Watchful eyes, thoughtful mind: history

Showing posts with label history. Show all posts

23 Jul 2010

Sound of music ... circa 3400 BC

Usually when one thinks of or talks about archaeological discovery the ideas that often come to mind are tombs, graves, foundations of houses, grain houses and temples, roads built, rituals written and pottery shards broken. How many times does one think of musical compositions or instructions for assembling and playing an instrument? Very rarely if not not at all.

In Syria, a musical scholar has done something unusual. Ziad Ajjan has composed eight poetry and musical pieces from the musical archaeological cuneiform tablet known as "Hymn of Supplication". This tablet dating back to 1400 BC was discovered in the ancient town of Ugarit, about 260 kilometers north of Damascus, in the early 20th century. The article reporting this rare act of musical composition tells us,

The tablet contains a complete hymn, both words and music, in addition to detailed performance instructions for a singer accompanied by a harpist as well as instructions on how to tune the harp.

I was not sure if and where I could find the audios of this music tracks. So I Googled "Syria ugarit music" and lo and behold! I actually found something similar but even more interesting. Looks like composer Malek Jandali has beaten Ziad Ajjan to it (assuming that Ajjan's composition is a 2010 feat). He has released an album in 2009 named Echoes from Ugarit which consists of 8 tracks based on the oldest music notation in the world which was discovered in Ugarit dating back to 3400 B.C. I listened to a couple of samples of Malek's compositions. The fact that they were played on a piano with accompaniment of other modern instruments known to us made them sound not-so-mysterious as I had hoped music about 5400 years ago would sound. But may be if I could listen to these notes on the original instruments that played it or in the voice of original singers that sang it I might have a different experience. Hhmmm ... time machine, anyone?

25 May 2010

TED Tuesday: We need educational revolution!

19 Nov 2009

Silicon valley no more?

New exotic material could revolutionize electronics

Move over, silicon -- it may be time to give the Valley a new name. Physicists at the Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have confirmed the existence of a type of material that could one day provide dramatically faster, more efficient computer chips.

Recently-predicted and much-sought, the material allows electrons on its surface to travel with no loss of energy at room temperatures and can be fabricated using existing semiconductor technologies. Such material could provide a leap in microchip speeds, and even become the bedrock of an entirely new kind of computing industry based on spintronics, the next evolution of electronics. Physicists Yulin Chen, Zhi-Xun Shen and their colleagues tested the behaviour of electrons in the compound bismuth telluride. The results, published online June 11 in Science Express, show a clear signature of what is called a topological insulator, a material that enables the free flow of electrons across its surface with no loss of energy.

So now my generation might be the last one to know the computers as we know them today. Of course this is just one among many other things, like the black and white photographs, black and white television, cars with stick-shift gear, hardcopy (not electronic) scrapbooking etc., that the next generation may never know of! Wow, now THAT makes me feel old!

15 Oct 2009

This time, DON'T vote for "change"

Climate change is real ... and climate change effects are long term. I want to focus on these two aspects of climate change today. In the past I’ve written about global warming, the tipping points of weather patterns to look out for, importance of replanting the rainforests and many other subjects relating to changing ecology of this planet ... changing for worse.

I hope that I do not need to harp too much on the first aspect that the climate change is real. I believe, whether you openly accept it or not, each one of us have realised this by now through our own experiences. There is a debate over whether it is caused by humans or nature. I think the point is moot. Whatever the reason, as the most intelligent and technologically advanced Earthlings, we humans CAN and need to do something about it. If it is caused by us, we definitely need to negate the effects of our deeds on the planet and fellow Earthlings. And for a second if we believe it is natural, as Earthizens (technologically and socially advanced Earthlings) we bear the responsibility of changing the course of this natural phenomenon. After all, it is not going to be the first for us, is it?

The second aspect, however, needs more voice given to it. I do not think enough people realise that climate change is not instantaneous. The results of whatever substances released in the ecosystem that cause these changes are evident only decades later. I believe common people and policy makers alike do not understand this very well. Or the policy makers can mislead common Earthizens due to their ignorance of this fact. The “funny weather” we all are experiencing globally now is caused by emissions 25-30 years ago. And if we cut the emissions now, the effects will show a couple decades later. So we need to be patient and not short-sighted. By the way, ‘emissions’ don’t only mean gases (Green house gases have become synonymous with climate change) but also the liquid and solid forms which are sometimes more detrimental. This is another point on which the general public of the Earth needs to be educated.

To end this post I would say this. We need to do something about climate change because it is real. Whatever the cause the Earthizens have to try their best to slow and possibly revert it, either because we’re responsible for it or because we’re the only ones capable of doing so on Earth. The masses need to be educated about the long term effects of climate change and the power to act lies in their hands rather than a few policy makers.

Take action: http://www.blogactionday.org/en/takeaction

4 Oct 2009

Sunday Spotlight: Ancient scripts

[Image source: AncientScripts.com]

While there are numerous good resources available on the Internet to the student of modern / contemporary languages, same is not the case for someone interested in studying ancient scripts around the world. Given that the number of such people will be very small, this is understandable. However, the creator of the website Ancient Scripts took it onto himself to create first such dedicated website for scripts used by our distant ancestors around the world. The creator, Lawrence Lo, is a software engineer whose spare-time activity involves researching about these ancient scripts and updating the website he created. The website gives comprehensive list of various families of scripts used in ancient and modern times, origins of language and writing, the types of scripts such as syllabic, alphabetic, logophonetic etc. Lawrence has tried to make the website content interesting by making available some fonts as well as games for the visitors of the site to download. The best feature of the website for those interested in further pursuing their own research is the comprehensive listing of references and links to various little sections of websites that talk about ancient scripts. So overall it is a very useful “starting point” for anyone interested in just knowing about or indulging seriously into research about language scripts used thousands of years ago.

From the Internet links section of above site, I came across another website, Omniglot.com, which, as its name suggests, deals with all sorts of languages, not just ancient.

The Peopling of Ancient Egypt & the Deciphering of the Meroitic Script

Scripts of Ancient Northwest Semitic Seals (Harvard Semitic monograph series)

Ancient Scripts from Crete and Cyprus (Publications from the Henri Frankfurt Foundation Vol 9)

Voices in Stone-the Decipherment of Ancient Scripts and Writings

24 Sept 2009

Happy birthday, WETM! You're ONE!!!

I've been meaning to write a post summarising my blog-writing journey for a while. But I couldn't find a better occassion than today to do that. WETM (short for Watchful eyes, thoughtful mind) turns one year old today! Yes, I am definitely excited like a new mum whose child turns one. It is a time for her to remenisce about the past one year when she was busy nurturing the baby.

I wrote my first blog post on this same day, exactly 1 year back. If you read that post, you'll realise my blog has changed directions somewhat from its original plan. YouTube was the starting inspiration but once I plunged into the deep abyss of knowledge (via books, films, internet and more) I found too many interesting ideas that attracted my attention and made me think. Like a little baby enriches the mum with experiences of motherhood, this blog has enriched me with fascinating knowledge and ideas, putting a thinking cap on my head and introducing me to many wonderful human beings.

When I started this blog, I was going through a transformation in my personal life. Traumatic experiences can make your life take a dramatic turn, for better or for worse. In my case, it was definitely for better. As I was trying to understand myself and the inside better, my WETM gave me an opportunity to marvel at the outside, the wonders of nature and also of humankind. With time, I came across films and books and people that showed the direction to connection between the inside and the outside. With my thinking the blog posts changed too. While still sharing the wonderous and fascinating achivements of nature and of mankind with my readers, I looked for a connection between the past and the future, between us and the nature.

I do not know if WETM will grow to a ripe old age along with me or will it die prematurely. Like any mum, I would hope and pray for its long and healthy life, for it to flourish. And more importantly, to be the driving force which would make me think out of the box and let me express those thoughts to others.

Happy birthday, WETM! You're ONE!!!

20 Aug 2009

Decoding antiquity

Development of language and writing as means of communication has been one of the most important features of humans that has separated us from all the other creatures on this planet. All earthlings have some form or other of communication, ranging from chemical to acoustic, depending on their position along the evolutionary ladder. the humans are considered the most evolved in this regard with ability of articulating our speech greatly with help of highly developed vocal organs. The highly developed brain and the ability of gripping and manoeuvring objects uniquely with the opposing thumb also lead to us developing writing system, a feature unequivocally unique to our species.

There still some dispute over the very first culture that seems to have used writing as a form of communication. New discoveries made by archaeologists keep pushing the dates of first use of writing more and more backward. Also, out of all the scripts that have been discovered, not all have been deciphered. Recent history has shown us that any time a new script has been deciphered, be it the Egyptian hieroglyphs or Mayan scriptures, it has had a significant impact on our understanding of that culture. More often than not it has awed us by the sophistication in and knowledge of various fields, from sciences to architecture to politics.

In his article in May 2009, Andrew Robinson of New Scientist tells us about 8 scripts that we still haven't been able to read. The article details the origins of the scripts, their antiquity and why we haven't been able to read them yet. There are various extents of their mystery to us. In some of the cases, the languages are known in their spoken form but only the script hasn't been deciphered, like the Zapotec script from the New world cultures. Other instances are the opposite, like the Proto-Elamite script believed to be the earliest script discovered. And then there are the ultimate puzzlers like

The notoriously solitary Phaistos disc from Crete appears to be the world's oldest "printed" document. The disc, about 15 centimetres in diameter, occupies pride of place at the Heraklion Museum in Crete. Some say it should not be regarded as an undeciphered script because it is in fact a hoax - the Piltdown Man of ancient writing.

Well, after reading the article, being the optimist I am, I chose to focus on the fact that humanity still has 8 more chances of being amazed and humbled by the antiquity. And I hope at least one of that comes true in my lifetime.

16 Aug 2009

Sunday Spotlight: CPAK 2009

CPAK (Conference on Precession and Ancient Knowledge) began in 2004 as a means of bringing together scientists from various disciplines together; scientists who were truly open-minded and were ready to think unconventionally; scientists who didn’t believe all of what the text books tell us and wanted to consider what the so called legends and myths of cultures worldwide say; scientists who wanted to know what really happened on this planet in the past. According to CPAK website, “Over the last five years CPAK has become the premiere gathering place for those interested in ancient cultures, lost knowledge and the cycle of the ages. Leading explorers, authors, professors and scientists make presentations and examine the latest archaeological finds, astronomical research and new interpretations of structures, myth and folklore that shed light on the true history of mankind. The result is an epiphany of awareness as we collectively begin to understand where we came from and where we are going in this ascending age.”

I thought of sharing this event with my readers as I feel at least some of you will find it interesting like I do. This year’s conference is on October 10th at the University of California’s Irvine campus in CA, USA. If you are truly interested, I’ll leave it up to you to visit the website, read, watch and listen more. There are some samples of past presentations at the conference to whet your appetite. Happy “knowledging”!

2 Aug 2009

Sunday Spotlight: Genographic Project

(This image is a screen shot from the Genographic Project's website)

From an article in the New Scientist, I found out about National Geographic’s endeavour to chart the migratory history of humans. It’s called ‘The Genographic Project’ and it involves collecting DNA samples from a vast array of humans (especially indigenous and traditional people) and using sophisticated laboratory and computer analysis to establish the migratory history of as many human beings on this planet as possible. This unprecedented, mammoth, real-time research effort is lead by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Spencer Wells and his team involves renowned international scientists. As creditable and important this project in itself is, I was also very impressed with the website the project has created and maintained.

The ‘Atlas of human journey’ allows you to select an era (from 200,000 to 5000 BC, pre-historic period) and then gives the details of milestones of human migration and evolution in it. On the world map, various routes of human migration are shown which have been ascertained based on the Y-chromosome or mitochondrial DNA analysis. The ‘Globe of human history’ is a section spanning 5000 BC to 2000 AD, the era of recorded human history. A revolving Earth globe can be spun to a desired position and the historical milestones in that geographical region can be read about.

My most favourite and probably the most “information-studded” section of the website is the ‘Genetics overview’. It describes the ideology and methodology behind the DNA analysis and how it actually leads to finding out ones migratory history in a very easy-to-understand, graphics-aided manner. I will not go into too much detail of all the information it shares with the reader and those interested can visit the website if so inclined. But what I learned from this section was that while the Y-chromosome is passed down from father to son, the mitochondrial DNA is passed down from the mother to both son and daughter. Therefore, to track genetic lineage, Y-chromosome acts as the unique “tracking agent” in males whereas mitochondrial DNA serves the same purpose in females. Mutations are random changes in one’s DNA sequence that occur very rarely. But once it has occurred it is carried forward to following generations and therefore can act as “genetic markers” in backtracking the genetic lineage.

The field researchers involved in this project go out to various parts of the world and collect DNA samples from indigenous and traditional people as the main interest is in tracking their migration route out of Africa. However, the project welcomes and encourages general public to send in their DNA samples (which are just a couple of cheek-swabs inside your mouth) as the ultimate goal is to find out migration patterns and history of as many humans as possible. Males have a choice of getting a paternal (Y-chromosome) or a maternal (mitochondrial) DNA tracking done. Female’s DNA can only get them their maternal DNA tracking. But a male member from father’s side of family can send in their sample and that can determine the female’s paternal DNA lineage. For little over a 100 USD, you can find out where all did your ancestors wander before coming to your town where you were born! A REALLY good deal, I’d say. If you’re not convinced, have a look at the website and I’m sure you’ll be a convert. I’m going to get mine done and find out where I really come from. So when are you doing yours?

9 Jul 2009

Oldest surface on Earth

This is a quick post to share with my readers something that I found fascinating. An article in LiveScience by Robert Roy Britt on 5th May 2009 tells us,

A new study of ancient "desert pavement" in Israel's Negev Desert finds a vast region that's been sitting there exposed, pretty much as-is, for about 1.8 million years, according to Ari Matmon and colleagues at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

I was trying to imagine how those scientists must have felt to stand on that desert pavement and realise that they were standing on the most primitve Earth we could find today. I don't know about them but I would find it very exhilerating!

9 Jun 2009

TED Tuesday: African fractal designs

'I am a mathematician, and I would like to stand on your roof.' That is how Ron Eglash greeted many African families he met while researching the fractal patterns he’d noticed in villages across the continent.

Ron Eglash is an ethno-mathematician: he studies the way math and cultures intersect. He has shown that many aspects of African design -- in architecture, art, even hair braiding -- are based on perfect fractal patterns.

7 May 2009

Memory of the world

‘Memory of the world’ is a UNESCO programme aiming at preservation and dissemination of valuable archive holdings and library collections worldwide. The archives are the preservations of our past and the library collections are reflections of our present. The most valuable legacy any civilisation can leave behind, to be found later by its own descendents or some remote civilisation in future, is the written or drawn records of itself. This project is an attempt of contemporary earthlings at that. UNESCO has launched this programme to guard the valuable archive holdings and library collections all over the world against collective amnesia.

As the article by Judith H. Dobrzynski in the Smithsonian Magazine mentions, the compilation began in 1992 and currently includes 158 items such as manuscripts, maps, films, textiles, sound files and other historical documents and artefacts. The register is expanded every odd-numbered year and each UNESCO member (currently 193) can make up to 2 nominations.The UNESCO website for the program gives the details such as its objective and the national and international committees etc. However, at this time the program is not as well known as the UNESCO would like it to be and efforts are on to spread the word around. This would get more people to nominate more documents and artefacts making the register as substantial as possible. By writing this blog post I’m doing my bit in spreading the word about this project to preserve the intellectual, cultural and social properties of our civilisation.

2 May 2009

Animation to the rescue

An excerpt from UCLA Today’s news item ‘Team's re-creation of ancient Karnak brings history of pharaohs to life’ reads, “The result of two years of painstaking research by a team of more than 24 scholars and technicians, Digital Karnak explores how scores of existing ruins may have originally looked and demonstrates how they came to be altered over time as generations of pharaohs put their stamp on the site that served as the religious center for Thebes, the Ancient Egyptian capital during the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.”

This is just one of the numerous examples of the use computer simulation, 3-d modelling and animation has in the scientific research today. These tools have afforded the scientists, from Egyptologists to space researchers, to transcend the barrier of space and time, albeit virtually, and aided the research tremendously. Based on the data already at hand, simulations and animations build a hypothetical image (be it a structure or a flight path) of what could have been or what could be. Having an image or action sequence running in front of one’s eyes is vastly helpful in the areas of research where the scientists haven’t had a chance to be in the place, time or situation they are studying.

Of course animation took its time to reach the sophisticated, 3-d, virtual reality stage that it is in today. The early humans “animated” simple day-to-day scenes by painting a sequence of actions on a vessel which one simply turned to see the “animation”. I’m sure you still remember the ‘flip-books’ when you were in school, pages of which had to be rapidly flipped in order to see a Cricketer play a shot or a soccer player score a goal. That was animation in its good ol’ 2-d form. Even today 2-d animation is useful for simulating the history of World War II or the spread of various religions across the globe. Of course if you are trying to simulate the threat of all the space-junk that orbits around the Earth to a space craft, you need much advanced, 3-d, virtual reality sort of animations.

However, simulations and animations are used mostly for entertainment purpose in our society. Most of it is aimed towards the computer and video games that have zero intellectual-stimulation and high violence-stimulation quotient for the brain. Very few but sensible people use these wonderful tools for edutainment. Someone like Matthew Sweetapple and his Rockford’s Rock Opera tries to educate the children about sustainability and our responsibility towards this planet. Others like the What the bleep?!? team give the viewers some food for thought about whether we really know what we think we know.

18 Apr 2009

Sunday Spotlight: Letters from 2030 and A J Gerst

A few weeks back while randomly surfing from one blog to another, I came upon a very interestingly futuristic blog (which I now follow). It is a fictional look at the world after an abrupt climate change, which is a very realistic possibility for our generation. Eco writers and activists Bob Williamson from Australia and Anthony J Gerst from Iowa, USA are jointly working on a fictional book Letters from 2030 and some excerpts are published on their blog by the same name. The very first post on the blog, titled ‘January 2030. A call to hope.’, starts out vividly describing the polluted and dissolute world of future .....

“He stood looking down on the once busy city streets. The sky is dull even though long ago the pollution for the coal fired power stations that pumped electricity to the dependant urban population have ceased to emit their deadly carbon dioxide. He remembered the promises of the pro-coal lobby and the politicians back in the first decade of the 21st century. ‘We can continue with business as usual – we are investing in clean coal technology and carbon capture and storage’ He researched this in depth back in those days and tried to alert people to the absurdity of their claims. The streets below are now deserted, long since flooded by rising sea levels. The assurances of the science community that the risks of sea level rises of several inches by 2100 now in 2030 seemed like a science and political conspiracy. As they waited during those years to present their peer reviewed verifiable reports to policy makers based on observed outcomes of climate change; climate change didn’t wait with the same patience.”

The tone is set for the blog (and the book) very effectively and reader can’t help but read on, from one post to another. I very much enjoy my read of these “letters from 2030”.

Bob Williamson is the founder and Chair of the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation and the author of ZERO Greenhouse Emissions - The Day the Lights Went Out - Our Future World, published by Strategic Book Publishing New York. Anthony J Gerst is a writer and an eco-warrior who is a columnist for the Galesburg Zephyr, an independent newspaper in Illinois. He also belongs to the Care 2 Connect society, a rather substantial online activist site. I thought of sharing (with his permission) his April column from the Galesburg Zephyr, which explores the possibility of accelerated evolution of organisms in face of sudden and abrupt climate changes.

“Climate Mind Shifts:
I belong to the Care 2 Connect society, a rather substantial online activist site. The other day I was reading their quote of the day. It was from a Swedish botanist; the jest of it was nature does not move forward in leaps and bounds. Really! The problem with the scientific community is the double edge sword of their existence, the scientific method.
The scientific method and the U.S. Senate have a lot in common. They both move via a tradition of acceptance based upon linguistical bombast and societal acceptance. Grant it, one deals with norms and mores, primarily, while the other deals with testing and quantifying across multiple disciplines. My primary problem with this is that climate changing events are still accelerating at an exponential rate. Mankind is destined to still be debating in the full flourish of their oratorical skills against the premise of anthropogenic warming, while the maddening onrush of abrupt climate change transforms the ecosystem beyond his doorstep. Now, back to my little
friend, Swedish style.
Science has not proven evolution beyond theory. I am a full believer in this, but they have failed to show any evidence of it occurring as we live and breathe. They claim the process happens so slowly that we cannot see it. While they may be right, they may be wrong. So let’s propose another concept on the premise of evolution today. It is now becoming a very well accepted idea among the scientific community that abrupt climate change has occurred often in the planet’s history. Be it caused from an extraterrestrial impact, rapid tectonic plate shifts, our current anthropogenic activity, dominant species resource taxation or nova orbital eclipses, abrupt climate change is interwoven into the fabric of Gaia’s cyclical patterns.
It is now speculated that the Amazon rainforest if we continue on our current consumeristic consumptive path, will reach a tipping point when the entire system crashes within a 10-15 year period, then transforms itself into a savanna. During these times of abrupt climate change, one thing is clear, extinction rates for the higher life forms leave holes in the evolutionary window. Today’s theory then is a simple one. When an entire ecosystem like the rainforest can crash and reestablish itself anew within a 30-100 year time frame, does it not make sense that lower fauna with shorter generational life expectancies go through an increased biological transformation to match the flora? Could not the natural system of Gaia offer an accelerated window of evolution when the planet’s entire ecosystem is in flux? And stabilizing throughout an epoch until the next planetary ecosystem shift occurs.”

This was a good time to share this article as my blog poll this week asked my readers whether they felt “Evolution is still a valid theory?” The majority have answered ‘Yes’, which reflects the popular opinion. However, there are a few people (increasing in numbers) that have their doubts. And I’m curious to know who was the second person who voted ‘Not applicable to modern humans’ on the poll ... the first was yours truly! :)

5 Mar 2009

Son of God or Sun of God?

Part 2
Part 3

I few days back I came across a very interesting series of three videos on YT. I do not believe in “practising” any religion, I believe in “believing” and acknowledging the presence of a higher power whose nature and influence we haven’t yet been able to comprehend. Therefore, I watched these videos merely out of curiosity. It is a novel approach to explaining the similarities between Gods and messengers of various religions. I’m not sure whether the person uploading these videos actually agrees or disagrees with these videos. The title and description is confusing. Also, not all information presented is correct. I know that Krishna, the Hindu god, was not born of a virgin as the video claims. So you might find some other such mistakes in it.

I do not mean to offend anyone or their religious beliefs. If you think this is rubbish, that’s fine by me. If you believe this to be absolutely true, that’s fine too. I’m not going to try and convince you either ways because I do not know myself whether it is right or wrong. I know, however, that it is something different. And that’s why I found it interesting enough to share.

17 Feb 2009

Neanderthal acoustics

Another interesting news item I came across on BBC News:

“A musical experience with a difference is being previewed at the National Museum Wales in Cardiff - an attempt to recreate the sound of the Neanderthals.

Jazz composer Simon Thorne was given the task of creating the "soundscape" to provide a musical backdrop to some of the ancient exhibits on display.”

If this sounds interesting, follow the above link to read more and to listen to the excerpts from the composer’s rendering of Neanderthal sounds.

15 Feb 2009

From “xocolatl” to chocolate

So yesterday it was Valentine’s Day (and it still is in some parts of the world depending on time zones) and I thought I should write something which is in line with the spirit of this celebration of love and loved ones. Two items that are most strongly associated with Valentine’s Day or love in general are roses and chocolates. So I am taking this opportunity to write about my favourite of the two, CHOCOLATE! (Not that I do not like roses.) So here’s my nerdy take on one of the most celebrated edible, and celebrated for a very long time for that matter.

The introduction of Wikipedia entry on Chocolate tells us “Chocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods that are produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. Chocolate has become one of the most popular flavours in the world. It is a common ingredient in many snacks and desserts, including but not limited to cookies, cake, ice cream, pudding, pie and candy. Gifts of chocolate moulded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: Easter, Hanukkah, Christmas, Valentine's Day etc. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, including chocolate milk and hot chocolate.”

The word ‘chocolate’ comes from the Aztecs of Mexico, and is derived from the Nahuatl word xocolatl which is a combination of the words, xocolli, meaning "bitter", and atl, which is "water". The Aztecs were one of the first people who cultivated cacao at least three millennia ago in Central America and Mexico, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC. The Spanish conquest of the “new world” in the 16th century brought this popular Mesoamerican drink to Europe, which was completely unaware of it till then. And not until the industrial revolution in 1700s was the chocolate made into its durable, solid form we enjoy today.

The fats in cocoa butter (oil extracted from cacao tree) can crystallize in six different forms (polymorphous crystallization). Making chocolate considered "good" is about forming as many type 5 crystals (melting point 34°C) as possible. This produces a glossy and firm chocolate that melts near body temperature (37 °C). The three types of chocolate can be differentiated by the ingredients in them,
Dark chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and (sometimes) vanilla
Milk chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, milk or milk powder, and vanilla
White chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, milk or milk powder, and vanilla
Therefore, dark chocolate benefits the circulatory system. Other beneficial effects suggested include anticancer, brain stimulator, cough preventer and anti-diarrhoeal effects. After reading this, whatever little qualms I had about eating dark chocolate regularly like an addict have flown away!

There are various websites dedicated to “everything chocolate” which tell you about types of chocolate, how it is made, what different flavours and forms it is enjoyed in, etc. I obviously didn’t want to delve into each one of them as it would be impossible for me to stop reading about one of my most favourite “treats”. So with great difficulty I have narrowed down to two websites to share with you that I found most comprehensive about chocolate. The first one is xocoatl.org that, as its name suggests, concentrates on extensive history of chocolate. It also has sections on the various flavours, cacao harvesting and even offers a course on chocolate tasting!

The other interesting website I found was about the Field museum in Chicago that has an entire exhibition dedicated to everything chocolate! At least for me, this is a first. The website, along with the must-have sections about history and manufacture, has list resources like books, films etc. about chocolate. It even has a ‘chocolate challenge’ for those who really think they’re experts on this sweet treat. The health facts section has some interesting information on possible therapeutic uses of chocolate. Some of these are also mentioned in the Wikipedia entry to which I have given the link above.

So I believe I have, at least with some success, made you feel “not gill-cup” (this joke is only for avid fans of Monty Python’s Flying Circus) ..... err, not guilty about indulging in a chocolaty treat on the Valentine’s Day with your sweetheart or even otherwise.

7 Feb 2009

Maps of War

This is going to be a quick little blog entry about another interesting website I came across that deals with maps. The creator of the website and the maps, who chooses to remain anonymous, is a Flash-Designer hobbyist and professional history-buff. The website bears the name ‘Maps of War’ and anyone who visits it will agree that much thought and effort has been put into researching the information and making the flash animations. And the best part is the creator of this website not juts allows but encourages you to share and use his work anywhere you like for free! According to the ‘About’ section of the website, “Maps-of-War was established in September of 2006. The site was created to help people understand current events, as seen on TV and in our newspaper headlines, as being one small chapter in the much bigger and longer story of human history.”

Out of all the map-animations my personal favourites are ‘March of democracy’ and ‘History of religion’. As their names make it clear, these maps are informative tools depicting the history of democracy and religion, respectively, throughout the world from the earliest known events of their origin to present day. Besides the maps, the website also has a collection of links that lead to some more interesting historical facts. These include statistics of violence in Iraq and Darfur, map-animations showing step-by-step history of World War II and a map depicting flow of migrants across the world, among other informative material. So go check it out and have fun learning about history!