Rumi Nations

Hubble Ultra Deep Field Source: Hubblesite.org

Death is a good thing not merely because, as Mr. Jobs put it, “It’s probably the single best invention of life,” or “it’s life’s change agent,” but also because men of hubris are at last brought down to Earth (and indeed below the Earth) by the phenomenon of death. It’s a fate that no hubristic billionaire can escape … yet. The ordinary person can look at a hubris-laden individual engaged in some megalomaniacal activity and take some satisfaction out of this knowledge that death will conquer this villain as well just as it has claimed many other villains through history. What other areas of human activity can you think of where there’s virtual equality between all? Some path breaking inventions of medical science qualify. When a vaccine is available for polio, EVERYONE is suddenly safe from this scourge — street dwellers and penthouse dwellers. But they are few and far between. Technology seems to be one arena where this occurs more frequently. Consumer devices are at once cutt...

That's pretty accurate a description of the astonishing job that Kepler is performing. Hopefully, in the next year or so, it will become as common place a name as Hubble is today. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/science/space/31planet.html?_r=1&hp And of course there will be people who will question the rationale behind these missions. I am sure people must have doubted the wisdom of Columbus going on his voyage or Magellan going on his centuries ago. Humankind's innermost instinct has always been to be explorers. We're lucky that in spite of great difficulties, that human spirit is still being kept alive ... if barely.

Are we alone in the universe? The one question that fascinates me more than any other. And my perspectives are these. The sheer complexity of biological forms makes me think that the evolution of intelligent life forms (such as humans) is likely to be a rather sparse occurrence. There will be many Earth-like planets … perhaps at least millions in the outer arms of the Milky Way revolving around stars like the Sun that the Earth revolves around. But the temperatures have to be just right for water to be plentiful in all three states. What were the stuff available in the early Earth that created the conditions that led to the emergence of primitive life forms? A planet with a lot of volcanic activity, lot of carbon-based complex organic molecules, a planet with continental plates slowly drifting, pushing, merging, separating, rising, and falling, lots of lightning, etc. How many planets will have all these enablers? Reduces the candidate planets to perhaps thousands. Then on pl...

It almost seems light years away since all that boom and bust but lessons have hopefully been learnt. This book is about one part of that orgasm of greed. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704381604575005324219222924.html?mod=WSJ_article_MoreIn Who can blame all these folks in finance when all of society including the media seems so breathless in talking about and applauding their money-making genius. We never get similarly breathless in discussing scientific achievements ... Did you hear about the Fred Hutchinson scientists who have managed to find a way to shorten the time it takes for the human body to accept cord blood!!! That one is going to be a life saver for leukemia patients but it's not quite as exciting to talk about that as it to talk about fancy yachts belonging to a multimillionaire. How exciting to see that final Hubble servicing mission happen in real time live on NASA TV!!! Or, may be not as exciting as celebrity gossip ... Harried as we are with our st...

It's good that there are people out there who are involved in these endeavors and that there are nations who are willing to finance these intellectual endeavors. It's not possible to put a price on what they find. How do you put a picture on Hubble's look at the edge of the universe? http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/31/ When we are all consumed in various ways by various concerns in our daily lives, Hubble's images do help to put things in perspective. Humans though are motivated by things that have a more immediate resonance for them. What a pity...

One can't be completely dispondant about the human condition as long as there are organizations like NASA in this world. Take a random moment in time like today and let's see what NASA is upto right now. Of course, Ares 1X was launched successfully on its first flight yesterday ... hopefully heralding a new era of manned exploration exploration of space. Shuttle Atlantis will be launched in November ... as we approach the end of the Shuttle Era. NASA also does fundamental science ... with the Great Observatories such as Hubble and Chandra. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has completed one year in space. It's doing spectacular science!

People of India have decided to go with the status quo by opting for another five years of Congress rule — not that they had any alternatives that are much better. As noted in the last blog post, India is a conundrum ... People in the United States whose jobs have been Bangalored certainly love to hate India ... People in India meanwhile love to admire America ... I am confused about Indians admiring America though ... I am confused about this whole business of India being a 'young' country ... From what I have observed about young Indians, they seem a strange blend of tradition and modernity ... Youngsters don't see any dichotomy in aspiring to all the trappings of material success and yet at the same time they don't mind keeping alive their moribund traditions and rituals ... When it's time for some critical decisions in life — such as marriage — young Indians demonstrate a remarkable resemblance in their mindsets with their ancestors. I find it odd that educated ...