In today's Speaking of Faith, an American Public Media program, I heard an hour-long segment with Professor Emeritus V.V. Raman, a physicist, about the confluence of religion and science. Called The Heart's Reason: Hinduism & Science, it's a great listen.

As the interview winds down, the ambient music shifts to an Indian classic: “Vaishnava Vajanotho.” I had tears flowing down my cheeks. Digging around the SOF site, I went looking for the song and the CD. Though it is listed on the site, the link is a dead one. A real shame. The CD, however, is available at Waterlily Acoustics and is called Hollow Bamboo by Ronu Majumdar, Ry Cooder, Jon Hassell, Abhijit Banarjee.

Another visit to the SOF site garnered the Speaking of Faith Playlist, which has full-length versions of all the songs featured on the program. Very cool!

Via Jason Kottke

“You are looking at the far end of the transformation from metric, visual shapes to conceptual memory-related information. It is that transformation that underlies our ability to understand the world. It’s not enough to see something familiar and match it. It’s the fact that you plug visual information into the rich tapestry of memory that brings it to life.”

The New Scientist reports that previously debunked theories about “grandmother-cells,” which connect images to specific memories, are being accepted again in psychologist circles.

This reminds me of an old AGFA or Kodak advertisement in India – “Memories fade. Images do not.”

When you see the number 5 do you see red? If you do, you are likely to have a condition called synaesthesia or the intermingling of the five senses. You aren't unique, though. Apparently one in 2000 have this.

“This cross-wiring might develop, they believe, by a failure of the ‘pruning' of nerve connections between the areas as the brain develops while still in the womb.”

I wonder if the colors and numbers experienced by these people are the same if they individually have their own unique combinations. If you are staring in to a computer screen day-in and day-out as I do, to color correct images, one can only hope that photographers and photo editors aren't afflicted by this. It would be sheer hell to deal with seeing colors and numbers at the same time. Heck, growing up in India reciting the requisite multiplication tables gave me the shivers; I think I saw red, blue, yellow and finally black (when I passed out).

It's finally here. With apologies again, allow me to launch into the four (so appropriate, eh?) entries I received for this fourth installment of The Scian Melt.

First up is a lament of sorts by Patrix on his fine blog Nerve Endings Firing Away. And are they ever! Patrix finds the Cobb County School System has succumbed to a form of idiocy; insisting that evolution, or the theory behind it is only that a theory and that creationism, based largely on a Judeo-Christian belief of the world really is the only answer.

Continuing in this vein of science versus religion is Sandeep‘s post coincidentally titled, The Science Vs Religion Battle. Sandeep suggests that the age of rationale, independent thought, especially on college campuses is in the crosshairs of the ultra conservative propagandists. Dare to discuss a controversial topic and you will be forever branded a rabblerouser and summarily ejected from the system.

On a lighter note, Prashant Mullick has a lucid explanation of how we perceive colors in the sky.

Lastly, continuing to keep our eye to the starry sky one blogger who goes by Broodingdood has some truly fantastic plans for India's odyssey to the moon. Arthur C. Clarke would be proud.

The next Melt will be hosted by Patrix on or around December 25.

It is with profuse apologies to all that I say the links for the fourth Scian Melt will be up on this site only tomorrow (Wednesday, December 8, 2004).

A combination of receiving a dearth of entries (thanks Thanksgiving!) and a slew of personal errands that simply couldn't be put off caused this delay.

Selva has asked me to mention that the next Scian Blog will be hosted by Patrix at or around December 25.