Thoughts And Trivia

Flame of an oil lamp, flares up, one last moment, before it runs out of oil and it just starts spewing black soot.
Evolution of societies also follow this route to oblivion. The dying society flares into megalomaniac creations just before being snuffed out. Is the present 21st Century also the last for the Human Race? From the megalomaniac creations - it just looks to be the case of burst of the dying flame.
There is a web-game about what it would be like for the human race to die in year 2100, if do not wake-up.
But look at the megalomania. We have created a Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Europe to just smash two protons (travelling at almost the speed of light) together, just to prove whether two mathematically elegant theories could actually govern the sub-particle universe.

LHC has been built in a circular tunnel 27 km in circumference. The tunnel is buried around 50 to 175 m. underground. It straddles the Swiss and French borders on the outskirts of Geneva.
The statistics and Money spent is nothing Human Race has ever seen. For example:

1. The combined strands of the superconducting cable being produced for the LHC would go around the equator 6.8 times. If you added all the filaments of the strands together they would stretch to the sun and back 5 times with enough left over for a few trips to the moon.


2. Part of the LHC will be the world's largest fridge. It could hold 150 000 fridge full of sausages at a temperature colder than deep outer space.
3. The cost of the accelerator only (without experiments and computing) but including manpower and material is 4.7 Billion CHF (that's around 3.03 billion euros)

There is more on the web, officially.
...and unofficially
I think there could be a simpler way to do science.
This is not all. The type of buildings that we are now making in the Middle East is super-megalomania.
Mahatma Gandhi used to say: "There is enough on earth for our needs, but not enough for our greed."
We are going to kill the Human Race if we do not temper our use of Earth's resources.
What Do You think? Please leave comments!!!

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Child is the father of Man. If we want to understand hows and why of behaviour of early Humans, lets look at what is relevant to an infant.
Understanding Physics by early humans is not surprising - since even a child learns of laws of nature by an intuitive interaction with the world. But I wonder, how and why did humankind learn to understand numbers and then on to mathematics? For numbers do not have that direct a day to day relevance for an infant - except for that acquisitive instinct to possess more of what it likes. But why numbers to mathematics and then application of mathematics to Physics. It does not make evolutionary sense.
Only explanation could be that numbers, mathematics and physics in mathematical language is hard-wired in human mind. BUT WHY?
Will a community isolated from learned mankind arrive at the same mathematics and physics? If we are hard-wired - it should and if we are not then the Human knowledge is only a soft skill passed on and extended from generation to generation.
In Andaman Island there are two tribes (The Jarawaks and ?) in some islands, who have shunned contact with rest of humans - except at a distance. They are known to understand numbers and arithmetic. They are so averse to human contact - that we cannot find if they have knowledge of any rudimentary mathematics or physics. But their mere knowledge of arithmetic supports the hard-wired conjecture.

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During a whirlwind tour of Bhopal (the capital of State of Madhya Pradesh), I came to know of ancient cave art site called “Bhimbetka” – some 45 KMs away. Being interested in evolution of Man, I immediately decided to visit it. I had not known that such sites were there in India (despite its ancient civilization), although I had heard that these were discovered in Europe and USA.
Bhimbetka means the place where Bhim (A revered mythological figure) used to sit.
It was mind-boggling.
BTW – ancient cave art is called “Petroglyphs”. The word comes from the Greek words petros meaning "stone" and glyphein meaning "to carve". These are left by Neolithic men from about 10,000 yrs BC onwards.
What I learned about the petroglyphs, you can find a description also at Wikipedia.
But the point that has been missed in all its descriptions are the Geographic - Architectural beauty of the rocks in which these caves are.
These rocks are said to have been under water in a river or a lake much before Neolithic men came on earth. This site was part of “Gondwana” continent which moved away from Africa and later abutted Asian plate and became Indian peninsula. The action of water has sculpted the rocks. These look like a multistoried skyscraper, with caves at various levels. There is a marked appearance of windows (holes) carved in rock. Many caves have natural ventilating openings in the rear. Stones lie atop other rocks, perfectly balanced on a point. You see Nature as an Architect. You feel the emrging balance between malleable flow of stone imparted by the power of hydraulics - in opposition to hardiness of rocks. The whole area has a playful architecture - A narrow opening leads you to a sudden vast open area. In fact this fairy-tale site is fit to excite the artist in you. No wonder that world’s best petroglyphs were created here.
I have decided to return to it with my painting material later – although I haven’t painted for last 10-12 years. I will post the pictures of the rocks later.
The petroglyphs at Bhimbetka are a continuous series of paintings by generations of Humans dating from 10,000 BC to about 400 AD. The initial ones are in white chalk and the latest ones in red mineral - still used in India for religious ceremonies – it’s called “Geru”. Intermediate ones are in vegetable dyes of yellow and green colour. My surmise is that some others may have been lost since they might have experimented with dyes which are not so permanent.

Themes also show differences. Those in white from 10,000 BC only show hunting of animals by co-operating gangs of men. While the ones in red – the latest ones – also show two men fighting each other with spears (photo above). Progress of civilization!

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Discovery Channel had made a DVD regarding the "Out Of Africa" theory of Human migration based on mitochondria Genes. What is new in this?

I have written earlier also on this theory of there being only one original Woman {Lucy) from which all of us are descendants, based on the Mitochondria. (By the way: I should make a subject wise archive on this blog, instead of monthwise. I would do it ASAP).
Still what was intriguing was how could large number of humans crossed the sea at various points. The fact is that at that time, there was a sever ice-age and as a result the sea level was about 160 Ft. lower than today. Therefore, what appear to be islands today, actually were connected through shelves of land(which are now submerged).
But still there was about 100 miles of sea from Malaysia to Australia. This the Humans did cross by reed boats. Why and how did they navigate is not clear.
All this is based on mitochondria evidence and real archeological evidence is still weak.

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My recurrent theme (and a pet peeve) is that the intrinsic animal instincts of humans are in conflict with the mores of our society due to which the institution of marriage is crumbling.   A newspaper report says that in UK, more and more men and women are finding marriage to be incompatible with professional and personal time-demands. Is there no way out?
Can we refashion our mores of society (or the institution of marriage)to be more in tune with our basic animal instincts?

Some virus like programming in our minds makes humans(women not excepted)to be polygamous.   Its as if an alien being takes hold of our psyche.   Would you not expect that we should have been programmed to place our own survival as a top priority.   But no, its passing forward our genes to a mate perceived to have best genes (person with brawn rather than brains), that appears to be ingrained as top priority in our psyche - even at the cost of our own survival.   Unsinn (non-sense) ganz verruckt (total madness)- as the Germans would say.
On the other hand humans also want to optimise their chances of physical survival by selecting a mate with best ability to provide food (and monetary safety).   In stone age these two qualities coincided, because the best mating genes was also the mate with best ability to hunt food.   Not any longer in modern society, where brains (with a minimal brawn) dictate ability to provide food and monetary security - rather than brawn alone.   Thus humans want to mate with brawny candidates but want to marry the brainy ones.
This is what threatens the institution of marriage.
Single parents, Live-in relationships, procreation thru in-vitro child-birth, step-parent are all off-the-cuff reactions to this dilemma.
While the animal instincts would not go away, social-contract expectations from marriage would get refashioned.   We cannot predict the ultimate solution society would arrive at, by trial and errors.   But the fundamental approach could be that on one-hand women would get freedom to choose father (not necessarily their husbands) of their children.   On the other hand men would be freed from the life-time financial responsibilities towards their spouses and family.

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I recently read a thought provoking book - which shook some of my views on the subject of Peoples, Race and Ethnicity. The book is: -
Mapping Human History
Discovering The Past Through Our Genes
By Steve Olson (2002)
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Let me give you a synopsis.
The book traces the differences and similarities between Peoples of various Races and Ethnicity using:

• Frequencies of Genetic Mutations in mitochondria and Y-Chromosome
• Languages
• Physical and Facial Features
• Archeology

Its Findings are:-

• There has been too much back and forth mating between the Peoples that Race and Ethnicity has no Biological basis.
• Differences between the Races are much less than variations within the Race.
• Human migrations from Africa to Middle-East -> to Asia-> to America and Europe has not been smooth and one way. There has been movement back and forth also within the overall direction mentioned above.
• European People developed faster than Peoples in other continents, due to local geographical and environmental conditions - not due to any genetic difference

I learnt that the passed down theory of Aryan coming to India and replacing the less developed locals - is a conjecture to support preconceived ideas. Available facts do not support this theory.
Click to see Maps and Data on Homo Sapien Migrations

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Number counting system is so basic to civilization, that we tend to not realize that, this was the first major step, learnt by Homo-sapiens towards civilization.
There are still some tribes, in South America - whose counting vocabulary is limited to 1; 2 and Many!
Its clear that initially humans stumbled from 1; to 20, without forming any number system - since each of these numbers have unique name uptill twenty. 'Eleven' for 11; not 'ten-one'. (Exception is Sanskrit which starts calling 11; as 'one and Ten' -"Eka-Dash").
Even now in remote villages, illiterate persons do all their counting with numbers till twenty. 136 is '16 and 6-twenties'. Evidently it gets difficult after 420;.
Beyond twenty we start using the positional number system (developed much later) based on Units, Tens, hundreds etc. So 21; is Twenty-One. 121; is One-Hundred and Twenty-one. The digits are read out from left to right for hundreds, tens and units.
With the invention of positional number system, counting could go beyond 20; upto 100 and even beyond.
German and Sanskrit are however stuck with an intermediate system (which is a precursor of positional numbering system) for counting between 21; to 99;.
Both in German and Sanskrit, digits are read from right to left - and not left to right - i.e. units (right digit)first and then Tens (digit on the left)- in numbers from 21; upto 99; . This system was good enough, till the positional numbering system invented Hundreds and beyond - by reading out digits from left to right for Hundreds, Tens and Units in sequence.
However being too long an established a system, both these languages retained their right to left reading of digits upto 99; but superposed it on left to right reading of digits for hundreds and above.
In both these languages, reading out digits is weird - Hundreds digit from left, then unit digit from extreme right and then the middle Tens' Digit.
122; is read as "ein-hundert; zwei und zwansig" or as translated; "one hundred, two and twenty" instead of straight-forward and logical "one hundred twenty-two". In Sanskrit"Aik Shambhar Dwai-DwaDash".
This weird system of counting, from 21; to 99;, is such a squashed fly - that this proves that both languages must be copies of same proto-Indo-Germanic language.
I suspect that German is the older sister - since it retains the older "and" between units and Tens - while Sanskrit. which came later, does away with 'and' (like other later languages). So 22 is 'zwei und zwansig' in German; but 'Dwai-Dwadash" in Sanskrit.
This conforms to the accepted history that Aryans came to India from north.
Both cultures have other similarities - like use of "swastika" symbol - though there are minor differences, in the symbol, in Sanskrit and German cultures. In India swastika is written, with its arms vertical/horizontal and in anti-clockwise fashion. In Germany it was written with arms at 45 deg and in clockwise fashion.

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When you photocopy a version (having a fly squashed on it), of a many-versioned document, the copies can be traced back to that particular version. Some thing similar has happened with languages during the migration of human races across the continents - and we can trace the origin of various languages - the proto-language. Human race is said to have evolved from one single woman called "Eva" - based on evidence from mutations of mitochondria genes. We can trace the great human migration from Africa to various continents in three ways:
1) Mutations of Mitochondria Genes or Y-chromosome genes
2) Archeology
3) Comparative study of languages
Let me share my own discoveries on such photocopies of squashed flies between "Sanskrit" and "German" languages - that I learnt during my one-year stay in Germany during 1987-88. No wonder that these two languages are said to have come from same proto-indo-germanisch language.
Firstly the roots of words:
i) 'Sammeln' in Deutsch (German) = To collect or gather; 'Sammelan' in Sanskrit = Gathering of people.
ii)'Bahn' as in AutoBahn in Deutsch = A mode (of travel); 'Vahan' in Sanskrit= A mode of travel.
There are many others like that. In fact while learning Deutsch there, I felt a sense of Dè-jâ vu - whenever I encountered a new word. Many times I was able to guess its meaning.
But what is the real squashed fly is the exact copy of a totally weird counting systems in the two languages - about which I will post next. Please Wait for the next post.

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The very fundamental urge for all living beings is to ensure and compete for survival. All survival ultimately is exclusive access to sources of energy - in modern terms - access to Money. So we have a natural tendency to earn and stockpile Money.This urge to survive - like all selfish things - is quite natural and understandable.
But the urge to mate and procreate is so altruistic that I suspect that this is a Trojan virus that has hijacked our psyche by some aliens. This urge to create as many copies as possible of our genes and mate with those who appear to have best chances of survival - overrides the instinct for survival. We forego our own sources of energy and share it with mates and offspring. We also run after and compete for mates. And how ludicrous, funny and laughable this rub-and-tinkle thing is mating.
If this urge was not there animals would eat and play all their life. No Helen of Troy, No Sparta and No Trojan Horses. It looks fishy. I feel we have been enslaved by some Virus into this anti-selfish urge.

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