SparX by Mukesh Bansal

What drew Shrinivas Kulkarni to physics? What's the current state of astrophysics and its future prospects? What major reforms need to be implemented to boost India’s progress in astrophysics? For the latest episode of SparX, we are joined by Shrinivas Kulkarni, a renowned Indian-American astronomer. Mr. Kulkarni has made groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of the universe. His notable career milestones include the discovery of the first millisecond pulsar and the identification of the optical counterpart of a gamma-ray burst. Kulkarni's work has earned him numerous accolades, with a recent addition of the 2024 Shaw Prize in Astronomy to the list. Resource List -  About Shrinivas R. Kulkarni - https://sites.astro.caltech.edu/~srk/  The Discovery of the First Millisecond Pulsar: Personal Recollections by Shrinivas Kulkarni - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/384500207_THE_DISCOVERY_OF_THE_FIRST_MILLISECOND_PULSAR_PERSONAL_RECOLLECTIONS About the Millisecond Pulsar - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millisecond_pulsar#:~:text=The%20first%20millisecond%20pulsar%2C%20PSR,200%20that%20have%20been%20discovered.  What is a Beaming Fraction? - https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Beaming-fraction-as-a-function-of-the-mass-of-the-neutron-star-in-NGC-300-ULX1-The_fig2_353920284  More about Brown Dwarf - https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question62.html 

We are joined by author and science journalist, Anil Ananthaswamy. Anil Ananthaswamy's "Through Two Doors at Once" looks at the mysteries of quantum mechanics, revealing its profound impact on our understanding of reality. Through his book, Ananthaswamy sheds light on the strange implications of quantum mechanics, from superposition to entanglement. By examining the latest experiments and theories, here’s another insightful episode that offers a fascinating glimpse into the quantum world and its potential to transform our understanding of the universe.

Anil Ananthaswamy is a renowned science writer and journalist who has written extensively on various scientific topics. In his latest book "Why Machines Learn", Anil explores the fascinating world of artificial intelligence and machine learning. He reveals the intricate mechanisms and complex algorithms that underlie these cutting-edge technologies. Join us for a fascinating conversation with science writer Anil Ananthaswamy as he shares insights from his book and sheds light on the rapidly evolving field of AI. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of how these machines work at a basic mathematics level. Resource List - Why Machines Learn, book by Anil Ananthaswamy - https://amzn.in/d/bmirU45 Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence - https://home.dartmouth.edu/about/artificial-intelligence-ai-coined-dartmouth What is the Perceptron artificial neural network? - https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/what-is-perceptron-the-simplest-artificial-neural-network/ Read about the McCulloch-Pitts Artificial Neuron - https://towardsdatascience.com/mcculloch-pitts-model-5fdf65ac5dd1 Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 - https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2024/press-release/ What is the Hopfield Neural Network? - https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/hopfield-neural-network/ Read about Backpropagation - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backpropagation “Learning representations by back-propagating errors”, paper by Geoffrey Hinton, David Rumelhart and Ronald Williams - https://www.nature.com/articles/323533a0 AlexNet by Geoffery Hinton and team - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlexNet What is ImageNet? - https://www.image-net.org/about.php ‘Attention Is All You Need’, transformer architecture paper - https://proceedings.neurips.cc/paper_files/paper/2017/file/3f5ee243547dee91fbd053c1c4a845aa-Paper.pdf What are Neural Scaling Laws? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_scaling_law NeuroAI - https://neuro-ai.com/ About SparX by Mukesh Bansal SparX is a podcast where we delve into cutting-edge scientific research, stories from impact-makers and tools for unlocking the secrets to human potential and growth. We believe that entrepreneurship, fitness and the science of productivity is at the forefront of the India Story; the country is at the cusp of greatness and at SparX, we wish to make these tools accessible for every generation of Indians to be able to make the most of the opportunities around us. In a new episode every Sunday, our host Mukesh Bansal (Founder Myntra and Cult.fit) will talk to guests from all walks of life and also break down everything he's learnt about the science of impact over the course of his 20-year long career. This is the India Century, and we're enthusiastic to start this journey with you. Follow us on Instagram: / sparxbymukeshbansal Website: https://www.sparxbymukeshbansal.com You can also listen to SparX on all audio platforms Fasion | Outbreak | Courtesy EpidemicSound.com

William Dalrymple's "The Anarchy" is a historical account of the rise of the East India Company in India. The book explores how the EIC's ruthless pursuit of power and wealth led to the downfall of the Mughal Empire. In this episode, William shares some interesting stories about the East India Company with some lesser known facts about this corporation that grew powerful. Tune in for a wonderful episode on Indian and British history. Resource List - The Company Quartet, by William Dalrymple - https://amzn.in/d/eiBRXBy William Dalrymple Website - https://williamdalrymple.com/ Mongol Invasions of India - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasions_of_India Read more about the Red Dragon ship - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dragon_(1595) Charles II and Catherine of Braganza - https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/charles-ii-and-catherine-of-braganza-a-loveless-marriage/ Read more about the First Carnatic War - https://www.pw.live/exams/ssc/first-carnatic-war/ Who were the Jagat Seths? - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/meet-jagat-seths-an-indian-family-so-rich-they-lent-money-to-the-british/articleshow/102916190.cms?from=mdr Read more about the Battle of Plassey - https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Plassey Read more about the Battle of Buxar - https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Buxar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Buxar https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/6264/1/thedailystar.net-The%20battle%20of%20plassey%20A%20Tale%20of%20Triumph%20and%20Betrayal.pdf What are Sepoys? - https://www.worldhistory.org/Sepoy/ About SparX by Mukesh Bansal SparX is a podcast where we delve into cutting-edge scientific research, stories from impact-makers and tools for unlocking the secrets to human potential and growth. We believe that entrepreneurship, fitness and the science of productivity is at the forefront of the India Story; the country is at the cusp of greatness and at SparX, we wish to make these tools accessible for every generation of Indians to be able to make the most of the opportunities around us. In a new episode every Sunday, our host Mukesh Bansal (Founder Myntra and Cult.fit) will talk to guests from all walks of life and also break down everything he's learnt about the science of impact over the course of his 20-year long career. This is the India Century, and we're enthusiastic to start this journey with you. Follow us on Instagram: / sparxbymukeshbansal Website: https://www.sparxbymukeshbansal.com You can also listen to SparX on all audio platforms Fasion | Outbreak | Courtesy EpidemicSound.com

There is so much of India’s rich heritage and past that is yet to be discovered. But we have great historians like William Dalrymple who spend years researching on India’s history to bring us the most interesting and captivating stories about the country. In today’s episode, William Dalrymple discusses the stories and contents from his book "The Golden Road" which explores India's 1,500-year history as a hub of cultural and intellectual exchange. Resource List - William Dalrymple Website - https://williamdalrymple.com/ Empire Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/0sBh58hSTReUQiK4axYUVx?si=388684fdbe8f49a5 The Rest is History Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/7Cvsbcjhtur7nplC148TWy?si=09f97df360c1418e What are frescoes? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresco More about the Silk Road - https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/silk-road/ Who was Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_von_Richthofen#:~:text=Ferdinand%20Freiherr%20von%20Richthofen%20 The travels of Marco Polo - https://silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo.shtml https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Travels_of_Marco_Polo Read about the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea - https://www.worldhistory.org/Periplus_of_the_Erythraean_Sea/ What is the Muziris Papyrus? - https://historicalleys.blogspot.com/2010/06/introducing-muziris-papyrus.html Read about the Suvarnabhumi - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suvarnabhumi What is the Mes Aynak - https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/afghanistan/en/a-propos/ainak Who was Xuanzang? - https://asiasociety.org/xuanzang-monk-who-brought-buddhism-east https://artsandculture.google.com/story/travels-of-xuanzang-629-645-ce-xuanzang-memorial-nava-nalanda-mahavihara/9gVR3GyICUOmKg?hl=en China’s only female empress, Wu Zetian - https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-first-and-only-woman-emperor-of-china/PQWR-NRltC6QFA?hl=en More about Angkor Wat - https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668/ What was the Islamic Golden Age? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age Al-Khwarizmi’s book on Algebra - https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666184/ What is the Fibonacci sequence? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_sequence

Manu S. Pillai returns to SparX for another fascinating episode on history to give us a sneak peek into his latest book– "Gods, Guns and Missionaries". It shows us how how colonialism, religion, and identity have interacted in India over the past many years. Through 15 essays, Pillai shows how European missionaries and colonial powers changed Hinduism and its modern forms, revealing a more complex history than often told. The book also explores how these historical forces still shape Indian politics and society today. Resource List -  Gods, Guns, and Missionaries - Book by Manu S. Pillai https://amzn.in/d/6njkWSc  H-Pop - Book by Kunal Purohit https://amzn.in/d/26KnoHw  What is Protestantism? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism  What was the Protestant Reformation https://www.britannica.com/event/Reformation  Read more about Francis Xavier https://www.jesuits.global/saint-blessed/saint-francis-xavier/  Read more about Roberto de Nobili https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_de_Nobili  Read about Thomas Munro’s donation to Tirupati temple https://vocal.media/fyi/soldier-to-governor-of-madras-thomas-munro-who-captured-the-hearts-of-the-people  Read about Rous Peter’s donation to Meenakshi temple https://indroyc.com/2024/04/12/unveiling-the-legends-of-madurai-the-tale-of-peter-pandian/#:~:text=In%20a%20gesture%20of%20gratitude,to%20adorn%20her%20celestial%20feet.  Charles Wilkins translating the Gita https://www.mvnadkarni.com/files/Introduction%20to%20Charles%20Wilkins%20Gita.pdf  About SparX by Mukesh Bansal  SparX is a podcast where we delve into cutting-edge scientific research, stories from impact-makers and tools for unlocking the secrets to human potential and growth.   We believe that entrepreneurship, fitness and the science of productivity is at the forefront of the India Story; the country is at the cusp of greatness and at SparX, we wish to make these tools accessible for every generation of Indians to be able to make the most of the opportunities around us.   In a new episode every Sunday, our host Mukesh Bansal (Founder Myntra and Cult.fit) will talk to guests from all walks of life and also break down everything he's learnt about the science of impact over the course of his 20-year long career.   This is the India Century, and we're enthusiastic to start this journey with you.  Follow us on Instagram:      / sparxbymukeshbansal   Website: https://www.sparxbymukeshbansal.com You can also listen to SparX on all audio platforms Fasion | Outbreak | Courtesy EpidemicSound.com

What's driving the current surge of interest in quantum computing? What are the main obstacles to scaling up quantum computing systems? What's the current state of investment in quantum research and development? For the latest episode of SparX, we are joined by theoretical physicist, Joel Moore. Joel's research has greatly improved our understanding of quantum materials and their unique properties. His work on condensed matter physics has led to important advances in the field, shedding new light on the behavior of complex systems. Join us as we discuss the field of quantum mechanics and understand the progress of quantum computing. Resource List -  Einstein’s Theory of Relativity - https://www.space.com/36273-theory-special-relativity.html  What is String Theory? - https://www.space.com/17594-string-theory.html  What is a super conductor? - https://builtin.com/hardware/superconductor  Superconductivity - https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainssuperconductivity#:~:text=Superconductivity%20is%20the%20property%20of,transition%20to%20the%20superconducting%20state.  Read about EPR Paradox Paper - https://cds.cern.ch/record/405662/files/PhysRev.47.777.pdf  What is Entanglement? - https://scienceexchange.caltech.edu/topics/quantum-science-explained/entanglement#:~:text=Entanglement%20is%20at%20the%20heart,scientists%20call%20an%20emergent%20property.  More on SQUID - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID What is a tokamak? - https://www.iter.org/machine/what-tokamak#:~:text=The%20tokamak%20is%20an%20experimental,the%20walls%20of%20the%20vessel.  What is a stellarator - https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsstellarators  What is the ITER? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER#:~:text=Construction%20of%20the%20ITER%20complex,figures%20are%20disputed%20by%20ITER.  For more on Quantum Computing - https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/quantum-computing/#:~:text=Quantum%20computing%20is%20a%20multidisciplinary,hardware%20research%20and%20application%20development.  Google Quantum AI - https://quantumai.google/  About SparX by Mukesh Bansal SparX is a podcast where we delve into cutting-edge scientific research, stories from impact-makers and tools for unlocking the secrets to human potential and growth. We believe that entrepreneurship, fitness and the science of productivity is at the forefront of the India Story; the country is at the cusp of greatness and at SparX, we wish to make these tools accessible for every generation of Indians to be able to make the most of the opportunities around us. In a new episode every Sunday, our host Mukesh Bansal (Founder Myntra and Cult.fit) will talk to guests from all walks of life and also break down everything he's learnt about the science of impact over the course of his 20-year long career. This is the India Century, and we're enthusiastic to start this journey with you. Follow us on Instagram:      / sparxbymukeshbansal Website: https://www.sparxbymukeshbansal.com You can also listen to SparX on all audio platforms Fasion | Outbreak | Courtesy EpidemicSound.com

Bryan Johnson, an innovative entrepreneur and longevity enthusiast, shares his ambitious journey of spending over $2 million annually on health experiments to reverse aging. He discusses the separation between biological and chronological age, emphasizing advancements like DNA methylation clocks. The conversation dives into essential habits for longevity, including diet and sleep routines, and explores the transformative role of AI in aging research. Johnson also proposes a thought-provoking 'longevity olympics' to inspire communal engagement in health practices.

What makes General Catalyst a unique VC firm? How does Hemant identify companies and founders full of potential? What advice does Hemant have for companies, founders, and startups? We are joined by CEO and managing director of General Catalyst, a prominent American venture capital firm. General Catalyst's combination of investment expertise, strong network, and collaborative culture has established the firm as a respected and influential player in the venture capital industry. And Hemant Taneja's influential work at General Catalyst has been instrumental in shaping the firm's investment strategy and cultivating a strong network of entrepreneurs and innovators. Resource List - General Catalyst Website - https://www.generalcatalyst.com/ General Catalyst Institute Website - https://www.generalcatalyst.com/stories/introducing-gc-institute Read more about Livongo - https://ecorner.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/the-story-of-livongo-transcript-3.pdf What is the Power Law? - https://thevcfactory.com/power-law-venture-capital/ What is Exit Time Horizon? - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/timehorizon.asp What is a Financial Bubble? - https://www.gartner.com/en/finance/glossary/financial-bubble#:~:text=A%20financial%20bubble%20is%20an,euphoria%2C%20profit%20taking%20and%20bust. What is Leapfrogging? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leapfrogging#:~:text=Leapfrogging%20is%20a%20concept%20used,dominant%20firm%20to%20stay%20ahead. Books by Hemant Taneja - Unscaled - https://amzn.in/d/edOsD0V UnHealthcare: A Manifesto for Health Assurance - https://amzn.in/d/91TKyVi Intended Consequences - https://amzn.in/d/2EmhPrJ About SparX by Mukesh Bansal SparX is a podcast where we delve into cutting-edge scientific research, stories from impact-makers and tools for unlocking the secrets to human potential and growth. We believe that entrepreneurship, fitness and the science of productivity is at the forefront of the India Story; the country is at the cusp of greatness and at SparX, we wish to make these tools accessible for every generation of Indians to be able to make the most of the opportunities around us. In a new episode every Sunday, our host Mukesh Bansal (Founder Myntra and Cult.fit) will talk to guests from all walks of life and also break down everything he's learnt about the science of impact over the course of his 20-year long career. This is the India Century, and we're enthusiastic to start this journey with you. Follow us on Instagram: / sparxbymukeshbansal Website: https://www.sparxbymukeshbansal.com You can also listen to SparX on all audio platforms Fasion | Outbreak | Courtesy EpidemicSound.com

Are you struggling to manage stress and anxiety? Are you new to the practise of meditation? Want to learn how to meditate the right way? Join Dr. Shyam Bhat on SparX as we dive into the world of mental health and wellness. In this episode, we explore the benefits of meditation and debunk common myths surrounding this powerful practice. Discover how meditation can transform your life and improve your mental wellbeing. Don't miss this enlightening episode! Resource List - Videos by Dr. Shyam Bhat - https://www.youtube.com/@drshyambhat Free will experiment by Benjamin Libet - https://www.faraday.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/resources/Faraday%20Papers/Faraday%20Paper%2017%20Clarke_EN.pdf Alan Watts - Free Will is an Illusion - https://youtu.be/OOjQScg0VeI?feature=shared Read more on the types of meditation - https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/types-of-meditation Who was Jiddu Krishnamurthi? - https://jkrishnamurti.org/biography Jiddu Krishnamurthi website - https://jkrishnamurti.org/ More about Tonglen meditation - https://mindworks.org/blog/tonglen-meditation-how-to-practice/ About SparX by Mukesh Bansal SparX is a podcast where we delve into cutting-edge scientific research, stories from impact-makers and tools for unlocking the secrets to human potential and growth. We believe that entrepreneurship, fitness and the science of productivity is at the forefront of the India Story; the country is at the cusp of greatness and at SparX, we wish to make these tools accessible for every generation of Indians to be able to make the most of the opportunities around us. In a new episode every Sunday, our host Mukesh Bansal (Founder Myntra and Cult.fit) will talk to guests from all walks of life and also break down everything he's learnt about the science of impact over the course of his 20-year long career. This is the India Century, and we're enthusiastic to start this journey with you. Follow us on Instagram: / sparxbymukeshbansal Website: https://www.sparxbymukeshbansal.com You can also listen to SparX on all audio platforms Fasion | Outbreak | Courtesy EpidemicSound.com