Fiction, Science

Superheroes: The Border crossing from Fiction to Reality

Gangu Sasi Sekharan Sadaram

Through Marvel and DC Comics, we have fantasized obtaining cool superpowers to defeat the bad guys. Well, The Infinity War and The Endgame had brought multiple tragic deaths to our superheroes, the latest being the Black widow and the Iron Man. We have even gone through intense emotions while watching these movies and even in real life to some extent(Remember the recent Sony-Disney Spiderman deal).

So, What if we have all these cool superpowers in our control? At the beginning of the comics, most of the readers thought we can achieve these superpowers in our dreams only, yet with the current technological advances across the world, this feat is not far from reality. So let’s find out some of the technological advancements made to bring the comic superheroes to real life.

 

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Technical

What’s new in HTTP/3?

Pavan Vachhani

HTTP is the application protocol that powers the Web. It began life as the so-called HTTP/0.9 protocol in 1991, and by 1999 had evolved to HTTP/1.1, which was standardised within the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). HTTP/1.1 was good enough for a long time but the ever-changing needs of the Web called for a better-suited protocol, and HTTP/2 emerged in 2015. More recently it was announced that the IETF is intending to deliver a new version – HTTP/3.

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Technical

A Bit About Bitcoin

Asis Kumar Rout

“Bitcoin”-The word is pretty common but very few people understand what actually it is. Do you remember the last time you were worried of losing money because of a failed transaction?(bad luck ☹). Everybody has faced such an issue and we start to curse ourselves as if it was our fault. Actually it was. But why? Because we depend on middlemen, credit cards which are insecure, bank transfers which are slow and expensive. Think of a situation without a third party🤔. The transaction would turn out to be more secure.

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Uncategorized

Jobs in the future and skills required

Nikhil Pawar

Could a robot do your job? Millions of people who didn’t see automation coming will soon find out the painful way. The answer is a resounding yes. The World Economic Forum’s study predicts about future of jobs, that 5 million jobs will be lost before 2020 as artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology and other socio-economic factors replace the need for human workers.


The good news is that those same technological advances will also create 2.1 million new jobs. But the manual and clerical workers who find themselves out of work are unlikely to have the required skills to compete for the new roles. Most new jobs will be in more specialized areas such as computing, mathematics, architecture and engineering.

So what skills should workers be acquiring to make sure they have value as the Industrial Revolution gathers pace?
Some may be surprised to learn that skills we develop in pre-school will be valued highly.
According to the experts, these are the skills that will be needed in the future of work: Creativity, Problem-solving, Innovation, Critical thinking.
David Deming, associate professor of education and economics at Harvard University, argues that soft skills like sharing and negotiating will be crucial. He says the modern workplace, where people move between different roles and projects, closely resembles pre-school classrooms, where we learn social skills such as empathy and cooperation.
Deming has mapped the changing needs of employers and identified key skills that will be required to thrive in the job market of the near future. Along with those soft skills, mathematical ability will be enormously beneficial.
Deming shows that in recent years, many jobs requiring only mathematical skills have been automated. Bank tellers and statistical clerks have suffered. Roles which require predominantly social skills ex. childcare workers, housekeeper tend to be poorly paid as the supply of potential workers is very large.


The study shows that workers who successfully combine mathematical and interpersonal skills in the knowledge-based economies of the future should find many rewarding opportunities.
Refocusing skills education
The challenge now is for educators to complement their teaching of technical skills like mathematics and computer science, with a focus on making sure the workers of the future have the soft skills to compete in the new jobs market.

Awareness

Pessimism: Can it be beneficial?

Nikhil Bharat

From self-improvement books to psychology lectures, how many times have you been told to look on the bright side of the things and find happiness wherever you look? Well, to some extent this works – given the evidence from the various research works over the past years which advises that being optimistic results in superior health and greater achievements.

But what about the people who see the glass as half empty rather than half full? Is being pessimistic always such a bad thing?

Pessimism gets a bad rap because it’s commonly associated with doom and negativity. Latest research on personality science has shown that pessimism isn’t just about negative thinking but also includes a focus on outcomes. To begin with, the expectations and hopes of a pessimist are low. That’s not to say they don’t hope for the best outcome-they just don’t expect it to materialize in reality. Optimists, on the other hand can be extremely naive as they not only hope for the best outcome but also expect it. This can hamper their mental and emotional status if the results don’t go their way.

However, there exists a distinct form of pessimism called “Defensive Pessimism” which was identified in mid-1980’s as a strategy to prepare for anxiety -provoking events or performances. By envisioning possible negative outcomes, defensive pessimists can take action to avoid or prepare for them. Here’s an example. Assume you have your exams coming up shortly and haven’t started preparing. If you’re a defensive pessimist and are anxious about failing, you use that anxiety as a catalyst to studying to make sure you don’t fail. This suggests that they harness their anxiety to motivate themselves to perform better.

The strategy of defensive pessimism of being prepared to avoid negative outcomes can have very positive health benefits too. A study conducted by University of Sheffield on the two groups of people with arthritis-asking them to rate their future health on a simple scale ranging from poor to excellent. Since arthritis is a long-term health condition that often worsens over time and you wouldn’t expect people to think their health would improve much in future. Those who were optimists still rated their health as improving in the future whereas the pessimists saw their health getting worsen. Their negative view of the future was more realistic and they encouraged themselves the sort of behaviours that healthcare professionals recommend for managing their illness.

It’s a good to strike a balance between the two, but being pessimistic now and again certainly isn’t as bad a thing as people make it out to be. So, the next time that you’re bothered by the fact that your glass always seems half empty, rest assured that you’re probably on the right track. This might give you the extra push to fill it to the brim.

Experiences

On Football and Passion

Manan Lohani

Football is, without a doubt, the most popular sport in the world. It has been raised to the pedestal it now stands on because of the millions of fans around the world who watch every game and every good play is etched in their minds for years. Being a football fan means supporting a particular club or country. It is a sincere commitment that one makes to the particular club. You have to support them through their highs and lows, hyping up the good moments and being positive about the future when the team is having a rough patch. Being a football fan isn’t for the weak-hearted. We fans have to accept the hold this beautiful game has on us. Football is never just played between 2 teams. It was never that simple.

Image result for man u fans

A football fan from a long time now, I have grown with the game. You make new friends, have friendly arguments with friends who support other clubs and watch games with them. The experiences you gain are priceless. You celebrate every goal, watch the dying minutes of the game with those nail biting finishes.

I remember when I was first introduced to football by my brother. I couldn’t comprehend why anyone would want to waste so much time on that and call that fun? One year later, I was hooked to the same channel and was watching every minute without blinking. Football often gave me a reason to look forward to something when the day seemed monotonous. And if my team would win well then life is awesome!

This is what makes “us” so special. We’ll rail against the poor efforts of our own players and delight when a great tackle stops a goal, a save out of nothing is made or a great cross from the left is headed with power into the back of the net with 2 minutes to go. We’ll fervently remember that victory in songs, written by us, commemorating the event, the players, the manager, making them legends.

We expressively shout at the television, even if the game was recorded in the middle of the night and its now 5am. Yes, we ONLY have Cable or Satellite so we can watch football. Or we’ll get up at 2 am to watch our team, even in their most mediocre of seasons in the hope that one of ours will show a dazzling flash of brilliance to make you forget what time it was we got up or the season so far.

We might seem unpredictable, insane, exasperating, infuriating, divisive and yes annoying. But we are eloquent, heartfelt, poignant, spirited, sturdy, and, most importantly, loyal.

Because football is not just a game, it’s an experience.

Image result for soccer fans

 

Environment, Science

Transformation of Energies

Ayush Sharma

If you were asked how valuable electricity is in your life, what would your answer be? The common answer is yes, it’s really valuable because we are very used to it. This will be the answer of a person living in 2019. But, in 1850, William Gladstone had asked the same question to the scientist Michael Faraday and he answered “One day sir, you may tax it”. This was the vision associated with electricity that in the coming future it will be a very essential commodity for everyone.

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