Latest news with #CarlSagan
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Dating? That's turning out to be a tall order for shorter folks
Dating? That's turning out to be a tall order for shorter folks Ketaki Desai TNN Jun 21, 2025, 18:37 IST IST The arranged marriage market was always skewed against short men and tall women. Now, height filters are taking biases into the app age Carl Sagan once described the depth of love as something that 'can be calibrated by the number of different selves that are actively involved in a given relationship'. But what about the height of love? How does one measure that? According to some modern Indian daters, it's somewhere around 6 feet tall. Height has long played a role in dating and attraction. But with apps ruling dating and shaadi prospects alike, this preference is starting to feel more like a requirement for some daters. Tinder recently announced that they're testing a height filter, which allows premium users to only see matches in the height range of their choosing. Other apps, like Bumble and Hinge , have similar filters for paid users.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
The PhD Crisis: Are universities sacrificing quality for quantity in education?
About 1 500 graduating students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's spring graduation. The writer says today we mass-produce doctoral graduates like factory widgets, sacrificing quality at the altar of quantity. Image: File/Supplied I WOULD like to address an aspect which has been bothering me for quite some time now. I hope that it will be read critically without necessarily creating any unnecessary consternation. If it does, I would let John Stuart Mill, in his book On Liberty defend me when he posits that: 'The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generations; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.' There was a time when the words 'Doctor of Philosophy' carried weight — a sacred trust between society and its thinkers. Today, I watch with growing dismay as we mass-produce doctoral graduates like factory widgets, sacrificing quality at the altar of quantity. The brain, as Carl Sagan reminded us, 'is like a muscle. When it is in use, we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.' Yet, where is this joy in our current academic landscape? Mediocrity has become our unwritten curriculum. It manifests in doctoral theses that contribute nothing but recycled platitudes, in supervisors who prioritise speedy completions over substantive work, and in universities that measure success by graduation statistics rather than intellectual impact. I recall one particularly egregious example: A doctoral candidate whose entire thesis concluded that 'corruption will never end'. This wasn't scholarship — it was intellectual surrender dressed in academic regalia. Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Alfred North Whitehead saw this coming nearly a century ago when he warned: 'The race which does not value trained intelligence is doomed. Not all your heroism, not all your social charm, not all your wit, not all your victories on land or at sea, can move back the finger of fate.' His words haunt me as I review dissertation after dissertation that fail to meet even basic standards of original thought. The problem runs deeper than individual failings. We've created a system that actively discourages excellence. Consider these disturbing trends: The Funding Paradox: Universities receive more funding for higher graduation numbers, creating perverse incentives to push students through regardless of quality. I've witnessed committees approve subpar work because 'the department needs the numbers'. Universities receive more funding for higher graduation numbers, creating perverse incentives to push students through regardless of quality. I've witnessed committees approve subpar work because 'the department needs the numbers'. The Death of Mentorship: Where once professors guided protégés through years of intellectual development, today's advisors often view students as administrative burdens. The art of nurturing thinkers has been replaced by the mechanics of processing candidates. Where once professors guided protégés through years of intellectual development, today's advisors often view students as administrative burdens. The art of nurturing thinkers has been replaced by the mechanics of processing candidates. We're increasingly governed by those who 'discount principle in favour of expediency, subordinate ideas to utility, and equivocate while critical issues swarm about them.' This managerial class has turned our universities into degree mills. The Rise of the Administrative Mind: The great social critic Neil Postman saw this coming when he argued that television had transformed education into 'edutainment'. His warning applies equally to our current digital age: 'Our bewilderment has resulted from our notion that salvation depends on information. The remedy may be a return to the process of rational thought.' Similarly, Nicholas Carr's research in *The Shallows* demonstrates how 'the internet is literally rewiring our brains and inducing only superficial understanding'. Is it any wonder our doctoral candidates struggle with deep, sustained thought when their entire education has conditioned them for distraction? All is not lost. We can reclaim academia's soul by: Reinstating Rigour: As E Grady Bogue insisted, we must restore 'the hallmarks of quality' — participation, expectation, risk, dissent, ambiguity, optimism and compassion. These cannot be measured by metrics, but they define true scholarship. As E Grady Bogue insisted, we must restore 'the hallmarks of quality' — participation, expectation, risk, dissent, ambiguity, optimism and compassion. These cannot be measured by metrics, but they define true scholarship. Valuing Time: John Henry Newman understood that true education requires immersion: 'The general principles of any study you may learn by books at home; but the detail, the colour, the tone, the air, the life which makes it live in us, you must catch all these from those in whom it lives already.' We must give students time to breathe, to think, to fail, and to grow. John Henry Newman understood that true education requires immersion: 'The general principles of any study you may learn by books at home; but the detail, the colour, the tone, the air, the life which makes it live in us, you must catch all these from those in whom it lives already.' We must give students time to breathe, to think, to fail, and to grow. Honouring Purpose: John Gardner's words remain essential: 'People would rather work hard for something they believe in than enjoy a pampered idleness… We want meaning in our lives.' Our doctoral programmes must be about more than degrees — they must be about the pursuit of truth. To my colleagues: We became academics because we believed in the life of the mind. Let us have the courage to demand more from our students, from our institutions, and most importantly, from ourselves. The administrative machinery will always push for more graduates, faster completions, and easier standards. We must be the counterweight.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Hey aliens, here's our new album! How do you follow up a 50-year-old record that's hurtling through space?
It's almost 50 years since one of the strangest records ever made was launched – not into the pop charts but into the farthest reaches of outer space. Known as the Golden Record, this 12-inch, gold-plated copper disc was an album compiled by astronomer Carl Sagan featuring everything from classical music and spoken-word greetings to the sounds of nature and a blast of Chuck Berry's Jonny B Goode. Humans could enjoy it, of course, but they weren't the target audience. Rather, a copy was placed on Voyager 1 and 2, the two space probes launched in 1977, in the hope that they would one day be discovered and listened to by an alien life form. The Golden Record came with various diagrammatic instructions on how to play it correctly. But as to what aliens might make of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto, the sounds of humpback whales and a greeting in the Chinese dialects Wu, we will never know. Both Voyager probes are still intact, currently hurtling through the Kuiper belt in interstellar space, but we are likely to lose contact with them in around a decade's time. This means we will miss the Golden Record's first realistic chance of being discovered – when it's expected to pass within 1.6 light years of the star Gliese 445 in 40,000 years' time. And yet the record continues to inspire. It's certainly the key influence behind Earth Rising: Messages from the Pale Blue Dot, the first in a series of three audio works by arts organisation Artangel that are being released on digital platforms in the run-up to the Golden Record's 50th anniversary. 'I visit artist studios and hear what they're grappling with,' says Artangel director Mariam Zulfiqar. 'They worry about what digital technology has done to human connection, this looming fear of climate, the state of geopolitics. Yet, within that fear, is also an enormous hope for what they believe humanity could be – and a desire to keep making new work that shows us a different perspective on ourselves.' Zulfiqar has been fascinated with the Golden Record ever since she was a child growing up in Pakistan. 'To send this out there without knowing what would happen is quite romantic, especially in today's outcome-driven world,' she says. So she came up with an idea: what if we made a modern version of the Golden Record that was less concerned with introducing ourselves to aliens and more about introducing humanity to itself? She got to work inviting artists from around the world to contribute. The result is a collection of poems and experimental compositions that grapple with our present moment. Sebastián Riffo Valdebenito creates a track from the sounds of rock carving at the petroglyph site of Valle del Encanto in Coquimbo, Chile, while Michel Nieva contributes The Alien Mother, a short story set in a future where humanity has colonised Mars. Elsewhere, there are poems about US turmoil, ethereal songs created using just the human voice, and what is described as a 'sonic invocation' that honours the calabash, a hard-shelled type of fruit used to make instruments. It's almost as diverse and confounding as the Golden Record itself which, along with its various audio recordings, featured 115 images encoded in analogue form (a circle, a track athlete, etc) and a condensed recording of Sagan's wife's brainwaves, captured while she thought deeply about the Earth's history and various human experiences such as falling in love (I'd like to see you work that one out, aliens!). 'What surprised me is the connections,' says Zulfiqar. 'There's a beautiful line in Nigerian poet Ofem Ubi's piece Family Tree that says, 'In my attempts at tethering, I have loved many people, countries, ghosts.' That sense of lost love is echoed in some of the other works. Similarly, Emilia Álvarez and Max Cooper both made music using sounds from the human body.' The latter's track, Rhythm of Harmony (A Representation of Music), is the contribution most likely to have worked on the original LP. Inspired by some of the more withering responses to the Golden Record by philosophers of the time, who mocked the idea that other life forms would have a clue how to read the instructions, never mind appreciate, say, the traditional Aboriginal song Devil Bird, Cooper set about making a record that would have the best chance of making sense to an alien. His piece is based on a series of rhythmic clicks that gradually speed up until they make the sound of a tone, at least to human ears. 'I've assumed the alien that discovers this is spacefaring, so they're probably more advanced than us and their transition from individual sounds to tones maybe happens at a much higher frequency than ours,' he says. 'So they won't hear these nice tones like we do – what they'll hear is the relationship in terms of the rhythms of the clicks. I wanted to break music down to the simplest source of sound that an alien might be able to understand.' Cooper has a science background – he holds a PhD in computational biology and previously worked as a geneticist – which he puts to good use when I ask questions such as: what if aliens haven't evolved hearing in the same way we have? 'There's a thing called convergent evolution,' he says. 'On Earth, the eye has evolved multiple times independently. It's the same with other senses like hearing. That gives us reason to believe that aliens would have similar senses. It's not watertight but you can definitely make that argument.' Cooper's track is embellished with huge 1980s synth chords that give it a brilliantly retro sci-fi feel, a concession to the fact that it's currently only going to be heard by humans. 'Originally, the plan was for it to be made only with sounds made by the body, but the chords that came from just the body were pretty nasty,' he says. 'I love conceptual music but I wanted to make something that was nice to listen to as well.' Trying to empathise with the sensory evolution of an alien race is an act of optimism that chimes with the original spirit of the Golden Record. But other contributions to Earth Rising strike a bleaker note: dehumanisation, fascism and grief are all picked over by the various artists. Porsha Olayiwola's scathing In Alignment With the Women Before Me documents the horrors that have taken place on American soil in recent years, namechecking Amber Thurman, the 28-year-old medical assistant who died of septic shock in Georgia after a medical abortion. It also references Aaron Bushnell, the 25-year-old serviceman who set himself alight outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC. 'I struggle with my role as a poet/writer/artist/witness,' says Olayiwola. 'Part of me always wants to do more than write – I want to organise and protest and mobilise. I ask, 'What can I do with my pencil? What can I do with my voice?' I thought, if anything, we must begin to speak about these things. Acknowledge and witness and document these atrocities. And perhaps we will begin to intervene.' I wonder if the despair of today is a little jarring considering the hope and optimism of the original project, but Zulfiqar disagrees. 'Even when somebody is saying something quite bleak,' she says, 'it reflects that they believe things could be better.' Olayiwola agrees: 'We only leave the bleakness behind if we elect to look it directly in the eye, and shape our future accordingly. My poem serves as a reflection of the abyss. May it be as dark as the night sky in which we may see a glimmer of a star.' Earth Rising: Messages from the Pale Blue Dot is out now
Economic Times
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
'What a magical thing that is': Carl Sagan's wise words on reading books are the fresh breeze we need amid digital brain rot
A resurfaced 1977 Carl Sagan clip warns against intellectual decline, a vital message today as "brain rot" proliferates. Sagan championed reading as a magical connection to past minds and stressed nurturing childhood curiosity. (Images: X/@carlsagandotcom , iStock) A resurfaced video of legendary astronomer Carl Sagan from a 1977 appearance on The Tonight Show is sparking crucial conversations, offering profound insights amidst widespread concerns about dwindling attention spans and the pervasive "brain rot" of the digital era. As screens dominate and algorithms dictate our daily lives, Sagan's wise words on the sheer power of reading books and nurturing curious minds feel less like a relic of the past and more like an urgent plea for our intellectual the captivating 1977 clip, Sagan, a master communicator of science, articulated the almost unbelievable power held within a book. "The whole idea of what happens when you read a book I find absolutely stunning," he told Johnny Carson. He marveled at how "some product of a tree with little black squiggles on it" could open up, revealing "the voice of someone speaking who may have been dead 3,000 years, and yet there he is talking directly to you. What a magical thing that is." This timeless connection through the written word, a direct link to minds across centuries, stands in stark contrast to the fleeting nature of digital content. Sagan didn't stop at the magic of books; he delved into the inherent curiosity of children, a vital "natural resource" he believed we are tragically wasting. He observed that children "start out eager, intellectually wide-eyed, asking extremely clever questions." Yet, he lamented, "something happens, by and large, to discourage them."He highlighted how dismissive responses to profound questions, like "Mommy, why is the grass green?", teach children "there's something bad about using the mind." Sagan warned that in perilous times, facing "complex and subtle problems" requires individuals capable of "complex and subtle solutions"—a capacity nurtured through intellectual engagement and curiosity. Sagan's 1977 observations are eerily prescient today. The Oxford 2024 Word of the Year, "brain rot," encapsulates widespread anxiety about declining attention spans. Data from Gallup and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a steady decline in American reading habits. In a conversation on NPR, author Elaine Castillo noted that "massive corporations have essentially captured the capacities in us for reading," offering "momentary dopamine hits" that replace reading's restorative aspects. Abdullah Shihipar of Brown University added that reading a book requires a higher "mental load" than casual scrolling, and studies suggest reading physical media is "superior" to screen reading, which often encourages skimming. The education sector sounds a loud alarm. A former English and digital arts teacher, Hannah, recently resigned with a viral video, lamenting that "a lot of kids don't know how to read," and that AI tools are eroding critical thinking. She witnessed students unable to write basic sentences, and essays produced entirely by ChatGPT, with students showing little concern over plagiarism. Hannah's drastic suggestion: "We need to cut it off. Let them learn how to think again."Abdullah Shihipar, in an NPR conversation, cited a Duke study showing a 12% decline in reading comprehension when AI tools were used. Elaine Castillo articulated a deeper fear: that we might "abdicate our own humanity and our capacity to read, to contemplate, to wrestle with difficult concepts." She emphasized reading's role in building empathy and fostering a "capacity for defiance." The statistics are stark: roughly half of American adults read below a sixth-grade level. Beyond cognitive benefits, reading boasts tangible health advantages; Shihipar mentioned a study indicating a 20% decrease in mortality for book readers, independent of wealth or age. Carl Sagan's powerful message from decades ago offers a vital path forward. His emphasis on the magic of books and the nurturing of intellectual curiosity is not just nostalgic; it's a strategic blueprint for preserving our minds, our empathy, and our ability to navigate the complexities of our world. It's time to heed his timeless wisdom.
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
'What a magical thing that is': Carl Sagan's wise words on reading books are the fresh breeze we need amid digital brain rot
A resurfaced video of legendary astronomer Carl Sagan from a 1977 appearance on The Tonight Show is sparking crucial conversations, offering profound insights amidst widespread concerns about dwindling attention spans and the pervasive " brain rot " of the digital era. As screens dominate and algorithms dictate our daily lives, Sagan's wise words on the sheer power of reading books and nurturing curious minds feel less like a relic of the past and more like an urgent plea for our intellectual survival. The Unseen Magic of Books In the captivating 1977 clip, Sagan, a master communicator of science, articulated the almost unbelievable power held within a book. "The whole idea of what happens when you read a book I find absolutely stunning," he told Johnny Carson. He marveled at how "some product of a tree with little black squiggles on it" could open up, revealing "the voice of someone speaking who may have been dead 3,000 years, and yet there he is talking directly to you. What a magical thing that is." This timeless connection through the written word, a direct link to minds across centuries, stands in stark contrast to the fleeting nature of digital content. Nurturing Curiosity: A Crucial Investment Sagan didn't stop at the magic of books; he delved into the inherent curiosity of children, a vital "natural resource" he believed we are tragically wasting. He observed that children "start out eager, intellectually wide-eyed, asking extremely clever questions." Yet, he lamented, "something happens, by and large, to discourage them." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Help abandoned elders today HelpAge India Donate Now Undo He highlighted how dismissive responses to profound questions, like "Mommy, why is the grass green?", teach children "there's something bad about using the mind." Sagan warned that in perilous times, facing "complex and subtle problems" requires individuals capable of "complex and subtle solutions"—a capacity nurtured through intellectual engagement and curiosity. The Digital Threat: From Doomscrolling to AI Apathy Sagan's 1977 observations are eerily prescient today. The Oxford 2024 Word of the Year, "brain rot," encapsulates widespread anxiety about declining attention spans. Data from Gallup and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a steady decline in American reading habits. In a conversation on NPR, author Elaine Castillo noted that "massive corporations have essentially captured the capacities in us for reading," offering "momentary dopamine hits" that replace reading's restorative aspects. Abdullah Shihipar of Brown University added that reading a book requires a higher "mental load" than casual scrolling, and studies suggest reading physical media is "superior" to screen reading, which often encourages skimming. You Might Also Like: How 'doomscrolling' before bed is wrecking your health? New study confirms our fears The education sector sounds a loud alarm. A former English and digital arts teacher, Hannah, recently resigned with a viral video, lamenting that "a lot of kids don't know how to read," and that AI tools are eroding critical thinking. She witnessed students unable to write basic sentences, and essays produced entirely by ChatGPT, with students showing little concern over plagiarism. Hannah's drastic suggestion: "We need to cut it off. Let them learn how to think again." Abdullah Shihipar, in an NPR conversation, cited a Duke study showing a 12% decline in reading comprehension when AI tools were used. Elaine Castillo articulated a deeper fear: that we might "abdicate our own humanity and our capacity to read, to contemplate, to wrestle with difficult concepts." She emphasized reading's role in building empathy and fostering a "capacity for defiance." A Call to Reclaim Our Minds The statistics are stark: roughly half of American adults read below a sixth-grade level. Beyond cognitive benefits, reading boasts tangible health advantages; Shihipar mentioned a study indicating a 20% decrease in mortality for book readers, independent of wealth or age. Carl Sagan's powerful message from decades ago offers a vital path forward. His emphasis on the magic of books and the nurturing of intellectual curiosity is not just nostalgic; it's a strategic blueprint for preserving our minds, our empathy, and our ability to navigate the complexities of our world. It's time to heed his timeless wisdom. You Might Also Like: Teacher quits after 3 years with chilling warning about AI: 'Tech is destroying our kids… They can't read or think anymore' You Might Also Like: When you suffer huge stock market losses, Warren Buffett suggests reading his favourite poem
