Kirikou et la sorcière

One nice tale.

Midnight in Paris

Delicate. It almost has the concise beauty of "A Moveable Feast".

L'illusionniste

Like a lovely little poem, keeps ringing in the head long afterwards...

আদিরস - ২

সুনীল গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়ের 'সেই সময়' থেকে...

"সোহাগবালার ব্যাধিটি বড়ই বিচিত্র। মানুষের স্থূলত্বেরও তো একটা সীমা আছে, কিন্তু সোহাগবালার ক্ষেত্রে সব কিছুই সীমা ছাড়িয়ে গেল। প্রত্যেকদিনই সে বেশী মোটা হচ্ছে। যৌবনে সোহাগবালা অসুন্দরী ছিল না, বরং ফর্সা, চোখ, নাক, ঠোঁট সবই গোল গোল, কিন্তু স্বামীর প্রতিপত্তি বাড়বার সঙ্গে সঙ্গে পাল্লা দিয়েই যেন তার শরীর স্থূল হতে লাগলো। একটা বয়সের পর মানুষ আর দৈর্ঘ্যে বাড়ে না, কিন্তু সোহাগবালার প্রস্থ বাড়তে লাগলো অস্বাভাবিকভাবে। তার এক একখানি হাতই যেন একজন মানুষের শরীরের সমান, বক্ষের ওপর দুটি দোদুল্যমান অলাবু। তার পা দেখে এক সময় মনে হতো ভীমের গদা, এখন মনে হয়, ভীমও বুঝি এত বড় গদা তুলতে পারতেন না। মোটা হওয়ার সঙ্গে সঙ্গে বেশী ফর্সাও হচ্ছে সে, রং যেন একেবারে ফেটে পড়ছে।

দু'খানি শাড়ি একসঙ্গে জোড়া দিয়েও তার শরীরের ঘের পায় না। তার নিতম্ব এতই বড় যে হস্তিনী বললেও কম বলা হয়।"

আদিরস - ১

সুনীল গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়ের 'একা এবং কয়েকজন' থেকে...

"শ্রীলেখার বুকের জামা জোর করে টেনে খুলে ফেলে সূর্য অদ্ভুত ব্যগ্র ভাবে তাকিয়ে রইল সে-দিকে। যেন সে কোনও মানুষের শরীর দেখছে না - দেখছে কোনও অভূতপূর্ব প্রাকৃতিক দৃশ্য। এক জোড়া অনাস্বাদিত ফল, অল্প অল্প কম্পমান। যেন 'নরম' শব্দটা জীবন্ত হয়ে উঠেছে তার চোখের সামনে। এর থেকে বেশি কোমলতা আর কোথায় আছে পৃথিবীতে?"

Five Little Pigs

As usual Hercule Poirot has to find out who the true murderer is, only this time it had taken place sixteen years ago. A brilliant plot replete with cunning misdirections; an absorbing story by Christie.

Endless Night

A novel by Agatha Christie. It is not like her usual murder followed by a hunt for murderer kind of story. The book develops around the omen of something evil, something inescapable; it creates a feeling of malaise, yet one feels eager to know what actually it is, and how it will come about! I found the story to be somewhat similar to one of Christie's short stories featuring Miss Marple.

The Shipwrecked Sailor

This is a tiny story retold by Tamara Bower. The story is based on one found on a papyrus scroll of hieroglyphs from the nineteenth century B.C., Egypt. It is about an Egyptian sailor: how his ship was destroyed in a mighty storm and how he alone survived and spent months on an island with a magnificent giant serpent and later how he was rescued by another Egyptian ship.

The Crooked House

A mystery-novel by Agatha Christie, this time no Poirot or Marple; the protagonist has to find out who the murderer is, in order to clear out the name of his fiancee from the list of suspects. Again, interesting plot, you could almost guess who the murderer is at the beginning but then more and more possibilities find their way into your brain!

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest recorded story in the world. It was originally carved on twelve stone tablets. Gilgamesh is thought to have been a real king reigning some time between 3200 BC and 2700 BC over the Sumerian city of Uruk, in Mesoptamia (now Iraq).
The Story of the Flood - several floods devastated the region - found its way into other cultures, ultimately into the Bible, undergoing changes according to the religion of the teller.
This is a retelling by Geraldine McCaughrean. A great story retold masterfully: full of scintillating narratives and captivating illustrations (by David Parkins). The story proffers a beautiful musing about how snakes came to begin shedding skins. The vignettes about the seven loaves and the Flood (resembling Noah's) are fantastic. Aggrieved and fear-stricken by the death of his dearest friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh sets out on a quest to find out the secret of immortality, a profoundly touching tale.

• Dark (আঁধার): আঁধার! তারার আলো খোঁদা রাতের আঁধার নয় সে। নয় সে দীপ অথবা উনুনের আলোয় ধোঁয়া ঘরোয়া আঁধার। কিংবা নয় চাঁদোয়া-মাখা বা অন্ততঃ স্বপ্নালোকিত ঘুমের আঁধার। নাহ্‌! এ হলো নিরেট আঁধার। এমনকি হাওয়াও যেন চারপাশের শিলাপ্রাচীরের মতনই মিশকালোঃ উপায় নেই সমুখ ঢাওরানোর কিংবা জানার কোথায় পথ নিয়েছে বাঁক বা কোথায় মেঝেময় আরশোলার ছড়াছড়ি। দুপাশের প্রাচীর ছুঁয়েছুঁয়ে, সামনে মাথা ঝুঁকিয়ে হেঁটে চলেছে গিল্‌গামেশঃ আলোর আশায় এক দৃষ্টে অসহায় তাকিয়ে থেকে-থেকে চোখের মণি তার ব্যথাতুর। আঁধার যেন তার দৃষ্টি কেঁড়ে নিয়েছে, অন্ধের মতন পা-পা করে এগুতে হচ্ছে তাকে পথ বুঝে-বুঝে। আধেক যোজন গিয়ে পিছে ফিরে সে দেখে - অশেষ আঁধার। সামনেও - আঁধার। চোখের পাপড়ি বেয়েবেয়ে যেন ঢুকে পড়ছে আঁধার। মস্তিষ্ক ভরে উঠছে আঁধারে। এক যোজন গিয়েও অবস্থা বদলায় না একটুও, এক ফোঁটা আলো নেই কোথাও, বাতাসও অনড়। সামনে-পেছনে কেবলি আঁধার। ভেতরে-বাইরে আঁধার। কেবলি আঁধার! দুই-আড়াই যোজন পর মনে হতে থাকে আঁধার যেন চামড়া ভেদ করে ঢুকে পড়ছে তার শরীরে। সে যেন আঁধারের স্বাদ-গন্ধ পাচ্ছে, এমনকি আঁধারকে দেখতে বা শুনতেও পাচ্ছে। পাহাড় যেন তাকে পুরোপুরি হজম করে ফেলেছে। যোজন তিনেক গিয়েও রেহাই নেইঃ সে এখন হাড়েহাড়ে টের পাচ্ছে শামাস্‌ (সূর্য্যদেবতা) এর দেখা না পাওয়া কাকে বলে, দেবতার সঙ্গচ্যুতি হলে কি হয়, অতল শিলাস্তুপে জ্যান্ত কবর হলে কেমন লাগে! এ অনুভূতি মৃত্যুবৎ। চার যোজন পর তার মনে হতে লাগলো সে বুঝি জন্মান্ধ।
  

Khandhar (The Ruins)

It is a 1984 Hindi film directed by Mrinal Sen. "Subhash is a photographer from the city, who has come to take pictures of some old temples and ruins in a village. Ruins fascinate him. While in the village, he gets acquainted with a young woman, Jamini, who has had her heart broken in the past, by another visitor from the big city. Will history repeat itself, or will she find a way out of the ruins at last?" In the film, few of the shots are shaky but the finale is intriguing.

Garam Hawa (Hot Winds)

It is a 1973 Urdu film directed by M. S. Sathyu. The film shows how a Muslim family slowly disintegrates during the post partition years in India. A pure tragedy with an unexpected finale.

Ankur (The Seedling)

Ankur is a 1974 Hindi color film directed by Shyam Benegal. It was his first feature film and Shabana Azmi's first release. The story is about spoiling of a village woman by a rich man's son (who was already married) and later his refusal of responsibility before the eye of the society. I should say the film lacks natural flow and few scenic shots appear abrupt and incongruous.

Our films, their films

A collection of essays on films written by Satyajit Ray between 1948 and 1973. Among these 25 essays, 11 are on various aspects of Indian films (especially the Bengali ones) and the rest are about non-Indian films. He discusses the various weaknesses of Indian films, the problems an Indian especially a Bengali director faces while making a film, and their possible solutions. Some anecdotes about his coming to films leaving graphic designing and about some of his own films are interesting. There are two essays concerning Akira Kurosawa and his films, one concerning John Ford's films, one essay on Charlie Chaplin's autobiography, and yet another on the biography of Hitchcock by Truffaut. One essay is a sort of short survey of non-Indian films. One gets few glimpses into shots which ultimately go into making a complete film from a quite new perspective, a director's or should we say the film-author's perspective. The shot about flying of pigeons in "Aparajito" was actuated through bursting bombs! Certainly one starts viewing films with a fresh and critical turn of mind.

... (২)

ছোট ছোট ঢেউ, পুকুরের পানি চঞ্চল।
মৃদু বাতাসের ঘনঘন ঝাপটায় শাপলা দুলছে এদিকওদিক।
পানিপোকার আলসে সড়সড়ি।
সাদাসাদা বার্তাবাহী বৃষ্টি-ফোঁটার প্রথম পতন পুকুরের পানিতে, ঊর্মিকণার জন্ম।
পানি ফুঁড়ে ওঠা ছোটছোট গাছের পাতায় ফড়িং জিরোয় ওড়াওড়ির ফাঁকে।
উঠোনে চলছে কুকুর বেড়ালের আলস্যক্রীড়া।
কঞ্চির খাঁচায় বুলবুলির চঞ্চল লাফালাফি।
দাওয়ায় শুয়ে ক্লান্ত রমনী, বাতাস খায় তালপাতার পাখা দুলিয়ে।
সদ্যতরুনী মেয়েটি কাজল পরে যত্ন করে ডাগর চোখে, টিপও সে কাজলেই সারে ।
মুড়ি খেতে খেতে শিশুটি গেঁয়ো পথ ধরে হেঁটে যায় গৃহপানে।
আকাশভরা কালো মেঘ, বাতাস ভেজাভেজা, বৃষ্টি আসন্ন।
রাখাল ছেলে দৌড়ে যায় মাঠের গরু তাড়িয়ে আনতে।
বেগ বেড়েছে বাতাসের, বৃষ্টি নামলো বলে।
রমনী দৌঁড়ে যায় উঠোনে-মেলা কাপড় তুলতে।
মেঘ ডাকছে, ছিপ ফেলে মাছ ধরতে গিয়ে ঘুমিয়ে পড়া টেকো লোকের মাথায় টুপ করে পড়ল বড় এক ফোঁটা।
জেগে গিয়ে সে ছাতি মেলেছে।
বৃষ্টি নেমেছে।
কুকুরটি দাওয়ার পানে দৌড় দেয় লেজ তুলে, পৌছে গা ঝাড়া দেয় বেশ করে পানি ছিটিয়ে।
ঝমঝম বৃষ্টির শব্দ গাছের পাতায় পুকুরের পানিতে, যেন সহস্র বাদ্যযন্ত্রের ঐকতান।

Peril at End House

A mystery-novel by Agatha Christie. Almost all of it is supremely fascinating: one is unable to put it down even for a moment, until having known the whole truth; except for the "whole truth" (revealed at the very end) appears to be a bit too-involved.

Bengali versions of some English words

1. Aberration: অপেরণ
   
2. Achlamydeous: অকঞ্চুক
3. Acrania: অকরোটি
   
4. Agate: আকিক, গন্ধর্বমণি
5. Agnosticism: অজ্ঞাবাদ
6. Amnesia: অস্মার, স্মৃতিভ্রংশ
   
7. Amorphous: অনিয়তাকার
   
8. Anaesthetic: অবেদনিক
   
9. Ankle: গুল্‌ফ
10. Antidote: অগদ
11. Apathy: অনীহা
    
12. Axis power: অক্ষশক্তি
    
13. Authenticity: যাথাতথ্য
14. Baboon: মর্কট
15. Blank verse: অমিত্রাক্ষর ছন্দ
    
16. Bonus: অধিবৃত্তি
    
17. Broth: যূষ
18. Bypath: উপপথ, ঘুরপথ
19. Cape: অন্তরীপ
    
20. Capsule: কোশিক
21. Carbon: অঙ্গারক
22. Caretaker: অবধায়ক
    
23. Centrifugal: অপকেন্দ্র
24. Centripetal: অভিকেন্দ্র
    
25. Chivalry: বীরব্রত
26. Cirrus: অলকমেঘ
27. Clavicle: অক্ষক
28. Clairvoyance: অলোকদৃষ্টি
    
29. Cohesion: যোগাকর্ষণ, আসঞ্জন
30. Complementary: অনুপূরক
    
31. Constellation: যোটক
32. Continuity: অনবচ্ছেদ
    
33. Cornea: অচ্ছোদপটল
    
34. Cuneiform: কীলকাকার
35. Deduction: অবরোহ
    
36. Depreciation: অবচয়
    
37. Dominion: অধিরাজ্য
    
38. Door jamb: দরজার বাজু
39. Dotage: ভীমরতি
    
40. Duet: যমলগান
41. Ebony: আবলুস কাঠ
    
42. Ecclesiastical: যাজনিক
43. Emerald: পান্না
44. Enactment: অধিনিয়মন
45. Evolution Theory: অভিব্যক্তিবাদ
    
46. Excise: অন্তঃশুল্ক
    
47. Eyelid: অক্ষিপুট
    
48. Farce: প্রহসন
    
49. Fatalistic: যদ্ভবিষ্য
50. Fig: ডুমুর
51. Subsidy: অনুদান
    
52. Gregarious: যূথচারী
53. Greyhound: ডালকুত্তা
    
54. Hedge: বৃতি
55. Heel: গোড়ালি, পার্ষ্ণি, পার্ষিক
56. Horizontal: অনুভূমিক
    
57. Hypodermic needle: অধস্তাচ্‌ সুচ
    
58. Hypothesis: প্রকল্প, উপপ্রমেয়
59. Immediacy: অব্যবধান
60. Immigration: অভিবাসন
    
61. Immunity: অনাক্রম্যতা
    
62. Intestate: অকৃতমৃত্যুপত্র
63. Incense: ধূপ
64. Inferior: অধরিক
    
65. Inscription: অভিলিখন
66. Inspiration: অনুপ্রাণনা
67. Intercaste marriage: অসবর্ণ বিবাহ
    
68. Isthmus: যোজক
    
69. Jasmine: যুঁই
70. Jurisdiction: এখতিয়ার
71. Katabolism: অপচিতি
    
72. Lac-dye: আলতা, যাবক
73. Lapis lazuli: নীলকান্তমণি
74. Leeward: অনুবাত
75. Loadstone: অয়স্কান্ত
    
76. Longitudinal: অনুদৈর্ঘ্য
    
77. Maiden: যোষিৎ
78. Malice: বিদ্বেষ
    
79. Meridian: মধ্যরেখা, যাম্যোত্তর
80. Metaphysics: অধিবিদ্যা
    
81. Milky Way: অজবীথি
82. Mimicry: অনুকৃতি
    
83. Mores: লোকাচার
84. Morphology: অঙ্গসংস্থান
    
85. Myrrh: গন্ধরস
    
86. Narcissus: নার্গিস
87. Negative: নঞর্থক
    
88. Nitrogen: যবক্ষারজান
89. Nutation: অক্ষবিচলন
90. Onomatopea: অনুকারশব্দ
    
91. Opal: উপল
92. Opaque: অনচ্ছ
    
93. Ordeal: অগ্নিপরীক্ষা
94. Ordinance: অধ্যাদেশ
    
95. Pancreas: অগ্ন্যাশয়
    
96. Paralysis: পক্ষাঘাত
    
97. Perpetually: যাবচ্চন্দ্রদিবাকর
98. Placenta: গর্ভকুসুম, অমরা
    
99. Plagiarist: কুম্ভিল
100. Poignant: অরুন্তুদ
101. Pouf: গদি
     
102. Prosecution: অভিশংসন
103. Purport: সারমর্ম
104. Rationalization: যুক্ত্যাভাস
105. Rational quantity: অকরণী
106. Retina: অক্ষিপট
     
107. Rock-salt: অক্ষারলবণ
     
108. Ruby: পদ্মরাগমণি, চুনি
109. Sabotage: অন্তর্ঘাত
     
110. Sardonic: বিদ্রূপাত্মক
111. Scroll: লেখ্যপট
112. Scrutiny: অবেক্ষণ
     
113. Scullery: ধোলাইঘর
     
114. Seance: অধ্যাত্ম বৈঠক
115. Soiree: সান্ধ্য-আসর
116. Spikelet: অণুমঞ্জরী
     
117. Spirit: কোহল
118. Subjective: অধ্যাত্মীয়
119. Subterranean river: অন্তঃসলিলা নদী
     
120. Suffix: অনুসর্গ
     
121. Thong: যোক্ত্র
122. Trustee: অছি
     
123. Undertaker: মুর্দাফরাশ
124. Valet: নফর
125. Virile: পৌরুষদীপ্ত
     
126. Vitalistic Theory: অধিপ্রাণবাদ
     
127. Will: ইচ্ছাপত্র, অছিয়তনামা
     
128. Zeitgeist: যুগধর্ম
     

A Murder is Announced

A mystery novel by Agatha Christie featuring Miss Marple. Quite interesting story in fine narrative.

Great sources of songs by Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976)

1. Here is a collection of Nazrul's songs by various artists.
2. Here is a collection by Ferdous Ara.
   

Read audio data from a file on iPhone

// define an ID for the audio data to be read from the file
AudioFileID audioFile;
// define error varaible
OSStatus theErr = noErr;
UInt64 fileDataSize = 0;
// in order to read how many bytes there are in the audio file we need to define
// AudioStreamBasicDescription type data structure
AudioStreamBasicDescription theFileFormat;
UInt32 thePropertySize = sizeof( theFileFormat );
// read data from the file : see previous post for "recordedTmpFile"
theErr = AudioFileOpenURL((CFURLRef)recordedTmpFile, kAudioFileReadPermission, 0, &audioFile);
thePropertySize = sizeof( fileDataSize );
// read byte count
theErr = AudioFileGetProperty(audioFile, kAudioFilePropertyAudioDataByteCount, &thePropertySize, &fileDataSize);

/* read data into buffer */
UInt32 dataSize = fileDataSize;
void* theData = malloc(dataSize);
if (theData) {
// the data is being read into a single buffer: theData, as a byte array
AudioFileReadBytes(audioFile, false, 0, &dataSize, theData);
}
// we know that each sample is 2 bytes or 16 bits long and non-floats, so read
// the byte-array as 16bits integer array
SInt16* dataAs16bitsInt = (SInt16*) theData;

// save the data into "data.txt" file inside of the Documents directory
NSMutableString *filePath = [ [NSMutableString alloc] init];
[filePath setString: NSHomeDirectory()];
[filePath appendString: @"/Documents/data.txt"];
NSFileManager* fileManager;
NSFileHandle* fileHandle;
fileManager = [[NSFileManager defaultManager] retain];
[fileManager createFileAtPath:filePath contents:nil attributes:nil];
fileHandle = [[NSFileHandle fileHandleForWritingAtPath:filePath] retain];
if (!fileHandle) {
NSLog(@"ERROR: file handle is nil");
}

NSLog(@"Data size = %d", dataSize);
for (int i = 0; i < dataSize/2; i++) {
// save each sample as 16bits integer in the data.txt file
NSString *stringBuffer = [ NSString stringWithFormat: @"%d\n", dataAs16bitsInt[i]];
[ fileHandle writeData:[stringBuffer dataUsingEncoding:NSASCIIStringEncoding] ];
//NSLog(@"%d", dataAs32bitInt[i]);
}

Record audio data in a file on iPhone

// setting format of audio data (to be recorded) in a dictionary data structure
NSMutableDictionary *recordSetting = [[ NSMutableDictionary alloc ] init];
[ recordSetting setValue: [ NSNumber numberWithInt: kAudioFormatLinearPCM ] forKey: AVFormatIDKey ];
[ recordSetting setValue: [ NSNumber numberWithFloat: 44100.0 ] forKey: AVSampleRateKey ];
[ recordSetting setValue: [ NSNumber numberWithInt: 1 ] forKey: AVNumberOfChannelsKey ];
[ recordSetting setValue: [ NSNumber numberWithInt: 16 ] forKey: AVLinearPCMBitDepthKey ];
[ recordSetting setValue: [ NSNumber numberWithBool:NO ] forKey: AVLinearPCMIsBigEndianKey ];
[ recordSetting setValue: [ NSNumber numberWithBool:NO ] forKey: AVLinearPCMIsFloatKey ];
// The format is Linear PCM (Pulse Code Modulation), with 44.1 KHz sampling rate, one channel,
// and bit-depth of 16 bits.
// So, each sample is 2 bytes long, because one sample from each channel constitutes one frame;
// here there is only one channel, so a frame is just a sample; last line ensures that audio data
// will not be in floats
// I shall save the data in a file in the Documents directory. So, I need the path to the
// Documents directory
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex: 0];
// record the data in a ".caf" (Core Audio File) file
NSURL* recordedTmpFile = [ NSURL fileURLWithPath: [ documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent: [ NSString stringWithFormat: @"%.0f.%@", [NSDate timeIntervalSinceReferenceDate]*1000.0, @"caf" ] ] ];
recorder = [ [ AVAudioRecorder alloc ] initWithURL: recordedTmpFile settings: recordSetting error: &error ];
[ recorder setDelegate: self ];
[ recorder prepareToRecord ];
[ recorder record ];

Films of Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007) that I have enjoyed so far...

1. L'Avventura (The Adventure) (1960)
2. La Notte (The Night) (1961)
   
3. L'Eclisse (The Eclipse) (1962)
4. Blow-up (1966)
5. The Passenger (1975)

Each one of these 5 films is visually stunning.

Films of Steven Spielberg (1946-) that I have enjoyed so far...

1. Jaws (1975)
2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
3. Indiana Jones Quadrilogy (1981, 1984, 1989, 2008)
4. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. Back to the Future Trilogy (1985, 1989, 1990)
6. The Color Purple (1985)
7. Empire of the Sun (1987)
8. Jurassic Park (1993)
   
9. Schindler's List (1993)
10. Twister (1996)
11. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
    
12. Amistad (1997)
13. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
14. A. I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
15. Minority Report (2002)
    
16. Catch Me if You Can (2002)
17. The Terminal (2004)
18. War of the Worlds (2005)
19. Munich (2005)
20. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Films of Federico Fellini (1920-1993) that I have enjoyed so far...

1. La Strada (The Road) (1954)
2. La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life) (1960)
3. 8½ (1963)
4. Amarcord (I Remember) (1973)
5. And the Ship Sails On (1983)

Films of Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) that I have enjoyed so far...

1. Rashomon (1950)
2. Shubun (The Scandal) (1950)
3. Ikiru (To Live) (1952)
4. Seven Samurai (1954)
5. Yojimbo (Bodyguard) (1961)
6. Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior) (1980)
7. Ran (1985)
   

Favorite Quotations

1. Hypotheses are nets: only those who casts will catch. (Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg aka Novalis)
   

...

অনেকদিন পর বাংলা-তৃষা মাথাচাড়া দিয়েছে। প্রিয় অক্ষরে আঁকিবুকি কাটতে চায় মন। তবে তাই হোক...
অস্থির লাগছে। কটা কাজ জমেছে। অনতিদূরে সময়ের সীমা ওঁত পেতে, ঝাঁপাতে চায় অসাবধানী স্কন্ধে। নীরব রাত। ঝাঁ-ঝাঁ, বোঁ-বোঁ কর্ণকুহরে বাতাসের বহুকণ্ঠী আলাপন, অস্ফুট বক্তব্য তার অনুস্মৃতি'কে করে আপ্যায়ন।

Films of Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) that I have enjoyed so far...

1. The 39 Steps (1935)
2. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
3. Rebecca (1940)
4. Foreign Correspondent (1940)
   
5. Suspicion (1941)
6. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
7. Lifeboat (1944)
   
8. Notorious (1946)
9. Rope (1948)
10. Stage Fright (1950)
    
11. Strangers on a Train (1951)
12. Dial M for Murder (1954)
13. Rear Window (1954)
14. The Trouble with Harry (1955)
    
15. To Catch a Thief (1955)
16. The Wrong Man (1956)
    
17. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
18. Vertigo (1958)
19. North by Northwest (1959)
20. Psycho (1960)
21. The Birds (1963)
22. Torn Curtain (1966)
    
23. Frenzy (1972)

1, 13, 16, 18, and 21 are my favorites.

Films of Satyajit Ray (1921-1992) that I have enjoyed so far...

1. পথের পাঁচালি, অপরাজিত, এবং অপুর সংসার (The Apu Trilogy) (1955, 1956, 1959): কাহিনী বিভুতিভূষণ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের পথের পাঁচালি এবং অপরাজিত উপন্যাস দুটি থেকে নেয়া। পথের পাঁচালি সত্যজিত রায়ের শ্রেষ্ঠ চলচ্চিত্র এবং বিভূতিভূষণ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের শ্রেষ্ঠ উপন্যাস।
2. পরশ-পাথর (The Philosopher's Stone) (1958)
   
3. জলসাঘর (The Music Room) (1958): তারাশঙ্কর বন্দ্যাপাধ্যায়ের উপন্যাস অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
4. দেবী (The Goddess) (1960): প্রভাত কুমার মুখার্জির দেবী উপন্যাস অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
5. Rabindranath Tagore (1961): রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠকুরের জীবনী নিয়ে প্রামাণ্য চিত্র।
   
6. তিন কন্যা (Three Daughters) (1961): রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুরের তিনটি ছোট গল্পঃ পোস্টমাস্টার, মণিহারা, ও সমাপ্তি অবলম্বনে নির্মিত তিনটি স্বল্পদৈর্ঘ্য চলচ্চিত্রের সংকলন। মণিহারা একটি ভৌতিক গল্প।
   
7. অভিযান (The Expedition) (1962): তারাশঙ্কর বন্দ্যাপাধ্যায়ের উপন্যাস অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
8. কাঞ্চনজঙ্ঘা (Kanchenjungha) (1962): সত্যজিত রায়ের প্রথম রঙ্গীন এবং স্বরচিত কাহিনী'র চলচ্চিত্র।
9. মহানগর (The Big City) (1963): নরেন্দ্রনাথ মিত্রের ছোটগল্প অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
10. চারুলতা (The Lovely Wife) (1964): রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুরের নষ্টনীড় গল্প অবলম্বনে নির্মিত। সমালোচক-নন্দিত এবং সত্যজিত রায়ের নিজের মতে তার সব চলচ্চিত্রের মধ্যে সবচেয়ে নিখুঁত।
    
11. কাপুরুষ ও মহাপুরুষ (The Coward and The Holy Man) (1965): প্রেমেন্দ্র মিত্রের ছোটগল্প একজন জনৈক কাপুরুষ অবলম্বনে নির্মিত হয়েছে কাপুরুষ। মহাপুরুষ নির্মিত হয়েছে পরশুরামের গল্প বিরিঞ্চিবাবা অবলম্বনে।
    
12. নায়ক (The Hero) (1966): কাহিনী সত্যজিতের স্বরচিত।
13. চিড়িয়াখানা (The Zoo) (1967): শরদিন্দু বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের ব্যোমকেশ সিরিজের একটি কাহিনী অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
14. Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1968): সত্যজিত রায়ের পিতামহ উপেন্দ্রকিশোর রায়চৌধুরী'র গল্পাবলম্বনে নির্মিত হাস্যরসাত্মক গীত-প্রধান চলচ্চিত্র।
    
15. অরণ্যের দিনরাত্রি (Days and Nights in the Forest) (1970): সুনীল গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়ের উপন্যাস অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
    
16. প্রতিদ্বন্দী, সীমাবদ্ধ, এবং জনঅরণ্য (Calcutta Trilogy) (1971, 1972, 1976): প্রতিদ্বন্দী সুনীল গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়ের উপন্যাস অবলম্বনে নির্মিত। বাকি দু'টি চলচ্চিত্রঃ সীমাবদ্ধ ও জনঅরণ্য নির্মিত হয়েছে মণি শংকর মুখার্জি'র উপন্যাস অবলম্বনে।
    
17. অশনি সংকেত (The Distance Thunder) (1973): ১৯৪৪-১৯৪৫ সালে বৃহত্তর বাংলা'র মন্বন্তরকে কেন্দ্র করে রচিত বিভূতিভূষণ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের উপন্যাস অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
    
18. সোনার কেল্লা (The Golden Fortress) (1974): সত্যজিত রায়ের স্বরচিত ফেলুদা সিরিজের গোয়েন্দাকাহিনী অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
    
19. Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players) (1977): মুন্সি প্রেমচান্দ রচিত হিন্দী ছোটগল্প অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
    
20. জয় বাবা ফেলুনাথ (The Elephant God) (1978): ফেলুদা সিরিজের আরেকটি কাহিনী অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
    
21. হীরক রাজার দেশে (The Kingdom of Diamonds) (1980): গুপি গাইন বাঘা বাইন এর উত্তরপর্ব।
    
22. ঘরে-বাইরে (The Home and the World) (1984): রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুরের উপন্যাস অবলম্বনে নির্মিত।
23. Sadgati (The Deliverance) (TV 1984): মুন্সি প্রেমচান্দের গল্প অবলম্বনে নির্মিত, ৪৫ মিনিটের চলচ্চিত্র।
    
24. শাখা-প্রশাখা (The Branches of the Tree) (1990): সত্যজিত রায়ের স্বরচিত কাহিনী।
25. আগন্তুক (The Visitor) (1991)
    

এই ২৯ টি চলচ্চিত্রের মধ্যে ১৩ টিতে সৌমিত্র চট্টোপাধ্যায় প্রধান অথবা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ভূমিকায় অভিনয় করেছেন, আর উত্তম কুমার অভিনয় করেছেন ২ টিতে।

Today's movies

• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956): one of Hitchcock's, not bad
  

Matrix manipulations on iPhone

iOS 4.0 has Accelerate Framework which allows easy matrix manipulations:

1. Multiply a matrix by a vector: cblas_sgemv(CBLAS_ORDER order, CBLAS_TRANSPOSE transA, int M, int N, float alpha, float* A, int lda, float* X, int incX, float beta, float* Y, int incY ); this method actually does this: Y = alpha * A * X + beta * Y; Here X and Y are vectors and A is the matrix; Choosing various values of alpha and beta and by varying the initial value of Y it is possible to implement a range of equations. The basic idea is to pass the matrix or vector as one dimensional array and tell the method everything about their dimensions, e.g., how many rows, how many columns, etc. By changing "transA" one can get: Y = alpha* A' * X + beta * Y
   
2. Multiply a matrix by a matrix: cblas_sgemm(CBLAS_ORDER order, CBLAS_TRANSPOSE transA, CBLAS_TRANSPOSE transB, int M, int N, int K, float alpha, float* A, int lda, float* B, int ldb, float beta, float* C, int ldc); this method gives: C = alpha * A * B + beta * C; Here A, B, and C are the matrices; Again the basic idea is to pass one dimensional arrays as matrices and tell the method whatever it needs to know, e.g., number of rows/columns etc. And using transA or transB one can get: C = alpha * A' * B + beta * C; C = alpha * A * B' + beta * C; and C = alpha * A' * B' + beta * C
3. This link explains these two and many more linear algebra operations for iOS 4.0 pretty well. However, the parameter lda, ldb, or ldc should be the number of floats after which a new row (assuming order parameter is set for row-major) begins. For example, if the equation is: temp3 = H * preP; where H is a 3 x 9 matrix and preP is a 9 x 9 matrix, one can initialize temp3 with zeros and make this call: cblas_sgemm( 101, 111, 111, 3, 9, 9, 1, H, 9, preP, 9, 1, temp3, 9 ); Here, e.g., ldc = 9 because temp3 is a 3 x 9 matrix thus in row-major order the 2nd row is 9 floats away from the 1st row. On the other hand, if the equation is: temp2 = preP * H'; then initialize temp2 with zeros and make the call: cblas_sgemm( 101, 111, 112, 9, 3, 9, 1, preP, 9, H, 9, 1, temp2, 3 ); Here ldb = 9, because though here, H' is the "B" matrix, inside the memory there is only H, so the second row of H being 9 floats away (101 ensures row-major order) from its first row: ldb = 9.
4. I missed MATLAB's back-slash, that remarkable, versatile operator. Accelerate Framework allows methods for solving triangular system of equations thus LU decomposition may need to be "manually" implemented.
   

Why I am not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects

A collection of essays by Bertrand Russell. I should say I did not try to follow many of his arguments, I believe due mostly to my being tired for the moment; but those which I did follow, I found them to be in accord with my own convictions. I would like to remember one logical argument in particular that aptly counteracts the so-called first-cause argument (FCA) in favor of God's existence; the argument against FCA goes like this: "If everything must have a cause, then God must have a cause. If there can be anything without a cause, it may just as well be the world as God...".

Curtain

A mystery novel by Agatha Christie. Christie wrote the novel during the WWII days while she was not sure whether she would be alive at the end of the war. She wanted to end her Hercule Poirot series nicely, thus this novel was written. Luckily she did not die during WWII and so did not publish it until 1975; by then she understood that she could write no more novels and at last "Curtain" saw the daylight. Poirot had not worked with Hastings since 1937, but in this book: the last one featuring Poirot, the two comrades were united again; the place where the story sets in is the same as that of Poirot's first adventure perhaps in keeping with Eliot's timeless quote: "In my beginning is my end". It is a gripping fiction, touching as well.

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories

A collection of short stories by Agatha Christie. The central character is Miss Marple or "Aunt Jane" who with her uncanny cerebral power solves each murder-mystery without much fuss. A bit boring if one continues reading the stories at a stretch, they seem to fall into an easy pattern.

The A. B. C. Murders

A Hercule Poirot book by Agatha Christie. Got surprised at the end, but the plot felt a bit too convoluted.

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths

My first book on Greek Myth. I did not know Heracles lived happily ever after among the gods and that it was Paris who with the help of Apollo slayed Achilles. Interesting tales.

GAIA: A New Look at Life on Earth

James Lovelock puts forth an intriguing, fresh perspective on life on Earth as a hypothesis, which he calls "Gaia". According to the Gaia hypothesis, "the physical and chemical condition of the surface of the Earth, of the atmosphere, and of the oceans has been and is actively made fit and comfortable by the presence of life itself" which is in contrast with the orthodox point of view that "life adapted to the planetary conditions as it and they evolved their separate ways".

Lovelock's quest began when he was visiting the Jet Propulsion Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology as a scientific consultant. He attempted to think of a general characteristic of all forms of life so that the process for detection of extraterrestrial life could be made more definitive. His initial thought was to look for "entropy reduction". Later he developed the idea that a planet harboring life must have a cybernetic feedback mechanism of a planetary scale in action and some form of homeostasis would be maintaining the suitable circumstances for life even through abrupt environmental changes. In other words, the planet itself would act like a gargantuan organism.

First he argues about how life on Earth participates in maintaining (even against that punishing second law of thermodynamics) the improbable distribution of gases in the atmosphere. He says, "the atmosphere is not merely a biological product, but more probably a biological construction: not living, but like a cat's fur, a bird's feathers, or the paper of a wasp's nest, an extension of a living system designed to maintain a chosen environment." Then he goes on arguing about how the life on Earth keeps the salinity of sea water in check.

He points out that as Gaia is like a living organism, it produces wastes like we, humans do and thus pollution is not something that exclusively humans are capable of causing, a considerable amount of poisonous chemicals are released from natural sources.

Except for some repetitiousness at the end, his writing style is lucid, precise, and delightful.

Words:

1. Biosphere: The part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life
2. Wraith: An apparition of a living person that appears as a portent just before that person's death; The ghost of a dead person; Something shadowy and insubstantial
3. Throes: A severe pang or spasm of pain, as in childbirth
4. Pent-up: Not given expression; repressed
5. Surmise: To infer (something) without sufficiently conclusive evidence; To make a guess or conjecture
6. Aeon: 1000 million years
7. Albedo (whiteness): The proportion of sunlight reflected to space by a planet
8. Detritus: Disintegrated or eroded matter; Accumulated material: debris
9. status quo: The existing condition or state of affairs
10. Equable: Unvarying; steady; Free from extremes; Not easily disturbed: serene
11. Garner: To gather and store in or as if in a granary; To amass: acquire
12. Turpitude: Depravity: baseness; A base act
13. Shibboleth: A word or pronunciation that distinguishes people of one group or class from those of another; A word or phrase identified with a particular group or cause: a catchword; A commonplace saying or idea; A custom or practice that betrays one as an outsider
14. Pittance: A meager monetary allowance, wage, or remuneration; A very small amount
15. Immaculate: Impeccably clean: spotless; Free from stain or blemish: pure; Free from fault or error; Having no markings
16. Conflagration: A large destructive fire
17. Prescient: Of or relating to prescience (Knowledge of actions or events before they occur: foresight); Possessing prescience
18. Intention tremor: With this the unfortunate sufferer who tries to pick up a pencil overreaches his target, over-compensates and swings too far the other way, oscillating back and forth in the frustrating failure to achieve a simple aim
19. Stodgy: Dull, unimaginative, and commonplace; Prim or pompous: stuffy; Indigestible and starchy: heavy (~ food); Solidly built: stocky
20. per se: Of, in, or by itself or oneself: intrinsically; With respect to its inherent nature ("this statement is interesting per se")
21. Hypothermia: Abnormally low body temperature
22. in situ: In the original or natural place or site ("carcinoma in situ")
23. Blinkered: Subjective and limited, as in viewpoint or perception
24. Troposphere, Stratosphere, Ionosphere, and Exosphere: Layers of the atmosphere in increasing order of height from the ground
25. Ruminant: Any of various hoofed, even-toed, usually horned mammals of the suborder Ruminantia, such as cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and giraffes, characteristically having a stomach divided into four compartments and chewing a cud consisting of regurgitated, partially digested food
26. Supernumeraries: One that is in excess of the regular, necessary, or usual number
27. Vermin: Various small animals or insects, such as rats or cockroaches, that are destructive, annoying, or injurious to health
28. Husbandry: The act or practice of cultivating crops and breeding and raising livestock: agriculture; The application of scientific principles to agriculture, especially to animal breeding; Careful management or conservation of resources: economy
29. Perilous: Full of or involving peril (exposure to risk or harm): dangerous
30. Pejorism: The theory that the world is deteriorating or growing worse
31. Stoical: Seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain: impassive
32. Depredation: A predatory attack: a raid; Damage or loss: ravage
33. Nihilistic: Of or relating to nihilism (An extreme form of skepticism that denies all existence; A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated)
34. Impunity: Exemption from punishment, penalty, or harm

Excerpts:

• "The Second Law states unequivocally that the entropy of an open
  system must increase. Since we are all open systems, this means that
  all of us are doomed to die. Yet it is so often ignored or deliberately
  forgotten that the unending death-roll of all creatures, including
  ourselves, is the essential complement to the unceasing renewal of
  life. The death sentence of the Second Law applies only to identities,
  and could be rephrased: 'Mortality is the price of identity.' The family
  lives longer than its members, the tribe longer still, and homo sapiens
  as a species has existed for several million years. Gaia, the sum of the
  biota and those parts of the environment coming under its influence,
  is probably three and a half aeons old. This is a most remarkable yet
  quite legal avoidance of the Second Law. In the end, the sun will
  overheat and all life on Earth will cease, but that may not happen
  before another aeon has passed. Compared with the lifetime of
  our species, let alone that of an individual human being, this time
  span is no tragic brief spell, but offers almost an infinity of opportunities
  to terrestrial life."
• "Our uncertainties about the future of our planet and the consequences
  of pollution stem largely from our ignorance of planetary
  control systems. If Gaia does indeed exist, then there are associations
  of species which co-operate to perform some essential regulatory
  functions. The thyroid gland is present in all mammals and most
  vertebrates. It harvests the meagre supplies of iodine from the internal
  bodily environment and converts them into iodine-bearing hormones
  which regulate our metabolism and without which we
  cannot live. [As indicated in chapter 6,] certain large marine algae,
  laminaria, may perform a similar function to the thyroid gland but on
  a planetary scale."
• "The very concept of pollution is anthropocentric and it may even
  be irrelevant in the Gaian context. Many so-called pollutants are
  naturally present and it becomes exceedingly difficult to know at
  what level the appellation 'pollutant' may be justified. Carbon monoxide,
  for example, which is poisonous to us and to most large
  mammals, is a product of incomplete combustion, a toxic agent from
  exhaust gases of cars, coke or coal-burning stoves, and cigarettes; a
  pollutant put into otherwise clean fresh air by man, you might think.
  However, if the air is analysed we find that carbon monoxide gas is
  to be found everywhere. It comes from the oxidation of methane gas
  in the atmosphere itself and as much as 1,000 million tons of it are so
  produced each year. It is thus an indirect but natural vegetable
  product and is also found in the swim-bladders of many sea creatures.
  The syphonophores, for example, are loaded with this gas in concentrations
  which would speedily kill us off if present in our own atmosphere
  at similar levels."
• "One of the most characteristic properties of all living
  organisms, from the smallest to the largest, is their capacity to develop,
  operate, and maintain systems which set a goal and then strive
  to achieve it through the cybernetic process of trial and error. The
  discovery of such a system, operating on a global scale and having as
  its goal the establishment and maintenance of optimum physical and chemical conditions for life, would surely provide us with convincing
  evidence of Gaia's existence."
• "At the end of the last
  century Boltzman made an elegant redefinition of entropy as a
  measure of the probability of a molecular distribution. It may seem
  at first obscure, but it leads directly to what we seek. It implies that
  wherever we find a highly improbable molecular assembly it is
  probably life or one of its products, and if we find such a distribution
  to be global in extent then perhaps we are seeing something of Gaia,
  the largest living creature on Earth."
• "If we can imagine a planet made of nothing but the component
  parts of watches, we may reasonably assume that in the fullness of
  time—perhaps 1,000 million years—gravitational forces and the restless
  motion of the wind would assemble at least one working watch.
  Life on Earth probably started in a similar manner. The countless
  number and variety of random encounters between individual molecular
  components of life may have eventually resulted in a chance
  association of parts which together could perform a life-like task,
  such as gathering sunlight and using its energy to contrive some
  further action which would otherwise have been impossible or forbidden
  by the laws of physics. (The ancient Greek myth of Prometheus
  stealing fire from heaven and the biblical story of Adam and
  Eve tasting the forbidden fruit may have far deeper roots in our
  ancestral history than we realize.) Later, as more of these primitive
  assembly-forms appeared, some successfully combined and from
  their union more complex assemblies emerged with new properties
  and powers, and united in their turn, the product of fruitful associations
  being always a more potent assembly of working parts, until
  eventually there came into being a complex entity with the properties
  of life itself: the first micro-organism and one capable of using
  sunlight and the molecules of the environment to produce its own
  duplicate.
  The odds against such a sequence of encounters leading to the first
  living entity are enormous. On the other hand, the number of random
  encounters between the component molecules of the Earth's
  primeval substance must have been incalculable. Life was thus an
  almost utterly improbable event with almost infinite opportunities of
  happening. So it did."
  

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Considered to be the best work of Agatha Christie (AC). I wanted to get a taste of AC and thus read the book. It presented with a nice surprise at the end.

Physics of the future

An interesting book by Michio Kaku about the possibilities of science and technology by 2100.

Today's movies

1. Enemy at the gates (2001)
2. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - "gross"
   

Today's movies

1. The Counterfeit Traitor (1962)
   

Today's movies

1. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Today's movies

1. The Game (1997)
2. Eastern Promises (2007)
   

Today's movies

1. Sleeping beauty (1959)
2. Lolita (1962)
   

Today's movies

1. Say anything . . . (1989)
   

I Want to be a Mathematician

Autobiography of Paul R. Halmos. Anecdotal in nature, uncannily engaging for an autobiography. Glimpses of many towering figures (John Von Neuman or Paul Erdos for example) in mathematics whose names I was vaguely familiar with, leaves me with an impression that perhaps I know them a little better now. The tone is humble, honest, and inspiring.

Today's Movies...

1. Horrible Bosses (2011)
2. The Secret of NIMPH (1982)
3. Saw (2004)
4. Braveheart (1995); umpteenth time
   

How to write mathematics

A compilation of essays by mathematicians about how they think mathematics should be written as textbook, monograph, research article, etc. Paul R. Halmos's essay is the most delightful one to read.

Today's Movies...

1. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
   

Today's Movies...

1. Cars 2 (2011)
   
2. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
   
3. Whisper of the Heart (1995)
   

Advice for a Young Investigator

A little book by Ramon y Cajal, a nobel-laureate neuroscientist, full of practical advices for someone wishing to begin investigation in the sciences. Instead of emphasizing on "gift," he identifies will-power as the most valuable of qualities of an investigator. Throughout the book the reader finds sympathetic paternal advices given by a successful man of science with a singularly practical bent of mind. Though the book's content is most appropriate for someone who wishes to pursue in biological research, it contains valuable directions for any aspiring investigator in other sciences. Cajal was a Spaniard, and at the time when he wrote the book Spain was not very strong in scientific research, thus the book's advices are specially fitting for the young people of a country which is striving to become better in scientific research.

King Solomon's Ring

Konrad Lorenz could speak to animals even without having the magical ring of King Solomon. A delightful little book on animal behavior.

The Periodic Table

It is a collection of short stories in the form of memoir. Primo Levi was a chemist by both passion and occupation. He was an Italian Jew who survived WWII. The stories go through his youth towards his old age passing through WWII days. Each story is titled after an element and some connection between the narrative and the element is to be found in every story. The writing is detached, direct, and dry but gripping nevertheless. The detective works of a chemist are abundant in the narratives. "Carbon," the last story of the book describes a part of the life history of a carbon atom and how it ends up participating in making Levi to decide in putting down the last full-stop of the book which is a fun thought and could be variously persuaded personally by the reader.

DSP 1

I have taken Optimal and Adaptive Digital Signal Processing (EECE 6510) as a course in this semester. The first class was to be held on the last Monday which turned out to be the Martin Luther King Jr. Day and so it shifted to the next Monday. Each class is going to be about three hours in length, certainly it will be strenuous for the nerves. Some materials have been suggested by our teacher for reviewing including Fourier Transform, Z Transform, Sampling, LTI Systems, Filter Design, and also Probability Densities, Random Variables and Processes, and Autocorrelation. I am reading Understanding Digital Signal Processing by Lyons for some of the review materials.

1. Fourier Transform:

• Each DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform) output term is the sum of the term-by-term products of an input time-domain sequence with sequences representing a sine and a cosine wave.
• For real inputs, an N-point DFT's output provides only N/2+1 independent terms.
• The DFT is a linear operation.
• The magnitude of the DFT results are directly proportional to N.
• The DFT's frequency resolution is fs/N.

On "Knowledge"

What is "reality"?

How much of "reality" do I actually "perceive" or in other words, how much is my view different from the "real view"?

What is knowledge?

What is an explanation?

1. The Problems of Philosophy by Russell:

• All knowledge, we find, must be built up upon our instinctive beliefs, and if these are rejected, nothing is left. But among our instinctive beliefs some are much stronger than others, while many have, by habit and association, become entangled with other beliefs, not really instinctive, but falsely supposed to be part of what is believed instinctively. Philosophy should show us the hierarchy of our instinctive beliefs, beginning with those we hold most strongly, and presenting each as much isolated and as free from irrelevant additions as possible....There can never be any reason for rejecting one instinctive belief except that it clashes with others; thus, if they are found to harmonize, the whole system becomes worthy of acceptance. It is of course possible that all or any set of our beliefs may be mistaken, and therefore all ought to be held with at least some slight element of doubt. But we cannot have reason to reject a belief except on the ground of some other belief.
• When it is said that light is waves, what is really meant is that waves are the physical cause of our sensations of light. But light itself, the thing which seeing people experience and blind people do not, is not supposed by science to form any part of the world that is independent of us and our senses.
• So far as our sense-data afford evidence as to the physical sun they afford evidence as to the physical sun of eight minutes ago; if the physical sun had ceased to exist within the last eight minutes, that would make no difference to the sense-data which we call 'seeing the sun'. This affords a fresh illustration of the necessity of distinguishing between sense-data and physical objects....If one object looks blue and another red, we may reasonably presume that there is some corresponding difference between the physical objects; if two objects both look blue, we may presume a corresponding similarity. But we cannot hope to be acquainted directly with the quality in the physical object which makes it look blue or red. Science tells us that this quality is a certain sort of wave-motion, and this sounds familiar, because we think of wave-motions in the space we see. But the wave-motions must really be in physical space, with which we have no direct acquaintance; thus the real wave-motions have not that familiarity which we might have supposed them to have. And what holds for colors is closely similar to what holds for other sense-data. Thus we find that, although the relations of physical objects have all sorts of knowable properties, derived from their correspondence with the relations of sense-data, the physical objects themselves remain unknown in their intrinsic nature, so far at least as can be discovered by means of the senses. The question remains whether there is any other method of discovering the intrinsic nature of physical objects.
• We have spoken of acquaintance with the contents of our minds as self-consciousness, but it is not, of course, consciousness of our self: it is consciousness of particular thoughts and feelings. The question whether we are also acquainted with our bare selves, as opposed to particular thoughts and feelings, is a very difficult one, upon which it would be rash to speak positively. When we try to look into ourselves we always seem to come upon some particular thought or feeling. Nevertheless there are some reasons for thinking that we are acquainted with the 'I', though the acquaintance is hard to disentangle from other things.
• We may therefore sum up as follows what has been said concerning acquaintance with things that exist. We have acquaintance in sensation with the data of the outer senses, and in introspection with the data of what may be called the inner sense - thoughts, feelings, desires, etc.; we have acquaintance in memory with things which have been data either of the outer senses or of the inner sense. Further, it is probable, though not certain, that we have acquaintance with Self, as that which is aware of things or has desires towards things.
• In addition to our acquaintance with particular existing things, we also have acquaintance with what we shall call universals, that is to say, general ideas, such as whiteness, diversity, brotherhood, and so on. Every complete sentence must contain at least one word which stands for a universal, since all verbs have a meaning which is universal. Awareness of universals is called conceiving, and a universal of which we are aware is called a concept. It will be seen that among the objects with which we are acquainted are not included physical objects (as opposed to sense-data), nor other people's minds. These things are known to us by what I call 'knowledge by description',....
• Do any number of cases of law being fulfilled in the past afford evidence that will be fulfilled in the future?....It is to be observed that all such expectations are only probable; thus we have not to seek for a proof that they must be fulfilled, but only for some reason in favour of the view what they are likely to be fulfilled.
• The mere fact that something has happened a certain number of times causes animals and men to expect that it will happen again....But science habitually assumes, at least as a working hypothesis, that general rules which have exceptions can be replaced by general rules which have no exceptions...When two things are found to be often associated, and no instance is known of the one occurring without the other, does the occurrence of one of the two, in a fresh instance, give any good ground for expecting the other?
• The general principle of science, such as the belief in the reign of law, and the belief that every event must have a cause, are as completely dependent upon the inductive principle as are beliefs of daily life. All such general principles are believed because mankind have found innumerable instances of their truth and no instances of their falsehood. But this affords no evidence for their truth in the future, unless the inductive principle is assumed.
• In regard to probable opinion, we can derive great assistance from coherence, which we rejected as the definition of truth, but often use as a criterion. A body of individually probable opinions, if they are mutually coherent, become more probable than any one of them would be individually. It is in this way that many scientific hypotheses acquire their probability. They fit into a coherent system of probable opinions, and thus become more probable than they would be in isolation. The same thing applies to general philosophical hypotheses. Often in a single case such hypotheses may seem highly doubtful, while yet, when we consider the order and coherence which they introduce into a mass of probable opinion, they become pretty nearly certain. This applies, in particular, to such matters as the distinction between dreams and waking life. If our dreams, night after night, were as coherent one with another as our days, we should hardly know whether to believe the dreams or the waking life. As it is, the test of coherence condemns the dreams and confirms the waking life. But this test, though it increases probability where it is successful, never gives absolute certainty, unless there is certainty already at some point in the coherent system. Thus the mere organization of probable opinion will never, by itself, transform it into indubitable knowledge.
• Philosophy, like all other studies, aims primarily at knowledge. The knowledge it aims at is the kind of knowledge which gives unity and system to the body of sciences, and the kind which results from a critical examination of the grounds of our convictions, prejudices, and beliefs. But it cannot be maintained that philosophy has had any very great measure of success in its attempts to provide definite answers to its questions. If you ask a mathematician, a mineralogist, a historian, or any other man of learning, what definite body of truths has been ascertained by his science, his answer will last as long as you are willing to listen. But if you put the same question to a philosopher, he will, if he is candid, have to confess that his study has not achieved positive results such as have been achieved by other sciences. It is true that it is partly accounted for by the fact that, as soon as definite knowledge concerning any subject becomes possible, this subject ceases to be called philosophy, and becomes a separate science. The whole study of heavens, which now belongs to astronomy, was once included in philosophy; Newton's great work was called 'the mathematical principles of natural philosophy'. Similarly, the study of the human mind, which was a part of philosophy, has now been separated from philosophy and has become the science of psychology. Thus, to a great extent, the uncertainty of philosophy is more apparent than real: those questions which are already capable of definite answers are placed in the sciences, while those only to which, at present, no definite answer can be given, remain to form the residue which is called philosophy.
• The value of philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its very uncertainty. The man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation or consent of his deliberate reason. To such a man the world tends to become definite, finite, obvious; common objects rouse no questions, and unfamiliar possibilities are contemptuously rejected. As soon as we begin to philosophize, on the contrary, we find, as we saw in our opening chapters, that even the most everyday things lead to problems to which only very incomplete answers can be given. Philosophy, though unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom. Thus while diminishing our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it greatly increases our knowledge as to what they may be; it removes the somewhat arrogant dogmatism of those who have never travelled into the region of liberating doubt, and it keeps alive our sense of wonder by showing familiar things in unfamiliar aspect. Apart from its utility in showing unsuspected possibilities, philosophy has a value - perhaps its chief value - through the greatness of the objects which it contemplates, and the freedom from narrow and personal aims resulting from this contemplation. The life of the instinctive man is shut up within the circle of his private interests: family and friends may be included, but the outer world is not regarded except as it may help or hinder what comes within the circle of instinctive wishes. In such a life there is something feverish and confined, in comparison with which the philosophic life is calm and free. The private world of instinctive interests is a small one, set in the midst of a great and powerful world which must, sooner or later, lay our private world in ruins. Unless we can so enlarge our interests as to include the whole outer world, we remain like a garrison in a beleaguered fortress, knowing that the enemy prevents escape and that ultimate surrender is inevitable. In such a life there is no peace, but a constant strife between the insistence of desire and the powerlessness of will. In one way or another, if our life is to be great and free, we must escape this prison and this strife....Thus to sum up our discussion of the value of philosophy: Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions, since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination, and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because, through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great, and becomes capable of that union with the universe which constitutes its highest good.
  

2. The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch

• One comparatively simple and comprehensible theory can cover an infinity of indigestible facts....What makes the general theory of relativity so important is not that it can predict planetary motions a shade more accurately than Newton's theory can, but that it reveals and explains previously unsuspected aspects of reality, such as the curvature of space and time.
• To instrumentalists, the idea that science can enable us to understand the underlying reality that accounts for our observations is a fallacy and a conceit. They do not see how anything a scientific theory may say beyond predicting the outcomes of experiments can be more than empty words. Explanations, in particular, they regard as mere psychological props: a sort of fiction which we incorporate in theories to make them more easily remembered and entertaining.
• The overwhelming majority of theories are rejected because they contain bad explanations, not because they fail experimental tests. We reject them without ever bothering to test them. For example, consider the theory that eating a kilogram of grass is a cure for the common cold. That theory makes experimentally testable predictions: if people tried the grass cure and found it ineffective, the theory would be proved false. But it has never been tested and probably never will be, because it contains no explanation — either of how the cure would work, or of anything else. We rightly presume it to be false. There are always infinitely many possible theories of that sort, compatible with existing observations and making new predictions, so we could never have the time or resources to test them all. What we test are new theories that seem to show promise of explaining things better than the prevailing ones do....Passing experimental tests is only one of many things a theory has to do to achieve the real purpose of science, which is to explain the world....The deeper an explanation is, the more remote from immediate experience are the entities to which it must refer. But these entities are not fictional: on the contrary, they are part of the very fabric of reality.
• The more we discover, it seems, the further and more irrevocably we are propelled into the age of the specialist, and the more remote is that hypothetical ancient time when a single person's understanding might have encompassed all that was understood.
• As new theories supersede old ones, our knowledge is becoming both broader (as new subjects are created) and deeper (as our fundamental theories explain more, and become more general). Depth is winning. Thus we are not heading away from a state in which one person could understand everything that was understood, but towards it.
• ....single-particle interference phenomena unequivocally rule out the possibility that the tangible universe around us is all that exists....In interference experiments there can be places in a shadow-pattern that go dark when new openings are made in the barrier casting the shadow. This remains true even when the experiment is performed with individual particles. A chain of reasoning based on this fact rules out the possibility that the universe we see around us constitutes the whole of reality. In fact the whole of physical reality, the multiverse, contains vast numbers of parallel universes.
• A scientific argument is intended to persuade us that a given explanation is the best one available. It does not and could not say anything about how that explanation will fare when, in the future, it is subjected to new types of criticism and compared with explanations that have yet to be invented. A good explanation may make good predictions about the future, but the one thing that no explanation can even begin to predict is the content or quality of its own future rivals....Scientific problem-solving always includes a particular method of rational criticism, namely experimental testing. Where two or more rival theories make conflicting predictions about the outcome of an experiment, the experiment is performed and the theory or theories that made false predictions are abandoned. The very construction of scientific conjectures is focused on finding explanations that have experimentally testable predictions. Ideally we are always seeking crucial experimental tests — experiments whose outcomes, whatever they are, will falsify one or more of the contending theories....If a theory about observable events is untestable — that is, if no
  possible observation would rule it out — then it cannot by itself explain why those events happen in the way they are observed to and not in some other way.For example, the ‘angel’ theory of planetary motion is untestable because no matter how planets moved, that motion could be attributed to angels; therefore the angel theory cannot explain the particular motions that we see, unless it is supplemented by an independent theory of how angels move. That is why there is a methodological rule in science which says that once an experimentally testable theory has passed the appropriate tests, any less testable rival theories about the same phenomena are summarily rejected, for their explanations are bound to be inferior.
• According to inductivism, scientific theories are discovered by extrapolating the results of observations, and justified when corroborating observations are obtained. In fact, inductive reasoning is invalid, and it is impossible lo extrapolate observations unless one already has an explanatory framework for them. But the refutation of inductivism, and also the real solution of the problem of induction, depends on recognizing that science is a process not of deriving predictions from observations, but of finding explanations. We seek explanations when we encounter a problem with existing ones. We then embark on a problem-solving process. New explanatory theories begin as unjustified conjectures, which are criticized and compared according to the criteria inherent in the problem. Those that fail to survive this criticism are abandoned. The survivors become the new prevailing theories, some of which are themselves problematic and so lead us to seek even better explanations. The whole process resembles biological evolution. Thus we acquire ever more knowledge of reality by solving problems and finding better explanations. But when all is said and done, problems and explanations are located within the human mind, which owes its reasoning power to a fallible brain, and its supply of information to fallible senses. What, then, entitles a human mind to draw conclusions about objective, external reality from its own purely subjective experience and reason?

3. Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics
4. The Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics by Jammer
5. Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics : MIT OpenCourseWare

6. What is Explanation? by Manning

On "I"

If all of me is a collection of interacting entities devoid of any "sense," who actually then am "I"?

1. Gödel, Escher, Bach, MIT Opencourseware Lectures
2. I am a Strange Loop by Hofstadter

3. Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett

4. The Astonishing Hypothesis by Francis Crick

On Memory

What is memory?

How do memories form?

How is the temporal order of memories maintained?

1. Physiology of Our Memory:
2. The Physiology of Memory
3. In Search of Memory
   

On Dreams

What really is a dream?

Why do we have dreams?

1. The Nature and Function of Dreams by Rachel Berman:

Most dreams occur in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep.

During the time of Freud (1856-1939) no knowledge of Inhibitory neurons was at hand, only Excitatory neurons were considered. Freud concluded that "nervous energy" - caused by some excitation, perhaps by a thought - wanders around until it finds a way to manifest itself may be in the form of visual imagery or dream.

Drs. Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley proposes the "Activation-Synthesis Model" : dreaming is caused physiologically by a “dream state generator,” which is located in the brain stem. It is “on” during REM sleep, while all sensory input and motor output are blocked, and the neurons in the cerebral cortex are activated by random impulses that generate sensory information within the nervous system. As Hobson and McCarley put it: “the activated forebrain then synthesizes the dream out of internally generated information, trying its best to make sense out of the nonsense it is being presented with."

Hobson’s and McCartey’s treatment of symbol formation is also in direct opposition with Freudian conception. They believe that “bizarre features” of a dream world are simply a reflection of the bizarre state (the bombardment with internal excitory signals, etc.) of the dreaming brain. That is, in the construction of a dream “the forebrain may be making the best of a bad job in producing even a partially coherent dream imagery from the relatively noisy signals sent up to it from the brain stem.” This implies that dreams have no emotional content since they are triggered only by sensory and motor aspects of bodily activity.

2. Dreams - Physiology:

We dream about 2 hrs a day. Lucid dreaming is when one becomes aware of one's own dreaming and may be able to control it.

3. Physiology and Psychology of Dreams by Alan S. Eiser: Though it has been found out that 80% of REM awakenings yield dreams, there are significant mental activities in NREM also. Typically, it is more thought like, fragmentary, and related to daily concerns than the vivid, hallucinatory, predominantly visual narratives that are most commonly reported from REM sleep. But even this distinction appears not to be absolute. There is now wide acceptance of the view that some dreaming that is indistinguishable from REM sleep dreaming occurs in NREM sleep, most frequently in the sleep-onset period.

It is a centrally important observation that dreaming undergoes a process of development and that it must be viewed in the context of the child’s developing cognitive capacities.

The Positronic Man

"The imperfections -- the weaknesses -- the imprecisions -- they are the very things which define humans as human. And which drive them to transcend their own failings." And finally Andrew became human and died. It is a deep and touching story, a great one. I suspected at the beginning that it was the story on which the film, The Bicentennial Man was based which I watched (lovingly) twice before, but that did in no respect make me to stop reading or reading with lesser delight at any moment.

Some tidbit questions...

1. Why do we cry when we are emotionally moved? [I did not find any very satisfying answer. Some things about this part of brain activates that part of gland etc. but why in the first place this chain gets started seems not to have been known yet. One explanation (or) is, it signals that I am in particular distress or state and others know what to do. Other explanation says some extra hormones have to be gotten rid of.]