The BrainX Podcast Shivam Srivastava

In this episode of The BrainX Podcast, our guest, Ms. Pooja Soni, discusses her recently developed theory of consciousness. Her contemplation on the enduring issue of consciousness was initiated during a challenging period in her life marked by depression. Ms. Pooja Soni pursued her academic journey in philosophy in London, which subsequently culminated in her authoring two books in the domains of philosophy and psychology.

In this episode, we delve into Ms. Soni's early sources of inspiration, drawing from her life experiences and academic journey. Our conversation goes through her unique conceptualizations of concepts such as God, free will, emotions, and other interesting things. Furthermore, we explored how individuals stuck in phases of depression can derive helpful insights from her perspectives on life and the intricacies of mental processes. As the podcast draws to a close, Ms. Pooja Soni shares her aspirations for the future and imparts a meaningful message for the younger generation.

Currently, she resides in Bangalore, India.

Her books:
https://amzn.eu/d/dC4cFSp
https://amzn.eu/d/7q8xhkJ

In this episode, Shivam delves into the essence of scientific investigation. He explores two distinct categories of research: fundamental and industrial research. Shivam places significant emphasis on the value of fundamental research, providing an intricate explanation of its characteristics and potential benefits. He underscores the role of fundamental scientific research in India's journey from a developing nation to a developed one by 2047. Additionally, he highlights the relevance of Prime Minister Modi's vision for India, as epitomized by his slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan." He also underscores the primary goal of The BrainX Project in this episode.

In this episode, Shivam talks about the crucial statement made by Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak in a 2018 interview. On being asked why Indians don't innovate, he replied by giving the picture of the life of a typical Indian, "study, work hard and you get an MBA, you will have a Mercedes, but where is the creativity?"

Wozniak is raising a serious question here that needs to be addressed. Shivam attempts to dissect the stereotypical subconscious idea of a typical Indian person and attempts to highlight the element that shuns creativity. He also suggests a possible solution to this problem. By comparing the fundamental driving spirits of the two civilizations (the West and India), he attempts to point out a psychological blind spot that we barely notice.

In this podcast, Shivam discusses the fundamental difference between the spirit of India and the West. By giving the examples of Achilles of the Illiad and Nachiketa of the Katha Upanishad, he sketches the manner in which the spirit of the two civilizations differ on fundamental grounds. The mindset of India is woven around the 4 Purushartha, whereas it is 'the ethos of the extraordinary' that is the driving factor of many scientific endeavours in the West. He thus tries to show that though Indian philosophy's ideas are logically consistent and influence on people personally satisfying, nevertheless a spirit to live a short but extraordinary life (instead of a long and ordinary one, as portrayed through the 'ethos of the extraordinary') paves the way for exceptional scientific output from individuals and community. He is thus suggesting a psychological solution to the problem of the rather unsatisfying scientific output of India.

This is the second episode of The BrainX Podcast. In this episode, Shivam narrates (for the Hindi belt) the story of how science began. He draws a brief outline of the cultural atmosphere of 17th century Europe that resisted the growth of systematic and critical thinking and how laymen lacked the basic understanding of things like hygiene etc. in those days. He then narrates the story of Francis Bacon, who is regarded as the Father of all Sciences, who envisioned the supergiant endeavor of science by introducing a new thinking-tool - inductive method - and who called for a united front of explorers and alighted a fire in their hearts. Shivam then draws attention to how things have changed since Bacon and how we are living a really privileged lives without a slightest idea of the latter.

Some suggested books: The Story of Philosophy (Chapter 3; authored by Will Durant), Knowledge is Power (John Henry), The Very Idea of Modern Science (Joseph Agassi), New Atlantis (Bacon), The History of Western Philosophy (Book 3, Part 1, Chapter 6 & 7; Bertrand Russell), Better Angels of Our Nature (Chapter 1 & 2; Steven Pinker).

This is the pilot episode of The BrainX Podcast. Our guest is one of the leading analytical philosophers of India, Prof. Rakesh Chandra - an articulate speaker whose insights into matters of both academia as well as society are quite profound. He is known for his ultra-dense and engaging discourses at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Lucknow, India.