Ratan Tata gets top UK award
Kounteya Sinha TNN
London: Ratan Tata on Monday became the first Indian to be awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) since India became a republic in 1950. British high commissioner to India James Bevan conducted the ceremony. He presented Ratan Tata with the GBE on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.
Speaking at the ceremony, Bevan said, “Ratan Tata’s leadership, vision and integrity will remain the gold standard for generations of aspirational British and Indian business people. His contribution to the deep ties that exist between the UK and India has been invaluable.”
Tata said, “I am deeply touched and feel honoured to receive the recognition so graciously bestowed on me by Her Majesty. It has been a privilege to have our enterprises contribute to the growth of the UK. I am deeply appreciative of the support we have received personally from David Cameron and his government. through good and bad times. This support and faith have been of immeasurable value.”
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How brain injury turned man into a maths genius
Subodh Varma TIMESINSIGHTGROUP
New Delhi: Scientists have made some progress in figuring out how a man who received severe brain injuries suddenly became a mathematical genius. They say that an area behind the crown of the head, known as the parietal cortex, appears to have become more active, according to a report in Live Science. This region is known to combine information from different senses.
Jason Padgett was an ordinary furniture salesman in Tacoma, Washington, US. In 2002, he was assaulted by two men outside a karaoke bar resulting in severe concussion and an injured kidney. As Padgett recovered, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. As he progressed, Padgett realized that he was seeing the world differently — everything looked like it was made up of geometrical shapes. He saw a circle as made up of overlapping triangles. He could draw complex geometric shapes. He saw shapes when shown mathematical equations.
One day a physicist saw him making these shapes in a mall and was struck by Padgett’s abilities. He persuaded Padgett to join college, where he is studying number theory.
As his abilities and how he acquired them got known, brain scientists got interested in finding out what had happened in his brain.
Berit Brogaard, a philosophy professor now at the University of Miami and her colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study Padgett’s brain. The scans showed that the left parietal cortex lit up the most, while areas involved with visual memory, sensory processing and planning also showed activity.
Using transcranial magnetic stimulation the scientists zapped specific areas with a magnetic pulse which either activates or inhibits the area. When the parietal cortex was thus zapped, the synesthesia faded. According to Live Science, Brogaard has earlier shown that when brain cells die, they release chemicals to increase activity in surrounding areas. This may have happened in Padgett’s case. It appears that abilities like Padgett’s may be dormant in every brain and they got released after the injury.
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