Friday, June 6, 2014

Memory improves during sleep while languages disappear with cultures but the size of space is a question

Scientists have discovered what happens to memory during sleep.  Apparently, new neuron connections occur during sleep and this enables memory.  This was experimented in mice and discovered.  The article goes on to say that sleep deprivation leads to a lot of issues and on the other hand sleeping is actually good for our head.  The article ends with the recommendation to students to learn and go to sleep early rather than sit into the night and learn.  The former ensures that the stuff learnt are imprinted in the memory.  Now if only someone could inform the sun to come up later, we could actually sleep more.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27695144

Languages also convey unique cultures. Cherokee, for example, has no word for goodbye, only “I will see you again”. Likewise, no phrase exists for “I’m sorry”. On the other hand, it has special expressions all its own. One word – oo-kah-huh-sdee –represents the mouth-watering, cheek-pinching delight experienced when seeing an adorable baby or a kitten. “All of these things convey a culture, a way of interpreting human behaviour and emotion that’s not conveyed the same way as in the English language,” Belt says. Without the language, the culture itself might teeter, or even disappear. “If we are to survive, to continue on and to exist as a people with a distinct and unique culture,” he continues, “then we have to have a language.”
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140606-why-we-must-save-dying-languages


How big is space?  Find it here.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140305-interactive-infographic-of-space


Monday, June 2, 2014

43

I did not have an opinion about the number 43.  I knew it lived between 42 and 44 but beyond that it really did not have anything to catch my attention.  I suddenly thought maybe 7 was affectionate enough to make it divisible but soon realized that 7's affections are with 42 and not 43.  That's when it struck me that 43 is probably a prime number.  I was obviously not going to find it out the hard way.  So I searched Google and the first result from Wikipedia told me that it is the 14th smallest prime number.  The 13th smallest number is 41 and the 15th smallest number is 47.  So 43 is not even located in a "prime" island.  It seems to be a lost case for 43 - all others 40 numbers has some personality but not 43.  40 has a zero at its end.  41 is one after 40 and 1941 is a movie made by Spielberg.  42 is nice and even with 2 times 2 making 4 and all such stuff.  Also, the history books from school make it impossible to forget the Quit India movement of 1942.  44 looks nice and cure with two 4s.  45 has a five stuck in its rear end and that always make a number attractive.  46 is a well rounded even number.  47 is the 15th prime (bravo!) and for over a billion people on this planet 1947 is a very important year.  48 is another of rounded number which forms a vital part of that sad year named 1948.  49 - is 7 squared, which means it can magically transform into a cool 7 under a square root.  Clearly, 43 is a miserable number.  Now to check one last time about the happenings in the year 1943.  Interesting!   The world was stuck in the thick of world war 2 and a number of interesting personalities took birth.

1. Janis Joplin
2. Joe Pesci
3. George Harrison
4. Bobby Fischer
5. Keith Relf
6. John Major
7. Vangelis
8. Christopher Walken
9. Illayaraja
10. Christine McVie
11. Mick Jagger
12. Richard Wright
13. Pervez Musharraf
14. Robert De Niro
15. Roger Waters
16.  Lech Wałęsa
17. Chevy Chase
18. Mohammad Khatami
19. John Kerry
20. Keith Richards
21. John Denver
22. Ben Kingsley

Quite an impressive list - It has half of Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones in it.  43 holds some hope!  Maybe this is the number to sow seeds for the future.  Maybe this is the number to break the mirror reflecting the past and look at the future.