Just eight years ago, I had never even heard of the term “peer review.” I often wondered how scientific knowledge found its way into classroom textbooks. Who decides what to include and whether it’s accurate? During my PhD, I first experienced peer review and how it works. It made sense then to me. scientific peers are the ones who evaluate the validity of findings and determine whether they should be published. Here’s a typical overview of how the scientific peer…
India, or Bharat, is one of the youngest countries on this planet, with an average age of 29. Currently, over 650 million Indians are under the age of 25, and 845 million are under 35. With such a large workforce, one would expect India to be the immediate next superpower. There is, of course, a lot of hope about India around the world right now. As an Indian, it feels so exhilarating to witness a time when most of the…
Among all the mystical words, luck is probably the most ancient and popular one. In our daily lives, we use it commonly as ‘good luck‘, ‘may you be the lucky one‘, etc. But even the best scientists would have difficulty describing or quantifying luck. While some people believe luck is just a statistical phenomenon, others are convinced that luck plays a big role in life. But which is closer to the truth? Probably no one has the absolute answer. The…
For many of us born before the digital age, magazines hold a special place in our hearts. They’re not just publications; they’re time capsules of nostalgia. Not that I don’t see magazines nowadays, but it is a reality now that magazine readers are declining fast. So fast that within 10-15 years, we may see the closure of most magazines in print format. You might be thinking, “What about e-magazines?” Sure, they exist, but can they convey the same feeling as…
We currently live in one of the most entertaining times in the history of humankind. Never before have humans had the resources and tools to get entertained as they are today. Learning and entertainment have both been part of our lives since the beginning. Learning is essential to progress and thrive as a society, whereas, entertainment provides an opportunity to give yourself a break and slow down. The fact is that both were seen as different aspects until the last…
Ambition- I often find it as one of the most puzzling words in English. The one piece of advice I frequently received from all my well-wishers is ‘You must be ambitious in life‘. I think having ambition is a good thing. It fuels our drive and creates a strong desire to achieve our goals, which is a crucial step toward any significant accomplishment. If cooking is your goal then having a knife with you acts like ambition. The knife itself…
Most people don’t realize the true driver of progress. If you ask 10 random people how civilizations progress or improve, chances are most will not mention innovation in their answers. If you take a moment to reflect, you’ll realize that civilizations advance through new innovations. Imagine if James Watt had never invented the steam engine, Gutenberg had never created the printing press, Charles Babbage had not conceptualized the computer, or Vint Cerf had never thought of the internet. Each of…
Books have always been an integral part of my life. It’s almost impossible for me to imagine life without them. Books are one of the reasons I started this blog. After all, writing without reading is like trying to paint without colors. There is just something about reading that seems irreplaceable even today. Think about it, writing was invented almost 5500 years ago. In between numerous occasions came when people believed reading would go extinct. When Thomas Edison invented the…
Today, 5.4 billion people worldwide use the internet in their daily lives, and this number will only continue to grow. I am sure you would not be surprised at all to know that internet usage has a significant impact on our brains. The deeper questions are how and what it changes within our brains. And should we be worried at all? For most of my life, I have tried to be conscious of what and how I like to utilize…
I thought at least five times that I probably should not write on this subject. This is such a vast and complex subject that several Ph.D could be awarded. Then I wondered what is the point of having a personal blog if I can not even express views on topics close to my heart. Besides doing a PhD in India has made me realize the challenges (and opportunities) of scientific research in India. Science, especially scientific research, plays a pivotal…
