When Einstein Tilted at Windmills

The young physicist’s quest to prove the theories of Ernst Mach.

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As a perennial student of everything around me, it is important to remember Feynman’s thoughts, and take it to heart every day. More so when you have a little neutron willing to grasp, and absorb all that comes her way. So for posterity, and to remind myself, here is what I think teaching and learning should be about.

1. Question what you read in a book, and that you learn from others. Articulate to yourself in a language that you understand, and correlate them with your experiences that make you uniquely you.

   Fear not to question what is read,
   Or that taught by others merit;
   Entwine knowledge with experience,
   to render thee from within.
   

2. Doubt can be a marvelous learning tool, if applied right. Do not fear it, embrace it, and remove it through a better understanding of the world around you.

   Doubt thy learned truths, without doubting thyself;
   Fear not, live with it, a tool,
   Refine thoughts and visions of a fool.
   

3. Think for yourself, analyze the problems, and explore the universe as it is, for it offers answers to every question conceivable. We either are only short sighted (often), or not experienced enough to visualize it just yet.

   Truth remains vivid for those who can see
   Thought drives action, focus and let it free.
   

4. Make mistakes, be not afraid. Mistakes teach far more valuable lessons if you are willing to recover, and continue the search again. No action in this universe happens without making its lessons available for those who ask.

   Be obedient, to the master that teaches absolute truth
   No teacher greater, past fallacies accounted
   Recover, learn to move without satisfaction.
   

5. When you understand how something ticks, teach it to someone who does not. Humanity and knowledge learned is transient, and is propagated/refined faster in the collective. And often, teaching someone else improves the self understanding undoubtedly.

   Absolute truth is pure delusion;
   Iteration inevitable my fierce child,
   Instill thy thought, truth version,
   Purify self experience, propagate philosophy.
   

Beautiful.

The ideas here aren’t new. John Krygier has a post about typewriter mapping. Early computer graphics, such as ASCII art, along with early mapping software (like SYMAP), use essentially the same style as what I am doing (though mine is much more rudimentary): constructing images through individual characters.

Source: Typewriter Cartography

When I was growing up and had to decide what field to get in to for my college, I was in a dilemma. I really liked computers, after the really simple BASIC and C programs I wrote during my high school. But on the other hand, Physics seemed too fundamental and I wanted to understand what is going on around me and explain it with the Math I so love. But what did catch my interest most of all is the explosive reactions that Chemistry opened up. It was something I did not understand at all and that intrigued me. Of course little did I know that Chemical Engineering had nothing to do with pure Chemistry. But enough of that reminiscence.

It always is interesting to me to find experiments that open up new perspectives on things. And recently, this article “Top 10 Mad Science-Worthy Chemistry Experiments” via Neatorama caught my attention. And I just couldn’t let it pass without writing a rant about it…

Do read the article and watch all videos to get some interesting new ideas and the possibilities that Chemistry opens up.

No, unlike what the title suggests, this ain’t a war or a competition. It is just a comparison that caught my eye. Literally. Here’s one of the comparisons.

Some of the comparisons are quite interesting and mind boggling. But it is unfair in many cases due to the fact that the results are not normalized based on available land area and/or total population. I mean literacy rate, murder rate and beer drinking capita seem way off, just to name a few. No but seriously, the results are informative and if truly factual, gives a nice overview of avenues for India to improve.

Link via India Vs United States: Economy, People, Environment & Military.

I am very proud on how far we have come and maintained the stability and growth with more than a billion people in a land that’s only twice the size of Texas. And all that, without leaving behind much of the cultural heritage and the vagaries of languages and religion omnipresent in every corner. There is so much I want to do for her, but so little time, before I go to sleep…

An enlightening post that revisits some of the mistakes that caused the TMI accident, on the 30th anniversary of the mishap. I have heard some of the details from couple of professors on Nuclear Reactor Safety and they have always claimed it TMI to be an ‘accident gone right’ because there was absolutely minimal radiation exposure to the environment and pales in comparison to Chernobyl where the whole thing was a shitty mess.

I especially like Bob’s extrapolation on the current state of affairs:

The folks at TMI did not really know how to manage the technology of a nuclear power plant, and that led to a huge mess. The same thing has now happened to our economy. Congress changed the banking and mortgage lending rules without regard to their purpose. Many firms bought derivative securities without the slightest thought to the math behind them or the risk they were incurring. Nuclear power plants run on a chain reaction process of atomic decay. Our government and investment community created a chain reaction of economic decay.

Anyway, since it is the 30th anniversary of TMI, I figured that it would be wise to educate the one or two readers following my site. So here, read up.

Three Mile Island Memories.

Also, if you feel like reading more in-depth, check out the TMI fact-sheet at the NRC website TMI Fact sheet

Note to self: Got to watch ‘The China Syndrome’ soon. I keep reading about it over and over to the extent that it is annoying the hell out of me…

Few of the things I care about in this endless pursuit of knowledge, as an individual on this earth … Concisely and very precisely thought out and written in simplicity:

1. Universe
2. Life
3. Death
4. Free Will
5. Sex

Michael Brooks on five mysteries of the universe.

Update: In a tangential topic, here are couple of things few others are worried, about the solar system: The Unknown Solar System.

Thanksgiving. What is it ? Why is the dinner on Thanksgiving day such a big deal here in the U.S ? I’ve asked many people about that and have received varying interesting answers. Here’s a brief analysis of this holiday from my perspective.

History

The fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day, in the US is celebrated traditionally to give thanks to God for the things one has at the close of the harvest season.

Parallels

US – Thanksgiving : Fourth thursday in November
India – Pongal : Middle of January
Canada – Thanksgiving : Second monday in October
UK – Harvest festival : Full moon day in September
Germany – Erntedank : First sunday of October

A holiday by any other name, still is sweeeet !

Evolution

The modern day Thanksgiving seems to have diverged far from its origins and is usually marked with parades, huge family meals, wall-to-wall american football. The festival has become a commercial event bringing together family and friends for feast and marks the start of the official holiday season in US.

Nonetheless, in the basic principle of thanking God or whoever else they feel most obliged to do so, families do get together even amidst rigorous schedules. And that is probably the important aspect about any holiday – bringing people closer.

My Thanksgiving nostalgia

I was invited to a very informal Thanksgiving dinner by few friends. For my part, i made few delicious Rasagulla for dessert which by the way did not hit it off among everyone here. Sigh. Anyway, the dinner eventhough did not involve any traditional thanking speeches and toasts, still brought a deep nostalgic feeling that claws the heart. And needless to say, i watched a lot of american football games over the past few days even if i still think that it does not match the intensity of a soccer game. But hey, thats just me.

The point of that short ramble is that even a very informal dinner on such an occasion managed to bring back sweet memories into my fragile little mind. These new friends remind me of those old ones and family, so far away in India. And there lies the beauty of a holiday !

The closer the day of my visit to India draws in, the more i feel nostalgic over every simple action. 12 days and counting …

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  The papal system prevailed until the late 1700s, when teamsters in the United States and France began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver&#8217;s seat. Instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since you were sitting on the left, naturally you wanted everybody to pass on the left so you could look down and make sure you kept clear of the other guy&#8217;s wheels. Ergo, you kept to the right side of the road. The first known keep-right law in the U.S. was enacted in Pennsylvania in 1792, and in the ensuing years many states and Canadian provinces followed suit.
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