Concept @ MindSay 
What Love means to a 4-8 year old ? (Now, I work mostly with 2 yr olds and may do this experiment too, one day.) Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it.
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were more poignant than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
- 'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love. Rebecca- age 8
- 'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth. Billy - age 4
- 'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other. Karl - age 5
- 'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy - age 6
- 'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired. Terri - age 4
- 'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny - age 7
- 'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss' Emily - age 8
- 'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. Bobby - age 7 (Cool huh!)
- 'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,' Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
- 'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday. Noelle - age 7
- 'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well. Tommy - age 6
- 'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore. Cindy - age 8
- 'My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night. Clare - age 6
- 'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken. Elaine-age 5
- 'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford. Chris - age 7
- 'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day. Mary Ann - age 4
- 'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones. Lauren - age 4
- 'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you. Karen - age 7
- 'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross. Mark - age 6
- 'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget. Jessica - age 8
- And the final one - The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry.'
This... is a concept sketch for a new character. It looked a lot different in my head... but you get the point. Anyway, there you have it... more to come... I hope soon. Still working on the knitting.
~ Kel
Did any of check out any of the websites I listed? They were created for the release of the Nine Inch Nails album called "Year Zero". It is a concept album set 15 years in the future where the willingness to give up our liberty has caught up with us. Kind of a musical version of "1984". This message appears on the back of the CD:
USBM WARNING:
Consuming or spreading this material may be deemed subversive by the United States Bureau Of Morality. If you or someone you know has engaged in subversive acts or thoughts, call:
1-866-445-6580
BE A PATRIOT - BE AN INFORMER!
You will actually get a message if you call this number. There is also a place on one of the websites to enter your phone number to join the resistance. However, you will receive a call from the USBM. Great album and great concept. Let's hope Trent Reznor is not a prophet!
"I do think we need to explore the commitment problem, which has caused many women to mistakenly conclude that men, as a group, have the emotional maturity of hamsters. This is not the case. A hamster is much more capable of making a lasting commitment to a woman, especially if she gives it those little food pellets. Whereas a guy, in a relationship, will consume the pellets of Companionship, and he will run on the exercise wheel of Lust; but as soon as he senses that the door of Commitment is about to close and trap him in the wire cage of True Intimacy, he'll squirm out, scamper across the kitchen floor of Uncertainty and hide under the refrigerator of Non-Readiness."
-Dave Barry
Sometimes you do things, and you don't even realize that you do them until you're proven wrong, or someone calls you on it.
Last night, it was made clear to me that I kind of lower my expectations of guys as people - for whatever reason, I sort of expect them to be in some part superficial idiots. Not in entirety, certainly, but for some reason I had it set in my mind that this was a piece of the character makeup of every male. The interest in the superficial, and a talent for doing ridiculously stupid stuff just because it's fun.
Which results in me far underestimating Knuter. I hadn't realized that this was even there, until he demanded to know exactly how superficial I thought he was. Kind of picked things up and shook them a bit, dropped my perspective back on me at a new angle.
Thus further proving how cool he is. Actually, that's not fair, because Knuter seems to redefine 'cool'. And he's not exactly comparable to a hamster.
Ancient India - Mathematics
In India, mathematics has its roots in Vedic literature which is nearly 4000 years old. Between 1000 B.C. and 1000 A.D. various treatises on mathematics were authored by Indian mathematicians in which were set forth for the first time, the concept of zero, the techniques of algebra and algorithm, square root and cube root.
A method of graduated calculation was documented in the Pancha-Siddhantika (Five Principles) in the 5th Century. But the technique is said to be dating from Vedic times circa 2000 B.C.
The rudiments of Geometry - called Rekha-Ganita in ancient India - were formulated and applied in the drafting of Mandalas for architectural purposes.
They were also displayed in the geometric patterns used in many temple motifs.
Many motifs in Hindu Temples and Palaces display a mix of floral and Geometric patterns.
The technique of calculation, called algorithm, which is today widely used in designing soft ware programs (instructions) for computers was also derived from Indian mathematics. In this chapter we shall examine the advances made by Indian mathematicians in ancient times.
In India around the 5th century A.D. a sys tem of mathematics that made astronomical calculations easy was developed. In those times its application was limited to astronomy as its pioneers were Astronomers. As tronomical calculations are complex and involve many variables that go into the derivation of unknown quantities. Algebra is a short-hand method of calculation and by this feature it scores over conventional arithmetic.
In ancient India conventional mathematics termed Ganitam was known before the development of algebra. This is borne out by the name - Bijaganitam, which was given to the algebraic form of computation.
Bijaganitam means the other mathematics (Bija means 'another' or 'second' and Ganitam means mathematics).
The fact that this name was chosen for this system of computation implies that it was recognized as a parallel system of computation, different from the conventional one which was used since the past and was till then the only one.
Some have interpreted the term Bija to mean seed, symbolizing origin or beginning. And the inference that Bijaganitam was the original form of computation is derived.
Credence is lent to this view by the existence of mathematics in the Vedic literature which was also shorthand method of computation.
But whatever the origin of algebra, it is certain that this technique of computation originated in India and was current around 1500 years back.
Aryabhatta an Indian mathematician who lived in the 5th century A.D. has referred to Bijaganitam in his treatise on Mathematics, Aryabhattiya.
An Indian mathematician - astronomer, Bhaskaracharya has also authored a treatise on this subject.
The treatise which is dated around the 12th century A.D. is entitled 'Siddhanta-Shiromani' of which one section is entitled Bijaganitam.
Thus the technique of algebraic computation was known and was developed in India in earlier times. From the 13th century onwards, India was subject to invasions from the Arabs and other Islamised communities like the Turks and Afghans.
Along with these invader: came chroniclers and critics like Al-beruni who studied Indian society and polity.
The Indian system of mathematics could no have escaped their attention. It was also the age of the Islamic Renaissance and the Arabs generally improved upon the arts and sciences that they imbibed from the land they overran during their great Jehad.
The system of mathematics they observed in India was adapted by them and given the name 'Al-Jabr' meaning 'the reunion of broken parts'. 'Al' means 'The' & 'Jabr' mean 'reunion'.
This name given by the Arabs indicates that they took it from an external source and amalgamated it with their concepts about mathematics.
Between the 10th to 13th centuries, the Christian kingdoms of Europe made numerous attempts to reconquer the birthplace of Jesus Christ from its Mohammedan-Arab rulers.
These attempts called the Crusades failed in their military objective, but the contacts they created between oriental and occidental nations resulted in a massive exchange of ideas.
The technique of algebra could have been passed on to the west at this time.
During the Renaissance in Europe, followed by the industrial revolution, the knowledge received from the east was further developed.
Algebra as we know it today has lost any characteristics that betray it eastern origin save the fact that the tern 'algebra' is a corruption of the term 'Al Jabr' which the Arabs gave to Bijaganitam Incidentally the term Bijaganit is still use in India to refer to this subject.
In the year 1816, an Englishman by the name James Taylor translated Bhaskara's Leelavati into English.
A second English translation appeared in the following year (1817) by the English astronomer Henry Thomas Colebruke.
Thus the works of this Indian mathematician astronomer were made known to the western world nearly 700 years after he had penned them, although his ideas had already reached the west through the Arabs many centuries earlier.
In the words of the Australian Indiaologist A.L. Basham The Wonder That was India
"... the world owes most to India in the realm of mathematics, which was developed in the Gupta period to a stage more advanced than that reached by any other nation of antiquity. The success of Indian mathematics was mainly due to the fact that Indians had a clear conception of the abstract number as distinct from the numerical quantity of objects or spatial extension."
Thus Indians could take their mathematical concepts to an abstract plane and with the aid of a simple numerical notation devise a rudimentary algebra as against the Greeks or the ancient Egyptians who due to their concern with the immediate measurement of physical objects remained confined to Mensuration and Geometry.
But even in the area of Geometry, Indian mathematicians had their contribution. There was an area of mathematical applications called Rekha Ganita (Line Computation). The Sulva Sutras, which literally mean 'Rule of the Chord' give geometrical methods of constructing altars and temples. The temples layouts were called Mandalas. Some of important works in this field are by Apastamba, Baudhayana, Hiranyakesin, Manava, Varaha and Vadhula.
A majestic Pagoda at Bangkok
The Buddhist Pagodas borrowed their plan of construction from the geometric grid of the Mandala used for constructing temples in India.
The Arab scholar Mohammed Ibn Jubair al Battani studied Indian use of ratios from Retha Ganita and introduced them among the Arab scholars like Al Khwarazmi, Washiya and Abe Mashar who incorporated the newly acquired knowledge of algebra and other branches of Indian mathematic into the Arab ideas about the subject.
The chief exponent of this Indo-Arab amalgam in mathematics was Al Khwarazmi who evolved a technique of calculation from Indian sources. This technique which was named by westerners after Al Khwarazmi as "Algorismi" gave us the modern term Algorithm, which is used in computer software.
Algorithm which is a process of calculation based on decimal notation numbers. This method was deduced by Khwarazmi from the Indian techniques geometric computation which he had studied. Al Khwarazmi's work was translated into Latin under the title "De Numero Indico" which means 'of Indian Numerals' thus betraying its Indian origin. This translation which belong to the 12th century A.D credited to one Adelard who lived in a town called Bath in Britain.
Thus Al Khwarazmi and Adelard could looked upon as pioneers who transmit Indian numerals to the west. Incidents according to the Oxford Dictionary, word algorithm which we use in the English language is a corruption of the name Khwarazmi which literally means '(a person) from Khawarizm', which was the name of the town where Al Khwarazmi lived. To day unfortunately', the original Indian texts that Al Khwarazmi studied are lost to us, only the translations are avail able .
The Arabs borrowed so much from India the field of mathematics that even the subject of mathematics in Arabic came to known as Hindsa which means 'from India and a mathematician or engineer in Arabic is called Muhandis which means 'an expert in Mathematics'. The word Muhandis possibly derived from the Arabic term mathematics viz. Hindsa.
The concept of zero also originated in ancient India. It is derived from the concept of a void. The concept of void existed in Hindu Philosophy - hence the derivation of a symbol for it.
The concept of Shunyata, influenced South-east asian culture through the Buddhist concept of Nirvana 'attaining salvation by merging into the void of eternity'
A concept and symbol that connotes nullity represents a qualitative advancement of the human capacity of abstraction. In absence of a concept of zero there could have been only positive numerals in computation, the inclusion of zero in mathematics opened up a new dimension of negative numerals and gave a cut off point and a standard in the measurability of qualities whose extremes are as yet unknown to human beings, such as temperature.
In ancient India this numeral was used in computation, it was indicated by a dot and was termed Pujyam. Even today we use this term for zero along with the more current term Shunyam meaning a blank. But queerly the term Pujyam also means holy. Param-Pujya is a prefix used in written communication with elders. In this case it means respected or esteemed. The reason why the term Pujya - meaning blank - came to be sanctified can only be guessed.
Indian philosophy has glorified concepts like the material world being an illusion Maya), the act of renouncing the material world (Tyaga) and the goal of merging into the void of eternity (Nirvana). Herein could lie the reason how the mathematical concept of zero got a philosophical connotation of reverence.
It is possible that like the technique of algebra; the concept of zero also reached the west through the Arabs. In ancient India the terms used to describe zero included Pujyam, Shunyam, Bindu the concept of a void or blank was termed as Shukla and Shubra. The Arabs refer to the zero as Siphra or Sifr from which we have the English terms Cipher or Cypher. In English the term Cipher connotes zero or any Arabic numeral. Thus it is evident that the term Cipher is derived from the Arabic Sifr which in turn is quite close to the Sanskrit term Shubra.
The ancient India astronomer Brahmagupta is credited with having put forth the concept of zero for the first time: Brahmagupta is said to have been born the year 598 A.D. at Bhillamala (today's Bhinmal ) in Gujarat, Western India. ] much is known about Brahmagupta's early life. We are told that his name as a mathematician was well established when K Vyaghramukha of the Chapa dynasty m him the court astronomer. Of his two treatises, Brahma-sputa siddhanta and Karanakhandakhadyaka, first is more famous. It was a corrected version of the old Astronomical text, Brahma siddhanta. It was in his Brahma-sphu siddhanta, for the first time ever had be formulated the rules of the operation zero, foreshadowing the decimal system numeration. With the integration of zero into the numerals it became possible to note higher numerals with limited charecters.
In the earlier Roman and Babylonian systems of numeration, a large number of characters were required to denote higher numerals. Thus enumeration and computation became unwieldy. For instance, as E the Roman system of numeration, the number thirty would have to be written as X: while as per the decimal system it would 30, further the number thirty three would be XXXIII as per the Roman system, would be 33 as per the decimal system. Thus it is clear how the introduction of the decimal system made possible the writing of numerals having a high value with limited characters. This also made computation easier.
Apart from developing the decimal system based on the incorporation of zero in enumeration, Brahmagupta also arrived at solutions for indeterminate equations of 1 type ax2+1=y2 and thus can be called the founder of higher branch of mathematics called numerical analysis. Brahmagupta's treatise Brahma-sputa-siddhanta was translated into Arabic under the title Sind Hind).
For several centuries this translation remained a standard text of reference in the Arab world.
It was from this translation of an Indian text on Mathematics that the Arab mathematicians perfected the decimal system and gave the world its current system of enumeration which we call the Arab numerals, which are originally Indian numerals.
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