CULTURAL QA 11202316
Q1 How did people with vision problems function before the invention
of eyeglasses?
KR 1 It is a question of unintelligence. If there were no medicine
people would suffer even in 2023. So a question of impudence, to write
something incoherently
2 But those who read Sushruta will know that he did an eye
surgery and got the patient vision,” {“The doctor warmed the patient’s eye
with the breath of his mouth. He rubbed the closed eye of the patient with
his thumb and then asked the patient to look at his knees. The patient’s
head was held firmly. The doctor held the lancet between his fore-finger,
middle-finger and thumb and introduced it into the patient’s eye towards
the pupil, half a finger’s breadth from the black of the eye and a quarter
of a finger’s breadth from the outer corner of the eye. He moved the lancet
gracefully back and forth and upward. There was a small sound and a drop of
water came out. The doctor spoke a few words to comfort the patient and
moistened the eye with milk. He scratched the pupil with the tip of the
lancet, without hurting, and then drove the ‘slime’ towards the nose. The
patient got rid of the ‘slime’ by drawing it into his nose. It was a matter
of joy for the patient that he could see objects through his operated eye
and the doctor drew the lancet out slowly. He then laid cotton soaked in
fat on the wound and the patient lay still with the operated eye bandaged.
It was the patient’s left eye and the doctor used his right hand for the
operation.” This is the description of an operation that was performed by
Sushruta, India’s greatest surgeon of the pre-medieval period}
2A The original copy of Sushruta Samhita, the monumental
treatise on surgery written by Sushruta, is not traceable. However, a
version of this textbook was discovered in 1890 in Kuchar, Chinese
Turkestan, and was named after the man to whom it was sold, Hamilton Bower.
The Bower manuscript is currently housed in the Bodlean Library in Oxford .
Hoernle edited and critically evaluated it and placed its origin around
fifth century BC. As Sushruta’s name was found in this document, it is
presumed that he must have existed in the fifth century BC or earlier .
Sushruta is the most celebrated physician and surgeon in India. Many of his
contributions to medicine and surgery preceded similar discoveries in the
western world. Sushruta practiced medicine before Hippocrates.
2B The steps of the operation definitely indicate that it was
done for removal of the opacity of cataractous lens though there was some
confusing interpretation of the findings encountered while doing the
surgery. Several reasons, such as translation of the original work by a
non-medical Sanskrit scholar, difficulty in interpreting Vedic Sanskrit and
the understanding of cataract at that time might lead to this confusion.
Recently there has been some debate whether we should consider the
operation done by Sushruta to be extracapsular cataract extraction or
couching . But in ancient times, cataractous lenses were dislocated into
the vitreous cavity rather than removed in the strict sense. Sushruta
unknowingly might have done some partial extracapsular lens extraction in
cases with mature or hypermature cataract while attempting displacement of
opaque lens from the pupillary area (couching). Nevertheless, it is really
amazing to note that in the later part of the ‘Vedic Age’ (3000 to 1000
BC), a surgeon dared to enter the eye with a lancet to remove the lens
opacity. Couching became a very popular procedure for removal of blindness
due to cataract. The analogy of Buddha removing the screen of ignorance
using a probe of wisdom to the surgeon who removes cataract with a metallic
probe is often found in Buddhist literature. Even a symbolic cataract
operation was imitated at the time of initiation of monks at that time
[Ramachandran CK. Nimi Tantra (Ophthalmology of Ancient India). ]
Q2 Is there any evidence of life before Earth formed or before our
solar system formed?
KR All guessed work replied as if science which had no basis, but
conjectured linking certain facts, which may or may not be true; the
science world does not speak much about it. The hydrogen Helium, stars etc
are again a conjecture starting from 4.8 to 13 billion years so far. The
science is surprised about fast moving of the space. And the silly question
is was there life before………And whereas Rigvedam says things wrt the
creation etc we do not believe. What kind of brain we do possess? Don’t tel
me it is from a scientist as science admitted these as only a conjectures.
Q3 What is the most abundant precious metal?
KR Ancient metallurgy was written in the same columns long ago; but
neither verifying that nor verifying the authenticity of a guess work, some
one is trying to project that the tail can be dried by me too and gets wild
also.
Silver was common in the epic period. The description of
the town Laṅkā in Vālmīki-rāmāyaṇa [Sundara kandam] makes allusions to the
use of silver in that period. Mahabharata [Sabha Parva 51 chap] also
attests the use of silver. The presents received by Yudhiṣṭhira during the
imperial sacrifice include silver articles given by the king of
Prāgjyotiṣa. Thus according to the Purāṇas, it is the semen of Śiva that
changed into silver[Brahamanda puranam 2book]. But Garuḍapurāṇa (Book 1
chap 84) attributes its origin to mercury. It describes a method, in which
silver is generated by smouldering the mixture of honey, clarified butter,
jaggery and the juice of Kāravella (a kind of vegetable).Kauṭilīya
Arthaśāstra[5] makes reference to four types of silver on the basis of its
colour and the region from where it is excavated. They are:
Name Colour Region
Tutthodgata Similar to Jasmine Tuttha mountain
Gauḍika Looks like Tagara flower Assam
Kāmbuka Looks like Tagara flower Kāmbu mountain
Cakravālika Resembles Kunda flower Cakravāla mountains
According to Kauṭilya, white silver with smooth and soft surface is the
best, while black coloured silver with surface containing cracks are
inferior. Pure silver resembles curd in colour and it is glossy. The
characteristics of silver ore also are described by him.
Synonyms of silver mentioned in Amarakośa[6] are–(1) Rajata, (2) Rūpya, (3)
Śveta, (4) Kharjura and (5) Duvarṇa.
>From the works of Aśvaghoṣa[Book by name Soundarananda] it is evident that
silver was in abundance in his nation. Caraka recommends silver tonics for
diseases. The preparation of silver tonic is similar to that of gold tonic.
The gold plate dipped in the decoction of ingredients is replaced by silver
plate. In Rasaratnasamuccaya it is said that silver is subjected to
purification by melting it with lead and borax. For this process, silver
placed in an earthen dish along with the mixture of lime and ashes is to be
heated. Then only the purified silver will remain in the dish. For making
silver powder, three methods are described in Rasaratnasamuccaya. In the
first method, after stroking a thin sheet of silver with mercury and juice
of Lakuca, it is to be placed in sulphur and heated. When cold, the same
process is to be repeated by rubbing the silver sheet with orpiment and
acids. In the second method, silver is powdered by roasting the silver
sheet with the mixture of lemon juice and iron pyrites. In the third
method, the same process is repeated; but the iron pyrites is replaced by
orpiment. In the three methods mentioned above, the time taken for roasting
is varied.
Now why beating around the bush?
Q5 Who are some great Indians that most people have not heard of?
KR 1 what it is to do with Einstein?
2 With due respect To Karve (Bombay has a road named after
him) women liberation personalities are too many in India unknown to many
KR IRS 16 11 23
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: 'gopala krishnan' via iyer123 <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2023 at 13:52
Subject: [iyer123] CULTURAL QA 11-2023-16
To: Patty Thatha <[email protected]>, Iyer <
[email protected]>, Kerala Iyer <[email protected]>
*CULTURAL QA 11-2023-16*
*All the BELOW QA are from Quora DIGEST to me on 16-11-2023.*
*QUORA ANSWERS NEED NOT BE 100% CORRECT ANSWERS.*
*Compiled and posted by R. Gopala Krishnan, 80, on 16-11-2023.*
*Q1 How did people with vision problems function before the invention
of eyeglasses?*
*A1 Silk Road, 3h*
*It wasn't easy.The poor souls had to squint, strain, and struggle to see
anything clearly.*
*They probably missed out on a lot of details, like the fine print on
contracts, the facial expressions of their loved ones, the horse manure on
the street, and the beauty of nature.*
*But don't worry, they weren't totally helpless. They had some ways to cope
with their blurry vision, even if they weren't very effective or
convenient.*
*Some of them used magnifying glasses, which were basically glass spheres
that made things look bigger.*
*These were invented by the Romans, who were pretty smart for their time.
They also used them to start fires.*
*But imagine having to carry around a big glass ball everywhere you go. Not
very practical.*
*Some of them also used pinhole glasses, which were glasses with tiny holes
in them that blocked out most of the light and only let in a narrow beam.*
*This made things look sharper, but also darker and smaller. These were
invented by the Arabs, who were also pretty smart for their time.*
*They also used them to observe solar eclipses, which was pretty brave. But
imagine having to wear glasses that made everything look like a dim and
distant dot. Not very fun.*
*So, there is no doubt about it, people with vision problems had it rough
before the invention of eyeglasses.*
*They had to rely on these makeshift solutions that barely worked and
probably gave them headaches.*
*But then, something amazing happened.*
*Sometime in the 13th century, a genius named Salvino D'Armati in Italy
came up with the idea of putting curved glass lenses in frames that could
be worn on the nose.*
*These were the first eyeglasses ever made, and they changed the course of
history.*
*They allowed people to see clearly without having to hold anything or
squint through holes.*
*They were a game-changer for people with vision problems, especially those
who liked to read and write.*
*Of course, these early eyeglasses weren't perfect either. They were heavy,
bulky, and fragile.*
*They also didn't have any arms or temples to hold them over the ears, so
they often fell off or got lost. They also only corrected farsightedness,
not nearsightedness or astigmatism.*
*But hey, they were better than nothing.*
*Over time, eyeglasses improved a lot. They became lighter, thinner, and
more durable.*
*They also got them arms or temples to keep them in place. They also
started to correct different types of vision problems, like near
sightedness and astigmatism.*
*They also became more fashionable and varied in styles and colors. They
became more than just tools for seeing better; they became accessories for
expressing personality and taste.*
*Today, eyeglasses are everywhere. Millions of people wear them every day
for different reasons: to see better, to protect their eyes from harmful
light or debris, to enhance their appearance or mood, or even to enjoy
special effects like 3D movies or virtual reality.*
*Eyeglasses are awesome inventions that have made life easier and more
enjoyable for many people.*
*My note- Even black glass frames without glass can make things more clear
since they obstruct light from all sides. One can check it themselves.*
*Q2 Is there any evidence of life before Earth formed or before our
solar system formed?*
*A2 T. Barczuk, Studied at Gdansk University of Technology2h*
*We have no evidence that life emerged anywhere before Earth formed, but
places exist in the Universe where life could have arisen before the Solar
System and our planet appeared.*
*Just after the Big Bang, the Universe almost only contained hydrogen and
helium, and life needs heavier elements produced via nuclear fusion in
stars. In our galaxy, these heavier atoms are more abundant the closer to
the center. In the distant future, a lot of carbon and the like will be
found even in the remote corners of galaxies.*
*It would seem that these elements are needed for rocky planets to form
around stars, but in the last few years, we discovered many exoplanets, and
surprisingly, rocky worlds were found in systems of stars that were
metal-poor, which in astronomy means poor in elements heavier than hydrogen
and helium. This means that rocky planets are likely to be found billions
of years before our system came to be, even in the corners of the Universe
where not many generations of stars lived and died and spread these
elements around.*
*We now think there are about 2 trillion galaxies in the visible Universe.
Some acquired high metalicity very early in the history of the Universe. An
example is the fascinating galaxy NGC 1277, 220 million light-years away
from the Sun. It is a so-called relic galaxy, isolated from others. It
didn't interact with other galaxies during its history, but just after the
Big Bang for a few billion years, it formed stars about 1000 times faster
than the Milky Way's star formation rate. It is now filled with billions of
archaic stars rich in the whole range of elements needed for the emergence
of rocky planets and life.*
*Nevertheless, such an example doesn't change much, as we will never be
able to visit such remote locations in the Universe. If life emerged there
and didn't produce a technological civilization that could be capable of
stellar engineering, we wouldn't be able to know that from 220 million
light-years away. Very advanced technological civilizations could
theoretically be detected from huge distances if they built Dyson Swarms
around stars or other cosmic superstructures. Bacterial, animal-like, or
plant-like life could only possibly be detected on planets in the nearest
neighborhood in our home Milky Way Galaxy.*
*Life on Earth arose very early in the history of our planet. A theoretical
research paper posits that even the simplest, first bacterial cells in our
world were so complex that they might have needed an additional 4 billion
years of evolution. This is not universally accepted by science, and
currently, we think that the first organisms emerged on Earth, but if it
ever proves to be true, then the first cells must have arrived here from
somewhere else in the Universe, perhaps even from other systems.*
*The question was: Is there any evidence of life before Earth formed or
before our solar system formed?*
*The inriguing relic galaxy NGC 1277, 220 million light-years from Earth,
contains billions of very ancient metal-rich stars. This galaxy had all
that is needed for the emergence of life very early in the history of the
Universe, just after the Big Bang.*
*Q3 What is the most abundant precious metal?*
*A3 Erika Fernandez, Knows about Chemistry Aug 12*
*A precious metal is a rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical element
that has a high economic value. Precious metals are usually less reactive
than most elements, and they have a high lustre and ductility. Precious
metals are often used as currency, investment, or industrial raw materials.*
*There are many precious metals in the world, such as gold, silver,
platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium, ruthenium, and more.
However, not all of them are equally abundant or accessible. The abundance
of a precious metal depends on its occurrence in the Earth’s crust, its
extraction from ores or minerals, and its supply and demand in the market.*
*Silver has an average concentration of 0.075 ppm in the Earth’s crust,
which means that one ton of crust contains about 0.075 grams of silver.
Silver is mostly produced as a by-product of copper, lead, zinc, or gold
mining. Silver has a lower demand and a lower price than gold, but it also
has more industrial uses.*
*So based on these numbers, it seems that silver is the most abundant
precious metal in the Earth’s crust. However, these numbers may vary
depending on the source and method of measurement. Also, the abundance of
precious metal in the crust does not necessarily reflect its availability
or accessibility in the market. The supply and demand of precious metals
may also affect their price and value*
*Q4 Was Adolf Hitler a Christian? Why did Hitler kill all Jews?*
*A4 Ken Eckert, English Professor, Albertan16h*
*No.*
*It is frustrating to read so many incorrect and malevolent answers every
time this comes up. Hitler was not a Christian. He was a pagan theist with
a vague idea of spiritual “providence.” He was never excommunicated because
in adulthood he was no longer a practicing Catholic. The church does not
excommunicate people who already don’t go to church.*
*Hitler wanted to be a priest briefly as a small boy, at about the same age
boys want to be Spiderman—but as a young adult renounced faith. Hitler
outwardly professed Christian faith in order to seduce and bully the
established churches in Germany, and staged photographs of priests
heiling—but it was all lies; in private conversations such as in the
Bormann records, he continually railed against Christianity as a
contemptible religion for “cowards and weaklings,” despising its values of
mercy and forgiveness as sapping the vitality of the German race. Nazi
documents indicated plans to eradicate all churches and religious
institutions in a postwar victorious reich. In the meantime, church leaders
and priests who did not submit to the party were thrown into concentration
camps.*
*Admittedly, part of Christianity’s sadder legacy in the west is
anti-Semitism, and Hitler was influenced by that, as well as bastardized
versions of contemporary European philosophies and Darwinian theory—along
with personal experiences which violently antagonized Hitler against the
Jews.*
*Some of the nearly 3,000 Catholic clergy held in Dachau, of whom many
died. Stop posting that Hitler was a Christian. He was not.*
*Q5 Who are some great Indians that most people have not heard of?*
*A5 Shipra Mishra,Studied Patna Women's College (Graduated 2017)5y*
*We are all well aware of Mr. Albert Einstein, but the man next to him is
the one that hasn't been heard much of. He is Mr. Dhondo Keshav Karve.*
*He has been one of the greatest social reformers of India, whose main
focus was on women's welfare, specifically - Education, Individual freedom,
remarriage of widows and the abolition of casteism.*
*Who was Keshav Karve?*
*Born in a small place, Murud in Konkan, Maharastra, he was lovingly known
as Maharshi Karve or Anna Karve. He adorned the Earth from 18th April, 1858
to 9th November, 1962. Married at a tender age of 14, he was very soon
exposed to the realities of his culture. Before heading towards social
reformatory activities, he was teaching Mathematics at the Fergusson
college in Pune.*
*What did he do?*
*Seeing the pathetic conditions of widows around him, he got inspired to
work for their betterment.*
*He established the vidhwa-vivahottajak mandali (widow remarriage
association) in 1893. He married Godubai (a widow)in the same year, after
the death of his first wife in 1891. This came as a shock to the orthodox
public.*
*In 1896, he founded Hindu Widows Home in Poona to help widows support
themselves if they couldn't or didn't wish to remarry.*
*He had to first carry out his works in the remote area of Poona as the
Brahmins didn't approve of it. The irony is that he himself was a Brahmin.*
*He laid the foundation of India's first University for women, which he
named Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) Indian women University.
It was financially aided by Vithaldas Thackersey, a philanthropist and
industrialist of Mumbai. The University covered entire spectrum ranging
from pre-primary to post graduation, engineering, vocationals etc.*
*In 1936, he started the Maharashtra Village Primary Education Society with
the goal of opening primary schools in villages.*
*In 1944, he founded the Samata Sangh (association for the promotion of
human equality)*
*He stood for abolition of the caste system and untouchability.*
*He wrote two books -Atmavrutta (1928) and Looking back (1936).*
*How was he honoured?*
*He recieved Padma Vibhushan in 1955.*
*In his centenary birth year in 1958, he was awarded the highest civilian
award of our country, the Bharat Ratna.*
*In the same year, postal stamps in his honour were issued by the GoI.*
*The Queen’s road in Mumbai was renamed to Maharashi Karve road in his
honour.*
*This man was someone who just kept working in the correct direction
without creating a hype around himself and without caring for the
consequences.*
*Source : Encyclopedia Britannica*
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