My Science School

Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" stories are considered to be milestones in detective fiction. However, it's not widely known that Doyle also helped investigate a real-life crime in the 20th Century and came to the rescue of a British Indian lawyer who was wrongfully convicted. In a new book, "The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the case of the foreigner in the English village," which released on March 10, London-based author and historian Shrabani Basu digs up details about this long forgotten case.

According to the book, George Edalji, a barrister, wrote to Doyle in 1907 asking for his help. Edalji was jailed for allegedly committing a series of mysterious crimes in Staffordshire in England. But Edalji claimed to be innocent.

Doyle, who published "A Study in Scarlet", had become a household name in England and was often flooded with letters from fans asking him to help investigate crimes. Usually, Doyle did not take up any of these cases, but made an exception for Edalji. In a true Holmes like fashion, Doyle gathered all the clues and successfully proved that Edalji was wrongly convicted and framed on account of racism.

Rings a Bell?

Doyle was born in Edinburgh on May 22, 1859. He developed a love for storytelling from his mother Mary Doyle. Surprisingly, he chose to pursue medicine instead of arts-his family consisted of reputed artists. At med school, Doyle met his mentor, Professor Dr. Joseph Bell, whose keen powers of observation inspired him to create the famed fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.

Writing and cricket

Although a doctor by profession, Doyle's interests lay in writing and cricket. He frequently contributed to magazines and newspapers. One day, inspiration struck and he started writing a mystery novel, which would later become "A Study in Scarlet" marking the birth of the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes.

Cricket too played an important role in Doyle's life. He joined a team of cricketers named Allahakbarries, which translates to Heaven Help US. The side was made up of literary luminaries such as Jerome K. Jerome, PG Wodehouse as well as the son of Alfred Lord Tennyson.

In fact Doyle named Sherlock Holmes after two county cricketers - Sherrinford and Shacklock. Sherlock's mysterious brother, Mycroft too is named after another cricketer and so is his archenemy. Moriarty.

A remarkable legacy

Doyle passed away on July 7, 1930 at the age of 71. But his legacy is unparalled. The genre of detective fiction grew leaps and bounds because of his contribution.

WHAT'S NEW?

• Sherlock Holmes has been adapted to the screen multiple times. But the latest eight-part series by Netflix, gives Sherlock a supernatural twist. "The Irregulars", set to release on March 26 follows a group of teenagers who and embark on dark adventures. They are manipulated into solving crimes by a sinister Dr. Watson.


• In October 2020, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle filed a lawsuit against the creators of the film "Enola Holmes" for portraying Sherlock's softer side. The estate claimed that the film about Sherlock's sister infringed the copyright by depicting a warmer and emotional Sherlock. The lawsuit was subsequently dismissed.

OH REALLY?

• The other side of the coin: Although Doyle gained recognition writing tales of the analytical and rational detective, he became obsessed with supernatural phenomena in the latter part of his life. This was a result of the untimely deaths of his children and brother in World War I.


• Doyle was a first-class cricketer and is famous for taking the wicket of the legendary W.B. Grace. But did you know that Doyle even played football? He played as a goalkeeper for Portsmouth FC under the pseudonym AC Smith


• Doyle brought back dinosaurs! His book, "The Lost World" was the inspiration behind films such as "King Kong" and "Jurassic Park."

 

Picture Credit : Google

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

These famous words from the book "Oh the Place's You'll Go" have stirred the hearts of many a generation. But how well do you know its author Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss? An illustrator and children's author, Geisel went to many places and saw many things during his long career.

Becoming Dr. Seuss Geisel was forced to adopt the pseudonym Dr. Seuss when he was attending Dartmouth College to write in the college magazine "Jack-O- Lantern". He took this step to keep his identity a secret after he was stripped of his role as editor for breaking college rules. He added the prefix Dr." to his pen name because his father had always wanted him to practise medicine

After graduating from Dartmouth, he went to Oxford, where he studied Literature. He aspired to become a professor and a scholar on author Jonathan Swift, but more than lecture notes, his notebooks were filled with doodles. His classmate Helen Palmer (later his wife), who looked over his notebook, told him that he should take up drawing instead.

The write start

Before establishing himself as a cartoonist, Geisel worked in advertising for 30 years! And then one day on a voyage to Europe the rhythm of the ship's engines inspired him to write a poem that became his first children's book. "And to Think That Saw It on Mulberry Street."

However, the manuscript was allegedly rejected by at least 27 publishers. Geisel was on the verge of burning it when he bumped into McClintock, a college friend, published it. Years later, Geisel wrote a touching letter thanking McClintock for saving the book.

Like his characters, Geisel too was colourful and spontaneous. He spent 60 years building a private collection of hats from around the world. His collection ranged from fez and fedoras to sombreros and even a Viking helmet with horns. He kept the collection a secret and used it as a foundation for his book "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins." In fact, the New York Public Library organised an exhibition showcasing his unique collection a few years ago.

A noble cause

Concerns over the poor reading levels of children drove Geisel to write his bestselling book "The Cat in the Hat". Geisel read a report published in Life magazine in May 1954, stating that children were not learning to read because their books were boring. Geisel wrote a book using 250 words listed as important for first-graders to recognise by educationist William Ellsworth Spaulding. It remains a popular teaching aid even today.

WHAT'S NEW?

Month-long celebration

The Springfield Museum in the U.S. has announced a month-long celebration in honour of their famous resident. You too can join in the fun virtually. The museum will hold an online birthday party with plenty of activities centred around the author and his memorable characters.

Are you an anti-masker?

Actor Mark Hamill of the "Star Wars" series lent his voice to "Will You Wear A Mask? I Ask," a Dr. Seuss-style book by Tom Ruegger in which two anthropomorphic characters chat about the need to wear masks in public and stay safe against COVID-19.

OH REALLY?

• Say it right: Seuss is actually pronounced "Soice' (rhymes with "voice) and not ‘Soos’


• Geisel won a special Pulitzer Prize in 1984 whose citation read "for his special contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America's children and their parents".

 

Picture Credit : Google

By now you may be familiar with the name, Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee. An Indian-American economist, he became the ninth Indian to win the Nobel Prize (jointly with Esther Dufi and Michael Kremer) in 2019. But did you know Banerjee spent his childhood in Kolkata? Or that he actually wanted to study Mathematics instead of Economics? Read on to learn more about him...

Economics in his blood

Born on February 21, 1961, Banerjee grew up in Kolkata, West Bengal. Observing the disparity between the rich and the poor from close quarters helped him gain insights into economics and poverty. Both his parents, Nirmala and Dipak, were eminent economists.

From Maths to Economics

However, Banerjee was more interested in Mathematics than Economics. He chose to study the subject at the prestigious Indian Statistical Institute. However, he quit within a week because he disliked the long commute from home to the institute. That's how he switched over to Economics at Presidency College, which was closer home. It also happens to be the alma mater of another Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. A close friend of the family. Sen also mentored Banerjee.

Spreading his wings

After graduation, Banerjee went on to pursue his masters in Economics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. Once during a student protest over the expulsion of the president of the student union, he was arrested along with hundreds of other students for ‘gheraoing’ the vice-chancellors house. He spent 10 days in the notorious Tihar jail and was later released on bail. Subsequently, the charges were dropped against the students.

He earned a Ph.D from Harvard University in the U.S. in 1988. Later, he moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked with his co-researcher and second wife Duflo. The two co authored the book "Poor Economics" after working 15 years in five continents to find practical solutions to poverty. They broke down large social problems into smaller pieces and then conducted randomised controlled trials to learn from the behaviour of people and understand where welfare policies may be failing them. For instance, they sought answers to questions such as 'Does having lots of children actually make you poorer? and ‘Why would a man in Morocco who doesn't have enough to eat buy a television’?

Their work earned them the nickname the Randomistas. The duo also co-founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab with fellow economist Sendhil Mullainathan. Started in June 2003, the lab today is the hub of scientific research and it comes up with innovative solutions to economic problems.

Nobel honour

Their work made the study of poverty alleviation more scientific and saved countless lives. "As a direct result of one of their studies, more than 5 million Indian children have benefited from effective programs of remedial tutoring in schools." The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said while announcing the Nobel Prize on October 14, 2019.

OH REALLY!

• Abhijit Banerjee's CV is 17-pages long.


• He received the Infosys Prize 2009 in the social sciences category of economics.


• In 2014, Banerjee received the Bernhard Harms-Prize from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.


• He is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He had also taught at Harvard University and Princeton University.


• Popular works: "Good Economics for Hard Times", "Poor Economics", and "What the Economy Needs Now".

 

Picture Credit : Google