My Perspective

How does one answer the question on whether animals, other than humans, count from left to right like us? The authors of this paper [1] come up with an ingenious way to test this. Here is their approach. Animals could be trained to interact with an object at a particular position in a long series of such identical objects for a reward. During training the series of objects need to be placed in such a way that counting from left to right or right to left requires interacting with the same object. This can be achieved by placing the series of objects sagittally - such that only one object (closest) is facing the animal and the rest are positioned along a single long column till the farthest object.  However, while testing the animal for directional preference, the series of objects need to be placed coronally - such that all objects are arranged facing the animal in a single row. Here counting from right to left or left to right results in choosing an object at different positions. T...

Today is observed as Earth Day. So let us discuss some of the ways that each of us are indirectly contributing to global carbon emissions. Everyone is online all the time these days. Be it for work or leisure. Be it on a desktop or on a mobile phone. Nothing gets done without the internet. So this raises an important question on whether the Big Tech companies run their services on clean energy? Here are some of the efforts on

Today is the last day of your past and the first day of your future. Today is the oldest you have ever been but the youngest you will ever be. Today is the day of resolution. Today is the beginning of a new tomorrow.

The best diet for those of us who wish focus on our improving health, or increasing fitness and achieving high performance is a plant based one. We just need to avoid all sources of animal protein in our diet.  Please watch

All natural sounds including animal vocalisations have distinct temporal structure consisting of individual segments with variations over time that are either slow or fast. The ability to extract, represent, and detect an acoustic feature depends on the time window used for processing the acoustic signal. A short analysis window provides higher temporal resolution while a long analysis window provides higher spectral resolution. This aspect of auditory perception is ethologically important since fast and accurate response to acoustic stimuli is critical to the survival of many animals, for instance their ability to hunt prey and avoid predators.

Have you heard of "Tragedy of the commons"? In the context of Diwali, 'Tragedy of the commons' can be interpreted as that if each person or family does what is best for themselves (bursting fire crackers) even if it is bad (pollution) for the common resources (atmosphere) then the long term outcome is degradation (air quality) of these common resources. However, supporters have argued in the Supreme court of India that bursting of fire crackers is a religious activity. Hindu light the way to heaven for the forefathers to return back. So any suggestion to the effect of avoiding fire crackers is seen as anti-Hindu religion. The only solution to this conundrum is self restraint - it is essential to preserve the air that we breathe. Don't forget the millions who died gasping for a breath of oxygen during the pandemic. Diwali is a festival of lights not sound. Avoid bursting crackers for the sake of our environment.   Happy Deepavali or Diwali!

S N Sethuram has authored couple of novels - Navalla and Dahana - apart from many short stories. He has written and directed theatre plays - Nimitta, Gathi, Atheeta, and Uchchista - as well as written the screenplay and directed few television serials - Manthana, Dibanna, and Anavarana - for which he became most famous amongst people of Karnataka state (India).  Personally, I consider Sethuram as a stalwart of Kannada literature in the 21st century. Here is why. I like the depth of human emotions that he plumbs in his works. He holds a mirror to the society in his works and makes us question our values in our life. Though all his works are in Kannada, his stories transcend cultural barriers.