A genetic predisposition doesn't guarantee that it will develop

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

The nature-nurture debate is largely considered outdated, with a consensus that both genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) interact and are inseparable in shaping a person. Today's understanding is that they work together in a complex, bidirectional relationship, with genes influencing how we respond to our environment and vice versa. This is supported by fields like behavioral epigenetics, which shows that life experiences can turn genes "on" or "off". 

• Interaction and interplay: It's not a matter of one or the other being dominant, but how they work together. For example, having a genetic predisposition for a certain trait doesn't guarantee that it will develop; the environment plays a crucial role in its expression.
• Epigenetics: This field demonstrates how environmental factors can affect gene expression without changing the DNA sequence itself. Things like diet, exercise, and stress can all lead to epigenetic changes that influence our biology.
• Bidirectional effects: The relationship is not one-way. An individual's characteristics can influence how they are parented or what environments they seek out, which in turn affects their development.
• Moving beyond the "vs.": Many researchers advocate for a shift in thinking from "nature versus nurture" to "nature through nurture" to emphasize their inseparability. This perspective acknowledges that the coactivity of both factors accounts for both stability and change throughout development. 

- GoogleAI

https://www.google.com/search?q=What%27s+the+status+of+Nature-Nurture+debate+today

Yes, relics and core concepts of Structuralism are still visible today, not necessarily as a dominant, explicit philosophical movement in its original form, but as fundamental underpinnings and methodologies in various academic disciplines and modern thought. 

Enduring Legacies of Structuralism

• Linguistics: Structuralism's most significant and enduring legacy is in modern linguistics. Ferdinand de Saussure's foundational idea of language as a self-contained, structured system of signs, where meaning arises from the relationship and contrast between elements, is fundamental to the field today. Key concepts like phonemes, morphemes, syntax, and the analysis of language into different levels of structure are standard practices in contemporary linguistic study.
• Anthropology and Cultural Studies: Claude Lévi-Strauss's application of structuralism to anthropology—analyzing myths, kinship systems, and cultural practices in terms of universal underlying structures and binary oppositions (e.g., nature/culture, raw/cooked, life/death)—continues to influence how researchers study culture and society. The general idea that cultural phenomena are systems of signs that can be "decoded" is a common analytical lens in modern cultural studies and semiotics.
• Psychology and Cognitive Science: While the original psychological school of structuralism founded by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener (which used subjective introspection) was abandoned, its emphasis on rigorous laboratory research and breaking down mental processes into components laid the groundwork for experimental psychology and influenced the development of cognitive psychology. The focus on uncovering hidden, unconscious mental structures is a legacy that also influenced figures like the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan.
• Literary Theory: In literary analysis, the structuralist approach of identifying recurring narrative patterns, character types, and binary oppositions to uncover universal elements of storytelling remains a valid and used methodology. The idea that new works of literature may simply be permutations of existing deep structures is a direct result of this influence.
• Education: Some educational theories, particularly those of Piaget and Vygotsky, have foundational elements rooted in structuralist thought, focusing on how children build knowledge within certain cognitive structures. 

The main contribution of structuralism was the shift from studying isolated elements to analyzing the relationships between them within a larger, overarching system. This systems-based thinking, while often debated and integrated into later movements like post-structuralism and practice theory, is still an inherent part of the modern analytical toolkit across the humanities and social sciences. 

- GoogleAI 

https://www.google.com/search?q=Are+some+relics+of+Structuralism+visible+today 

https://www.google.com/search?q=How+Constructivism+is+different+from+structuralism

Constructivism views knowledge as a social and individual creation, built through experience and interpretation, while structuralism sees it as a product of underlying, fixed, and discoverable structures. Constructivism emphasizes the active role of the individual in building understanding, whereas structuralism focuses on uncovering the universal, often hidden, rules or patterns that shape all social phenomena. Constructivism sees language as a tool to build meaning, while structuralism uses it to reveal the "grammar" of a system. 

Feature	Constructivism	Structuralism
Source of Knowledge	Constructed: Knowledge is actively built by individuals through experiences, social interaction, and reflection.	Underlying Structures: Knowledge and phenomena are products of underlying, often invisible, systems or structures.
Reality	Subjective and Social: Reality is a product of human interaction and socio-cultural contexts.	Objective and Universal: Reality is shaped by discoverable, universal structures, regardless of individual perception.
Role of the Individual	Active: Individuals are active participants who construct their own understanding.	Passive: Individuals are often seen as products or agents of the larger structures.
Role of Language	A tool for meaning-making: Language is a tool used to construct meaning from experiences.	A system to be analyzed: Language itself is a structure with a "grammar" that reveals deeper patterns of thought.
Focus	The process of learning and building knowledge: Emphasizes how individuals and groups create meaning.	The system itself: Focuses on uncovering the fixed, underlying structures that produce phenomena.

Bird songs and flight paths

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

AI benefits from bird behavior by using it for advanced monitoring and conservation of bird populations, such as using bird songs for identification and migration tracking. This includes applications like tracking movements to mitigate wind turbine collisions, identifying species from sound, and monitoring habitat health through behavioral patterns. In agricultural settings, it uses behavior monitoring to assess the health of poultry flocks. 

For scientific research and conservation

• Population monitoring: AI analyzes large datasets from citizen science projects like eBird to estimate population sizes and monitor changes over time.
• Species identification: Machine learning models like BirdNET can identify bird species based on their songs and calls, providing a powerful tool for large-scale ecological monitoring.
• Behavioral studies: AI can analyze the complex social behaviors of birds, like those of crows, to understand communication and coordination within groups, as shown by the Earth Species Project.
• Migration tracking: By monitoring bird movements, AI can track migratory patterns, providing data to indicate climate change impacts and help with conservation efforts.
• Habitat assessment: AI can use bird behavior data to map habitat preferences and assess the health of ecosystems by observing how birds interact with their environment. 

For risk mitigation and farming

• Bird-facility collisions: Systems that integrate AI with radar and cameras can monitor real-time bird movements to predict flight paths and mitigate collisions with structures like wind turbines and solar panels.
• Poultry health: AI, combined with IoT sensors, can monitor the behavior of poultry on farms to detect early signs of illness or distress, allowing for preventative measures to be taken.
• Early illness detection: AI-based systems can identify subtle behavioral changes that may indicate a health issue in birds, which might otherwise be missed by human observers. 

-GoogleAI

https://www.google.com/search?q=How+does+AI+benefit+from+birds%27+behaviour

Integral Healing

—Compiled from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother

This book of selections from the writings and talks of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother presents their insights into the causes and cure of illness. It examines the mechanism of illness primarily from a psychological point of view, taking into account the whole of our being including much that is beyond the range of our normal awareness. It explores how the hidden causes of physical disorders can be uprooted by discovering and utilising one's inner power and participating consciously in the accelerated evolutionary process known as Integral Yoga. The book is divided into four parts: "Psychological Causes of Illness", "Cure by Inner Means", "Cure by Spiritual Force", and "Medicine and Healing".

You can access our eBooks from any Kindle device or via the Kindle app on your smartphone, tablet, or computer using the following link: https://www.sabda.in/static/eBooks.php 

Ostrich can kick powerfully to kill a lion

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

Yes, the idiomatic use of "ostrich hiding its head in the sand" is based on an untrue myth; ostriches do not bury their heads to escape danger. The saying refers to the act of ignoring a problem, and its origin comes from the false belief that ostriches do this when threatened. In reality, ostriches either flee, lie flat to blend in, or turn their eggs in the shallow nests they dig. 

• The myth's origin: The misconception likely arose from a combination of ostrich behaviors observed from a distance.
  • Lying low: When sensing danger, an ostrich will often lie flat on the ground with its neck outstretched to camouflage itself, which can look like its head is buried in the sand.
  • Turning eggs: Ostriches dig holes in the ground for their eggs and frequently put their heads into the nest to turn them. This action can be mistaken for burying their heads in the sand.
• The reality: Ostriches are fast runners and have keen eyesight, which they use to detect and flee from predators. If they cannot escape, they have other defense mechanisms, such as kicking powerfully enough to kill a lion.
• The idiom's meaning: Despite being based on a false premise, the idiom "to have one's head in the sand" or "to bury one's head in the sand" is widely used to mean a person who is deliberately ignoring a problem or refusing to deal with an unpleasant situation. 

-GoogleAI

https://www.google.com/search?q=whether+idiomatic+use+of+Ostrich+hiding+head+in+sand+untrue&oq

Yes, the sentiment of the Odia proverb about a cat stealthily drinking milk with its eyes closed, thinking no one sees it, occurs in English culture and thought, though not as a direct, widely-used proverb. The core meaning is about a person who commits a misdeed secretly, but their actions are obvious to others, and they foolishly believe their actions are unobserved. 

The closest common English expressions with a similar meaning would be:

• "Thinking they've pulled a fast one" (informal), meaning they believe they have successfully deceived someone when they haven't.
• The general concept is related to "self-deception" or a naive attempt to hide something obvious.
• One might also describe the person's actions as being as obvious as a "bull in a china shop" if the misdeed is clumsy, or simply state, "Everyone can see what you're doing". 

The Odia proverb uses a specific, vivid image of the cat's self-deception as a metaphor for human foolishness, a concept that is universally understood.

-GoogleAI

https://www.google.com/search?q=Is+Odia+proverb+cat+stealthily+drinking+milk+with+eyes+closed+occurs+in+English&oq

On board a ship on an ocean voyage

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

It's fascinating that three of the most important developments in Indian science happened not in a laboratory or lecture hall, but in the most unlikely of places, on board a ship on an ocean voyage.

The first was in 1893, on a voyage from Yokohama to Vancouver,  when Swami Vivekananda met Jamsetji Tata & inspired him to create an institute that merged the humanism of the east with the science and Technology of the west.  That's how the Indian Institute of Science started.

In 1930,  Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar won a scholarship to study at Cambridge & while aboard the ship to England did the bulk of the work on the Chandrashekhar Limit for stars,  for which he would later be awarded a Nobel Prize. This was, amazingly, before his 20th birthday.

And in 1921, 9 years earlier,  CV Raman, returning home   from Oxford on a sea voyage was dazzled by the deep blue of the Mediterranean  and decided to study the scattering of Light. The 'Raman Effect' won him a Nobel Prize in 1930.

Raman was so confident of getting the Nobel Prize after missing out in 1928 and 1929 that he booked his ocean voyage tickets to Sweden months before he knew he had won.

137th birth anniversary of CV Raman today.

Perhaps this may help iisc.ac.in/wp-content/upl…

https://x.com/joybhattacharj/status/1986652319501722055?t=2b9j77ronFm09ql5EXjHyA&s=19

The aesthetic and the transcendent are inseparable

 Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra

No. Sri Aurobindo's inclination towards poetry did not interfere in building his metaphysical system; rather, his poetry and philosophy were deeply intertwined and mutually supportive. He viewed poetry as a potent means of expressing the very spiritual experiences and truths that formed the basis of his philosophical writings. 

Key aspects of this relationship include:

• Integrated Vision: Sri Aurobindo's philosophy (expounded in prose works like The Life Divine) and his poetry (culminating in the epic Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol) both arose from his yogic and mystical experiences. His system, known as Integral Yoga, sought to bridge the material and the spiritual, and art/poetry were considered crucial components of this integral life.
• Poetry as "Mantra of the Real": He developed a theory of "overhead poetry," where the goal was to access higher planes of consciousness and express spiritual reality directly through the power of words, rhythm, and style. He believed that such poetry could serve as a powerful aid to the change of consciousness he envisioned for humanity.
• Expression of the Inexpressible: For Sri Aurobindo, poetry could convey experiences and insights that often transcended the limitations of purely intellectual philosophical prose. It could evoke an inner vision and stimulate the reader's own spiritual experience, making the abstract metaphysical concepts more accessible and real.
• Complementary Forms: His major prose works laid out the logical and intellectual framework of his philosophy, while his poetry provided a more intuitive and aesthetic expression of the same truths. The two forms worked in concert to provide a comprehensive understanding of his vision. 

In essence, his poetic inclination was not a distraction but a vital and integral part of his life's work, enabling a richer and more complete expression of his metaphysical system.

- GoogleAI 

https://www.google.com/search?q=Did+Sri+Aurobindo%27s+inclination+towards+poetry+interfered+in+building+a+robust+metaphysical+system

It is a subject of scholarly discussion whether the aesthetic beauty and unique style of Sri Aurobindo's poetry can sometimes overshadow his profound philosophical and theoretical contributions. 

Nuances of the Reception

• A "New Kind of Poetry": Sri Aurobindo's magnum opus, the epic poem Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol, is considered a unique kind of mystic poetry that requires "a new extension of consciousness and aesthesis to appreciate". Critics and readers whose sensibilities are forged in traditional Western critical traditions may find it challenging to appreciate the full scope of his poetic vision, which is deeply rooted in Indian spiritual thought.
• Inseparable Theory and Practice: Scholars argue that a proper estimate of his poetry is only possible on the basis of his poetics and poetic theory. His theoretical works, such as The Future Poetry and The Life Divine, explain the very principles that he applied in his creative writing. The aesthetic and the transcendent are inseparable in his work.
• Dual Role: Sri Aurobindo was a philosopher, yogi, and poet simultaneously, and his extensive literary contributions cover diverse genres. Some early critics, like George Sampson, did refer to him as "more famous as an exponent of Indian nationalism than as a poet," indicating a potential for one aspect to be emphasized over another depending on the context or the reader's focus.
• Integral Vision: His work aims for an "integral spiritual evolution," where philosophy (vision of Reality) and poetry (creative expression of that vision) are harmonized. His aesthetic philosophy places great emphasis on beauty as an embodiment of divine harmony, which is a key part of his overall theory of existence. 

Ultimately, the issue seems less about a general public "falling prey" to beauty and more about the challenge for some critics and readers to approach his work with the necessary framework to appreciate both its profound aesthetic and epochal theoretical dimensions simultaneously. 

- GoogleAI

https://www.google.com/search?q=Is+it+true+that+people+fall+prey+to+the+aesthetic+beauty+of+Sri+Aurobindo%27s+poetry+and+tend+to+neglect+his+epochal+contributions+to+Theory&client