Self Certified Genius of the World

   Here I was, engrossed in my work (well mostly), and planning the months ahead with crystallization and other things related to a drug that I want to develop in the current lab. And suddenly, I hear that my father had a stroke. His earlier cardiac problems in some sense gave some reason to be afraid for his life. So, abandoning all plans, I came rushing back only to realize that almost all was well. As in any stroke, it is not the near future that is affected. It forces you to think about the far future, and what faculties of the brain have been lost and things like that. I guess everyone copes in their own way with what happens after a stroke. We had our fears and doubts about what may or may not have been lost. I dont have scans of the actual MRI, but it looks very much like this one taken from some sciguru web-site on singing after stroke ( http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/10176/Singing-after-stroke-Why-rhythm-and-formulaic-phrases-may-be-more-important-melody ) . My fat...

 This is the true and untold story of how a planet very like ours became the world of the ultra-rationalist Vulcans. Perhaps there is something to be learnt in this story and maybe even implement it on our own planet. So, here it goes....   Once upon a long long time ago (clever amalgamation of two of the most common starting lines in fairy tales, dont you think ?), there was a planet called XM234. It was inhabited by intelligent beings very similar to us. They had two hands, two legs and pretty much everything we have, including round ears. There were a multitude of religions on XM234, and each held their own belief to be supreme. There were wars and famines and floods and corruption and all manner of evil that we see in our own world. In this world, was born a boy named Zara Vulcan. He was peculiar in having slightly pointed ears, not too noticeable though. Just a small tapering which you could discern if you looked closely at his photo for a long t...