Difference between ellipsis and subpuncting

Article: The Mysterious History of the Ellipsis, From Medieval Subpuncting to Irrational Numbers

In this article, author uses the literature of history to tell us about the difference between Ellipsis and subpuncting.

Ellipsis: A series of dots without words and to be simple asks the reader to make his/her own assumptions.

Subpuncting: Similar to strike off but, here the word is present and a series of dots are added under the word asking the reader to omit the word and continue reading.

My opinion: A simple article to explain us the history of ellipsis if any.

You can read full article from here:  The Mysterious History of the Ellipsis, From Medieval Subpuncting to Irrational Numbers

How to become a rich person in an insignificant amount of time?

Article: Li Ka-Shing teaches you how to buy a car and house in 5 years

This article is fairly simple and teaches you how you can become a millionaire. To become a millionaire, there are few important rules to follow:

1. Spend some part of your income on yourself.
2.  Spend a few bucks for your network.
3. Spend some part on learning.
4. Spend a few bucks on savings for your future business.
5. Spend some money on a holiday in a foreign country.

If you follow this, you will for sure become a millionaire.

My opinion: This article is some person's experience and the author this article gives a very simple and pragmatic approach.

You can read the full article from here: Li Ka-Shing teaches you how to buy a car and house in 5 years

Being late is not actually a bad trait

Article: Optimistic People all have one thing in common: They're always late

According to the author, being late is not really a bad trait. But these people who always are late enjoy each and every moment. They try to fit in a lot of tasks in a given time. They are positive thinkers. Because of this they will have a very good health and especially mental health. Author also talks about timing and its implications in different nations and gives a few examples. Even though it is not being late but it is not good too. These people will have to try to be as punctual as possible and learn from martinetish people also.

My opinion: From the tone of the passage, one can say that the author is a positive thinking person. That said he is not encouraging us to be late, but he is recommending late people to be as punctual as possible. He puts it in an other way - Think of what other people might think, if you are late?

You can read full article from here: Optimistic People all have one thing in common: They're always late

A better way to praise

Article: In praise of better praise

It’s not just inflated praise that can backfire; so can praise that links a child’s success to some personal trait

To be simple, this article based on a lot of experiments, if we praise people based on their work and not based on their intellect, there are positive results. Author has linked the same with psychological experiments and have given a elaborate explanation of the same.

My opinion: A simple and concise article. Author doesn't bring all the unwanted stuff into the passage. 

You can read the full article from here:  In praise of better praise

Michealangelo's David

Article: David's Ankles: How Imperfections could bring down the world's most famous status

Author of this article talks about the failure of the present government to take preventive measures against the further damage of the statue of David. By the time author visits the statue in Florence, David had crack in his ankle.

Author also tells us that if the statue if inclined at 15 degrees, will give a maximum stress point on the ankles and there will be a failure. This brings him to the point to talk about, how this statue unveiled from a "Giant" rock to a beautiful master piece.

He tells us that the actual marble rock from which this statue was carved was cut with wrong dimensions and moreover it bathed with rainwater, dried in the sun and many more for 35 years. After 35 years, it was handed over to its architect Michealangelo who then carved it to a master piece.

After David was born he was installed in the city's square where it had stood for more than a century. After that it was moved to the present museum.

Author then talks about the duplicates, or replicas of David. He then talks about the anti seismic base that would protect David from getting any further fractures. He also talks about the failure of the government and its people of the same.

My opinion: Author of this article has given a complete picture about the present forces around David.

You can read the full article from here: David's Ankles: How Imperfections could bring down the world's most famous status

Are we behind a true science or trans science?

Article: Saving Science

Advancing according to its own logic, much of science has lost sight of the better world it is supposed to help create.

This article to be simple talks about the wrong direction in which the so called scientific research has taken. Author starts with the post world war 2 facts.

When the world war 2 ended, Mr. Bush wanted the country to continue research so that they would deliver solutions for health, employment, and national security. And so did the federal government. But the public funds which were pumped into research mostly yielded defense solutions rather than solving the common mans problems. Of course these solutions were adopted for usage in our day to day lives but there wasn't a decent amount of outcome of problem solving in the field of medical research.

One such example was breast cancer. When NBCC attracted a lot of people including the government, funds were allocated to DOD to oversee the project. But after so many decades of research and after pumping lots of billions of dollars, it only the enhanced the careers of the scientists but hasn't given any solution to the problem. Also this project created many more hurdles. On one hand author blames the system in which we are living. On the other hand the author also mocks at the scientists who want to publish a lot of research papers rather than to find a solution for the main problem.

The author then applauds the technology which helped in measuring the progress of our research till date. He/She tell us that this is a tool to outside science to check whether our knowledge is advancing or not.

The author also points out the credibility of the papers published till date. He/She gives some statistical data the many papers that have been published, have been found to have a lot of errors a few decades later. Then the question arises - Are we believing something which is false? The answer to this question might be "Yes". In turn because of the citations in reference section adds to a bit more error to the published paper. This is becoming a rippling effect and according to the author, "Today's science is killing itself."

Then comes the research in which mice are used. Out of several dozens of drugs developed for Alzheimer's disease only one have been approved by the FDA for use on humans, and the drug itself is not working well.The reason why this might happen is because - We restrain ourselves to a few parameters during the research and in reality there are lot more complex parameters which nature offers. For example in the case of Alzheimer's disease, scientists create this disease in mice and then start their research. This artificiality has a conflict with the reality and thus the drug doesn't work.

Restraining to a few parameters is what is called as Trans-Science in the passage. Author also gives an example on the same.

The comes the point of "Big Data". In today's world we see a lot of people and companies running behind Big Data. But does this big data give you correct and accurate results. It might lead to Trans-Science. Because of considering a few parameters with a large volumes of data, this might give an ad hoc solution but on the long run, what you have proved might be wrong. The author also criticizes, the direction which technology has chosen - the same way science chose a few decades ago. Author also gives an example of Ocean observatories initiative. Again the big data mistake.

Then the author applauds Mr. Kumar. Mr. Kumar never took a side track to publish his paper or any other stuff but, he found a solution for the problem he wanted to find.

Today after pumping billions of dollars of money and moreover a lot of time, there has not been an appreciable solution for breast cancer and the problem is because of creating a lot of new problems rather than to find a solution to the given problem. The same is the case with lot of other bio medical research and the people who have been projected in the passage at the start have analyzed themselves and rectified their research process and we along with author will hope that there will be solutions in the field of health care.

My opinion: This passage is a very long passage with lots and lots of examples and to gain a true knowledge one should read the full article patiently. One question, I have for the author is -

Dear Author,
You have questioned in the passage about the credibility of the research papers. You have also given a statistic related to that. As this data is a Trans-Science again can I believe in that data? :D

You can read the full article from here: Saving Science

Are all liars incorrigible?

Article: The Liar

In this article, author walks us through her childhood. When she was a child she had stolen a watch of her friend's and had to tell a lie to her mother that it was gifted to her. She(author) quotes that, this was her first lie.

A few days after, she was enrolled in a private school. Here for every mischievous thing she did, she was taken to all teachers room and was thought how to lie. In fact she was spanked every time she was taken to teachers room.

One fine day she tells all her notorious things to her mother and her mother gets surprised. But to authors surprise her mother reveals a story to her.

Author concludes the passage with the context of confabulation which her mother with during the days of her dying. She tells us that there are people who tell lies willingly but that is not necessarily true. There are even people who tell lies unwillingly or to be simple, they tell lies not to deceive others but to fill some gap in their memory.

My opinion: Till the last extract the story was good. But I was not able to synchronize a connection with the rest of the passage and the last extract. These are the few which I inferred from the passage.

1. May be the author feels guilty of hiding all these facts from her mother.
2. May be the author suggests the readers not to adjudge people who seem to be incorrigible liars.
3. May be the author wants to suggest that children at a very tender age have confabulation.

There can also be a conclusion which I was not able to extrapolate, not to mention this passage had a sad and abrupt ending. 

You can read the article from here:  The Liar

Should there be an increase in minimum wages?

Article: A threat, Not a theory

This threat—that when wages go up, employment goes down—falls neatly into what is commonly known as “trickle-down economics.”

Yes according to the author of this passage, there should be a hike in minimum wages of the workers. This article revolves around a concept - "Does increase in minimum wages decrease the number of jobs?". After reading this passage your answer for this question will be a big NO.

We all assume that when the wage increases, the cost of labor increases and so the company will have to cut down the number of jobs it offers to remain competent in the market. But this notion is not exactly true. Actually there is neither a need for the company to cut down to jobs nor strike to remain competent in the market. 


Author of this passage explains the point in a very efficient manner. If the minimum wage of the worker is increased then the same worker would spend his perks to buy some goods which in turn will create demand for various products which in turn will have a pressure on the company to hire new people and needless to say there will be a decline in the number of unemployed.

"Economists who correlate the supply demand with minimum wage - number of jobs actually don't have adequate data to backup their statements", author says. In fact there has been a steady increase in the employment in the history of America which saw hike in the minimum wages a two dozen times. Author also gives example of Dominos.

He concludes that this notion of "Less jobs for more wages" in to add money into the pockets of elite class and pickpocket from the poor workers.

My opinion: Author of this passage has perspicuously stated each and every aspect on increasing the minimum wages. But the profit a company expects after a wage hike will only be seen in long run but it is not an immediate effect.

You can read the full article from here: A threat, Not a theory

Rosetta Stone

Article: A case in Antiquities for "Finders Keepers"

But what if the Rosetta Stone were unearthed in modern times?

This passage starts with introducing Dr. Zahi Hawass who is a secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Court of Antiquities. Dr. Zahi Hawass is demanding the British Government to return back the Rosetta stone which Dr. Zahi thinks, it belongs to Egypt.

Present laws restrict the export of antiquities, but this laws have encouraged illegal markets and discouraged research. Author also talks about the era of Saddam Hussain and his propaganda towards antiquities. 

Author then talks about Dr. James Cuno who is a director at Art Institute of Chicago wants the traditional system back in place where foreigner researchers who help in digging will take a few antiquities with them, leaving the remaining in the foreign country. This will be a win-win situation for both to continue their research. Dr. James especially wanted Middle Eastern Sculptures.

He/She(Author) questions about the existence of Egypt as a country, when the Rosetta Stone was excavated. 

Author ends the passage with - If the Rosetta stone were to be found today then its importance would not have been known because of the laws prevailing in respective countries. 

My opinion: Author of this passage mainly emphasizes on "open-research" something like "open-education", which will help in unearthing the secret of the antiquity. He also mocks at a few culturally protected counties who have little in common culturally with the creators of the artifacts they claim to own. I have titled this post "Rosetta Stone" as most of the passage revolved around the same.

You can read full article from here:
A case in Antiquities for "Finders Keepers"

Homer's point of view - Dying Gaul

Article: Dying Gaul is World Masterpiece about death

Almost all art historians and scholars see in this sculpture the last heroic act of a noble solider gallantly rising to try to fight again, defying fate, staving off death, elevated by this last heroic effort.

Dying Gaul(Wikipedia)

In this article, gives a brief history of this sculpture. He states that this marble version is a copy of the original Bronze version. This Hellenistic art - In Romans point of view appears to be of a soldier who tries to fight bravely until his last breath. But the author of the article finds a different view of the same sculpture.

He talks about the eminence of Homer, who explained death in a detailed fashion in his poems and then looks at Dying Gaul in that point of view.

He sees a man enveloped by death a Homers perspective. He also cites an example of a 1973 film in which a similar kind of scene is depicted.

Author in this article praises the Greek art particularly Epigonos who had embedded a very deep meaning in his sculpture.

My opinion: Before reading this article I didn't knew who Homer was. After reading this article I thought of giving a title in the name of Homer and so have I. - "Homer's point of view - Dying Gaul".

You can read the article from here: Dying Gaul is World Masterpiece about death

It is the plot, that makes us read!

Article: Is it story that makes us read?

In Aristotle’s notion the best works are those in which nothing can be  subtracted without the meaning being lost.

To be simple, the above line is the epitome of the article.

Usually when we read books we imagine our world in connection with the story, but if there is no plot hidden, then after we close the book - we only can say a few sentences about the whole theme of the book. But this is not in the case when there is a plot. It makes us to turn pages and finally when asked to summarize we will be left with no choice but to explain the whole plot. 

But in today's world we see a lot of literary works in which the plot is not unfolded until the reader reaches almost half of the book. 

The strange thing about such shame-inducing secrets is that they exist apart and without a direct causal link to the rest of the fictional events but still exert an overpowering distortionary force on subsequent events.

The author also talks about the fabula and syuzhet and compares the same with the modern literary works. We can see a lot of literary works being mentioned in this article for the author to explain his/her point.

My opinion: As I have already stated, this article can be written in a single line quoting the Aristotle's notion. Author of this passage articulately talks about the plots and confines himself/herself to the appropriate title - Is it story that makes us Read?

You can read the article from here: Is it story that makes us read?

Electrification to Digitalization

Article: Bodies Electric Aeon

In 1900, to celebrate the exposition of Universelle which was held in Paris, people were asked to think about 2000 and they came up with lot of ideas. Out of them a group of school boys came up with a interesting idea. They imagined that in the year 2000 electricity would be used to inject the knowledge directly into our brain. And a similar thing was proved in the year 2016. 

Today we see a lot of electronic gadgets which electrically simulate exercise to our body. Technologies like these are not new but they are as old as the 19th century.

In the earlier days many "electrical" doctors came up with a lot of treatments to medical and psychological ailments using electricity. Although these treatments more of experimental, they were successful in penetrating the idea of treatment using electricity in the minds of public especially the Victorians.

Electrical Telegraph which was a revolutionary tool for communication, helped people a lot in understanding, how electricity is connected to the human body and its treatments. They assumed brain as the Telegraph and the nerves as the wires which was further used in the communication.These Victorian people also enjoyed the so called electro-gymnastic apparatus.

Electricity was the future.

They also believed that our minds can communicate with each other in a medium like ether. Extending life time was also a solution that was expected from electricity.

Till today electricity has embedded in our minds and words. For instance we get shocked. We still think ourselves as electric bodies.

Author concludes, with a statement stating that we think our brain as a computer that runs lot of algorithms to come to conclusion, where he/she draws a connection between electricity and digitalization and ends the passage.

My opinion: This passage revolved around electricity and how people conceived the future of electricity. Author also mentions about the biopsy with electricity during 1800's. 

I personally liked few last paragraphs, when author talks about the conceiving ourselves as electric bodies and modelling ourselves on technology. Today we conceive our brains as computers which run algorithms that tell us what to do. And this is the reason why I have titled this post "Electrification to Digitalization".

You can read the passage from here: Bodies Electric Aeon

A true Patriotism

Article: Nissim Mannathukkaren - The notion of a nation

At 69, India does not show the wisdom and maturity that comes with age.

 I am assuming that the authors' gender is Masculine.

Author is a resident of North America. He starts the article with a common question he would encounter with every Indian - Whether he had acquired foreign citizenship. 

Despite India's upcoming 69th birthday, middle class citizens are fleeing away from the country for better opportunities. On the other hand the same class of people are driven by chauvinistic nationalism.

The article also talks about dark side of the year - Kashmir's unrest, Una in Gujarat and few others.

According to the author only a few citizens enjoy their freedom and most of them are from elite class. But most of the people are concerned about the anti-nationals and few other issues leaving the poverty aside.

He(author) asks each citizen to stop thinking in the hallowness  of nationalism and start thinking beyond the boundaries - to get inspired from great personalities like Buddha and Iron Sharmila.

My opinion: Author sticks to the title of the passage and points out the pathetic situation prevailing in India. A well structured passage.

You can read the full article from here:  Nissim Mannathukkaren - The notion of a nation

Juxtaposition - India and America

Article: Learning from the world by Martha

Author of this article who is based in USA and who was a resident of INDIA for 20 years, talks about the reasons for comparing the two countries. The author picks up three important issues - Religion, Education and corruption.

Religion: Both India and America have defined their nationhood based on religious lines. Former being ethnocentric nationalism, later being ethnically inclusive and focused on belief. But the author says that the days have changed and both the countries are giving more or less equal rights to all the citizens. 

Education: India at the dawn of nation itself gave more importance to research and scientific work, lead to a more rote learning process, while America preferred liberal education. But the author points out that this liberal education in America is narrowing down. He/She also talks about the elite institutions in the paragraph.

Corruption: Starting with the people's mistrust of government in the United states because of the gradually started during the Regan's era also talks how people of India are plagued because of the corrupt politicians.

Finally the author concludes stating that both the countries having many things in common have a lot to learn from each other and hopes for a healthy relationship among both the countries.

My opinion: I have named this post as a juxtaposition even though the main article was titled "Learning from the world", because according to me only the final paragraph(conclusion) seemed in accordance with the title but the whole of the article was just a constructive comparison. Of course a comparison is required to find the vital points for improvement.

You can read the original article from here: Learning from the World by Martha.