My Science School

We've intuitively known that most board games have a positive effect on us. Be it mental well-being, some form of learning, or even strategizing, board games contribute immensely. Given that they also help us stay away from our devices during the duration when we are playing the game, they are bound to become more popular in the future.

A new study has now validated part of what we've known intuitively, stating that board games based on numbers enhance mathematical ability among children. Their results, which is based on a comprehensive review of research published on this topic over the last 23 years, are published in the peer-reviewed journal Early Years in July.

19 studies from 2000

In order to investigate the effects of physical board games in promoting leaning, the researchers reviewed 19 studies published from 2000 onwards. These studies involved children under the age of 10 and all except one focused on the relationship between the board games and the mathematical skills of the players.

Children participating in these studies received special board game sessions led by teachers, therapists, or parents. While some of these board games were numbers-based like Snakes and Ladders and Monopoly, others did not focus on numeracy skills. These sessions were on average held twice a week for 20 minutes over two-and-a-half months.

Based on assessments on their mathematics performance before and after the intervention sessions, the studies came to their conclusions. Right from basic numeric competency like naming numbers and understanding their relationship with each other, to more complex tasks including addition and subtraction, mathematical ability received a boost in more than half the cases.

Beneficial for all learners?

 While the review established the positive effect of numbers-based board games for children, especially those young, it would be interesting to find out if such an approach would also be beneficial for all learners, including first-generation learners. By improving their fundamental understanding of numbers. children stand to gain as it helps ward off their fear of mathematics and numbers.

The study, meanwhile, also highlighted the lack of scientific evaluation to determine the impact of board games on the language and literacy areas of children. This research group plans to investigate this in their next project.

There is a need to design board games for educational purposes, both in terms of quantity and quality. The researchers believe that this is an interesting space that would open up in the coming years.

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When alive, they look like huge coins with their flat, disk-shaped body. But mostly you would come across them when they have deceased. You might notice these patterned white shells in the sand. These star-stamped skeletons (tests) are much sought-after by beachcombers. (But let us warn you, it is never advised to pick up these creatures, dead or alive). Meet sand dollars, the bottom-dwelling creatures in the ocean.

Also called sea biscuits or sand cakes, the sand dollars belong to the order Clypeastroida. They are close relatives of sea urchins and heart urchins and are adapted to burrow themselves in sandy substrates. They dwell in the tropical and temperate waters throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Measuring from 5 to 10 cm in diameter, the sand dollars are invertebrates belonging to the class of marine animals known as echinoids. They have a radiating arrangement of parts.

The holes in their skeleton are what you notice first. But these aren't there just for design sake. Arranged in a unique petal fashion these sets of gas-and water-processing pores are called lunules and act as pressure drainage channels.

The upper surface of their body showcases what is called pentaradiate (five-fold) symmetry From its centre, a pattern of five "petals" spread out. The mouth of this unique creature is located at the centre of its body's underside.

While alive, the sand dollars have bristles known as spines which even cover their star design and they appear in hues ranging from reddish-brown to purple. When they die, these skeletons turn white, bleached by the sun, which is how you may often find them on the beach.

They breathe through the "petaloids", a set of tiny holes in the skeleton. They live in the sand, using their spines to burrow into the sand. If the water is still, they can be seen standing upright, with one of their ends buried in the sand and they lie down or burrow themselves under the sand if the waters get rough.

Adult sand dollars live on the sea floor while the larva (also called pluteus) floats among the ocean's planktons. The juveniles are seen in the subtidal zones while the adult sand dollars live in the intertidal zone.

Some of the threats these creatures face include bottom trawling, ocean acidification, climate change and so on. It is illegal to remove the sand dollars in most regions. Why we suggest that you should never pick them up is that you may not know if they are dead or alive. They can survive out of water for only a few minutes.

TRIVIA

Sand dollars use their spines to eat. They feed on small food particles in the sand and are said to take two whole days to digest food.

The creature gets its name from the resemblance it has to dollar coins. Other names include "sand cake," "sea biscuit," "cake urchin," "pansy shell", "sea cookie" and so on.

A sand dollars age can be ascertained by the number of rings it sports on the plates of the creature's test. As they grow, the number of rings increases.

The larva of the sand dollar splits itself into two identical clones to hide from predators.

* The mouth of a sand dollar is called Aristotle's lantern.

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Have a smart phone with a good camera? You can get a scoop if you are at the right spot at the right time. Nowadays, newspapers and TV channels encourage ordinary people to actively participate in news-making by requesting them to send reports, videos and photographs of incidents taking place where they live. This is called citizen journalism or participatory journalism. Citizens post comments on news sites and blogs, and write letters to the editor. Citizen journalists perform the important task of pointing out errors and bias in media reports. They may even land a 'scoop', getting to the breaking news before the media, by virtue of being on the spot at the right time! Reports featuring celebrities and politicians antics, police misbehaviour or even footage of crimes in progress, are often the result of citizen journalism. Terrorist bombings, natural disasters and major accidents have also been covered extensively by citizen journalists. Citizen journalism has been possible because of the easy availability of high-quality mobile cameras and recorders, as well as the reach of social media. Any incident is capable of going viral' on the Internet in a matter of minutes.

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In the rich tapestry of Shakespearean plays, there exists a character who, despite its comedic antics, embodies far more depth and significance than meets the eye - the Shakespearean fool. Distinguishing this character from a clown isn't merely a matter of costumes and gags; it delves into their roles and impact within society. The Shakespearean fool, unlike a traditional clown, possessed a multifaceted role. Such characters were not just jesters for entertainment but often served as insightful commentators, revealing truths about other characters and situations through wit, irony, and satire. They often disguised their wisdom within their humorous dialogues, speaking uncomfortable truths that others dared not vocalise.

 

Types of Shakespearean Fools

In the Bard's theatricalmasterpieces, the depiction of fools transcends a singular archetype, offering a spectrum of characters that exemplify diverse facets of wit, wisdom, and societal critique. One such variant is the "clown," a character like the Fool in King Lear or Feste in Twelfth Night. They skilfully interweave jests and puns with profound insights, often using humour to shield poignant observations on the world around them. Their seemingly light-hearted banter belies a deep understanding of the underlying truths of the society they inhabits.  Contrasting the down is the 'wise fool', epitomised by character such as touchstone in as you like it. These figures posses an innate preceptiveness that belies their outward Appreance of buffoonery.  Their playful antics serve as a tool to unravel the hypocrisies and challenge conventional wisdom. In addition, the "moral fool" emerges in characters like Edgar disguised as Poor Tom in King Lear. These individuals adopt a guise of madness or folly to navigate perilous circumstances. Through their seemingly irrational behaviour

Court jesters  

Court jesters were the predecessors of the Shakespearean fool, and held a pivotal position in the monacrch's courts across the world. Beyond providing amusement, they acted as truth-tellers in a world where criticising those in power was perilous.

Costume

The iconic attire of a courtjester from its unique cap with bells and colourful costumes were symbols of their privilege to talk and mock without the fear of punishment. Beyond playing the role of injecting levity into a situation these comics possess a very rare privilege-free speech.

Comedy in the contemporary world Connecting the iconic Shakespearean archetype to modern stand-up comics unveils a similar underlying principle. Many contemporary stand-up comics, akin to the English playwright's stock character, use humour as a medium for societal commentary. However, they do not don a garb that could help them evade punishment for speaking truth to power or even expressing their personal opinions on a sensitive tonic that has rattled society.

The social impact By dressing reality in humour, comedy invites audiences to reflect on society's shortcomings, absurdities, and hypocrisies. It's a mirror held up to society, making us laugh while revealing uncomfortable truths. Challenging authority and societal norms provides a space for dissent and fosters critical thinking. In essence, the Shakespearean fool, the court jesters of history, and the stand-up comics of today share a common thread - they harness the power of comedy to illuminate truth.The laughter they induce in the guise of entertainment acts as a vehicle to convey profound insights, provoke contemplation, and challenge societal norms. As we laugh along, we also find ourselves introspecting, confronting uncomfortable realities, and perhaps, contemplating the change we wish to see in the world.

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If you ever listen deeply to a song on your headphones and focus intensely, you might sometimes see colours emerging in your mind that align with the songs mood or pace.

The science of perception

 Perception is highly variable. As human beings, our range of perception evolved to exclude the nanoscale and macroscale, and we learned to perceive only "medium-sized objects moving at medium speeds". We, as evolutionary organisms, have developed brains that understand only what we need in order to function in the world. And that means our tools of sensory perception are cultivated and specialised according to our domain of operation. We're perception specialists. And specialists can only ever handle a narrow dimension. But here's the good news dimension. But here's the good news: this doesn't have to limit our ability to put our extinction tools of preception to much better use and produce a much more lucid mental model of our reality.

Synaesthesia is the ability of brains to create collaboration between our memories and the sensory regions; here, sights, sounds, colours, tastes, shapes all interact to produce cross-integrated modes of perception - you can hear in colour, taste sights, see sounds, and all that jazz, as per Sussex-University research.

The combinatorial strategy

A well-documented tool of information-processing and storage is Mnemonics a mental tool that help us remember things more easily. Mnemonics employ a similar mechanism to synaesthesia. It works on the same principle of interconnecting concepts and associating new objects with pre-existing memories.

Any higher level of perception and information-processing seems to require a combinatorial strategy. Given that our perception is limited by the bandwidth of our senses, it becomes all the more useful - if not imperative - that we make efforts to increase interaction between the brain's domains and sensory inputs to produce a more cohesive and comprehensive view of the world.

Disinhibited feedback theory

 Neurobiologist J. Neufeld believes that the brains of synaesthetes are not much different from that of your everyday friend. But synaesthetic sensations can occur when the barriers between our sensory-processing regions of our brain recede or fall away. In this state of disinhibition, cognitive signals flow more freely between and along our sensory hierarchies and neural pathways. Thus, an optical stimulus (an object or word we see or read) might trigger or bleed into the olfactory (smell-sensing) cortex, producing a sensation of fragrance or odour associated with the word or object.

How does it work?

Synaesthesia is about the interaction between domains of your brain that hitherto worked in isolation. It's collaborative, integrative, interactive. It seems to fortify or strengthen a perception by combining more layers of sensory input in its formation. Like an artist fully recreates a face by accreting dabs of paint of varied shades to define each contour. Like a lump of sugar dissolves fully into a cup of tea to make it sweet. Like you find a joke hilarious because you've processed the punchline simultaneously in two different dimensions of perception the literal, and the ticklish nonsensical - and, therefore, the double-entendre shocks you into laughter.

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During the recently held Group of Twenty (G20) Foreign Minister’s meeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said multilateralism is in crisis today as global governance has failed in preventing wars and upholding international cooperation. Let us learn more about multilateralism.

What is multilateralism?

 Multilateralism is the process of organising relations between groups of several states. It is usually associated with the period after the Second World War as numerous multilateral agreements were signed, though led primarily by the U.S. Indivisibility is the core principle of multilateralism. For instance, if a war is declared against a state, then all the states in a multilateral set up are considered to be at war against the opponent.

Multilateralism helps in developing a bond among nations, discourages unilateralism, enables small powers to voice their opinions, and empowers them to exercise their rights.

Organisations embodying the principle of multilateralism include World Health Organisation (WHO), World Trade Organisation (WTO) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). They provide the global framework for peace and stability.

Multilateralism vs. unilateralism vs. bilateralism

The basic difference between unilateralism, bilateralism, and multilateralism is that unilateralism supports one-sided action.

Bilateralism means coordination between two countries, and multilateralism is coordination among more than three countries.

Multilateralism requires states to follow international norms in contrast to unilateralism, where a single state can influence how international relations can be conducted.

Multilateralism vs. multipolarity

Multilateralism is an institutional form that coordinates relations among three or more states on the basis of generalised principles of conduct.

Multipolarity is the system where more than two competing nations have almost equal power and influence on the global economy, society, culture, and military. The concept came about after the Second World War as it became clear that the U.S. would no longer be the single great power globally (during the Cold War it was a bipolar world led by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R).

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In La Gloria, Colombia many rural communities lack access to books, limiting educational opportunities for children. Luis Soriano's Biblioburro aims to bring books directly to these communities, bridging the gap and giving children the chance to experience the magic of reading and learning.

In the heart of rural Colomina, where the rugged terrain meets the vast blue sky, a man and hus bvo faithful donkeys carry a precious cargo of knowledge and imagination. The man is Luis Soriano, a teacher with a passion for books, and the donkeys are Alfa and Beto (alfabeto Spanish for alphabet), his trusty companions in his bring the world of literature to the quest to bring the world remote villages of his homeland.

Together, they form the Biblioburro (the donkey library), a mobile library of around 120 books that roams the countryside, spreading the joy of reading and learning to children who would otherwise have no access to books. As they journey across mountains and valleys, Soriano and his companions are greeted with excitement and wonder by the young readers who eagerly gather around them.

A beacon of hope

 After finishing high school in La Gloria, Columbia, Soriano knew he wanted to become a teacher, so he got a job at a small rural school, while completing a degree remotely from the Universidad del Magdalena. However, he found that his students were not progressing and did not do their homework, which he attributed to their lack of access to books at home.

Despite his limited access to resources, he resolved to bring knowledge to his pupils by bringing books to them. One day in the year 1997, with the help of one of his donkeys and a stack of books, he set off before dawn and embarked on a challenging journey across the countryside He travelled several miles stopping at the homes of each of his students and reading with them. Afterwards, he lent them the books and promised to come back to collect them the next day. Day after day, he repeated this process, arriving in the early hours of the morning, long before school started. Soriano's Biblioburro soon became more than just a mobile library: it became a beacon of hope a symbol of possibility and a gateway to a brighter future.

More than two decades later, Luis Soriano has not stopped, Despite being robbed a couple of times, facing violent threats and enduring many injuries during his travels, Soriano continues to promote literacy because he believes it is crucial for ending violence and bringing peace to his Country. His library which started off with only 70 books, today, boasts a collection of more than 7.000 titles, most of which were donated after his inspirational story was made known to the public via different media. His admirable work has also inspired two recent children's books. ‘Waiting for the Biblioburro and Biblioburo: A True Story from Colombia’

Through his simple yet effective idea, Soriano continues to inspire others around the world to take action and make a difference in their own communities.

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