Human Body

Watched a very moving BBC short on human physiology. My words can't do it justice, so I suggest you experience it yourself.

Fossilized Rain Drops!

Today I read an intriguing study about fossilized rain drop impressions and how they can be used to measure earth's atmospheric pressure 2.7 billion years ago!

(Image: Verrisimilus/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Firstly, it is pretty amazing that something as delicate as a rain drop impression can fossilize and survive for 2.7 billion years! All you need are perfect conditions - ground is covered with a fresh covering of volcanic ash and rainfall is not too heavy or too light but just the right size. The impressions may then harden into into stone, preserving them for present day scientists.

The second and more beautiful aspect is the implication. It turns out that size of a rain drop is strongly correlated with surface tension, force of gravity, and most importantly atmospheric pressure. By careful measurement of the indentations and some simulation, the atmospheric pressure seen by the earliest microbial lifeforms can be extracted. The value of atmospheric pressure is also useful to extract the amount of insolation the young earth received.

While geologists did have some idea about the gas composition of the ancient atmosphere, before this study almost nothing was known about the pressure. The full paper is under peer-review.

Immortal Game

Recently I have picked up Chess with mild enthusiasm. I have started learning about all the standard openings: Roy Lupez, Sicilian defence, King's Gambit, etc. Caught up on the history of the game, e.g. did you know that Chess comes from an ancient Indian game of caturaṅga(Sanskrit: four divisions [of the military] – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively)?

Looking at historical games, it is hard to find a more audacious version of King's gambit than the "Immortal Game". German chess master Adolf Anderssen, while playing Lionel Kieseritzky, sacrificed the Queen, both Rooks and a Bishop, but still managed to checkmate his opponent with only three minor pieces!

While I agree that this happened in an era when chess defenses were not that well developed but it still is brilliant game play.

"Hope is a Thief"

Dying and Dinner Parties from ThinPlace Pictures on Vimeo.

It is hard to find anything wrong to say about hope! It makes a hard life worth living, keeps the society motivated and productive, allows us to tide over a bad day. For a more convincing defense, I advise you to watch Shawshank Redemption.

However, I also have Buddhist leanings. In fact among all the religions/philosophies I have come across, it is the one that makes most sense. Buddhism values only the present. Past or future are beyond ones control so no point worrying about them. In that perspective, hope isn't a positive feeling. By definition hopefulness betrays a yearning for future and should be avoided.

Personally, I am still on the fence. Can't really decide... Can you?