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In A Brief History of Intelligence; Max S Bennet among other things tells about this seminal event in the development and evoution of human intelligence and dominance!

The average human started walking on two legs instead of four!

Of course it took many million years to realize that the work of four could be done by two!


Bipedalism apparently evolved for many reasons none of which could be conclusively proved but are sound in nature!

The first obvious thing is that when you start walking on two legs is the amazing  liberation of the hands! This would have probably enabling early humans to carry food, tools, and infants over long distances!


The you have the energy efficiency! For traveling between patches of resources in a changing environment, walking on two legs is more energy-efficient than knuckle-walking

As forests in Africa shrank, moving between trees required traversing open, tall-grass savannas, where standing upright helped detect predators and see over vegetation.

There was also the issue of Thermoregulation or Cooling! An upright posture reduces the body’s exposure to direct, intense sunlight,, which helps keep the body cooler and protects the brain from overheating.

Standing upright allowed for easier reaching of fruit in low-hanging branches and assisted in carrying more food at once!

Which is why you even see many animals trying to replicate the same!

Let us hope that they do not realize that Bipedal is the next step though!

Then again if you thought that Bipedalism is all hunky dory then you probably never had a back pain! Now that is a matter for another blog!

Hunky dory were also the hallmark of movies by Murali Mohan!

Now stop your Bipedling! And sleep!

Shubh ratri!

In A Brief History of Intelligence; Max S Bennet tells about animal intelligence also!

Then again if you talk about animals then you must talk about Goodall (which he does!)

Now tool making or making of machines is a human thing to do! Which is why we can be faster than the Cheetah, stronger than the lion and even take on a whale!

Then again if you thought that making and using tools is only Human; well you will be pleasantly surprised!

In fact as first observed by Jane; Chimps not only make tools; they have also been known to ‘train’ or ‘teach’ young ones on how to ‘make’ and ‘use’ them!

Now many other animals have been shown to make and use tools!

Leaders in this are those who have our shared ancestors! The chimps! Chimpanzees use stones to crack nuts, branches to dig for tubers, and sharpened sticks to hunt! Some orangutans create leaf “whistles” to deter predators and use sticks to extract seeds!

Next time be wary when you call someone a ‘bird brain!’; you may be complimenting him or her!

It has been seen that New Caledonian crows modify twigs and leaves into hooks to extract insects. While Woodpecker finches use cactus spines to probe for food!

Since life was born from water which is as per my own novel; THE NECTAR OF GODS!; tools can be seen here also! Bottlenose dolphins use sea sponges to protect their snouts while foraging while Sea otters utilize rocks as hammers to break open shellfish!

Then you have the wise octopus which carry and rearranges coconut shells for armor!

Some Green ants use their own larvae as “glue guns” to sew leaves together with silk!

If you go to some village in Kerala you might even see an Elephant! If you are more lucky, you may even see the Elephant use branches for fly-swatting, scratching, and make bark plugs to cover waterholes to prevent evaporation~

Now this is important because Animal tools often involve manipulating, modifying, or combining materials (such as twigs, leaves, or stones) to solve problems!

And it is this behavior which indicates advanced cognition, planning, foraging efficiency, and the ability to adapt to environmental challenges!

So next time someone says, Don’t be a TOOL! Well; he may be a chimp or an orangutan descendant! So do not lose your cool!

Cool also was the look of Rahul Roy when we burst on the scene with Ashiqui!

Now use that bed made from tools to sleep!

Shub ratri!

You know how cats always land on their feet?

Well; they DO NOT!

Now now! I know you know that I am a dog lover but this is not a reaction to that!

Most of the times cats land on their feet because of something called a Righting reflex! It is a bio physics phenomenon!

This reflex starts in the inner ear’s vestibular apparatus, which tells the cat which way is up! It is the same apparatus which even tells every human how to find your seat in a dark theatre!

Now apart from that the cats have a highly flexible spine (30 vertebrae) and no functional collarbone, allowing them to twist their upper and lower bodies in opposite directions simultaneously!

So a deep collarbone may be a sign of beauty and prospect of a future model; but it comes at a cost of your flexibility! You cannot land on your feet when you fall! Which is probably why Models fall!

Then you have Physics! By pulling their front legs in and extending their back legs, they change their moment of inertia to spin quickly mid-air!
This technique is so good that NASA and other space agencies study this for astronaut movement (not UNESCO! so you know it is not fake!)

But (yeah now the blog gets interesting or falls down depending on how you see it!); there are many reasons why the cat may not land on its feet!

One is contrary to expectations; it is better if the fall is at a greater height for landing on your or cat’s feet!

This is because if a fall is too short (less than 1–2 feet), a cat may not have enough time to complete the rotation!

Like every other being, age catches up with even cats so if the cat is overweight, elderly, or suffer from arthritis may lack the speed and flexibility to right themselves!

Then you literally have the whole body of the cat acting like a Parachute! A feat seen in many animals especially the high ‘flying’ ones and this is at more greater heights!

So counterintuitively, cats sometimes fare better in falls from higher stories (7+ floors) because they reach terminal velocity, relax, and spread their limbs out like a parachute to increase drag!

Then again just because they parachute or land on their feet; they can still get injured!

The impact from a significant height can still cause severe injuries, a phenomenon known as high-rise syndrome.

So you can be a dog lover and then say that you thought the cat would always land on its feet and that is why you ‘pushed’ it! But that is just pure evil! Hope that thought process makes a good landing someday!

Always a good landing though was Jagajit Singh and his amazing vocals!

Now have a proper nap and not a catnap!

Shubh ratri!

Many of the statements written by me usually end with three dots!

This is a popular technique called ellipsis …, also known informally as dot dot dot, it is as mentioned above,  series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning.

The word (plural ellipses) originates from the Ancient Greek: ἔλλειψις, élleipsis meaning ‘leave out’.

I love ELLIPSIS! It is like the cliffhanger of a movie but you know there is much more good stuff to come! What you would like to convey and then some!

Or What you want to say but you need others to fill it with their own version!

Or the fact that life goes on! You can finish a blog today and then start one tomorrow!

In fact beyond the physical mark, it has several specific meanings depending on the context.

The first is the punctuation & writing involving the Omission of Words which in  formal or academic writing, it shows that you have shortened a direct quote by removing unnecessary parts while preserving the original meaning.

In fiction or casual writing, it represents a character’s voice or thought trailing off into silence or an unfinished sentence.

Many time it indicates a natural pause, hesitation, or suspense in dialogue (e.g., “I… I don’t know.”).

In modern social media we often see the use of ellipsis often appearing as a typing indicator, signaling that the other person is currently composing a message!

Now if you thought Ellipsis are only three dots (Which they are by the way!) then you may not be completely correct! It can occasionally have 4!

While you may sometimes see four dots in a row, the ellipsis itself still only contains three; the “extra” dot is actually a separate piece of punctuation used to maintain the sentence’s grammatical structure~

We nornally use three dots for omissions within a single sentence or to show a speaker is trailing off.
Example: “I was going to drive… but I did not!”

Then you occasionally use 4 dots!

This is used when there is a period followed by a three-dot ellipsis when an omission occurs between two complete sentences.

Like “The study was conclusive. . . . Further research is now underway.”

Some style guides, like the Chicago Manual of Style, prefer spaces between the dots (. . .), while others, like the AP Stylebook, prefer them bunched together (…)!


All these for the three dots who may not even mean anything but not saying anything or not completing something…!

That’s how you add some drama or character to the story though! Character reminds me of Sujit Kumar!

Now…
Sleep…!

Shub ratri!

In the novel called A Brief History of Intelligence; Max S Bennet traces the timeline and the development of intelligence to understand the AI!

One of the features which is so HUMAN apparently was actually future planning!

If  rat finds food, it may not think to save it for future! While a human would do!

Then again just when you though that this is exclusive, well you can not be more wrong!

Future planning, often termed “prospection” or mental time travel, is not exclusively a human trait, as evidence shows several animal species—particularly great apes, corvids, and some mammals—possess the ability to anticipate future needs and prepare for them.

One such example are the Chimpanzees and bonobos  who can select, transport, and save tools for future use, sometimes up to 14 hours in advance, overcoming immediate impulses to benefit a future self!

Ravens and jays have been observed caching food and, in some cases, re-caching it in safer spots, indicating foresight.

Now of course the HUMAN in you would say that behaviors like storing food for winter or migrating are instinctual, but some cognitive planning exists in species that change behavior based on anticipating future scenarios.

Of course do not be sad! Humans are special!

So while animals show foresight, the depth of human planning is often considered unique.

One of the main things about an average human is the mental time travel! Humans can simulate distant future contingencies, scenarios, and multiple potential outcomes, rather than just immediate next steps.

Also there is a limit! Humans can do strategic Planning in that they can plan years or decades ahead (e.g., career, financial planning), whereas animal planning is usually on a much shorter time scale!

One of the chief differences though which is important for separation though is Self Control!

Both humans and great apes share the ability to exercise self-control to achieve delayed rewards, a key component of future planning.

So just because you are a human do not think you are better than animals! Every great power comes with a responsibility! Now you can act like a human or a Bonobo! Your choice!

Now no AI can ever sing like Bhimsen Joshi!

A tiring day! A quick sketch and a super quick blog!

Time is not an excuse!

Shubh ratri!

A person could only say tan! Then again he was directly and indirectly responsible for us to understand speech and the brain!

In the novel A Brief History of Intelligence by Max S Bennet talks about Louis Victor Leborgne (1809–1861), nicknamed “Tan,”!

His story is very interesting!

What is more interesting for me was that I did not read about ‘tan’ during my medicine and a novellist who is primarily an AI engineer gave this information!

Just when you realise that you know so less, you realize that you know even less!

Anyway , the self flogging can continue at a later date! Let us get back to TAN!

Louis Victor Leborgne was a French craftsman and shoemaker who became one of the most famous patients in medical history. He is best known as Patient Tan!

So at age 30, Leborgne lost the ability to speak. All he could utter was the single syllable “tan,” often repeated twice (“tan, tan”), accompanied by expressive hand gestures.

His nickname, “Tan,” originated from this being his only spoken word. Historians speculate “tan” may have been a remnant of childhood memories of tanneries (moulins à tan) in his hometown of Moret.

He spent 21 years at Bicêtre Hospital near Paris. While he could not speak, he appeared to understand everything said to him, though fellow patients often found him “egotistical and vindictive”.

Over two decades, he developed right-side paralysis and eventually gangrene, which led to his transfer to the surgical ward of Pierre Paul Broca in 1861.

In this whole story the only name we med students remembers was BROCA!

Its getting hotter now!

So after Leborgne died in 1861, Broca performed an autopsy and discovered a significant lesion in the posterior left frontal lobe!

This landmark finding proved that specific functions, like speech production, are localized in certain parts of the brain!

The also led to the naming of “Broca’s area” and the condition known as Broca’s aphasia, where speech production is impaired but comprehension remains intact.

In fact Broca further conducted studies on similar patients to find out more centers in the brain which are in fact known to all med students as the Broca’s areas!


Areas are also wide of Sayaji Shinde when it comes to movies!

Now use your Broca’s speech area to say good night!

Shub ratri!

Imagine the scene; There is a door which leads to a dark basement and the actor opens that door when he or she hears some knock! We all know there is someone or something sinister there! We have seen it or him or her!

You literally scream at the actor! DO NOT OPEN IT!

Of course he or she does not listen to you (many people don’t but let us not go there for now!); he or she opens the door and gets what is coming!

What you do not understand is that ONLY you know that there is someone in the basement! You have been shown that! The actor DOES NOT KNOW! Of course actually he or she KNOWS the information but the story dictates that he or she does not know!

Now let me ask you something you may not know!

Did you know that there is a test similar to this which actually tests your maturity level?

It is called the SALLY -ANNE test!


So the Sally–Anne test is a classic developmental psychology experiment used to measure a child’s “theory of mind”—the ability to understand that others have beliefs, intentions, and perspectives different from their own. It tests if a child can understand that someone else holds a “false belief” about a situation!

The scene here is that

Scene: Two dolls, Sally and Anne, are introduced.
Action 1: Sally places a marble in her basket and leaves.
Action 2: While Sally is away, Anne moves the marble from the basket to her box.

The Question: Sally returns, and the child is asked: “Where will Sally look for her marble?”.

Here is when you have to clearly understand the result! Sally DOES NOT know that Anne has MOVED the marble! ONLY you do!

Correct Answer (Pass): “In the basket.” This shows the child understands that although they know the marble is in the box, Sally has a false belief that it is still where she left it.

Incorrect Answer (Fail): “In the box.” This suggests the child assumes that because they know the truth, Sally must also know, indicating a lack of developed theory of mind!

Typically, children pass this test around the age of four!


So next time you SCREAM at the actor, remember that she or he does not know!
If you do SCREAM then your development age is FOUR!

Then again both adults and children appreciate music at very young age!

Like the music maestro S. P. Venkatesh.
He will be missed

Om shanti…
Shubh ratri…

When the choice is between the devil and the deep blue sea!

When the choice is between the rat race and well rat race!

Swim, migrate and then hunt and then start a family and repeat! Then the little guy in black and white with a choice between black and white; chose the grey!

The “Penguin in the Mountains” reel which is become so famous now is what is exemplified above!

In the reel the Penguin after some thought; simply decides that enough is enough! It lets everything go and simply walks towards the mountains!

It of course knows that the journey is one way and he may not survive; but he simply has lost all the care in the world! He is free from the duties of the world!

Does it seem familiar?

In January 2026, the concept of “penguins in the mountains” went viral globally due to the “Nihilist Penguin” meme!

It is actually an old clip from Werner Herzog’s 2007 documentary, Encounters at the End of the World, resurfaced and exploded across TikTok and Instagram.

A lone Adélie penguin abandons its colony and heads inland toward distant, 70km-away Antarctic mountains instead of toward the sea!

Internet users dubbed it the “Nihilist Penguin,” viewing it as a symbol of existential burnout or “quiet quitting”!


Of course scientists explain this as disorientation rather than a philosophical choice; such penguins usually perish as they walk away from food sources!

While the internet sees a “philosopher,” experts clarify that the behavior is likely a tragic navigational error caused by a failure to read environmental cues like the sun or magnetic fields! It could also be health issues such as brain lesions or extreme stress during breeding season!

The meme has even reached high-level politics, with the White House sharing an AI-generated image of Donald Trump and a penguin walking toward Greenland with the caption “Embrace The Penguin,” though the post was widely mocked because penguins do not live in the Northern Hemisphere!

The Nihilistic behavior of the penguin has also been compared to the modern concept of quiet quitting or burnout!

At some point everyone reaches a burnout! The work becomes monotonous! You feel you are doing the same thing over and over again without any appreciation!

Then one fine day you snap!

As far as I am concerned though! I love Status quo! I love the monotony of a quiet comfortable family life with the occasional change only in the tech world!

Then again it can happen to everyone which is why a break is always necessary! The once a week minor break and the once a year major break is the mental equivalent of ‘annual servicing’ of your brain, body and possibly soul!

By the way the concept of ‘Going to the mountains’ is an old theme in our wedding ceremony! The young bachelor who gets ‘wise’ decides that the world is too complicated so it is better to ‘go to the mountain’ to meditate! Then the father of his future bride ‘offers’ him the more better option of ‘marriage’! It is still practiced in our marriage ceremonies with lots of fun and merriment!

Some still feel the mountain would have been easier! Are you one of the penguin!?

Or are you an achiever like Kishan Lal! Who captained the Indian hockey team all the way to the Olympic gold!

Shubh ratri!

I had always wondered why the plural of child is not childs but children!

Apparently even the plural of many words was similar, like the plural of house was not houses but housen!

It is also a mystery of what the letters which come after Q in queue are doing there in the first place!

How p is silent in psycho but loud in protest!

Of the 26 letters of the alphabet according to Bill Bryson; not even a single letter is consistent when it comes to pronunciation!

The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way is a really interesting novel by Bill Bryson which explores the English language’s history and quirks, highlighting how its evolution from a “mongrel” language makes it both incredibly flexible and maddeningly inconsistent!

Now see the combination OUGH!

There are so many ways it is pronounced! Like though, through, trough, tough!


Then like the Q above you have those ‘silent’ letters who are like the Babus standing on a stage giving prize to the winning team and staying on with the photo!

The language is littered with silent letters that reflect old pronunciations (e.g., knife used to be pronounced “kuh-neef-uh”)!


Bryson points out that English lacks a formal governing body, meaning its rules are often based on arbitrary customs rather than logic!

Like the biggest issues with on and in!

You can be “on the bus” but “in the car”! I would prefer to walk!

Then you have the irregular Plurals which are the words that do not follow the standard “-s” rule, such as mouse/mice (rather than mouses), require excessive memorization!

Everyone must learn at least three languages in his or her lifetime! One is his or her mother tongue, then the predominant language of the place of his work or stay and the last must be English!

This is because all said and done; English is the Global Lingua franca! You cannot escape it! Since there are so many different forms of English no country can actually claim it as it’s own! Which is why it is the language of the world!

Now just the fact that a person can speak English is enough! Do not go into the Grammar or pronunciation or even the fluency! It is the effort which matters!

The biggest flaw pf English pronunciation is that you have to know or hear the pronunciation before! You cannot simply read and combine the letters like many scientific languages!

This means that the fact of the matter remains that you have to be knowledgeable to know English but just knowing English may not make you knowledgeable!

Like Kanneganti Brahmanandam may not be known for his english but his talent is legendary! Not only as an actor but also an amazing artist!

Now sleep in all languages!

Shub ratri!

It has been said that if there are more than two ‘human’ in any fixed or confined place for long intervals; then one thing is for sure! They will fight!

It does not matter if they have come from the same ancestor! The fact is that this fight is as old as the beginning of life!

In Ken Follett’s latest novel called the Circle of Days he talks about Herders and farmers!

The novel is set so far back in time that the time literally stands still!

But some things do not change! Humans form two groups and they fight! Even if they both would have originated from one group!

The novel talks about Herders and Farmers!

Herders and farmers represent two distinct, historically significant, and often conflicting methods of human subsistence!

Herders are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists who move seasonally to find pasture and water for their livestock. In contrast, farmers are sedentary, staying in one location to cultivate crops and raise animals.

So while Herders are mobile (nomadic) the farmers are settled or sedentary.

Herders primarily focus on animal rearing as their primary occupation and life’s work while Farmers focus on cultivating land, though they may also keep animals.

Now even those days resources were low so due to shrinking resources like water and land—driven by climate change and desertification—these two groups often face conflicts, where pastoralists may overlap with farmers!

Then again all they have to remember is that historically, these groups developed from hunter-gatherers who settled down many years ago!

In fact in some regions, they have established, or historically maintained, systems of mutual benefit, such as trading goods or managing livestock migration routes!

Trust Ken to bring drama into a prehistoric landscape! Then again the other thing apart from fight which Humans usually get into is well; DRAMA!

Another thing humans like is a good movie now and then! Growing up I was a big fan of Jaikishan Kakubhai Saraf! Now before you say who!? Well, it’s Jaggu dada!

Now forget about your hunter gathering ancestors and get some well deserved sleep!

Shubh ratri!