Ever wondered how complicated this world is? We take solace in the fact that there exist very simple elementary ideas in the world. But we often fail to see how the world around us works. We automatically accept the norms which are jabbed upon us in the process of learning and understanding this world. This process obstructs the part of our imagination which brings about the inquisitor within us. But when we start looking at things as they are, then we realize how confusing they are. In betwixt the world with complicated stuff, we may find some really simple, easy to understand ideas. At least we think they are easy, but when you start looking closely at such universally accepted concepts, you realize that ‘Ah there is this another complicated idea behind such an easy thing.’ So to know what exactly you are missing in your observations read these.
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Defining the word ‘The’ is really difficult
Open up a dictionary and see it yourself that it contains more than a dozen ways to use the word ‘The’ in any sentence and it ‘s hard to pin down an exact definition of the most common word used in the English language. Just in case you don’t agree then try explaining it to a non-native English person. Then you would understand exactly how much difficult it is to define the word ‘The’. Due to its huge range of applications, it is used to refer to anything and everything. Like any concept, object or an abstract metaphor. Think about it, you can quickly point out when it’s used incorrectly, and guess what you don’t have an explanation to prove it. Try using it with as many sentences as you want and see it yourself that if you want to describe it, it’s nearly difficult to do so.
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How do Bikes work? No theory to prove it.
Riding a Bicycle is one of the coolest things we can do. It’s fun! It’s Healthy! But the funny thing is it’s unknown how precisely a bicycle works. It’s been more than 100 years when bicycles were invented, and still, scientists are arguing over the theory of exactly how bikes work, specifically, How do they stand in an upright position? Major theory says that forces acting on the motion of wheels keep the bike in upright position. But during an experiment, it also stayed upright when contraptions were attached to it. One more theory also states that bike’s design allows it to steer into a fall and then corrects it. Alas! These are just unproven theories of bicycle’s dynamics, and hence the idea behind the working of the bike remains a mystery. Who knew it would be such a difficult task to explain the working of bicycles.
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What is the length of String? Is it possible to calculate?
Believe it or not but measuring a string is quite impossible. You may simply assume its length without giving a second thought. But scientists differ with your answer because it depends on the person and how he answers. A mathematician thinks a piece of string is theoretically infinite in length. Whereas a physicist believes that the nature of subatomic particle in physics is that atoms may exist in two places at once, hence, measuring the actual length of a string is impossible. Yeah! It’s confusing, right?
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Puzzling phenomenon – Yawning
Yawn! Yeah, there you go. Just simply talking about this term can make you yawn. Sometimes we yawn just because someone else is yawning in front of us. How does this happen? Have you ever wondered? There is no other body function as puzzling as yawning. The eternal theory behind yawning states that it keeps us alert by forcing our body to an extra large gulp of oxygen when we require energy in our body. Well, scientists disapprove with this theory. They have concluded that there is no theory behind yawning. Besides this there is one theory which is true, yawning calms our brain and in fact, it’s considered to change the temperature of our brain. Besides this, it is also unknown as to why yawning is so contagious.
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How to explain Left and Right in terms of relative position?
Just think about it, if you have no idea about the meaning of words ‘left’ or ‘right,’ how would you know their concept? There is no particular point of reference for left or right. Even if we believe it according to rotation of Earth then how would you explain it to an alien with no eyes and different rotation of its planet? It’s gone too far with the reference, but philosophers have been intrigued with this concept and haven’t agreed with a particular point of reference. Just think, such simple thing is so much difficult to understand. What will you say if you have to describe right and left hand? Your description would be same, as they are identical but still are different. If you still don’t believe it then research about a 400-page long book called ‘The Philosophy of Right and Left’. You will definitely be flabbergasted.
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Defining ‘Almost surely’ is actually tough
Defining something like ‘almost sure’ is very difficult. Even we are in doubt while using these two words in a sentence. If you don’t agree then try explaining it to a child, you would practically confuse things with much more complicated ideas. Mathematics have the theory of probability with reference to it. It’s a concept of occurring of an event either in terms of odd or even with the possibility of not occurring at all. Still, it’s not gratifying the fact of the vague ‘almost sure’ situation. Using it might be easy at times but actually explaining it is difficult as ever.
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Mosquitoes bite people because of their clothes
We all have heard that mosquitoes are attracted to people who good smell. Unbelievable, isn’t it? Well hold on there, and pay heed to what scientists have to say about it. Scientists believe that if you smell good or even if you are wearing a particular type of shirt, then you can become a target of a mosquito. Theory suggests that it’s simply because of a specific type of blood which exist in almost 85 percent of human beings. This also explains how some people are invisible to mosquitoes. One strange theory also says that darker and vivid colors attract mosquitoes more promptly.
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Proof of ‘1+1=2’ is actually very long
All of us have gushed over this equation of ‘1+1=2’ numerous times in different situations. Be it humor or be it sarcasm, it can be referred any time. Now come-on! This is the first equation we all have learned in our lives. It’s so simple, isn’t it? But do you know it took more than 300 pages to prove it? Shocked? You should be. In early 20th century, Bertrand Russell conclusively proved this equation in 372 pages of complex solutions. If you are still questioning it then try to read his published solution of ‘Principia Mathematica’.
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We Enjoy things for reasons other than Enjoyment
Enjoying Life? Have you ever wondered this through? It’s so subjective, right? Some people love songs, movie or even food, and it depends on the tastes of people. We all think that we enjoy such things because it feels good. But trust me that can easily be manipulated via various factors. This simple thing is always overlooked, we all somehow pick those things which are in demand by masses or which are highly priced. Does this count as your own decision? Now, this can easily be seen in ‘Chivas Regal effect’, in which the sales of the product increases when there is a rise in its price. We choose expensive products over cheaper ones even if we don’t like them wholeheartedly. There is this experiment done by wine experts, they fool people by switching labels of vintage wines to cheaper ones, and the sale is still the same. People buy the labeled wine without considering their own tastes. So the enjoyment of product wasn’t based on your their own choices, instead of the fact that people were told it was a good product. Easy to sell, easy to make money.
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Most serious game in the world- Rock-Paper-Scissors
Everyone concords to rock-paper-scissors while making decisions or just playing a game. Also, no simpler game ever existed to make a decision over an argument. But this simple game is considered to be a serious game by psychologists because it directly questions human psychology. Over the years it has become a research topic among psychologists to learn how human subconscious responds to this game. They intend to learn the theory of how subconscious mind reacts to it. To get an edge in the game, many people have developed numerous theories such as blindfolding the players, so that opponent’s body language does not influence their decision. But it has only added complications in theories and research.