Tag: #ancient step well

General knowledge

General knowledge is very important in everyone’s life. The person without the knowledge is like the bird without the wings. It is very important to know what is happening across the world. So, it is very important to attain the general knowledge. To grab general knowlede, an individual must follow some of the techniques like reading books, articles, magazines, newspapers etc.

The newspaper consists of all the important things like the business purposes, sports, entertainment, some interesting puzzles, Hindi habits, food recipes, Current affairs etc.

Reading newspaper is an important thing because whenever an individual comes across a motivational thing, he or she will be motivated and focuses on the particular aspect. The individual will get to know the current affairs. The person will get a good grip on the general knowledge. solving puzzles improves the skills of the person. Reading about the healthy habits in the newspaper makes the individual to go for good and healthier meals.

Reading newspaper is very important because gives the chance to know what is happening around us. Early in the morning or evening whatever the time maybe, sparing at least 10 to 15 minutes of time on newspaper is a very good habit that an individual can develop.

The newspaper consists of all the important things like the business purposes, sports, entertainment, some interesting puzzles, Hindi habits, food recipes, Current affairs etc.

In one of the other way the individual develops good habits and focuses more on what they are trying to do.

Individual Differences :

Intelligence :

High scores on tests of general knowledge tend to also score highly on intelligence tests. IQ has been found to robustly predict general knowledge scores even after accounting for difference in age, and five factor model personality tarits. However, many general knowledge tests are designed to create a normal distribution of answers, creating a bell shaped curve.

General knowledge is also moderately associated with verbal ability, though only weakly or not at all with numerical and spatial ability. As with crystallized intelligence, general knowledge has been found to increase with age.

Long term semantic memory :

General knowledge is stored as semantic memory. Most semantic memory is preserved through old age, though there are deficts in retrieval of certain specific words correlated with aging. In addition, stress or various emotional levels can negatively affect semantic nemory retrieval.

Personality :

People high in general knowledge tend to highly open to new experiences and in typical intellectual engagement. The relationship between openness to experieñce and general knowledge remains robust even when IQ is taken into account. People high in openness may be more motivated to engage in intellectual pursuits that increase their knowledge. Relationships between general knowledge and other five factor model traits tend to be weak and inconsistent. Though one study found that extraversion and neutroticism were negatively correlated with general knowledge, others found that they were unrelated.

Predictor of achievement :

A number of studies have assesses whether performance on a general knowledge test can predict achievement in particular areas, namely in academics, proofreading and creativity.

Academic achievement :

General knowledge has been found to predict exam results in a study of Britush schoolchildren. The study examined congnitive ability and personality predictors of exam performance and found that general knowledge was positively correlated with GCSE english, mathematics, and overall exam results. General knowledge test scores presicted exam results, even after controlling for IQ, five factor model personality traits, and learning styles.

Proofreading :

General knowledge has been found to robustly predict proofreading skills in univeristy students. A study found that proofreading had a larger correlation with general knowledge than with general intelligence, verbal reasoning, or openness to experience. In a multiple regression analysis using general knowledge, general intelligence, verbal reasoning, five factor personality traits, amd learning styles as predictors, only general knowledge was a significant predictor.

Creativity

General knowledge has been found to have weak associations with measures of creativity. In a study examining contributions of personality and intelligence to creativity, general knowledge was positively correlated with tests of divergent thinking, but was unrelated to a bigraphical measure of creative achievemnet, self- rated creativity, or a composite measure of creativity. The realtionship between general knowledge and divergent thinking became non- significant when controlling for fluid intelleigence.

Game shows and Quizzes :

Many game shows use general knowledge questions for entertainment purpose. Game shows such as who wants to be a Millionarie? and fiteen to one centre their questions on general knowledge, while other shows focus questions more on specific subjects. Some show ask questions both on specific subjects and on general knowledge .

Doping – How is it Affecting Sports?

“Science has learned recently that contempt and indignation are addictive mental states. I mean physically and chemically addictive. Literally! People who are self-righteous a lot are apparently doping themselves rhythmically with auto-secreted surges of dopamine, endorphins and enkephalins. Didn’t you ever ask yourself why indignation feels so good?”

~ David Brin

Introduction

Doping in sport is a widespread problem not just among elite athletes, but even more so in recreational sports. In scientific literature, major emphasis is placed on doping detection, whereas detrimental effects of doping agents on athletes’ health are seldom discussed. Human growth hormone also increases muscle mass, although the majority of that is an increase in extracellular fluid and not the functional muscle mass.

The term doping is widely used by organizations that regulate sporting competitions. The use of drugs to enhance performance is considered unethical, and therefore prohibited, by most international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee.

History

According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the term “doping” probably comes from the Dutch word “dop,” an alcoholic beverage made of grape skins that was used by Zulu warriors to make them stronger in battle.

Ancient Greek athletes used special diets and stimulating potions to improve performance, and 19th century endurance athletes indulged in strychnine, caffeine, cocaine and alcohol.

The American specialist in doping, Max M. Novich, wrote: “Trainers of the old school who supplied treatments which had cocaine as their base declared with assurance that a rider tired by a six-day race would get his second breath after absorbing these mixtures.”[8] John Hoberman, a professor at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, said six-day races were “de facto experiments investigating the physiology of stress as well as the substances that might alleviate exhaustion.”

Effects of doping in sports

It builds muscle but causes abnormal growth, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid problems, hypertension, blood cancers and arthritis. Other adverse effects include joint pain, muscle weakness, visual disturbances, enlarged heart and diabetes.

Other side effects include:

  • Heart palpitations.Heart rhythm abnormalities.
  • Weight loss.
  • Tremors.
  • Mild high blood pressure (hypertension)
  • Hallucinations.
  • Stroke.
  • Heart attack and other circulatory problems.
  • Constipation.Skin rash or dermatitis.
  • Diarrhea.
  • Dizziness.
  • Drowsiness.
  • Dry mouth.
  • Headache.
  • Insomnia.

UFC ( Ultimate Fighting Championship ).

In December 2013, the UFC began a campaign to drug test their entire roster randomly all year-round. Random testing, however, became problematic for the promotion as it began to affect revenue, as fighters who had tested positive would need to be taken out of fights, which adversely affected fight cards, and therefore pay-per-view sales.

According to Steven Marrocco of MMAjunkie.com, about 31% of UFC fighters subjected to random testing since the program first started have failed due to using performance-enhancing drugs. That is approximately five failed tests for every sixteen random screenings.

From July 2015, the UFC has advocated to all commissions that every fighter be tested in competition for every card. Lorenzo Feritta, who at the time was one of the presidents of the UFC, said, “We want 100 percent of the fighters tested the night they compete”. Also, in addition to the drug testing protocols in place for competitors on fight night, the UFC conducts additional testing for main event fighters or any fighters that are due to compete in championship matches.

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The Amazon

The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity; it affords protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axe-man who destroys it.

– Gautama Buddha

Today , let’s feel the presence of fresh air , waterfall , trees , flora and fauna . Being a citizen of a country , which is well known for its resources , different species, mixed economy and different cultures. It is important for us to see the world of flora and fauna.

Well you get to know by the heading , today we are gonna talk about THE AMAZON’S which is well known for its vast species .

Introduction .


The Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 km2 (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations and 3,344 formally acknowledged indigenous territories.

The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. Four nations have “Amazonas” as the name of one of their first-level administrative regions, and France uses the name “Guiana Amazonian Park” for its rainforest protected area. The Amazon represents over half of the planet’s remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species.

The name Amazon is said to arise from a war Francisco de Orellana fought with the Tapuyas and other tribes. The women of the tribe fought alongside the men, as was their custom. Orellana derived the name Amazonas from the Amazons of Greek mythology, described by Herodotus and Diodorus.

Flora and Fauna.

Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and tropical forests in the Americas are consistently more species rich than the wet forests in Africa and Asia.

This constitutes the largest collection of living plants and animal species in the world.

The region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region.

The biodiversity of plant species is the highest on Earth with one 2001 study finding a quarter square kilometer (62 acres) of Ecuadorian rainforest supports more than 1,100 tree species.

Human impact on Amazon jungle.

The human impact on the Amazon rainforest has been grossly underestimated according to an international team of researchers. … They found that selective logging and surface wildfires can result in an annual loss of 54 billion tonnes of carbon from the Brazilian Amazon, increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Lead researcher Dr Erika Berenguer from Lancaster University said: “The impacts of fire and logging in tropical forests have always been largely overlooked by both the scientific community and policy makers who are primarily concerned with deforestation. Yet our results show how these disturbances can severely degrade the forest, with huge amounts of carbon being transferred from plant matter straight into the atmosphere.”

The second author, Dr Joice Ferreira from Embrapa in Brazil, said: “Our findings also draw attention to the necessity for Brazil to implement more effective policies for reducing the use of fire in agriculture, as fires can both devastate private property, and escape into surrounding forests causing widespread degradation. Bringing fire and illegal logging under control is key to reaching our national commitment to reducing carbon emissions.”

The forest is not a resource for us, it is life itself. It is the only place for us to live.

-Evaristo Nugkuag Ikanan

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Volcano Eruption

“We are, all of us, growing volcanoes that approach the hour of their eruption, but how near or distant that is, nobody knows- not even God.”

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

We always talk about , what it would be like to see volcano eruption in front of your eyes ?

How amazing it would be like to find out , how the volcano erupt ?

There are many things that we don’t know exist in our earth 🌍. Do you want to know about it . If yes , than read the editorial .

Introduction

A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and most are found underwater.

The word volcano is derived from the name of Vulcano, a volcanic island in the Aeolian Islands of Italy whose name in turn comes from Vulcan, the god of fire in Roman mythology.

Many ancient accounts ascribe volcanic eruptions to supernatural causes, such as the actions of gods or demigods. To the ancient Greeks, volcanoes’ capricious power could only be explained as acts of the gods, while 16th/17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler believed they were ducts for the Earth’s tears.[87] One early idea counter to this was proposed by Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), who witnessed eruptions of Mount Etna and Stromboli, then visited the crater of Vesuvius and published his view of an Earth with a central fire connected to numerous others caused by the burning of sulfur, bitumen and coal.

Types of eruptions

  • Hydrothermal eruption. An eruption driven by the heat in a hydrothermal systems.
  • Phreatic eruption. An eruption driven by the heat from magma interacting with water.
  • Phreatomagmatic eruption.
  • Lava.
  • Strombolian and Hawaiian eruptions.
  • Vulcanian eruptions.
  • Subplinian and Plinian eruptions.

How do volcanoes erupt?

Deep within the Earth it is so hot that some rocks slowly melt and become a thick flowing substance called magma. Since it is lighter than the solid rock around it, magma rises and collects in magma chambers. Eventually, some of the magma pushes through vents and fissures to the Earth’s surface. Magma that has erupted is called lava.

The explosivity of an eruption depends on the composition of the magma. If magma is thin and runny, gases can escape easily from it.
Explosive volcanic eruptions can be dangerous and deadly.

Humans and volcanoes

Volcanic eruptions pose a significant threat to human civilization. However, volcanic activity has also provided humans with important resources.

Although volcanic eruptions pose considerable hazards to humans, past volcanic activity has created important economic resources.

Volcanic ash and weathered basalt produce some of the most fertile soil in the world, rich in nutrients such as iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus.

Volcanic activity is responsible for emplacing valuable mineral resources, such as metal ores.

The paradox of volcanoes was that they were symbols of destruction but also life. Once the lava slows and cools, it solidifies and then breaks down over time to become soil – rich, fertile soil.
She wasn’t a black hole, she decided. She was a volcano. And like a volcano she couldn’t run away from herself. She’d have to stay there and tend to that wasteland.
She could plant a forest inside herself.

Matt Haig, The Midnight Library

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2300 year old step well found near Erode

Kodumanal Excavation site

• Located – Erode, a district in Tamil Nadu.

• Northern bank of the Noyyal river – Tributary of River Cauvery.

• Excavation – Megalithic period; Early historic period. • Habitation-cum-industrial site.

• Excavations since 1981.

• Industrial complex – beads and semi- precious stones were manufactured.

• Iron smelting units – forged steel at the site.
• Trade centre – 5th – 1st BCE. • Village – Chera capital of Karur with the Chera port of Muciri in Pattnam in Kerala.

Excavations

• Circle-shaped step-well – found for the first time. • Scientific dating – 2,300 years old.

• 2020 – Rubble masonry wall of 3.5 metres – waterway.

• Current excavation – trench was dug near the
last year’s trench • Result – Discovery of the well.
• Well – 2.65 metres wide; Depth – deposits were
removed.

• Steps – weathered rocks, slopes down from the
ground to the well that served the habitation.

• Two rubble masonry walls existed on either
side of the steps.

• Site – habitation come industrial site
 Water – Used both for household needs as
well as for polishing beads and other industrial activities.
• Other Findings:
 Pottery – Black and red ware, black slipped
ware, russet coated ware and red slipped ware.
 Beads – Quartz and clay.
 Potsherds
 Megalithic cairn circle
 Iron sword
 Double edged axe
 Small daggers