James Watson seems to have been infected with the Prince Phillip Syndrome - this is a syndrome when otherwise intelligent men open their mouth in public and plunge head long into it…..

It is also sad to see once brilliant men, instead of evolving with society and new thoughts — remaining fossilzed in the past especially in areas of society and culture. These sort of views on matters of society are the social sciences equivalent of those who think that the universe was created over one week…

Sure we are all racially different - and we have different core abilities based on geography, history, culture, etal….. But, i would think that it would be more a function of ’social & locational’ factors than genes.For example - a kid growing up at 18000 ft, who sprints 10 km to school everyday is probably going to have a great chance of being a marathon runner, but take that same child and put him in Mumbai and send him to school 10 minutes away walking — it is highly likely that he will be an asthmatic wreck in 10 years. But the same asthmatic kid in Mumbai may learn to speak four languages simultaneously while the kid in the village at 18,000 feet may just be comfortable in one language. …As with linguistic abilities or physical abilities, the same with intellectual abilities — if i am living to survive, then my survival skills will be honed, if survival and comfort is assured, then i will develop other skills… including academic etal…

Maybe, james watson and his ilk will be better of figuring whether it is race that makes the powerful nations & corporations interfere in the affairs of African countries, perpetuating civil war across the board….. or is it pure selfishness….And maybe, just maybe, if this question is answered and peace comes to the continent as a whole… and children can grow up without drought, civil war, rape, hunger, poverty, destruction and a constant battle to survive…. then maybe, we can figure whether it is nature, nurture or third thing…..At this point of time you cannot compare someone living in peace with basic physical & emotional security taken care of…..with someone who isn’t….. It is basic bad science… be it social science or physical science.

Also read: wired — The Science & Assumptions behind Watson’s views on Blacks

Scientific American — on Won a Nobel, Go Nuts and on James Watson’s Greatest Hits..

Technorati Tags: James Watson

Tags: Culture, Development, Science

… not quite like walking like an Egyptian but close.

I used to wonder how my mother used to unerringly find out that any one in the family had been out drinking. After all none of us reached home reeking of the stuff. She used the same tactics to sniff out cigarettes hidden away. One can understand getting caught with lit cigarettes. But, cancer sticks hidden away in cupboards should be fairly undetected. Dad and I used to joke about how mom in the anti-narcotics squad will be a great national asset. I used to often wonder how she managed to trap us so very well. And now i know why

Humans can follow scent trails across a field in the same way that dogs can – and they improve with practice – a intriguing new field study has revealed.

Jess Porter and Noam Sobel at the University of California in Berkeley, US, and colleagues tested whether 32 people were able to follow a 10-metre-long scent trail of chocolate essence through open grass using only their noses. Two-thirds of them could.

They then trained four of the subjects three times a day for three days over a two week period to see whether they improved with practice. After training the subjects followed the trail more accurately and at more than double the speed.

The study doesn’t look at difference in genders, or the impact of marriage or childbirth on sniffing efficacy. But, give it time

Tags: Science

A pic from Mars, with a high res camera ……

Space the final frontier …….

Technorati Tags: Mars

Tags: Science

…seems to have taken on a new meaning. The Guardian reports:

British scientists are seeking permission to create hybrid embryos in the lab by fusing human cells with rabbit eggs. If granted consent, the team will use the embryos to produce stem cells that carry genetic defects, in the hope that studying them will help understand the complex mechanisms behind incurable human diseases.

The logic:

“The fertility of rabbits is legendary,” said Prof Shaw. “The most important thing is that with animal eggs, we have a much better chance of generating stem cells and if we wait for human eggs, it’s going to be maybe a decade before we can do this. If we can use animal eggs, we could maybe have stem cells within one or two years,”

At one level, of course one thinks about the ethics of the various uses of stem cell research. But at the other , there is no denying its obvious benefits to society. Be it in terms of germ resistant crops or in terms of cure of otherwise curable diseases.

The people who oppose it on religious grounds need to just look back at the history of science. every single major discovery has been opposed by religious organisations. And I don’t really buy the western (read fundamentalist Christian) religious argument - if ‘God” didn’t want us (humanity) doing these things she wouldn’t have given us curiousity.
People who oppose it on grounds of ethics - need only to remember that it is too early in the day to predict every single use or abuse the technology can be put too. I am sure I don’t want genetically engineered killer zombie rabbit (for the want of a better example) with an Uzi bearing down my highway - but that is , I am sure a long way off.And, by the time that we get to that point - the society then will make rules that it seems appropriate to handle the situation.
There is no point in agonizing about a tomorrow that may never happen, and give up the fruits that could make today better.

Tags: Science, Society

If you thought it was just in Hindi films that the hero sang out to the heroine when he was trying to woo her, think again.
Male mice sing to female mice when they come across atractive female mice

within seconds of encountering the scent of female mouse urine, the males broke into ultrasonic song. Dr Holy and his team processed the sound recordings on a computer and made them audible to the human ear, first by slowing down the entire audio track, and then by keeping the tempo but significantly lowering the pitch.

Tho tho thweeth - wonder if Douglas Adams was right about mice

Tags: Science

… right up there with the other great mysteries that include why God(dess) decided to create the universe (she was having a bad day :); to what happens to the other sock (the one that never came back from the washing machine); to why does your sambhar never taste like the one your mother makes (or his mother makes); is the mystery that almost caused a war between Italy and China. The mystery was on who invented noodles - China or Italy. Obviously both sides claime primacy in noodlegiri.

Finally, the matter can be closed. Along with gunpowder and paper, it was the Chinese who invented noodles.

…50cm-long, yellow strands were found in a pot that had probably been buried during a catastrophic flood.Radiocarbon dating of the material taken from the Lajia archaeological site on the Yellow River indicates the food was about 4,000 years old.
Scientists tell the journal Nature that the noodles were made using grains from millet grass - unlike modern noodles, which are made with wheat flour.

Tags: Science

…. there are Martians high above our skies - just beyond the sight of our satellites - who are using lasers to melt our icecaps.

Of course, there is no such thing as Global Warming, it is a figment of imagination of those who are jealous of development and conspicious consumption. On the other hand, Martians are a very real threat to society and civilisation as we know it. Their slow melting of the Arctic Ice Cap is proof of this.

All nations should rearm - prefrebly buying arms from British and American Firms, buy larger vehicles that are less fuel efficient - as a symbol of our defiance against the evil Martians - and, of course, get ready for the invasion.

Kyoto - isn’t that Tokyo spelt wrongly?

Tags: Environment, Science

The Day has arrived. And after an extensive search through Indian blogdom - this week’s Bharateeya Blog Mela is finally in place. Thank you for all those who nominated. And as usual, this task would have been chaotic without Bloglines.

Announcements

JK at Varnam announces the setting up of the new History Blog - The Palm Leaf
Sid at Patang announces the release of the Carpool Beta - an interesting social software that helps you share vehicles in a geographical area. And with the price of petrol being what it is (almost Rs.49 per litre) in Mumbai, VC’s might start keeping a beady eye on this software

Business

Cerebral Shangrila sallivates about the new Visa Ad starring Richard Gere .

Object Petit M - in the CSF - writes about how Yahoo’s business policies in China have led to a Chinese journalist Shi Tao being sentanced to 10 years in prison.
Sambhar Mafia blogs about Tata’s 75% stake in Landmark in an all cash deal worth 103 crores. So can we see book stores with Chai bars soon?
Kartik has an interesting take on why the Tamil publishing industry is in the doldrums.

Caste

58 years after Independence, we still havent’ managed to shrug off the evil of caste. Somehow society and religion seem to tolerate it. And even today - Dalits face atrocities that would have us screaming “human rights violations” if it happened elsewhere.
As Aparna points out

Again an upper caste ire
Set Dalit homes on fire
What leaves me aghast
Is that the issue of caste
Even today can such violence inspire!

Uma at Indianwriting in the duty of the rich castes ponders about the difference betwen big crimes - setting fire to a row of houses - and little crimes - preventing a Dalit girl from cycling to college. She recommends that we read Viramma: Life of an Untouchable. To that I would add read Untouchable by Narendra Jadhav. It is an eye opener. Abi at Nanopolitan looks at the same atrocity that happened at Gohana - and observes wrly that individuals - even those who should know better - would worry about the impact of this incident on FDI. And Anand looks at the torching of Dalit homes in much ‘more enlightened’ Maharashtra.

Development

Ruth writing in CSF - talks about her work with the Tsunami Victims in Tamil Nadu, and how after almost 7 months they are nowhere near finished.

Arzan blogs about how post independence India allowed two brilliant architects - and town planners - Le Corbusier & Louis I. Kahn to help develop a new style of architecture.

Govindraj Ethiraj - in Dateline Bombay - A Reporter’s Tales looks at the disaster that is the urban landscape of Bangalore and asks compares the work ethic of the hi-tech IT firms there with that of those who provide public services - such as roads and desilted drains.

And, Nitin writing in the Acorn - has an analysis of the Human Development Index in India and our neighbourhood. He says,

India’s ranking is also a reflection of the inertia that has come to characterise its progress towards privatisation of industry, education and social services.

Akshay of Trivial Matters has a photograph that he clicked featured on United Children of the World. It is truly a picture that symbolises hope.

Education
September 5th being Teachers’ day - there were a number of posts around that event. Patrix blogs about President Kalam’s message to create life long learners and enlightened citizens. Arzan tells us to take some time out to wish a teacher who made a difference to our life. Twillight Fairy looks at a sari wearing experience - which makes her look like chirpy Chawla (Juhi) - on the occassion of Teacher’s Day, a long time ago.

Anand writes about the need for a child inspired education system, without which learning may not be effective. Michael Higgins has an interesting post on who should guide Children’s Education.

On the occasion of International Literacy Day - Uma has a beautiful post - Post Card to Akka - her experiences of Karnataka’s adult literacy movement.

Charu writes about the need to strengthen the undergraduate programme
And finally, if it wasn’t true it would truly be funny. Sunil has a wry look at Pew’s latest survey on religion in education (in the USA). And Srikanth has a rib tickling account of how theologists want to introduce Creationism as part of the science curriculum. He quotes from Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert):

By definition, people with bad ideas cannot be swayed by logic. If they were logical, they wouldn’t have bad ideas in the first place - unless the ideas were based on bad data

Facism

Kamesh’s post on Hijacked Gods re examines the Gujarat riots after seeing Rakesh Sharma’s Final Solution. He wonders : “Why do people forget that “Man can exist without religion, but religion cannot exist without man”.

Faderu of CSF looks at Police Fascism in Mumbai in cancelling the Independence Day Rock. Kunal of Ceteris Paribus expresses his outrage elequently on the same issue, as does Amit Varma of India Uncut in Rock is Evil.

Faith

Atanu Dey has an extremely well written out post on Faith and its multiple facets. He points out that only the feeble minded will use faith as a crutch to deal with what happens after death. He also looks at the connection between the Hindu concpet of time - kalpa - and cosmology. Methinks that he is reading too much Fritzof Capra. Ashsih says that we are so busy admiring what we did in the past that we are somehow stuck there, like a broken clock.
Subhas provides a rather impassioned defence on why he has faith but is not feeble minded.

And of course Saket talks about why he feels completely ‘intellectually arrogant‘ in his firm faith that there is no God. Reminds of an online exchange of ideas i had with Amit on whether atheism is a faith. of course it is
Nilu has an interesting set of posts about Advaita and futility.
Sunil talks about the most cuddly of all Gods - Ganesh - and about the goodies that were made during his child hood days. Somehow, theist or atheist - when it comes to good modaks and pedas, everthing is maaf.
And finally, Hemant of Instant Kaapi says that If A R Rahman turns Prophet for a new religion and promises to use his songs for sermons, he would be the first convert. Interesting faith that would be

Gender Issues

Annie writes about missing women. Women who are never ever born. Women who are killed before they are ever born.

there are at least a million women out there who agreed to, if not actively opted to, kill their girls - born or unborn. Mothers who are not facing starvation-level poverty. Mothers who, possibly, were neither unmarried nor raped. Grandmothers who pushed their daughters-in-law into getting rid of granddaughters.

I fail to emphathize, because my imagination completely fails me.

Charu writes about empowring Sita and Draupadi, and quotes Anand Bakshi - “Sita bhi yahan badnaam huvi”
Vikrum blogs about eve teasing at 35,000 feet on Kingfisher Airlines. And how, there was really no point in complaining - becuase Kingfisher Airlines used a marketing strategy that sells sex. All you have do is see the hoardings around Mumbai to know that he is right.
Primary Red blogs about how four women were paraded half naked over a property dispute and how the police refused to file a complaint.

Sakshi writes about Alimony and asks if some women are misusing the law.

Katrina
Katrina occupies the mind space of a number of Desi bloggers. Maitri from New Orleans has a day by day post on the situation there.
Amardeep Singh asks if the Government has the right to forcibly evacuate people who don’t want to move.
Gawker is furious with Michael Brown the head of FEMA - who blamed the victims for not getting out of town. Rueben feels much the same, especially to the US Govenrment response that they didn’t know how severe Katrina could be. And he quotes a pastor on the devestation:

“New Orleans now is abortion free. New Orleansnow is Mardi Gras free. New Orleans now is free of Southern Decadence and the sodomites, the witchcraft workers, false religion — it’s free of all of those things now,” Shanks says. “God simply, I believe, in His mercy purged all of that stuff out of there — and now we’re going to start over again.”

Ouch! It redefines compassion and charity.

And this seems to redefine grace - Uma has this blistering post on Boing Boing’s response to India’s aid (5 million dollars and army assistance).

Poverty
What is poverty seems to be the topic of a cross continental debate. It all began with John Scalzi’s Being Poor. Peter Griffin, comparing the post to his rear has this in reponse :). And Dina jams in with this - being Poor in India. And Madhoo recalling her earlier years in Vizag, talks about the fact that sometimes the poor don’t really want to be helped.

And Finally

Jabberwock celebrates one year of blogging.
Neelakantan tells us how to identify anti - globalisation aunties.
Aparna has a limerical take on the Mangal Pandey fracas.
Nilu writes about the pissing contest that he has with himself Nilu, please let us know who won this one
Secrets of my Inner World has a litany on Apples.
Rashmi Bansal writes on a new form of ABCD - Apna Bharatiya Chinese Dish
Dinesh asks “to swear or not to swear is the question” (with all apologies to the bard).
Sulfury has a A to Z of the world according to George Bush.
And, Vishnupavan writes about a number of American Presidents who played cricket.
And the last one is on Bill Gates who wants his money back. Gawker blogs about how Billy Boy mistakenly donated 10 million dollars to an institute that worked in the area of Intelligent Design. They probably came up with the next version of the Microsoft OS, that crashed on start up and imploded taking everything with it.

That brings us to the end of this weeks blog mela.

Next week Amit Varma at India Uncut is your friendly host of the BlogMela. Drop off your nominations there.
Till then bye bye.
(roll credits)

Bharateeya Blog Mela can also be found at The Truth Laid Bear’s ÜberCarnival.

Tags: Blogging, Culture, Development, Economics, Gender Issues, Mumbai, Poverty, Religion, Reviews, Science, Social Software, Society, US, World

Of all the fascinating things in the history of science, probably the most fascinating was alchemy.
Through the ages, scientists of all types tried their hand at converting lead to gold. In hindsight it may look like a foolish endeavour. but, hindsight is always 20-20.
in the process of trying to convert lead to gold - a number of interesting scientific discoveries were made. But alas, lead remained lead. And gold it did not become!
So, why all this on a dead science!
Well, yesterday came the revelation that Sir Issac Newton’s diaries on Alchemy were found - in some dingy old library, locked away safely.
I was pondering about all those seemingly impossible things that scientists through the ages attempted. And wondered, what kind of a society we would live in, if they bowed down to social/religious pressure and didn’t try what they did.
It must have been so much more difficult at that point in time to have been different.
Having said that, intolerance towards new ideas - or even old - seems to be creeping back into all our societies and religous dogma seems to be overpowering scienctific inquiry.
Are we once again moving towards the dark ages. Or is there a reformation in sight?

Tags: Science, Society