What do we know about our super villains? One thing for sure is, they make our heroes stand out. But, is that it? Do they just glorify our heroes and prove the dominance of good over evil? It is time we hail our supervillains too. Even if we do, their contribution to the movies are significantly greater and more impactful. If that wouldn’t have been the case, we wouldn’t have considered Heath Ledger as an outstanding performer and thus winning an Oscar.
Recently in an interview, Anish Giri, the former chess prodigy was quoted saying, “Chess is Extremely Psychological”. Everyone knows this, but still what grabbed the attention of chess enthusiasts is, when he mentioned that a player should be in his/her ideal state of mind. He also said that observing the body language of your opponent can put you in a good place in the game. But then what about Online Chess? How do observe your opponents?
The World was in awe on February 10, 1996, when IBM’s Deep Blue beats Garry Kasparov. This was the first record of a computer defeating a human in chess. What followed up with such an event is building stronger technologies that could challenge the intelligence of man. After the event, Garry Kasparov, in an interview said that, “For machines to beat humans, it doesn't have to be perfect it just has to make less mistakes than a human. Humans eventually get less vigilant and make mistakes from tiredness. Machines don’t.”
In a very recent interview he made a statement which stated that he has been convinced by the fact that if humans and AI work together, the future can live up to the expectations of high ‘augmented intelligence’.
The internet is a treasure chest of knowledge, there is always something that was unknown to you. That’s what the internet was used for, to know the unknown. The World Wide Web is a vast universe and everyone would find something suiting their interest, however, kids of a tender age get distracted towards unfamiliar websites that keeps popping up on the screen.
Does playing chess make people smart or smart people are attracted towards chess? We might never find out the right answer to that. However, we already know that chess is the game of kings and emperors. It helped them strategize and plan their warfare. It helps them defend their throne by scrutinizing attacking possibilities of their opponent.
Parenting is a tough job. Both emotionally and intellectually, you get to experience new obstacles every day. There is a lot going on every day and it is so obvious to feel exhausted. You try to juggle between your work life and parenting and even try to nurture your kids in the limited time that you spend with them.
Alzheimer’s is a chronic neurological disorder that is caused due to damage or destruction of brain cells. It is known to be a common type of dementia that can lead to memory loss, problems in thinking and hinders daily functioning of an individual. Every year in India, more than 1 million cases are registered concerning Alzheimer’s.
While symptoms of the disorder vary from person to person, but early onset of alzheimer’s starts in early to mid 30’s and a late onset begins in the mid 60’s. Scientists still have found out various stages and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. It starts with memory problems in the preclinical stage of the disorder. It then progresses to mild, moderate and severe stages.
For some people, chess is one such board game that leads them to anxiety and panic attacks. It would be wrong to deny the fact that, for some people chess is stressful. It is because a person can relate to real-life situations while playing chess. Though they know it is a game, it seems to be a real life representation of various strenuous scenarios they have come across.
Actually, it is the other way around, chess has numerous benefits, it helps you make better decisions, strategise, increase IQ, improve memory, enhance problem solving skills and it also comes with being patient.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a common mental disorder of the neurodevelopmental type that affects the regular activities of an individual, like difficulty in paying attention, hyperactive in performing daily tasks, unstable behaviour without thinking about prior consequences, irrespective of age.
It is a mental disorder that is estimated to prevail in India at a rate of 5.8%. Researchers discovered that the brain of an individual suffering from ADHD is 5% smaller than that of a person without it. The basic symptoms of the disorder usually begin in childhood but may continue until an adult stage. The symptoms can be really tough to be diagnosed among these people.
According to Google, Schizophrenia is “a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behaviour, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.”
This might not be enough to sum up what a person suffering from Schizophrenia experiences. It is a broad prospect of mental awareness that needs to be addressed to the general population of the country. The Indian Psychiatric Society is trying hard to spread awareness about the mental disorder among the commoners through various programmes.
Designing a fully functioning robot may look challenging for a kid, however, under our guidance it can be both, educational and fun. Kids of this generation are smart, they are much more aware of the local and global scenes. They are privileged to have access to information that is available on their fingertips. Having said that, they have a diverse field of options to choose their passion. We are way past the time when ‘cool’ was restricted to just being popular amongst batch mates or part of a happening club in school. An inventive and smart child, who knows a new thing or two about building creative objects is cool. Spreading awareness about climate change, mental health awareness and even fighting against bullying is super cool. All these are real life initiatives which prove - kids can make a difference too.
The society or community we live in, the people we interact with and the behaviour we imbibe from them are all inter-linked. They create a long-lasting impression on the nature of kids. Their convictions are all based on the apprehensions that they make early in their life and later abide by these inculcated ideas. These days, parenting can be both difficult and tiring. You as a parent need to be equally cautious and patient. You need to be aware of the facts, situations and surroundings relating to your kid, at the same time be all understanding and composed to the issues that are evident. Your child can be an enigma to you, but you as a parent need to figure out what’s best for your child.
Women are contributing their best in each field. It is a pleasure to watch these women working hard, breaking barriers, and achieving their dreams. These are the same women who are mothers, sisters, aunts or the next door girl, whom with will and dedication have turned their life's around with this game.
History indicates chess as a leisure activity, but these days it is a highly competitive game that many men and women have perfected and made it their profession. It’s amazing to watch these women play the 'game of thrones'. Let us meet the queens of the game.
Ruy Lopez the famous priest and chess player of the 16th century advised chess players to make sure their opponents sit facing the sun. To quote him “Sit your opponent with the sun in his eyes.” Another popular bizarre winning strategy by Lucena, a famous chess player of that time is, if you want to beat your opponent, always play when they have their stomach filled with food and drinks. To quote him “ “Try to play after your opponent has eaten or drunk freely.”
Water is known as the essence of life. What’s surprising is, a substance that is colourless, odourless and tasteless could actually be the poet of the never-ending narrative called life. As a wise old man, water has always been the saviour for plants, animals, human life, and the initiation of entire civilizations. Maybe that’s why the sight of a looming dark cloud over a drought prone area, brings relief not just to the earthly beings but also the parched, scorching face of the earth.
If we consider photosynthesis, water plays a crucial part in photosynthesis. Without water, the plant can’t absorb Carbon Dioxide from the environment.
Since the ‘Big Bang’, sunlight has been known as the optimal source of energy, light and positivity. Every morning the innocent game of hide-and-seek ends with first streaks of light breaking through dawn, ending the darkness prevailing all over the earth. Sunrise is really a beautiful sight for the beholder, and it wakes the entire planet up from its long deep sleep. It does the same to a plant.
The rays of the morning sun shakes a plant up from its night cradle, energises it and reminds it to do its daily ritual. Day by day, It grows under the shelter of its mentor, the sun. What was a feeble sapling once, grows out to be a big strong tree. The sun nurtures a sapling, helps in photosynthesis and helps in growth.
A strong and sturdy plant speaks of the soil beneath; A soil that is well-ploughed, and watered; which breathes, replenishes and lets grow. The right soil does not merely give birth. It nourishes and sustains. Children are those saplings we plant with much hope and dreams. For them to nourish and grow into healthy minds, there needs to be a lot of digging around; a whole lot of watering and manuring, with patience and diligence.
Turn the pages of your 3rd Grade Environmental Science textbook and you would realise how early in your academics, you were introduced to the lessons of life. Though the origin of plants on earth, was traced back to around 3.5 billion years ago, they are still the reason for human life on earth. If we refer to our textbooks then, photosynthesis is a process through which plants take in Sunlight, Carbon Dioxide and Water and convert it into Oxygen. The growth of the plant depends on the intake of these three basic needs.
We won’t enter the much debatable topic about who's the best, DC or Marvel? Even though your favourite is either one of them, there are certain characters that speaks for themselves . It might be a superhero, villain or even a sidekick. Their character stands out and appeals to the audience. One such character could be our Batman. You might be a Marvel fan, but there must be a point of time when you just associated yourself with our very dear superhero.
You find twelve year old kids, beaming with energy, always on a go, dreaming to be their favourite idol. They build their own world around themselves, filled with imagination and aspirations. This is the age when they are about to reach their teenage, there is always an adrenaline rush that stimulates all their senses.
While every student was busy building their own world, D Gukesh, a twelve year old kid based in Chennai built his name as the World’s 2nd youngest Grandmaster. He achieved his final GM norm while he was participating in the 17th Delhi International Chess Grandmaster open against IM Dinesh K Sharma. He achieved such great heights in chess at the age of Twelve years, seven months and seventeen days. Though he missed the World Record of Sergey Karjakin, a Russian chess player by a whisker of just 17 days, he still aims high and continues to be focused on other tournaments and championships.
