Dyslexia

Dyslexia - In Greek language the term Dyslexia =dys +lexia where "dys" means difficult and "lexia " means reading.
In simple words, it's a disability that hinders a person's ability to read.
Dyslexia affected child may have difficulty with developing spellings and writing skills.

For a normal person, alphabets are used as a sort of code for communication, But,  a person with dyslexia cannot decipher the code because of some neurological complications.. He /she may not be able to read the same word with ease in the next paragraph.. After he/she read it in the first paragraph at one go.

This doesn't mean he /she can't read, but they face difficulty in recognizing the same word again and again.

Types

Dysgraphia : difficulty in writing
Dyscalculia :difficulty with numbers and calculations
Dyslexia : difficulty in reading

Implications

This doesn't affect the intellectual and emotional growth of the person.

Children with this condition possess normal intelligence, curiousity .

Q. What parents and teachers can do?

A child with dyslexia shouldn't be considered stupid or lazy .
( how in Taare zameen par movie kid who was suffering from dyslexia treated by his father )
His/her problem should be identified and should be supported accordingly.
According to psychologists, dyslexia is present at birth but come to light only when a child starts reading.
Teachers and parents should work together to identify this issue and provide person with moral support..can help them to deal with this condition.
As every person is born with some or the other talent.. Parents and teachers can identify the Child's area of interest ( like sports,  art and other  creative skills) and should encourage them to pursue their interest.

Q.what If this condition not identified?
In this competitive world, Every parent want their ward to excel in studies.. Being  in the teaching, I come across many parents who wants their child to pursue medicine, IIT, AIEEE.. management..etc..
Every person have different grasping power. .

A person with dyslexia may be left behind in this competitive world ( competition starting from primary).. And parents not able identify this condition in their ward.. May start treating him/her stupid ,lazy and reluctant to study.. But this may not be the case.. He/she may try to study.. But this condition.. May not allow to do so.

Undetected and unsupported disabilities can push child into becoming reclusive, dropping out of school or college, resorting to petty crimes, theft, and other anti social activities.

So, it's our duty as a parent and teachers to support them to identify their area of interest and encourage them to excel in that.
As every person is born with some or the other hidden talent.. May not in studies.. But can excel in sports, arts,..etc.

Sophia- A Celebrity in AI

This was the  picture of Sophia , I saw for the very first time  while going through the news feeds.
For a moment i thought her to be a human ,as she was beautifully draped in a saree (when she visited India for Tech-fest of IIT  Bombay in Dec 2017,this was her first visit to India).

I thought her to be some celebrity invited for the fest..But,she is no less than a celebrity in the field of Artificial Intelligence(AI).

Q. Who is She ?? And what is this AI??

Sophia ,is the first social humanoid robot,resembling the British actress "Audrey Hepburn".
she was created by the "Hanson Robotics"which is based in Hong Kong.

Sophia was activated on April 19,2015 and made her first public appearance at south-west festival (SXSW) in Texas,USA.

Recently,she was awarded  with the citizenship of Saudi Arabia..the first robot to be given legal personhood anywhere in the world.

The Aim to create her was to help elderly people and assist at large gatherings in the park or at major events.

Sophia ,the robot is fitted with  cameras and micro-phones which work with AI software that allows her to make an eye contact , recognize people  and even speak to them.

she can imitate human gestures and facial expressions and can answer on predefined topics(topics which are defined in her system).

sophia has seven robot humanoid "siblings" who are also created by her parent company..i.e Hanson Robotics.
  
link below is sophia's speech at IIT Bombay :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v2buAeLfC0


Q. what is Artificial Intelligence?

AI is "The science and Engineering of making machines,especially intelligent computer programs"

AI enables machines to act,behave like humans. It analyzes human Behaviour in order to solve a problem and make a decision.

AI embeds the ability to work,learn and decide in machines,software and systems so that they can respond smartly in various situations.   
There is now much progress ,scope in AI field ...time is not so far when we will be seeing that much of the human work is done by robots..i.e more automation.

Below is the link of Robot Restaurant in coimbatore,Tamil Nadu
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/robot-themed-restaurant-launched-in-coimbatore-tamil-nadu/videoshow/65087959.cms

Real Men Behind PARMANU

Recently , Bollywood has given us a movie on India's nuclear tests.. PARMANU -The Real story of Pokhran, which has given us a glance how India became nuclear state. But who were the men behind the success of the operation..
I was asked by my students..Who was  Ashmat Raina(lead in movie)  and others in reality ..who made India a nuclear state so thought of writing on it.

The nuclear test India conducted in 1998 was known as "operation shakti "
This was not the first time India conducted nuclear test, earlier in 1974 India conducted its first nuclear test.. Known as "smiling Buddha ".

Operation shakti of 1998 was the series of tests that comprised of 1 fusion bomb and 4 fission bombs.

After the successful detonation of all five warheads, Then prime minister of India shri Atal Bihari vajpayee ji declared India a full-fledged nuclear state on May 13,1998.

After its success, India came on par with the other nuclear states like USA.

Many foreign countries viewed it as a threat.. As a  result India had to face the sanctions from USA, Japan,etc
But, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul kalam, who was driving force behind the India's nuclear capability, stated in an interview that In the last 2500years India had never invaded any territory, but foreign invaders had laid siege to parts of the Indian subcontinent.

On the national Television then prime minister Atal Bihari vajpayee ji stated that "India would never be the first one to initiate nuclear weapons and would also refrain from using warheads against any countries that had not acquired any of their own nuclear weapons".

This was according to India's foreign policy of "No first use"

India had to conduct this operation without coming into the eye of USA 's Billion dollar satellites which were specially designed to keep an eye on India's nuclear activities in pokhran, rajasthan.

Indian team of 58 Engineers succeeded in completing the operation shakti by utmost secrecy.

When India declared about it's pokhran -2
Operation.. The world was in shock that How India could skip from the high advanced technology satellites of USA??

USA 's 4 satellites were always hovering over pokhran, which were technologically advanced, they could count the number of green patches on Indian Army fatigue.

US senator of that time Richard Shelby said in an interview that it was the biggest failure of USA 's Intelligence Agency (CIA) as it could not identify India's nuclear activity in pokhran.
The fact is that it's not that US satellites were not hovering over the site, they were always on pokhran ... But Indian team involved in the operation had learnt a lot about how to avoid detection by US spy satellites.

A lot of work was done at night and heavy equipments was always returned to the same parking spot at dawn so that image analysts (of USA spy agencies) would conclude that they had never moved.
Piles of sand were shaped to mimic the wind aligned and shaped dune forms in the area.
When cables were laid they were carefully covered and native vegetation replaced to conceal the digging.

Men behind the operation shakti.. Parmanu were

1. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul kalam

During the test, he was the scientific adviser to the prime ministers and was also the head of the DRDO.

He was the driving force behind the India's nuclear capability.

2. Dr Anil kakodkar

With extraordinary competence in his field,  he was a part of the core team of architect's during both the nuclear testing.

3 Dr. Rajagopala chidambaram

He was one among the group of scientists involved in all the nuclear tests of India.
He was the chief designer while developing the weapons.
He assisted Indian Army in the test site.

4. Dr. K sanathanam

He acted as a liaison between DRDO and DAE, two scientific organizations of our country during operation shakti.

5 .Dr M. S Ramakumar

This mechanical engineer is also known for being an outstanding roboticist.

He is the key player who gained fame for developing robotics and automation technologies for India's nuclear projects.

With his team, he developed online fueling and coolant channel inspection system for pokhran -2 project.

6. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Under his prime ministership, operation shakti tests were conducted that raised India to the status of being a nuclear State.
The entire project was carried out secretly and he was one holding the helm of the ship that led us to this great success.

The nuclear tests of 1998 were conducted on the Buddhist festival day of Buddha purnima, the same day on which the 1974  test was conducted.

Note: I didn't included how nuclear activities were performed.. How detonators were brought to the site, etc.. As all this was shown in a movie PARMANU - The real story of pokhran.

What is CARA?

CARA  stands for Central Adoption Resource Authority

It is a statutory body, working under Ministry of Women and Child Development(MWC).
It is a nodal body working in the field of child adoption (Indian children) .
It is responsible for regulating inter and intra adoption of Indian children.
Hague convention on inter country adoption of 1993 which was ratified by India in 2003.
CARA deals with the adoption of orphan, abandoned children through its various associated agencies.