Lending From Mythology!

Roman and Greek mythology has given us a lot of interesting words.Just came across this very interesting word that i would want to share with everybody-----"Deus ex machina(dey-uhs eks mah-kuh-nuh)" which refers to an artificial,unexpected and improbable character who provides an unexpected solution to a difficulty.
This word reminds me of a much hackneyed hindi term that is "Masiha"who is a saviour of mankind.I could also relate this to our much loved superheroes of the west or closer home,even SHAKTIMAAN!
Keep watching this space for a lot more interesting words borrowed from mythology!

WORDS ORIGIN WEEK

Career launcher celebrates its own WORDS ORIGIN Week.

Mere mugging of words cannot guarantee retention, instead if we associate words with origins (interesting ones of course, in the form of stories) words get notched in our brains quickly and we tend to remember them better.

Few words with interesting origins
Bedlam: Mayhem/ a scene of wild uproar and confusion
Origin: A popular name for the hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London, which served as a lunatic asylum.

Adonis (n): A very handsome young name.
Origin: A young man slain by a wild boar but permitted by Zeus to pass 4 months every year in the lower world with PERSEPHONE in the winters and summers with APHRODITE(Goddess of Love).(LUCKY GUY)

Keep watching this space for more words with more interesting origins.

PERFECT NUMBER

In mathematics, a perfect number is defined as a positive integer which is the sum of its proper positive divisors, that is, the sum of the positive divisors not including the number itself. Equivalently, a perfect number is a number that is half the sum of all of its positive divisors, or σ(n) = 2 n.
Example:
The factors of 6 are 1, 2, 3 and 6.1 + 2 + 3 = 6 = 2^ (2-1)*(2^2 – 1)
The factors of 28 are 1, 2, 4, 7, 14 and 28.1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14 = 28.
28 = 2^ (3-1)*(2^3 – 1)
The factors of 496 are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 31, 62, 124, 248 and 496.1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 + 31 + 62 + 124 + 248 = 496.
496= 2^ (5-1)*(2^5 – 1)
The factors of 8128 are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 127, 254, 508, 1016, 2032, 4064 and 8128. I'll let you add them up.
8128= 2^ (7-1)*(2^7 – 1)
Formula to calculate Perfect Number:
Perfect Number = 2^ (n-1) * (2^n - 1)
Where n and 2^n – 1 has to be prime numbers.
Note: It is not necessary that when n is prime 2^n – 1 is always prime.
Put n = 11, 2^11 – 1 = 2047= 23*89 .

Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep IN

English, for sure, is a funny language. Here if you want to guess the word meanings your old friend ‘intuition’ might not be able to help you always. Here are few words that would highlight the funny aspect of VOCABULARY in English.

PERCHANCE has nothing to do with chance, it means perhaps.

Though PERCOLATE is to move gradually through a surface with small holes or spaces in it, PERCOLATOR simply means a pot for making coffee.

A PRODIGY is a young person who is unusually intelligent or skilful for his age, while PROTÉGÉ is a young person who is helped in his career and personal development by a more experienced person.

PROPRIETY means correct behaviour, strangely PROPRIETOR is the owner of a business, a hotel etc.
Keep watching this space to master vocabulary the fun and more interesting way

A Few things you should know about Google...Part 1

Being in awe of this new age creature called Google, I thought I should share the few things about Google with you all...

Apart from being the Search King of the world, there are a lot of other things that Google brought to this world. Sample this:

Google Docs- a sure competitor to Microsoft Office Suite, though there is still some long way to go. But check out the sharing features in Google Spreadsheets, and you will never have to use email attachments. Take this one-minute Survey that I created in the other window even as I was writing this blog piece. To participate, just click on this link:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p1noMdNLLVAUKuMzMMAxLHQ&email=true

I hope you didn't miss the comments left by other people in the poll. And that's real time!

I find this truly exciting because it gives common men and women the power to communicate, and get opinions from others. I have seriously thinking about using this to get student feedback. Do you think it would work? I will try and capture your answer to this question in a separate form :)

I will try to keep you updated about the other exciting stuff (and there is a lot of it, believe me!)

DI....

Refer to the caselet below and answer the questions.
In the new version, Sholay 2006, Amitabh, Dharmendra, Manmohan, Jhonny Lever, Manoj Vajpayee, and Rahul Bose play the roles of Surma Bhopali, Samba, Thakur, Gabbar Singh, Veeru and Jay, though not respectively. All will wear different coloured dresses, i.e. black, blue, green grey, khaki and white.Johnny Lever and Rahul Bose will not play the role of Thakur and Samba. Gabbar Singh will wear khaki but his role will not be played by Manoj Vajpayee or Dharmendra. Amitabh and Manmohan will play the role of Samba and Jay though not respectively. The green-dressed actor and Manoj Vajpayee will play the role of Veeru and Thakur though not respectively. The role of white-dressed Jay and black-dressed Surma Bhopali will not be played by green-dressed Dharmendra and grey-dressed Manoj Vajpayee. Rahul Bose and Manmohan will wear neither black nor white dress.

1. Dharmendra plays the role of
a) Thakur b) Samba c) Veeru d) Data inadequate

2. Who wears the khaki dress?

a) Rahul Bose b) Johnny Lever c) Manmohan d) Data inadequate

3. The role of Surma Bhopali will be played by

a) Johnny Lever b) Rahul Bose c) Manmohan d) Data inadequate

4. Who plays the role of Gabbar Singh?

a) Johnny Lever b) Rahul Bose c) Dharmendra d) Can't be determined