than not, it holds good under all conditions. She is the ultimate caregiver, protector, teacher and what not. If there is one soul that will be happy for you, praying for your safety, it is her. She will never hesitate to sacrifice anything for you. All of these are universal truths for many people, with a few exceptions.
As for me, it is something more. She shielded me from all sorts of trouble, letting me understand things I ought to know. She encouraged my talents and gave up on professional growth for my well-being. She was (is) a working-woman that juggle(s)d multiple hats, balancing it all with so much of dexterity. She taught me how to be a warm-hearted, humane-being. She showed the other, most-important-dimension of life, the society. That awakening to social issues was truly a revelation. She discussed with me about Vidarbha, P.Sainath, Cuba, Assange...She treated me as an equal. She showed to me the power of writing; and exhorted me to be an avid reader. More than that, she wanted me to be out there experiencing, witnessing the world. She was always a burst of positivity, a ray of hope, an active thinker and doer. She constitutes all the goodness in me.
She created so much of a comfort zone in our relationship that I could openly share everything with her. She is and will be the first person that comes to my mind if I have to talk about my happiness, sorrow, morbid fears, confessions, embarrassing situations I was in, silly encounters...
This small piece of writing is just a tiny reflection of what she means to me. There is more to this bonding. After all, love is (meant to be) ineffable.
Happy Mother's Day. 

Somnolence

It's been a while since I changed the pen name to somnolence. Ironically, there are some "sleepy" issues

happening in my current educational pursuit which might possibly turn out to be the path I take for a short-term research. So when I started reading about sleep science, I realize how 'sleep' is one of the most underrated part of (almost) everyone's life. We sacrifice sleep for anything and everything! From a neuroscientist's perspective, it is one of the most dangerous things that one can do to themselves is all I understand. The effects of this kind of self-imposed pain (I am using the word masochism with the right emphasis) due to lack of sleep is not meant to show up immediately, but it will raise it's head and hiss when we don't in the least expect it. For scientists and researchers out there, whatever I've said above might seem like cliched junk. I am consciously avoiding too much of scientific details for all that I'm going to say after this.
I was introduced to the term 'Somniloquy', about three years ago when I discovered I am a somniloquist when under stress. I have been told that I argue in English, which is totally weird considering the fact that I am more comfortable speaking in my native language. It's all entertaining for people who listen to it. Recently, I discovered I have fallen prey to one of the novel lifestyle disorders (for lack of better terminology,) sleep-texting. It so happened that I received a call from my mom, ~8000 miles away at ~5 am in the morning. I did not attend the call, instead sent her a text saying "I'm in class" - these were the exact words, flawless typing. Later when I woke up I noticed the missed call, called her back only to find her asking me in absolutely bewildered tone, "Did you have a class at 5am?!". I ridiculed her and she shot back at me mentioning the text message she received. I was in total denial mode. After finishing the talk, I sheepishly checked my message box, only to get shocked for the rest of the day. Meh, I am still shocked, only that the intensity is less, since it's been a few days after the incident. I apologized to her for the confusion (poor mom, she got freaked out by my text message only to convince herself that I was in an online class or something like that until I called her back in a groggy state). The post-doc in my lab and I had a good laugh, we had something interesting to talk about for a long time. But still, come on, it's shocking to me.
I realize there is so much to understand and uncover when the brain is trying to rest, sleeping being not-so-much-of-a-resting-mode, as it tries to repair and prepare the body for all the trials and tribulations it undergoes for the rest of the day. A sleep test on myself is on top of my to-do list. It seemed kind of obvious that I was in REM sleep when I texted and that I was dreaming about being in a class. Anyhow, there is so much more to 'sleep', the circadian and the physiology behind this behaviour that what we all think it is.
Interesting learning awaits.

Budding beauty

Colours of Spring splashed around! 

A visual treat! 

The stretch

March 5 marks the end of six months of stay away from home. For the most part, I haven't actually gotten adjusted to things at the "new" place. Even after so long, it feels like I'm still transitioning day in and day out. But, there is a vague feeling of gratitude - sense of pride - teeny weeny bit of confidence lurking somewhere in the corner, waiting to grow intense and show up. This nascent form of some sort of positivity seems like a good sign that ll help in the longest possible run further ahead. Accepting things as such and developing an attitude to face different situations, as and when they crop up - this phase is surely adding a dimension to my supposedly ongoing learning curve.

The Pacific Sun captured from The Cliffs, SD

La Jolla is turning warmer. The beaches are inviting. The beauty is awe-inspiring.
With motivating people around, there is so much to keep thinking about - And acting upon.
Hoping to figure out what I want to do in the long run, something that will keep me engaged and excited every single day. Something that will not just seem as the next logical step - but will drive me and keep me stimulated.
Best lesson (still learning/ optimizing): Realizing the value of involving in a serious thought process. And working hard. And learning to figure out the mysteriously efficient way to manage the recurrent(24X7).

Looking forward to (the rest of) March and (literally) Spring ahead.
Looking forward to (enjoyably?) work a lot more and adapt to things I end up getting. Bridging expectations - reality gap will be a continuing exercise.

--Peace--