Quizbot is a weekly quiz initiated by yours truly in an attempt to reach far out in everyone's quest for Curiosity. Besides, Quizzing is one of my hobbies and thanks to SEQC, now one of my passions.
Quizbot is pure quizzing. No Leaderboard, No Scores. Every week, there will be a set of 5 questions, to be answered in the comments section. Look out every Sunday for a new set!
Set # 1
1. A leading researcher in areas of mathematical physics and the Theory of Everything, this theoretical physicist is perhaps, according to his peers, a successor to Albert Einstein. Identify.
2. Described as "A webcomic....... that is all", this webcomic has a member of the family Anatidae in its name. Name this webcomic (the image below is a strip from the comic), whose subjects range from technology to mathematics to physics, often giving faux-eloquent facts on these topics.
3. Co-director of Asia's largest film festival, this travel writer and historian pretty much lives in New Delhi, India. Identify him.
4. Identify this pop band, based in Sweden. In September 2010, they released an album named after a quantity explained as "a + b is to a as a is to b." Name.
5. A sitter (there will be one of these in every set). Give me the code name used for the Kill Osama Bin Laden operation. Clue below.
Post your answers in the comments section below. Answers to be revealed in the next set, of-course, along with the scores.
"One Minute Take: Multitasking: A Habit or a Necessity"
"To do Two things at once is to do neither." Thus said Roman philosopher Publilius Syrus to himself in 100 B.C.
Its obvious. Right now, while reading this post, you must be having atleast 3 tabs open on your web browser and you must probably be listening to music. Multitasking is a commonplace activity.
Handling multiple tasks at a time can be fun, but recent studies show that they are linked with stress and overload. Scientifically, it is referred to as "Cognitive Overload." But the BAD effects of Multitasking are only observed at workplaces and in the office atmosphere. One website quotes multitasking as an activity "Used for decades to describe the parallel processing abilities of computers, multitasking is now shorthand for the human attempt to do simultaneously as many things as possible, as quickly as possible, preferably marshalling the power of as many technologies as possible."
Listening to music while travelling, combining any activity with watching television, reading the newspaper or a book till whilst doing something else are actually shown to improve efficiency of a task. According to me, while multitasking it is always better to prioritise your jobs and to pair a less-brainy job with a not-so-less brainy job, as in the examples above. This will surely increase the speed and efficiency of the task at hand.
And last, and least, the term "Multitasking" was made for the computer industry, and NOT for Humans, so don't go too far with that habit. In the end, I leave you with some funny cartoons, depicting multitasking.
"One Minute Take is a series where I write on, giving my view of VERY random topics, the topics are randomly decided when I stumble my interests on Stumbleupon!"
Back in the 1600s, a "Computer" was a person who was appointed to carry out calculations. Till about 100 years ago, no one would have imagined the strides technology would take and now we are busy in knowing how far the strides will reach.
In such a quest was Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, who, in a 1965 article in Electronics Magazine made an observation that seemed too audacious to be true. He saw a trend, that would be, and still is the driving force behind computer technology. He noted, " the number of components in integrated circuits had doubled every year from the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958 until 1965" and predicted that the trend would continue "for at least ten years". This is not a law of physics, but is a mere observation.
Gordon Moore, co-founder - Intel
The law, or trend, states that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. And as startling as it may seem, this trend has continued for more than half a century and is expected to continue until 2020. I am no computer expert, so on technical terms, I quote some websites. Here's one that says, "We are now used to a scenario in which this observation has turned into a law of nature in the chip manufacturing industry and appears to have become the major force to drive semiconductor innovation." Take a look at the graph below which shows this trend clearly.
If you notice, the Moore's Law has been 'Made Real' by Intel, which recently came out with the new Tri-Gate Transistor, or 3-D Transistor. Now, the Moore's Law does affect us as computer users, if not for integrated circuits becoming more integrated, laptops would fit in a whole room. Only real professionals in the semiconductor industry really know whats going on behind the scenes, and mere mortals like us can only look up and gore at what comes by, along with, of course, benefiting from using these innovations.
Now, there is a similar law called the Kryder's Law applicable to hard disk storage cost per unit of information. Also, the camera industry has its own version of 'Pixels per Dollar' law.
Well, now coming to the question, "How long will this trend hold out?" Is there any time when we will exhaust our silicon technologies, or is there a time when silicon will be replaced, by say Quantum Computing? You have your answer from Gordon Moore himself, who in April 2005 stated that the law cannot be sustained indefinitely: "It can't continue forever. The nature of exponentials is that you push them out and eventually disaster happens." Well, if this trend continues, then by 2050 we'll have robots who are our masters and control us! Probably, if someone masters Quantum Computing, harnessing the power of individual atoms, the Silicon industry may cease to exist, according to some futurists. Futurist Ray Kurzweil, an optimistic as far as the Moore's Law is concerned, says that by 2045 Machine will become equal to Man, and calls this the 'Singularity'.
There are two perspectives here. One. If the Moore's Law ceases to exist then we will have a better option replacing it. Two. If it continues for more decades, then we will have better processors and better computers.
Till then, live with the fact that after 2020, one of the above two scenarios will arise, and 2020 will be no doubt the acid test year for the Moore's Law.
Later!
The above post is part sourced from the web, part from videos and part original writing.
One fine night on a trip to the countryside, a Mercedes was the only car in sight in the vast, isolated area. In it were a father and his son, belonging to a very wealthy family. Suddenly, the lone figure of the car stopped moving. It had broken down. Sensing that there was no way out other than spending the night at a broken down inn a few metres away, the Father approached the caretaker of the inn. The old figure warmly welcomed his unexpected visitors and told them that they could spend the night there.
The next morning, the duo left the inn in the afternoon after their car had been repaired. On reaching their palatial mansion in the city, the father asked his son, "Did you see how the poor live?"
The son replied, "Hmm... Yes."
"What did you observe, son?"
"I saw that they had dogs, cows, buffaloes, cats and other animals at their place whereas we have only a pair of parrots."
"We have all this artificial lighting while they have the rich sky and the stars at night."
"We have a small swimming pool while I saw a river and a waterfall near their place."
"They can wander in their endless fields while I am confined to a small room."
"We buy all our food from the supermarket, they grow their own food."
"The boy there has 3 siblings to play with, while I am all alone."
The Father was speechless. Then the boy added, "Thanks, Pa. Today I learnt how poor we are."
Hard truth: There are always two sides of a coin. Never ignore either.
The above short story is a modified version of a popular folktale.
"A blogpost on Mangoes in General, recounting my experience collecting mangoes from trees in our ancestral farm"
Come summer, and one visitor is eagerly awaited in everybody's homes. A fleshly, luscious, ripe, yellow, drop-shaped, round visitor. YES, its edible. I think you must be thinking of eating one now. Why, you may have it right in front of you, cut up, all yellow, just ready to pop into that mouth! A Mango is on everyone's dinner plate!
Low in Calories, rich in Vitamins A, B, C and minerals Potassium, Iron, Phosphorous, Calcium and Magnesium, this treat has been around for the past 6,000 years. Its native to India (and if its not grown around you, you have the right to question our madness!), and grows mainly in the tropics. India is also the world's largest producer and exporter of this delicacy. Dont fret, Mangoes have been proven to be helpful in weight loss, so no fuss there!
There is no other fruit as versatile as the Mango. It can be eaten raw, unripe, ripe, can be pickled, be made into chutneys, smoothies, ice-creams, aamras and even the leaf of the tree is used as a cultural symbol.
Plucking some mangoes from a neighbor's tree is a very common practice here. It usually results in the owner running behind the hoodlums and the hoodlums running away, taunting the owner as they run along to their safe haven. Another practice involves throwing down a mango using a sling and a perfectly aimed projectile. Such activities today are a rarity in the city. Since then Mango cultivation has become specialised, with the tasy cultivars (varities) like Alphonso, Rampuri, Pairi and Mankur being confined to 10 acre farms somewhere in the remote corners of the village.
Plucking those mangoes out directly from the trees requires you owning either a mango tree, or a farm. Every year, around the third week of May, our family (some 15-30 of them) chalk out a program which starts with all of us going to out ancestral farm in a little known village called Shirgao, some 100 km from Kolhapur, Maharashtra; then gathering some local help (those trees are more than 50 feet you know, climbing them needs some local knowledge); collecting and dividing the stuff; then heading back home, sure that the rest of the summer won't be 'Mangoless.'
It was my first time to Shirgao this May 26. Like any other Indian village, it was a scenic place. Lush sugarcane fields spanning the breadth of the village, all clustered with huts and small canals for irrigation. In between two sugarcane fields in the north of the village, is a mango tree (Magnifera Indica) farm consisting of about 15 trees. As excited and curious as ever, I wasted much of my time climbing the tree picking mangoes though I only could reach the 2nd branch!). After procuring some fruit catchers, I spent the rest of my time picking mangoes from my ground base, catching the mangoes the locals dropped, and also managed to click some snaps, along with a trip to an adjacent corn farm to get that moolah!
Then around lunchtime, rain clouds made their majestic entry from the horizon. From then on, the people jumped into overdrive to safely deposit whatever that had been collected into the cars. Then it started raining. Lightning followed. Getting wet was FUN, and inevitable. After 8hours, MORE THAN 500 DOZEN (6000) MANGOES and 2 trees still left to strip, we had to leave.
And for the following two days until the car was washed, the smell of unripe mangoes RULED. Now the wait is restricted for another week, until Green turns to Magical Yellow!
Till then, there will be, Mangoes, Mangoes, Everywhere and the smell of Mangoes in the Air!
A Father was having a meeting with a client, when his little boy came to him, wanting to play with him. His father, already frustrated, tore a page from the newspaper which bore the image of the Earth, made several pieces of it, and handed it to his son. He gave him some scotch tape and told him to put back the image together, hoping that it would keep him occupied for atleast 10 minutes. He resumed his meeting.
After about 15 minutes, the boy returned, with a perfect image of the Earth. Knowing that his 4-year old son could not have done it, he asked, "Has your Mother done this?"
The child replied, "No. She's sleeping from the past hour or so. I don't even know what that blue, round thing is. I saw a picture of an elephant on the back of the page, so I put it together and found out that the round thing was there again."
Both the father and his client smiled at the child's innocence. The little boy couldn't figure out why they were so happy, let alone the strong level of common sense that he had used.
You don't have to be a learned one to do something, using a bit of common sense, curiosity and innocence would do better!
The above piece of writing is an integrated version, combined from two separate short stories.
