Night Vision Gyaan

What is it?

A high-precision optical instrument which makes use of light amplification technique to in order to operate in little or no light environments.

Who dunnit?

Night vision devices or NVDs were first developed by AEG, a German Electric company in 1935 for the German military during World War II. USA Government pitched in around the same time to develop its own version to aid its military. This is believed to be the “GEN 0” (Generation 0) period in night vision technology which utilised the infrared light source to develop active devices.

“GEN I” era during the mid 1960’s saw the use of ambient light to develop rather passive units with image intensifiers producing a light amplification of 1000x.

Later in the 1970’s the “GEN II” devices improved the passive devices to work in much low ambient light like moonless nights with a 20 times improved magnification capability.

“GEN III” devices developed in the 1990’s brought in much better resolution and sensitivity and magnification factor increased by a factor of 50 than the original “GEN I” devices.

The present “GEN III+” and “GEN IV” technology brings in much better performance in low as well as high-level light environment. Additionally it provides an improved signal to noise ratio along with seamless adjustment to fluctuating light conditions.

Technology

Night vision technology works in three different ways:

1) Thermal Imaging: Generally we are able to see the visible portion of what the spectrum of light offers but “Thermal imaging” or “Thermography”, is the means by which we can see the infrared portion of the spectrum. This technology in particular exploits the upper portion (3 microns – 30 microns in wavelength) of the infrared light or the “Thermal-IR” band. As we know that light is emitted (in the form of photons) when the electrons in an object are excited to high-energy states created by heating. Thermal-IR band however, accounts for the invisible light (to human eye) emitted by objects owing to their natural heat.

The main tool for this task is a thermographic camera which can pick up electromagnetic waves between 0.9 – 14 microns. The infrared light emitted by objects in view is captured by special lens, scanned using detector elements to create a detailed temperature pattern called “thermogram” and converted to electrical impulses which are finally processed for display in various colours depending upon radiation intensity.

Thermal-imaging devices can again be of two types:-

• Un-cooled: The most common type in which the detector elements can operate in room temperature. It is completely quiet, activates quickly and has a built-in battery.
• Cryogenically cooled: They are typically housed in a vacuum-sealed case and cryogenically coo below zero degrees. They have incredible resolution and sensitivity that result from cooling the elements and hence can sense a temperature difference of the order of 0.1 C from more than 300 m away.

2) Image intensifiers: This method of night vision amplifies the available ambient light to achieve better vision. The device consists of a conventional lens which sends the captured infrared light to an image-intensifier tube. The tube consists of a photocathode which converts the photons into electrons. These electrons further release thousands of other electrons when made to accelerate across micro-channels in a tiny glass disc known as “Microchannel Plate” (MCP) using high voltage. Finally these electrons hit a screen coated with phosphors while maintaining their position in relation to the channel it passed through and hence being in alignment with the original photons. Further the phosphors release photons and create a green image on the screen. This green image is viewed using an ocular lens which allows us to magnify and focus the image.

All image intensifiers operate in the above fashion. Technological differences over the past 40 years have resulted in substantial improvement to the performance of these devices which have categorized them into generations as mentioned above.

3) Active illumination: Active illumination technologies work on the principle of coupling imaging intensification technology with an active source of illumination in the near infrared (NIR) or shortwave infrared (SWIR) band. Examples of such technologies include inexpensive low light cameras.

Applications

Modern Night vision devices work surprisingly very effectively even in complete darkness. From being “GEN 0” devices that only aided the military on the battlefield, they have travelled a long distance of evolution to be used in various arenas like surveillance, wildlife observation, security, navigation, law-enforcement and entertainment. It is still used extensively by the military for that purpose, as well as for navigation, surveillance and targeting. Police and security often use both thermal-imaging and image-enhancement technology, particularly for surveillance. Wildlife photographers and nature enthusiasts use NVDs to maneuver through the woods at night. Detectives and private investigators depend heavily on night vision to track people.. Many businesses have permanently-mounted cameras equipped with night vision to monitor the surroundings.

NVDs are typically used in the form of Scopes (or monoculars), Goggles (or binoculars) and cameras. Infact now days many of the new camcorders have a built-in night vision feature like the Sony DCR-TRV17.

It is interesting to note that an animal's ability to see in low light levels may be similar to what humans see when using first- or perhaps second-generation image intensifiers !!

Zodiac Signs: An astropsychological connection

I often find myself dumbfounded by the fact that one of my dear ones who shares birthday with me, shows similar instincts and personality traits as mine. Most of the times when we go out shopping it doesn’t surprise me much when we manage to choose the same apparel. We often gorge on the same flavour of ice-cream and like the same music and movies. And if this wasn’t enough, we also react to situations similarly and display common gestures .Well one could say that this is mere coincidence or maybe our similarities are the cause of our closeness in the first place. But if that was the case, I wonder how most of my close friends are so different to me in all these aspects. Although I never really trusted any astrological phenomenon for such supernatural “kismet connection”, I couldn’t find any plausible explanation otherwise. So can Zodiac Signs really do the talking here?

Zodiac signs have always fascinated the human race in one way or the other. The term “zodiac” derives from Latin which in turn comes from Greek. Its construction is described in Ptolemy’s Almagest (2nd century AD). However, the classical zodiac is a modification of the MUL.APIN catalogue believed to be compiled around 1000 BC. In Hinduism, these signs are known as “rashees” and have been described vividly since ancient Vedic texts as “Jyotish Shaastra”. The essence of this knowledge derived from planetary motions, has been passed down since ages and is now available in daily newspapers. Most of us tend to take a glimpse of it in the daily horoscope section and most likely shrug it off if it doesn’t suit us murmuring to ourselves, “So much for stars controlling my day”. I for one, am not in a different league here. Maybe the horizon above us all cannot foretell the  future but can it predict our mindset and actions to control our psyche and eventually shape our future? Now looking at it from this angle certainly raises a few eyebrows.

Researchers have long tried to establish a correlation between astrology and psychology. The cross-fertilisation of these fields is known as “Astropsychology”. It began around 1911 when Carl Jung began experimenting with astrology in order to "find a clue to the core of human psychology," as he stated in a letter to Sigmund Freud. Later, in a different correspondence with Freud, Jung stated, “I dare say that we shall one day discover in astrology a good deal of knowledge that has been intuitively projected into the heavens. For instance, it appears that the signs of the zodiac are character pictures, in other words libido symbols which depict the typical qualities of the libido at a given moment." Jung believed that there are reasons to suspect that heavenly bodies actually affect a person's development at birth and that the correlation is acausal and not actually influenced by the planets and stars themselves. He believed that astrology could teach us about the human mind but on a general level. This was the start of Astropsychology which doesn’t directly believe that a person’s everyday life is dictated by the position of the stars but shows that the horoscope is a mere tool to help identify one’s attributes. For example a psychological astrologer might use the horoscope to see if individuals possess specialized abilities or disabilities based on their mindset. Many notable researches till date have been based on this like:

• Establishment of correlation between a person’s profession and astrological birth chart by French psychologist, Michel Gauquelin.
• Predicting mental illness through astrology by psychiatrist Dr. Mitchel E. Gibson.
• Effect on unborn fetuses of Sun, Moon and other planets by Percy Seymour.

Now, this in effect can only be true if our mind and body can be studied as a physical manifestation of the cosmos to some level.

A major principle in astrology is the idea represented by the saying, "As above, so below" or "That which is above is the same as that which is below." In quantum physics terminology, it means that what applies to the very large (the universe) applies to the very small (the atom). No doubt we are looking for Bosons to answer that. In mathematical terms, human beings are like a "fractal" of the universe, each cell in our body is like a "fractal" (DNA) of our entire body, the atom is like a fractal of each cell, and so on, ad infinitum. The ancients believed the study of the stars is a study of the inner workings of the human mind. This does not seem like such an odd idea when you consider that everything - including our minds - evolved from the stars from the Big Bang. Astrology is simply a system of thought concerning the connections between external reality and internal reality.

Hindu astrology in particular recognizes the existence and influence of collective, cosmic and spiritual levels of consciousness which lie beyond our personal mind and which modern psychology is only beginning to explore. Its concern is not just with bringing happiness or harmony to the outer layers of the mind, but with bringing the deeper layers of the mind into function by awakening our spiritual aspiration. It teaches us that we are divine souls with infinite potential that we derive from the same cosmic forces that create the planets and stars. It teaches a real science of psychology because it treats the real psyche or soul, not just the outer mind.

Without doubt, most of us today look to resolve our personal and professional issues using sun signs. However, if the core of the human being is identical to the ultimate reality of the Universe, then it seems that our greatest good lies in the realization of this fact. For if we trust our fate, and realize it is purposeful in a way that transcends the petty concerns that plague our everyday lives, then much unnecessary suffering can be avoided.

Kundalini : The Coiled Energy Reserve

Whenever you hear someone say, “Give it more than your 100%”, it rather signifies that the person wants you to give it your best. But literally speaking, can you really bring out more than what you are normally capable of? Most certainly not. Not unless you have a hidden energy reserve somewhere in your body which you can unleash anytime. But sadly this is not an age of superheroes where you may possess such supernatural powers. Supernatural as it may sound but such an energy reserve might be present inside each and every one of us in a dormant form, waiting to be invoked. Believed to be the residual power of pure desire, this energy is called the “Kundalini Energy”.

The word "Kundalini" is derived from Sanskrit which literally means “coiled”. As its name suggests, it is believed to be like a coiled-up sleeping serpent, hence referred to as the “Serpent Power” in a number of English renderings. In Hindu mythology, the knowledge of the Kundalini dates back to as old as the Upanishads. Over the centuries, its power has been advocated in one form or the other by notable spiritual leaders and saints such as Adi Sankaracharya, Gyaneshwara, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Swami Vivekananda, Paramhans Yogananda, Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Sri Mataji Nirmala Devi and many others. It even finds mention in other religions like Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Taoism and Buddhism.

The backbone of the Kundalini concept is interestingly our very backbone! This is because the human spine is believed to be not just the source of this mysterious energy but also the carrier of it. The source is the sacrum bone lying at the base of the spine while the carriers are the three major nadis or “nerve currents” known as the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna which flow inside the left, right and central hollow parts of the vertebral column respectively. When invoked, the Kundalini is believed to traverse a path of seven chakras or “psychic wheels” opening them one by one like blooming flowers. It rises from the Muladhara, or Root chakra up through the subtle Sushumna, and from there to top of the head merging with the Sahasrara, or Crown chakra. The final state has been experienced to be of infinite bliss and absolute purity where one attains what may be referred to as "awakening of inner knowledge". This in effect is comparable to the state of self-awareness in meditation.

To reach this final stage a period of careful purification and strengthening of the body and nervous system is needed. This is achieved using various ways as prescribed by different schools of thoughts. Ancient traditions have it that Kundalini can be awakened by a Siddha-guru through shaktipat which essentially involves conferring of spiritual energy from Guru to the disciple using sacred mantras or touch or the Ajna chakra (third eye). Some schools of yoga also teach that the Kundalini can be awakened through spiritual practices such as hatha yoga and meditation. Sometimes spontaneous awakenings may occur for no obvious reasons at all, triggered by intense experiences. Nowadays, Sahaja Yoga technique of meditating (by Sri Mataji Nirmala Devi) has been adopted worldwide by many for Kundalini awakening which results in a feeling of cool breeze across palms and top of the head after the Kundalini rises up the spinal column.

But what is the reason behind this mysterious “chill down your spine” which delivers an inexplicable feeling of ecstasy later. Researchers in the fields of psychiatry and transpersonal psychology describe a complex pattern of sensory, motor, mental and affective symptoms associated with the concept of Kundalini, sometimes called the “Kundalini syndrome”. Most notable work is a physical-physiological model developed by Itzhak Bentov who is noted for his published works on consciousness.

According to the model, while sitting immobile in meditation, the pumping heart creates micro-motions (mechanical vibrations) in the upper body stimulating an electrical loop circuits in the sensory brain cortex which oscillate at 7Hz (EEG Theta waves). This creates different bodily sensations starting in the toes and moving up the spine to the head, which signifies the Kundalini awakening.When these closed-loop currents pass through the limbic system, it stimulates the pleasure centres in amygdala thereby initiating the so called “kindling” phenomenon. This kindling tends to spread from the midbrain in an orderly sequence to hippocampus, the occipital lobes and finally to the frontal lobes. EEG measurements of the same depict an increase in amount of Alpha waves spreading from the occipital to the frontal cortex, while Beta and Gamma waves prevail in the dormant frontal area. Hence the whole brain begins to vibrate as a unit, generating coherent, high amplitude waves within a broad frequency spectrum. This leads to awakening of the whole brain.

Interestingly, there have been attempts by enthusiasts to explain the Kundalini using modern physics too. The theory revolves around the concept of superconductors which follow the “Bose-Einstein condensate” phenomenon. A scientist named Herbert Frohlich experimented that just like superconductors, living cells also depict a high degree of order and coherence when fed with extra energy. Likewise if the human brain has a sufficient supply of high-grade energy, the neurons tend to line up in the most orderly and condensed way. This is also called the neurological coherence. So when the Kundalini is awakened the brain tends to turn into a superconductor and the attention like a laser beam.

According to famous Indian writer and awakened master, Gopi Krishna: “The human reproductive system functions in two ways, both as the evolutionary and the reproductive mechanism. As the evolutionary mechanism, it sends a fine stream of a very potent nerve-energy into the brain and another stream into the reproductive region. By the arousal of Kundalini we mean the reversal of the reproductive system and its functioning more as an evolutionary mechanism.” Hence, though being a spiritual aspect, the Kundalini is inspired from the human anatomical pattern. No wonder, the four transverse ridges joining the sacral bone together appear more like the three and half coils depicting the Kundalini.

The various physical and neurological aspects of Kundalini are so vivid and intricate that they cannot be comprehended easily by everyone. However, what lies within everyone’s potential is to discover that hidden energy which can unlock the hidden subtle mysteries of the universe.

Bluetooth Gyaan

What is it?

A short-range, non-line-of-sight wireless technology operating over a typical distance of around 30 feet and geared towards easy data exchange between fixed and mobile electronic devices.

Who dunnit?

Developed by Jaap Haartsen and Sven Mattisson from Ericsson in 1994 as an alternative to wired connections in common products like phones and headsets or computers, keyboards and mice.

Several leading companies like Ericsson, Microsoft, Intel, Motorola, Nokia, Toshiba etc formed the “Special Interest Group” (SIG) codenamed “Bluetooth” in May, 1998 to promote the technology as a way to make their products compatible.

SIG initiated the “Bluetooth Innovation World Cup” in June, 2009 for three years to encourage new innovations and ideas in various domains utilizing Bluetooth applications.

Interestingly, the name “Bluetooth” derives its origin from 10th century Danish king, Harald Blatand (or Harold Bluetooth in English) who was instrumental in uniting hostile tribes just as Bluetooth technology is developed to allow collaboration between differing industries!!

Technology

Any wireless technology employs a modulation scheme to transmit the desired signal by piggybacking it on a high-frequency carrier wave. The modulation scheme adopted by Bluetooth is “Adaptive Frequency-hopping Spread Spectrum” (AFH).

Generally speaking, “Frequency-hopping Spread Spectrum” technique uses a carrier wave that hops in a random but predictable sequence known to both transmitter and receiver. In Bluetooth these random values may be typically 79 in number hopping as frequently as 1600 times per second to avoid radio frequency interference with similar devices. AFH furthermore improves resistance to interference by avoiding crowded or unwanted frequencies in the hopping sequence.

Bluetooth operates between 2.402 GHz -2.480 GHz in the unlicensed ISM (Industrial-Scientific-Medical) frequency band and is primarily designed for low power consumption typically around 1 milliwatt. It provides three different “Classes” of service depending on the range of communication varying between 1, 10 and 100 meters. Also it is available in different versions with the “Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) 2.0” version offering as high as 3 Mbps data capacity.

Bluetooth operates over a small area known as Personal Area Network (PAN) or Piconet. It is a packet-based protocol following “Master-Slave” architecture where a Master can communicate with up to 7 slaves in the Piconet; all devices sharing the Master’s clock ticking at 312.5 µs slot intervals. Packets may be 1, 3 or 5 slots long but the master always transmits in even slots while the slave in odd slots. Transmission can however be either half-duplex or full-duplex but uniquely recognized in the Piconet.

Bluetooth doesn't require you to think about setting up a connection or to push any buttons. When two or more Bluetooth devices enter the desired range, they begin to communicate automatically in order to setup the Piconet. They take care of the entire setup and discovery process, and you can go about your business.

In order for one Bluetooth device to connect to another, both devices must share at least one common among the many Bluetooth profiles. For example, a Bluetooth enabled printer is going to support the Basic Printing Profile but a PDA with Bluetooth technology supports several profiles, such as the Synchronization Profile, LAN Access Profile, File Transfer Profile and others. According to SIG such profiles must include some essential information like recommended user interface formats and Bluetooth protocol stack.

Bluetooth offers several security modes, and device manufacturers determine which mode to include in the gadget. Still some recent issues like “Bluejacking”, “Bluebugging”,"Bluesnarfing" and “Car Whisperer” have cropped up which are dealt with firmware upgrades from manufacturers.

Applications

Bluetooth has now become a commonplace technology in almost all electronic gadgets these days. The typical symbol signifying that Bluetooth is enabled can be found in all mobiles and laptops allowing us to use hands-free headset and wireless mouse, keyboard, headphones etc. Since its inception it has continued to mature as a universal standard and has allowed new connections which weren’t possible using wires earlier, like connecting a mobile phone to car stereo, or printing a picture directly from your camera phone.

Microsoft, Apple and Linux have supported Bluetooth stacks since many years. Nowdays, even if notebooks or laptops don't offer embedded Bluetooth chips, there is choice of using Bluetooth dongles for plug-and-play service.

Today Bluetooth is even embedded in products like PlayStation, modems, high-end watches etc. As more and more devices begin to exploit the advantages of Bluetooth, consumer electronics manufacturers will be increasingly eager to make their products compatible. With continuous effort of around 13,000 members in the SIG, without doubt Bluetooth is here to stay.

Check out a list of top 5 Bluetooth gadgets:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/bluetooth-gadgets.htm

That's the Spirit

How often do we hear our parents say that we are becoming more atheistic and non-spiritual in life? How many times do we hear that we should devote more time in understanding our culture, our traditions, and our religious faiths? I for one, face this situation every now and then. Although I tackle such situations quite tactfully every single time, it often strikes me that am I really being one?

Being a Hindu and born to religious parents, undoubtedly I had to fold my hands and bow down before any deity whenever we visited a temple. Although Lord Krishna or Shiva never appeared before me to bless my sinned soul, I never ceased to do the same stuff time and again. Even now things are the same but at least science gave me a reason to believe that ‘You are not the boss around here’. Not that I have started believing that the boss or more precisely God necessarily has a form, but nonetheless the seed for the Big-Bang must have been planted by Him. In other words, it can’t start from just nowhere. Scientists have talked about anti-matter to strike a balance between the vast sources of energy in the universe but matter or anti-matter, everything must have an origin. In better words the state of ‘nothingness’ must have been disturbed by some force to break its equilibrium. That force can be vaguely described as God.

Now comes the very interesting question: are our ancient rituals and practices the right way to please the God or atleast feel close to Him? Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer, fasting and contemplation form the basis of probably every religion in this world. But what we forget is that they are intended to enable a person to discover the essence of their being; or the deepest values and meanings and not simply following what has been forwarded by the previous generation.

Let’s try and answer a very simple question to understand this better. Whenever we find ourselves in a religious place or a holy gathering, what do we do after folding our hands and closing our eyes?

• Say a little prayer or chant some mantras for that deity
• Request God to sort out the problems at hand
• Try to figure out how much donation should be fine
• Try to keep the mind off distracting thoughts
• Peek here and there to check if others are still bowing ;)

Since most of us fall in either one of these categories or multiple, we should ask ourselves if we really feel blessed and spiritual after all this. Honestly speaking, most of us wouldn’t feel it as this doesn’t change anything in our lives. So does it mean you have never been or can never be spiritual because after all, this is what you know and have been doing since childhood?

Well, surprising as it may seem, you already are spiritual. The entire physical universe, and everything in it, including all humanity, is a manifestation of Spirit. When we arrive here our knowledge of our true essence is hidden. Our journey begins only when start reading the signs towards the right path. This path doesn't necessarily mean abandoning your worldly possessions and sitting semi-naked beneath a tree in permanent meditation. What it means is accepting responsibility for our actions, and even our thoughts, conducted under our free will. To do this one must attain a higher state of awareness by tapping the maximum inner potential that lies within. This potential is the same energy that creates every single atom in this cosmos. So in essence, our thoughts and actions actually influence everything around us. Hence if we are spiritual we can influence spirituality in others.

The best way to experience spirituality is by considering it as the source of orientation in everything that we do, even our short-term targets and goals. If we don’t, we end up being less than perfect in our actions. This may yet yield the desired result but not in the most effective way possible. Your spirituality is hence a reflection of your conscious effort in every walk of your life. No doubt such efforts are applauded every now and then by saying “That’s the Spirit.”

Automatic Gear-shifting Gyaan

What is it?

A type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios for a moving vehicle, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually.

Who dunnit?

It’s been around for over a century!!

It was first developed in 1904 by Boston’s Sturtevant brothers for horseless carriages but had major problems.

In 1934, both REO and General Motors developed semi-automatic transmissions that were less difficult to operate than a fully manual unit.

Later developments in automatic gearbox and fluid coupling technology eventually led to General Motors’ “Hydra-Matic”, the world's first mass-produced automatic transmission in 1939.

The automatic transmission that resembles what’s on today’s cars got its start in 1948 by General Motor’s Buick Motor Division as two-speed “Dynaflow”.

By the late 1960s, the fluid-coupling transmissions gave way to three-speed torque converters.

In the 80’s, overdrive transmissions with four forward speeds and a lockup feature were introduced that increased fuel efficiency. Transaxles and CVTs (continuously variable transmissions) are recent developments.

Technology

To understand the concept of automatic transmission it makes sense to understand manual transmission first.

A standard transmission or manual transmission is the traditional type of transmission used in automobiles. It consists of a series of heliacal gears, synchro rings, roller bearings, counter shafts and gear selectors. The main clutch assembly is used to engage and disengage the engine from the transmission. Heliacal cut gears are used to select the ratio desired while the selector fork moves the gears from one to another by using the gearshift knob. Synchro rings are used to slow the gear to a stop before it is engaged to avoid gear grinding. The counter shaft holds the gears in place and against the main input and output shaft. A stick shift transmission has no torque converter so there is no need for a transmission cooler. A stick shift transmission needs a simple fluid change for proper service.

Besides standard transmission, there are automatic transmissions mechanisms which can be classified into three basic types:

1. Hydraulic Automatic Transmission: In a hydraulic automatic transmission, instead of a clutch, a fluid coupling or “torque converter” is used to connect the transmission and engine hydraulically. Also a combination of brake bands and clutch packs control the planetary gearset which selects the gear ratio. The key difference from a standard transmission is that the manual transmission locks and unlocks different sets of gears to the output shaft to achieve the various gear ratios, while in an automatic transmission; the same set of gears produces all of the different gear ratios. Such systems are usually less energy efficient than manual transmissions owing to pumping losses during torque conversion but might provide more on-road acceleration in turbocharged diesel applications. This technique has been used by famous manufacturers like Ford, Honda, Nissan, General Motors, Volkswagen etc.

2. Continuously Variable Transmission: A continuously variable transmission system can steplessly alter through infinite gear ratios by varying the diameter of a pair of belt or chain-linked pulleys, wheels or cones. Some CVTs use a hydrostatic drive consisting of a variable displacement pump and a hydraulic motor to transmit power without gears. CVT designs are usually as fuel efficient as manual transmissions in city driving, as it enables the engine to run at its most efficient revolutions per minute (RPM) for a range of vehicle speeds. It is being deployed in latest hybrid cars by manufacturers like Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Suzuki etc.

3. Semi-automatic Transmission: If there is a provision to select a gear ratio manually in automatic transmissions, the system is called a semi-automatic transmission. It uses electronic sensors, pneumatics, processors and actuators to execute gear shifts on the command of the driver. This removes the need for a clutch pedal, since the clutch itself is actuated by electronic equipment which can synchronize the timing and torque required to make gear shifts quick and smooth. It has been deployed for racing and conventional uses by manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Renault, Honda, Ferrari etc.

Applications

Automatic cars are more expensive, tend to wear down faster, and are more complicated than manual transmissions but are far better convenient in city traffic. Think about avoiding all the manual effort of gear changing every second minute!

Although they are less popular in other parts of the world including India, most cars sold in America since the 1950s have been automatics. The main reasons for less popularity are:

• Standard transmissions are more efficient and less expensive to produce than automatic transmissions.
• Standard transmissions are generally stronger than automatic transmissions and off road vehicles take advantage of a direct gear selection so they can withstand rough conditions.
• Manual transmission requires less active cooling because less power is wasted.

Check out a list of latest automatic transmission cars in India like Hyundai i10 and Maruti A-Star:

http://www.cardekho.com/cars-search/automatic-transmission-cars-in-india-2010

With automatic transmission becoming more energy efficient like cars with manul transmission, the trend is surely set to prevail on Indian roads in the near future.

Aman ki Asha : Bridging the gap musically

The phrase “Aman ki Asha” has undoubtedly reverberated throughout the country since its inception on 1st January this year. The joint campaign started by ‘The Jang Group’ of Pakistan and ‘The Times of India’ in India aims to promote cultural and diplomatic relations for mutual peace and development.

Among other initiatives, the most prominent has been the showcasing of musical maestros from both nations. The effort has further been supported by the release of an album named after the campaign itself. The album, “Aman ki Asha” is a beautiful bouquet of handpicked songs sung by famous artists from India and Pakistan.

The collection consists of ghazals, thumris, sufi, qawwalis and classical music. Mentioned against the list of songs are very popular names like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Abida Parveen, Mehdi Hassan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Hariharan and others who are at the very epitome of their genre.

Most of the songs are signature marks by their masters and are like rare gems crafted with precision. They seem to take us to an entirely different world where human emotions hold the centerstage. They convey a strong message that if your heart is filled with music there is little place left for hatred and grudges.

One of the most soothing songs is “More Saiyaan” sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan. I am sure some of us would have definitely heard his name from the ‘Mitwa’ (Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna) and ‘Tere Naina’ (My Name Is Khan) fame.

Someone once said that ‘Music is what feelings sound like’. If we wish to express our brotherly feelings for people in our neighboring country then definitely music can speak our hearts. Kudos to ‘Aman ki Asha’ for taking such an initiative.

3D Television Gyaan

What is it?

A television technology which despite creating two dimensional images like any normal television, creates an illusion of realistic three dimensions with or without the use of special glasses.

Who dunnit?

3D television might be the latest buzzword in consumer electronics these days but 3D concept in itself is a technology which dates back to the beginning of photography!!
In 1844, Scottish inventor David Brewster introduced the Stereoscope, a device that could take photographic pictures in 3D.
Stereoscopic 3D television was demonstrated for the first time on August 10th, 1928 by John Logie Baird.
Major television manufacturers began developing 3D home television technology in 2009.

Technology

Basically 3D TV works by separating the left and right images and presenting them in a way that the brain merges them back together and interprets them as a 3D view of a scene. All of them use the same basic principle: they have to produce two separate, moving images and send one of them to the viewer's left eye and the other to the right. To give the proper illusion of 3D, the left eye's image mustn't be seen by the right eye and vice versa.

There are two basic techniques:

i) Using Glasses

This technique can again be designed to project stereoscopic images in three different ways:-

1. Anaglyphic : It involves wearing passive eyeglasses with one red and one cyan colored lenses, also known as anaglyph glasses. The red lens is a light filter that allows only red light to pass through, while the cyan lens allows any light except red. The point is simply that each eye isn't being allowed to see parts of the image that are being viewed by the other one, so each eye gets a slightly different picture of its own. While simple and inexpensive, this technique produces a relatively poor quality, monochrome picture and often makes viewers feel nauseous.

2. Polarizing : It involves wearing passive polarizing eyeglasses which capture two pictures that are projected from the screen using differently polarized light. The left lens receives only light vibrating in vertical plane while the right lens receives light vibrating in horizontal plane. The main drawback is that the TV set has to be fitted with polarizing filters as well, which bumps the cost up quite considerably.

3. Alternate-frame sequencing : The video signal of the TV stores an image meant for the left eye on its even field, and an image meant for the right eye on its odd field. The TV itself is synchronized with the active shutter glasses via infra-red or RF technology. The shutter glasses contain liquid crystal and a polarizing filter which is automatically applied with a slight current that makes it dark, as if a shutter was drawn (hence the name) upon receiving the synced signal. So at a time, only one eye is seeing one image. By viewing these two images from different orientations, a 3D image is built up by the viewer’s brain. Although the user experience is seamless, smooth and rich, due to the rapid drawing of ‘shutters’, lesser light reaches the eye, thus making the image seem darker than it is.

ii) Without using Glasses

The extra need to wear glasses has compelled manufacturers to devise some smart way of avoiding the same. Commercially termed as ‘Auto 3D’, this process allows for autostereoscopic displays. Examples of autostereoscopic displays include parallax barrier, lenticular, volumetric, electro-holographic, and light field displays. Currently most flat-panel solutions employ ‘lenticular lenses’ or ‘parallax barriers’. Let us discuss these two in detail:-

1.  Lenticular lenses : It uses lenticules, which are tiny cylindrical plastic lenses that bend images either to the left or the right.. These are pasted in an array on a transparent sheet, which is then stuck on the display surface of the LCD screen to deliver a magnified image. However, this technology requires a very specific ‘sweet spot’ for getting the 3D effect, and straying even a bit to either side will make the TV’s images seem distorted. Depending on the number of lenticules and the refresh rate of the screen, there can be multiple ‘sweet spots’.

2. Parallax barrier : It is a fine grating of liquid crystal placed in front of the screen, with slits in it that correspond to certain columns of pixels of the TFT screen. These positions are carved so as to transmit alternating images to each eye of the viewer, who is again sitting in an optimal ‘sweet spot’. When a slight voltage is applied to the parallax barrier, its slits direct light from each image slightly differently to the two eyes creating an illusion of depth and thus a 3D image in the brain.

Applications

3D viewing has always fascinated the world in the form of movies, sports and television broadcasts or 3D gaming.
Audiences first got a glimpse of a 3D movie way back in 1922 with the release of "The Power of Love" and off late with the release of “Avatar” it has got an entire new meaning.
Starting on June 11, 2010 ESPN launched a new channel, ‘ESPN 3D’, dedicated to 3D sports with up to 85 live events a year in 3D. The French Open this year was filmed in 3D (center court only) and broadcast live via ADSL and fiber to Orange subscribers throughout France in a dedicated Orange TV channel. Also 25 matches in the FIFA World Cup 2010 were broadcast in 3D.
Nintendo is implementing the Parallax Barrier 3D technology on their latest portable gaming console, the Nintendo 3DS.
Now with a range of 3D enabled television sets hitting the market, the power of 3D technology is sure to enter our homes and our lifestyles. All major manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Toshiba, Sony, and Panasonic are introducing 3D capabilities mostly in higher-end models. Most of them still use the conventional 3D viewing with active shutter glasses as providing 3D images without glasses to many users simultaneously is still a concern (Read the Philips WOWvx story). Sony and Samsung are releasing home-theater setups that can display 3D movies in full high-def glory using a combo of Blu-ray players, TVs and glasses.
Even though 3D viewing has been around for more than century in one form or another it really is still in its infancy and leaves a big hole in the wallet. We can expect more commercial 3D breakthroughs in the coming years as its popularity is on the rise again.

Android Smartphone Gyaan

What is it?

An Android OS based cellphone developed by Google which offers more advanced computing ability and sophisticated applications allowing features of mobile phones and handheld computers to be integrated into single device.

 

Who dunnit ?

It started in July 2005, with the acquisition of Android Inc., a mobile software development startup by Google.

In September 2007, Google filed several patents in the area of mobile telephony.

In November 2007, a consortium of several companies known as OHA (Open Handset Alliance) led by Google was established to promote open standards for mobile devices. It also unveiled Android, an open source mobile phone platform based on Linux kernel version 2.6.

It is interesting to note that development of smartphones by various companies dates back to 1992 most notable being the Symbian based Nokia Communicator in 1996, RIM based Blackberry in 2002 and the Apple OS based iPhone in 2007.

 

Technology

The software stack contains Java applications running on a Java based framework. The runtime includes Java core libraries on top of a proprietary virtual machine known as ‘Dalvik’ featuring JIT (just-in-time) compilation.

Middleware includes libraries written in C which accounts for the main firepower. The WebKit engine powers the Chrome Lite browser. The OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics API and SGL 2D graphics engine make up the graphics core. SQLite lightweight relational database provides efficient storage capability. 

 

                                       The Android Architecture

An Android phone can also run multiple applications at the same time in the background, making multitasking easier and the functionality of the phone more fluid than other cellphones.

Android OS has been available as open source mobile platform since October 2008 promoting mobile application development all over the world. Google has also promoted its growth by releasing an Android SDK (Software Development Kit) and App Inventor for developers along with a SIM and hardware unlocked Android Dev Phone for advanced developers. It also launched competitions like ‘Android Developer Challenge’ for promoting innovative applications.

 

 Applications

 For an end user, Android boasts of the following available smart features/applications besides the regular stuff available for most mobile phones:

• All possible connectivities including GSM/EDGE, IDEN, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX.
• Support for all possible audio/video/still media formats.
• Additional hardware support including touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, thermometers etc.
• Google applications like ‘Google Voice’, ‘Sky Map’, ‘MyMaps’, ‘Google Goggles’ and many others.
• Third party applications like ‘Shazam’, ‘Doodle Jump’, WeatherBug’ etc.
• Using the phone as a wireless/wired hotspot.

Analysis suggests that worldwide smartphone market share for Android stood at 3.5% by Q3 2009. Based on the popularity, Android promises to bring out many more amazing features in the forthcoming versions for the next generation smartphones.

And talking about versions the Android OS versions are really a yummy treat if you go by the names. Starting off with ‘Cupcake’ (version 1.5) the series includes ‘Donut’, ‘Éclair’ to the present ‘Froyo’ (version 2.2). Even the future versions named ‘Gingerbread’ and ‘Honeycomb’ promise to please a certain taste buds.

 Check out the latest list of Android based handsets available in the market:

 http://phandroid.com/phones/

 http://androidos.in/2010/01/price-list-android-phones-in-india/

 

Theory of Everything: In search of the 'param Brahma'

Physics has undoubtedly changed the way we perceive our planet and the mysterious cosmic hob nob which lies beyond. What started as Earth being the centre of the Universe centuries ago, gave way to a graceful notion of a heliocentric solar system by Copernicus. This was further authenticated by a genius whom we owe the very reason of why we don’t fall off the surface of Earth. Sir Isaac Newton as we know him and his famous apple can be credited for the idea which governs the gravitational forces of not only the things on earth but every single mass in the entire universe. Gradually with the emergence of electromagnetic and nuclear forces on the scene, physicists all around the world were faced with a new challenge to allow all fundamental forces and elementary particles (bosons) to be explained in terms of a single theory or in other words a ‘Theory of Everything’.

Going by the records, the first successful attempt can be credited to James Clerk Maxwell who showed that electricity and magnetism were actually different manifestations of the same underlying phenomenon – electromagnetism. Later, Einstein explained that gravity (under theory of general relativity) and electromagnetism (under theory of special relativity) is a consequence of the unification of space and time into an entity we now call spacetime. Since then, physicists have successfully unified the strong and weak nuclear interactions together with quantum electrodynamics to form the Standard Model of quantum physics. However, the current obstacle to a fully unified field theory is to explain gravity with the above model of electronuclear force or in other words to unify quantum physics with general relativity.

Well as far as religion is concerned, there have never been any half measures. All major religions talk about one and only one true God, the unique force that controls the entire cosmos. Hinduism for instance is a colourful encyclopedia of millions of Gods and Goddesses but still describes the existence of only one supreme cosmic spirit, the param Brahma. The numerous gods may be considered as mere manifestations of the divine form which allows Hindus to respect its’ presence in any shape or size. And talking of shapes, according to ancient Hindu scriptures, all elementary composition in this universe is explained as:

Shatapatha Brahmana (8.7.3.10) - “Sun and rest of the universe are woven in string. What is that string that is Vayu." (Vayu here refers to ether which is all pervading)
Kathashruti (2.2) – “Vayu has entered the universe and taken the shape of every object in the universe”

These small little snippets which talk about strings as building blocks of composition are really interesting. Not because you can imagine all matter to be woven fabrics but because the foremost theory in present-day physics which is trying to pave the way for a unified field theory is – you guessed it right- “The String Theory”.

At its core, string theory uses a model of one-dimensional closed loops of strings in place of the elementary particles of quantum physics. Typically believed to have length of the order of 10^35 m, these strings vibrate at specific frequencies. The different levels of vibration of these strings correspond to the different elementary particles.

                                  Explanation for String Theory

However, to be understood completely this theory requires 10 or 11 dimensions and not just 4 (three-dimensional space and time). What’s more hard to comprehend is the belief that the extra hidden dimensions are curled up at micro levels. Now, not only is this difficult to visualize but mathematically impractical too because it would require an all new mathematical model to solve probably. However, the mathematical appeal is still a driving force for many physicists to pursue the string theory. Most of us might be aware of the involvement of notable physicists like Stephen Hawking and Michio Kaku in similar theories. But even if there is a possible solution or I should say an approximation to such theories in the near future, how are we to perceive the existence of that one unique force or field with our three-dimensional sight?

Roger Penrose, a mathematical physicist at Oxford University, believes that if a "Theory of Everything" is ever developed in physics to explain all the known phenomena in the universe, it should at least partially account for consciousness. Consciousness today is no longer just the purview of mystics like Deepak Chopra but scientists all over the world are seeking to explain how brain functions produce that illusion of a out-of-body experience. Some notable scientists like the late Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, and his colleague Christof Koch believed that different aspects of consciousness like visual awareness are encoded by specific neurons but there are many others with different views.

Since almost every religion talks about consciousness as the destination to the one absolute truth and meditation as the right path to tread, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that all our spiritual leaders have had their taste of the theory of everything in this universe. Perhaps physics can one day explain all of this. Or maybe on the other hand we might actually need a conscious mind to make sense of the pursuit in the first place.

Reincarnation: Blast from the Past

When Arnold remarked, “I will be back” in the movie “The Terminator”, it wouldn’t have been a huge surprise when the cyborg did actually reappear in the sequel even after getting annihilated. But think about the character being a human and coming back to life. The thought is a little hard to digest, isn’t it? Well not so if you really believe in the concept of Reincarnation or in case you are a big Bollywood fan because after all the Shahrukh-Salman duo did take a rebirth or punar janam in the famous movie ‘Karan Arjun’ to avenge their deaths in their previous lives :)

Literally speaking, Reincarnation is believed to occur when the soul or spirit, after death of the physical body, comes back to Earth in a newborn body. This phenomenon is also known as “transmigration of the soul”. The term derives from Latin literally meaning “Entering the flesh again”. It is a core belief in many religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism etc and dates back to thousands of years.

According to Hindu belief, only the soul is immortal and new body is donned by the dweller just like new garments in every life. This never-ending cycle of rebirth goes on until the soul attains Moksha or self-realization and is at peace with itself devoid of any carnal desires. However, until this stage is attained the soul is burdened with an accumulation of impressions that were part of the karma (work) from previous lives. As conveyed by Lord Krishna (a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu) in the Bhagavad Gita:

                   “Karmanyevadhikaraste Maphaleshu Kadhachana
                   Ma Karma Phalahe turbhuh Matesangatsvali Karmani"
which instructs us to do our karma and not have high expectations of the fruits. This gives us a good reason to perform our duties and take on all the hardships because ultimately in one life or the next your karmas will be awarded. Pretty long wait..huh?

On the other hand, if you really want to know the reason for all your hardships then ‘Past-Life-Regression’ is the solution in psychotherapy. It is a technique that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe is memories of past lives. There has been an enormous amount of research done during recent times in the field of Past-Life-Regression notably by Dr. Brian Weiss and Dr. Ian Stevenson. Surprisingly past life regression is also mentioned in the Upanishads of ancient India. Writing during the second century BCE, the Hindu scholar Patanjali called the process of past life regression as prati-prasav (literally "reverse birthing") which is still used today as a practice in some types of yoga. However, scientific consensus is that such memories are the result of cryptomnesia, narratives created by the subconscious mind using imagination, forgotten information and suggestions from the therapist. This can be validated by apparent flaws in the narration itself. Most of us who have seen the patients cook up dramatic stories in the reality show ‘Raaz pichhle janam ka’ would certainly agree with this.

It is however interesting to note there are innumerable case studies from around the world where people have a natural recollection of events from their past lives and not using some pschotherapy. Majority of these cases are those of children aged between three and seven years, who seem to remember events in a life that had ended, often in a violent way. The best evidence for reincarnation was the existence of birth marks and congenital deformities on these children which corresponded to fatal wounds of the deceased. There have been many pseudoscientific interpretations of such occurrences and delusions. Many of them deal with the subconscious mind while some talk about the previous life really being a life on a parallel universe. But let’s take a scientific approach which seems most likely plausible.

The idea revolves around the DNA acting as a secondary area of memory storage besides the brain. The idea that our memories are stored in our genes is a very recent and controversial one. It has been accepted since the experiments of Wilder Penfield back in the fifties, that hidden away in each of us is a permanent record of our past. It has been popularized keeping in mind the concept of inherited instincts which is apparent in an individual just like his or her ancestors. Since the brain of an unborn baby is not developed from the beginning just like its other body organs, the nature’s blueprint is the only possible way for passing on information.

Given that approximately only 3% of the DNA of the human genome codes for amino acids, the other 97%, called ‘introns’, has no obvious function and hence carry plenty of room for storing behavior instructions. Could this be the possible way how not just behavioral but also ancestral information is passed on from generation to generation? When clients regress to memories from a previous life, is it actually them accessing something present in their genome blueprint, an ancestral experience? If we try to focus on certain case studies where a past life memory of some individual has actually been traced back to certain true accounts despite minor flaws, then it seems very logical to argue that these may actually have been the memories or real life incidents of their ancestors. Perhaps the unconscious has access to reference experiences stretching back generations.

A lot of research is being carried out in areas like above to find possible answers for reincarnation by experts. It might be possible one day to unlock this great secret nature has kept hidden from us. Till then be righteous in your deeds because you might be rewarded in your next life if not now!!

Touchscreen Gyaan

What is it ?

A technology which allows commands to be issued on an electronic device by merely touching the user-interactive display on the screen.


Who dunnit ?

Pretty mature stuff. Existing for around 30 years!!

In 1970 a professor from the University of Kentucky, Dr. Sam Hurst, filed a patent for a "touch sensor", called the Elograph. The "Elograph" was not transparent like modern touch screens; however, it was a significant milestone in touch screen technology.
Patent : US3662105: Electrical Sensor Of Plane Coordinates

The first true touchscreen patent was filed by Dr. Hurst in 1972. Using his patented five-wire resistive technology, this patent would go on to be the most widely used form of touchscreen technology. In 1974, the first true touch screen incorporating a transparent surface came on the scene.
Patent : US3798370: Electrographic Sensor For Determining Planar Coordinates


Technology

Consists of three main components :-

i) A “Touch Sensor” which is a clear glass panel with a touch responsive surface. The sensor has an electric current passing across it. Touching the screen causes a voltage change. This allows determining the exact position or coordinates of the touch. A Touch Sensor can function in three major ways namely resistive, capacitive and Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW). However, there are other technologies like Dispersive Signal (DST), Infrared and Optical too.

a) Resistive: It consists of conductive and resistive metallic layers separated by spacers and a scratch-   resistant layer is placed on top of this whole setup. An electrical current runs through the two layers while the monitor is operational. When a user touches the screen, the two layers make contact in that exact spot to deliver the X and Y coordinates. It allows decent clarity allowing 75% light from the monitor.

b) Capacitive: It consists of a layer that stores electric charge placed on top of the monitor. When a user touches the panel, some of the capacitive charge gets dissipated to the user. This relative decrease in charge is measured using circuits at each corner of the monitor. This helps to pinpoint the exact coordinates of the human touch. It allows good clarity allowing 90% light from the monitor.

c) Surface Acoustic Wave: It consists of two transducers mounted at the edge of a glass overlay to emit ultrasonic sound waves along two sides. These waves are reflected across the surface of the glass and received by sensors. A finger or other soft tipped stylus absorbs some of the acoustic energy and the controller measures the amplitude change of the wave to determine touch location. It allows perfect clarity allowing almost 100% light from the monitor.

ii) A “Controller” which is small installable card to transmit touch information from the sensor to the OS. It can connect to a Serial or USB port on the PC running the OS.

iii) And ofcourse a “Software Driver” for successful installation of the controller peripheral. It allows for interpretation of touch event information by the OS.


Applications

Commercially, touch screen computers service a wide range of purposes. Most common public information booths such as information kiosks, customer self-service and various displays offer a way for almost anybody to access information with little or no experience using a computer. This is due to the fact that a touch screen interface allows the user to interact not with keyboard and mouse like a typical computer, but with tools they are most comfortable with-their fingers. The popularity of smart phones, PDAs, portable game consoles and many types of information appliances is driving the demand for, and acceptance of, touch screens. There are many pros and cons of the various touchscreen technologies based on which their deployment is considered. For e.g. highly durable and less expensive resistive technology is most often used in public ATMs and kiosks. Capacitive technology is being considered more for smart phones and mobile gaming devices due to their better clarity.

It is very likely to expect more innovative products applying the touch screen technology in the near future.

Precognition: A dream come true

Imagine that you are at home, enjoying a nice cup of coffee with friends and probably laughing your heart out at some hilarious incident. Suddenly it appears to you that you have already been an audience to this whole audio-visual drama. It seems as if apparently a small clip of your life had been taken out from your past and pasted in your present. Every person including you seems to be following exactly the same gesture which you seem to have experienced before. A little bit of recalling on your end and it takes less than a split second to realize that you have come across this in your dream before. For a moment you will be dumbfounded, wouldn’t you? After all, how can you foresee your future in your dreams? In literary sense this really is a dream come true. How often has it happened to you? It might be once or twice in your entire lifetime or maybe never. Or if you are really bestowed with precognitive abilities then you might be one of those blessed few to experience it very often. To those, who have had the chance to experience this ecstatic moment even once, welcome to the world of precognitive dreams also known as “Déjà vu” or “Second Sight”.

Most of us would have certainly heard the word “Déjà vu” which is French for "already seen." The term was coined by a French psychic researcher, Émile Boirac to relate to precognitive experiences. Those who have experienced the feeling, describe it as an overwhelming sense of familiarity with something that shouldn't be familiar at all. As much as 70 percent of the population reports having experienced it in some form. It seems to occur quite commonly among adults and children alike. However, a higher number of incidents occur in people 15 to 25 years old than in any other age group. David Ryback, a psychologist in Atlanta, used a questionnaire survey approach to investigate precognitive dreaming in college students. His survey of over 433 participants showed that 290 or 66.9 percent reported some form of paranormal dream. He rejected many of these claims and reached a conclusion that 8.8 percent of the population was having actual precognitive dreams.

Precognitive dreaming is one of the many psychological phenomenons which have yet not been fully understood through medical science although there are many different theories to explain it. Since it occurs in individuals with and without a medical condition, there is much speculation as to how and why it happens. Several psychoanalysts attribute this extra sensory perception to simple fantasy or wish fulfillment, while some psychiatrists ascribe it to a mismatching in the brain that causes the brain to mistake the present for the past. Many parapsychologists believe it is related to a past-life experience. However, to get a closer picture we need to understand the science of dreams in the first place.

Studies in neurobiology reveal that dreams are random brain impulses which combine our verbal, visual and emotional stimuli into a sometimes nonsensical but often entertaining story line. In 1953, University of Chicago researchers, Eugene Aserinsky and Nathaniel Kleitman discovered that our brainwaves undergo five distinct stages during sleep. The last stage also known as the “Rapid Eye Movement” or REM is when we actually enter our dream world and start running through the cobweb of memories and desires in our brain. Although most dreams occur during REM sleep there is a chance of them occurring in the remaining four stages also. During REM the brain state is at ALPHA (same as when we are awake) operating at 8-13 Hz and affecting several physiological changes. This includes heart rate and breathing pacing up, blood pressure rising and release of “glycine”, an amino acid from the brain stem onto the “motoneurons” which causes temporary paralysis in the body. This also increases the levels of the stress hormone “cortisal” which causes decreased communication between active parts of the brain. Such suppression allows the brain to work with signals only from itself and lets our hidden desires and distant unrelated memories do the talking.

All the heavy medical words used above might give a brief idea of how our past memories help us create our dreams. But then how can we explain the concept of precognitive dreams? It’s something our brain doesn’t know about in the first place; leave apart having a memory of it. A most likely explanation from years of neurophysiological research is that this may result from an overlap between the neurological systems responsible for short-term memory (events which are perceived as being in the present) and those responsible for long-term memory (events which are perceived as being in the past). The events would be stored into memory before the conscious part of the brain even receives the information and processes it. Now does this make any sense to the one who had experienced it even once? I for one, do not believe so. I can swear by the very creator of Universe that when I had my first precognitive dream I could recollect right up to the very day when I woke up having similar experience in my dream. It could never ever have been a brain anomaly or illusion. Now how can one possibly explain that?

There are tons of informative web pages and online journals on dream analysis and their interpretations but possibly none on how to decipher precognition in dreams. Ironically, you can possibly find tons of famous events validating the same. Now let’s take a second look at precognition from a psychological point of view. Dreams have also been described as reflections of the subconscious. One of the problems science has encountered in trying to find proof that precognitive ability truly exists, is that in order to predict the future, one must somehow defy the concept of linear time. Albert Einstein theorized that the past, present, and future are all an illusion. To understand this, one must also understand how the human brain works. The conscious mind seeks to compartmentalize information in a never-ending quest to have things in their nice little place. The subconscious mind, however, realizes that there are no boundaries, and reaches past the illusion of confinement and time. So is dream premonition just an intuition or does our mind really work overtime even on a subconscious level to fix things for us in advance?

The best we can do is to get a good night sleep to probe into the fascinating gifts nature has in store for us !!

Telepathy: Thy thoughts are mine

On a bright summer afternoon, while watching one of the Harry Potter series’ of movies, Order of the Phoenix, a couple of scenes made me start wondering. This happens wherein Professor Snape is instructed by Professor Dumbledore (a major protagonist) to give Harry lessons in Occlumency. However, Harry never made any progress in the skill, and as a result he was lured by Voldemort (the main antagonist in the film) through a carefully calculated vision he falsely believed to be real. Now, Occlumency as described in the movie, is the art of magically closing one’s mind against Legilimency, which in turn is the art of extracting feelings and memories from other person’s mind. Although the movie is a series of fictional events and characters, the concept of legilimency is closely related to what we describe today as Telepathy.


The term Telepathy is derived from the Greek words tele meaning "distant" and pathe meaning "experience". It is one kind of extrasensory perception which forms one of the many interesting topics of parapsychological research. Many studies seeking to detect, understand, and utilize telepathy have been done ever since this paranormal phenomena first became an area of interest. Although not a recognized scientific discipline, parapsychologists claim that some instances of telepathy are real. Some people also believe that technologically enabled telepathy, coined "techlepathy", "synthetic telepathy", or "psychotronics", will be the inevitable future of humanity. They believe that this will become the primary form of human communication directly connecting human nervous systems together with computers and with each other. However, a technique which shows statistically significant evidence of telepathy on every occasion is yet to be discovered. This lack of reliable reproducibility has led skeptics to argue that there is no credible scientific evidence for the existence of telepathy at all. After all, we can’t do much but simply scorn off at the very idea of brainwaves invisibly being controlled by a psychic who openly declares what you might be exactly thinking at the moment by possibly staring into your eyes.

It is however interesting to note that, telepathy finds a significant mention in the ancient Hindu scriptures. According to the Bhagvata Purana and Patanjali, “para citta ādi abhijñatā” or “Knowing the minds of others” is one of the five criterions or siddhis to attain perfect accomplishment in yoga and meditation. It is believed that telepathy was the first wireless telegraphy of the Yogis who used to send their thoughts as electrical messages with unimaginable speed. Their minds used to apparently work as transceivers deciphering the thoughts of others. From the knowledge of chakras it can be deduced that such mind to mind communication must be done through the pineal gland which qualifies as the sixth chakra. It is a small piece of nervous matter that is imbedded in the brain or hind-brain in the floor of the mind ventricle. It is an endocrine gland that is ductless and has got an internal secretion which is directly poured into the blood. Considered by occultists as the seat of the soul, the pineal gland is supposed to play an important part in telepathy by receiving messages. But is it really possible to empower the sixth chakra for telepathy?

One of the many scientific theories in this regard is the Montauk Project alleged to be a series of secret United States government projects conducted at Montauk Air Force Station on Montauk, Long Island for the purpose of developing psychological warfare techniques and exotic research. Various conspiracy theorists claim that experiments began in earnest from 1982 through to 1987-1988. One of the many experiments was the discovery of a “telepathic wave”. Their wavelengths depicted that while a telepathic wave behaved like a radio wave, it wasn't exactly one. Although it propagated in a similar fashion to that of electromagnetic waves and possessed like properties, not all of that fitted into normal wave functions. Some strange phenomenon which was part of the experiments on psychics included their minds getting jammed every day at the same hour. They just couldn't think effectively and were totally non-functional. Radio traces depicted that this happened whenever a 410-420 MHz cycle appeared on the air. When the 410-420 MHz cycle was off, the psychics would open back up after about 20 minutes. If this were to be true, then it seems psychotronics of some sort was already in operation. If our mind can possibly be comprehended using some freak telepathic waves, isn’t it possible that yogis could do the same with the power of their minds? Couldn’t they possibly have the ability to control the subconscious mind to receive messages or impressions and transmit the same to the conscious mind?

Let’s take a look at our normal everyday lives. If you are a pet owner of a dog, you might feel at times that without saying a word it understood what you were trying to impart. Same soulful communication occurs between infants and their mothers. Telepathy seems to be so simple and yet so intricate. We can but possibly tap some of its hidden powers trough meditation.