Convergent Lines

In the past few years, and more acutely in the past few months, the propagation of false information, propaganda and misleading content through the internet has reached unprecedented levels. Certainly, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing storm of news, information, ideas and conspiracies has brought into focus how difficult it is for a lay person to sift through the cobweb and understand the reality of any sufficiently complex situation. As a scientist, I’m used to looking at new information with skepticism (I invite those of you who think scientists are always in agreement with each other to listen in to our lab meetings or conferences) and I find myself increasingly using a few simple, yet profound concepts, to filter the information stream and help understand the reality. Correlation does not mean Causation : This is the idea that even if two variables appear to go up or down in sync, it doesn’t mean one is caused by the other. Often, there’s a hidden factor that controls them bot...

--> As I’m writing this, the world is reeling from the attack of yet another mysterious and deadly virus-the erstwhile 2019-nCov, now COVID-19. As the world watches the unfolding story from China, scientists are already at work, trying to develop potential vaccines and antidotes for this virus. Remarkably, a rapid screening test was promptly employed only within weeks of the outbreak and several vaccine candidates are being lined up to be tested in the coming months. A stellar testament to the power of modern science, such a moment calls for reflection to understand and perhaps reset societal priorities. In a world which increasingly undermines intellectuals, knowledge and facts, it is important to reflect how moments of crises like this shine a bright light on the same people and institutions. Most people around the world can afford to sleep peacefully and maintain normalcy in life because they implicitly trust the expertise of scientists, doctors and other inst...

Once in a while, you read a book that you don’t want to end. Quite often, such grieving is reserved for beautifully crafted novels with intricate characters who linger in your imagination long after you turn the last page. Seldom does this happen for a non-fiction book, let alone one on a seemingly morbid topic. In this regard, “The Emperor of all Maladies”, by Siddhartha Mukherjee is truly an exception. A “biography of cancer”, a history of humankind’s tryst with this ancient disease, is as human as it is technical, as ornate with literary beauty as it is with scientific insight. As a cancer researcher myself, this book was an eye opener. It illuminated a gaping hole in my attempts to understand this disease—one that is epitomized by its history. Having read the book, now I find it frankly embarrassing that scientists like myself (and I know for a fact that this is true for a vast majority of my peers) are largely ignorant of the diverse and storied history of ca...

New year, new blog? Partially, yes. I started blogging in my early 20s and now several years later I find my perspectives have changed and seminal experiences since have shaped my worldview. A change in voice, texture and content was perhaps inevitable. For those who liked and followed my previous posts, there will be occasional creative pieces, but this re-imagination is a reflection of where my thoughts and creative energies are distributed at present. In my very first post, I had written about poetry and its power to engender a complex feeling or an unprecedented insight about life. Great art and great science both tend to reveal novel truths about our existence. Perhaps these two complementary forms can converge along the lines that adorn this page to deliver deeper insights to reality. 2019 is upon us and it is the time for new year resolutions. I have never been one to make up and adhere to these, but we can use this time to remind ourselves to be mindful of the littl...