Grey Matters

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I am a self-confessed tech nerd. Eager to try out a new app, code a VB button in Excel, automate something, etc. So when AI came in, I was eager to try the toybox, use the Google Notebook and Napkin for the visual learner. Here comes my struggle: I have an absolutely brilliant kid at computers and gaming and a manga-loving daughter who draws on the iPad for days, not hours....

A PLEA TO STOP USING AI THOUGHTLESSLY ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY I am a self-confessed tech nerd. Eager to try out a new app, code a VB button in Excel, automate something, etc. So when AI came in, I was eager to try the toybox, use the Google Notebook and Napki…

Netflix's Adolescence has sparked widespread discussion due to its exploration of critical issues affecting teenagers in the digital age. The series, while fictional, delves into themes such as online radicalization, toxic masculinity, and the challenges of modern parenting. Instead of a review, I discuss why this should not be as shocking a revelation as it has been for some parents...

Why Adolescence is a must-watch Netflix series in 2025 and why it should not be so shocking! Netflix’s Adolescence has sparked widespread discussion due to its exploration of critical issues affecting teenagers in the digital age. The series, while fictional, delves into themes such …

Discover how to craft vivid, sensory descriptions and master procedure writing skills with our engaging 'Recipe of Me' class. This creative writing exercise helps students reflect on their traits, passions, and inspirations, making it a fun and insightful activity for all ages. Learn how to personalize your writing and bring out the unique flavors of your personality. Perfect for educators and writers looking to enhance their creative writing skills...

A Recipe for me: A reflective creative writing exercise Discover how to craft vivid, sensory descriptions and master procedure writing skills with our engaging ‘Recipe of Me’ class. This creative writing exercise helps students reflect on th…

I get told sometimes that an engineer / marketing professional teaching English creative writing is a waste of skills.

Here is an example of how nothing good truly goes to waste. :)

I choose a non fiction reading comprehension. ( Cause it is often a tedious read)

My grade 5 kids are to read and summarise each paragraph in a word and underline three points why they picked the work ( picking key idea and evidence ...I didn't tell them that was what they were doing though 😊)

Next they did the multiple choice answer questions and gave another title to the paragraph

Finally I asked them to analyse the issue of the ET game failing and come up with a diagram that encapsulated the key reasons for the failure and again two supporting points .

I can tell you the kids learned much much more than just basic reading comprehension that day. :)

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an extraordinary leader who revolutionized military tactics, governance, and administration in 17th-century India. His leadership was marked by innovation, strategic brilliance, and an inclusive vision. Here are five of his most unique and unprecedented leadership qualities along with a plea to not forget our Indian history when pursuing global boards...

Shivaji Maharaj : A legendary hero Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an extraordinary leader who revolutionized military tactics, governance, and administration in 17th-century India. His leadership was marked by innovation, strategic…

A recent controversy involving YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia on Samay Raina’s show demonstrates the risks of prioritizing shock value over ethical considerations. The public backlash highlighted fine line between edgy humor and offensive content. This article looks at the power that comes with responsibility in a value based culture...

Caught In the Act – Respect in the age of Beer Biceps Influencers A recent controversy involving YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia on Samay Raina’s show demonstrates the risks of prioritizing shock value over ethical considerations. The public backlash highlighted fine…

Resharing Tanushree Singh‘s fabulous picture book, Darkless

Darkless As Covid gloom and uncertainties continue to loom over us, we reached out again for Tanushree Singh‘s fabulous picture book, DarklessWe looked at little Ani declaring that it was dark, even as the …

Mihir. 15 years old. Jumped to his death in Kochi. Why , because his class mates bullied , him made him lick toilet seated and brutally ragged him. Why was he singled out? Skin colour? Did it happen to more kids and they just bore that trauma?

A blog on and

Creating an Inclusive Environment: Stopping Bullying in Schools Mihir. 15 years old. Jumped to his death in Kochi. Why , because his class mates bullied , him made him lick toilet seated and brutally ragged him. Why was he singled out? Skin colour? Did it happ…

Today I was having a talk with kiddo about reporting something in and being a snitch, when I recollected this fine piece by in Scent of a woman on and

"But there is nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit. There's no prostetic for that. You think you're merely sending this splendid foot solder back home to Oregon with tail between his legs, but I say you are executing his SOUL! "

"He won't sell anybody out to buy his future! And that, my friends, is called integrity. That's called courage. Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of. Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew. But I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard. Now here's Charlie. He's come to the crossroads. He has chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path made of principle that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey."

Have you come to the crossroads when you needed to decide whether to uphold your integrity or do what you needed to save your skin? What thoughts or role models came to you then?

Al Pacino's Iconic Final Speech (Full Scene) | Scent of a Woman Frank Slade (Al Pacino) defends Charlie (Chris O'Donnell) and questions what truly makes a Baird man and turns the tide of the hearing. ...

I am reading 10 MAKERS OF THE INDIAN CONSITUTION by KARTHIK VENKATESH , a new addition to a favourite TEN SERIES by Duckbill . I realised there was not much I knew in depth about the Constitution beyond my early civics textbooks and some prominent people and famous 42nd amendments. Here is a quick video dekho that I hope inspires you to read more on this Republic Day. And the reading list to read with your kids: Our Constitution, Our People by Harsh Mander. @pratham Constitution of India for Children by Subhadra Sen Gupta We the Children of India: The Preamble to our Constitution by Former Chief Justice Leila Seth 10 Makers of the Indian Constitution: Stories of 10 Indians Who Shaped the Nation by Karthik Venkatesh @penguinsters The Fifteen by Angellica Aribam #republicday #ambedkar #books #preamble #fundamentalrights #duckbill #childrensbooks

Two recent events – Bryan Johnson’s Don’t Die on Netflix and OpenAI’s tryst with longevity
Sam Altman-led AI powerhouse OpenAI and longevity startup, Retro Biosciences announced that their GPT-4b AI model could now enhance stem cell production efficiency and could extend human life. According to the company, the researchers used suggestions by the model to change two of the Yamanaka factors to be more than 50 times as effective. (The Yamanaka factors are four special genes that can turn a regular adult cell back into a stem cell-like state, where they can grow into almost any type of cell in the body. They say, it is like “resetting “a cell to its factory settings.
Bryan Johnson, the wealthy tech entrepreneur in “Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever,” has created waves with planning to to neutralize his aging process. Every day, he engages in a hyper-regimented body care routine ,popping countless pills, eating his last meal of the day at 11 am and sleeping by 7:30 pm every day!
“If you could have an AI algorithm that promises to give you the best mental and physical health, but you have to follow everything it says, would you say yes or no?” He believes this is rhetoric question with the answer is an unconditional yes.
As our lives seem to be headed into stuff science fiction movies are made of , here are some

Grey Matters questions
• Even if human beings tend to be self sabotaging at times in terms of the required discipline, if we abandoned free will to obey tech-driven systems that were tailored around optimising every aspect of our life, what part of us is human and what part just a robot?
• Has our megalomania reached a point in this Anthropocene that inspite of being the only species that takes more than it needs , we believe the human race is so important that our species shouldn’t die?
• In this pursuit of a future long lasting self, are we losing track of what we have – the ability to try new things, use our brain to make choices and learn from these choices and grow
• Are we trying to be alive or live life?

Like our Rajesh Khanna’s Anand would say , “Zindagi badi honi chaiye , lambi nahi”

Sharing a few quotes from the recommended reading shared below -
“As mankind grew obsessed with its hours, the sorrow of lost time became a permanent hole in the human heart. People fretted over missed chances, over inefficient days; they worried constantly about how long they would live, because counting life’s moments had led, inevitably, to counting them down. Soon, in every nation and in every language, time became the most precious commodity."
Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out."
― Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper

“When you are measuring life, you are not living it.”
― Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper

“You marked the minutes," the old man said. "But did you use them wisely? To be still? To cherish? To be grateful? To lift and be lifted?”
― Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper

" Your time’s not now. But dying’s part of the wheel, right there next to being born. You can’t pick out the pieces you like and leave the rest. Being part of the whole thing, that’s the blessing. But it’s passing us by, us Tucks. Living’s heavy work, but off to one side, the way we are, it’s useless, too. It don’t make sense. If I knowed how to climb back on the wheel, I’d do it in a minute. You can’t have living without dying. So you can’t call it living, what we got. We just are, we just be, like rocks beside the road."
— Natalie Babbitt (Tuck Everlasting)

Also on the blog at
https://archanablogs.wordpress.com/2025/01/23/of-living-and-staying-alive-exploring-ai-and-the-quest-for-eternal-life/