Analytical thought is fatal to instinctual experience Aldous Huxley The true opposite of knowledge is not ignorance, but deception. Knowledge is a person’s understanding of reality, of the self, and of the relationship between the two. Experience is perhaps the purest form of understanding, and understanding, in turn, gives rise to knowledge. Ignorance is simply… Continue reading Beyond Words

I propose a conceptual framework that distinguishes disorder from disease by contrasting the third-person and first-person perspectives. A disorder is defined from a third-person perspective. It is an observed entity. A condition qualifies as a disorder when its structure, function, or expected natural history deviates from an established biological or clinical standard. In other words,… Continue reading A first-person/third-person ontology of disease and disorder

Picture credit - https://in.pinterest.com/unseenfoto/ Intelligence is the buzzword of 21st century. As we witness the rise and progress of machine learning and artificial intelligence(AI), I would like to revisit the original version of intelligence - Biological Intelligence(BI). Most, if not all, aspects of AI were inspired by intelligent behaviors in biological structures. What makes a… Continue reading Biological Intelligence

Photo credit - Martin Beek {https://www.flickr.com/photos/oxfordshire_church_photos/} Cooperation is a trait in which the individual unit invest in behaviors that are costly to themselves but benefit the organization. Cooperation is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature. Individual units work together and build bigger structures that improve the collective wellbeing and survival. Anthill and beehive are colonies built… Continue reading Storyteller’s Ant-hill

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/arun-d/ The most fascinating thing about nature is not how the human body is constructed by laws of physics. But it is how the physical reality is structured by biology of human mind. Time is the most intriguing concept constructed by human mind. It is the framework over which we experience change and… Continue reading Time

Foundation of mathematics is in the substance of brain Photo credit: Hernan Pinera; www.flickr.com/photos/hernanpc During my high school days as I was learning to do trigonometry, a question always bothered me. What prompted us to ‘create’ trigonometry? For that matter, even calculus and statistics. What drove us to create these mathematical techniques? I have a liking… Continue reading Ramasamy’s Calculus

Photo credit - https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelpaul/ Wood frog dies in winter and comes back to life in spring Wood frogs are seen in the forests of Alaska and north eastern United States. It is the only species of frog that could survive the cold regions beyond Arctic circle. It does a fascinating trick to survive in sub… Continue reading Life and Heat of Wood Frog

Photo credit: Hernán Piñera; https://www.flickr.com/photos/hernanpc/ What steers my mind to believe that there is a right and a wrong? Why do I feel drawn toward certain things and repelled by others? At times, I’m convinced there exists a universally true path—one that’s right for me, my family, or my society. Where does this conviction come… Continue reading What Steers My Mind?

Photo credit - Richard Ricciardi - https://www.flickr.com/photos/ricricciardi/23513339926/ Primary concepts and constructed reality What is a person, but a collection of choices. Where do those choices come from? Do I have a choice? Were any of these choices ever truly mine to begin with?Westworld A living organism by using its sense organs captures a portion of… Continue reading Wisdom and Confusion

Life is interposed between two energy levels of an electron Albert Gyorgyi Photo by Mike - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mjfrig/9560558346/ These words of Albert Gyorgyi are so profound that it can provoke intense curiosity. Flow of energy defines life and it was present in living organisms even before the rise of genetic molecules. It is the foundation upon… Continue reading A 100 Watt Dream