Kisholoy - September 2020

Digital Kisholoy A monthly magazine of Ananda Mandir youth group

September, 2020

Kisholoy is produced by youth members of Ananda Mandir. The articles, drawing or photographs of this magazine are copyrighted and should not be reproduced in any other forms without the consents of the owners.

We would like to acknowledge the contributions of the followings: Articles: Anooshka Sen, Anirudh Sarkar, Auroni Sen, Shama Dinesh, Shivan Mukherjee, Drawing: cover - Anooshka Sen Editors: Dipak K. Sarkar and Utpal Sengupta Magazine Composer: Dipak K. Sarkar For information about the Kisholoy – contact Dipak K. Sarkar via email (Dipakksarkar@hotmail.com).

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Mars: The fourth planet in our Solar System

By Anooshka Sen (age 7) Mars is the fourth planet in our solar system and it was named after the roman “god of war”. Mars is 142 million miles away from the Sun and it takes sunlight 13 minutes to travel from sun to Mars. Mars is the second smallest planet in our solar system after Mercury.

Mars completes one rotation every 24.6 hours, which is very similar to one day on Earth (23.9 hours). A year on Mars lasts 669.5 sols (sols is Mars days), which is same as 687 earth days. Mars’ axis of rotation is tilted 25 degrees with respect to the planet’s orbit around the sun. This is another similarity with Earth, which has an axial tilt of 23.4 degrees. When Earth and Mars are at their closest points they are 33.9 million miles apart.

Image source www.solarsystem.nasa.gov

Mars is also called the red planet because its surface is red in color. Martian surface is made of iron and the reason Mars looks reddish is due to the oxidization or rusting of the iron in the surface rock. Mars is home to the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. It is three times taller than Earth’s Mt. Everest with a base the size of the state of New Mexico.

Mars had water in the past but due to its thin atmosphere water no longer exists on Mars’ surface. Only large deposits of frozen ice can be found on the poles with dry ice (which is solid carbon dioxide).

Mars has two potato shaped moons named Phobos and Deimos, which may be captured asteroids, pulled by Mars’s gravity. Gravity on Mars’ surface is much lower than it is here on Earth. A person who weighs 100Kg on Earth would weigh only 38Kg on Mars.

Image source www. scientificamerican.com

Scientists have sent several satellites and rovers to explore if life is possible on Mars. They have found that life may not be possible naturally on Mars but they are experimenting possibilities of life in a controlled environment on Mars.

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Spices of India

By Auroni Sen (age 10) The most commonly used spices in India are Cardamom Seeds,Turmeric Powder, Saffron Threads on Tulip Flower, Brown Cumin Seeds, Cinnamon Sticks, Coriander Seeds, Yellow and Black Mustard Seeds, and Red Chilli. The reason these spices are so popular is because the spices that people use in India are not only used in food, they are also used to cure illness. They compliment our sense of smell with a delicious fragrance. They also fill our tongue with unique taste and beautify our eyes with vibrant colors. Curry powder, ground spices, and other blended powders hold an important position in flavor and aroma. This has been a part of Indian culture for centuries. If you are familiar with the kinds of food in India, you might know that Indian food is very flavorful.

You may wonder why it has the unique and tasty flavor that it has.

The reason for this is the cuisine and its mix of spices in the food, is more often than not a revelation for those who sit down to eat it for the first time. Heavy doses of cardamom, cayenne, tamarind and other flavors can overwhelm an unfamiliar palate. Together, they help form the flavor of what tastes so good to everyone. But, there is a little problem with this. Scientists have found out that lately, Indian food has been considered unhealthy. The reason it is considered unhealthy is because recently, Indian food has been all high sugar and high carb food which can contribute to high cholesterol. However, traditional Indian food is not only healthy, but is also incredibly tasty with tons of great health benefits. Try to avoid any creamy curries because it can be unhealthy.

If you live in the U.S, you may have noticed that Indian food is a little bit more expensive here than it is in India. That is because the spices have to be shipped here from overseas. And , everything is made from scratch, so it is a little more time consuming to make Indian food. So, with all the cost added up, it will be a little bit more expensive in the U.S. This also applies to the spices you see at the Indian store or at the grocery store.

That is the history and all about many of the spices that we use in India!

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Elon Musk’s Brain Chip

By Anirudh Sarkar (age 14) Elon Musk, philanthropist, millionaire and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is a remarkable and one of a kind man. His unorthodox yet exceptional behavior and way of thinking is what captivates all his fans alongside all his crazy ideas that no one has thought of going the long run for. Even such thoughts as human flight, the colonization of Mars, etc. has brought him the reputation he deserved. However, more recently he disclosed his newest project, or the current “V2” status of an old idea. The brain chips.

Elon Musk’s ideal is to “advance humanity”. In a current environment where machines, robots and artificial intelligence are on its way to taking over the majority of jobs, this is not expected, but it is certainly a large step in that direction. The ultimate objective, according to Musk, is for Neuralink to help create a symbiotic relationship between humans and computers. Musk argues that Neuralink-like devices could help humanity keep up with super-fast machines. Neuralink, another one of the large companies Musk founded works towards his attempt to make brain chips an everyday item.

Elon Musk who founded Neuralink and others, are developing implantable brain–machine interfaces (BMIs). Neutralink’s headquarters are in San Francisco; it was started in 2016 and was first publicly reported in March 2017. According to Bloomberg, since its founding, the company has hired several high profile neuroscientists from various universities. By July 2019, it had received $158 million in funding (of which $100 million was from Musk) and was employing a staff of 90 employees. At that time, Neuralink announced that it was working on a "sewing machine-like" device capable of implanting very thin (4 to 6 μm in width) threads into the brain, and demonstrated a system that read information from a lab rat via 1,500 electrodes; it anticipates to start experiments with humans in 2020.”

Musk, on August 28, 2019 disclosed his brand new brain chips and its demo on pigs. “ These chips are called Links, and they measure 0.9 inches wide by 0.3 inches tall. They connect to the brain via wires, and provide a battery life of 12 hours per charge, after which the user would need to wirelessly charge again.” It is such a crazy thought. Apart from convenience, the brain chip also might assist with depression, brain damage, and memory loss according to Neuralink.

Furthermore, to calm the quick thinkers, Neuralink also stated that the brain chips can be interpreted as an extended form of human evolution, however they do recognize that using the chip on anyone else apart from those truly need it for medical reasons, would indeed be unethical.

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Artificial Intelligence in Military Application

By Shivan Mukherjee (age 16) As technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to advance, they are also gaining applications in the military. The use of AI and other such technologies could help to facilitate autonomous operations and increase both the speed and scale of action taken by the military. One such technology is the Ghost 4 military drone. Built by Anduril Industries, the Ghost 4 drone contains AI algorithms that could be used to track people, missiles, and battlefield equipment. Furthermore, such multiple drones can be used at once to create a data web with real-time information sharing to possibly monitor a situation. Its ease of handling enables one person to handle several drones or operate a number of drones as a single swarm with a common purpose.

The idea behind such a device was “versatility.� The ability to adjust to the military’s need is integral in any technology as every situation is likely to be different. The goal of the creators of the Ghost 4 is to bring AI and autonomous vehicles to the forefront of future military operations attempting to veer away from traditional uses of manned vehicles and operations. They also believe that there will soon be an AI arms race that the United States must be prepared for, so as not to fall behind other strategic adversaries of the United States. The creators of the drone were also behind the creation of Oculus Rift. As such, they are working on technologies to bring augmented reality that can help supplement information to soldiers involved in operations.

And, of course, the use of such technology in the military also necessitates the discussion of ethics.

In February, 2020, the Pentagon announced its adoption of ethical principles in the use of AI in warfare. It calls for its function and uses to be defined explicitly and also requires that it be exercised with levels of care and judgment. The only prior ethical guideline to the adoption of these rules was that a person had to be involved in the 6

process of a mission with AI technology. While there is still controversy over whether such rules can be enforced or whether they will be followed at all, the adoption of such rules is a step in the right direction of preventative action in the use of technology with destructive capabilities.

------------------------------------------------Peace or Freedom By: Shama Dinesh (age 20) There was once a time Where living would be a crime Mute spectators throughout history Unveiling to the Creator all the violence and misery Humanity was never blessed Caught in a vicious cycle of being depressed We walked the Earth in its madness Insignificant before its vastness Thoughts turned wicked, and souls turned dark Shackled to our sins, bearing its mark Cursed to suffer, lamenting the damned Fall at the hands of our demons, failing to withstand Doomed to a fate never desired for Tangled with the dance between peace and war A moment lost to the pandemonium Compelled to surrender our will and freedom Humanity shall tread this world for eons to come Dazed and numb from the torment we suffer from Heaven or hell might never arise Angels and demons might walk in disguise But for once before we lay rotting in a mausoleum Should we strive to choose between either peace or freedom

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