Science myths!

Over a decade into the 21st century, science has developed with unfathomable pace and has continued to find answers for things small and large and finally at the doorstep of the reasons behind the start of the universe. However, as much as science has advanced, there have been incessant misunderstandings or misconceptions about the conclusions that the scientists come up with. Here goes a list of some science myths that demands a clarification.

1. Brain cells can't regenerate.

Fact is that brain cells can actually regenerate. This myth is so common that this tale was told even in science communities. It was earlier believed that the growth of the brain would be hampered by new cell growth, but as a matter of fact, the learning and the memory centre of the brain can actually create new brain cells. This is the basis of the cure for diseases like Alzheimer's.

2. Lightening never hits the same place twice.

It can and it is very common. Remember this when you are attempting to dodge a lightening bolt by running to a place where it already hit once. Without a doubt, higher objects are favoured over the others until the lightening moves enough to find a new target.

3. There is no gravity in space.

There is lots of gravity in space. Reason why we see the astronauts flying around in the spaceship is because they are orbiting the Earth. They are falling towards the Earth but moving sufficiently sideways to miss it. Gravity exists almost everywhere. When a shuttle reaches the height of over 350 kilometers, its gravity is reduced by only 10%.

4. We use only 10% of our brain.

If this were true, why a damage in any part of the brains leads to cognitive or sensory impairment? While one  is doing nothing, maybe this is true but in an entire day, humans use their brain pretty much to the fullest.

5. Going out in chilly weather leads to cold.

The cold is caused by viruses of the respiratory system and they do not appear in the body only because one forgot to wear a muffler or a jacket. Most of the times one catches cold by coming in contact with someone who already has cold.

6. Big Bang Theory explains how the universe was created.

Fact is that the Big Bang theory extrapolates from our observations about the present universe that the early universe underwent a massive, rapid expansion that has continued to this day. Some people have interpreted the data to postulate that time, space, matter and energy had a beginning in the finite past, but the central value of the Big Bang theory is the explanation of the early expansion of the universe -- not how the universe came into being.

7. Antibiotics kill viruses.

Firstly antibiotics are to kill bacteria, not viruses and secondly virus cannot be killed since it is not alive to begin with.

8. Bats are blind.

Bats have eyes and can very much see. However they rely on their senses of hearing more than seeing. In fact, they use a hyper-advanced sound-based system called echolocation to fly during the darkest of the nights and hunt for prey.

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Déjà vu..what is it?

Déjà vu. It happens to almost to everyone. It is that shadowy feeling you get when you feel like the situation that you are in has occurred before. A scene of traveling in a new city plays out exactly the way how you remember, but that is impossible and it could not be based on earlier experience as it is a new city and you have never been there before. So, what is going on?

Sadly, there is no particular explanation for this experience. This experience last for a short time and goes away without notice. This makes it difficult to record it for the scientists to ponder on. They cannot simply wait for it to happen to them, it doesn't have a pattern of occurrence in time. It could happen after months or years! Scientifically, Déjà vu is classified as a feeling.

Emile Boirac introduced this French term that means "Already seen". Over 40 theories have attempted to explain this phenomenon. Gratefully to the advancements in cognitive psychology and neuro-imaging, the scientists have been able to shortlist 3 most relevant theories.

Assume a restaurant setting for understanding these theories. You are sitting at a table with a table cloth having a design of square patches and a waiter is coming at the table with the food in his hand.

1st theory is Dual Processing. Assume that the waiter is falling with the plates of food. As the scene unfolds, the brain processes numerous information. The waiters arms, the falling food, the aroma of the food, the way the spoon goes, and so on. Within milliseconds, this information is passed through your brain and is processed as only 1 event, i.e. all these events are recorded in your brain in sync. This theory proposes that when there is delay in processing one of these activities, then the brain processes it as another event all together. Thus, when it plays over the already happened moment, it feels like it has happened before.

2nd is the Hologram theory. When you notice the table cloth with a pattern of square patches, a distance memory swings up in the brain of having seen the cloth before. This is because memory is stored in form of holograms, and in holograms only one fragment is need to be able to see the whole picture. The brain calls upon your old memory of having seen this cloth before, rather than identifying it. Thus your brain is stuck in familiarity but no recollection.

The 3rd theory is Divided Attention. This happens when you are in a place but your attention is devoted to only one object. Your brain actually records all the events happening around you below your conscious level. Thus your focus remains on that object, but the brain knows your surroundings also. When you are pulled back from this focus, you are brought back to the conscious level, you feel like you have been in such a situation before and that is because you have and this is happens only because you were not paying attention.

All these three theories, however, are not conclusive proofs of Déjà vu phenomenon.

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What is an Aurora?

Every second, 1 million tonnes of matter is blasted from the surface of the Sun, which travel at the velocity of a stupendous 1 million miles per hour. These matters travel in every direction and also Earth. At such a velocity, this army of matter is on a mission to collide our planet Earth. But this is not something we need to worry about, because this give rise to one of the most beautiful phenomenons of planet Earth- the Northern Lights, also called as the Auroras.

These lights are formed at the Northern and the Southern poles and named as Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis respectively. These are formed when the army of high-energy particles collide with the neutral atoms of the Earth's atmosphere. This collision brings to life a picturesque phenomenon, which mankind has marveled at for centuries.

Let us learn this concept in three phases-

1. Energy emitted from sun

The pressure on the sun is so enormous, that the hydrogen atoms start combining to form Helium atoms. The energy in form of heat thus released in this process is radiated outward in form of huge arrays called the convection cells. These electrical currents of charged cells create magnetic field inside the sun. Sometimes this magnetic field push themselves out of the surface of the sun and they slow down the flow of the hot gas at those points, causing a cool down resulting in dark spots on the surface of the sun.

This electrically charged gas is called as plasma. Plasma drags the magnetic field further outwards. The magnetic field then stretches and bends like a rubber band. The rubber band then breaks and millions of tonnes of plasma is hurled out of the sun. This is called the solar storm. The speed of this solar storm is so magnificent that it takes only 18 hours to reach the Earth.

 2. A hindrance at the Earth's magnetic field

When the solar storm reaches the Earth, an invisible magnetic field deflects the solar storm. The outer surface of the Earth's magnetic field breaks down and are pushed backward to the other side of the Earth where they are coupled together. The high energy gas then goes through the line of the magnetic field and reaches the daylight side of the poles. This magnetic field couple again at the other side of the Earth, couple together and break down like a twisted rubber band. This will bring down the high energy gas along the lines of the magnetic field to the night-time pole of the Earth. These arrivals of high energy gas at the day-time and night-time poles cause Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis respectively.

3. Colour of the Aurora

The sun radiates all visible colors, which is why sunlight appears white. The spectrum of visible light associated with the aurora is much more restricted. The aurora is caused by charged particles in the solar wind colliding with atmospheric atoms and ions. The collisions cause the electrons of the atmospheric atoms to become excited. As the electrons return to their original energy levels, these atoms emit visible light of distinct wavelengths, to create the colors of the display we see.
The color of the aurora depends on the wavelength of the light emitted. This is determined by the specific atmospheric gas and its electrical state, and the energy of the particle that hits the atmospheric gas. The atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen and oxygen, which emit the characteristic colors of their respective line spectra. Atomic oxygen is responsible for the two main colors of green (wavelength of 557.7 nm) and red (630.0 nm). Nitrogen causes blue and deep red hues.

This is the spectrum of colors emitted by the various atoms in earth’s outer atmosphere.

Most of the auroral features are greenish-yellow, but sometimes the tall rays will turn red at their tops and along their lower edges. On rare occasions, sunlight will hit the top part of the auroral rays to create a faint blue color. On very rare occasions (once every 10 years or so) the aurora can be a deep blood red color from top to bottom. Pink hues may also be seen in the lower area of the aurora. In addition to producing light, the energetic auroral collisions transmit heat. The heat is dissipated by infrared radiation, or transported away by strong winds in the upper atmosphere.

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Why is "$" the unofficial global currency?

It is not uncommon to see U. S. Dollar (USD, for brevity) notes in the country you live in. Regardless of the country you are in, the USD is found engrained in the country's economy. Although, officially, the USD is not a well-documented currency, unofficially it most certainly is.

Why is USD used so widely all across the globe?

1. Stability- One of the main reasons why dollar is rampantly used globally is because of its stability. Business is always easy to do when a stable currency is used.

The USD has never been devalued. Meaning, the USD has never been deliberately adjusted downward in respect of some other currency. Devaluation of the currency, thus makes other currencies relatively stronger. 

For example, if yesterday 55 Indian rupees(INR) bought you 1 USD and if INR is devalued, then it will take more than 55 INR to buy 1 USD. Thus, the USD becomes relatively stronger than the INR.

Therefore, devaluation of currency makes foreign products relatively more expensive, thus discouraging imports. This helps a lot in reducing trade deficits. Trade deficit is the amount by which the cost of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports. If imports are costlier, there will be lesser imports and thus maintaining a balance between country's imports and exports.

Dollarization means usage of USD in parallel to or instead of the national currency. Unofficial dollarization is so dominant in some countries, that it would be rare to see their national currency in use. And once this happens, it is almost impossible to reverse.

According to a research, 40-60% of USD are used outside the United States.

2. World War II- There is no such thing as a "World Currency", but since the World War II, the USD has been a dominant currency all across the globe. There was a time when all the currencies were backed by gold reserves of equal value. In simple terms, gold was the standard by which all the currencies were measured. After World War II, the USA became the most dominant economy of the world and caused global expansion. Global expansion is to grow a country's business in many other countries. It also includes investing in foreign markets. This global expansion was so large that the banks could not hold so much of gold to back the printing of new currency. Thus, the USA eliminated this gold standard and starting printing USDs in order to finance the global expansion even further. Other countries followed what this dominant and large economy chose to do and also started to waive off the gold standard. This is one of the reasons why the USD became dominant and almost all commodities were quoted internationally in terms of USD.

As the USD has started to show signs of instability, it is a reason why the world is not divided into various parts. One part uses American dollar. One part uses Euros and the other part is starting to use the Japanese Yen, as it is starting to prove its worth in the international market. Due to the rise of other currencies like the Euro and the Yen in the international market, it is impossible for any one currency to be termed as a global currency.

In light of the explanation above, the USD retains its status as an unofficial global currency, as it certainly is stronger than the rest of the currencies as of today. Tomorrow, maybe it will be replaced by the Euro or the Yen, or maybe the USD will never take a step down. Economy related to currency usage is quite deep and the factors that are to be considered in changing a currency's status are infinite.

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Origin of the word (OTW): Cheetah

Here comes a very short, and yet a jaw-dropper post.

"Cheetah". How much would you believe if it is revealed that this word has been derived not from Latin, Greek or any other language, but is derived for the richest language of all- Sanskrit?

True. Very true. It is derived from Sanskrit. The word is citrakāyaḥ, which means "variegated". This word signifies the variegated spots on the body of this lightening fast hunter!

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Enemy of economy: Black money

Black money is not just a feeble enemy of the economy. This is the context when the term "arch-enemy" would seem appropriate. Black money could be defined as the  money on which one doesn't pay taxes.

The sources of income for the government at large are as following-

1. Tax receipts
2. Capital receipt
3. Non-tax revenue

Normally, taxes are second highest source of revenue generation for the government. Now, in most simplest way, tax evasion will lead to reduction in the earnings of the government. This in turn will increase the gap between the expenditures and revenue of the government, clearly, the former more the latter. This leaves just one choice for the government to finance this deficit- borrow money i.e to sink in a pool of debt. This is one of the causes of inflation, which in turn affects the common man in terms of high prices and the commoners, regular tax payers or not, are to suffer.

Let us assume a very tiny scale scenario to know how black money affects the mass. Let us assume a small region with a population of only 100. Assume that 20 people earn 1000, 20 earn 2000, 20 earn 3000, 20 earn 4000 and the last 20, maybe the government officials or businessmen earn 5000 currency per month, and the government in that region taxes 20% on the income.

Now, if to get his work done easily, a business man earning 5000 per month will bribe a poor employee 1000 rupees, that employee earning 1000 rupees per month suddenly earns 2000 a month. But, this excess 1000 is black money, so he can't pay taxes on it because if he will, there are chances that the Income Tax department will most probably catch that black money. So, the employee will hide those 1000 rupees from the government. Thus, 1000 rupees that were actually circulating in that region now are nowhere to be seen. Thus, the tax earnings on those 1000 rupees will be fictitious as those 1000 are as good as vanished for the government. Therefore, the government earning reduces by 200 rupees (20% of 1000).

Now, this government will increase the tax percent from 20 to 25% so that their earning should increase. Thus, now the people who are innocent and not involved in black money will also have to pay extra taxes because of the people who are involved in the black money dealings.

Difference between the employees earning 1000 per month who bribe and the one who do not is as follows-

Tax is 25%. One who took bribe has 2000 of which he will pay tax only on 1000 because as per official records he earns only 1000 per month and there is no explanation to how he got the extra 1000. Thus, his expense on tax will be 250 (25% of 1000). Hence, he will be having 750+1000 = 1750 to use every month. One who does not bribe used to spend 200 earlier and now has to spend 250 every month and ends up with only 750 currency every month.

Now, imagine the large impact of people having black money of over a thousand million dollars. It is unimaginable how great a consequence would elimination of black money have. Take bills and receipts. Do not bribe. Do not accept bribes. Do things straight and right, you'd never have to take or give bribes.

Thus, one who takes bribe has an adverse impact on those who do not. They reduce the government earnings as they then can evade taxes and thus make the government increase their tax limits from every citizen.

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Can banks print money & get rich?

The answer is NO. If the Central Bank starts to print money, there will be an inflation in the economy and the prices will rise high. And if the Central Bank prints too much money, the economy would enter the state of hyper-inflation and make our lives worse. Sounds unlikely? Read on.

Let us start with the most simple and fundamental concepts that will lead us to this conclusion.

Demand and Price

Think of how demand and price are related to each other. Fairly easy to do. Take an example of a product that you desire the most, say an Apple iPhone. If Apple brings down the price of its iPhone by 50%, certainly it will have more demand. Surely, an iPhone at 40,000 Rs. will sell lesser than the same at 20,000 Rs.

Thus, the demand of a product increases, if its price decreases.

Supply and Price

If the price of a product rises, the number of suppliers will increase. It is natural, that the sellers will supply as much as they can, because higher prices will earn them higher revenues.

Thus, higher the price of a product, more will be the supply.

Supply and Demand

Imagine that a special edition CD is out in the stores for 500 Rs. Assume that large number of these CDs are sold at this cost. Since the demand of these CDs is high, the price of the CD will rise. Consequently, since the price of the CD rises, the supply of these CDs will rise as well, as per the supply-price relationship.

Imagine that the demand for these CDs remain the same but the supply has increased. This is result in some CDs not sold at all. The suppliers will try harder to sell these CDs and lower its price. Now with a lower price, there will more people ready to buy these CDs.

If Central Bank prints lots of money

Suppose that the Central Bank prints money, and mails a share it to each and every living citizen of the country in an envelope. For the sake of a hyperbole, assume that every individual gets a sum of 1,00,000 Rs. in that envelope. Now, you are suddenly richer than what you were. Some people will save this money, some will pay off their debts and most of them will run down to their nearest shopping place and buy what they needed to buy, say a Samsung smartphone.

This sudden rise of the demand of products will pose as a problem for the shopping place, say Croma. Now, due to this rise in the demand for a Samsung smartphone, Croma is most likely to run out of stock for the same. Most logical thing for Croma to do is to raise the price of the Samsung smartphone so as to regulate this high demand. Rise in prices is equal to inflation. Thus, if Croma does that, it will cause inflation right away and the value of money will fall. But, assume, for an argument's sake that Croma will keep its prices constant. Now, to keep the price of Samsung smartphone constant, from what we learnt above, the supply of the phones to Croma must meet its demand from Croma by the consumers

For having the supply meet this rise in demand, Samsung will now have to increase its production of the smartphones. Certainly, this is almost impossible because with phones of such high demand, Samsung must already be using its full capacity to produce as many phones as they can. Still, if there is room for Samsung to increase the production, it will require more number of parts from its suppliers. To raise the bar of this exaggeration, assume that the suppliers supply the parts on time without raising their prices, there is another factor, which Samsung will have to deal with and that is labour.

For production of more smartphones, they’re going to need more man hours of labour. Wages are essentially prices; an hourly wage is the price a person charges for an hour of labour. It will be impossible for hourly wages to stay at their current levels. Some of the added labour may come through the current workers working overtime. This clearly has added costs, and workers are not likely to be as productive (per hour) if they’re working 12 hours a day than if they’re working 8. Many companies will need to hire extra labour. Thus, the cost that is incurred upon the company will rise as the company will have to pay to more number of workers. They’ll also have to influence their current workers not to retire. Since every person has been 1,00,000 Rs. by the Central Bank, some of them will not do their job unless their wage/salary is increased. Thus, from one way or the other, the cost involved in manufacturing a product in this case is going to be reflected in the smartphone's final price, thus causing inflation.

In short prices will go up after a drastic increase in the money supply by the Central bank because:

1. If people have more money, they’ll divert some of that money to spending. Retailers will be forced to raise prices, or run out of product.
2. Retailers who run out of product will try to replenish it. Producers face the same dilemma of retailers that they will either have to raise prices, or face shortages because they do not have the capacity to create extra products and they cannot find labor at rates which are low enough to justify the extra production. 

Inflation is caused due to the following factors-

1. Supply of money increases
2. Supply of goods decreases
3. Demand for money decreases
4. Demand for goods increases

Thus, increasing in supply of money is going to result in inflation. If the supply of goods increased enough, factor 1 and 2 could balance each other out and we could avoid inflation. Suppliers would produce more goods if wage rates and the price of their inputs wouldn’t increase. However, we’ve seen they will increase. Thus, supply of additional money is one way or the other going to cause inflation.

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The Ravana Misconception

A fervent devotee of Lord Shiva. Earned blessings from Lord Bramha too. Believed to be having knowledge of all 4 Vedas, and 6 Upanishads. Abducted Sita to avenge the humiliation Rama and Lakshman caused on his sister, Surpanakha. Not to forget, he kept Sita respectably, unharmed and safe. Primarily, Lanka prospered in his rule. Why is he considered evil then?

Following his conquest of Lanka, Ravana encountered Lord Shiva at his abode in Kailash. Unknowingly, Ravana attempted to uproot and move the mountain on a whim. Shiva, annoyed by Ravana's arrogance, pressed his little toe on Kailash, pinning him firmly and painfully under the same. His ganas informed Ravana of whom he had crossed, upon which Ravana became penitent. He composed and sang songs praising Shiva, and is said to have done so for thousands of years, till Shiva released him from his bondage. Pleased with his bravery and devotion, Shiva gave to him the divine sword Chandrahas ("Moon-blade"). It is during this incident that he acquires the name 'Ravana', meaning "(He) Of the terrifying roar", given to him by Shiva - the earth is said to have quaked at Ravana's cry of pain when the mountain was pinned on him. Ravana in turn became a lifelong devotee of Lord Shiva. Ravana is said to compose Shiva Tandava Stotra, a hymn to Lord Shiva

At the time of the Ramayana, set several hundred years later, Ravana is shown as dominating all human and divine races - so much so that he can command the Sun as to his rising and setting.

In the Bhagavata Purana, Ravana and his brother, Kumbakarna were said to be reincarnations of Jaya and Vijaya, gatekeepers at Vaikuntha, the abode of Vishnu and were cursed to be born in Earth for their insolence.

These gatekeepers refused entry to the Sanatha Kumara monks, who, because of their powers and austerity appeared as young children. For their insolence, the monks cursed them to be expelled from Vaikunta and to be born in Earth. The all-merciful Vishnu agreed that they should be punished but agreed to mitigate their curse. He asked them whether they would want to be undergo seven births as devotees of Vishnu or three births as enemies of the Lord. Since they wanted to get back as soon as possible, they agreed to be born in three births as enemies of God.

In the first birth, Jaya and Vijaya were born as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha. Vishnu incarnated as Varaha and Narasimha and killed them both. In Treta Yuga they were born as Ravana and Kumbhakarna and were killed by Rama. Then in Dwapara yuga, and in their final birth, Jaya and Vijaya they were born as Shishupala and Dantavakra and killed by Sri Krishna. After the end of three births, they returned to Vaikunta.

Thus, to fulfill the curse that was upon Jaya and Vijaya, to die at the hands of the avatar of Lord Vishnu, Ravana is said to have planned the kidnapping of Sita so as to entice Lord Ram to pursue him and kill him in return. Ravana had no other option than to kidnap Sita to lure Lord Ram into a fatal battle. If kidnapping Sita for other pleasures was even one of the motives of Ravana, then there is no explanation for Ravana keeping Sita totally safe and untouched in his house, Lanka. Since there was no other way for him to fulfill the curse upon him to die at the hands of Lord Vishnu's avatar, he had to cultivate nefarious wickedness, violence and hatred, and invite Lord Ram to kill him. Of course, this might be called a type of devotion that is stupid and infamous. But his inner aim was to cross the ocean of birth and death, through that act of self abnegation and surrender to Lord Vishnu, and be Lord Vishnu's gate keepers again and be at His devotion.

Ravana serves mainly as an antagonist and villain in the Ramayana, though sometimes he was shown as a great noble man. Nevertheless, he is considered to have possessed several virtues, the foremost being his knowledge of the sacred books, medicines and sorcery. Ravana was a great devotee of Shiva and is supposed to have composed the Shiva Tandava Stotra.

Perhaps the reason why he is shown to be a completer evil in the Indian version of Ramayana is to promulgate a moral to the audience. A moral that good triumphs over the evil is what every parent teaches their child, and to reinforce it, Ravana is shown as the villain in the version of Ramayana that is telecast to the Indian audience.

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How right is the Right to Vote?

On the 18th birthday, government enfranchises you with a right to vote. A right to vote, based entirely on the basis of age. Practical? Logical?

Imagine a revolution and re-engineering of the voting system in India. How would it be if the voting rights are not granted to those who turn 18, but are granted to those who pass a certain examination or a test after he/she is 18? This examination or a test could be designed to gather the intellect of the person, his moral ethics and responsibility of his/her character. For example, imagine a man who indulges in wicked activities to an extent that he will waste his family money over it and keep his children's education at bay. Assume that he exercises strict violence at his house, and is incapable of keeping his own house robust on his shoulders. How valid it is to allow him the right to decide about the country's future when he can't even decide about his own family's fate?

There might be very high odds of having such people in a locality as compared to those who are highly literate and are well-aware of the political leaders, who are representing a certain party in the election process. These few, but very important votes will be overwhelmed by the huge number of votes by those who vote for a particular party based on caste, creed or an inspirational speech that that leader few days pre-election.

Voting for a leader today in India is more or less like voting for your favourite singer or a chef in today's TV "reality" shows. Except that in voting for a leader, you wake up in the morning, stand in a queue and punch a button for a party you "think" is good for India. Given the literacy rate of our country, a huge percentage of people still cannot sign. I repeat, how valid is it to grant such an individual to decide about a leader who is right for us? Democracy is the reason why they can vote. But, if another barrier is added in the eligibility list to make the national citizens eligible to vote, there will be an erudite population with satisfactory knowledge about Indian politics. Democracy will still be served, as every 18 year old will be eligible for this test. This does not demand discrimination, but it is only an attempt to make every vote weigh significantly.

Most people tend to mimic their political views from their parents, or friends or maybe an inspirational speech they heard on TV. Many people have limited views about Indian politics, and much lesser knowledge about the number of scams and scandals that come up in the newspapers, which include the politicians, which we vote for. Thus, in light of such infelicitous events, voting system if changed, might actually bring better leaders in power.

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Origin of the word (OTW): Draconian

Draconian
adjective
        (of laws or their application) excessively harsh and severe.

Draconian is a word coined in around 1810, derived from Draco, the first lawmaker of Athens in Ancient Greece during the 7th century B.C. He overthrew the then existing forms of punishment and wrote a code to be enforced only by the court. This code was too harsh, and rendered even the petty criminals dead. Thus, the word "draconian" refers to unforgiving and severe punishments.

The laws laid down by Draco were the first written constitution of Athens.

Instead of oral laws, all the laws were in written form. The Draconian laws made a difference between a murder and an involuntary homicide.


The laws, however, were particularly harsh. For example, any debtor whose status was lower than that of his creditor was forced into slavery.The punishment was more lenient for those owing debt to a member of a lower class. The death penalty was the punishment for even minor offences. Draco ascribed death penalty for minor offences because he felt that the criminals deserved it. Since nothing could be severe than this, he ascribed death to major offenders also.

In 6th century, all his laws were thrown over by Solon, and made some modifications to it.

The harshness and the severity of the punishments that Draco made the criminals to face, had a permanent mark in the pages of International history, compelling a linguistic addition of the word "draconian" in the English language.

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India immobilized by the Chinese daring

There have been several occasions when China has been in the disrespectful light in the eyes of the international diplomats. China intermittently replays its degraded game of crossing the borders, masking its offense as defense, negotiating with nothing to yield and bringing the weak political system of the counterpart to heel.

The Ladakh Incursion

The most recent incursion in India at Ladakh, was another replay of its classic game. This incursion bore all the hallmarks of the Chinese game - taking the opponent by surprise, seizing an opportunistic timing and striking when the Indian political system is at its weakest.

China impudently violated the border-peace agreements with India by forcefully breaking into the Indian territory. Then to add to their impudence, they set out military demands for India to meet.

Thus, it left India with two choices - either withstand the Chinese incursion into the region controlling main access routes or to meet the Chinese demands, at the cost of irreversibly damaging the Indian military interest in a wider belt from Karakoram Pass and the Siachen Glacier. After 3 weeks of the drama, the Chinese went back but only after the powerless Government yielded some ground.

Basically, what happened was that India made a concession to the stand-off, while China, who stirred up this violation ceded nothing at all. Instead of taking some military and political action against the Chinese encroachment and attempting to avoid any such violations of the border-peace agreements, India rewarded their encroachment by breaking down its defensive structures at Chumar. All it took China was a mere 50 troops to get things done their way.

The intruded troops could not have survived the icy winter in the Himalayas for more than a couple of weeks more in the temporary shelters that they erected. Plus, if the incursion had been there for another few weeks, the Chinese greed for the territorial prowess would have shone in an unpleasant international light.

India had nothing to lose if it stood firm on its decision to yield nothing to the Chinese resurgence. Yet, India put itself under the pressure of the Chinese force over the visit of the Chinese premier Li Keqiang, who had actually stopped by at New Delhi on his way to Pakistan to congratulate the newly elected government there.

Post this ungodly event, the Chinese took advantage of India's apparent lack of self-respect by insisting that India dismantle its bunkers, destroy its defensive fortifications like live-in bunkers and cutting off the infrastructural developments at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). China seeks to encroach the Indian land in East Ladakh bit by bit and is playing small games like these to achieve its bigger goal.

By forcing India to destroy its bunkers and other fortifications in the LAC area, India has been made more vulnerable to the Chinese maneuvers and raids in the area. Razing up the bunkers has made India lose troops from the Chumar region, an event that has opened a space for Chinese to enable them to expand their sovereignty claims.

China apropos Arunachal Pradesh and J&K

While under the British rule, they demarcated the border between India and China at Arunachal Pradesh, naming it the McMohan line. This border runs a 1030 km unfenced boundary. However, Beijing never recognized this boundary and claims India of having taken away 90,000 sq. km of their land. But, China shows loss of memory when it comes to North India where they have encroached over 43,000 sq km of the Jammu & Kashmir. India has been firm, stating Arunachal Pradesh to be a part of Indian Union of States.

In May 2007, China denied a visa to Ganesh Koyu, an IAS officer from Arunachal Pradesh for a visit to Beijing and Shanghai. China pointed out that Koyu is a Chinese citizen since he belongs to Arunachal Pradesh, and hence he could visit China without a visa.

In 2009, China called the visit of Indian PM to Arunachal Pradesh as an 'audacious and reckless move'. China successfully blocked India's demand of $60 million loan from the Asian Development Bank, to be used for the development of Arunachal Pradesh. India kept mum.

To harass India, China started issuing passports on separate sheets for the residents of Jammu & Kashmir stating the territory as a disputed one. Also the e-passports of China had a watermark of China's map, which had Arunachal Pradesh in it. India showed resentment, and the Chinese stopped doing so.

In another event in 2012, when the Chinese were in Gujarat for signing a huge deal, the Chinese distributed pamphlets that showed a Chinese map with Arunachal Pradesh in it.

Completely neglecting the McMohan line, China called Arunachal Pradesh as southern Tibet.

Dam Diplomacy

With another recent incident involving the Brahmaputra river in North-East India, China has replayed its nefarious card by violating the rules related to International water-sharing.
In 2012, China commenced building up dams that are believed to cease the effluence of the Brahmaputra, the source of life for the entire North-East India. Ceasing the water flow from this river to North-East India, will bring the economy of the region to the heels. To bring the worst in front, the Chinese did not bother to inform about the plans of building these three dams to India, and started to build the first dam already. Experts said that if the projects were carried out, they would have devastating consequences on the lives of millions of people in India and Bangladesh.

Agriculture forms the backbone of the economy in both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with nearly 80 percent of the 27 million people in the two states eking out a living through farming, an agriculture scientist said.

Asked about the plans to build the dams, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a media briefing here that "China has always taken a responsible attitude towards the development of cross border rivers".Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia had expressed similar concerns over eight dams being built on the Mekong river. Chinese responsibility about cross-border waters is now debatable

Spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, expressed his advice to India to treat this issue with higher degree of seriousness. China claims that the dams are being built only with an intention to draw water, but, keeping the past endeavours in mind, China has lost a hard-earned virtue of trustworthiness.

An important concern is if India will wake up on time. China lately responded positively to India's concerns about the dams, and has agreed to improve the present mechanism on sharing the data on the water flow. India believes that the dams would have an adverse effect on the flow of water in India, while China imperiously waves off this allegation. The fate of North-East Indian agrarian economy hopes to see a brighter tomorrow.

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Why football should be our most-loved sport?

Cricket came to India in the British ships. Today, Indian cricket team has gained a lot of potential and stands a chance to imbibe fear in any other cricket team on a global level. However, when it comes to football, Indian team puts the country to shame.

FIFA ranks 206 countries i.e. almost every nation on this planet for their ability to prove themselves on the field. India ranks behind countries like Afghanistan and Nepal with a rank of 169, but still is ahead of its territorial rival, Pakistan, which stands at 177.

Football is a very easy game to understand, as compared to cricket. Football also does not demand so many equipment and paraphernalia like cricket does. All it requires is a ball, a decent pair of shoes and any shaped ground to practice it. This is why football was adapted even by the poorest of countries like Brazil, Chile etc., and still they have marked their name in golden letter in the world of football.

Although cricket was the game of the British in India, their way of passing time apart from cricket was to play football. They did not allow Indians to play this game. The first ever recorded game in India was played between 'Calcutta Club of Civilians' and 'Gentlemen of Barrackpore'.

Between the founding of 'Calcutta Football Club' (CFC), 1872 and the first game played was a famed revolutionary activity by the Indians, which extirpated sections of the British empire- the uprising of 1857. This revolution was majorly led by Bengali officers.

After gathering their wits post uprising, the British came up with a new initiative: to make British games mandatory along with English education. By 1870, Calcutta had become a hub of Indian football, which even today is the home for most of the enthused footballers of the country. Calcutta is also home to the world's largest football arena with a capacity of whooping 1,20,000 enthusiasts.

By 1889, the natives had formed their first team: Mohun Bagan. In 1911, this team won the IFA Shield beating a regimental squad, the first victory of any Asian team against the British.

In 1953, the defender Sailen Manna of Mohun Bagan and the Indian team, was among the top 10 skippers of world football according to the English Football Association. This was a miniscule feat as compared to what came next. Manna had led his barefoot India team to the 1948 Olympics, losing by a whisker to France and to gold at the 1951 Asian Games.

Till the 1980s it was unclear if cricket was more popular than football, but this is when the caste system crept in the sporting industry. Cricket was believed to be a gentleman's sport, while football was taken as a sport was the grass-roots.

Economically, this made it easier for cricket foundations to raise funds for cricket tournaments, while football struggled way too much in vain. Cricket was thus encouraged by the parents for their kids and football always got cornered. This ancient perception of football is today affecting the football associations and foundations in no good way.

Then two events that took place in the history of Indian sporting industry, kicked the struggling football off the ladder of fame.
1. 1978 World Cup in Argentina qualified India for football. But, the cleft between the standards of play, power and tactics of Indian football team as compared to others made football lesser appealing to the mass.

2. India's commendable victory in the 1983 World Cup in cricket made India a world champion at some sport. Never mind the less than a dozen of countries that comprised this "world", India was still a world-best in cricket for the Indian mass.

These events made it clear for the money-makers about the source that will bring them more money: cricket.

Yet, this has a potential to change. Today's youth are drawn largely towards the leading football clubs and teams in Europe. But, they have a negligible chance of watching Mohun Bagan play. Today's crowd is not just following football with a passion that they lack for cricket, but they are also playing it well. It is a proud achievement by the Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri who is selected to play with the club that gave shape to Cristiano Ronaldo's success, Sporting CP B.

It is time for football to be the most-loved sport for the Indians.

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Healthy? Actually, no!

Some food items and other products that are marketed to be healthy, but actually are not. It is necessary to open both our eyes to these products, which we might be using or even over-using only because we are made believe about its health benefits. Let's open our eyes slowly with this list.

1. Sports Drinks- Consumption sports drinks but not participating in a high-intensity activity, results in gulping of more calories than burning.

2. Energy bars- Most people wouldn't think of a candy bar as a healthy snack. Many snacks sold as energy bars are nutritionally very similar to candy when it comes to sugar content. So, imagine.

3. Hand sanitizers- Sure! They are the best alternatives to the traditional soap-water wash. Any sanitizer with over 60% alcohol content drive off the bacteria and other germs off the hands, if used properly. However, just as much as it is important to protect hands from infections, it is really vital  to let some germs and microbes in. With total clearance of those, there are no favours done for your immune system. Over use of hand sanitizers will resist a build up of resistance to the germs in any sneeze or cough that might come anyone's way.

4. Multigrain and wheat breads- Wheat or not, either ways the bread is made out of enriched flour, refined to strip it off its nutrients. Hardly any nutritional content, they cause an unhealthy spike in sugar levels, causing severe health ailments. Althought, whole grain helps prevent weight gain, and lowers he risk of diabetes.

5. Fat-free anything- When the fat is removed from a product, its sodium and sugar content often increases. Fat is important for a body to be able to function properly, absorb vitamins and minerals, and helps us know when we are full and do not overeat. Also, it depends on the type of fat that is consumed, which will decide if its a good idea or not. Saturated fats (butter) and trans-fats are so called bad fats. Unsaturated fats are as a matter of fact healthy for the heart.

6. Diet soda- Diet sodas may have fewer calories than regular versions, but the artificial sweeteners may cause weight gain.

7. Smoothies- Smoothies sound like a healthy snack or meal replacement, and they can be if gone about it the right way. But because some smoothies contain more sugar than fresh and frozen fruits, yogurt, and skim (or non-dairy) milk, they can easily turn from diet-friendly to diet-busting.

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Origin of the word: Narcissism

Narcissism is, as known, a behaviour of self-love, vanity, selfishness and also pride. Like many other words in English language that are derived from the names of mythological stories like "Morphine", "Atlas", "Nemesis" etc., this one adds to the list.

Narcissism was brought to be used in English language at around the end of the 19th century, although it is named after a Greek Mythological figure, Narcissus.

Running deeper into its meaning, Narcissus was said to be punished and so fall in love with its own reflection. Thus, Narcissus is believed to spend hours and hours at a pool gazing at his own reflection. This punishment that he was made to suffer was for his denial of romantic and desperate advances of a nymph called Echo.

The story about Narcissus ends after he turns into a flower following his deep suffering arising out of his inability to consummate his love and staring at his own reflection. The flower today is called as 'narcissus' also known as a daffodil.

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If gambling were legal in India

To start with this, it must be known that few forms of gambling like lottery and horse racing are legal in India. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 prohibits one to run a public gambling house.

Despite the existing prohibitive legislation, illegal gambling in rampant in India. The Indian gambling market is estimated to be worth US$60 billion per year, of which about half is illegally bet. Only two states of Goa and Sikkim allow casino gambling. Rest other states are thoroughly against the casino setup.

Not legalizing gambling does not stop gambling. Banning betting drives all these activities underground and infuses with the criminal elements. Legalizing betting will at the least limit or eliminate the criminal element from betting, as betting will be done in the open, not underground. Also, if gambling is legalized,the Indian money flowing to the international platforms and gambling houses where gambling is legal only makes India poorer.

The countries where gambling is legal, like in the USA or in the UK, the revenues earned in the gambling sector makes up to about 1% of their GDP. In India, 1% of the GDP will mean $1.85 billion.

However, just to imagine that the our government alters its laws and legalizes gambling in India, we might see a richer country. Las Vegas, considered to be a legal gambling area, people are not worrisome about being caught, as they are not involved in anything illegal. This way, they spend a lot over gambling. Las Vegas is a proof of the powerful ability of gambling to nurture economic development. It has opened doors for job seekers, and developed into a city with a low tax burden that many other states and cities look at and envy.

Understanding how casinos are a money-minting business, you don't need a sharp brain. What are the odds of winning Russian Roulette or Craps or Blackjack? Meek odds, its certain. The money a customer loses, is earned by the gambling house. Government could legalize gambling with taxing the earnings by either the gambler or the gambling house. This will reduce the government deficits, as legalizing gambling will attract many gamblers to come out of the den, and play freely with delusions of winning every next time he/she loses. Maybe the Indian Government would also find it possible to reduce other tax rates that are only an onus on the population.

Quite shocking as it may sound, that our government does not  have any laws against online betting. Betting companies attempt to lure the Indians to bet on practically everything, taking full advantage of this loophole. Therefore, every year seasons like the IPL seasons are sought by habitual betters to gain large sums. Sikkim has outlined the rules and regulations for online gambling licensing within that state since 2009.

Dark side of legalizing gambling in our country will be mainly social. Have we not heard of stories where habitual gamblers crumble down the family wealth to rags over frequent gambles? A social tension occurs over money that is wasted by a gambler against his family who would be reluctant to offer any more money. This is a concern almost impossible to be gotten rid of, as gambling legally or illegally will never stop.

It would be foolish to suggest that match-fixing will be an impossible activity if gambling were legalized, but it will be equally rash not to recognize that it would reduce the chances of these notorious activities. When making money from running a bet itself is illegal, the temptation to take an extra step into it will, but of course have higher returns. Temptation is always money. Higher the difficulty of a task, higher the prize one demands.


Conclusively, if the sector of gambling is legalized, it must be regulated. Prohibition of alcohol, does not stop the people from consuming it, but it will only make it lesser convenient for them as they will have law to hide from. Similarly, it hardly makes sense to label gambling as illegal, as it is Indians would, like they already do, lose money to internationally located gambling houses. Indian government might think of considering gambling as a tax-run business for India and Indians, for multiple benefits.

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Electric cars..are they really so friendly?

Electric cars are seen as models of vehicles, which will help reduce emissions and aid the global go-green missions. Although what comes out of the Electric Vehicles (EVs) is friendly, but the main concern is about what goes into making it.

EVs have a great potential to be proven as entirely eco-friendly, but that will be judged by a review of how much electricity does it need to run and how much electricity does it consume to be produced. The coal-based generation of electricity being highly polluting, it grossly reduces the environmental advantage of the EVs.

Also, usage of nuclear energy for the generation of electricity is one of the safest and highly productive sources. No way is the clean way, however, nuclear energy is as clean as no other source for producing electricity could get.

However, in countries like Norway where electricity generation is through hydro-electric means, the environmental advantage that an EV has, clearly outweighs that of a conventional car. Thus, the size of an environmental impact depends upon the sources used to generate the electricity for the car.

This concern leaves the other major concerns like time taken to recharge the batteries, distance that an EV will travel on full charge far behind. Also, the making of the lithium-ion batteries would have an environmental impact, which is debated to be a large effect or a moderate one.

When the EVs will be out on a roll, another challenge that will come up would be about the recycling of all those Li-ion batteries. Market for companies that will come ahead to be able to recycle these batteries will grow. The Li-ion batteries if frozen to under -325 degrees F, diffuses the lithium, and then the shredding and scraping begins. Easier said than done, would say the Li-ion battery recyclers.

To keep a fact in mind, there exists no such thing as "zero-emission". In case of EVs, they are entirely zero-emission vehicles, but the manufacturing of the same and its products are not zero-emission activities, whatsoever.

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Brand is all about "YOU"

Why is it that one prefers Ford over Merc or Nikon over Canon or Formula1 over Moto GP?

These are not natural monopolies that run in the market. These are people's favourites. These are their choices.

Brand is merely a logo, if it does not connect with the mass, like you and me. Stories and emotions are the few ways in which the brand can communicate with the audience. We often say that we "love Manchester United" or that we "love Starbucks" or that we love "a drag of a cigarette". Do we actually love these products/services?

No, in absolute sense, we love ourselves.

We love the way how a brand makes us feel. We love the comfort of wearing a pair of Nike shoes. We love the sensation of the melting caramel oozing out of a 5 star chocolate bar. It switches us to an entirely different world, where pleasure is above all.

We love to donate at charity foundations, we love to sit along with our pals and cheer for your favourite team because such things give us a chance to love something about ourselves.

It is not easy to explain this harmless narcissism, to even ourselves. It is difficult to prove that such a pang that drives us to take apparently reasonable decisions everyday.

Nevertheless, we buy an Adidas football gear, a Gibson electric bass guitar or a modest cutting-chai because they help us define ourselves. Buying things that we love, and the way how we use them acknowledges others of what we are. Brand is a way to remind us what we want to be.

Great marketers don't sell stuff. They sell a meaning.

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See. Observe. Think.

Hello readers! Thank you for visiting this blog. My eyes and ears come across a variety of things in my regular life. Things i see and hear, are sometimes completely intriguing & interesting.Well, so, allow me to share such scenarios, facts and figures with you, which will amaze you the same way they did me. Keep blogging with me.

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