Round The Table - Discuss

Dear friends,

Is anyone interested in Graphology? When I was 23-25 years old, I suddenly got an extraordinary interest in this field for some strange reason and I read number of books regarding this. I still have hunger to learn more and more about it. I know forensic science uses graphology extensively. I am very interested in learning more about how someone's thought process influences his/her handwriting. Can anyone guide me to content rich book/website other than standard websites of Graphology institute in UK, US, Australia, India and so on? Any independent research is what I am looking for.

Viswa

 

Hi Kamla
Thanks. It did warm my heart but the next minute I also began wondering in self-pity, "why don't these nice things happen to me when I travel?"

Hi Sokanasanah
Thanks for that enlightening write-up on calculus. Now I know it wasn't the heavy lunch or the last row that made sleep in calculus class. You freed me of guilt!

Hi Dinny
Thanks for the write up on the jellyfish! Very interesting!
Mmmm ... so many things going on in this world with those other living things we share this earth, isn't it? Makes me pause and think and admire the beauty of creation!
Thanks immensely for sharing.

Hi SRama
I thought psychedelic mushrooms are something like those from the movie Avatar. Did not know they contain dangerous drugs.

Thanks Uttara for information on this.

Thanks to all for the different information - I learnt so many new things today.

 

Such a heartwarming video Kamla...Thx for sharing!

 

Dear Viswa sir
I did not know much about graphology so looked it up.
My, you want to find out about folks' character based on their handwriting?
Now that makes me worried about yet another thing. In this electronic era perhaps they can also determine one's character with choice of type fonts. Now I better go and change my font.

 

It looks like there's a sudden dearth of topics. Or perhaps it is because of Uttara's absence here!
Missing you Uttara.

I was adding some decorations to the Christmas tree the other day, and was wondering when and where this tradition began.
Here are some interesting tidbits I found in Wikipedia.

• A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer such as spruce, pine, or fir, traditionally associated with the celebration of Christmas. An artificial Christmas tree is usually made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
• The tree was traditionally decorated with edibles such as apples, nuts or other foods. In the 18th century, it began to be illuminated by candles.
• The custom of the Christmas tree developed in early modern Germany with predecessors that can be traced to the 16th and possibly the 15th century.
• There are a number of speculative theories as to its ultimate origin. Its 16th-century origins are sometimes associated with Protestant Christian reformer Martin Luther who, according to the TV channel History, "first added lighted candles to a tree"

For more information on the Christmas tree Christmas tree - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




Information courtesy: Wikipedia.
Image courtesy: w8themes.com

 

Thanks a ton JAG. I don't particularly envy their anti-ageing ability, but the fact that they have 1000s of clones of themselves. I am trying to imagine what it would be like to have even a couple of genetic clones of meself. Poor mom! :rotfl

 

Thanks a ton Soka. It's a relief to know I'm not the only one. Am giving a second chance to coordinate geometry and calculus with Khan's academy. Let's see where I end up. :-D

 

JAG and Kamala, will be delighted to warm the back benches in good company. :-D

 

Oh wow, Satchi, you are serious, that's great!

In that case take a quick look at the first chapter of: "Understanding Calculus Concepts". You can read this on Amazon actually, except for page 7 which is not that important anyway. I have used pages 4, 5 and 9 to set some young students in the right frame of mind for beginning calculus. The organizing principles of approximation-refinement-limit, section 1.4 on conceptual development and the table on page 9 are more than worth the price of the book for a novice. It's different for you, but I hope you are confident enough to not take my suggestion as patronizing! It is not intended that way.

If you want to understand the epsilon-delta definition of limits, this book, though 'old', gives the simplest explanation I know. You can usually buy it for a few bucks on Amazon or better yet find it at a library (inter-library loan?).

If you want a more detailed account of the epsilon-delta machinery, especially in relation to proofs, then this book is very good: Inside Calculus. The author says right off the bat that most people do not understand epsilon-delta approach the first time they encounter calculus, so this book is intended to clarify the ideas. That should be reassuring to you, you are not alone! However, you can go a long way, especially if your focus is applied calculus, by ignoring epsilon-delta - it's not mandatory, but it's very clever, so I would encourage you to read the few pages on it in the Swokowski book. It will give you a buzz I am sure (& it's less than 3 pages!).

If you want a fun intro to the history of calculus, I like: A Tour of The Calculus.
The writing style can be annoying at times, but on the whole it is a light read & if you are patient, you will understand why you did not understand calculus in the first place! I assure you it's worth it.

Finally, ignore the negative Amazon reviews of these books. They are not very thoughtful. I have read all of these, they still sit on my shelves. They have their flaws, but the benefits outweigh the deficiencies by far.