August 2021 - Hubble the Magazine

ISSUE II

hubble THE MAGAZINE

THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE

STRING THEORY

the entire universe is just tiny strings HOW ENGINEERING FAILED WOMEN

and how they need to do better AUGUST 2021

@HUBBLETHEMAGAZINE

EVERYTHING IS THEORETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE, UNTIL IT IS DONE. ROBERT A. HEINLEIN

IN THIS ISSUE

06

08

09

12

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE

STRING THEORY

ARe aliens real?

15

17

20

22

BLUETOOTH 101

robotic surgery 101

The engineering behind Iron Man’s suit

How Engineering failed women

27

29

34

36

How math is shaping oncology

BEnford’s law and tax fraud

Why do people believe in astrology?

A brief understanding of the brain

38

42

44

45

The Placebo effect

KATHERINE JOHNSON

STEM BOOK RECCOMENDATIONS

STEM MOVIE RECCOMENDATIONS

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the second edition of Hubble.

Countless hours and sweat went into this edition, but at the end - we are so proud of it. This time, we tried to make more of a conscious effort to make our articles easier to read, understand and enjoy. Some topics, like diversity, are meant for serious conversations and we reflected long on this and decided that if we have a platform it is our responsibility to use it for the better. This edition, we put a focus on diversity in STEM, an issue that has plagued the industry since it began. With opeds regarding women in engineering, and focusing on pioneers in STEM, we hope that some light can be shed on this issue.

Together, as we work towards making the world a more diverse and inclusive place, it is crucial to honor those who paved the way for us. Due to this, we as a team have decided to do a profile on an individual in STEM who has broken all the barriers and proven themselves to the world every edition. For this edition, we will shed a light on the life of Katherine Johnson - a black woman in STEM who is a true trailblazer.

I would like to thank everyone who came together in order to make this edition a reality, this would not have been possible without you.

Aditi Gaur EDITOR IN CHIEF

SCIENCE SECTION “SCIENCE

IS

DISCIPLE

OF

ALSO

ONE

AND

NOT

ONLY

REAS ON

OF

A

B U T

ROMANCE

PASSION.”

STEPHEN HAWKING

/ 33

THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE ADITI GAUR At any given moment, if you ask me

The theory goes something like this:

what I am thinking, it’s probably how

about 13.7 billion years ago, the entire

scientists love to give unnecessarily

universe was an infinitesimally small

complicated names to everything but

singularity. The singularity is this point

decided to name the theory that gave

of infinite denseness and heat. And

birth to the entire universe ‘Big Bang’.

then, this expansion began where the singularity

started

expanding

and

Today, the Big Bang theory is the

ballooning our universe faster than

leading

the

the speed of light. According to Alan

the

Guth and his 1980 theory, this lasted

universe began. They don’t believe

only fractions of a second - about

that Brahma made it or that Gaia

10^-32

appeared out of somewhere if you’re

precise.

scientific

consensus community

amongst on

how

of

a

second,

to

be

more

a Percy Jackson fan but believe that it all came from this tiny, tiny thing

After this stopped, a lot of matter and

called a Singularity.

radiation

just

flooded

into

the

universe.

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07

This

is

basically,

called it

‘reheating’

was

the

and

process

of

Apart from that, we found it in a bunch

of

space

missions

too.

populating the universe with material

NASA’S

you know today - things like atoms,

Explorer in the 1990s, ESA’s Planck

particles, stars etc. Keep in mind that

satellite,

this was within the first second of the

observations from Planck were so

Universe beginning, so it's safe to say

detailed that we found out that

that

the universe is older than we

the

universe

is

much

more

productive than me.

thought

Cosmic and

-

13.82

Background more.

billion

The

years

instead of 13.7 billion.

NASA says that during this time, the temperature was around 5.5 billion

So, the universe is still expanding.

degrees

Delhi

And what’s interesting is that the

during May. Now, the cosmos has its

rate of expansion is increasing,

building

neutrons,

which means that eventually, we

electrons, and protons. NASA says

will not be able to spot other

that you couldn’t see this part of the

galaxies from Earth. Think of it this

Big Bang since light couldn’t be

way; distant galaxies are moving

carried. The free electrons in the

away from us. The more time that

universe photons (light) scatter how

passes, the faster they move away,

sunlight scatters from water droplets

so if you give it enough time, they

in the clouds. But in about 380,000

will reach the speed of light. Once

years, the free electrons found nuclei

that happens, even light cannot

and

neutral

bridge the gap between us and

atoms, and we had light. This is

the galaxy. There is then no way

sometimes called ‘afterglow’ but the

for us to communicate with those

fancy science term for it is cosmic

ETs.

Celsius, blocks

managed

so -

to

around the

create

microwave background (CMB).

Now, remember, there’s so much Here’s what is cool about CMB - it's

more to the theory. It's way more

not a theory; we found it. So CMB is

complicated than what you’ve just

the ‘leftover radiation’ from the Big

read, but now hopefully you won’t

Bang and was first predicted in 1948

just think of the show when you

by Ralph Alpher and some other

hear ‘The Big Bang Theory’.

scientists. We ended up finding it by accident about 20 years later though.

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STRING THEORY GURSIMAR KUMAR

What is it?

Before reading the rest of the article, take a look at your hand. Maybe turn it around a couple of times, open and close your hand, observe the curling of the fingers and the arch of your wrist. Bring it closer and closer to your face until you see the lattices of your epidermis, skin tensing around the knuckles of your bones. Now, this is far as the human eye can see, but if you use a microscope, you’ll see molecules. With an even more precise transmission electron microscope, you can image atoms. From there, you can zoom in even further and see electrons, and the nucleus with neutrons and protons can be zoomed into even further until you see quarks. Now, this is as far as conventional science allows you to go. If you zoom into a quark, you will find nothing but the mass of the quark or empty space. There’s another theory, though, one that says if you zoom in even further, you will see a string.

Just a string. A tiny thread of energy that makes up the entire universe. That’s string theory in a nutshell. Lots of strings of energy, similar to the strings on a guitar or a violin. Zoom out all the way again; the hand that you’re looking at is made up of millions of billions of billions of billions of strings.

The same goes for the rest of the universe. Not a group of flying, swarming charged particles, but one big beautiful orchestra that makes up everything we know and everything we don’t.

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Why are these strings so important and so controversial to the scientific world right now?

To understand the answer to that question, we have to know the two other most important theories in science right now. Quantum theory, breaks down the nature and behaviour of particles on an atomic and subatomic level, and the theory of relativity states that gravity isn’t some invisible force that pulls things together, but a warping of space itself. If that doesn’t make sense, try and imagine putting a bowling bowl on a waterbed. That waterbed is the entire universe, and the bowling ball is maybe the Sun. If you roll a ping pong ball across the waterbed, it will roll right across with hardly any diversion from its path. However, if you put a bowling ball in the middle of this bed, the course of this ping pong ball curves around the bowling ball, because of its mass.

The only catch with these two brilliantly posed theories is that they seem to contradict each other. There is no math with what we know that unifies the laws of the subatomic universe and the laws of the larger forces of the universe. String theory provides the math that makes the two work together, by adding six more dimensions to the four-dimensional universe around us.

String theorists propose that these extra dimensions are so small, we cannot see them with our eyes or specialised tools, or even identify them with our extremely high energy experiments, and that they are necessary to give the strings that make up this universe the room they need to freely vibrate in the ways they do to create the matter and energy in this universe the way it is.

String theory is one of many potential candidates for the Theory of Everything.

It is the most praised and the most criticised. It is praised for its mathematical beauty and just how perfectly everything seems to fit. It is the most fleshedout candidate, and it is the only one that reconciles the micro and macro laws. However, it is heavily criticized since it just cannot be proven. In fact, some scientists have gone so far as to say that it doesn't even meet the base requirement of a scientific theory, the ability to be proven wrong.

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Is there really no way to prove this theory at all?

Technically, there is a very, very expensive way of testing this theory.

Approximately half a million years after the Big Bang, the universe was primarily made up of neutral hydrogen atoms, coupled with the radiation from the original explosion. String theorists predict that some cosmic strings existed at the time, leaving slight fluctuations in space around them, leaving behind some kind of mark on those basic hydrogen atoms, absorbing radiation at a wavelength of precisely twenty-one centimetres. However, due to the 14 billion years of expansion, the wavelength of that radiation would have surely stretched to approximately twenty-one metres before reaching Earth. By creating a wide array of telescopes with a total area of more than a thousand kilometres, we can identify the cosmic footprints those strings left behind. So while testing this theory out doesn’t prove to be impossible, it would cost more than the annual GDP of every country in this world.

So if it can’t be proven right or wrong, why is Hubble writing about it?

Simply because we may not be able to prove this theory right or wrong right now doesn’t mean that we will never be able to do so. Thousands of scientists worldwide are finding new ways every day, and with the rate at which our technology and our ideas are evolving and expanding, we might find a way very soon. This theory presents incredible possibilities for our universe. The entire visible Universe could be a hologram, merely an illusion that is isomorphic to the information on the surface of the Universe. This theory also backs the idea of the anthropic principle, that uses the existence of human life as an explanation for the natural constants in our Universe. It even opens doors that there are possibilities of infinite universes, either parallel or completely different to ours.

A grand cosmic heavenly symphony of strings playing a grand sonata, where our little planet, perhaps the only one with life, plays a sweet little melody, getting closer and closer to figuring out the rest of the piece.

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ARE ALIENS REAL? ISHA MAINI One of the fascinating parts of the

the cosmos, so there's a reasonable

history of humanity's quest to find

probability

whether or not there is other life in

somewhere in the ether.

we

have

neighbors

the cosmos, and whether or not any of it is intelligent in the manner that

NASA has confirmed that the number

we are. We, humans, are obsessed

of exoplanets is in the thousands, and

with the idea that we are not alone,

we

that there are other intelligent life

expand as technology that can go to

forms out there in the world who can

the far reaches of space improves.

interact with us. We couldn't be the

This means that thousands of known

only ones in the vastness of the

planets have yet to be thoroughly

galaxy, can we? Outer space is a vast

investigated,

realm in which we have so much

more awaiting discovery that may

more to learn, which is why it's

contain

difficult to dismiss the prospect of

supporting life. Who's to say that

other

intelligent

sentient

lifeforms

existing.

can

expect

already

have made findings and hypotheses

exoplanets?

indicate

the

anything beyond us in

possibility

well

settings

Some of the greatest minds in science that

as

that

alien

colonized

number

as

countless

capable beings one

to

of

haven't or

many

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12

In reality, if alien life exists, it may be

In that respect, maybe the more

as

as

fundamental question is whether

complicated as humans, and there

we are technologically equipped

are optimal search tactics for both.

this time to solve the riddle once

Simple life evolved on Earth nearly

and for all. There's no denying that

immediately after the planet cooled

our ability to detect the most

enough

water-based

ethereal, ephemeral events in the

creatures. However, for life to be

universe is at an all-time high.

observable from a distance, it must

However, there appears to be a

have evolved to the point that it

delicate line between embracing

dominates

the

planetary

that

chemistry

and

has

simple

to

as

bacteria

sustain

or

surface

dramatically

thrilling

prospect

and

succumbing to the type of hubris

altered the atmosphere, resulting in

that

some

chemical "biosignatures" that may, in

surrendered to. Naturally, we say,

theory, be detected remotely. For

this

example, Earth would not have been

period in human history, and if we

discovered as a life-bearing planet

can broaden our brains and our

during its first two billion years of

efforts, all will be revealed!Of all,

existence.

none of us can predict how this

is

the

of

our

most

forefathers

extraordinary

will all turn out. We may do better The solar system's present age is

to

around half that of our galaxy's disk

uncertainty inherent in all of this

and, likewise, half that of the sun's

since facing the unknown and

projected lifespan. As a result, we

unknowable

anticipate that about half of the stars

thrilling. What we need not do is

in our galaxy disk are older than the

let the unpredictability of this

sun.

specific

pendulum,

formation history indicated that the

between

possibilities,

solar system formed near the median

from attempting and must keep

period for large planet formation and

researching for the better.

A

recent

analysis

of

planet

be

very

open

is

about

the

exceptionally

swinging deter

us

that roughly 80% of current Earth's creation may have created extant Earth-like planets. This offers us a lot of clout when it comes to examining extrasolar intelligent life.

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TECH SECTION “IT

HAS

BECOME

APPALLINGLY THAT HAS

OUR

OBVIOU S

TECHNOLOGY

EXCEEDED

OU R

HUMANITY.” ALBERT EINSTEIN

BLUETOOTH 101 AARYA CHIRIPAL

Bluetooth,

a

technology

without

They

reflect

the

technology

and

which many of our daily habits would

whether or not that system is the

be impossible, did not emerge until

most

the late 1900s. In fact, the market for

connect to specific Bluetooth levels,

this product didn't take off until the

such as 1.0 or 5.0.

recent.

Many

gadgets

only

1990s! This method wirelessly links two or more electronic gadgets within

But, technically speaking, what is this

a set distance by pressing a button on

system? In a nutshell, it is made up of

your device. This strategy was named

microchips and radio waves. A set of

after Harald "Blatand" Gormsson, a

Bluetooth

10th century Scandinavian King who

example, will link to your phone or

essentially united tribes all over the

laptop via a computer chip installed

land.

inside their bodies. When you connect

As

holistically,

a

result, the

when

entire

viewed

earphones,

for

of

two Bluetooth devices, you've created

that

a piconet. A piconet is a "micro-

connect

network" of comparable radio waves

particular things for current or future

that transmit and receive data to

convenience. You may have heard of

connect two devices.

Bluetooth

is

very

situation

because

concept

wireless

similar both

to

specific numbers in addition to the phrase Bluetooth, such as Bluetooth 1.0, 2.0, and so on.

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Due to the billions of Bluetooth devices globally, this piconet has a range of 15 meters. This range comes under the ultrahigh frequency column, which is

essentially

the

"medical,

scientific, and industrial" one.

Since

Bluetooth

devices

fall

within this category, they must constantly

alter

their

radio

waves at a rate of roughly 1600 times

per

because

second.

This

shifting

continually

is and

changing

frequencies might aid in the establishment of a non-static and secure connection between your devices. In its most basic form,

Bluetooth

described

as

an

can

be

invisible

connection that connects your gadgets. Bluetooth is virtually why

"wireless"

systems

exist

internationally, and there will be numerous advancements in this technology soon.

Bluetooth is a relatively new technology which has already revolutionized the world, only time will tell what it holds for us in the future.

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ROBOTIC SURGERY 101 VIDISHA AGARWAL

Robotic surgery, also known as robot-

The

assisted surgery, is believed to help

surgeon from a computer console

doctors

out

which offers them a detailed, high

various complex medical procedures

quality and 3-dimensional outlook of

with a higher degree of accuracy,

the surgical area. The surgeon then

flexibility,

management,

makes tiny incisions in the patient’s

traditional

body and inserts the instruments and

and

compared

surgeons

and to

carry

the

approach. This kind of surgery is commonly

linked

with

arms

are

managed

by

the

the camera to operate.

surgical

procedures carried out with minor

This form of surgery is believed to

incisions and occasionally used in

make the medical process you are

some open surgical operations. It has

going through as minimally invasive

been rapidly growing and has been

as possible. The advantages include:

taken on by various hospitals in the United States and Europe to treat

1. Reduced risk of complications of infections

several medical problems. The most

2. Less blood loss and pain

common form of the robotic surgical

3. Faster recovery

system consists of a digital camera

4. Less scarring

arm

and

mechanical

hands

with

surgical gadgets connected to them.

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Moreover, surgeons often need to operate

organs,

the robot or the robotic instruments

advanced

are not making any decisions on their

flexibility of the robotic instruments

own. The surgeon is constantly telling

makes it easier to operate without

them what to do and is directing the

affecting

region,

entire procedure. Even though robotic

leading to a more precise surgery.

surgery is constantly growing, there

Additionally,

still are certain limitations that are

tissues,

around or

sensitive

It is important to understand that

nerves.

the

The

surrounding the

movement

of

a

human hand is limited. Contrastingly,

being

the robotic instrument can rotate 360

procedure

degrees which helps the surgeon to

training because of it being highly

operate in a way that might not be

technical. The overall cost tends to be

possible

higher than the standard techniques

through

conventional

worked

on.

requires

specialized

since

can

the

system can be expensive. However,

instruments.

the technology is still evolving and is

be

assistance

of

performed robotic

These include:

with

a

the

methods. Various kinds of surgeries now

installing

Firstly,

robotic

surgical

believed to greatly benefit the people

1. Gynecologic surgery

and the medical field in the near

2. Heart surgery

future.

3. Transoral surgery 4. Urologic surgery 5. Thoracic surgery.

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ENGINEERING SECTION “THE

ENGINEER

AND

IS,

A

HAS

MAK ER

HISTORY.” JAMES KIP FINCH

BEEN, OF

THE ENGINEERING BEHIND IRON MAN'S SUIT VIDISHA AGARWAL If you haven’t seen Robert Downey Jr’s

Research suggests that ‘Iron Man’ is

role as Iron Man in the movies, please

likely

contact

to

couldn’t possibly have been made

understand why you have chosen to

from iron. Firstly, iron is very dense

do so.

and heavy, and it can rust easily and

us.

We

would

love

a

misnomer,

and

the

suit

isn’t strong enough (that’s more like As interesting as the movies are, the

four reasons instead of one). The suit

engineering behind his suit is equally

protects

fascinating

wearer against elemental damage,

and

deserves

all

the

enemy

fire,

guards

the

admiration it can get. Thinking about

and

Iron Man, the first image that pops

forces, especially when moving at

into your head is probably the classic

high speeds. This means that it has to

red and golden armor suit. As his

apply uniform pressure to the entire

name suggests, you would probably

body in order to control the blood

believe that this legendary suit is

flow.

can

also

counteract

natural

made of iron. Except, not really.

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According to physics, if a bullet were

I’ll use my JARVIS to get me

to bounce off a suit and not cause

coffee, not fight crime though. It is

issues, the material the suit is made of

believed that the working of the

needs to be really strong. If it hits

helmet

protective

electrical

clothing

and

stops,

it

is

related currents

and

to

neurons’

that

create

magnetic

fields,

means that all the momentum is

electric

transferred. A material made of pure

which can be determined by an

iron won't be strong enough to do

Electroencephalograph (EEG).

that.

Coming to the mitochondria of Exoskeletons

refer

to

an

external

the

suit,

the

powerhouse

source of support and protection for

makes

an organism’s body (the name sounds

way it’s designed to: The ARC

very

reactor.

sci-fi,

though).

Humans

have

everything

that

This

function

the

component

is

endoskeletons; one’s that are inside

essentially a small electromagnet

our body.

with

The one that Iron Man wears is quite

Since the supply of electricity is so

interesting and is made of rods, tubes,

high and is still placed right in his

and pads that help him survive and

chest,

overcome the dangers around him.

exceptional cooling system.

immense

there

output

has

to

energy.

be

an

There have been various attempts to recreate something similar in real life

His suit is a feat of engineering

and is still being worked on. The

with

second

exoskeleton,

they

succeed,

you

better

believe I’ll be first in line.

the oddly

extraordinary thick

armor

and the real fantasy is the ARC reactor. Engineers are still working

Iron Man’s helmet is another part of

on making similar suits in real life

his suit that has some remarkable

which could be used for military

engineering behind it. His helmet is

purposes. For all you know, you

what he uses to control other devices

might get to hold one in the near

of his suit which we might have in the

future (I will do everything in my

future.

power to get it first).

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HOW ENGINEERING FAILED WOMEN ADITI GAUR

Disclaimer: Before reading this article, please note that this article speaks to

the majority of the people that go into this field. There are most definitely exceptions, but this speaks to the data.

Meet the most male dominated field in STEM - engineering.

Only 13% of engineers are women in the US. While a lot of schools and organizations are taking steps and reforming curriculum to be more inclusive of the gender, it’s needless to say that this issue is far from solved.

Most of these curriculum reforms happen in schools, and to some extent, have worked well. While more women are coming in to study engineering, the problem is that many quit either during or after school. While focusing solely on education, we have turned our backs to the issue that these women leave this profession at a much higher rate compared to men. 20% of engineering graduates are women, but estimates suggest that almost 40% of them either quit pursuing their degree, or choose to not enter the workforce once graduated.

Very often when I have talked about this issue, people make similar statements like “Women tend to drop out since they don’t have the willpower and work ethic to make it in this field.”

“Women tend to naturally not be interested in fields like engineering, so studying it felt forced to them. Thus, they drop out the first chance they get.”

“If they dropped out after having the opportunity, that’s on them. Women just aren’t cut out for this field.”

These ignorant comments are harmful, since they are so misinformed about why women actually drop out and the fact that this issue is resolvable. It’s high time to inform people who make such comments with actual facts and reasons that lead to this situation. Carroll Seron (UC Irvine), Erin Cech (University of Michigan), Brian Rubineau (McGill) conducted a research study of engineering students to learn about the culture they face, and how gender plays a role in that.

The first thing they found was that female students did either as well as their male counterparts, or better in school - which proves that the idea that women don’t have the work ethic or the brains to make it in engineering is invalid.

Looking at why they enter the field

The study found that both male and female students had, more or less, similar reasons for enrolling. They were described as being good at science and math in high school and wish for well-paid career opportunities later down the line.

A difference found between the two is that - more often than men, women reported that they want to use their engineering education to solving major problems and contribute to making a difference in people’s live - this is also consistent with research by other which shows that women tend to be more ‘socially conscious’ compared to their male engineering counterparts.

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As time goes on, women and men are both equally successful in their classroom. However, as time passed, they noticed that women started to doubt their problem-solving skills and lack self-confidence - which they previously didn’t.

Why do they start leaving the field?

It is important to understand that every profession has its own culture and values, ideas that make it unique. For most women engineers, this culture works against them. Their first encounters with engineering are tied to gender stereotypical ones, usually by their own peers. Collaboration is a major part of this field, and so many women have had negative experiences with it. When working with their male peers, they are often made to feel excluded and forced to do more ‘secretarial’ jobs and being kept away from the ‘real’ engineering work. A lot of these women found themselves in situations where they would work hard on a project, and their male peers would join the group and quickly sentence them to do more unskilled work, taking much of the credit.

A lot of them also report being treated differently by professors. Rachel, a participant in the study, said that once she was in an all-girls team and won second place in a design competition, when her team was asked to pose for a celebratory picture, their professor said: “You guys look like professional catalog models; this picture could go in a catalog and you could sell big time.”

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Comments like these, obviously, make women uncomfortable. Meanwhile, the male students in the classroom reported much more positive comments about group projects, and how much they enjoyed working on them.

Exposure to the workplace

Most students intern in the fields they are pursuing - to gain more exposure to how their career will look in the future. It was found that in these internships and opportunities, men were assigned more problem solving tasks which would allow them to develop their skills, meanwhile women were assigned tasks such as - sorting paper, writing notes and coordinating - which they said did not make them feel valued or develop their skills in any way.

Almost all male students reported their experience in the internship to be positive, and it was not like that for the female students. While there were some women who spoke highly of the opportunity they got, the variation in responses was much greater compared to their counterparts.

Aurora, a participant in the study said “The environment was creepy, with older weirdo man engineers hitting on me all the time and a sexist infrastructure was in place that kept female interns shuffling papers while their oftentimes less experienced male counterparts had legitimate engineering assignments.”

A lot of these women also reported they would be treated as if they did not have any knowledge, and wouldn’t be taken seriously. While they did say that not everyone did this, it was a fair amount of people, and most of these people were old men.

If this culture of stereotyping and sexism is not addressed urgently, smart and capable women who can accomplish so much will be forced to drop out of the field they love. The culture of engineering needs to be reformed from the root and the people who are already in the field need to be at the forefront of it. An occupation that is so glorified for its problem solving skills fails to find a solution to this colossal problem, and honestly, doesn’t seem to care.

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MATH SECTION "MATHEMATICS MOST

I S

BEAUTIFUL

MOST CREATION

THE AND

POWERFUL OF

THE

SPIRIT." STEFAN BANACH

HUMAN

HOW MATH IS SHAPING ONCOLOGY ISHA MAINI Cancer

is

a

system

that

dynamic, can

multi-scale

only

be

fully

We can delve deeper into cancer cells thanks

to

math.

Every

day,

we

comprehended by combining theory

generate more data regarding genes,

and

is

proteins, functions, and connections,

becoming more important in cancer

yet this huge amount of data is too

research, with applications ranging

large

from

to

examine.

on

With the advent of regular cancer

mathematical models. Mathematical

genome sequencing and the ensuing

oncology, or the study of cancer using

flood

mathematics,

mathematical

experimentation.

theoretical

therapeutic

Math

investigations

trials

based

modeling,

and

for

of

any

data

single

person

to

necessitating

new

methodologies

and

simulation, is an ancient and recent

modeling approaches, these concepts

topic of study. Its origins may be

have found new life through recent

traced back hundreds of years to the

applications. To hunt for trends in

first days of calculus studies! For

data and find out whether individual

decades, researchers have utilized the

genes or gene networks could be

principles of rates of change and

involved in a medication response,

differential equations to model and

researchers are using sophisticated

predict the uncontrolled growth of

math

cancer cells and the consequences of

algorithms.

and

geometric

network

therapy.

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This might lead to novel biomarker

For

testing or more successful therapy

volumes

combinations,

prediction and diagnostic tools, more

researchers.

according

to

Theoretical

mathematical

the

work

oncology,

in

more

both

processing

of

complex

data

and

mathematical

enormous generating approaches

are required.Mathematical oncology,

broadly, mathematical biology, has

which

provided a framework. They apply

subdiscipline of mathematics, is now

these theoretical structures and test

finally considered a subdiscipline of

them with biological facts to develop

oncology

cancer progression predictions during

developments. Its practitioners come

the last several decades. More than

from various backgrounds, including

ever

models

engineering, physics, and computer

may be directly applied to real-world

science. However, they all have one

events and validated utilizing vast

aim

volumes of biological and clinical

computational and theoretical skills

data. In many respects, big data has

to help battle cancer.

before,

mathematical

was

in

due

once

to

mind:

considered

the

to

a

everlasting

use

their

ushered in an era of big theory to address both the conceptual and practical problems of analyzing and interpreting extensive data to a lesser degree.

Mathematics has increased the pace of

cancer

research

and

the

application of such data in the clinic, thanks

to

advancements

methodology,

modeling,

in and

simulation. Mathematical modelling helps

scientists

complicated systems,

test

to

investigate

virtual

biological

predictions,

and

challenge such virtual systems. With mathematical modelling, what takes years in biological systems may be accomplished in weeks or months.

Even on a single breast cancer case, current research techniques generate a significant quantity of data.

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BENFORD'S LAW AND TAX EVASION ADITI GAUR

Warning: this article may or may not blow your mind. It also may or may not contribute to convincing you that we are all a simulation. Reader’s discretion advised.

First off, what even is Benford’s Law? Every single user on Facebook has a certain number of followers. So, imagine that is your data set, a list of the number of everyone's followers. the first digits of that data, the leading number, for every element in that data set will begin from 1-9. Typically you would assume that the first digits of that data ranging from 1-9 will have equal occurrences of each number, with roughly an equal number of elements having a leading digit of the number 1, equal with the number 2, and so on.

Except, that’s not true. Benford’s Law refers to the distribution of the leading digits in an economic data set. It is an observation that, despite what you might expect, in a data set that has not been intentionally uniformly distributed, the occurrence of the digits 1-9 as the first leading digit are not equally likely. Instead, the probability of occurrence decreases with an increase in number. To understand that better, 1 as a leading digit will appear around 30% of the time, while 9 as a leading digit will appear approximately 4.6% of the time, this is called the Benford’s Curve (Fig 1).

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Fig 1. Benford’s Curve

Getting back to Facebook followers, the data set of the number of followers everyone has will follow Benford’s Law, with 30% of people having followers starting with the number 1, about 17% with the number 2 and so on. Studies found that it doesn’t only apply to Facebook but also to Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, and LiveJournal. To further blow your mind, this law even applies to the number of posts users make, and even describes the price distributions in eBay auctions!

Here’s the results from the research study looking at online social networks and Benford’s Law (Fig2):

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Fig 2. Distribution of first digits for Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest followers, Facebook and LiveJournal.

Here’s why this is useful:

While studying data from social media accounts to see if it follows Benford’s Law, they found some users deviating very strongly from this law. Out of 20,000 Twitter accounts analysed, the 100 users who were farthest from this law were all found to be engaged in suspicious activity. This opens a possibility for this law to be used to detect irregular behaviour on social media, like bots. It can also be used to validate samples in datasets from social media. So you never know, if all goes well, you might not have to complain about these annoying bots on Instagram in the near future.

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Background on Benford’s Law

In the 1880s, an astronomer, Simon Newcomb, first came about what is now called Benford’s Law. He was looking at a book with logarithm tables and noticed the tables in the front pages of the book, where most numbers would begin with 1, had more wear than than the back, where numbers would start with nine. Using this observation, he calculated a probability formula.

Later on, Frank Benford, a physicist, noticed the same thing. To validate this observation, he collected data sets from various sources: atomic weights, the surface areas of rivers, numbers appearing in Reader’s Digest etc. Soon, a pattern was established - Benford’s Law. What is perhaps even more intriguing is the fact that this law holds across change in measurement units. Temperatures that follow Benford’s Law will follow if it is measured in Celsius, Fahrenheit, or Kelvin. Distances will follow it regardless of whether they are measured in miles, kilometers, or yards.

Tax fraud?

If you’re wondering how tax fraud fits into all of this, here’s how. As you might know, what bad rich people tend to do a lot for some reason, is tax fraud. Tax fraud is when a person or a corporation puts fake numbers on their tax returns in order to decrease the amount of tax they have to pay or to avoid it altogether.

When someone creates fake data, the chance of the first digit being between 1-9 is generally 1/9. This, as we know, is not generally true with naturally occurring data due to Benford’s Law. Tax agencies - such as the IRS- can use this information to their advantage by using the law to spot numbers that deviate from the curve.

It is important to note that simply because something is not following Benford’s law does not guarantee that something fishy is going on, but it provides tax agencies a way to spot potential wrongdoing, a clue on where to look.

We believe that every individual is unpredictable, and all of us exercise free will, but in the long run, we all seem to fit into this curve made by some guy named Benford.

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PSYCHOLOGY SECTION "IN

LIFE, IN

PARTICU LAR LY

PUBLIC

PSYCHOLOGY POWERFUL

LIFE, IS

THAN

LUDWIG QUIDDE

MORE

LOGIC"

WHY DO PEOPLE BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY? MISHIKA CHAUHAN A grasp onto our future as well as the

To put it broadly, the alignment of a

past can bring a sense of comfort to

person's

certain

our

there are chances of good luck in the

memories of the past and an idea of

individual's near future. Our ancestors

an ideal future, what are ways that

believed

help us connect with our emotions

universe orbited and thus created

and

something known as a birth chart.

people.

sense

of

Other

self

than

without

the

planets

that

and

stars

means

everything

in

the

inclusion of science?

Claudius Ptolemy, a great astronomer

Astrology was first observed to be

of Greek wrote one of the most

used by the babylonian civilization

detailed and well explained books on

(Mesopotamia) where they developed

the positions of the planets. He also

the concept of zodiacs which can be

helped

denoted by the constellation of stars

countries as well as all the way over to

and horoscopes about 2,400 years

India

ago.

for

popularised and put in use. Even

perceiving a person’s future through

today, a considerable part of the daily

their zodiac signs and degree of

newspapers and the news include

alignment of their planets/stars.

special features of the horoscopes of

It

was

originally

used

spread where

astrology it

was

to

other

instantly

zodiac signs.

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Though as quickly as things came to

Even after proof of astrology not

take flight, the idea of astrology was

being reliable, there are many people

disrupted by Galileo Galilei when he

who believe in it, thus the question,

discovered that we, in fact, are not the

why? Psychologists believe that the

center of the universe but rather orbit

answer to this is connected to our

the sun just like the other planets. In

brains and emotions as all humans

the 17th century, when science finally

want the comfort of knowing their

started to be known through various

future and feeling connected to it and

discoveries such as gravity, astrology

astrology gives us that comfort. The

started to falter thus, was later and

grasp on our lives makes us feel at

forever

ease

After

separated that,

from

astrology

astronomy.

had

secure

about

ourselves.

all

Other reasons include the use of

interest from people in the West, but

barnum effect in horoscopes where

not for long. The invention of the

the

horoscope

statement which in most cases, would

column

lost

and

was

then

astrologer

makes

a

general

popularised in the late 1930’s.

fit a person’s day if not all.

It has since been around 300-400

Even

years

that

astrology does not necessarily harm

astrology and sun signs aren’t so

anyone, knowing the fact that there is

accurate. The Earth has since tilted a

no proof for it being accurate or true

lot of times which means that our

is important. Astrology has also failed

signs we know now, might not even

multiple experiments to prove its

be correct. Astrology also seems to

reliability, in no circumstance should

use very broad and vague terms to

it be taken seriously and/or use it to

predict a person's future and then

make important decisions in our lives.

since

the

discovery

though

liking

or

studying

build upon it accordingly.

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A BRIEF UNDERSTANDING OF THE BRAIN MISHIKA CHAUHAN Derived meaning

from

the

words

“psyche”

life

and

“logo”

meaning

explanation,

psychology

is

an

his was purely based on belief, and lacked

the

use

of

the

scientific

method, making it a pseudoscience.

umbrella term which deals with the

Earliest

evolution of human behaviour/actions

branch can be seen in England in 1736

and everyday lifestyle of a person. It

by Franz Josef Gall and was later

also

popularised in the 19th century. Franz

relies

heavily

on

scientific

signs

of

research

in

this

research and tests.

believed that different parts of the

A major branch of psychology is

brain comprised various “organs” that

biopsychology which focuses on how

controlled

the

emotions. Though this method has

brain

and

nervous

system

thoughts

been

behaviours. It also includes the study

researchers, it helped them to further

of cognitive functions, neuroscience

look into the connection between the

and more. When research started to

nervous

take

thoughts/behaviour.

between

looking

the

two,

into it

led

the

link

to

the

discredited

system

by

and

influences our thoughts, feelings and

place

long

our

other

and

our

development of phrenology - the idea that the personality of a person is based on the bumps on one’s skull. T

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The existence of our nervous system

On

was first found in the 3rd century B.C

parietal

and is now broadly categorized into

perception and sensations such as

two

Nervous

pain, touch etc. Any damage to

Peripheral

the left side can cause difficulty in

The

CNS

understanding written or spoken

consists of three parts which are the

language while damage to the

brain, the spinal cord and the nerve

right side can cause difficulty in

cells/neurons.

perceiving objects or places and

parts:

the

System(CNS) Nervous

Central

and

System

the (PNS).

Our

brain

is

then

the

other

hand,

lobe

concerns

the most important one being the

(wearing clothes and so on).

cerebrum, which helps with receiving

3. Temporal lobe: Sitting right

and giving signals to the organs as

behind our ears are the temporal

well as with the movement of the

lobes whose function of course is

body. Each side of the cerebrum is

to

then

information our brain receives and

lobes

whose

functions are as follows:

interpret

care

the

skills

auditory

make sense out of them. Any

1. Frontal lobes: responsible for our movements,

self

visual

also

into

our

right

divided into various hemispheres with

divided

affect

the

thought

damage done to these lobes can

process,

cause difficulty in hearing or cause

planning skills as well as the use of

us to go deaf and can also make it

language to communicate. Any

hard

damage to the frontal lobe can

frequencies it receives such as

cause changes in the behaviour of

learning, understanding speech or

a person causing them to act

hearing music.

irrationally and bring down the

4.

level of our critical thinking. Other

occipital lobe is situated at the

symptoms include mood swings

back

and difficulty in concentration.

responsible for our visions. It helps

2. Parietal lobe: situated behind the

to

interpret

Occipital

of

analyze

our and

the

lobe:

different

Lastly,

heads

the

and

interpret

is our

frontal lobe, is the parietal lobe

surroundings into different shapes,

whose function differs from left to

colours, sizes, directions and so on.

right. The left parietal lobe is

Any damage to the occipital lobe

responsible

verbal

can cause visual impairments such

as

as blindness or blind spots in our

and

eyes and can cause difficulty in

for

performances

such

understanding

language

writing texts.

interpreting

our

visual

surroundings.

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THE PLACEBO EFFECT GURSIMAR KUMAR

Disclaimer:

way

Well, you can, and it’s possible by

encourages the use of placebo effect

something scientists and doctors call

as an alternative of visiting a doctor, if

the placebo effect. As far as we’ve

you have any symptoms or issues

known of it, however, the placebo

please visit your doctor at the earliest.

effect has been referred to as a fraud,

Imagine having the ability to heal

a

yourself with your mind.

effectiveness of real medicine.

For

Hubble

decades

now,

in

we

no

have

seen

scam,

and

a

tool

to

test

the

How did we discover this?

characters in comic books and TV that could heal themselves at will,

In the pharmaceutical world, a test

struck in awe by their otherwise

known as the double-blind placebo

naturally impossible ability. However,

control trial is used to determine

what if I told you you could do the

whether a drug should be on the

same? That you could with the power

market or not. Two groups of people

of your mind, treat yourself of chronic

take either an anti-pain pill or a pill

pain,

asthma,

that does nothing, and if the anti-pain

autoimmune deficiencies, and many

drug does significantly better, it can

other ailments?

be prescribed.

Parkinson’s

disease,

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Recently, however, fewer drugs have

Sure, you won’t run the same way,

been getting through these tests, but

you’ll

not

placebo your brain has activated isn’t

because

the

drugs

are

less

effective.

limp

slightly,

because

the

going to fix your ankle, but it’s going to give you the strength to deal with

These pills with nothing in them have

the pain of that ankle.

been alleviating pain for multiple people, and this number has been

That

growing

time.

repeated itself in alternative healing,

Placebo trials have shown such results

religious healing, even sham doctors

not

but

that prescribe sugar pills, and it’s not

antipsychotic

just the act of taking a pill or having

only

exponentially for

antidepressants

over

anti-pain and

drugs

drugs too.

same

someone

placebo

burn

effect

incense

has

over

your

head, it’s the process of trust and How long have we had the ability

hope and recovery.

to self-medicate?

How does it work?

For as long as we’ve lived. Picture this; you’re camping and you see a great

It is hard to pinpoint exactly what

big field and you start running, but

makes the placebo effect work, as it’s

you catch your foot on a twig or a root

different for each person, and it’s not

and you fall and sprain your ankle.

an exact science. But here are a

You are in immense pain. You can

couple of things that make it work.

barely even get up without your

Time

friends coming to help you. For a

In the natural course of an illness,

couple of days after, there is a limp in

from

your walk, you wince a little every

noticing symptoms bad enough to

time you shift weight to your injured

see a doctor about it to perhaps a

foot.

week later, your body already feels

the

time

the

patient

starts

better.

Imagine that same ankle injury, but

Deceptive bias

you’re running because a mountain

It may sound evil from the name, but

lion is chasing you this time. When

all it is is the act of people choosing

you fall, and sprain your ankle, you get

to exaggerate the improvements in

up and keep running, because at that

their condition and ignore the slightly

time, your fight or flight response has

worse conditions, giving themselves

kicked in, and your brain deems that

hope that it works.

pain irrelevant at that exact moment.

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The ‘human effect’

This only works with functions the

Ted Kaptchuk, professor at Harvard

body has its own control over, like the

and expert on the placebo effect

release of opioids and endogenous

conducted an experiment in 2001

pain-relief mechanisms, but just the

where he tested two hundred and

act of taking a pill could trigger parts

sixty IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)

of the brain that have been instructed

patients, dividing them into three

to

groups

reduce pain or even alter the efficacy

different

and kinds

giving of

them

three

treatment.

One

perform

a

certain

action

like

of the immune system.

group got zero treatment, just put on the waiting list, the other got a silent

Can

we

see

placebos

fake acupuncture treatment, and the

mainstream medicine?

used

in

last got a fake acupuncture treatment with a caring practitioner. The results

Absolutely, most experts on the topic

showed

state

a

improvement

clear with

the

reinforcement communication

significant positive

and between

that

optimistic

they that

are

the

extremely

reasons

listed

the

above for the placebo to work can be

the

implemented

practitioner and the patient.

mainstream

in

some

medicine.

way

Even

in

if

it

doesn’t, it’s an eye opener on just the Other evidence of this can be found

serious level of impact the warmth

in post-op morphine use, where it

and

would take twice as much of the

practitioner has on the recovery of the

painkiller drug for a robotic pump to

patient. Using more of the placebo

deliver it than it would if a nurse

effect in conventional medicine could

administered it to the patient directly.

lead to a lack of side effects from the

kindness

of

the

medical

use of certain drugs, helping improve The placebo effect doesn’t just stop at

the mental health of many patients,

painkillers though. Even fake surgeries

and even deal with the major opioid

lead to improvements 75 percent of

crisis that is plaguing the world, and

the time.

particularly the United States.

Healing the entire world, and it all

Pharmacological adaptation

starts with just a little bit of hope.

A lot of studies have been conducted with the same results. When given a drug with a certain effect for a certain amount of days and then switching it with a placebo, the brain will hardly notice the difference.

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KATHERINE JOHNSON BY

VIVAA

PARIKH

Handpicked to be one of the first

When

NACA

transformed

African-American students sent to her

National

state’s flagship school, the story of

Administration (NASA) in 1958, this

Katherine Johnson is exceptional.

segregation was banned.

Aeronautics

and

into Space

Also known as Katherine Goble or the Computer, she was born on August

In 1960, she became the first woman

26, 1918 in West Virginia. As a young

in her division who received credit as

girl fond of math, she would count

an author of a research report -

everything - even the number of forks

having co-authored a paper with one

when she was washing the dishes.

of the engineers in the group. In 1961,

Being advanced for her age, she went

she was the one who calculated the

through school quickly, having started

path for Freedom 7 - the spacecraft

high school when she was 10 and

responsible for sending the first U.S

going to college by when she was 15.

astronaut in space. The next year, at

At age 18, she graduated with the

the personal request of John Glenn,

highest honours from West Virginia

she verified the numbers of the path

State

a

of Friendship 7 - making Glenn the

and

first U.S astronaut to orbit the Earth.

Mathematics. Later down the line, she

Additionally, she was also a part of

was handpicked to be one of the first

the Apollo 11 mission and the space

three African-American students to

shuttle program.

enroll in a graduate program at West

Johnson received various awards and

Virginia University.

honours

University,

bachelor’s

In

1953,

National

degree

she

in

(NACA)

American

earned

French

began

Advisory

Aeronautics Africana

having

work

for

all

the

contributions,

at

the

including the Presidential Medal of

Committee

for

Freedom. In 2016, a building in NASA

of

was named after her, and Margot Lee

as

a

part

women

who

published

a

book

called

Hidden

would act as calculators - performing

figures - which focused on the untold

complicated

mathematical

stories of black mathematicians and

calculations for the engineers in the

their role in the Space Race, which

program.

included Johnson.

During

this

time,

racial

segregation was a big part of NACA,

She retired from NASA in 1986, and

with Katherine having to use seperate

passed away February 24, 2020 at the

dining and bathroom facilities.

age of 101.

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TEAM RECCOMENDATIONS

STEM MOVIES TO WATCH Here’s a list of our favourite STEM movies curated especially for you:

1. Hidden Figures 2. Apollo 13 3. Martian 4. The Imitation Game 5. Interstellar 6. Underwater dreams 7. The boy who harnessed the wind 8. Contact 9. The Theory of Everything 10. The Mars generation 11. Big hero 6 12. October Sky 13. The LEGO movie 14. Flubber 15. Spare parts 16. Mission Mangal

Did we miss any? Let us know: hubblethemagazine@gmail.com

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STEM MOVIES TO WATCH Here is a collection of STEM books, specially curated by our team, for your enjoyment:

1. The boy who harnessed the wind 2. The Theory of Everything 3. Hidden figures 4. A computer called Katherine 5. Quantum Physics for Babies 6. Google It: A History of Google 7. How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern …

8. Astroquizzical 9. Cosmos 10. Astrophysics for people in a hurry 11. Notes from an Astrophysicist 12. A brief history of time 13. A briefer history of time 14. Brief answers to Big questions 15. The universe in a nutshell 16. Unlocking the universe 17. What if?

18. Welcome to the Universe

Did we miss any? Let us know: hubblethemagazine@gmail.com

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hubble THE MAGAZINE

EDITOR IN CHIEF / ADITI GAUR ASSOCIATE EDITOR / ISHA MAINI DESIGNER / ADITI GAUR CONTRIBUTORS / AARYA CHIRIPAL ISHA MAINI GURSIMAR KUMAR MISHA GUPTA MISHIKA CHAUHAN VIDISHA AGARWAL VIVAA PARIKH

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