Facts & Figures-24 : Drug-resistant TB found in 45 countries

The World Health Organization announced that virtually untreatable drug-resistant tuberculosis could now be found in 45 countries with a half-million new cases each year, and that the highest rate of infection was in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Courtesy: Weekly Review, Harper's Weekly, March 4, 2008

A Thought for Today : March 1, 2008

Success depends on your backbone, not your wishbone – Author not known

A Thought for Today : February 29, 2008

Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan - Norman Vincent Peale

12 Ways of Winning People to Your Way of Thinking

1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
2. Show respect for the other man’s opinions. Never tell a man he is wrong.
3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Get the other person saying, “yes, yes” immediately.
6. Get the other do a great deal of talking.
7. Let the other man feel that the idea is his.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.
9. Be sympathetic with the other person’s point of view.
10. Appeal to the nobler motives.
11. Dramatize your ideas.
12. Throw down a challenge.

Courtesy: “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

A Thought for Today : February 28, 2008

Greater is he who acts from love than he who acts from fear - Simeon Ben Eleazar

Eyecatchers-62: "Darwin's Legacy"

On February 12, 2009, most of the world will celebrate the 200th birth anniversary of a great scientist whose theory – based on incredibly laborious empirical observation and once-in-a-millennium-insights – forever changed humankind’s perceptions of itself and of the natural world around. Next year will also mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s great work, On the origin of species by means of natural selection or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. The five year (December 27, 1831 – October 2, 1836) the English naturalist spent on board H.M.S.Beagle in a round-the-world voyage gave him the opportunity to study and compare the fauna, flora, and geology of many distant lands. It led him to wonder about the diversity of life forms he found and why creatures occupying similar environments in places around the globe could be so vastly different. The idea that biological species were not immutable but were capable of change was in itself not new at the time. Darwin would have been familiar with the speculations of his own grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, and the French zoologist, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. But within a couple of years following the Beagle voyage, Darwin was going much further. He was thinking about a common origin for all life on the planet when he sketched in his notebook a ‘tree of life’, implying that all species had diversified from a common stalk.

However, Darwin was not the only one thinking alone such lines. In 1858, he received a letter suggesting ideas remarkably like his own; it was from Alfred Russell Wallace, who was collecting biological specimens in Southeast Asia. Papers putting forth both points of view were duly presented at a meeting of the Linnaean Society of London. The Origin of Species (as Darwin’s 1859 magnum opus came to be titled in 1872, in the sixth edition) marshaled a vast body of evidence and presented his arguments in favour of evolution driven by a process of natural selection that allowed traits best suited to a particular environment to spread in a population. Evolution and a common origin for all life lie at the heart of biology. In an essay strikingly titled ‘nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution,’ the geneticist and evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky declared: “Without that light [biology] becomes a pile of sundry facts – some of them interesting or curious but making no meaningful picture as a whole.” The elucidation of the structure of the DNA, the unraveling of the genetic code, and the ability to sequence the entire genome of even complex organisms have served only to lay bare the processes that produce life, which all living organisms share, and show how evolutionary pressures act on those processes. As though this were not enough, Darwin’s ideas have inspired, over the past century-and-a-half, “powerful images and insights in science, humanities and the arts,” as an essay in Nature reminds us.

Courtesy: Editorial, The Hindu, Feb.12, 2008

A Thought for Today : February 27, 2008

Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance - Samuel Johnson

Facts & Figures-23 : Sperm Damage affects Four Generations!

According to a recent U.S.study, mean can pass down sperm damage caused by alcohol, cigarettes, and other environmental toxins for up to four generations.

Courtesy: Weekly Review, Harper's Weekly, Feb.26, 2008

Facts & Figures-22 : The Sun will vaporize the Earth!

Scientists revealed that the sun will vaporize the earth if we cannot figure out how to change our orbit within 7.6 billion years.

Courtesy: Week Review, Harper's Weekly, Feb.26, 2008

Facts & Figures-22 : Japan Launches Experimental Satellite

Japan launched an experimental satellite that would provide Internet access speeds of 1.2 gigabytes per second.

Courtesy: Weekly Review, Harper's Weekly, Feb.26, 2008

Facts & Figures-21 : Top Producer of Wind Power

Texas surpassed California to become the top producer of wind power, and oil men were cashing in on the boom. "We are number one in wind in the United States," said Texas land commssioner Jerry Patterson, "and that will never change."

Courtesy: Weekly Review, Harper's Weekly, February 26, 2008

A Thought for Today : February 26, 2008

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds - Albert Einstein

Living without Violence by Usha Jesudasan

On January 30, we remember the anniversary of Gandhiji’s violent death.

Violence. How we fear it. How we hope that it will not touch us or those we love. But it does – so often. The violence we face may not be brutal or physical; it may not on our streets; or with bombs or guns; but nevertheless it is there. We find it lurking in our everyday relationships, attitudes to each other, words, thoughts, looks and feelings.

For centuries men mostly, and those in authority, marginalized the idea of non-violence as it did not help them prosper or succeed in getting what they wanted as much as violence and fear did. Then came people like Gandhiji, Martin Luther, Vaclav Havel and others who made non-violence a political weapon and showed those who were captive to violence and oppression, its power.

Since then, people all over the world have discovered the power of non-violence as a political weapon. But the non-violent life is more than just a political tactic. It is a way of life for every single person and one that is both challenging and meaningful. The idea of non-violence is revolutionary and feared by those who cling to power, because it is an idea that can completely change the nature of society, and thus is a grave threat to the established order.

Non-violence or ahimsa living, is not just for activists; it is for us ordinary people – we all need to transform our minds and hearts to embody non-violence. This is a huge challenge because our society surrounds us with violence – in the media, in our workplaces, relationships and way of life. So, unless we train ourselves to consciously unlearn all the habits of violence we use, our first response to a crisis is violence.

We need to practice the art of “ahimsa living” every day. We need to store within ourselves a repertoire of non-violent actions, thoughts and words, so that when we do face crises, we can draw upon these practical, ethical, and spiritual ahimsa resources.

Could you make a commitment to an ahimsa way of life for a day or a week? Which areas of your life would you have to specially target to live this way?

Courtesy: ‘Young World’, Supplement to The Hindu, Jan.25, 2008

Grateful thanks to Ms Usha Jesudasan and The Hindu for the excellent article, which I intend to read at every opportunity till it is indelibly registered in my mind and some visible change is effected in me; and I fondly hope the visitors to this blog also read it with due to attention and benefit by it.

A Thought for Today : February 25, 2008

Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great - John L. Motley

A Gentler Way To Lose Weight

You may have thought yoga was strictly for the mystics. Well, think again. Research in Washington shows that 45- to 55-year-olds who regularly practice it are better able to fight “middle-age spread,” while those already overweight are more likely to slim down.

Interestingly, few people practice yoga vigorously enough to burn many calories doing it. The study authors speculate that yoga instead makes you more “body aware” and perhaps teaches you discipline that you can apply in other areas of life.

The authors offer these yoga tips:

· Find an edge where you are challenged but not overwhelmed.
· Pay more attention to the internal experience than outer

performance.
· Try to become more aware of even your smallest movements.
· Note what you are saying to yourself as you practice – be sure

to appreciate your own efforts.

Courtesy: ‘RD Health’, Reader’s Digest, January 2006

A Thought for Today : February 24, 2008

When man was first placed in the Garden of Eden, he was put there that he might cultivate it; which shows that man was not born to be idle - Voltaire

Specialists, Generalists and Generalising Specialists!

Specialisation is the name of the game today, with functional groupings being wholly dedicated to deep specialities. We pick one discipline, be it a programmer, a stock planner, a project manager or say a cardiologist, and go on to devote ourselves to the same.

Success has become all about an exclusive concentration focussed on gaining more knowledge in the same area of expertise. And very soon, we fall into a rut, as attaining proficiency in the same skill sets.

We may be highly skilled in what we do, but at what cost? Can we really afford to be ensconced in our ‘ivory towers’, languidly basking in the glory of our immense expertise?

Well, as we burrow deeper and deeper in a single field, too much specialization can also turn into a gargantuan bar5rier of its own.

The exceedingly narrow realm can become our own undoing.

Specialisation blinds us to other issues and we end up not knowing much about anything else. Floundering outside our so-called ‘area of expertise’, we become totally dependent on other ‘specialists’ for the smallest things. Psychologist, Konrad Lorenz hits the nail on the head with, “Every man gets a narrower and narrower field of knowledge in which he must be an expert in order to compete with other people.

The specialist knows more and more about less and less and finally knows everything about nothing.”

But what if our speciality becomes ineffective or worse, defunct?

Then again, while too much specialization induces the ‘frog-in-the-well’ syndrome, generalists possess a wide range of knowledge, but lack specific skills in anything. By spending all our time trying to learn bits of everything, we can land up as a ‘jack-of-all-trades, but master of none’.

The Middle Ground

To balance the extreme approaches and enjoy the benefits of both, consultant Scott Ambler propounds a new term of ‘generalising specialists’ that calls on people to maintain one or more technical specialities while actively seeing to gain new skills in both existing specialities as well as other areas. Though coined in terms of software development, the concept holds water in almost every sphere of work.

To evolve from being specialists/generalists to generalizing specialists, we need to equalize specialization with other skills. Moving away from restricting ourselves to extensive knowledge in a single subject area or trying to learn everything, we should develop a strong grasp in a chosen speciality along with learning new skills in different aspects of our relevant domain itself.

Only by spending less time on perfecting skills we are already proficient in and cultivating at least a working knowledge of other related areas, can we own all the skills necessary to be successful.

For this, you should first know yourself and become aware of your weaknesses. Once you become adept in your field, do not make the mistake of ignoring other matters.

Instead, try to expand your horizons beyond your core area and gain a good grasp of the whole picture.

Step outside your comfort zone and be willing and able to learn new skills. Stretch yourself and your knowledge by reading, on diverse subjects, browsing the Internet or just talking to people.

For more profound understanding, you can even take up courses, cross-train or gain hands-on experience at work itself.

The varied knowledge and spread of skills (even if its based on rudimentary information) helps in understanding the whole process, end-results and even potential solutions.

It facilitates variety in work and increases your survival quotient as you can pick the ball and run with it whenever needed.

By contributing to other areas, you will become more co-operative, agile and emerge as the natural choice for taking up the lead.

So, while every job does necessitate a degree of specialization, why not know more than that to turn into a multi-disciplinary worker, or in other words, a ‘generalising specialist’.

To wind up, author, Robert Heinlein sums it up best with, “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialisation is for insects!”

- Payal Chanania, faqs@cnkonline.com (Narrowing realm can be career limiting)

Courtesy: The Hindu, Feb.13, 2008

Grateful thanks to Payal Chanania and The Hindu.

Meditation is a mysterious ladder

There are certain basic questions which everyone muses over at some stage in his/her life. What is the purpose of my birth? Why do some people have an easier time than others? Where did I come from and what is my destination? People often struggle to find the answers and those who do so get contentment. For this, one should dive deep ‘within’.

Yielding to worldly distractions, people seldom try to notice what goes on ‘inside’. If they contemplate, they will see that the mind is being constantly bombarded by sense perceptions. Very often, it is not until a person reaches a point of great distress that he realizes it is time to take stock of his life. It is in this context that meditation comes in. It is a practice by which there is constant observation of the mind. It is a mysterious ladder which leads from earth to heaven, from falsehood to truth, from darkness to light, from pain to bliss, from restlessness to abiding peace, from ignorance to knowledge, and from mortality to eternity (according to Swami Sivananda). It helps to discover that the infinite well of wisdom that lie inside men.

However, the mind is an elusive animal difficult to tame. Meditation creates positive channels in the mind and eradicates destructive influences. It is a scientific process but, the goal is spiritual. Through it the play of the mind can be seen. Good and evil, friend and enemy are all in the mind only. Every man can create a world of virtue or vice, pleasure or pain, out of his imagination. There is a power or an energy in each person and this can be tapped. Meditation unleashes this immense potential in each individual.

A virtuous life prepares the mind as a fit instrument for concentration and meditation. Without the aid of meditation, one cannot liberate oneself from the trammels of the mind and attain immortality. During this experiment (of meditation), worldly thoughts are shut out and the mind is filled with the divine presence. It is no doubt a trying discipline but intense training will bring success.

Swami Vimalananda, in a lecture, said that, in this spiritual exercise, thoughts should be fixed on God and the mind gradually withdrawn from worldly objects. One can get the meditative mood easily if the practice is systematic during the same hours daily. But no violent effort should be made to control the mind; it should be allowed a little freedom for a while; divine thoughts should flow gently. After some time, one who takes to this path will realize that it acts as a tonic, opening the avenues of intuitional knowledge and helps develop a strong will-power – while an inner voice will guide him.

Courtesy: The Hindu, August 9, 1995

A Thought for Today : February 23, 2008

Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better - John Updike

E-Ink, E-Readers and E-Books!

Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison thinks it is a huge advance. It helps her carry several books on her travels, choose and download more books, read in the yard or on the beach, and increase text size for clarity. The object of her fascination, Amazon's Kindle, makes it possible wirelessly to download books, magazines, and newspapers over a high-speed telecom data network. Whenever, wherever, within the United States (at this stage). The first generation of e-readers - the Kindle, Sony's Reader Digital Book, iLead, StareBook, Jinke, and the soon-to-be launched Readius - promises to redefine reading and the way books, newspapers, and other content are delivered. Digital technologies tend to get more hyped than adopted initially but their uptake is bound to rise as prices fall. Interestingly, when Amazon launched its $399 Kindle e-reader for the U.S., it sold out in five hours. The credit for this extraordinary reader response should go equally to the display technology such devices use - a black and white e-ink-based electronic paper screen that comes closest to printed paper in readability - and fast access on the go ("buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute"). Then there is the bonus of being able to pack 200 books in a very portable 285-gram device; a facility to annotate text; music to heighten the reading experience; a built-in dictionary; SD card memory expandability; and good battery life.

The design goal for an e-reader is to enable the book lover to become absorbed in the story and the device to 'disappear'. Portable computers may facilitate e-book downloads but the e-reader is differentiated by e-ink. It has no backlighting and can therefore be read even under bright light; as a downside, however, the most popular devices do not yet offer colour and cannot handle video. But books and newspapers can do without either, and a strain-free reading experience adds to their appeal. That is not to say that these features will not appear in the future; some companies are working to add them and have demonstrated the capability. If the Kindle has persuaded publishers to launch over 100,000 book titles, 170 newspapers, and over 250 popular blogs on the new platform, it is due to its ability to reach a wider audience - and new readers - with a different experience. Some may be tempted to see in all this the impending end of print, but as author John Seely Brown cautioned, that would be erroneous 'endism' produced by blinkered euphoria. Printed books and newspapers will continue to exist, even as itinerant bibliophiles and people of the 'always-on' generation immerse themselves in e-ink content.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, Feb.21, 2008 (Editorial: 'Books Unlimited')