Phoenix or The Flame?

Yesterday, I read that scientists had finally solved the mystery of the chicken and the egg. An age old question that baffled people more than the all elusive value of x: Which came first?

The Answer: The chicken came first because there is a particular protein in the egg that can produced only by a hen. Without it, the egg cannot exist. So the mystery was closed not directly, but indirectly, by proving the impossibility of the other option.

On not so dissimilar lines, I wondered about the same question about the phoenix and the flame: Which came first? The beauty of the answer lies in the fact that there can be none, for the Phoenix is a mythological creature of fire.

Its a question of opinion and background of a person. A staunch believer in ancient Greek/Egyptian/Persian mythology may chose to not answer the question claiming that there is none, and that its a truly infinite circle. Some believe that it rose from an erupting volcano or something. But in claiming its existence, they leave the doors open to scientists for doing what they do best: ask where the infinite loop started and answer the question.

One answer could be that neither the phoenix, nor the flame came first. Ok, not exactly neither. But the ashes of something else gave rise to the phoenix. Not that plausible, but hey, this is mythology. Magic and Mythology go hand in hand. You'll need to have a decent imaginative range for that.

The other answer is that the Phoenix came first... as an evolved creature. Even for a mystical creature to rise from the ashes, it should have been the burnt remains of a phoenix in the first place. How can a phoenix just rise from ordinary ashes?? This is in compliance with the indirect technique. Disprove the possibility of the opposite and there you have it. Scientifically, it makes more sense than the previous option. 

Personally, I subscribe to the first option. Let the aura of the magic of a mythological creature remain. It also helps to maintain the beautiful mystery of its origin.

The rest, as I said, is a matter of opinion.

-Pratik Gupta

My Favorite Songs

Here is a small post where I list down my all time top 5 songs:

1. Coming Back to Life - Pink Floyd (Pulse). Timeless Classic. Its a song for any mood. Cheers me up and gets me going when I'm down. Calms me down and soothes me when I'm agitated.
2. November Rain - Guns N' Roses (Use Your Illusion 1). This is the most complete relationship song. It has a stanza that can be compared to each of the 3 broad states of a relationship: The fight, the uncertainty and the reconciliation. 
3. Lazarus - Porcupine Tree (Deadwing). This is the second part of the Deadwing Screenplay trilogy (Trains - Lazarus - Half Light). Its about a son 'David' singing to mother 'Elizabeth' upon her death. Beautiful Music and cruel, painful, emotional lyrics make both this song and its sequel (Half Light) make it among the most played songs in my list.
4. She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5 (Songs About Jane). We all know this one. Maroon 5's best song till date. About a friend who is always there for his female friend in time of need, who knows her every secret, but is secretly in love with her. He sings about how the guy will always be there for the girl but will never be able to have his feelings reciprocated. Try watching the video of Maroon 5 on MTV World Stage at Vegas. Their finale with this song and getting the crowd to sing the end in two halves just blew me away!!
5. Take Me Home, Country Roads - John Denver (Poems, Prayers and Promises). The best sing-along EVER!!! Liberating. Relaxing. Gets my feet tapping. John Denver's unquestionable best.

A few very close contenders that JUST missed out on the list: Kandisa (Indian Ocean), Learning to Fly, Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd), Sweet Child O' Mine, Stranged, Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Guns N' Roses), Tears in Heaven (Eric Clapton). And many more.

I also tend to go deep into the meaning of a song's lyrics... It helps me truly appreciate the beauty of the song. I might write a few posts on intriguing song meanings soon.

Meanwhile, enjoy these. :)

-Pratik Gupta

Battery Health and Me (And, You too)

Most of us use Smartphones these days. Almost all of us have either an iPhone, an Android or a Blackberry. And all of you will completely understand when I say that battery life is a major issue. I had a very rough 10 days because of an old battery and, boy, was it a major pain in the backside.

Towards the end of my ordeal (yesterday), my phone would stay on for no longer than 40 minutes even if I switched off 3G, kept flight mode on, didn't listen to music, didn't even check my cell by turning on the LED back-light. Cutting through the redundancy, I made my phone worthless and it still didn't last 2400 seconds. And so my phone was on charge all day at work and at home. Basically, I owned a Dabba. :P

Obviously, I got myself a new battery, and couldn't help smiling to myself as the initial charge of 21% lasted close to 4 hours with my regular usage of mobile internet and texting (#WIN). So, anyway I thought I'd do some research on Li-Ion batteries and their working to help me (and now, you) understand how to take better care of your batteries.

For starters, the basic process of battery usage is simple electrolysis. Lithium Ions moving from one electrode to another, positive to negative, and discharging is the reverse process. At the end of my research, I learnt the following things:

1. The notion that the battery's first charging should last 12-16 hours for good health and longevity is a myth. This was required only in the old Nickel-Cadmium(Ni-Cd) batteries, most of which have been phased out now. The 12 hour charge could actually damage your battery right from the start. A normal charge should be anywhere between 2 to 3 hours.
2. Ideally, the battery (and thus, the device) should be kept at room temperature, ie. 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. So, if you're at a warm indoor place, keep it near the fan of air cooling vent, and if you're in a cold place, keep it in your pocket.
3. You should never completely discharge the battery. Recharge it when it reaches 10-15%. However, you should do a complete discharge and recharge of the battery once every 20-30 charge cycles. That comes up to roughly a month in my case.
4. You shouldn't fully charge it either. I don't quite get how we can manage that, but no harm trying.
5. Never use a non-approved charger for your device. There could be a difference in voltage from charger to charger and that could damage your battery. In lay man terms, use only the charger that comes with your device otherwise there's some electronic mumbo-jumbo that'll screw up your battery.
6. Never keep the battery or the device close to a metallic surface for too long. Again, free electrons and metals and some chemical geek stuff.

Apart from these, I read that batteries have two important attributes. A Digital Memory, that kinda helps the device read its percentage life for display purposes; and Potency, a quantitative measure of the number of free electrons it can regain after a full recharge. Both, indirectly indicate battery life and charge percentage. The difference being that Potency cannot be measured by the device, while Digital Memory can... not with pinpoint accuracy, however. So don't rely on the battery meter display on your gadgets too much.

I've been through a good few websites to read and assimilate this information. I hope it helps you guys as well as I hope it helps me. Most of them make sense when you read it in detail. Except the execution of the 4th one. I'll try to figure that out by myself. 

Ultimately, its all in the Science of it. Hope your battery lasts long enough to help you tweet, Whatsapp and listen to music all the way home from work or college.

Cheers. :)

-Pratik Gupta.

PS: Comments and corrections are welcome. :)