Musings on the Human Condition

I recently watched a podcast with Pierre Kory and Bret Weinstein extolling the virtues of Ivermectin as prophylactic and treatment for COVID-19. Here are some of the key takeaways from the almost 3-hour long podcast. These are rough notes, but I am publishing them as is rather than wait to clean them up in the interest of time, given the urgency of controlling the COVID pandemic worldwide.  cell called a macrophage, which is part of the immune response, amoeba-like cell that serves as a scavenger/garbage collector, that attacks the lungs by then the virus is no longer multiplying significantly  perhaps it is the debris left behind by the virus, the RNA from the dead virus that triggers the out of proportion immune response   moving away from house calls has taken away doctors' ability to detect patterns, e.g. a disease spreading in one part of town   establishment kept harping on evidence-based therapy, everything had to go through a trial, but what about ...

Growing up in India, the most important exams for an engineering school aspirant were the entrance exams for engineering schools, like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). These exams were unlike the grade 10 and grade 12 "board" exams because they tested deep understanding and creative thinking, as opposed to rote learning. Here's a list of books that I tried to master from cover to cover in my own time (outside of school) in order to prepare for these exams. That's a huge amount of dedication relative to what kids in North America might put in, for example, for SAT exam preparation. Grammar by Wren & Martin Trigonometry by SI Loney Physics by Resnick and Halliday Inorganic Chemistry by Lee Algebra by Hall & Knight There were probably more. But the above titles are seared into my brain because of the amount of time I spent reading and learning from them. Since we're on the topic of books, perhaps I should also mention some of the non-academic books...

  This is my absolute favorite chocolate because of its unique texture, taste, and quality. I used to find it easily at the Whole Foods location in Bedford, MA. Individual bars are about 9''x2"x0.5" and wrapped in cling wrap. Around $10 each. Note that this is the milk chocolate version, not the dark chocolate version, which also exists.  Lately, they've been hard to find at the Nashua location. It's usually in the baking section along with other baking chocolates. But since it is considered a specialty item it is placed at the discretion of the specialty foods department that manages the specialty cheeses near the deli in the back. On one occasion, the Nashua location had the bars in the wicker basket in the back near the deli. They said they didn’t have any shelf space for it. Probably because of all the Easter-related displays. On another occasion, I found them placed near the cash registers at the front of the store. Have to be careful not to get the Jiver...