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What Is a Mobius Strip?/How to Make an Ant's Life HarderYou may have heard your maths-crazy friends talking animatedly a...
09/03/2020

What Is a Mobius Strip?/How to Make an Ant's Life Harder
You may have heard your maths-crazy friends talking animatedly about Mobius strips. And believe me, they do have some exciting properties (yes, even for certified maths-haters).
First things first. The strip is named after a fellow called Mobius, who was one of the two mathematicians who discovered it independently.
You may be surprised to learn that making a Mobius strip is quite easy. In fact, you can make one right now as you read this post.
Take a strip of paper. Give one half-twist---or more than one if you want, but remember to give an odd number of half-twists---to one end and then stick the two ends together to form a loop.
Hopefully you have ended up with a loop like the one in the picture. (If not, I can't come and help you, can I? Go watch a video or something.)
Now we come to the 'making ants' lives harder' part. You see, if an ant started from any particular point on this strip and wanted to return to the same point, she would have to make 2 trips around the loop.
Don't believe me? Trace your fingers around the strip and see for yourself.
A Mobius strip is special because it has only one continuous side.
But of course, Mobius strips were not designed to trouble ants. They have been used in a variety of technology.
For instance, they have been used as conveyor belts. That way, the whole surface of the belt is utilized and gets the wear-and-tear.
Tell us if you had fun playing with your Mobius strip!
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Did Aurungzeb Really Destroy Temples?/History is FluidThe 17th century Mughal emperor Aurungzeb has got a pretty bad rap...
09/03/2020

Did Aurungzeb Really Destroy Temples?/History is Fluid
The 17th century Mughal emperor Aurungzeb has got a pretty bad rap. As far as most people's imaginations are concerned, he seems to be Satan, Voldemort, and Darth Vader rolled into one.
So dark is his image, one can almost imagine a 21st century retake movie on him, since gray is the flavor of the season.
And such an attempt would be welcome too.
Because guess what? Historians are also human---prone to making mistakes and acting upon biases.
One of the charges that are frequently brought against Aurungzeb is that he destroyed many Hindu temples.
But modern historians are of the view that he destroyed temples only in places where there was rebellion against his rule. He is also said to have protected a far greater number of temples than he destroyed.
Now all of this is not to say that Aurungzeb was Mr. Goody Two-Shoes. But only to suggest that he may not have been evil personified.
Why don't you reexamine your most deeply held opinions about your arch enemy (you know who I am talking about)? Who knows what might come out of it.

What is Metafiction?/Don't Always Judge a Post by Its Title"You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel . ....
09/03/2020

What is Metafiction?/Don't Always Judge a Post by Its Title
"You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel . . . . Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought."
Thus began Italo Calvino's 'If on a Winter's Night a Traveller,' which is held to be a classic of the metafiction genre.
Now, don't scroll down. Some of your favorite movies (think 'Deadpool') might contain metafictional elements.
Done with the gripping introduction? Now let's get around to understanding what metafiction is.
Any fictional enterprise that self-consciously draws our attention to the fact that what we are reading or viewing is in fact a work of fiction, is metafictional.
I know. This seems counterintuitive.
But when properly done, metafiction can help us engage more deeply with storytelling conventions, surprise us with insights on reading and writing, and make the narrative fresher and more fun.
Can you impress us with your metafiction-inspired comments?

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Why Are Midterm Elections Held in the US?/Do Americans suffer from PCS (Perpetual Campaigning Syndrome)?Americans seem t...
09/03/2020

Why Are Midterm Elections Held in the US?/Do Americans suffer from PCS (Perpetual Campaigning Syndrome)?
Americans seem to be always gearing up for some election, don't they?
In addition to the elections held at the end of a president's term, the midterm elections are held---as is obvious---in the middle of a president's term to elect members to the House of Representatives (lower house). Thus, House of Representatives elections are held every two years in the US (in even years).
Some argue that the midterm elections are a needless distraction.
But they prevent unrestrained exercise of power by the party that is in majority. They also ensure greater accountability (in the same way that a looming deadline awakens the workaholic in us!).
The midterm elections could be compared to half-yearly report cards. And they are usually not kind to the president's party. The gentleman (🙃) in the picture above got a taste of this after the last one held in 2018.
(Democrats gained a majority in the House of Representatives, but the Republicans retained control of the Senate, the upper house.)
Can you see any downside to midterm elections? Tell us in the comments!
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Why Do We Have Leap Years?/The Chilly Winds of July?You have probably read or heard somewhere that the Earth takes 365 d...
09/03/2020

Why Do We Have Leap Years?/The Chilly Winds of July?
You have probably read or heard somewhere that the Earth takes 365 days to complete a revolution around the Sun. But life is seldom so neat, is it?
The Earth actually takes approximately 365 1/4 days to complete a revolution. That is, an additional 6 hours (approximately). To avoid the seasons and the calendar going out of sync with each other, an extra day is added to poor February every four years.
(The other months don't really take February very seriously. "Don't you need at least 30 days to qualify as a month!" they mutter darkly.)
If there were no leap days, in a few hundred years it would be winter in July! 😮
Image credit: Vincent Le Moign, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en).
#29 #2020 💯

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