Sayan’s BlogWorld

This is a spectacular talk… one of the best yet on TED so far.

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding — she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

What is happiness, and how can we all get some? Buddhist monk, photographer and author Matthieu Ricard has devoted his life to these questions, and his answer is influenced by his faith as well as by his scientific turn of mind: We can train our minds in habits of happiness. Interwoven with his talk are stunning photographs of the Himalayas and of his spiritual community.

Another thoughtful (and humorous) TED talk was the one given by Bob Thurman sometime ago. It is one of my favorite TED talks and I have blogged about it previously. But it is probably appropriate to include it once more:

All the major petro-companies are pushing for the hydrogen economy as a replacement for fossil fuels….some argue that this would allow them to keep their existing monopoly on transportation fuel.

My gut feeling is this an over-simplification. I came across the concept of ‘deep hydrogen reserves’ sometime ago. Apparently the Kola Superdeep Borehole, the deepest hole drilled by man at 12+ kms (~7.5miles) has been found to be bubbling with hydrogen. So do you think, the petroleum companies will simply shift from petroleum drilling to hydrogen drilling? Or maybe even methane drilling? I would be interested in your thoughts / opinions.

The article here and its accompanying video describe this invention as, “…a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between metal coils. Prototypes have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines…”

It seems that global warming maybe hitting the positive feedback loop. Are the skeptics listening??
The article here points out that, “…a source of methane - which likely originated during the last ice age - has surfaced in the Arctic, a likely result of global warming’s thawing effect on the permafrost.” The methane bubbles from thermokarst lakes in the Artic.

This is the breathtaking story of Daniel Tammet. A twenty-something with extraordinary mental abilities, Daniel is one of the world’s few … all » savants. He can do calculations to 100 decimal places in his head, and learn a language in a week. This documentary follows Daniel as he travels to America to meet the scientists who are convinced he may hold the key to unlocking similar abilities in everyone. He also meets the world’s most famous savant, the man who inspired Dustin Hoffman’s character in the Oscar winning film ‘Rain Man’. (2005)




This is an unbelievably eye-opening story on the ancients doing terraforming-type activities on a massive scale. Maybe I am going a little over the top. But read this to find out more about this ‘carbon-negative’ agricultural practice … I think this has a tremendous potential for addressing some really critical global issues.

Here is a small extract from the post at WorldChanging:

Amazonian Dark Earth, or terra preta do indio, has mystified science for the last hundred years. Three times richer in nitrogen and phosphorous, and twenty times the carbon of normal soils, terra preta is the legacy of ancient Amazonians who predate Western civilization. Scientists who long debated the capacity of ’savages’ to transform the virgin rainforest now agree that indigenous people transformed large regions of the Amazon into amazingly fertile black earth.

I spent some time watching the talk Dr. Bussard gave at Google sometime ago- it was very interesting both from a scientific point of view and a political point of view. It seems all that is required to solve most of the world’s problems is political will and stepping away from narrow egotistical views.

Here is what Slashdot says in a post: Dr Bussard, the man behind the Bussard Collector and inventor of the Polywell fusion device, passed away last Sunday in the morning. He leaves behind him a legacy of EM fusion devices, and a team determined to continue his efforts. The news of funding extension for the construction of his WB-7 fusion devices made it to slashdot months ago (as well as his talk at google). They may be a serious candidate in the run to bring commercial fusion, and may work at lower scales than other projects. Let’s hope the project continues in good shape despite his departure.

Here is a short animation of the basic working of a Polywell design IEC (Inertial Electrostatic Confinement) fusion device studied by Dr. Bussard’s team:

ScienceDaily reports on a just invented process to make a high-energy liquid bio-fuel from fructose. This is all fine and good but we need to ask ourselves honestly… do we really need to convert corn into fuel and animal feed when a quarter of the world is underfed?

Arstechnica has an article here about how scientists first copied the lizard / gecko feet stickiness then improved on it.

BBC had earlier reported here that scientists had finally managed to figure out what really make lizards stick to walls…

So if you want to stick something to your non-stick cookware look no further than your friendly wall lizard / gecko.

I just revisited the Thinking Allowed series by Jeffery Mishlove. This particular video is an interview of Prof. Dean Brown, theoretical physicist / entrepreneur.

Prof. Dean Brown points out that most European languages can be traced back to a root language that is also related to Sanskrit - the sacred language of the ancient Vedic religions of India. Many English words actually have Sanskrit origins. Similarly, many Vedic religious concepts can also be found in Western culture. He discusses the fundamental idea of the Upanishads - that the essence of each individual, the atman, is identical to the whole universe, the principle of brahman. In this sense, the polytheistic traditions of India can be said to be monistic at their very core.

Science Alert Australia has a story about cheaper solar cells using synthetic chlorophyll.

I stumbled across this very thought-provoking article about what may be causing the sudden disappearance of honey bees in North America.
More here Synchronizm

BBC NEWS | Fungi ‘new tool’ against malaria

New studies show that a specific type of fungus native to East Africa can infect mosquitoes and reduce their lifespan by two-thirds - to just seven days.

Graphite Found to Exhibit Surprising Quantum Effects

Does graphite show potential as a semiconductor material? Super-thin single atom thick graphite sheets called graphene are being studied by researchers at University of Manchester.

Experiments on graphene have revealed some strange phenomena, as detailed in two papers in today’s Nature. The two-dimensional material remains capable of conducting electricity thanks to the free-floating electron in the honeycomb structure of carbon atoms.

… researchers also proved that they travel far faster than electrons in other semiconductors…the findings may “lead to new applications in carbon-based electronic and magneto-electronic devices,” though further research is needed.