Y. Aakash

A playful character by mind.

[yaakash]

Perceive+Variance = Perseverance

Again the word that took me long to comprehend.

as simple as it states but in my view.

finding reasons to stick to a thing, no matter the outer force.

variance: motivation & willingness variation.

perceive: looking at same thing, after different time, making new angles.

[yaakash]

Think in detail, command in abstract.

For long the meaning of abstraction was not comprehensible to me. But when understood, the meaning remain same as I heard it the first time. Strange !

So to put in a way, Abstraction : is hiding the thing beneath.

Same meanings in multiple contexts.

Its a layer upon layers.

In Electronics: A computer is an abstraction of its components. The components are abstraction of its IC’s, the IC’s are abstraction of MOSFET’s and MOSFET’S are abstraction of semiconductors.

Ideas that based upon another idea are also abstraction. It can be thought of Building upon the shoulders of giant’s.

In terms of speech, the command given without telling the reason why its given is abstraction. (or abstract speech)

This new layer of abstraction has new look, new feel. In example of speech, the command without details has some boldness to it. In example of Electronic, the abstraction “computer” has new way to which one can interact.

Therefore a “convenience” has built on top of things that are non-convenient before, without telling the specification, complexity or details that lies beneath the abstracted layer (computer or ideas or command).

[yaakash]

Trip to Comic Con Bangalore in 2019

I have recently been to Comic Con Bangalore, which happens to be my first ever Comic Con in my freaking life. It was way-back in 2017 when it seeded my mind going to convention one day 😃

After beginning streaming on Twitch, I kept asking about experiences of other streamers on their comic con visits, who were much advanced artist who themselves exhibited at Comic-Con San Diego & other places.They straight-up mentioned some do’s and don’t to artists over at convention, which were:

Cosplay is not consent (means ask for permission before taking pictures or anything related artists consent).

Ask for portfolio reviews only if they are free and respect their time.

Don’t spend too much on merch,rather show support to artists by buying artworks.

Be Polite.

Keeping that in mind, I went ahead booking arrangements for it. There was one core reason I was planning this trip, that is to go along with never-met-before, friend from another dimension. For which I was pretty excited, so we sorted out the schedules for the event.

To my surprise, Bangalore was ahead of what I imagined, being in a Tier 3 City  myself. It was a much crowded, fast pace and traffic place to first appearance, but advance in terms of accessibility (metros, rent bikes etc.) 

I stayed at place called Zostel (truly a backpackers den). It was pretty much dorm sharing system where people are free to cook anything they like in a shared kitchen. Here, a lot of people from different countries like Germany, Australia came for work, sharing dorms. Even to some, I smiled and greeted. I had fun playing some game of carrom with work-person from shilong (I did lose twice) & Tekken in PS4 with guy from Mumbai. Also had couple of Dosa at breakfast.

On the day of event, I made sure that we better not be late and reached before 11 am. Now there was way too many people in costumes, fan shirts. To embrace the Comic-Con spirit, I wore a Flash T-shirt 😃. Now while waiting for event to open its gates we saw bunch of volunteers going berserk to keep up the thrill and excitement in the arena.

Gate opened !

We received some goodies, Yay !

They gave us a poster of Wonder Woman and short Archie storybook with a carry bag. And went ahead for count down to opening of another main gate (what a fuss!).

But, But, BUTT... After entering, it was really a view to what an Otaku might call mesmerizing. So, it balanced it.

The exhibitions was lined up in counter fashion. Where Indian artists, Foreign Artist, Merchandise Stores, Book Stores, International Cosplayers, Art Institutes

and...

Sponsors had their counter waiting to be engaged. I did buy and interacted with some artists, restraining myself to over spend. My friend did helped me with the WiFi connectivity issue while paying up at the stores.

Here is the event exhibition store map:

So, we began marching to all counters and stumbled upon XP-pen counter, they had doodle competition going, in which I participated & chose to draw Atomic samurai. It was also first time using 22 inch Screentouch, which happens to be competition prize.

While many people spending time over participating at sports, i decided to wander around artists section and interacted with couple of them, also bought some artworks to support them. I did ask them about their journey and time they spent since they pursuing seriously. One of artist @navs.art mentioned that it took her 3 years to reach at a level of creating sell-able artwork. You can see some artwork from her I brought:

check more about navsart here: @navs.art

Another counter was of “Abstract art and life”, who were frankly allowing us to pay whatever price we can, which was generous of them. They had their abstract artwork of fine detail printed on the covers of sketchbooks and other products. I did brought some sketchbooks which I needed the most. Also I have allowed to mention that they allowed me to pay afterwards when i met with payment connectivity issue (really generous). here are some prints i brought from them:

Art by: @abstract_life_and_art

There were series of interviews, comic screening & competition giveaways  happening on the main stage with artists, cosplayers and mascots. I could feel the goosebumps when people applauds at the screening of new or nostalgic  comic

previews on stage screens. It was delightful to experience so many people with common interest at one place.

We roamed at lot, sometimes crossed same counter THRICE. There was range of comics available like toons, Indian stories, mythological, Childrens story book, mangas at book stores. Here are some Books, Mangas & Posters brought from there:

I stayed at Bangalore for two days, the first day was event. Next day I called up a batch-mate of mine Gaurav, living at the city. Its always quite assuring to hear his voice of care. We planned to visit the Samsung Opera House and Cubbon Park, visted via metro. Now it became quite used to metro up until now.

Since only I was the common friend to both of my friends, it was quite balanced conversations, but frankly it took less than a day for both both of them be in rhythm. We participated in couple of tech equipment's at the opera house like 4D VR, Boat Pedaling, and Cycle Race.

After finishing up lunch, it was time for me head back to catch my train. Gaurav being generous enough to company me to station, we had engaging conversations on living & future endeavours ahead of us.

To Summaries the experience, it was a creative pill went awestruck. I had never experienced the aura of creative people at one place that much. Viewing Interacting with artists have broadened my horizons to become humble as well as persevere to keep working as artists. We managed to be every place which made us tired at the end of our exit. Meanwhile on my way back, I completed the Manga brought at the store 😄

[yaakash]

Student survival guide

Understanding the system, finding loop holes in them to get past the system working for you. Hack the system is the main motto for this survival guide.

Find your interest by going to workshops. Its not aim to attend as many workshops as possible but to get a taste of fields out there by interacting through workshops. You have to invest something to find out your interest. One other things happens while doing this is meeting other people who are in same journey knowing nothing or master of other fields, starting to enter a new field.

Don’t collect certificate, for sake of certificates. That’s a bad mental model. Certificates are way to prove your knowledge in respective field, yes.. talking about certificates right before the planning for something that interest you is worthless because all your attention will on collecting certificate, and not on actual course or essentials. Build core skills that will take you long. Go for high level certificates that has signatures of leaders (example sebastian thrun) and not mere near by ‘shops of education.’

Speaking of finding interest, once you find it out, try to find then the name of position like data engineer, business analysts, computer vision scientist, front end dev, illustrator, etc. And learn the path and tools they require to reach their position. In interview they are going to interview you.

So you find out, position name, great! Now its time to give time, spend time.

Attendance issue: Disregard college schedules, except end semester exams. Absent out to learn and juice out the tools of trade required to master. You need attendance in college, of-course but the thing is lastly you are required to write questions for full-filling attendance due, that is much more good than to spent time in college, getting taught by teachers who are still in techs of 90’s.

Disregard college requirements but make sure your time of completing a project and college asking to submit for project, meets. Never be in control of college to control your thought process of choosing project, because they see hype in trends not the long term skills. Build project by working towards your goal of achieving that position.

Isolation effect: it may feel like if you are not coming to college, they other person is growing 10 times fold. Nope. Things is.. very good colleges give time for thinking, less good colleges controls the thought process to flow on their own. Work in partners if feels isolation, partner needs to be of same mental state of disregard. Disrespect and disregard are different things. this isolation from outer may feel like fear of missing out (FOMO), this also happens when, you have lot in your plate but overwhelm yourself to choose from it. And.. That thing. Creates chaos and anxiety. pick amount you can eat at a time.

Have a purpose when you go to college or anything, specifically here i’m talking for college. To complete tasks, get info on whats happening inside, schedules, timetable etc. Attending college with purpose is more meaningful than attending for relying on the attendance or supervision or gaining trust of a person that going to give you path of overwhelming situations. Right?. Follow leaders. Clear out task at college as plan, eat, and approach new friends. See things in a way in college that can help you gain money. Promotions exactly for project.

Find good souls: interact everyone, know their rythm, their path, their goal, most of them try to hide from telling it, that’s OK because they will open up later.

Procrastination and masturbation: alright so, losing track of time, having a disregard of time has a heavy consequence. Once your binge-ing feeling for continous clicking on several things adds a layer of fat to your mind for time. Time blur. It continues to reach above threshold, you dont care anymore about essential things and start worrying later for those. Procrastination is a state where DHT releases in brain making you keep on going. Masturbation on other is whole thing that self-subotages. Its not good, and has bad consequences for students mind. You may see it as stress reducing activity but its really not. It can lead to hyperstress. Sex is good but masturbation is bad when done too often. Once done regularly it grabs you in a feeling of creating a rapid tension of how you are going to achieve a things even when you had figured it out in past. Masturbation releases a liquid (melanin) in brain that makes you feel sleepy, thats why its known to be stress reducer coz person tend to sleep.

For a student, semen preservation is key to active mind state. The more you self control yourself from ejaculation. Your body will remain the vital nutrients and retention power. If you loose away semens, then you disseminate your concentration, & start having worries about future things.

Homogenous mindset: dont go where your your group is going. Common interest of group of friends might not be your interest. Blind path is worse, it will take you doing sleep walking where ever your group of friends lead you.

Your friends define you somewhat : tell activities of your 5 friends?, i can tell you where most of your time gets spended. Have genuine, long lasting and with good habits that's encourages you too to have one.

Let me know what u think down there in comments :) if this helps you a little.

[yaakash]

Time: A Gentleman

Time is a smart gentleman who slows domn himself for people who values the time that everyone has given. Everyone has been given equal time, whoever utilise the time most, the gentleman slow himself down to value and acknowledge the person. Whereas he also recognize who are the one who maintains and respect the gentleman for longertime. The more a person respects time more the time gentleman remain by his side showing him wonder of his. And when a person tries to degrade and starts disrespecting the time, gentleman makes him self fast for the person and doesnt acknowledge him anymore.

Moral of the story: respect time by doings things in or before time, gentleman can show wonder by being slow for you, if disrespects time, he'll make himself fast.

yaakash.

[yaakash]

Being optimistic is not always fruitful until perspective adds its factor to it. #glass is always full from above until... 😉 (at Naya Raipur)

[yaakash]

At some point its self understandable. Nobody will pick you, you have to pick urself up and make it worth. #MState

[yaakash]

Fun story: One of the first things I was taught as an astronomy student is that, if you want to be a dick to someone giving a presentation, ask them “and how do the magnetic fields play into this?” and they will invariably say “fuck you I don’t know” because no one understands magnetic fields they are black magic.

[yaakash]

Hearing is a miracle, so is Talking !

I want you to stop and think about what’s happening. Your brain has a thought. It translates that thought into a pattern of pressure waves. Then your lungs send air out of your body, but as you do that, you vibrate your vocal chords in just the right way and you move your mouth and tongue into just the right shapes that by the time the air leaves you, it’s embedded with a pattern of high and low-pressure areas. 

The code in that air then spreads out to all the air in the vicinity, a little bit of which ends up in your friend’s ear, where it passes by their eardrum. When it does, it vibrates their eardrum in such a way as to pass on not only the code, but exactly where in the room it came from and the particular tone of voice it came with. 

The eardrum’s vibrations are transmitted through three tiny bones and into a little sac of fluid, which then transmits the information into electrical impulses and sends them up the auditory nerve and into the brain, where the information is decoded. And all of that happens in an eighth of a second, without any effort from either of you. 

Talking is a miracle.

[yaakash]

Story of Mathematics

It was always been comprehended that way that,  Maths (or Mathematics) is the language of the universe. It may be hard for those who had a hard time doing the math to grab this simpler concept of the universe being written from math or is it just a human artifact to showcase the human ability to invent. The instinctive math started when a concept of a cell to divide or multiply came (you can choose either of it to say). Well, the math wasn't called "the math" back then and was instinctive quantity measuring in "more" or "less" (which is now 'addition' or 'subtraction'). This kind of instinctive math came down by the evolution of about 2.5 million years (i.e it can be said that cellular life began 2.5 million years ago) but educated estimates shows that it began 3.5 million years ago.

Math in our heads is a philosophical thread which wovens itself by imagination, pattern making and observation, which is a biased of looking at the universe (or surroundings).

Chapter 1

Mathematics even predates human's ever excited but even before the big bang (some about 13.8 years ago). With an infinitesimal small black hole fluctuating to inflate the inventory of math from there. But, actually, there was no one to observe the process or measure anything. So it can be comprehended as when the universe came to quantify was math. Space and time also are of the same age as math. Something that has 'before' and 'after' can be considered as a math and there it is was -- The Time. The universe continues to fill in 'more' space or stretched out to more 'volume'. Now as we picked up time, let's talk about it as always been my favorite but never comprehensive enough. If we can relate a time as 24 hrs before from now (now is reference point here) or 24 hrs after time then it is simply adding and subtracting. As we can say quantity by aspects i.e with same concept universe was also less dense (or less populated and colder. then once the gravity came into being things started binding together and attracting each other, colliding and making new planets stars etc. then we came along to try thinking of this origins.

Coming to the point where the mind of creatures, humans began to tinker about the strength of numbers, where the creatures that were that were the food of predators knew of being in more quantity can be survived but a loner fish will be killed or eaten. This doesn't happen to be coming quick but by evolution. Through evolution animals instinctively produce the ability to avoid larger no. of the rival herd when odds are not in their favor. Also to know when all are in their favor. This concludes to point that animals know math too.

Just as creatures doesn't need to know the language of love, same as that it doesn't need to language to comprehend and describe counting. (Just an instinctive behavior) that is intrinsic (meaning pure) to the universe.

Fun to imagine: If math is our instinctive behavior then we can make instincts stronger by being more instinctive. but how to be instinctive about it?

[yaakash]

Moodmajesty! Nights that convalescents conscious.

[yaakash]

Making Magnets: Secret of Hysteresis

We all know up to this point what magnets is, it attract specific metals, and they have north and south poles. Let’s Redefine: The Magnet are object those that produce magnetic fields and attract metals like iron, nickel and cobalt. The magnetic field's lines of force exit the magnet from its north pole and enter its south pole. Permanent or hard magnets create their own magnetic field all the time.Temporary or soft magnets produce magnetic fields while in the presence of a magnetic field and for a short while after exiting the field. Electromagnets produce magnetic fields only when electricity travels through their wire coils.

Magnet having lot of amount of unpaired electrons and are not rigid in their structure making them ferromagnetic, where as the elements having paired electrons and having some paired electrons creates low magnetic movement which makes them para-magnetic, these materials are weakly influenced by an external magnetic field. And element who are filled and contains no free electron or negligible unpaired electrons are dia-magnetic  (which doesn’t allow magnetic field through it).

There are Less strong magnets or Non Rare-earth Magnets (flux strength is low) :

1. Ceramic Magnets (or ferric magnets) which are made by mixing iron oxide with ceramic caste. it is normally used as in refrigerator magnets, elementary-school science experiments.

2.  Alnico magnets are made from aluminum, nickel and cobalt. They're stronger than ceramic magnets.

And there are More Strong Magnets or Rare -earth Magnets  : 

1. Neodymium Magnet contain iron, boron and the rare-earth element neodymium.  It is used in Earphones and etc. (caution: Never put one magnet in left pocket and other pocket in right, it can some crush something very hard :P)

2. Samarium Cobalt magnets combine cobalt with the rare-earth element samarium. In the past few years, scientists have also discovered magnetic polymers, or plastic magnets. Some of these are flexible and mold-able. However, some work only at extremely low temperatures, and others pick up only very lightweight materials, like iron filings.

3.  Lodestone, a form of magnetite, is the strongest naturally-occurring magnet. It can attract small objects, like paper clips and staples. by 12th century this was used as making pieces of iron magnetic to use for compasses.

Question:  What exactly makes a magnet stick to certain metals?

Every Non Magnetized ferromagnetic material has magnetic domain (small, very tiny part of them which has north-south pole in their own but in different-different directions or not aligned). It Just needs a rub by other strong magnet like neodymium or lodestone to make their magnetic domain aligned. Breaking a magnet into half creates two small magnets with north and south pole individually. thus we can say fraction portion size of magnet can be combined to create a field summation to extend, to create a big magnet.

Ways to align magnetic domains in a piece of metal include:

Placing it a strong magnetic field in a north-south direction

Holding it in a north-south direction and repeatedly striking it with a hammer, physically jarring the domains into a weak alignment

Passing an electrical current through it

I will Tell about method of demagnetization also but before revealing what many school doesnt tell with basic idea of magnet about hysteresis:

Secret Of Hysteresis 

Most commonly to make magnet we put object in magnetic field. this magnetic field creates a torque which aligns the magnetic domain inside object. But There is a slightest delay in provided magnetic field and change in alignment of magnetic domain, this delay is hysteresis. so when we apply field :

The magnetic domains rotate, allowing them to line up along the north-south lines of the magnetic field.

Domains that already pointed in the north-south direction becomes bigger(i.e magnitude of particular magnetic domains increases inside object) as the domains around them is still unaligned state.

Domain walls, or borders between the neighboring domains, physically move to accommodate domain growth. In a very strong field, some walls disappear entirely.

so, the amount of force which we used to align this magnetic domain is our resulting magnet strength. the amount of difficulty we got to align those magnetic domain is called retentivity. Materials that are hard to magnetize generally retain their magnetism for longer periods, while materials that are easy to magnetize often revert to their original nonmagnetic state.

We can Demagnetize or reduce magnetic strength :

By putting magnet in magnetic field whose alignment is in opposite direction.

By heating magnet above to curie point or upto which it loses its magnetism, the heat distorts the material and excites the magnetic particles, causing the domains to fall out of alignment.

Some text taken from : science.howstuffworks.com

[yaakash]

Remembering quadrants signs of 2D co-ordinated system.

Any point in 2dimensional can be represented in both negative values and positive values, therefore the values for those points located in 2dimensional spaces can be remembered as

1. 1st quadrant : This quadrant contains values for 1st dimensional and 2nd dimensional values (i.e x and y) in positive values respectively. And can be remembered as (+,+). “a guy with both eyes open.”

2. 2nd quadrant : This quadrant contains values for 1st dimensional value in negative sign and 2nd dimensional value in positive sign.. And can be remembered as (—,+ ) “guy with left eye winking.”

3. 3rd quadrant : This quadrant contains values for 1st dimensional and 2nd dimensional values (i.e x and y)both in negative signs.. And can be remembered as (—,—). “a guy sleeping eye closed.”

4. 4th quadrant : This quadrant contains values for 1st dimensional value in positive sign and. 2nd dimensional value in negative sign. And can be remembered as (+,—). “a guy with right eye winking”

[yaakash]

Person 1: what is 5 seconds? Person 2: well, its just a matter of time.

[yaakash]

Initiation begins to something new with black.. #goqii super happy :)

[yaakash]

16 Ways In Which A Gentleman Is Different From A Boy

There comes a time in every boy's life - when he has toconsciously leave behind his childlike mannerisms and start acting like a 'Man'. The choice could come in the form of a decision about what to wear to a family function. Should he wear his Captain America T-shirt or a much more sobre looking shirt?

It is these boys-turned-men who girls find specially attractive. This bridge of 'growing up' is what separates the boys from a 'gentleman'. See these 16 signs if you match the attributes of a gentleman:

1. Gentlemen are chivalrous. Boys have no fucking clue.

You believe in the mantra that women and children should be first taken care of, helped in any way possible - not in a way that it would disrespect either of them. A gentleman shall not patronize his woman, but always be there for her when she needs it.

2. Gentlemen are well-read. Boys know only Tolkien and GRRM.

You can hold a normal discussion with members of the opposite sex which doesn't centre around whether she will date you or not. Also, while you have this discussion - you're looking in to her eyes, not at her b**bs.

3. Gentlemen are wise with words. Boys flick wise quotes off the Internet for status updates.

A true gentleman will always be generous with his advice and words of encouragement in case someone needs it. Share with them the optimism of being inspired by something truly brilliant and striving to work for it.

4. Gentlemen know when to shut up and listen. Boys don't.

A true gentleman is always smart enough to know that he is ignorant. He knows there are things on this planet which he doesn't know about, and he is not afraid to learn about them everyday.

5. Gentlemen are quietly confident. Boys shoot their mouth off.

You are quietly confident about things in your domain. You don't go around gloating about how brilliant you are in your line of work, but you're no pushover either. You give people a piece of your mind when the need arises.

6. Gentlemen dress specially for things. Boys show up.

A gentleman always pays heed to how he's dressed and practices basic hygiene. Something like closing your mouth with your hands, while yawning. You understand the fact about life that appearances make the first impression and you need to be well kept.

7. Gentlemen are always respectful to everyone. Boys know squat about karma.

A person can always tell about your behavior by how you treat those beneath you. If you're on a date, it always helps to be polite to the waiter. If you're in office - it helps that you treat your subordinates with equal amounts of respect. Do NOT disrespect anyone unless they do it first.

8. Gentlemen know how to hold their own. Boys freeze with awkwardness.

A true gentleman can deal with the fish-out-of-water kind of situations. He knows about the latest shopping offers while he's hanging out with the girl gang, knows how to be silly when he's playing with children, he knows how to be respectful and conduct himself intelligently when he's meeting your parents.

9. Gentlemen are funny and communicate effectively. Boys don't feel the need.

A person who doesn't have a sense of humor, however dry, is not someone anyone would like to spend time with. A gentleman is quick-witted, attentive and able to express himself without being verbose. That is something that points at clarity in the head.

10. Gentlemen are too classy to swear. Boys use the F-word to fit in.

A gentleman does not feel the need to swear to express his displeasure over something. The F word is cool when you're 18, but you really need to grow up after a point and not use it as a conjunction between thoughts and sentences. Unless you're from Boston!

11. Gentlemen know how to hold their liquor. Boys pass out.

Going around puking or passing out on a couch is not cool. A gentleman is able to dowse his system with liquor and still be able to stand on his two feet without a slurry speech. Watch Donald Draper from Mad Men for further reference.

12. Gentlemen always have a surprise up their sleeve. Boys don't see the point.

A gentleman always has a trick up his sleeve - it could be something like cooking up a a huge spread when she comes back from work, broken and tired. A random trip to the nearest amusement park on the weekend to bring back the child in both of you? Yay!

13. Gentlemen respect their bodies. Boys walk around with pot-bellies.

A potbelly is a sign of lethargy. A gentleman respects his body like he respects anyone else in the world - you've got to tone up in muscle and give fat a miss. 

14. Gentlemen reserve their laughter. Boys LOL in every other sentence.

Growing up has a lot to do with growing out of the Internet lingos. So a gentleman will not LOL at every second funny thing he sees - but instead he will laugh hard at something genuinely funny.

15. Gentlemen strike up a conversation. Boys use pickup lines.

Too classy for pick-up lines with the woman in a nightclub. He will instead strike up a conversation and find a way to involve you in it. Caution Alert: You might genuinely become interested in him!

16. Gentlemen have real hobbies. Boys grumble about their miserable job.

He's got a job - but he likes to do other things with his leisure time. He likes to strum his guitar, maybe play a sport or even go hiking and then write about his small trips. A gentleman is not a bore - he will find a way to be interesting.

If you're not doing all of the above, then you know where the problem lies. Restructure your life and we wish you luck!

[yaakash]

Scientific fraud, sloppy science – yes, they happen

Fraud. It’s an ugly word, an arresting word. As with “cheating” it comes loaded with negative connotations, but can potentially lead to far greater penalties and consequences. And yet fraud in science is not unheard of.

Medicine and the social sciences are particularly prone to bias, because the observer (presumably a white-coated scientist) cannot so easily be completely removed from his or her subject.

Double-blind tests (where neither the tester and the subject know for sure whether the test is real or just a control) are now required for many experiments and trials in both fields.

Deliberate fraud

Why do scientists and other academics cheat?

So why do scientists cheat? And, also, why are scientists sloppy? Of course, scientists are people, fame is fame and money is money, but some other possible answers are listed below

Deliberate or unintended bias in experimental design and cherry-picking of data. Such effects run rife in large studies funded by biotech and pharmaceutical firms.

Academic promotion pressure. Sadly, “publish or perish” has led many scientists to prematurely rush results into print, without careful analysis and double-checking.

Overcommitment. Busy senior scientists can end up as co-authors of flawed papers that they had little to do with details of. One famous case is that of 1975 Nobel Prize winner David Baltimore, regarding a fraudulent 1986 paper in the journal Cell.

Ignorance. Despite American biologist E.O. Wilson’s recent protestations to the contrary, many scientists and most clinical medical researchers and social scientists know too little mathematics and statistics to challenge or even notice inappropriate use of numerical data.

Self-delusion. Clearly many scientists want to believe they have uncovered new truths, or at least notable results on a long-standing problem. One example here is the recently-claimed proof of the famed “P vs NP” conjecture in complexity theory by the mathematician Vinay Deolalikar of HP Labs in Palo Alto, California, which then quickly fell apart.

There appears to be a mathematical version of the Jerusalem syndrome, which can afflict amateurs, cranks and the most serious researchers when they feel they have nearly solved a great open problem

Confirmation bias. It sometimes happens that a result turns out to be true, but the data originally presented to support the result were enhanced by confirmation bias. This is thought to be true in Mendel’s seminal mid-nineteenth century work on the genetics of inheritance; and it may have been true in early experimental confirmation of general relativity by Eddington and others.

Deadline pressure. One likely factor is the pressure to submit a paper before the deadline for an important conference. It is all too easy to rationalise the insertion or manipulation of results, under the guise that “we will fix it later”.

Pressure for dramatic outcomes. Every scientist dreams of striking it rich, publishing some new result that upends conventional wisdom and establishes him/herself in the field. When added to the difficulty in publishing a “negative” result, it is not too surprising that few scientists feel motivated to take a highly critical look at their own results.

Leading journals such as Nature and Science are not without sin. in 1988, Nature‘s great editor John Maddox managed to publish a totally implausible paper on homeopathic memory in water.

In 2010, Science played games with its own embargo policy to get maximum publicity for an arsenic-based life article by a telegenic NASA-based scientist that fell apart pretty quickly.

Quest for research funding. Scientists worldwide complain of the huge amounts of time and effort necessary to secure continuing research funding, both for their student assistants and to cover their own salaries. Is it surprising that this pressure sometimes results in dishonest or “stretched” results?