The Thinker's Digest #6

Your fortnightly dose of brain food

Author

Nishant Bhide
September 18, 2023

“Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Dylan Thomas

Dear Thinker,

In the cinematic masterpiece, Interstellar, Professor Brand recites this poem as an indication of humanity’s thirst to explore worlds beyond Earth and our struggle to outlive our planets extinction. Sometimes this pursuit, like in the movie, leads to great sacrifice but this does not stop us from constantly pushing the envelope.

One such breakthrough has potentially been made by the James Webb Telescope as a planet capable of producing carbon and hydrogen, the base elements of life, has been discovered. The planet is 120 light years away so reaching there is currently a distant dream, however since scientifically, we are an inferior species, there is a possibility that extraterrestrial life will reach us if they know we’re there!

For someone with no formal background in astrophysics, it’s amazing that such academic articles can be appreciated and understood by many like me. Reaching this level of understanding has required a lot of exceptional personalities to discover and simplify complex scientific and philosophical concepts. This week, we explore the mind of one such genius whose work has left a mark in almost every subject, right from painting to physics.

Before the advent of computers and simulations, major discoveries in biology and physics, like in the article sighted above, have happened by observing how animals and plants behave and what they’re made up of. In our concluding article, we explore animals uncanny ability to find their way home, something we humans can emulate!

Brain Food

Finding aliens has always felt like a “when” and not an “if” question. History is filled with events that support the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the size of the universe, makes the probability of it almost certain. The Webb Telescope might’ve taken a big step towards the “when” question as its located an exoplanet, K2-18 b that has the potential to posses a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface!

K2-18 b is 8.6 times as massive as the Earth and orbits the cool, dwarf star K2-18. The exoplanet lies in the habitable zone and is 120 light years away from the Earth in the constellation, Leo. Its always been our ambition to connect with extraterrestrial life and this discovery gives us impetus to trudge on!

Leonardo Da Vinci’s is perhaps the most intriguing and fascinating personalities in all of history. From creating the most famous painting of all time (Mona Lisa), to discovering various facets of human anatomy and drawing workable models of machines, Da Vinci was the quintessential polymath. His diaries and notebooks are filled with his ruminations and ideas that led to him making exquisite art and formulate theories that are relevant even today!

This beautiful e-exhibit, takes you on a mesmerising journey that explores all of Da Vinci’s notebooks and codexes. A must watch if you want an insight into true genius.

I got malaria 4 times in 2021. I can tell you firsthand, it’s painful and debilitating. Moreover, some strains of malaria are fatal. Around 600,000 people die of the disease each year. Despite being discovered in the 1870s, there still isn’t an effective vaccine that prevents one from getting this disease. COVID on the other hand, got a vaccine in a year!

This drastic disparity between timelines has a number of reasons. This article dives into why certain diseases get vaccines faster and why it’s taken malaria this long to get one. An eye-opening read!

Gaudi, the maverick Spanish architect, drew up an ambitious plan to build one of the worlds most complex and intricately designed cathedrals. It’s been 138 years since the plans were finalised but construction is still on-going. (A reminder to not get angry with your contractor when they delay your house renovation by 2 months!)

The Sagrada Familia started construction in 1886. The plans of the cathedral were so complex that they were only finalised in 1906, 2 decades after the project started. In 1926, a freak accident led to Gaudi’s untimely death with only 15% of the construction completed. A fire close to the site destroyed all the plans and no one could recreate Gaudi’s blue-print.

It was only in 1979 that a 22-year-old undergraduate thought of using a newly discovered machine (a computer) to help distill Gaudi’s plans. Now, almost 30 years since, another technology - robots, might just help in finally completing this impossible task.

I’ve known many pet owners, cats especially, that have tales of their pets disappearing for many days, only for them to return home. This phenomenon is seen across the animal kingdom with the migration of birds and other species where distances, at times, span thousands of kilometres. This ability to return home that animals possess is incredible. Take away Google Maps and ill be lost in a few days!

Surprisingly, scientists haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly how animals are able to do this. Few books, with the help of massive amounts of data, have tried to explain it. This article goes over majority of their theories and tries to decipher this amazing ability!

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Here are some earlier posts to give you a sense of the topics covered in this newsletter -