Take Our Kids To Work Day 2014

This was my second year participating with the UHN Take Our Kids To Work Day program. My work colleague, Anthony, and I, share the passion of spreading the love for science among kids. Last year, when Anthony approached me with the idea of collaborating on the #KidsToWork program for UHN Research, I was more than thrilled!
Each of us tend to have many passions. But when an opportunity to pursue it presents itself, it's imperative to act upon it. For #KidsToWork Day, we wanted to do something different. We wanted to showcase science as being fun, cool and interesting! Anthony and I are by-products of a career path that is not 'traditional' in science. I like to call people like us as 'science hybrids' since we tend to combine skills learnt through multiple sources; and evolve into professional roles that allow us to communicate across many platforms. These are not the jobs we thought we will pursue when we were in high school. However, sticking to a science education helped us grow into roles and unlock unchartered career paths, or 'The Road Less Traveled'! :P
When we did our first talk at the #KidsToWork in 2013, our purpose was to leave the students with a message that science is cool and that it opens doors that may not even exist right now. We attempted this by talking about the non-traditional career options with a science degree. We brought in the 'cool' jobs such as bionics engineer, user experience video game designer, ESPN statisticians, etc. We tried our best to engage the students. We were interactive, asked them questions, gave them CANDY! We really wanted to be 'one' of them. We even hosted a dance-off on the popular youtube viral video of 2013, "who let the dogs out"! At the end of the day, we were marginally confident that our message went across. Not bad for a first attempt.
In all this excitement of being 'one' with the kids, we didn't realize that we unintentionally introduced the barrier of 'powerpoint'. Our 'talk' was no longer cool and interesting, it was just a 'presentation'... a 'ppt'.

With the learning from last year, we decided not to use powerpoint as a crutch. The challenge was to make it interactive and engage the students as much as possible. The key was keeping it simple.We started out by splitting the group into 2. We gave them 2 minutes to pen down what they like and dislike about science. We also wanted to know the kind of jobs they think they can get with science education. We made it into a competition where the losing team will have to go through the Ice Bucket Challenge (November is quite cold in Toronto!). By making it a competition, we noticed the kids were more enthusiastic and involved. We were able to get a lot more participation by making it a 'game'. The second part of our activity involved finding out about the interests of the kids outside of school, e.g. gaming, blogging, writing, designing, arts, travel, photography, etc. Each kid was given a sheet to fill out. This is where Anthony and I had a chance to go around the room, talk to the kids and tell them how they can combine their specific interest with an education in science and unlock career paths that they may not have known about.
The set up this year was not as formal as the one we had last year, but I think we took a step forward in the right direction.

At the Center of it all...

The beginning of 2014 has been all about dance. Classical, Fusion, Latin... I'm testing my boundaries with all the dances that I always wanted to try out. Even though ever Sunday night my feet yell at me for putting them through this trauma, but it's all worth it. 

I'm learning Indian Fusion Dance at Infusion Dance Studios this session. I went in with no expectations except that I'd be doing fusion dance on a classical song. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't the case. So far, I'm happy with the progress and the overall level of the class. It's challenging, but also not too overwhelming to suck the fun out of the experience. 

I especially like the instructors teaching style, relaxed approach yet firm on the technique. One of the giveaways from the last class focused on the 'core'. I've been hearing that a lot... everywhere. In fitness, it meditation, in dance. However, I really saw it in action at my most recent dance class. It's vital to engage the core in every dance move. It is ultimately the 'core' that keeps the dance move from looking trashy. The control allows you to incorporate elegance and finesse in each move and each step. Besides, having a strong core is the first step in building a strong body. It's one of those things that hurt a lot at first but lay off big dividends later. 

The show must go on...

My dance teacher and buddies now feel like an extended family. We share a common bond... the love for dance... for Kathak. Today, I learnt about an episode this weekend where one of the dancer's father passed away unexpectedly. She found out about it while she was in the green room few seconds before the start of the show. Her father suffered a silent heart attack while he was at home getting ready to see his daughter perform. The cops made a courtesy visit to drive the mother and daughter from the auditorium to their home. The other dancers and my teacher were helpless, they had to continue the show and pretend as if nothing happened. As performers, they owe it to their audience. While the dancers were balling their eyes out behind the curtains, they embraced their spirit as a professional dancer the moment they stepped on the stage.

It seems cruel to me, but I guess, the show must go on...

Wish her family recovers from this loss.

The math in dance

The past 20 or so years have seen a major technology boom, nothing short of a revolution. Just in the past 5 years, we’ve seen youtube, facebook, twitter… iphone, tablets, e-readers… ipods.. The snail mail is a thing of the past. The kids these days cannot imagine a life without internet, cellphone. 

With the technology getting smarter and smarter, there is a lot of talk in the science world whether this so called 'smart' technology is actually making us dumber. No need to remember phone numbers, calculate tips, memorize calendar appointments, etc. So much buzz about physical health... but what about mental health and brain activity!
The truth is - this parasytic reliance on technology is crippling us day after day. Not just us, our friends, siblings, spouses, kids – the youth around us. If we don’t take a steps to reverse this now, it will be too late and before we know it we will have robots rule us just like in the movie - Matrix.. Okay, okay it may not be that bad. I tend to be over-dramatic. 

I know we all hear this all the time... But, what are we doing about it?

Whenever possible, I spare no chance to stress the importance of math in our daily lives. Math triggers the process of thinking, applying logic and solving problems. Doing simple math problems, as simple as solving sudoku, every day can trigger a larger benefit for our overall brain activity helping our memory and sharpening those neuron connections. This past week, I saw a similar benefit in another activity.

At my last dance class this Sunday, I realized that my Kathak dance teacher was kicking it up a notch (..ummm.. several notches) by adding more complicated steps to our routine. There is a science in every dance form, especially classical dances. The basic Kathak footwork of 'Ta, thei, thei, Tat' can be combined in various permutations and combinations to make extremely intricate, yet elegant, dance moves. The act of remembering these combinations forces us to 'think', create logical connections... thereby improving mental agility and strength. Over time, we find it easier to adapt and learn the complicated moves since our brain has been trained and prepared to kick it up several notches!

Scientists once believed that mental ability was fixed after childhood. But over the last few decades, neuroscientists have discovered that adults' brains are constantly changing - growing new neurons and connections - in a process known as neuroplasticity. The more we train our brain, the better it is for our brain health. The older we get, the slower this process becomes. It is even more crucial to 'exercise' your brain as you get older. Learning dance is one of the ways. No wonder all dance instructors have such sharp memory!

Getting back to dance

I, like many others, have always had a secret dream to be a professional dancer. My guilty pleasures are watching 'So You Think You Can Dance' or youtubing (I nominate this to be a valid word in the dictionary) hours and hours of dance performances on songs I like. When I hear a song, I always... always imagine how I would dance to it. Is that normal?

For the past 3 years, I've been diligent about learning an Indian Classical Dance called Kathak. Dances that help you express through your body and allow a dancer to add his/her own personality have always fascinated me. Though I don't know much about them, but lyrical and contemporary dance forms are a delight to watch and learn form. I find the same fascination of endless possibilities of expression in Kathak. There are strict rules and forms you should stick to, but there is also room for each dancer to add their own characteristic flavour. You don't have to be pretty to make the dance look beautiful. Your personality, style and elegance make that dance piece memorable.
My Kathak classes happen every Sunday evening. It's become such a routine that my Sunday activities are all planned around the class. Missing the dance class in not option, else I am a grumpy kid for the rest of the week!

Hello world, :)

Just the way the first code written said "Hello world.", I say hello to the world with this new blog that I finally started after putting it off for several years.
If you really want to do something, you'll find a way to do it... or you'll find a hundred ways not to do it.
The push before the plunge
We all need a push to take that plunge into anything new. My final 'push' came today when I felt a state of uncharacteristic restlessness, something that I've been feeling for several months now. I was able to visualize and compare this state of mind to brownian motion. Ergo, the name of the blog!

The Dark Knight Rises

For lack of any other better intellectual reference, I will use the title of this Christopher Nolan movie I saw today, as my post title to reflect the resurrection of my blogging habits. Hopefully, this new interest will continue and become a routine activity in my already packed day.

I saw the third Batman movie today at the IMAX theatre. Though my neck still hurts because of the strain due to sitting at front row, I am not too bothered since I am still well immersed with the after effects of the sheer brilliance of the movie. I liked it for three strong reasons:
1. Its not about magical powers. Its about a man with a noble intention, strong team and some luck. People love Superman, Spiderman, etc. I have always liked movies that are closer to reality.
2. Its about the triumph of good over evil. No matter how beaten down the 'good' gets. With sheer determination and persistence, it will triumph over evil.
3. It shows the power of team work for the good. In this era of selfishness, we all are guilty of committing mistakes and bending the rules for our own personal good. When others do it, we are also the first to criticize and complain how bad the world and its people have become. If we all resolve to do good deeds, I wonder how different the world will be.