Category Archives: Science / Philosophy

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR It has always been a delicate territory to tread — the parallels between science and religion. Besides, the whole idea of such a ‘bond,’ albeit not all-encompassing, in terms of precept and also percept, rubs people the wrong way on either side of the ‘barrier.’ Scientists, for obvious reasons, dislike the orientation of […]

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying,” Woody Allen once wrote in his inimitable purple prose. The fact is — modern biomedical research has made palpable progress in deciphering the mystery of aging. Yet, the fact is physical permanence may not be immediate, […]

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Sickness of the mind, or the body, reveals how our systems work — and, why loss of equilibrium often leads to a breakdown. To bring a sense of cadence, or measure, to this element, we’d draw on a wealth of information related to the latest biological and medical findings, especially in our age […]

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR According to Philip Goff, a professor of philosophy at Durham University, UK, understanding our consciousness goes beyond exploring brain chemistry. In a perceptive article, published in Scientific American, Goff explains: “In my new book, entitled Why? The Purpose of the Universe, I take head-on the question of why it is so hard to […]

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Humanity, according to Michael Zey, a noted sociologist, has the wherewithal to controlling its own destiny, owing to sensational breakthroughs — a new-fangled launch-pad that initiates a sort of hyper-progress for reshaping our planet. You name it: gargantuan macro-engineering projects, artificial islands, transatlantic tunnels, underground cities, mammoth irrigation schemes etc., including a bold, […]

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Silk is Mother Nature’s extraordinary, also astounding, creation — more so, because the little spider, by a biological happenstance, was given the talent to making silk, a fabric like no other. As Robert Boyle, the renowned Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist and inventor, extolled, we are beholden to the petite caterpillar — along […]

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR To know the world around us, as our ancient philosophers espoused, was analogous to a personalised, or ‘bespoke,’ connect — with our mind, senses and intellect. Modern science suggests that the whole portrait of such a reality is cerebral, also conceptual, although its basic purport is unlike the reality web that we all […]

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR It’s a given that anyone who has been ‘initiated’ into the etymologies of science would know that the universe, at the beginning of time, was a blaze of radiation, too hot for any atoms to survive. In the first few moments, thereafter, it cooled down somewhat for the nuclei of the lightest elements […]

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR Symmetry is not just a word; it is a concept like harmony. It not only attracts our visual sense; it also plays a major role in our sense of beauty. It holds a paradox too. Perfect symmetry, for instance, is often repetitive and predictable, although our minds favour surprises. This explains why we […]

RAJGOPAL NIDAMBOOR The philosopher Aristotle thought of a fundamental political unit, or ‘polis,’ as a state having both authoritative control and a civil society of organised communities with varying degrees of congregating interests. His political theory does not reflect the idea that the ‘polis’ should possess the essential stamp of approval alongside a framework trespassing […]