Author: Jitesh Gadgilwar

Best Movies by Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is one such director, who is adored by fans and critics alike. He has helped change the face of Hollywood as we know it, and over the years delivered some of the movies the world has ever seen. Born and raised in London,  Nolan was always interested in movies and anything related to them. After completing his education, Nolan realized that his interests would be best served in the field he loved the most, Filmmaking. Luckily for us, he stuck to his decision and is now one of the Best Directors in Hollywood today. With every film he directs, Nolan brings to the screen a mixture of Science, Fantasy and Mystery, all wrapped up in realism, with a logical explanation for everything. Nolan also brings a certain X-factor to all of his movies, that is very rarely seen in other directors in the Industry. Here is a list of five of his best movies:

5. Insomnia (2002)

Insomnia is one of the most haunting detective films of all time. Why? Because Detective Dormer is another flawed, Nolan-esque protagonist. He is compromised from the start, and the entire film gains a layer of constant logical suspense and drama. There are no super gadgets, fantasy elements, or space travel…just a really sleepy detective. Haunted by his deeds, but still has a killer to catch. There is a great personal relationship between the hero and villain (the late-great Robin Williams), and the lines blurred more than usual.

4. The Dark Knight (2008)

There is some truly clunky dialogue, as well as some pretty cringe inducing moments in The Dark Knight, and while I can’t be sure this was Nolan or Warner Brothers, we can’t ignore these really odd choices. Heath Ledger as The Joker may go down as one of the greatest performances of all time. And while Bob Kane crafted this timeless character, Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger did an incredible job of bringing him to life. Christian Bale too gave us a great Batman. The Dark Knight has some truly unforgettable moments, and some of the best performances in a superhero film. The film is all about chaos and the battle, not between good and evil, but Nolan’s take on natural conflict. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, and how every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

3. Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk is one of the most authentic and suspenseful films ever crafted, and it puts the viewer inside the boots of the soldiers on Dunkirk beach. Nolan also uses his favorite cinematic device — cross cutting. The entire film’s structure was influenced by The Shepard Tone, which allows the film to continually rise in suspense throughout. The use of vintage aircraft, lighting, special effects, and lack of dialogue win the day. Tom Hardy gliding in his spitfire above, the notorious whine of the dive-bombing Stukas, the slow but inevitable blast of the beach bombing. The best part of this film is how Nolan took all of his past successes and combined them with a new effort. He could have done what many directors do, which is to avoid a new challenge and go back to familiar ground.

2. Memento (2000)

Memento changed cinema forever, and shaped Nolan’s storytelling style. The film took full advantage of the medium in a way we had never seen before, and in many respects still have yet to be capitalized upon. The combination of themes and various cinematic devices create an eerie and unforgettable film that forces you to question your own memories. And the best part is that, generally, it could happen to you. Leonard Shelby’s world is accessible, even if his condition is abstract. The way Nolan shot and cut the film together shows us the pinnacle of intentional filmmaking and non-linear story structure. There is something to be said about Nolan’s smaller films. They are often more grounded, because they have to be, and that really helps to make Nolan’s complex ideas a bit more palatable. Not to mention the structure of the film places us in a very similar situation to that of Leonard Shelby.

1. The Prestige (2006)

The Prestige is one of the great modern films, and has the best script of any Nolan film. Nolan found what worked so well with Memento and took that electricity a step further. His pacing improved as well. The theme is carefully intertwined with the subject matter, the world of magicians, the act of filmmaking, and Nolan’s personal style. Nolan’s found a story structure and subject matter that acts as a thematic metaphor for everything surrounding the film. As others have noted, this is a film about magicians, but is also itself, a magic trick. He built his story upon the structure of a magic trick, and then gave nods to that process as well as his own personal obsessions. The acting, cinematography, production design, costumes, story, editing — everything is top-notch. It also brings up important questions about life, death, careers, time, duplicity, magic, memory, and commitment.

 

Why facts don’t change our minds

Humans need a reasonably accurate view of the world in order to survive. If your model of reality is wildly different from the actual world, then you struggle to take effective actions each day. However, truth and accuracy are not the only things that matter to the human mind. Humans also seem to have a deep desire to belong. Understanding the truth of a situation is important, but so is remaining part of a tribe. While these two desires often work well together, they occasionally come into conflict. In many circumstances, social connection is actually more helpful to your daily life than understanding the truth of a particular fact or idea. The Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker put it this way, “People are embraced or condemned according to their beliefs, so one function of the mind may be to hold beliefs that bring the belief-holder the greatest number of allies, protectors, or disciples, rather than beliefs that are most likely to be true.” We don’t always believe things because they are correct. Sometimes we believe things because they make us look good to the people we care about. False beliefs can be useful in a social sense even if they are not useful in a factual sense. For lack of a better phrase, we might call this approach “factually false, but socially accurate.” When we have to choose between the two, people often select friends and family over facts.

Facts Don’t Change Our Minds. Friendship Does.

Convincing someone to change their mind is really the process of convincing them to change their tribe. If they abandon their beliefs, they run the risk of losing social ties. You can’t expect someone to change their mind if you take away their community too. You have to give them somewhere to go. Nobody wants their worldview torn apart if loneliness is the outcome. The way to change people’s minds is to become friends with them, to integrate them into your tribe, to bring them into your circle. Now, they can change their beliefs without the risk of being abandoned socially. Perhaps it is not difference, but distance that breeds tribalism and hostility. As proximity increases, so does understanding. I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s quote, “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” Facts don’t change our minds. Friendship does.

The Spectrum of Beliefs

If someone you know, like, and trust believes a radical idea, you are more likely to give it merit, weight, or consideration. You already agree with them in most areas of life. Maybe you should change your mind on this one too. But if someone wildly different than you proposes the same radical idea, well, it’s easy to dismiss them as a crackpot. he most heated arguments often occur between people on opposite ends of the spectrum, but the most frequent learning occurs from people who are nearby. The closer you are to someone, the more likely it becomes that the one or two beliefs you don’t share will bleed over into your own mind and shape your thinking. The further away an idea is from your current position, the more likely you are to reject it outright. In conversation, people have to carefully consider their status and appearance. They want to save face and avoid looking stupid. When confronted with an uncomfortable set of facts, the tendency is often to double down on their current position rather than publicly admit to being wrong.

Be kind first. Be right after.

The brilliant Japanese writer Haruki Murakami once wrote, “Always remember that to argue, and win, is to break down the reality of the person you are arguing against. It is painful to lose your reality, so be kind, even if you are right.” When we are in the moment, we can easily forget that the goal is to connect with the other side, collaborate with them, befriend them, and integrate them into our tribe. We are so caught up in winning that we forget about connecting. It’s easy to spend your energy labeling people rather than working with them. The word “kind” originated from the word “kin.” When you are kind to someone it means you are treating them like family. This, I think, is a good method for actually changing someone’s mind. Develop a friendship. Share a meal. Gift a book. Be kind first, be right later.

Origins of Common English Idioms

Ever wondered where some ever-present idioms originated from in the English language? Here are some interesting origins of common English idioms and their fascinating and sometimes bizarre history:

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride

Definition: Literally, always being a bridesmaid and never a bride. More figuratively, it is a forlorn saying for women when they can’t find love.

Origin: This gem of an idiom was first recorded in a Victorian music hall tune, “Why Am I Always A Bridesmaid?”, by Fred W. Leigh. However, the phrase garnered popularity after a retrospectively hilarious ad for Listerine mouthwash in 1924. The slogan, “Often a bridesmaid, but never a bride”, accompanied a picture of a forlorn ‘Edna’, who, because of her halitosis (bad breath), was never being able to find love. The solution: buying Listerine mouthwash in bulk.

Pull someone’s leg

Definition: Joking or fooling with someone.

Origin: To pull someone’s leg had much more sinister overtones when it first came in use. It was originally a method used by thieves to entrap their pedestrians and subsequently rob them. One thief would be assigned ‘tripper up’ duty, and would use different instruments to knock the person to the ground. Luckily, these days the saying is much more friendlier, though being on the end of a joke might not always be fun.

Meeting a Deadline

Definition: To finish something by a predetermined time.

Origin: This saying apparently stems from the prison camps during the Civil War, where a line was drawn to demarcate the boundaries for the prisoners. The line became to be known as a deadline because any prisoner who attempted to cross it was shot.

Basket Case

Definition: Someone who is unhinged.

Origin: According to undetermined reports, WW1 soldiers who had lost all their limbs were carried around in baskets. The actual term, ‘basket case’, however was coined by the US military – in denial of this practice – after WW1. In 1919, a bulletin was issued by the U.S. Command on Public Information, making use of the phrase:

“The Surgeon General of the Army … denies … that there is any foundation for the stories that have been circulated … of the existence of ‘basket cases’ in our hospitals.”

Close but no Cigar

Definition: Being near success, but just missing out.

Origin: Once upon a time, fairground stalls favored gifting cigars to winners rather than overstuffed, over-sized plush toys. Needless to say, winning was nearly impossible at the rigged carnival games and thus the idiom war born. The first evidence of the saying comes from a film script for Annie Oakley in 1935, after which it was frequently used in newspaper articles.

Bust your Balls

Definition: A slang term which can refer to a form of punishment, working hard, or being harassed or teased.

Origin: Believe it or not, the term actually comes from literally busting the balls of a calf. Rather than cutting them off or chemically sterilizing them, a method was developed to literally break a calf’s testicles to turn them from a bull to a steer. Thankfully, only the figurative version is used by humans.

Bark up the Wrong tree

Definition: To make the wrong choice or pursue the wrong course.

Origin: When hunting raccoons for fur was a popular sport, hunting dogs were used to sniff them out of trees. Being a nocturnal animal, the hunting party had to work at night, and the dogs would sometimes end up choosing the wrong tree, or as the idiom goes, ‘bark up the wrong tree”. The term was first printed in a book by Davy Crockett in 1833.

Mastering One Thing at a Time

Many people have multiple areas of life they would like to improve. For example, I would like to reach more people with my writing, to lift heavier weights at the gym, and to start practicing mindfulness more consistently. Those are just a few of the goals I find desirable and you probably have a long list yourself. The problem is, even if we are committed to working hard on our goals, our natural tendency is to revert back to our old habits at some point. Making a permanent lifestyle change is really difficult. Recently, I’ve come across a few research studies that (just maybe) will make these difficult lifestyle changes a little bit easier. As you’ll see, however, the approach to mastering many areas of life is somewhat counterintuitive.

Too Many Good Intentions

If you want to master multiple habits and stick to them for good, then you need to figure out how to be consistent. How can you do that? Well, here is one of the most robust findings from psychology research on how to actually follow through on your goals: Research has shown that you are 2x to 3x more likely to stick with your habits if you make a specific plan for when, where, and how you will perform the behavior. For example, in one study scientists asked people to fill out this sentence: “During the next week, I will partake in at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on [DAY] at [TIME OF DAY] at/in [PLACE].” Researchers found that people who filled out this sentence were 2x to 3x more likely to actually exercise compared to a control group who did not make plans for their future behavior. Psychologists call these specific plans “implementation intentions” because they state when, where, and how you intend to implement a particular behavior. This finding is well proven and has been repeated in hundreds studies across a broad range of areas. For example, implementation intentions have been found to increase the odds that people will start exercising, begin recycling, stick with studying, and even stop smoking. However (and this is crucial to understand) follow-up research has discovered implementation intentions only work when you focus on one thing at a time. In fact, researchers found that people who tried to accomplish multiple goals were less committed and less likely to succeed than those who focused on a single goal.

What Happens When You Focus on One Thing

When you begin practicing a new habit it requires a lot of conscious effort to remember to do it. After awhile, however, the pattern of behavior becomes easier. Eventually, your new habit becomes a normal routine and the process is more or less mindless and automatic. Researchers have a fancy term for this process called “automaticity.” Automaticity is the ability to perform a behavior without thinking about each step, which allows the pattern to become automatic and habitual. But here’s the thing: automaticity only occurs as the result of lots of repetition and practice. The more reps you put in, the more automatic a behavior becomes. For example, this chart shows how long it takes for people to make a habit out of taking a 10-minute walk after breakfast. In the beginning, the degree of automaticity is very low. After 30 days, the habit is becoming fairly routine. After 60 days, the process is about as automatic as it can become.

The most important thing to note is that there is some “tipping point” at which new habits become more or less automatic. The time it takes to build a habit depends on many factors including how difficult the habit is, what your environment is like, your genetics, and more.

That said, the study cited above found the average habit takes about 66 days to become automatic.

Conclusion

  1. You are 2x to 3x more likely to follow through with a habit if you make a specific plan for when, where, and how you are going to implement it. This is known as an implementation intention.
  2. You should focus entirely on one thing. Research has found that implementation intentions do not work if you try to improve multiple habits at the same time.
  3. Research has shown that any given habit becomes more automatic with more practice. On average, it takes at least two months for new habits to become automatic behaviors.

The counterintuitive insight from all of this research is that the best way to change your entire life is by not changing your entire life. Instead, it is best to focus on one specific habit, work on it until you master it, and make it an automatic part of your daily life. Then, repeat the process for the next habit.

The Most Venomous Snakes in the World

Most people in the world have a fear of snakes. Those with an abnormal fear have a whole fear named for them—“Ophidiophobia”. However, the fear seems perfectly rational seeing as how dangerous some of these snakes can be. But a question begs to be asked— Are snakes really that dangerous? The simple answer is that while a majority of the snakes are harmless, we still need to maintain a distance. Bites from venomous or non-venomous snakes can be extremely painful. There are quite a few dangerous snakes in the world and it is always better to know what kind of snake you are dealing with before you decide your next step. So, in order to be better informed we bring to you the top 10 deadliest snakes in the world.

Here are 5 most Venomous Snakes in the world and what make them so-

1. Saw-scaled Viper (Deadliest in the world)

Although its venom is not very potent, the Saw-Scaled Viper is considered as one of the world’s deadliest snakes as it is believed to be responsible for more human fatalities than all other snakes put together. These snakes have a stout body with a pear-shaped head which is distinct from the neck. Adult Saw-Scaled Vipers range in length from 0.3 to 0.9 metres and they come in shades of brown, grey, or orange with darker dorsal blotches and lateral spots. Unlike most snakes, the Saw-Scaled Viper moves sideways (sidewinding locomotion). They are nocturnal and feed on mammals, birds, other snakes, lizards, amphibians, scorpions and centipedes. They can be found in arid regions and dry savannahs north of the Equator across Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Middle East. Saw-Scaled Vipers are considered to be one of deadliest snakes of the world because they are often found in populated areas and a lack of readily accessible antivenom in rural areas adds to their lethality. So clearly, the potency of the venom has no bearing on the list of world’s deadliest snakes.

Some fun facts about the saw-scaled viper: 

  • Saw-Scaled Vipers can live for up to 23 years. 
  • Up to 80 per cent of these adults climb up bushes and trees when it rains.
  • In northern regions, they hibernate during winter.

2. King Cobra (World’s Longest Venomous Snake)

In India, the King Cobra is not only revered and worshipped but also feared, as they are one of the most venomous snakes of India. In one bite, a King Cobra delivers a tremendous amount of neurotoxins that induces paralysis. They are so fearsome that they find themselves on almost all lists of world’s deadliest snakes. King Cobra is dark olive or brown in colour with black bands and white and yellow crossbands with cream or pale yellow undersides. A King Cobra measures up to 3 to 4 metres in length and has blackheads with two crossbars near the snout and two behind the eyes. Young cobras are shiny black with narrow yellow bands. King Cobras are found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The world’s longest venomous snake, a King Cobra’s venom is so strong that it can kill an elephant in just a few hours and can cause death in 50 to 60 per cent of untreated human cases.

Some fun facts about the King Cobra:

  • King Cobras (Ophiophagus Hannah) are monogamous, which means they mate with only one partner for life.
  • In the generic name, King Cobra Ophiophagus Hannah, Ophiophagus is derived from Greek and means “snake eater”.
  • The longest venomous snake, King Cobras have a slow metabolic rate and so, can go for months without food after a large meal.
  • A single bite from a King Cobra can kill an elephant.
  • The cobra only spreads its hood when it feels threatened or is disturbed. While most pictures showcase cobras with their hoods fanned, chances are you may spot a cobra without its distinctive hood, so be careful either way.

3. Inland Taipan (Deadliest Venom)

Also known as the “fierce snake”, the Inland Taipan is one of the world’s most venomous snakes. A bite from this variety of Taipan often causes paralysis of the victim’s nervous system and clots the blood. The Inland Taipan, one of three types of Taipans (Coastal, Inland and Central Ranges), is dark tan in colour, ranging from a rich, dark hue to a brownish light-green, depending on the season. This variety of Taipan is found to be smaller than the coastal variety and can grow up to 1.7 metres in length. Although the Inland Taipan is an extremely venomous and dangerous snake, they are usually shy and prefer to escape trouble. They will, however, defend themselves and strike if angered, mishandled or stopped from escaping, earning it a place on the list of the deadliest snakes in the world. The venom of an Inland Taipan consists of taipoxin, a complex mix of neurotoxins, procoagulants, and myotoxins that can hinder breathing, cause haemorrhaging in blood vessels and tissues, and paralyze and damage muscles. Respiratory paralysis can set in anywhere from two to six hours after you are bitten.

Some fun facts about the Inland Taipan:

  • Inland Taipans’ venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded animals.
  • It is an extremely fast and agile snake and can strike instantly with extreme accuracy.
  • It is called “fierce snake” for its venom, not its temperament.
  • They change the colour of their skin for thermoregulation, allowing them to absorb more light in colder months.

4. Blue Krait (Asia’s Most Venomous)

Also known as the Malayan Krait, the Blue Krait is a highly venomous snake of the elapid family. Its venom can paralyze its victim’s muscular system; a truly scary thought that has earned this snake a place on the list of the deadliest snakes in the world. The Blue Krait has a colour pattern of bluish-black crossbands separated by yellowish-white interspaces. They can grow up to lengths of approximately 1.1 metres. These Kraits are generally not aggressive or strongly defensive and tend to bite only when really provoked. While they primarily feed on other snakes, they also eat lizards, mice, frogs and other small animals. Blue Kraits have been found to be primarily nocturnal while hunting and have shown a preference for fields, holes, and sometimes even homes. A Blue Krait’s venom consists of extremely powerful neurotoxins made up of presynaptic and postsynaptic toxins. This mixture is known to directly attack an individual’s ability to speak or think clearly and can paralyze the muscular system. The venom also attacks an individual’s respiratory system, causing suffocation within hours. The bite causes no pain, giving the victim a false reassurance. However, if left untreated, death can come within four hours.

Some fun facts about the Blue Krait:

  • They are widespread in their regions, but encounters are uncommon.
  • They prefer the wet season.
  • Like other Kraits, they hide their heads under the coils of their body when threatened.

5. Black Mamba (Fastest Snake in the World)

The Black Mamba is the second-longest venomous snake after the King Cobra. They are known for their large size, quickness, and extremely potent venom, making them one of the deadliest snakes in the world. The inside of this snake’s mouth is black, hence its name – Black Mamba. They have a coffin-shaped head and can vary in colours from olive, yellowish-brown, khaki and gunmetal but they are rarely black. An average Black Mamba is 2–2.5 metres long, with a maximum length of 4.3 metres. While they have a reputation for being aggressive, Black Mambas are generally found to be shy and nervous. They primarily eat small mammals and birds. While they prefer warm-blooded prey, a black mamba will also feed on other snakes. They can be found in Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. f they are disturbed or cornered, Black Mambas will attack with repeated bites. Their venom is extremely toxic and just two drops are reportedly enough to kill most humans.

Some fun facts about the Black Mamba:

  • They are some of the world’s fastest snakes and are capable of speeds of more than 12 miles (19 km) per hour and hence will be the one which can kill the fastest.
  • In the wild, a black mamba can live for up to 11 years. In captivity, they can live for longer than 20 years.

Why is Jeff Bezos suing NASA?

Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin has filed a lawsuit against NASA, accusing the government agency of improperly evaluating proposals. This is the latest move Bezos has made after months of criticizing NASA’s decision to pick Blue Origin’s longtime rival SpaceX as the recipient of a $2.9 billion contract to get astronauts back on the moon. Bezos, one of the richest men in the world, penned an open letter to NASA, asking them to rethink the contract, offering to waive $2 billion dollars of costs. He also filed a complaint to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). “I don’t know if the public is paying attention to this, but the space community sure is and the space community is reacting very negatively,” says Laura Forczyk, owner of aerospace space consulting firm Astralytical. “It’s seen as pettiness—as throwing a tantrum.” 

Blue Origin

Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000, and the company has spent years competing with SpaceX and other players in the aerospace industry for lucrative government contracts. The company’s been slowly building up their technical capabilities, with tech like reusable launch vehicle New Shepard, named for Alan Shepard, the first American to rocket into space. It’s designed to take six astronauts past the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary to space. Then there’s the New Glenn, named for astronaut John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth. It’s designed to be reused for a minimum of 25 flights, making trips to space cheaper and more accessible. Both projects are in line with NASA’s Artemis program, whose mission is getting Americans back to the moon for longer periods of time, on rockets that can be reused. “NASA doesn’t want just the ability to land humans and come back, they want to make it repeatable and affordable,” Forczyk says, “They want to create some kind of longer term, sustainable human presence on the moon.”

Even though Artemis is a program that has only officially been around for about two years, the idea of returning back to the moon has existed since the first Bush administration, when it was called the Space Exploration initiative, says Forczyk. Under the second Bush administration, it was called Constellation, but the idea didn’t pick up steam until former Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech in 2019 calling for human return to the moon by 2024.

What happened with NASA?

In April 2020, three companies—Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX—were all invited to submit lunar lander designs to NASA as part of the Artemis program. The winner of the contract would get to play a hand in transporting people back to the moon for the first time in decades. According to a GAO document, NASA voiced a “preference for awarding two [contracts], pending availability of funds.” A year later, NASA announced that only SpaceX would get the contract. “This was a surprise because everyone anticipated they would select two instead of just one,” says Forczyk. Both Blue Origin and Dynetics filed complaints to the GAO. SpaceX’s work stopped while the GAO deliberated, but they eventually found no fault in the process, noting that NASA did not have the funding for more than one contract. Elon Musk responded to the news by tweeting “GAO” with the flexed arm emoji. Bezos then penned an open letter to NASA chief Bill Nelson on July 26, 2021, saying that this decision to award SpaceX the only contract was “putting an end to meaningful competition for years to come.” He offered to waive payments of up to $2 billion.

NASA did not respond, and by August 16, Bezos escalated his campaign against NASA, filing a federal court complaint that cited issues in the proposal evaluation process. And on August 19, a Washington Post reporter announced on Twitter that a NASA spokesperson said it had to pause its work on the human landing system in response to a judge’s stay.

Public Reaction

Artemis has been plagued by many delays, and some fear this lawsuit could delay the project further. “It’s unfortunate; he does have quite a bit of wealth, and he could funnel that wealth into paying for this project internally, or he could funnel his wealth into convincing NASA that they need to hire him,” says Forczyk. Meanwhile, an open letter posted on the subreddit r/BlueOrigin titled “We are NOT like this,” allegedly from the perspective of Blue Origin employees, voices embarrassment at the lawsuit. A few Blue Origin staffers, like engineer Lauren Lyons, have left the company. Engineer Nitin Arora actually left Blue Origin for SpaceX. “Looking at the bigger picture, this is just a blip,” says Forczyk. “When we bask in the glory of finally getting back [to the moon], it’ll be something long forgotten.” 

A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine is a wise saying. This phrase refers to a hole in a cloth. This hole would certainly get bigger if not fixed in time. It means that a timely effort that will prevent more work later. It certainly means prevention is better than cure. Furthermore, this important phrase tells us procrastination is a bad habit. Hence, if a problem exists, then one must fix it immediately. If not fixed in time, then even more problems can arise.

Importance of “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine”

First of all, time is a very precious aspect of life. According to many successful individuals, time is money. This precious blessing of time is very limited. There are only 24 hours in a day. Also, the average human life expectancy probably ranges from 80 to 90 years. This certainly means that one can’t afford to waste time at all. Hence, “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine” avoids wastage of time. Another advantage of this concept is less effort. This is due to early dealing with a problem. Dealing with a problem early requires a certain amount of effort. However, with delay the problem becomes ugly. Now to rectify this even more difficult problem means much more effort. So, following “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine” saves effort. “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine” has another advantage. It is better decision making. Following this concept means that a person has sufficient time to handle a problem. Therefore, a person can prepare solutions efficiently. In contrast, a person who delays problems will have a shortage of time. Consequently, this person would become stressful and nervous. Due to this, poor decision making would result

Real-Life Examples of “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine”

First of all, mention must be made of Israel. After the formation of Israel, the Arab States were preparing to attack Israel. Probably everyone thought Israel would lose. Israel thought that instead of waiting, they should take some action. Therefore, Israel decided to attack first. Consequently, the Arab military became weak and Israel won the war. Hence, Israel made use of “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine”.

Valery Legasov was an inorganic chemist in USSR. In 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster took place. Legasov made a great contribution to prevent future such accidents. Most Noteworthy, he gave warning of the use of graphite. There was an application of graphite in an emergency shutdown system. Furthermore, Legasov gave an explanation that this graphite was responsible for the disaster. Hence, he saved the lives of millions of people.

Finally, Osama Bin Laden death is another example here. In 2011 United States Navy SEALs led the operation to kill Bin Laden. Certainly, his death was a big relief for everyone. Consequently, the US forced saved the lives of many innocent people.

In conclusion, “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine” is extremely essential to follow. Above all, it should be the code of life for everyone. Furthermore, one who follows it always be successful. Also, one who neglects it is on the path of failure.

PROS AND CONS OF PRIVATIZATION OF BANKS

The word ‘Bank’ does not need any kind of introduction. Everyone, now a day, is familiar to what Bank is. It is a financial institution that works according to the structure of the economy and helps to promote it. Banks have proved to be very helpful in connecting the people directly to the economy of the nation. Banks are mainly authorized to receive the deposits of the people and also provide them loans easily and according to their need. Banks are the key to drive the economy smoothly and efficiently.

History of Banks in India

“The Bank of Hindostan”, established in 1770, was the first Bank of India which ran for about 60 years and soon failed. The modern day “State Bank of India” was established in 1806 and was first named “Bank of Calcutta”. It was later renamed as the “Bank of Bengal” by the British Government. Soon this bank merged with “Bank of Madras” and “Bank of Bombay” and formed a new bank called “Imperial Bank of India”. “Reserve Bank of India (RBI)” which is the central banking institution in India, was established on 1st April 1935 with the RBI act 1934. In succeeding years, India got many other private banks working well with the economy. The Government of India took a step to nationalize the 14 major banks of India in 1964 after independence. After the 6 years, 6 more banks were nationalized in 1970 and thus we got 20 nationalized banks in India but soon “The New Bank of India” merged with the “Punjab National Bank” and now we have all over 19 nationalized banks in India.

Functions of Bank

The basic functions of all the banks are to deposit the savings of the customers through opening their Bank accounts and also providing them loans. These are the functions that every bank in India works on. Apart from these two basic operations, the modern day Banks also work on many other financial activities. The functions of a bank are as follows:

  1. Deposit Savings
  2. Providing loans
  3. Insurance
  4. Mutual fund
  5. Providing lockers
  6. Conducting social welfare programs
  7. Transferring funds
  8. Collecting cheques

As it will not be wrong to say that The Banks absorb the excess capital from the economy stopping them from being circulated and use them in the right direction properly to increase the productivity and the growth of the nation.

Public Sector and Private Sector Banks

A public sector bank is a bank in which the majority of its stake is held by the Government. In other words, we can say that a public sector bank is such a bank which has its majority of shares under the hand of the Government. The Public Sector Banks are classified into two groups as:

  1. Nationalized Banks
  2. State Bank and Associates

In the other hands, a private sector bank is a bank in which the majority of the shares of the bank are under the control of its share holders. There are currently 22 Private Sector Banks working in India.

PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS IN INDIA

The privatization of any institution is the process of transferring the ownership from the government to the private hands. As we all know that India has 19 Nationalized Banks which act under The Reserve Bank of India and Indian Government.

PROS OF PRIVATIZATION OF BANKS

Many Organisations in India conducted surveys and found that the privatization of the Banks will result quite positive outcomes. It led the Indian Government to think about the privatization of all the Banks. Let’s see why privatization of Indian Banks has become indispensable for the Government of India:

  1. It is found that the Private sector banks are more advanced than Public sector Banks and are also working more efficiently.
  2. The foreign investors prefer to invest in private sector banks rather than the public sector banks.
  3. The private sector banks are much strict against loans and frauds.
  4. Public Sector banks are usually less competitive than the private sector banks.
  5. Private sector banks are obedient and quite serious towards their work and responsibility which lacks in the most of the Public sector banks.
  6. The private sector banks follow the concept of lowest risk.
  7. Privatization will also help to reduce the burden of the Government of India.

CONS OF PRIVATIZATION OF BANKS

No doubt the private sector banks are very efficient but they also fail somewhere. Privatization of the banks leads to several undesirable situations. Some of these are:

  1. The privatized banks will focus on maximizing their benefit and it will put an adverse effect on the middle class and poor people of the society.
  2. Every organisation, whether government sector or private sector, has some issues within its structure. It is not necessary that a private sector bank will never go with any fraud.
  3. The people in present India mostly believe on Public Sector Banks and don’t prefer to deposit their savings in private sector Banks.
  4. The public sector banks usually work on social welfare while the motive of private sector banks is generation of profit.
  5. Many government schemes like “Jan-Dhan Yojna” and “Pension Yojna” worked well and also became successful only because they were applied in Public Sector Banks.
  6. Another disadvantage of privatization is the excess use of nepotism which will affect the banking services.

IMPACT OF PRIVATIZATION OF BANKS IN INDIA

Privatization of Banks will definitely have some positive and also some adverse effect directly on society and indirectly on economy. Privatization of banks will be helpful in getting a better customer service. It will also affect the economy and helps in growth. It may be said that the privatization of Indian Banks will remove irregularity and bring punctuality and will led to accountability in the service. It is obviously seen that the private institutions provide incentives to the employees according to their work so Privatization of Banks will definitely increase the productivity of the employees. One of the most adverse affect of privatization will be the widespread economic gap. It will support the rich people of the society leaving poor behind. This concept will make poor poorer. Also the Privatized banks will mainly focus on urban areas and it will slowly diminish in rural areas of the nation.

CONCLUSION

As we all know that the Banks are the backbone of the economy. The Indian Constitution says “Every economic activity in the nation should be centred at the welfare of the people” but, in my view, privatization will violate this concept because it is obvious that the Private Bank will be aimed at maximizing their own profit. Where there are some bad aspects of privatization of banks there are also some good aspects of it. We must examine on our own and decided whether Privatization of Banks should be supported or opposed.

Perfectionism Destroys Productivity

Do you always worry that you didn’t do a good job? Do you always question your work and your actions? Are you afraid of admitting your mistakes? Does rejection make you feel bad? If so, you’re in great danger. If you’re a perfectionist, you’re just a procrastinator with a mask. It’s no different from someone who’s lazy and does nothing at all. A perfectionist…

  • Always waits for the right moment.
  • Never makes mistakes.
  • Always needs more time.

But at the end of the day, life and work is about outcomes. Results matter.

Is perfectionism worth it?

Perfectionism is just another form of procrastination. When you constantly worry about making mistakes, doubt creeps in your mind. And that causes indecision.

There are two types of perfectionists:

  1. The one that never starts. You want to achieve something, but you immediately start doubting yourself. You think: “I don’t think I can do it.” So you never start.
  2. The one that starts but has too high standards. You set a goal. You work hard (maybe too hard). But you’ve set your goals so high, that you’re always failing yourself.

These are things that we rather avoid. Joachim Stöber and Jutta Joormann, who studied Worry, Procrastination, and Perfectionism, write:

“The combination of concern over mistakes and procrastination may be a crucial factor in the maintenance of worry. On the one hand, it may prolong existing threats because no steps are taken to cope. On the other hand, it may increase existing threats or even produce additional threats because initially solvable problems will pile up, thus creating an overload of problems that may finally be insoluble.”

And that feeling of being helpless is the biggest pitfall for us. Because what do we do when we feel helpless? Exactly—we give up. Just look at the studies about Learned Helplessness. However, perfectionism is not always bad. In fact, some studies suggest perfectionism is related to greater achievement. But that’s not the question here. Of course, when you set higher goals and if you have higher standards; you achieve more. Without a doubt, perfectionistic tendencies can be a good thing. But as we all know, achieving goals is not the only thing in life. It’s more about HOW we reach our goals and aspirations.

How to beat it?

In an interesting study by Gordon L. Flett and his colleagues; they talk about the role of learned resourcefulness to perfectionism. They suggest that learned resourcefulness can play a mediator role.

Michael Rosenbaum, a Professor at Oxford University says,

“Learned resourcefulness refers to the behavioral repertoire necessary for both regressive self-control and reformative self-control. This repertoire includes self-regulating one’s emotional and cognitive responses during stressful situations, using problem-solving skills, and delaying immediate gratification for the sake of more meaningful rewards in the future.”

Learned resourcefulness is the skill that you need to stop sabotaging yourself.

Finding Balance

If you’re a slacker, you don’t care about much. Good enough is your motto. And you have no ambition at all. An attitude like that doesn’t bring you anywhere. The American novelist Cormac McCarthy put it best:

“It’s like a lot of things, said the smith. Do the least part of it wrong and ye’d just as well to do it all wrong.”

Slacking is an attitude of “I don’t care.” But if you want to make things happen in your life, you have to care. And what you want is to find a middle ground where your perfectionistic tendencies drive you, but you have the calm of a slacker, and you combine that with learned resourcefulness. Do great work like a perfectionist, but don’t give too much attention to your goals like a slacker. And finally, combine it with this:

Resourcefulness — Goals can work well, but they can also be counterproductive. That’s why you want to rely on systems. And when shit hits the fan; use your problem-solving skills to figure things out.

 Instead of beating yourself up when you make a mistake or if you fail yourself, you just adjust or solve the problem.

  • Avoid the perfectionist’s favorite sentence: “OMG, this is the worst thing ever!”
  • Also avoid the slacker’s favorite sentence: “I don’t care.”
  • But instead, you say: “I’ve got this.”

Everything about Procrastination

We all procrastinate Procrastination is the act of putting off work for no particular reason. Some guides and experts say that you’re procrastinating when you’re not doing a task that needs to be accomplished by a certain deadline.  That’s a false definition. It implies that we’re not procrastinating as long as we get the work done. If that’s true, most people don’t procrastinate. Which is of course not true.  In fact, a recent study with 2,219 respondents showed that 88% of all people admit to procrastinating at least one hour a day. That’s more accurate. Why? Because we all delay or postpone a task for no good reason. Sometimes, we start a task or project, but we end up delaying the work. We don’t get it done.

Examples of Procrastination

When you delay work for a good reason, you’re not procrastinating. What’s a good reason? When your work improves with the delay. Think of someone who needs to write a report but runs into a new challenge that must be included in the report. One can argue that the work will be better by spending more time on researching the new challenge. However, most of our work does not get better by delaying it. If you want to go to the gym, your performance will not be better tomorrow. It will probably be worse because of entropy.  Until four days before the exam. That’s when the exam comes close, which is when most students start panicking. Now, most of us form this behavior in college and remain working this way long after we’re graduated. In the workplace, we procrastinate in the same way. How often have you delayed work on a project until the last minute? Again, this pattern is not only limited to education and work. In our personal lives, we do the same. When are you submitting your yearly income taxes? Exactly, on the last day. Will we do a better job with our taxes on the last day? Probably not. I argue that we’re even more likely to make mistakes because of the time pressure.  Some people say that they love deadlines and claim that’s what fuels them to do good work. I know journalists who swear by it. But it’s not a sustainable way of living and working. When you’re close to your deadline, and you haven’t done anything, you experience more stress. While stress may improve your concentration, it also has negative effects on your long-term well-being. Long-term, or chronic stress, can lead to depression, anxiety, heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, obesity, eating disorders, and a handful of other health problems1. Procrastination is not a problem we should take lightly.

Benefits of Stopping Procrastination

Procrastination is an inner struggle that can seriously destroy our overall well-being. There are three main benefits to beating procrastination:

1. Lower Anxiety

The more we procrastinate, and the longer we wait to get started with important things, the more anxiety and stress we have. Doing work is never easy. And if you wait until tomorrow, you will only feel more anxious about getting started. If you overcome procrastination and take immediate action, you will get things done. You remove the anxiety from that task before it gets to you.

Higher self-discipline

Research shows that procrastination is not only a time-management problem. One of the biggest reasons we procrastinate is low self-discipline. The main benefit of beating procrastination is that you automatically increase your self-discipline. 

Better Work

People who don’t procrastinate accomplish better work. When you work with less stress, anxiety, and high self-discipline, you give yourself the chance to do better work. 

Tips To Stop Procrastinating

  1. Know your time: This is one of the most effective techniques to identify how much time we waste. If we want to stop wasting our time, we need to be aware of how we spend our time first.
  2. Perfectionism destroys Productivity: This is a common trap ambitious people fall in. When you try to be perfect, you’re more likely to procrastinate.
  3. Disconnect from Internet: A big aspect of beating procrastination is to avoid distractions. One of the biggest distractions is the internet. It’s good to disconnect at times.
  4. Sleep Well: Sleep is a big part of getting things done. When you’re tired, you’re more likely to put off tasks. 
  5. Exercise: Exercising is a perfect way to test yourself. If you can exercise consistently every week, it’s a good sign you’ve beaten procrastination. 
  6. Improve Self-Confidence: Improve your self-confidence so you are more likely to get things done. Believe in your ability to figure things out. 
  7. Write Daily: Writing every day is another example of self-discipline. Just like exercise, if you can write for your own purposes every day, you’ve beaten procrastination.

Books to help you stop procrastinating

  1. Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl:  Viktor Frankl was a psychiatrist before the war. His ability to observe the behavior of his fellow prisoners in Auschwitz resulted in Man’s Search For Meaning. This unique book describes how we choose our attitude in any given set of circumstances. Even during the horrible conditions of a concentration camp, humans can endure the suffering and find meaning in living because of inner decisions.
  2. A Manual for Living by Epictetus: A Manual For Living is exactly what the title says it is. This book also gives you a larger perspective on humanity. People have always had problems with self-confidence, family, work, other people, etc. In a way, nothing has changed. And that’s pretty comforting.
  3. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck: Life is about solving problems and finding solutions. If you always look at the risks and consequences of everything, you might play it safe, but you’ll also never grow. Carol Dweck’s book is one of my favorite books about developing the mindset you need to succeed in life.

Best David Fincher Movies

1. Zodiac

Fincher’s best film also feels the most like a window into his mind, an obsessive movie about obsessives. Opening with a series of murders by the Zodiac killer, who haunted the San Francisco Bay Area in the late ’60s and early ’70s, Fincher vividly captures the uneasy tenor of a city that was held captive by a psychopath’s cryptic threats and deadly actions. But that’s only the beginning of a case that would go cold for everyone but the men who devote every spare minute of their lives to it. Played by Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo in performances of steady deterioration, they follow every bread crumb through dead-ends and red herrings, so transfixed by the process that they don’t realize the extent to which it’s ruined them. It’s these men — the evidence collectors, the archive trollers, the puzzle solvers — that are aligned most closely with Fincher, keeping up their pursuit for the Zodiac as much to scratch an intellectual itch as to find justice for his victims. In fact, the film itself is a gripping reinvestigation of sorts, with Fincher validating and dismissing theories on the near-unsolvable case, and, as ever, fussing over every detail that goes into the hunt.

2. Se7en

After the false start of Alien 3, Fincher set the table for his entire career with his next project, a serial-killer thriller that’s so unrelentingly grim and unsettling that it’s a small miracle mainstream audiences went along with it. The premise is pure hokum, with two detectives following the trial of a serial murderer inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins, but Fincher takes it seriously enough to develop deeper themes about sin and evil and whether the world itself can be redeemed. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt play off each other nicely as a measured, seen-it-all detective and his new brash, emotional young partner, and Gwyneth Paltrow is affecting as Pitt’s lonely wife, who reluctantly supports his transfer to a more dangerous beat. The final “sin” is a gut punch that Fincher times out for maximum impact, and the conclusion he reaches is bleak and uncompromising while simultaneously full of genuine feeling for the lonely, dedicated humans beating back the darkness.

3. The Social Network

In the eight years since The Social Network was released, the diminished public image of Silicon Valley, epitomized by the fake news and data breaches of Facebook in particular, has only further validated Fincher’s portrait of founder Mark Zuckerberg as a bloodless creature of ambition. Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin understand Facebook as coded by Zuckerberg’s DNA, in essence the social network of a sociopath — wholly reflective of his ambition, arrogance, neediness, and petty disregard for other people. Sorkin’s hypercaffeinated voice tends to overwhelm less assertive filmmakers, but his dialogue has never found a more suitable vessel than Zuckerberg, and Fincher counterbalances all the talkiness with moments of pure cinema. The unsettling ambience of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s Oscar-winning score sets the surprisingly portentous tone, and Jesse Eisenberg’s performance is blessedly free of ingratiation — he doesn’t care if the audience likes him, because Zuckerberg doesn’t seem to care, either. The sequence where Zuckerberg slaps together Facemash in a fit of juvenile brilliance from his Harvard dormitory is a thrilling synthesis of campus life and one man’s half-inspired/half-pathetic effort to bottle it in pixels. The Social Network respects his vision and hustle, but keenly recognizes the flaws that are now readily apparent.

4. Gone Girl

After The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, it fell to Fincher once again to adapt the literary phenomenon of the moment, in this case Gillian Flynn’s delectably batshit thriller about a woman’s disappearance and the cracks it reveals in her marriage. This is Fincher’s idea of a love story, much more so than gauzy convention of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and within this public game of cat and mouse between husband (Ben Affleck) and wife (Rosamund Pike), the film finds a perverse sort of equilibrium. It helps, too, that Fincher is a master of the twist: From page to screen, the big revelations from Flynn’s book could have easily sunk into “oh, come on now” territory, but Fincher plants them elegantly within the flow of the narrative, which weaves through different time periods to tell the complete story of a wounded relationship. He squares his particular sensibility with the lurid social commentary of Flynn’s book, carving out a pop provocation that entered the culture like a shiv.

5. Fight Club

Adapted from Chuck Palahniuk’s short novel about young men finding an outlet for their inchoate anger and frustration, Fight Club will be a rich text for cultural anthropologists of the future, who might wonder why privileged white guys were feeling so aggrieved at the turn of the millennium (and beyond). The film has become an inadvertent touchstone for disaffected Gen-Xers, but it’s also remarkably perceptive about what happens when bruised masculinity manifests itself in violent rebellion. The movie’s first half is like a two-fisted Office Space, perfectly articulating the soul-withering drudgery of a white-collar office drone who longs to break free of his ready-to-assemble, Ikea-box lifestyle. The anarchy that breaks out in the second is harder to track, but Fincher remains plugged in to the potent fantasy of razing the system and hoping something new will rise from the ashes.

The Ultimate Productivity Hack

The ultimate productivity hack is saying no. Not doing something will always be faster than doing it. This statement reminds me of the old computer programming saying, “Remember that there is no code faster than no code.” The same philosophy applies in other areas of life. For example, there is no meeting that goes faster than not having a meeting at all. This is not to say you should never attend another meeting, but the truth is that we say yes to many things we don’t actually want to do. There are many meetings held that don’t need to be held. There is a lot of code written that could be deleted. How often do people ask you to do something and you just reply, “Sure thing.” Three days later, you’re overwhelmed by how much is on your to-do list. We become frustrated by our obligations even though we were the ones who said yes to them in the first place. It’s worth asking if things are necessary. Many of them are not, and a simple “no” will be more productive than whatever work the most efficient person can muster.

Why we say Yes?

We agree to many requests not because we want to do them, but because we don’t want to be seen as rude, arrogant, or unhelpful. Often, you have to consider saying no to someone you will interact with again in the future—your co-worker, your spouse, your family and friends. Saying no to these people can be particularly difficult because we like them and want to support them. Collaborating with others is an important element of life. Do whatever favors you can, and be warm-hearted and direct when you have to say no. But even after we have accounted for these social considerations, many of us still seem to do a poor job of managing the tradeoff between yes and no. We find ourselves over-committed to things that don’t meaningfully improve or support those around us, and certainly don’t improve our own lives. Perhaps one issue is how we think about the meaning of yes and no.

Difference between Yes and No

The words “yes” and “no” get used in comparison to each other so often that it feels like they carry equal weight in conversation. In reality, they are not just opposite in meaning, but of entirely different magnitudes in commitment. When you say no, you are only saying no to one option. When you say yes, you are saying no to every other option. I like how the economist Tim Harford put it, “Every time we say yes to a request, we are also saying no to anything else we might accomplish with the time.” Once you have committed to something, you have already decided how that future block of time will be spent. In other words, saying no saves you time in the future. Saying yes costs you time in the future. You have to pay back your commitment at some point. No is a decision. Yes is a responsibility.

Saying No

Saying no is an important skill to develop at any stage of your career because it retains the most important asset in life: your time. As the investor Pedro Sorrentino put it, “If you don’t guard your time, people will steal it from you.” You need to say no to whatever isn’t leading you toward your goals. You need to say no to distractions. Nobody embodied this idea better than Steve Jobs, who said, “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.” There is an important balance to strike here. Saying no doesn’t mean you’ll never do anything interesting or innovative or spontaneous. It just means that you say yes in a focused way. Once you have knocked out the distractions, it can make sense to say yes to any opportunity that could potentially move you in the right direction.

Upgrading Your No

Over time, as you continue to improve and succeed, your strategy needs to change. The opportunity cost of your time increases as you become more successful. At first, you just eliminate the obvious distractions and explore the rest. As your skills improve and you learn to separate what works from what doesn’t, you have to continually increase your threshold for saying yes. You still need to say no to distractions, but you also need to learn to say no to opportunities that were previously good uses of time, so you can make space for great uses of time. It’s a good problem to have, but it can be a tough skill to master. In other words, you have to upgrade your “no’s” over time. Upgrading your no doesn’t mean you’ll never say yes. It just means you default to saying no and only say yes when it really makes sense. The general trend seems to be something like this: If you can learn to say no to bad distractions, then eventually you’ll earn the right to say no to good opportunities.

How to say No

Most of us are probably too quick to say yes and too slow to say no. It’s worth asking yourself where you fall on that spectrum. If you have trouble saying no, you may find the following strategy proposed by Tim Harford, the British economist. He writes, “One trick is to ask, “If I had to do this today, would I agree to it?” It’s not a bad rule of thumb, since any future commitment, no matter how far away it might be, will eventually become an imminent problem.” If an opportunity is exciting enough to drop whatever you’re doing right now, then it’s a yes. If it’s not, then perhaps you should think twice. This is similar to the well-known “Hell Yeah or No” method from Derek Sivers. If someone asks you to do something and your first reaction is “Hell Yeah!”, then do it. If it doesn’t excite you, then say no. It’s impossible to remember to ask yourself these questions each time you face a decision, but it’s still a useful exercise to revisit from time to time. Saying no can be difficult, but it is often easier than the alternative. What is true about health is also true about productivity: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Cosmic Horror

The Sinking City

A zombie doesn’t scare me nearly as big sky country, where there’s nowhere to hide. Yikes! That’s why I connect with cosmic horror. Cosmic horror stories are a whole different kind of nightmare: the terrifyingly unknowable. These cosmic horror tales draw upon the power of the sublime to make us feel small, inconsequential, and totally helpless against something vast and natural. For instance, that featureless white landscape of a total whiteout snow storm. Or the panic you might feel if the electricity has gone out and you encounter a pitch black house.

Cosmic horror is about finding those moments where the unknown crashes up against the known. Maybe you’ve always avoided open water because it makes you feel powerless. A good cosmic horror story would play on that fear, driving you to a startling encounter with the ocean where you are forced to confront how little you can do to change vast cosmic forces that shape humanity. If you thought we have control over our natural world, cosmic horror will make you think twice.

Cosmic horror can also be intensely psychological. This genre of horror will often ask us to doubt our default psychological experience. What is “reality” if not a construct we take for granted? Psychology still has blind spots in understanding the brain. Cosmic horror delights in exploiting that endless unknown of the mind. Some of the best cosmic horror crosses over into psychological thriller.

Lovecraft’s Influence

The cosmic horror genre generally credits American writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft as its founder, and, indeed, “Lovecraftian horror” and “cosmic horror” are often used interchangeably. A prolific author, Lovecraft penned many stories and novels that are often grouped together in the Cthulhu Mythos. Some of his most widely known work include the novellas At the Mountains of Madness (1936), The Shadow over Innsmouth (1936),and The Shadow Out of Time (1936). A few acclaimed short stories are “The Rats in the Walls” (1924) and “The Call of Cthulhu” (1928).

Lovecraft’s fiction established the Cosmicism literary philosophical movement, of which cosmic horror is one example. At the Mountains of Madness, for instance, is written as a narrative by the leader of a failed Antarctic expedition. The crew encounter a lost prehistoric alien civilization. When this seemingly dormant community shows itself to be active, the men come face to face with an—unnamed and once unknowable—evil. In “The Rats in the Walls,” a man moves back to his ancestral home, a mansion where he hears rats crawl in the walls, a paranoia he cannot prove to be true. As buried family secrets are unearthed, the man’s quest for understanding leads him into the heart of sinister forces. But it’s the sound of the rats—invisible and unknowable—that begin to erode his mind.

The Imago Sequence and other stories by Laird Barron

Laird Barron is a leading author of cosmic horror known for high-concept terrors. In this collection, read some of his acclaimed short fiction like the titular novella, “The Imago Sequence,” which was nominated for a World Fantasy Award.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Love Netflix’s Stranger Things? You’ll devour Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids, an ode to the unique way that horror scares us when we are young. In this cosmic horror novel, a band of teen detectives have grown up after one divisive summer trying to unmask the Sleepy Lake monster in 1977. Fast forward to 1990 when they team up again to find the truth about their past.

The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Toro

In this novelization of Guillermo del Toro’s Academy Award-winning film The Shape of Water, a mute woman takes pity on a sea creature being studied in secret by the U.S. government. She rescues the creature, only to fall in love with it. This exquisite study of a romantic connection between humans and the unknowable others is classic cosmic horror.

Cthulhu’s Daughters by Silvio Moreno Garcia

Inspired by Lovecraft, this collection of cosmic horror by female authors brings another perspective to the traditionally male-dominated genre. In 25 chilling tales, authors like Selena Chambers and Arinn Dembo give voices to the women characters in Lovecraft’s work. (Note: Cthulhu’s Daughters is the American edition of the anthology She Walks in Shadows).

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation helped make new weird mainstream. The opening in the Southern Reach trilogy, this gripping thriller traces the escalating terror among an all-women scientific expedition to the mysterious classified Area X. The narrator, a biologist, is after more than plant observations: she’s trying to solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearance in Area X. Annihilation was made into a feature film starring Natalie Portman. The movie is an excellent adaptation of the novel. Personally, one of my favorite movies of all time.

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

Kelly Link’s debut short story collection, Magic for Beginners, almost defies words, winning comparisons to Alice Munro, George Saunders, J.K. Rowling, and others. What’s clear, though, is Link’s voice is distinct and wholly original. Blending magical realism, surrealism, and the absurd in stories featuring fairies, zombies, and rabbits, Link’s work celebrates the weird.

Made for Love by Alissa Nutting

Hazel has recently escaped a psychologically abusive marriage to a tech CEO. Seeking refuge with her father and his lifelike sex doll, Hazel settles into the trailer park for senior citizens. Meanwhile, a conman has a born-again moment after which he can only get aroused by dolphins. As their paths intersect, things get weird.

Why you should watch/read MONSTER?

MONSTER is the magnum opus of mangaka Naoki Urasawa and a Cold War psychological thriller – it is a seinen manga manga also adapted into an anime following the whole story exactly. It follows a Japanese neurosurgeon, Dr. Kenzo Tenma, who has residence in Germany to work at Eisler Memorial. Engaged to his boss’ daughter and with optimistic prospects in his medical career, Tenma’s values soon hijacks any stable life as a darkly dramatic irony – he was only trying to do the right decision(s) morally: a tragic statement that ‘right’ doesn’t entail the best results. His life is sidetracked into revolutionary conspiracies from the Soviet bloc, violent machinations of a criminal underworld and a boy, Johan, who’s a nihilistic catalyst of chaos; all these intense affairs are to the backdrop of relatively ordinary existence as a shocking duality showcasing the thin veil between horror and normalcy as is also applicable to our own nature. Stylishly European in every day as an atmospheric overture, with the location rife for intrigue as close to the Iron Curtain, MONSTER is an incisive examination of human nature – the cause of ‘evil’, why and who is truly responsible; the whole work, too, acts as a character study in conscientiously designed personalities who’re palpable as representations to the human condition.

A difficult choice

Dr. Kenzo Tenma sacrifices his career to save Johan as a child in a dilemma of choosing a patient for his expertise – the town’s mayor or an innocent boy shot in the head – and although demanded to save the mayor for financial reasons, he opts for Johan as he arrived first in the staunch belief ‘all lives are equal’. These philosophical and moral systems are the root of MONSTER – how these inform and challenge one’s life choices to the darkness we may encounter as aberrant of all we thought as usual; beliefs are easier in a vacuum of a solitary life or with a confirmation bias. Tenma’s choice would have unforeseen, destructive ramifications for which he takes responsibility, too, for which no attitude could prepare him – he had saved a boy who would evolve into a ruthless, charismatic leader of mass destruction. If he knew of the outcome, would he still have performed his duty as a doctor and thought of Johan as ‘equal’ – this is the central concept that tests Tenma’s view on the worth of lives, his right, too, to intervene and act. As he’s demoted for his failure with the mayor, and his lover leaves him as no longer financially secure, the senior staff at the hospital responsible for his punishment all coincidentally die in a poisoning while the boy, Johan, disappears.

The investigation leads to nowhere and Tenma is restored in his role, he subsequently becomes the Chief of Surgery at the hospital nine years later. Destiny would have him reencounter Johan who’s an adult, however, who callously executes a patient as a clear reality the boy he rescued was indeed evil. This refocuses the old investigation onto Dr. Kenzo Tenma who benefited the most – a detective, Inspector Lunge, of a federal agency is convinced Tenma is behind all these crimes, ‘Johan’ a mere persona of his. Escaping from his normal life as the police seek to frame him, and determined to resolve his responsibility of ‘Johan’, Tenma embarks on a tenacious journey as a fugitive.

Excellent Characters

Supported with a vast cast, who are each developed in an immaculate fashion, and each embroiled into extensive subplots concerning these, MONSTER is a ‘coup de maître’ as a psychologically intimate drama with an array of emotions from these characters as an expository fiction of humanity – powerful from the complex dilemmas and philosophical challenges we see engage them throughout the voluminous narrative. Deliberately meticulous in characterization, contemplative in tone and purposeful in each plot point, MONSTER is a crafted tale sure to resonate with audiences for a long time at a fundamental level – it indulges in themes perpetually inherent to society, no matter the current state. Patience is rewarded in appreciation of the story as an emotive tale crafted into an intricate character study.

Themes

The plot structure is a slow-burn of side plots and miscellaneous errands to establish a vibrant world consisting of of various personalities, agendas and their interactions: no man is the same – each one has their own history – and valid perspective along with sympathetic emotions. The characters and situations are also not limited to the overpowering arc of a showdown between Johan and Tenma – people have their own multifaceted lives to not merely be props for the plot. As a result, Naoki Urasawa’s depicted world is tangibly immersive, both in the depth and also sober art, which explores darkness in a manner that’s not crudely exploitative, it is innocently inquisitive: a treatise of our morals in conflict to the worst of humans.

MONSTER accomplishes itself as a darkly philosophical work on society, people and their beliefs – it is the finest psychological horror, mystery drama and crime thriller in the history of manga as a comprehensive feat; it is a multi-layered narrative – little contrived or for some cheap ulterior purpose – with equally compelling characters. The setting of Eastern Europe in the throes of the oppressive Iron Curtain is unique an aesthetic that feels authentic – a dangerous regime where the authorities are unreliable and a sense of overbearing danger throughout from leadership which does not truly care for the people. I would rank MONSTER on level with Fyodor Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ as a testament to the quality and feel only the medium, manga/anime, besets a prejudice on qualifying MONSTER to the canals of worthy artistic heritage.

Tardigrades

The tardigrade, better known as a water bear or moss piglet, is the real star in the race of survival. This eight-legged, water-dwelling animal, which is a closer relative to nematodes (roundworms) than they are to their look-alikes, the arthropods (insects, myriapods, arachnids and crustaceans), has gone unseen for a significant part of our existence. Astonishingly, there are over 1200 different species of tardigrades, and it is believed that less than 10% of the species have been identified.

How big are tardigrades?

The biggest adults reach a body length of only around 1.5 mm, while the smallest is less than 0.1 mm. Newly hatched tardigrades may be even smaller than 0.05 mm. You would need microscopic vision to see these impeccable wonders of nature. Tardigrades are nearly translucent and they average about half a millimeter (500 micrometers) in length, about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. In the right light you can actually see them with the naked eye. But researchers who work with tardigrades see them as they appear through a dissecting microscope of 20- to 30-power magnification—as charismatic miniature animals.

What do tardigrades eat?

They feed on the fluids of plant and animal cells, piercing their cell walls and membranes, with the help of primitive piercing mouthparts, called stylets. Some species of water bears are known to engulf entire live organisms, such as rotifers. Tardigrades even eat other tardigrades! Yes, cannibalism is very much alive and well among certain species of tardigrades. When they have enough food and water to support their bodily functions, they live out the natural course of their lives. They are probably the most paradoxical animals on this planet. These organisms are impossibly cute, like tiny blimps bumbling around harmlessly on their stubby little legs, but they also enjoy a legendary reputation as the toughest and most indestructible creatures on Earth.

Tiny but Robust

Tardigrades are biologically immune to apocalyptic events like Gamma Ray Bursts (left) or meteor showers (right).

Tardigrades have been reported to survive the piping hot sulphur springs amidst volcanic mountains; they have survived atop the Himalayas, beneath layers and layers of thick ice, remaining unscathed by the immense pressures and exceedingly low temperatures. Tardigrades are fully capable of surviving complete global mass extinctions caused by astrophysical events, such as gamma-ray bursts and giant meteorite impacts.

Tardigrades and Ant-Man

Ant-Man and the Wasp(2018)

Pop culture seems to love tardigrades. And with good reason! Tardigrades have been a part of several sci-fi movies, shows, and documentaries. Science fiction loves good space monsters that are biologically dominant to their heroic counterparts. Tardigrades are no stranger to this culture; they have been featured in various movies like Star Trek: Discovery, Ant-Man, and Harbinger Down. However, was it just their terrifying and gruesome appearance that inspired the filmmakers to caste these critters, or were they well aware of their dominant stature amongst other mortal creatures? Either way, they weren’t wrong!

Tardigrades in Space

In 2007, a group of researchers pushed the resilience of these extraordinary animals to the extreme, in conditions that would be impossible for any other known living creature to survive. A sample of dehydrated tardigrades was exposed to outer space for ten whole days. The vacuum of space, which results in severe dehydration and cosmic radiation, was not a problem for water bears. When those same specimens were returned to earth and rehydrated, 68% of those shielded from the radiation survived; even a handful of those without radiation protection not only came back to life but also produced viable offspring. 

Cryptobiosis

The adaptation that allows tardigrades to live through such barbarous conditions is their ability to enter a dehydrated state, one that closely resembles death, and this is what makes all the difference. When encountered with environmental stresses, a tardigrade will moult its skin, and inside the shed skin, it curls up into a dry, lifeless ball called a tun. This reduces its metabolic activity immensely, to around 0.01% of its normal levels, but still protects their DNA. To do this, their body produces trehalose, a natural protective sugar that forms a gel-like medium that suspends and preserves the cell organelles and membranes. In the tun, a tardigrade can survive for decades or more. Once immersed in water, their bodies return to a normal metabolic state over the course of a few hours. In one such incident, a group of dehydrated tardigrades was reportedly taken from a museum sample of 100-year-old dried moss and was brought back to life by simple rehydration. That being said, the longer a tardigrade persists in a dehydrated state, the lower are its chances of being successfully revived.

Conclusion

Whether it is the scorching heat of thermal vents, the icy cold of subglacial lakes, or even the vacuum of space, these hard little critters will survive it all. Boil them, mash them, stick ’em in a stew… they are versatile and probably the most durable creatures on the planet. Having survived five great mass extinctions over a period of half a billion years, they might be the strangest combination of cute and terrifying that anyone has ever experienced while looking through a microscope. Extreme conditions that terrify us and would most certainly kill almost any life form, barely even faze them. These tiny tots have expanded the notion of habitable environments, and understanding their indestructibility will have profound implications for both earthbound medicines and survival on other worlds.