the lithiumhead

Specifically Indians when working from India. I used to joke to my American colleagues that it’s because we have the self-imposed “difficult” task of keeping up with pop-culture and memes of both countries - India and USA. On the Indian side we give our mindspace and time to know what the deal is with Uorfi Javed and the Bollywood Wives, watch CTRL and Ulajh and the latest season of Panchayat, taking breaks in between only to watch Aatman Desai’s latest reels only a few hundred times each. And once we are done with that, we start over again and read about SF’s homelessness for the umpteenth time, worry about Sunita Williams, watch Jennifer Aniston’s ATLAS and the latest season of Bridgerton (remember the scam party?) and finally spend hours reading articles on Hacker News. Oh wait did I forget Anime and Korean Drama - those are 2 separate entire countries’ worth of content. And don’t get me started on gaming, although we do pick and choose our poison and I have yet to come across someo...

Found the same question that I have been asking people all this while in this post Where do people come from? - Fin Moorhouse : “Here’s a question: as a great oak tree grows, the material for the tree came from somewhere. And just like how animals eat with their mouths, trees draw up nutrients from the soil. So why doesn’t a 10 ton oak tree form a big crater in the soil where its solid biomass came from? Where did all that tree come from?” Also from the article: “or effectively everyone who has ever lived, and even most living adults, your body contains at least one atom that has been part of them,” “Of course, more likely than the planet somehow finding an extra India+US amount of arable land to farm, a world without fertilisers is just a world with fewer people. On some estimates, perhaps two billion fewer people would be alive today without the Haber process, or at least some way of producing synthetic fertiliser on an industrial scale.”

My favourite podcasts episodes these last two months talk about the experiences of muslims growing up in India over the past 50 years, experiences of researchers trying to model Covid-19 in India, cultural phenomenon that is "banter", a simple idea on how to curb climate change for cheap, a SPAC posing as a Deli, the story of the guy who claims to have invented a hot version of a popular processed food, using social media and crowd funding for reparations, Brood 10 Periodical Cicadas, experiences of employees working in Amazon Warehouses and the fascinating story of the discovery of a live saving  immunosuppressant drug .  Radiolab The Dirty Drug and the Ice Cream Tub 21 May 2021 ( listen ) Brown Box 14 May 2021 ( listen ) StarTalk Cosmic Queries – Cicada Invasion! With Jessica Ware 26 April 2021 ( listen ) NPR Planet Money DIY Reparations 5 May 2021 ( listen ) Hot Cheetos 12 May 2021 ( listen ) The $100 Million Deli 28 April 2021 ( listen ) TED Talks Daily How we can curb cl...

My favourite podcasts episodes this month talk about our attitudes of the host nation's citizens towards refugees, learning new things throughout life, invention of syndication on television etc. The Audio Long Read The ungrateful refugee: ‘We have no debt to repay’  1 Feb 2021 ( listen | read ) The joys of being an absolute beginner ... for life 29 Jan 2021 ( listen | read ) NPR Planet Money How Desi Invented Television 22 Jan 2021 ( listen )

My favourite podcasts episodes this month talk about how an American company got back at counterfeiters in China, NPR Planet Money The Stolen Company (Classic)  9 Dec 2020 ( listen )

My favourite podcasts episodes this month talk about patenting genes, criticism of Malcom Gladwell's take on Amanda Knox case by Amanda Knox herself, History of Free Trade, Fermentation  NPR Planet Money All Your Genes Are Belong To Us 20 Nov 2020 ( listen ) Trade Show (UPDATE) History of how the world took to the idea of Free Trade - albeit incompletely 18 Nov 2020 ( listen ) Labyrinths The Half-life of Prejudice Amanda Knox clarifies what she thinks to be the cause of pre-judice against her, somewhat contrary to what Malcom Gladwell had to say in his book Talking To Strangers. 6 Nov 2020 ( listen ) StarTalk Cosmic Queries – Fermentation 24 Nov 2020 ( listen )

My favourite podcasts episodes this month talk about startup culture, NGOs working in the Mediterranean sea, Misclassification of employees in USA, Casteism among Indians living in the USA. The Guardian's Audio Long Reads How rescuing drowning migrants became a crime 22 Sep 2020 ( listen | read ) The disruption con: why big tech’s favourite buzzword is nonsense 24 Sep 2020 ( listen  |  read ) NPR Planet Money Call Center Call Out 2 Oct 2020 ( listen ) Caste Arrives In Silicon Valley 14 Oct 2020 ( listen )

My favourite podcasts episodes this month talk about Human grit, difficulty of recycling plastics, social movements, a dying religion, the dismal state of Indian Economy/Politics/Media, a killer fungus which has evolved due to climate change and the invention of modern financial systems. The Guardian's Audio Long Reads America's 'untouchables': the silent power of the caste system 4 Sep 2020  ( listen  |  read ) Decolonising dermatology: why black and brown skin need better treatment 31 Aug 2020 ( listen  |  read ) The business of kidnapping: inside the secret world of hostage negotiation 28 Aug 2020 ( listen  |  read ) The last of the Zoroastrians 24 Aug 2020 ( listen  |  read ) The evolution of Extinction Rebellion 21 Aug 2020 ( listen  |  read ) NPR Planet Money The Murderer, The Boy King, And The Invention Of Modern Finance 4 Sep 2020 ( listen ) Waste Land Recycling plastic has never worked very well. So who convinced us th...

We recently got some nice grow lights. To measure the effectiveness of these lights, we decided to do simple experiment. We grew some mustard microgreens in the shade and some under these lights. The results, although obvious, were nevertheless fascinating. Gardening Exp #001 Title: Growing Mustard Micro-greens Indoors - Light vs. No Light Aim: To observe the different in growth between two samples of mustard micro-greens grown indoors - one with overhead LED grow light and one without. Expectation: The ones with LED Grow light turned on will fare better - how better and in what way is to be seen Setup Location: Wakad, Pune, India Seeds: Locally available Black Mustard Seeds ( राई ) Sowing Date:  2020-06-07 1730 +0530 IST, Sunday Harvest Date:  2020-06-13 2030 +0530 IST, Saturday (6 days later) Season:  Beginning of monsoon Weather: In the evening at around 1900 hrs, the temperature used to ...

So either you get roaming activated for 10 or 30 days on your Indian phone number like so (for post paid users): Or you walk into a 7-Eleven and get prepaid SIM cards like one of these: This actually cost $53.85 Had activation instructions on it The box had multiple SIM Cards (from 2 different operators - T-mobile and AT&T) One of those would definitely suit any handset you may have. You have to pick one To sign up, you follow the instructions provided on paper attached to the SIM Card you chose ...

99% Invisible - Everything is alive Biographical interview of a can of soda - Parts can be used in a TFI Classroom Revisionist History S03E07 - Malcolm Gladwell's 12 Rules for Life Pull the Goalie! Revisionist History S03E08 - The Imaginary Crimes of Margit Hamosh and Revisionist History S03E09 - Strong Verbs, Short Sentences Mass Hysteria Revisionist History S03E10 - Analysis, Parapraxis, Elvis Freudian Slips in Elvis's songs

Hunting the ghost fleet Author: Reveal Category: Investigative Journalism Notes: Talks about over fishing in oceans off coasts of South American Countries, and bonded laborers onboard fishing vessels. Simple language, non pop culture references, hard hitting Listening Comprehension Levels : Easy enough for Indian teenage students studying in 8/9/10 grade English medium schools. No American pop culture references. Values and driving questions: Can relate to Sustainable living. Would you eat an animal which is on the brink of extinction? Access and Exposure: Human Rights The Red Line Author:  NPR Embedded Category: Book Review / Politics Notes: Why didn't USA intervene in Syria Listening Comprehension Levels:  Well read adults, too esoteric for students. But can be used for guided listening for 9th/10th graders Values and driving questions: Does a powerful country have the right to interfere in issues of another country undergoing civil war? Should they?...

During my 2 year long Teach For India fellowship, I designed and delivered 2 interesting courses. The first one was centered around "self" and the other was to do with "technology". Like everything else at TFI, these courses took root when I asked myself certain questions. These courses were my answers to these questions. The "Big Goals" course was the one centered on self where I tried to come up with a better question that "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I have often wondered why do we ask little kids what they want to be when they grow up. Little kids keep changing their minds all the time - astronaut, scientist, footballer, dancer, teacher etc. And older kids set them up for disappointment if they fixate on one thing and aren't able to achieve it later on in life - think IIT and MBA aspirants, competitive exams, pressure of studies and in some cases even suicide. There was something amiss in...

When I was in school, I was never told the difference between a 'feature article' and a 'news story'. It's only today that I cared enough to understand the difference between the two. The purpose of a 'news story' is to relay  only the facts  about a particular incident through a particular style of writing. An author may paraphrase some lines from interviews that s/he conducts with people without changing the meaning. It seems to me that the author must practice  Epistemic Responsibility  while writing such an article - suspending all personal opinions and judgement for the purpose of the story. On the other hand, the purpose of a 'feature article' is to bring out the  human experience  from a particular angle chosen by the author. The author is free to forgo his/her epistemic responsibility. In fact, while reading a feature article, a reader expects to glean an insight via the author's point of view, his beliefs and judgement about the s...