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Everyone knows Newton’s law of motions! Well that is a lie! Everyone knows only the third one!

People use it in different situations and though it has been attributed to Newton, the law in many forms is the norm for ages! Of course as Bill Bryson sates in his book, Newton’s Principia actually compiled the laws and gave them recognition!

But then again this blog is not about that law as such!

Did you know that there is a similar law in our body!? Especially when it comes to the working and innervation of our muscles!?

This law is called the law of reciprocal innervation and is also known as Sherrington’s law!

This law as such  is a physiological principle stating that when an agonist muscle receives a nerve impulse to contract, a simultaneous inhibitory signal is sent to its opposing antagonist muscle, causing it to relax!

Basically it means that when you want to go up, the up is stimulated while going down is equally inhibited!


The Key Concepts usually involve a pair of muscles which do the OPPOSITE work!

The first one is the Agonist or the Prime Mover! This is the muscle that contracts to produce a specific movement (e.g., the biceps brachii during elbow flexion, or the lateral rectus when turning the eye outward).

Then you have the Antagonist or the muscle that acts in direct opposition to the agonist and must relax so the movement is smooth and unobstructed (e.g., the triceps brachii, or the medial rectus of the same eye)!

The whole mechanism operates via the spinal cord or central nervous system, where afferent (incoming) or descending signals activate inhibitory interneurons that turn down motor neuron activity to the antagonist!

So the same force excites one group of muscle and inhibits the OPPOSITE group with the same intensity!

The net effect is what results in motions and other actions in the body like: Say the Limb Movements! When you bend your elbow, your biceps contracts while your triceps relaxes!

Even movements of the eyes or Ocular Motility are governed by these rules!When you look to the side, the muscle turning the eye in that direction contracts while its opposing extraocular muscle relaxes (such as the lateral and medial rectus muscles). If there is any imbalance here, this can cause problems like diplopia or double vision or squint!

Of Course there are Clinical Exceptions! Conditions like Duane retraction syndrome can violate Sherrington’s law due to abnormal nerve wiring to the eye muscles!

But all in all, most of the muscle groups usually follow Newton and Sherrington to the T and anti T!

Now those are the legends who make statements and laws which are never forgotten! Like the fame of our very own Amitabh Bachchan!

Now let the action of night get your reaction to sleep!

Shubh ratri…

Do you know what is an ANDON CORD!? Or What is the JIDOKA principle?

It is actually similar to the cord we pull when we have to stop a train in Bharat!

It is an amazing concept!

The Andon Cord is a quality control tool from the Toyota Production System (TPS) that lets workers signal problems and manage assembly line flow!

The word Andon (行灯) comes from a traditional Japanese paper-enclosed lantern used during the Edo period (1603–1867) to make things visible in the dark!

The core idea stems from Jidoka (automation with a human touch), first created in 1896 by Sakichi Toyoda through an automatic loom that stopped itself when a thread broke!

Then it was implemented for the TOYOTA!

Developed by Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda between 1948 and 1975, the physical cord was strung above workstations so line workers could flag defects, part shortages, or safety issues.

Toyota first introduced andon visual lights around 1957!

The mechanical cord concept was also influenced by mechanisms on mechanical looms and pull-cords on systems like the San Francisco cable cars!

A common myth is that pulling the cord instantly halts the whole factory line!
This is the same myth with the cord pulling the train to a halt! It does not work like that!

In practice, the first pull often triggers an audible signal and lights up an Andon board to call a team leader for help!

Then there is also the Two-Pull Process where the team leader has a short window (often a few seconds to the end of the workstation cycle) to help fix the issue. If resolved, a second pull keeps the line moving. If not, the line halts.

What started as a physical rope has evolved over the decades into push-buttons, automated sensor triggers, and touchscreen digital systems.

Now be assured that the system only works if leaders respond with support rather than punishment when a worker stops or flags the line!

The final affect or use are many!

One is Root-Cause Analysis wherein the leaders go directly to the workstation where the cord was pulled to investigate the actual problem and apply a permanent fix rather than a quick patch.

It also gives the Jidoka or single operator the authority of a plant manager to speak up and halt or flag errors, fostering a culture of trust and continuous improvement rather than blame.

Beyond automotive factories, adapted versions are used in e-commerce (such as Amazon pausing faulty inventory or shipping flows) and customer service or tech operations to flag systemic breakdowns!

Remember that stopping any such process has great strain on the cost but the ANDON CORD pulling signifies that the problem is solved at the root and only then the work moves on!

Moving work also is the hallmark of Ronit Roy! Still remember his work in the movie Jaan Tere Naam!

Now pull the bedsheet cords and sleep!

Shub ratri!

The NYT connections gave an interesting word which felt like it made no sense!

I was right!

The word is Balderdash!

Balderdash is an old-fashioned or informal noun and exclamation meaning complete, utter nonsense, or stupid, untrue statements!

No wonder it shared definition with Nonsense, rubbish, poppycock, baloney, piffle, and drivel!


It’s is of course a Light-hearted, often British or theatrical, used as a playful rebuke rather than a harsh insult!

It apparently appeared in the late 16th century (around the 1590s), originally referring to a frothy or unappetizing mixture of liquors (such as beer and milk) before evolving in the 1600s to mean a jumbled, senseless mixture of words!


By the way there is also a game by that name!

The Board Game Balderdash is also a popular bluffing board game where players invent fake definitions for obscure words to fool their opponents.

Every other day even a simple game like NYT CONNECTIONS or even the worldle can make you knowledgeable!

Knowledge knowledge everywhere all you need is to think!

Now we all know that Rajamouli’s movies are not Balderdash!

A quick sketch and blog on an under the weather day!

Shubh ratri…

So you know ice age! Good boy! But do you know who postulated how or why they happen?

Well it is an interesting story as told in the novel A Short History of Nearly everything by Bill Bryson!

His name was CROLL! But is not the insteresting part!

The concept of an “ice age” had been previously proposed in 1837 by Swiss scientist Louis Agassiz. However, the real scientific breakthrough regarding what drives these massive climate shifts came from Croll in 1864!

His Working-Class Beginnings: Born in Scotland in 1821, Croll had almost no formal education. He spent his early adulthood working as a wheelwright, a tea merchant, and an innkeeper—failing at almost all of them due to poverty and health issues!

1859, he took a job at the Andersonian College and Museum in Glasgow. He chose this specific job because it granted him off-hours access to the university’s vast library.

So while cleaning the campus, he used his spare time to teach himself advanced physics, astronomy, and geology!

In 1864, Croll published a revolutionary paper in the Philosophical Magazine. He theorized that variations in the shape of Earth’s orbit (eccentricity) change the amount of winter sunlight the planet receives.

This triggers a cooling feedback loop—as more snow accumulates, the Earth reflects more sunlight back into space, driving the planet into an ice age!

Croll’s work was so impressive that it caught the attention of legendary scientists like Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell. He was eventually hired by the Geological Survey of Scotland and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1876!

So the thought in everyones mind is that what was his job which was so interesting!

Well when he wrote the revolutionary article, he was working as a JANITOR!

Of course all profesions and jobs are important and equal but then let your profession not stop you from making legendary and revolutionary theories!

Another legend also is Captain Smit Machchhar! His selfles act of bravery will be told for many years!


Proud of you sir ji!

God bless…

Did you know that there is a lab experiment which has been going on for the past 100 years!? It is the longest running experiment!

And all it does is to see a LIQUID DROP! Yes!


The only issue is that no one has been able to see the DROP fall by a stoke of bad luck! It is a real testimony of grit and determination!

You would say how hard it is so see a drop fall!? Well in the past hundred years less than nine of them have fallen!

The experiment was started in 1927 by Professor Thomas Parnell, the first physics professor at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Parnell heated a sample of pitch and poured it into a sealed glass funnel.
He allowed the pitch to settle and cool for three years!

But what is Pitch you may ask, well Pitch is a black, tar-like, super-viscous polymer mixture that appears solid at room temperature—even shattering like glass if hit with a hammer—but is technically a slow-flowing liquid!

In October 1930, the bottom of the funnel was cut to allow the pitch to begin its incredibly slow journey downward!


In nearly a century, only 9 drops have fallen. For decades, no human observer ever managed to witness a drop actually fall in person!

The 1st Drop happened in 1938 and took nearly a decade after the funnel was cut!

After the fourth drop which fell on 1962 longtime custodian Professor John Mainstone made it the aim of his life to witness a drop but luck was not in his favour! Each time a drop fell, he just missed it by a whisker!

Finally in the year 2000 a webcam was set up, but a blackout caused it to fail during the fall! Talk about bad luck! That was the 8th drop!

Finally when it came for the 9th Drop in April 2014 it was finally caught on camera, though it officially snapped off while the collection beaker was being reset!

Now apparently the interval has slowed down (really!?); because the intervals used to be around 8-10 years! Now 8th and 9th drops have fallen after 12-14 years!

This is happened because of  a couple of reasons; In 1988, air conditioning was installed in the Parnell building. This lowered the average ambient room temperature, which automatically increased the viscosity of the pitch, making it flow even slower!

Also there is the fact of the matter of Decreasing Mass! As each drop falls, the remaining volume and mass of the pitch inside the funnel decreases. This reduces the total downward gravitational force pushing the substance through the neck!

So finally the 10th drop is currently forming and is expected to fall sometime in the mid-2030s.

It is being watched all over the world via dedicated 24-7 live streams! If you do not have much work to do then you can see the stream and watch the 10th drop fall!

This is the link

The Tenth Watch for the tenth Pitch Drop. https://share.google/qMDxZTXge78X2x6FD

Experiment and experimental cinema was also the forte of Nana Patekar!

He will be missed….

Heartfelt condolences

Om Shanti…

In the novel called A short history of everything by Bill Bryson; every page is a revelation !

Before that; Do you know who is Rosalind Franklin?

Not knowing is a flaw in our MALE DNA!

We will come to that!

So the book is the interpretation of history by Bill who is not a scientist by a long stretch but then that is the best thing! He dumbs it down so much and makes it so interesting!

Every page makes us see an invention or discovery in a new light!

Even the famous inventions and discoveries we know are thrown out when the truth is revealed!

It is like in every GK quiz we have a ready answer for every discovery but now we know that it just cant be that simple! You cannot link one person to an invention since it is a combined effort!

Be it light bulb and Edison or Steam Engine and Watson! Though both are correct answers in your average quiz! Even I have confidently shouted these answers at so many quiz rounds! The actual answer is a group and series of invention leading to the final one!

You get the drift!

So let us come to Rosalind Franklin!

Everyone knows about Watson and Crick who DISCOVERED the structure of the DNA! With the Nobel prize around the corner, there is increased buzz over this!

But you will be shocked to know that the SHAPE was first seen and mentioned by  Rosalind Franklin!

Rosalind Franklin was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer at King’s College London.

She captured “Photo 51,” an exceptionally clear X-ray diffraction image of DNA that revealed its helical shape!

But apparently she was very secretive and did not SHARE her images with anyone which was understandable since those were the times (many places it still is…); where women scientists were not shown much respect or concern!

So anyway her colleague, Maurice Wilkins, showed this crucial unpublished image and her data to James Watson and Francis Crick without her knowledge or permission.

Long story short; Watson and Crick used her data to build their famous double-helix model, publishing their findings and winning the 1962 Nobel Prize with Wilkins!

What happened to Rosalind Franklin your MALE DNA may ask!?

Franklin died of ovarian cancer in 1958 at age 37 and was omitted from the Nobel Prize because the award is not given posthumously; at least that was the reason stated by the very NOBLE NOBEL committee!

Of course this does not diminish the work done by others, but still whenever the structure of DNA comes into discussion do say a few words about the one who started it all! Rosalind Franklin!

Those many quiet achievers who actually do a lot but are either not credited or simply ignored or forgotten or their credit is stolen by others! Like the amazing talent of Sanjay Mishra!

Now use your natural talent to sleep!

Shubh ratri!

Debates and arguments are part of any social structure but WhatsApp may be the worst place to have a debate!

Then again the worst thing which can happen is when the opponent uses the STRAWMAN FALLACY!


Now the term may sound very technical but it is a response many have felt in their time!

A straw man fallacy happens when someone changes or exaggerates an opponent’s argument to make it easier to attack.

This is essentially a trick where a speaker ignores the real point and fights a fake, weaker version instead!

It comes from making a flimsy figure out of straw that is simple to knock over, unlike a real fighter!

So this is how it works;  Person A makes a claim. Person B twists it into an extreme claim, refutes the twist, and acts like they won!

A common example can be the twist to this original statement  “I think our school should spend more money on art and music classes.”

The Straw Man here would say, “So you want to defund the science and math programs and ruin our students’ futures?”

Or if the Original is “We should regulate carbon emissions to help protect the environment.”

The Straw Man version is  “You want to shut down all factories and force everyone to live in the dark ages.”

Now people use it for easy wins and it feels satisfying to defeat an extreme version of a point!

It also acts as a distraction and shifts attention away from hard facts and real issues! Also it takes less effort to mock a fake claim than to answer a real one!


The term “straw man” comes from the physical concept of a dummy or scarecrow made of straw, built as a fake opponent that is very easy to knock down!

In fact it was part of a fake testimony history!
The expression “Man of straw” dates back to the 1620s to describe an imaginary, weak, or sham person. It historically referred to men who wore straw in their shoes to signal they were willing to give fake testimony in court!

The figurative use in arguments—where a debater beats up an easy-to-defeat “man of straw”—appeared in print by the late 19th century (such as in university periodicals from the 1870s), though the formal naming and theorizing of the informal fallacy expanded significantly in mid-20th-century logic texts!

It is commonly used in political debates and even when many TRP hungry reporters use such deviations for sound bites and views!

If you become popular once day and announce that, “I love mangoes!”

Your opponent or competitor may announce that, “Look at him! He hates oranges!”

That is the straw man fallacy! It’s of course no fallacy or even Man for that matter that Sukumari was an amazing artist!

Subh ratri…

Have you heard of the BASELINE TRAP?

It is a very interesting concept!

Many of us face this over and over again! Especially if you are someone who likes to help and want to make an impression!

Initially the effect is great but then the weight of expectations will crush you!

So I used to work as a scientific content editor in a company and since it was my first job I used to enthusiastically reach at least fifteen minutes before time! Then my friend Shyam used to tell me, “Sri, do not raise everyone’s expectations!” I did not understand at that time but did so very soon!
One fine day  I reached only five minutes earlier! To which my HR associate remarked, “Oh you are late today!!”

That is the baseline trap!

So the baseline trap is a psychological pattern where doing something exceptional once causes people to expect it from you all the time, making your normal effort feel like a failure!

When you give more or work harder, others change their expectations instead of feeling grateful.

Since it is actually routine, you must understand how the trap works!

You go above and beyond for a friend, boss, or family member!
Then you do the same helpful action a second or third time! The issue is that this new FAVOUR or help is the new BASELINE!

People stop seeing it as a nice favor and start seeing it as your normal job!

You get tired, but you cannot stop without people getting upset! Your brain raises the bar faster than you find satisfaction. A big win or a high reward only feels good for a short time before your brain wants more.


You may even try to keep an impossible pace just to keep people happy!

So how do you escape the trap!?

Reduce the expectatios people have about you!

Ask yourself if you can keep doing a task for a whole year without feeling angry or tired. Also you must sometimes stop telling people when you are free and when you are not!

Also let people know that a helpful favor is a one-time choice, not a permanent rule!

In short If you do someone a favour again and again, it becomes your job! The most irritating part is that people feel entitled to RECIEVE a favor from you!

Do not fall into the Baseline trap!

Lower your expectations and you will be happy! Happiness also was watching Srinivasa Iyer Ramaswamy, better known as Cho Ramaswamy act with his characteristic wit and wisdom!

Now start your baseline levels of sleep!

Shubh ratri…

Did you know that there was actually no concept of breakfast or even lunch!

It all happened so that you can work!

In fact for years while growing up I never used to have breakfast! Now that is the most important meal for me!

But the fact remains that the modern standard practice of eating three fixed meals a day—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—mostly solidified during the 19th-century Industrial Revolution, though the individual meals evolved over centuries.

Most Europeans ate only one or two main meals a day. The main meal (“dinner”) was eaten around midday, and a smaller, lighter meal (“supper”) was eaten in the evening.

What about the now most important meal of the day!?

Well, eating immediately in the morning was often frowned upon as gluttony or reserved for laborers, the sick, and children!

Then came the lights and the wealth!

As artificial lighting improved and aristocratic evening social customs changed, the wealthy began pushing the main “dinner” hour later into the evening.

This left a long gap in the middle of the day, giving rise to lighter midday snacks like “nuncheon,” which eventually evolved into lunch. Meanwhile, morning breakfast rooms became fashionable among the rich!

Finally the most important reason of the three meal system! The Industrial Revolution!

This created the famous Fixed factory shifts!

This came with the standardized clock times, and the physical distance between home and the workplace which further forced workers to take scheduled midday breaks for a portable meal (lunch), while needing an early morning meal (breakfast) to sustain long hours of physical labor.

By the late 18th and early 19th centuries, this three-meal pattern had become standard across urban society! All because you need to be on time for work!


And when you are on time then you can watch the amazing movies made by
Singeetham Srinivasa Rao!

He will be missed

Om Shanti….

This is one SNACK which no one like but everyone MUST eat!

If you had a choice you may even refuse if given for free! But in a posh movie theatre the same snack is a must have! And you pay a bomb to get the same snack!

Another interesting fact is that these snacks are not a modern multiplex issue! They are one the oldest snacks ever!

Now now, do not get heated and POP! Yes! The POPCORN!

Do you know how old is pop corn as a food!? As old as the incas!

Apparently the Incas specifically had an incredibly sophisticated way of storing, tracking, and doling out the food their people grew.

Essentially, each family grew their own food – at the same time, they were part of a larger group called an ayllu!
The ayllu’s food products were then held in specially-ventilated food shacks – which were carefully organized and monitored.

Of the crops the Incas grew, they were many of the vegetables we’re familiar with today: beans, grain, potatoes, and cocoa.

And one of their most popular crops was maize, which was often made into cakes. However, on special occasions, the corn was popped! Popcorn are the best way to pass time!

Everytime it actually amazes me how no one actually LOVES popcorn but if it is a movie with friends and family; there is no snack which is better!

ANother thing which amazes me is that however big the box is; you will finish it for sure! Especially the last part which would have all the flavours!

As a snack, it is ICORNIC! Iconic also was Sachin da or Sachin Dev Burman!

So grab your corn and enjoy the night or sleep!

Shubh Ratri…