Author Archives: memoriesandsuch

In My Hands Today…

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The Selfish Gene – Richard Dawkins

Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel’s work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that “our” genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven’t thought of evolution in the same way since.

Why are there miles and miles of “unused” DNA within each of our bodies? Why should a bee give up its own chance to reproduce to help raise her sisters and brothers? With a prophet’s clarity, Dawkins told us the answers from the perspective of molecules competing for limited space and resources to produce more of their own kind. Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or memes, which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings.

World Poetry Day

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What comes to your mind when the word poetry is uttered? Boring, maybe? Or profound or even life-changing perhaps? It is that and much more. Poetry is literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. Poetry is probably as old as language and history, present wherever religion is present, possibly the primal and primary form of languages. Poetry is the other way of using language.

To celebrate one of celebrates one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity, World Poetry Day is celebrated annually on 21 March. Practised throughout history, in every culture and on every continent, poetry speaks to our common humanity and our shared values, transforming the simplest of poems into a powerful catalyst for dialogue and peace.

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21 March was adopted as World Poetry Day in 1999, in Paris, to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increase the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard. World Poetry Day is the occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media as well as give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements. It also supports linguistic diversity through poetic expression and offers endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities.

It was generally celebrated in October, but in the latter part of the 20th century, the world community celebrated it on 15th October, the birthday of Virgil, the Roman epic poet and poet laureate under Augustus. The tradition to keep an October date for national or international poetry day celebrations still holds in many countries. In the United Kingdom, the day is celebrated on the first Thursday in October, but elsewhere a different October, or even sometimes a November date, is celebrated.

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World Poetry Day is celebrated around the world in readings and ceremonies honouring poets of high achievement as well as in teaching the craft to aspiring writers. A day dedicated to poetry: an art form that has persisted for millennia and continues to enrich our understanding of the human condition to this day. With the rise of technology and smartphones, some might believe that poetry might be a dying art. However, this very day aims to get rid of these misconceptions. In many educational institutions, poetry competitions are held to encourage young students to write. With the help of other mediums such as theatre, poetry is promoted in different parts of the world. As poetry continues to bring people together across continents, let’s join in by reading some classic poetry in English and other languages and diving into the beauty of the language and word-play.

2022 Week 11 Update

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This week, I finally managed to get into my stride and was slightly more productive than I had been for a while. I hope this reignites my productive streak and I can do more without getting distracted as I have been the past few weeks.

GG has been working in her internship for two weeks now and though she finds it very tiring, she is enjoying herself. She is still not sure if she will do what she is doing during the internship as her career, but while she figures it out, she is enjoying the process.

It’s been a month now since R went back to India and we have now learnt to live without her. I am involving both BB & GG in cooking and other house chores and it’s been fun to teach them everything. Both are learning to cook and clean and as time goes on, it’s easier to pull them into the kitchen. These are essential life skills and I am glad I can teach them.

Today’s quote is from James Arthur Ray who reminds us that often what would seem to others as a detour is the best and most direct way to our destination. And this is a quote that spoke to me this week as BB and I had many conversations on his path in life. This quote told me that my path is not his path and what I see as a detour maybe his direct path.

And on that note, stay safe everyone!

In My Hands Today…

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An Arabian Journey: One Man’s Quest Through the Heart of the Middle East – Levison Wood

Following in the footsteps of famed explorers such as Lawrence of Arabia and Wilfred Thesiger, British explorer Levison Wood brings us along on his most complex expedition yet: a circumnavigation of the Arabian Peninsula.

Starting in September 2017 in a city in Northern Syria, a stone’s throw away from Turkey and amidst the deadliest war of the twenty-first century, Wood set forth on a 5,000-mile trek through the most contested region on the planet. He moved through the Middle East for six months, from ISIS-occupied Iraq through Kuwait and along the jagged coastlines of the Emirates and Oman; across a civil-war-torn Yemen and on to Saudia Arabia, Jordan, and Israel, before ending on the shores of the Mediterranean in Lebanon.

Like his predecessors, Wood travelled through some of the harshest and most beautiful environments on earth, seeking to challenge our perceptions of this often-misunderstood part of the world. Through the relationships he forges along the way–and the personal histories and local mythologies that his companions share–Wood examines how the region has changed over thousands of years and reveals a side of the Middle East we don’t often see in the media.

World Sleep Day

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I have written about the importance of sleep and how the lack of sleep impacts our physical and mental health. Sleep allows the mind and body to recharge, allows the body to repair itself and having a healthy sleep schedule means the body is fit and free from disease. . Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly and getting adequate rest may help prevent excess weight gain, heart disease, and increased illness duration which can impair the ability to concentrate, think clearly, and process memories. A basic human need, much like eating and drinking, sleep is crucial to our overall health and well-being with research showing we spend up to a third of our lives sleeping. Sleep, like exercise and nutrition, is essential for metabolic regulation in children and there is evidence for a link between sleep duration and childhood obesity with the findings more apparent in girls than boys.

But this is not the case these days. Electronics, social media and other distractions make sure that we do not get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep that healthy adults need. It is estimated that sleep deprivation costs the US over $400 billion a year with Japan losing $138 billion, Germany $60 billion, the UK $50 billion, and Canada $21 billion. According to some evidence, the proportion of people sleeping less than the recommended hours of sleep is rising and associated with lifestyle factors related to a modern 24/7 society, such as psychosocial stress, alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of physical activity and excessive electronic media use, among others.

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This is alarming as insufficient sleep is associated with a range of negative health and social outcomes, including success at school and in the labour market. Over the last few decades, for example, there has been growing evidence suggesting a strong association between short sleep duration and elevated mortality risks. Insufficient sleep duration has been linked with seven of the fifteen leading causes of death in the United States, including cardiovascular disease, malignant neoplasm, cerebrovascular disease, accidents, diabetes, septicaemia and hypertension and besides impairing health and wellbeing, existing evidence suggests that sleep plays an important part in determining cognitive performance and workplace productivity, with a lack of sleep leading to more traffic accidents, industrial accidents, medical errors and loss of work productivity. Sleep loss and sleep-related disorders have been linked to many accidents and catastrophes including the Chernobyl nuclear explosion, the Three Mile Island nuclear incident, the Exxon Valdez spill and the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy

And to put a spotlight on the importance of sleep, every year an annual event, the World Sleep Day is organised by the World Sleep Day Committee of the World Sleep Society which aims to lessen the burden of sleep problems on society through better prevention and management of sleep disorders. The World Sleep Day is an annual event, intended to be a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep, including medicine, education, social aspects and driving.

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Held annually since 2008, World Sleep Day is held on the Friday before the Spring Vernal Equinox of each year. This year the Spring Vernal Equinox falls on Sunday 20 March and so today is celebrated as World Sleep Day with more than 88 countries around the world participating.

Every year, World Sleep Day has a different theme with the theme for 2022 being “Quality Sleep, Sound Mind, Happy World”. The theme highlights the various components which make up quality sleep as opposed to just sleeping, how sleep affects mental health, mood, and decision-making and sleep in the context of global health.

Lack of sleep or poor quality sleep is known to have a significant negative impact on our health in the long and short term. Next day effects of poor quality sleep include a negative impact on our attention span, memory recall and learning. Longer-term effects are being studied, but poor quality sleep or sleep deprivation has been associated with significant health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, weakened immune systems and even some cancers. The lack of sleep is related to many psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety and psychosis and so quality sleep is crucial to ensure good health and quality of life.

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For more information about sleep and resources that one can use, go to www.worldsleepday.org. Become aware of the importance of sleep and take charge of your own and your family’s sleeping habits. It’s not easy giving up habits like using the phone before bedtime, but with time, you should be able to get a good night’s sleep!