Intelligent learner

There are certain topics that are like showstoppers in the intellectual debate world. The notion of ‘Free Will’ must be in one of the top positions among those. And like other good debates, the main points revolve around- ‘what exactly is Free will’ and ‘Is there Free will’. I am not going to answer them today (that would have been interesting!). I am not sure whether we as human beings are certain about our understanding of free will. But I will give a brief review on the book, ‘Free Will’ by Dr. Sam Harris, discuss his opinion and might throw some of mine (opinion, that is).   The Book Starting with the book, it certainly is a great read. The book is pretty short (at around 100 pages) considering the subject matter. But it certainly creates an impact. It enforces you to not just read its’ contents within but also to think and to introspect. Dr. Harris has a PhD degree in Neuroscience. He knows what he is talking about. He started off with what we as a community think or define

For the last few years, interests in cryptocurrency and blockchain related topics have skyrocketed. Active investors, traders have increased by manyfold. People and to some extents Governments have mixed reaction on this. Some have accepted this change whereas some are doubtful. El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender and also plans to create “crypto-city”. On the other hand, China has taken steps to clamp down crypto-mining and crypto assets as a whole.   I am an ardent fan of new technologies and as such I adore Blockchain for what it can offer. People sometimes forget but cryptocurrencies are just one of the applications made possible by Blockchain technology. But the current debates and discussions are not on Blockchain, rather on private cryptocurrencies. Here are few of my points on this matter, as per my limited knowledge (anyone may choose to disagree)- What are the cons/ worries associated with cryptocurrencies? One valid point is the ene

We are attacked; continuously and relentlessly. I am not talking about political or ideological attacks. What I want to discuss might even seem a bit ridiculous. But it’s true. And we are at a constant war with the environment. Our immune system is the barrier from us being consumed. And who are attacking us? They are numerous in numbers. There are billions and trillions of bacteria, virus, parasites, microbes and whole lot of things trying to get to us. Every breath we take, every surface you may touch every drop of seawater you might want to bathe in during vacation- all have this one thing in common.  The constant battle our immune system fights may not seem obvious in normal time, but it becomes super apparent when we are without it. If you ever have the chance to be involved or to have knowledge about bone marrow transplants (like for people with leukaemia etc.), you would know that the old bone marrow cells need to be destroyed- essentially shutting down the immune system. Thes

Intro Data Science and AI might sound like the coolest thing that there is right now. Whether you are a fresher trying to learn these skills or a seasoned businessman who want to implement AI in your workflow, you might have heard these terms thousands of times. But do you understand them properly? Do you understand the differences? Because they are some of the most basic concepts underlying. In this article, I’ll be hopefully able to answer the above questions. Definitions Let me start with saying, I am not a big fan of definitions. That is, I do not think anyone should ever try to memorize formal words describing or defining something rather than actually understanding it. So rather than giving formal definition, let’s see whether I can help you in understanding the concepts. Data Science literally means science that involves Data. Anything that you do with Data, comes under the umbrella of ‘Data Science’. And what is Data? Data is basically recorded information. We usually d

What we see of human civilization today is not achieved in a day or two. If we think ourselves as reformed, evolved, transformed and much more progressive version of what Homo Sapiens used to be 200,000 - 300,000 years ago (which we do!), then we also need to believe that we have really come a long way ahead in this time duration (which is not insignificant). Once, we were scavengers. We could only eat what was left off after big predators have their meals. Gradually, we became gatherers. We started gathering stuffs- mainly started with foods but time to time other things as well. And we understood, the only advantage we have compared to other animals of this planet is our brain. We became smarter and smarter. We learned things quickly. And then, we understood agriculture. We became producers (I know...we are really not ‘producers’ since it’s plants who still actually produce, but let’s not try to be complicated and technical here! 😝😝). Now, we have the ability to genetically enginee

Whether you are a student or working professional, the system that you use is of utmost importance in today’s world. Many a times a lot of us get confused by the plethora of options that are available or are advertised to us. Today, in this blog post, I would like to discuss very briefly about the kind of things that you should consider while you are going to buy your computing system. Just to point out, I would try to not name out any specific brands (Nobody gave me any money for endorsing them!😋) because there could be better or worse that I might not be aware of. Rather I would try to sketch out what things that might be pertinent to you before buying a laptop or desktop. The Purpose I know, it might sound cliche, but the main question you want answered is that for what purpose, you are buying your laptop/ system and you should forward from that answer. Let me try to give out few possible scenarios and then what should be the considerations. I am a Data Scientist in my working life

We humans are pretty proud about our intelligence. We think that we are a superior species just because we are capable of complex things like art, poetry, calculus and what not. Have you ever thought that what exactly is behind all our complex activities? Even simple activities like walking, eating, talking etc. which might seem very easy far off, are not that easy at all. So, what is behind all these? Well, there are many things, but primarily I am talking about brains here. So, brain is the squishy organ, weighing around 3 pound or about 1.5-2 kilogram sitting inside all of our head. If you are reading my blog, a lot of parts in your brain are actively working to make it happen. Some are working in tandem with your eyes to read this stuff off your phone or laptop or desktop screens. But hold on. Even a simple act of reading is not that easy at all. If you think carefully, our eye is just a modern camera made up of biological stuff. It can do only what your normal camera is able to do