Stories of Sandeept

70 Years

On August 11, 2014

In Blogging, Humanity, Humans and Humanity, science

70 years- a very short time period for the Earth, but a long time for the most intelligent being in the Earth…
70 years- many Earthlings have lived and died within this time span…
70 years- many progresses have been made…
70 years- many wars have been seen…
…a day to be remembered forever, actually two- 6th and 9th August, 1945…
…the day when the best of Earthlings in intelligence proved that they could be the worst…
…the day the atomic bombs were dropped in densely populated cities to kill millions of people and to leave the traces of the devastation for centuries
For all these 70 years, the day has been remembered. Humans proved that day that they could do anything against anyone to gain power. Innocent people of Japan, who had nothing to do with the war were made the victims of a mad idea.The bombings were not required for the war but that does not mean they were not necessary.
The effect of bombings were not confided only to those who suffered. The multiplier effect of the US Power was seen all around the world. The might of the weapon of mass destruction made them rule the world. Not only that, other nations learnt, “Never try to intimidate a nation with nuclear weapons. Who can say when their mad politicians use them to destroy the world.”
As for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they have been recovered as major cities but no crops, no grass has grown yet and it’s unknown until when. The wounds still give pain.

Smart Devices, Clumsy People

By Sandeept

On July 11, 2014

In Evolution, Humans and Humanity, Science And Society, technology

Until the mid seventeenth century, there was no mechanical calculating device. The Chinese Abacus was the only notable device, which actually does not do calculations but makes the user calculate at faster speed. This might be the reason why it is widely used in China, Japan and some other developed nations to teach mathematics to children! The invention of Pascaline in 1642 by Blaise Pascal was a sort of revolution. There might have been some other calculating device before but the popularity of Pascaline must due to its accuracy and cosiness.

Pascal’s Calculator(1642 A.D.)

Exactly 200 years later, Lady Augusta Ada Lovelace devised binary number system to use in Charles Babbage‘s Analytical Engine. That was the first time a computer was run using two digits 0 and 1. Then after a hundred years, in 1942, the first electronic computer ABC(Atanasoff Berry Computer) was invented. About 45 years later, the development of Disk Operating System by Microsoft Inc. changed the course of computing. Computers, now were accessible to a lot of people.

Along with computers, cellular phones evolved. The first commercial mobile phone was made available in 1983. By 2000, the first smartphone featuring SMS, GPS, multimedia camera was released. Only seven years later, Apple Inc. developed finger touch smartphones. The market of smartphones has been expanding since then and even more with the introduction of Android platform.

Not only phones and computers, every devices are now being developed into smart. Such devices, also known as gadgets, are now controlling the urban life around the globe. These gadgets have evolved due to human potential of creativity. Their indiscriminate use may harm that human creativity.

This picture shows how we and technology are evolving together.

The excessive use of smart devices are certainly going to affect human brain development and the way they use their brain. Some of the issues have already come up. The use of mobile phones to store personal records and phone numbers has been creating a tendency of forgetting the numbers often which would not have occurred if recorded in a phone book. I myself have faced this problem. At times, I forget my own number and even numbers of friends I had confidently stored in my brain.

The dullness of the world I feel after the use of smart devices might have the case for each and every individual. Some people have used the devices to promote their creativity, which tells us that the medium of expression has been changing. Human communication is now being dominated by texts. There might be a time in future when humans will stop talking to each other and use whether sign languages or texts for communication(this sounds like from a science fiction story!).

Different types of smartphones

I am not against use of smartphones and smart devices though. Using a smart device, one can never get lost. By the use of GPS locations and wide range of wireless communication, one can go to any place. The devices have also been a good means of communication. But there are people who use smartphones only for multimedia and for show off. They carry smartphones but are not smart enough to use them for navigational purposes. Some people are so much involved in gadgets that they do not even think clearly where they are going and what they are doing.

The use of smart devices is going to be inevitable until the end of this decade. Caution is necessary. As the devices turn smart, we should try to be smarter than them. If that does not happen, we will certainly be dominated by Artificial Intelligence, which is in course of development. Then we might be living like humans shown in the movie Wall-E. Who knows what will happen if function of degrading brain is replaced by upgrading Artificial Intelligence?

Life, Death and Medication

By Sandeept

On June 30, 2014

In Humans and Humanity, Philosophical, science, Science And Society

Birth and death are the two mystical events that can never be under human control. No one can tell the time of his birth himself not can he predict his future and death. If there is anything he has, it is his present- his life. Life, too is magical. It hangs itself on thin strand of the weakest of breaths and heart-beats, unknown of when it is going to fall forever.

Hindu concept of Birth, Growth and Death. The sparkle represents the soul

Everything that has birth in this die will have to die someday. This is the best of philosophies we have been taught since our births. Yet we live, because we have faith on our souls, our spirits and our bodies. Had I lost the faith that my body could carry me everyday just to see and learn from the world around me, I would have died as soon as I was born. There is a great scientist, Stephen Hawking, who with his determination to lead the world to path of knowledge has been fighting against his own body. He thinks he should deliver his best for the world because he can die any moment. Same is the case with all of us. No one knows what can happen in the next second of their lives. At every second of our own precious life, we fight death. According to spiritual science and traditional Ayurveda, the ability of human soul to combat death is the reason we can live. This is the reason why some people live longer than others.

The modern method of medication such as Homeopathy also believes that the vital force necessary for well-being of human life is affected when one is diseased. So, Homeopathy deals with increasing the determination to resist certain disease with the help of certain medicine along with restoration of faith on oneself. This faith is the sign of positivity, thereby helping the body generate enough antibodies. Today, Homeopathy is just as popular as Allopathy. Allopathy insists on use of number of medicines and surgeries, however the faith on medicine can also bring miracles.

Modern Allopathic medicines aim at increasing the life expectancy of humans

I have read an interesting story on how faith can help someone combat death. In a village of Dolpa, Nepal, a boy of about fourteen was bitten by a snake. The snake was a Rattle snake- one of the most poisonous in the region. The snake had been caught by his father to show to the researchers who had promised awards for the particular snake. After the snake bit the boy, his father who claimed of being able to treat snake bites by recitation of mantras tried to use his tricks. But his son had known the truth and the faith on his father’s techniques had demised. Later, the researchers were called. They gave some injections and the boy became well within hours. The injection actually contained distilled water instead of a proper antidote. Yet the boy survived. Such is the power of faith!

Medicines have been discovered by people for a long time for longevity of life. From herbs mentioned in the Ayurveda to the antibiotics developed by modern chemists, all have aimed to make our lives free of troubles caused by several infections. These medicines have worked until our immune system is able to fight the infections. One of the major causes of success in medication is the upliftment of will to live. If one has no determination to live, the expensive of the medicines can also prove useless. So, along with medicines, a medical personnel should be able to deliver self-confidence. If there is something that separates life from death, it is the determination. Medicines have helped achieve it to some extent. The increasing life expectancy is one of the proofs!

Parasitic Evolution and Public Health

By Sandeept

On May 29, 2014

In Blogging, Evolution, Humanity, Public Health, science, Science And Society

Parasites are not new to us, neither is evolution. Parasitic evolution, too, is not new to us but its extent might be a new field of study.

The WHO, in a report[1]states that, “we are heading for a post-antibiotic era in which common infections and minor injuries can again kill.” This indicates that the available antibiotics are being ineffective against the infections like TB, Malaria, Typhoid and even common cold.

Cases showing effects of drug-resisting parasites have been revealed all over the world, the most common being the MDR-TB. It is extreme case of TB in which the Mycobacterium resists the effects of the strongest of the drugs in use- Isoniazid and Rifampicin. Similarly, cases of multiple drug resisting Plasmodium falciparum have also been reported. Its resistance to Artemisinin-based combination therapies(ACTs) has created a sort of havoc among the medical practitioners. Also, Ciprofloxacin, a common antibiotic against typhoid has become completely ineffective.


Immune system fights against all the foreign agents.									Antibiotics are their foreign supplements. Therefore, the use of antibiotics is to be minimized.	Photo courtesy: younglivingoillady.com

The root cause of the evolution of these of these parasites underlie in our medication behaviors. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics, rampant prescriptions and incomplete prescribed course are the main factors influencing mutations of the parasites. As a result, drug resistant strains directly attack new hosts thereby increasing the cost of treatment. This has added woes to the poverty-stricken people.

The other problem is- we lack new types of antibiotics. The WHO says that since Penicillin in 1920s, only three major types of antibiotics have been developed and since 1990s, no major antibiotics have been developed. The post-antibiotic era is thus arriving at a faster pace, increasing the risk of lives of thousands of people. So, this has been an area of study among scientists including parasitologists, pathologists, microbiologists, chemists and health workers all around the globe.[2]

[1]Antimicrobial Resistance: Global Report on surveillance 2014.

[2] Summarized from “Tougher bacteria add to patients’ woes, expenses”, The Kathmandu Post, May 11, 2014.