Memory

" I am struck by the way memories can be formed. This is more like ROM where there is a permanent scar, but the ROM-memory has multiple states and is read to calculate the probability of turning right."



Tiny organisms remember the way to food - 17 March 2007 - New Scientist

mmediately after an amoeba turned right, it was twice as likely to turn left as right again, and vice versa, they told a meeting of the American Physical Society meeting in Denver, Colorado, last week. This suggests that the cells have a rudimentary memory, being able to remember the last direction they had just turned in, says Robert Austin, a biophysicist at Princeton who was not involved in the study.

Such memories might be laid down because of the way the cell moves. To turn, an amoeba extends part of its body in the preferred direction, which creates a scar made of protein down that side of the cell. The scar might make the cell temporarily more likely to move in the opposite direction. For the amoeba, the pay-off is that it avoids travelling in circles and hence can search a larger area.

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Jilted Love

Hindi music usually portrays a jilted lover singing plaintively and totally unconsolable.
Although we see similar music in the west, we also see anger being expressed.
Do we as Indians find it difficult to accept that we are angry because we got dumped ?

People without Borders - Not the bookstore ;)

California Split - New York Times
If the scale of a country renders it unmanageable, there are two possible responses. One is a breakup of the nation; the other is a radical decentralization of power. More than half of the world's 200 nations formed as breakaways after 1946. These days, many nations — including Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Italy and Spain, just to name a few — are devolving power to regions in various ways.

Rajan : " I held this view that national boundaries are the cause for a lot of tension and war. The utopian world would be when all humans on this world could have equal access to all resources in this world. Free Market is a means to achieve that but it has its downsides.
However it is also clear that governing power should be at the local level. I think that in terms of laws, we could still agree on a common set of rules which everyone could agree are good for us. Ofcourse we will continue to debate the morality of certain liberties and so on, but the basic priniciples of freedom for the individual to speak, pursue his dreams and drive his fate would be something we all will agree upon.  I can see how some people, not fortunate enough to go through an educational system, would not attach value to these fundamental laws but it wouldnt be very difficult to educate them about these basic facts. When it comes to implementing these laws the power has to be at the local level which is monitored by a hierarchy of communities. Damn this is so freaking complex. Teams/communities that live and work together are always suspicious of others. The main reason is probably the fear of unknown. Will the power of internet open the blinds and expose us to other groups and sub-cultures. Maybe not because the power of internet is seen as an tool to empower the individual. "You" were the Time person of the year in 2006. If you choose You could live a very narrow and secluded life and more so in the internet Era. "
Will there be a day where we can simulate society and test the effect of policies on societies. We are so far away from that arent we? "

Charlie the Tiger

What happened to Charlie Rose ?  Did you see him alive, abuzz and flooding Charles Schummer with Questions. See him interview a Republican and he is like a pet dog.
Although I think schummer is full of shit too. He sounds like a car salesman.

Engineering Marvel

These guys at apple really "engineer" the best stuff.