You need science not woolies...

Our schools are good for nothing. I guess we knew it all along but now it’s been proven. Indian students flunked an international ability test. They ranked fifth from the bottom. Apparently, we are especially bad in maths and science. Well now you know why most of us can’t hold on to money. We never learnt how to count the change!
But more than maths it’s the poor understanding of science that is worrying. I see it all around me. Folks leading miserable lives because they were more worried about scoring 99 per cent in science rather than figuring out what it meant. Science teaches you life skills. It connects you to nature and to life itself.

It’s peak winter in Delhi. It’s bone chilling, nerve freezing and brain thumping cold. If you live here, you’ve got to find a way to beat it and survive. Perhaps even enjoy it. For me, that’s experience and a sure test of your life skills. Look around you and see the way folks cope with winter. If you learnt your science right you’ll know that all you need to keep warm is to wear a jacket of air around you.
The birds fluff up their feathers to trap the air and cocoon themselves. Many animals retreat into a hole, down their shutters and go into hibernation. They shut off their systems to tide off the season. Dogs curl up into their tails and wind up into a ball. But people? (Read people poor-in-science) You’ll find lots of them with skin like dried peas and faces blue as ink. Girls in skimpy tops and boys in inadequate tees with chattering teeth. Everybody complaining how cold it is and shivering and quaking. Well, if you’d paid attention to science you’d have coped better. Listen to grandma when she says ‘dress in layers’! Wear inners and a pajama below your jeans when you go out. You can trap the air around you and prevent heat from escaping. Eat foods that have high energy content such as dry fruits. Burn calories to increase circulation. Run, climb or play a sport. And if nothing else works find a spot and ogle at the opposite sex. The theory is- ogling raises circulation which energises the heart which in turn burns more calories…