Current Science

Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 No. 7, Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

This book offers a study in contrast. Focusing on the trade and politics of water, the professor-journalist duo of Mike Gonzalez and Marianella Yanes lament the growing insanity of identifying with bottled water as a social drink - consumed by elegant people in elegant bars. It is no surprise therefore that some nine billion bottles of water are sold annually across the world. The massive expansion of the private water industry, including the bottled water industry, is an outcome of commitment of neoliberalism to the privatization of all public services and public goods. Outwardly it may seem to be the only way out to address the issue of access and quality. The reality is that big corporations with turnover exceeding US$ 40 billion annually have contributed literally nothing to the resolution of the water problem. This is not surprising when one learns that 34% of water and sewerage privatizations have failed across the world, with as many as 180 cities having remunicipalized their water operations.

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

Could there be any similarity between mathematics and cookery? Neither do cooks deal in numbers nor do mathematicians indulge in recipes. Why search for similarity when there is none, one might wonder. After all, no one eats numbers and neither can anyone order the square ischolar_main of a muffin. Is it as linear as that or are we missing out on something more vital? Jim Henle, a Professor of Mathematics at Smith College, thinks we often miss tantalizing similarities between the two - both intimidate novices, both pose difficulties, and both celebrate champions. Further, mathematicians and cooks have similar dreams, similar fears, and similar guilty secrets.

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

Accomplished artists may have painted hundreds of verses on a kernel; but the unwritten genetic instructions a seed carries make it an indomitable botanical marvel. The 'fierce energy' a seed carries, as George Bernard Shaw would describe it, can help it explode into becoming any one of the estimated 352,000 kinds of plants that use seeds to reproduce, from humble mustard to mighty oak.

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

Need it be said that big dams epitomize development all over the world. Else, the Indian Premier Jawaharlal Nehru would not have called these gigantic structures 'temple of modern India' and the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie would not have hailed big dams as 'treasure trove of wealth'.

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

Its global prevalence notwithstanding, the state of water in nature reflects our inadequate understanding of its intricate flow dynamics. Despite abundance, its access eludes millions of living beings and the consequent stress on the ecosystem of which it is an integral part is only growing. That currently more than one billion people lack access to clean water and in near future the global demand for water will be twice as much are numerical manifestations of a deep crises.

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

That the Earth is getting warmer slowly but surely and that there is not much the global climate negotiations have been able to achieve thus far, geo-engineering the planet to put a plug on rising temperature is beginning to gain serious attention. Despite its social, moral, technical and political pitfalls, discussions on creating stratospheric veil(s) to reduce influx of solar radiations have been projected as one of the most potent options for slowing down the process of global warming.

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

It is perhaps the only instance when science surrendered to symbolism, and for some good reasons. The expression ‘to be on cloud nine’ has been in vogue since the 1890 discovery that the highest-rising cloud was the ninth and last on the list. However, later scientific research proved it to the contrary, identifying cumulonimbus to be tenth, and the last cloud. Despite such finding, the World Meteorological Organization sustained euphoric status to cumulonimbus as the true cloud nine. As a result, numerical expression cloud eight for ‘drinking too much liquor’, and cloud seven for ‘seventh heaven’ stay.

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi - 110 063, IN

Abstract

Einstein had remarked that to appreciate the universe one would need to understand curves. Not sure if he was seduced by curves, but it is clear that straight lines and square corners do not determine what we make of the universe. Like the human body, the universe is beautiful because of its magical patterns and exquisite shapes. Be it the human cell, the lowly creatures or the distant galaxies, the remarkable theory of curves is at work everywhere. Such is the magic of this theory that the entire universe manifests itself in curves, from the fold to a wigwam.

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

No Abstract.

Keywords

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

They drink, and drink, and drink – up to three times their own body weight. No wonder, they are called the ultimate binge drinkers. At times, they are too bloated to return to their homes. Their stealthy lifestyle of drinking, and their habit of helping themselves uninvited stirs the strongest psychological fear amongst people. Evolved some 100,000 years ago, the drinking habit of bedbugs has sustained them as a species at the cost of humans, who continue to shudder at the mere mention of these tiny bloodsuckers. Their influence on our lives has been unprecedented, pretty much every other bug, including the stomach bug, the computer bug, and the electronic bug carries that name tag.

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Sudhirendar Sharma ¹

Affiliations
1 7 Triveni, A6 Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110 063, IN

Abstract

No Abstract.

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