You saw 'it' whiz past you. Then came, innumerably, more. They then went away. But the murmur stayed, the lilt, the Ryle. Hear the drumming far away? It is the field they say (#TFTS). &, you sway...

#TFTS (The Field They Say) --- SynTalk Album

The wheel has turned. The penny has dropped. The sun has set. The Word is uttered. The blood is shed. The clouds have gathered. The tongue is tied. The lies have lied. The Arrow Has Left (#TAHL). An instant ago. Ages ago.

#TAHL (The Arrow Has Left) --- SynTalk Album

SynTalk thinks about Vacuum and asks why is there something rather than nothing? Is empty space really empty? Does vacuum exist in the natural universe or is it merely a theoretical abstract conception? Is absolute vacuum possible? The concepts are derived off / from Hindu thought (eternal recurrence), Bible (genesis, void), Aristotle, Newton, Einstein, Copenhagen interpretation, Sommerfeld (fine structure constant), Maxwell, Heidegger (PEQ), Casimir (pair production), Biermann (solar wind) and Parker (solar wind model), among others. We marvel at the beauty of nature via CMBR, pole wandering (did dinosaurs die because of this?), magnetic reconnection, cosmological constant, dark matter / energy, dipoles, plasma (a la fire?), and absolute zero. How virtual particles come into ‘being’. What is happening in upper atmosphere (~70,000 kms above earth)? What does an ‘agitated’ sun do to earth’s atmosphere? Whether the laws of causation break down with quantum mechanics and sub-micron distance scales. How do neutrinos / muons reach us via empty space? Has Quantum Field Theory (QFT) left us in a state of limbo, and do we need to reformulate our conception of God? How empty space is bubbling. How would a ride to the sun be? The SynTalkrs are: Prof. Sunil Mukhi (particle physics, IISER, Pune), Prof. Kuruvilla Pandikattu (philosophy & theology, Jnana-Deep Vidyapeeth (JDV), Pune), & Prof. R.V. Reddy (plasma physics, Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Navi Mumbai)

#TVAABP (The Vacuum As A Bubbling Place) --- SynTalk

SynTalk thinks about the dynamic nature & origins (since the big bang) of  fundamental & emergent forces in the universe. Was there only one force at the time of big bang? How did human beings first recognize & understand both the forces of nature (shamanism, magic, storms, lightning) and the forces more in their control (combat, weapons, hunting, push & pull)? The concepts are derived off / from Aristotle, Galileo, Laplace, Newton, Halley, Oersted, Faraday, Maxwell, Mach, Bohr, Planck, Einstein, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Higgs, Max Jammer, & Karplus / Levitt / Warshel (2013 Chemistry Nobel Prize winners), among others. How is the world held together by the various forces? What exactly is a force field? Can there be force without matter (Yes)? Does matter create its field, or can a field be its own source? How to think of Maxwell’s equations in ‘free space’, and why we need matter (as sources for (say) microphones & radio)? How do forces act at a distance? Why do we try to create early universe conditions in large colliders, and study strong & weak forces? How did the forces separate (gravitation, electromagnetism, weak & strong forces, in that order) as the universe cooled down? Why don’t bodies simply move in a straight line, and links with the concept of ‘natural motion’? Is it (even) possible to know why forces exist? Is Big Bang the new ‘prima mobilia’, and how much more do we conceptually know about forces now? How do strongly interacting  (uncertain) electrons / atoms get confined in a classical body, and links with concepts of multiscaling (QM/MM; Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics) and the mesoscopic world? Why an electrical circuit is difficult to understand in terms of electromagnetic field theory. How forces bind parts together and why / how a different whole sometimes emerges? How the degrees of freedom get frozen as the number of bodies increase. Why did Bohr’s premise of simply quantizing angular momentum did not work for many-electron atoms (beyond hydrogen-like atoms)? Link of the grey zone (‘interface region’) between quantum mechanics & classical mechanics with drugs, proteins, buildings, brain, cricket ball, polymers, spark plug, steering wheel, effective theory, & wave-particle duality. How does a magnet defeat the earth and pull a piece of iron, and its links with gauge theory (with all three forces, except gravity) and the possibility of  gravity as an entropic or emergent force? Are market, political, or life forces similar entropic forces? Why is gravity difficult to unify with the other forces? Has ‘force’ replaced ‘energy’ since mid 19th century (after the energy-ists)? Are a different set of forces likely to govern dark matter and dark energy? Is force just a defined concept and not purely fundamental? The SynTalkrs are: Prof. S. D. Agashe (electrical engineering, history & philosophy of science, IITB, Mumbai), Dr. Sourav Pal (quantum chemistry, NCL, Pune), Prof. Sreerup Raychaudhuri (particle physics, TIFR, Mumbai).

#TFOFA (The Fields Of Forces Around) --- SynTalk

SynTalk thinks about the unidirectional nature of time and wonders if time is a separate ‘category’ at all. We dip into cosmology, computer science, neuroscience, quantum physics, & philosophy. We wonder whether time is essentially a (background) variable. Is time nature’s way of preventing everything from happening at the same time (a la Wheeler)? The concepts are derived off / from Newton, Fred Hoyle, Maxwell, Dirac, Planck, Godel, Bohr, Einstein, H G Wells, Wheeler, Feynman, Prigogine, Landauer, Roy Kerr, Everett, Novikov, & Zeldovich, among others. How has the notion of time changed with digital watches? What is ‘logical time’, & the importance of multiple systems synchronizing with each other? What would happen if we hit an electron with a hammer? Do we get ‘it from bit’, and what is the possible link of time with (quantized) information? Can neurons be thought of as being probabilistically synchronized oscillators? We also discuss the concept of Planck’s time as the fundamental unit, & the resultant notion of whether time is discrete or continuous. What is the link between causality and time? We discuss the fascinating links of time with thermodynamics, entropy, ‘action at a distance’, & closed / open systems. What would happen, surprisingly, if a hot star were to be connected with a cold star via a conducting wire? The nature of neurological time, and its links with octopuses, crabs, speeding cars, a ‘cache of situations’, & reflex actions. How do (memory) space & time tradeoffs impact computer algorithms? Can time be lost? How ‘branching time’ creates possible worlds that are not known a priori? Is time travel possible (via a worm holes), and does it need a conception different from ‘state-based’ time? Do animals ‘have’ time? The SynTalkrs are: Prof. Jayant V. Narlikar (astrophysics, IUCAA, Pune), Prof. Krithi Ramamritham (computer science, IITB, Mumbai), & Prof. Sisir Roy (theoretical physics, NIAS, IISc, Bangalore).

#TAOT (The Arrows Of Time) --- SynTalk

SynTalk thinks about the interrelationships between wholes and parts in natural and conceptual systems, and wonders whether the part is inferred from the whole. Does a part (somehow) imply or expect the whole? The concepts are derived off / from Abhinavagupta, Newton, Kepler, Boltzmann, Boyle, Saussure, Turing, Manfred Eigen, P. W. Anderson, Chomsky, & Morris Halle, among others. In interactions between words, fundamental particles, molecules, cells, & phonemes, why are most combinations void? How do a finite number of parts create a dizzying array of wholes, and links with concepts such as historical contingency, surplus, entropy, sequencing, emergentism, & auto-catalysis? Why are transitions in biological, physical, ecological, social, and linguistic systems so tentative and statistical? Has the physics of the material world achieved a special kind of climax in the biological unit of life, & how the cell is not simply a bagful of chemicals. How the cell is both a part and a whole, & the context of cell division. Which is the most fundamental living part? How entropy comes about ‘only’ in systems of ‘many’ interacting particles. At what point can we start defining concepts such as pressure, volume, & temperature? Why certain molecular complexes self-emerge into functioning self sustaining evolving systems? Why literature does not simply describe the world, and how the non-existent also often make sense? In our daily linguistic behaviour, do we (fundamentally) use phonemes or words or sentences? How a word is a meaningful sequence of phonemes, and the similarities with gene sequencing; the difference between: ‘John killed the tiger’, & ‘the tiger killed John’. The sound patterns of language, & how any sound cannot come after one sound. Can one syllable be a whole in itself (bijakshara)? How a large chunk of the genome performs mundane functions, & discrimination results only from a handful of genes. Are carbon atoms in graphite and diamond identical in every single way, or do the atoms become something different? The links between rabbit’s horn, bureaucracy, multiverses, Lego toys, universal physical constants, Mesopotamian civilization, zebra, sky flower, existence, and time. The implications of an animal (whole) repeatedly developing into an animal (whole). How non linearity (in both deterministic and stochastic systems) is crucial for any emergent phenomena. Is the long term future of existence non local (a la ‘the ant colony as an organism’) and (potentially) altruistic? The intriguing prospect of new emergence as a result of the unprecedented ongoing meta-interactions, where parts (human beings) increasingly understand the emergent design of the whole? The SynTalkrs are: Dr. Rajnish K. Mishra (linguistics, philosophy, JNU, Delhi), Prof. B.J. Rao (biology, TIFR, Mumbai), & Prof. Sitabhra Sinha (physics, IMSc, Chennai).

#TWAP (The Whole And Parts) --- SynTalk

SynTalk thinks about quarrels (in a general sense), while constantly wondering whether there is a civilizational ‘need’ for it. Is it possible to have a sustainable theory for interactions (and by extension, quarrels)? What are the links with language structure and language usage? The concepts are derived off / from Upanishads, Bhagwad Gita, Sarala Das, Oliver Goldsmith, Locke, Bertrand Russell, Grice, Nozick, & Chomsky, among others. Can we think of an idealized quarrel? How do we understand sentences & discourses that have non literal (suggestive) meanings? How only the non-obvious counts as information. The maxims of quantity, quality, relation, & manner for ideal conversations, and how these cooperative principles break down in quarrels. How in a legal context the adversarial system is used to resolve difference of views. Are spoken quarrels different from the written, and whether norms, conventions and several para lingual aspects are lost (& sanitized) when written? What is the difference between interests and positions? What are the set of things that are not allowed to be used as bargaining tools in a conversational context? Are quarrels structured and institutionalized in many areas of life, where it may be possible to separate the person’s views from the person? Why are there so many lawyer jokes? How deeply should one hold one’s ideas? How a lawyer (an agent) sometime morphs into the principal. Why do some societies have so many (out of court) settlements? Is it possible to have an argument without investing certain aspects of one’s self? Why should some words not be used in ‘parliamentary’ language? Is the Supreme Court always right because it is final, and not final because it is right? Where do swear words come from, and why do they linger? Who decides what is polite or impolite language? How norms of political correctness start out as public acknowledgement of past rights or wrongs. Can one apply the Theory of Implicature to understand how swear words can come to be used as an endearment? What are the dynamics of multilateral conflicts, even if they are handled by two individuals? Why many societies do not accept the pardon by the victim? The links between ego, Judgment of Solomon, Mona Lisa, ‘devastating counter example’, debates, horse trading, Ataturk, tyranny of language, & ‘matters of taste’. Would a society without quarrels be dead? Can quarrels be replaced by some playful ways of inhabiting conflicts? ‘For e'en though vanquish'd he could argue still…’. The SynTalkrs are: Dr. Arudra Burra (philosophy, IIT Delhi, New Delhi), Prof. B. N. Patnaik (linguistics, ex-IIT Kanpur, Bangalore), & Somasekhar Sundaresan (law, J. Sagar Associates, Mumbai).

#TAOQ (The Argument Over Quarrel) --- SynTalk

What comes first - matter or space or time? What is the structure of space? Why did Paul Cezanne go 'flat'? How did Picasso turn the artistic conception of space on its head with cubism? Is there a link between colour and space? What is it like to be in Matisse's The Red Studio? What happens when you walk into a room that you have not been in before? Are there specific neurons in your brain for every space that you have ever been to? How do place cells within the hippocampus represent the physical space as a cognitive map? Is space the same everywhere in the universe? Is it possible to represent empty space? How does an artist create the pictorial space on a 2-dimensional canvas? Is the perception of space always relative to matter (& objects)? Is episodic memory anchored in space (the 'where')? What is space like at sub atomic scales? Does nature really have more than 3 dimensions? Has theoretical physics completely missed incorporating gravity of all the matter in the universe? Is matter essentially primary, time derived, and space essentially relational? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions, about the manifested space around and within us, using concepts from physics (Prof. C.S. Unnikrishnan, TIFR, Mumbai), art (Atul Dodiya, Mumbai), and neuroscience (Dr. Sachin Deshmukh, IISc, Bangalore). 

Listen in...

#TROS (The Representation Of Space) --- SynTalk

Is babble the beginning? Are languages pure, or were they originally mixed? Was Shakespeare writing in English? Are languages negotiated like in a bazaar, & where then does the power lie? Are there areas & languages where mixing is flaunted, & some where it is not? Do you communicate in a mixed language (Hinglish?)? Does the label of language operate in a retrospective manner? What does it mean to have a first language? What does it mean to loan and borrow words? Do you pun? Do words travel more easily than syntax; why? Do scripts mix? Is it possible to legislate languages? Is the French of French Canada ‘purer’ than of France? Why aren’t other languages not completely incomprehensible? Is everything translatable? What might be the impact on languages of the disembodied global marketplace or the digital? Is it likely that the standardized language (of literature) in the future would (again) be poly-genealogical, & something that we would not recognize today? Can media or political spaces possibly be pluri-lingual? Can a totally artificial language be created? Do languages need custodians? Aapko space chahiye? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using concepts from linguistics (Prof. Probal Dasgupta, ISI, Kolkata), English literature (Prof. Jonathan Gil Harris, Ashoka University, Delhi), & translation and cultural studies (Prof. Rita Kothari, IIT Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar). Listen in....

#TMOL (The Medley Of Languages) --- SynTalk

Are there happy poets? Can one write poetry without having suffered (some) exile? Why has there been deep pessimism about poets, & might poets cause wars and genocide? How is deeply personal poetry dangerous? Does poetry represent perfect, universal and eternal truth? How is a poet different from a philosopher? Does poetry find its foothold in a good society, when philosophical truth is understood as a process, & not a product? How might limitless (anarchic) emotions be expressed given the limits of language? Can one ‘suggest’ that which cannot be written? How do ‘word’ and ‘meaning’ come together in poetry? What is the relationship between form and content? Is poetry a very personal use of language for the poet (and the reader)? What is the link between the ethical and the aesthetic? How might bhava become rasa? What happens the moment you come in contact with yourself? Is poem something whose essence cannot be removed from it? How & when do poems get exhausted? Should poetry be history? How did the ‘first’ poetry come to be? Is an exile always asked for? Might an exile be a voyage? Will ‘mistakes of intellect’ continue to happen? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using concepts from political theory & poetry (Prof. Ashwani Kumar, TISS, Mumbai), literature (Udayan Vajpeyi, Bhopal), & literary theory and philosophy (Prof. Sitanshu Yashaschandra, ex-M.S. University, Vadodara). Listen in....

#TEOP (The Exile Of Poets) --- SynTalk

Do we often misunderstand ourselves? Can we be aware of everything? Is introspective knowledge reliable? Can we be mistaken about being hungry? Might the gap between successive thoughts be increased until there is complete thoughtlessness; can this be measured? Is introspection voluntary or involuntary? Is awareness a general relational state (& not a 'happening’)? How does global consciousness emerge in the ensemble state of neurons? Do animals develop conceptual self understanding? Why do we have the introspective faculty? Do introverts and extroverts introspect differently? Is introspection culture-bound? Do you feel your body during silent speech? Is inner speech unstructured or does it have linguistic features such as pronunciation and syntax? Can introspection sometimes get to concepts parallel to those reached via scientific empiricism? Does awareness necessarily involve directed representations of reality? Does introspection need distance? What is the structure of inner awareness? Would there be more accurate ways to understand which types of introspection are more reliable? Is the future of understanding introspection very bright? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using concepts from philosophy (Prof. Christopher Hill, Brown University, Providence), linguistics (Prof. Pramod Pandey, JNU, New Delhi), & physics (Prof. Sisir Roy, NIAS, IISc, Bangalore). Listen in....

#TGOI (The Grounds Of Introspection) --- SynTalk

Did H. M. lead an eventless life? How was your last beach holiday? How do languages make events granular? Can events in texts be ‘inferred’ computationally? Do events always occur in the past? Is evental time modal? Are events objects? Are places facts? Is a decaying apple evental? Are all events spatiotemporal? How do recent events become long term episodic memories or facts? Are events and facts stored in the same region? Are space and time encoded differently? What is the role of relevance? Is the amount of encoding directly proportional to the amount of surprise? How accurately do we remember (or even annotate) orders and intervals? How do we relate to events in stories? Could certain events be like knots in time? What renders an event impossible? Do some surprises (trauma?) get encoded 'elsewhere’? Do our brains work in reverse gear in a dream (generating images 'from' thoughts)? What would the new kinds of events in the future be? Will we get nothing from everything? How would we tend to the right signal? Will we en/de-code or summarize differently? Would a new ‘form’ find us? Is it already here? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using concepts from psychoanalysis & philosophy (Prof. Anup Kumar Dhar, Ambedkar University, New Delhi), neuroscience (Dr. Balaji Jayaprakash, CNS, IISc, Bangalore), & computational linguistics (Dr. Inderjeet Mani, Chiang Mai, Thailand). Listen in....

#TPOE (The Properties Of Events) --- SynTalk

f(q) = Is soil a definitive sign of life? (#TCAFG)

SynTalk is a freewheeling interdisciplinary talk show with a philosophical approach to understanding the world from a long term perspective.