Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
ENTERTAINMENT
ENTERTAINMENT: _ _ Prologue: Most of us have, at some point, become so immersed in a book or game or movie that the activity temporarily assumes a profound significance and the importance of the outside world begins to fade. Although we are likely to enjoy these experiences in the realm of entertainment, we rarely stop and think about what effect they might be having on us. But maybe we should. For all that has been written about individual pop icons, movie stars, sport stars and sitcoms, and the liberating or oppressive power of popular culture, basic questions remain unanswered. What do we know about the overall effect of living in a society in which entertainment is so central? What do we know about how entertainment affects society and the people who participate in it? Why entertainment activities are so important to us, yet frequently dismissed as being unworthy of […]
CREATIVITY
CREATIVITY: _ Have a look at a picture below. What do you think? A non-creative brain sees only a hodgepodge of disconnected shapes, but a creative brain can go beyond common sense and find the connecting concept that makes sense of the shapes. The picture is of a dog drinking from a stream, with its head in the middle of the picture facing down to the water and its tail off to the right. _ The picture above shows how your brain can even create things that don’t exist. If you can see the white triangle – the one with its apex pointing up – it’s because your brain has created that triangle to unify what is otherwise simply a collection of angles and Pac-Man shapes. There is, in fact, no white triangle there. _ If you measure these two tables with a ruler, you will see that they […]
THE CYCLONE
THE CYCLONE: _ _ Prologue: I am not fond of weather analysis. Many times I inadvertently watch weather forecast on TV which I find quite boring. Nonetheless, after discussing earthquakes and tsunamis, I felt that I should discuss adverse weather events which also affect our lives. A storm is any disturbed state of atmosphere, and strongly implying severe weather; marked by strong wind, thunder, lightning and heavy precipitation (rain, ice etc). Storms are created when a center of low pressure develops, with a system of high pressure surrounding it. This combination of opposing forces can create winds and result in the formation of storm clouds. Storms generally lead to significant negative impacts to lives and property. The vertical wind shear in thunderstorm can cause airplane crashes. Severe weather is also responsible for plenty of helicopter crashes, and delay launch of space shuttles. There are various types of storms including tropical […]
EARTHQUAKE, TSUNAMI AND NUCLEAR MELTDOWN
_ EARTHQUAKE, TSUNAMI AND NUCLEAR MELTDOWN _ Prologue: Earthquakes are among the most devastating natural disasters on the planet. A severe earthquake is one of the most frightening and destructive phenomena of nature with its terrible aftereffects. In the last hundred years they have claimed the lives of over one million people. Earthquakes are destructive mainly because of their unpredictable nature. An earthquake struck at the floor of the Pacific Ocean on 11’th March, 2011 at 14.46 JST – 38.322N 142.369E. It occurred 129 km off Sendai, Honshu (Japan) at a depth of 32 km. Its magnitude was 9 M and its duration 6 minutes. It was a Megathrust type earthquake which triggered tsunami waves of up to 97ft (29.6 meter). The tsunami waves struck inland minutes after the quake and some traveled up to 6 miles (10 km) inland. The disaster is believed to have killed more than 25,000 […]
THE SLEEP
_ THE SLEEP _ Prologue: When I was working as a medical specialist in Saudi Arabia, my duty time was 7.30 am to 5 pm and additional calls at night. If I woke up at 2 am to treat a serious patient and finished work at 3 am, technically speaking I worked 1 hour extra. My Saudi boss used to say that I can come 1 hour late next day at 8.30 am as I worked previous night for 1 hour extra. It is stupid to say the least and cruel to say the most. The issue is not 1 hour night disturbance but you do not get good sleep after being woken up at midnight and your next day is spoiled due to day-time sleepiness. I am sure that medical professionals, police, military, fire brigade etc will agree with me. Even today, I am the only physician in the […]
