The book "Finding Humans in Tech" is now publicly available!In spring of 2023, I had the pleasure of talking to Finding Humans in Tech about my journey in dance and neuroscience from Ahmedabad to NYC. This interview gave me an opportunity to reflect and thank so many people who have taken the time to guide and nurture me. A short video can be seen here, and the full interview is linked here. The book series is now on Amazon: Finding Humans in Tech Series II. Proceeds from the book will go towards the social venture Techlit Africa, an organization that promotes digital literacy in the African continent.
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The book “Unity in Diversity: Parallels between Humans and Non-human Animals” is out!Dr. Rohini B. Ramanathan's book "Unity in Diversity" gave me a rare chance to combine my love for the brain, animals, and words!
This book is now published and can be found here as an ePub; contact me to get access to this incredible book of poems, thoughts, and musings on the connection between humans and animals. It was such an honor to provide animal hastas for the beautiful cover page and a scientific perspective on the connection between animals and humans. [Dr. Ramanathan is the founder-director of The Alchemists, a Long Island-based music and literary platform.] The Neuroscience of Movement for Stress Relief and New Year Reset I was honored to be featured in the Sanity Drive podcast, where I talked about how dance can be used for stress relief. I shared simple and accessible movements such as breathing and hastas that can be done anywhere! My article "Communicating Science through Bharatanatyam Dance" is now published in BMJ Medical Humanities blog!![]() My article on communicating science through Bharatanatyam is now published in BMJ Medical Humanities Blog! I talk about Vichaar and my recent performance at City College, describe how Bharatanatyam could help us understand how our brains enable symbols, emotions, music, and rhythm. I also describe the series “Creatures on the Move” and that together, Bharatanatyam and neuroscience can open us to the diversity, grandeur, and the magnificence of the natural world. Many thanks to Janina Levin for her patience editing and proofreading the article. Highlighting the parallels between humans and non-human animals (2) I wrote the following for "Unity in Diversity," the verse-narrative project headed by Dr. Rohini Ramanathan. Here is more information and context about the project.
Scientists take an evolutionary view of diversity – why do some areas have several waterfowl species? How does a sparrow identify its kin? What makes a species, a species? How do scientists recreate the history of life? How is information gathered from fossils? Eventually, the conversation comes to us humans or Homo Sapiens. Why are Homo Sapiens the only hominin (descended from the apes) species currently alive? Does the answer lie in the human brain and the folds of our prefrontal cortex? Is it our capacity to plan, prepare for the future, and think about thinking; is it our capacity to feel shame, compassion, and embarrassment that makes us human? And there is always the issue of intelligence. Scientists are obsessed with intelligence – how it is measured, how human intelligence compares to a chimp’s or a bonobo's, can humans make machines that are as intelligent as us. We scientists delight when we discover that crows can fashion tools and hold grudges, elephants grieve for their loved ones, octopuses can deceive and mimic others, and rats show altruism. Indeed, do animals around us have validity outside of what we ascribe to them? Fortunately, anyone who has had the privilege of a close relationship with an animal and has made the effort to listen knows the answer. |
About SlokaMy name is Sloka. I am a neuroscientist and Bharatanatyam dancer; you can find more about me here. Archives
December 2024
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