Book Reviews

INTO THE MAGIC SHOP BY DR. JAMES R DOTY  

It's a must-read book that tells the reader about the importance of meditation. In the book, the writer shares his journey from an impoverished youngster with a broken house and family issues to an accomplished neurosurgeon. His mother was chronically ill due to depression, his father was an alcoholic and his brother always used to get involved in fights. The atmosphere at his house was an unhealthy one, and he would often enter his house and see his father shouting at his mother. The financial status of his family was not good and they could barely meet ends. James couldn’t concentrate on his studies and other works while all the fights were going on. He wanted to run away from his house, and was ashamed of who he was.

As a kid, James was genuinely interested in magic because he liked making others happy from his tricks. So, one day, he goes into a magic shop to purchase one of his favourite tricks- the thumb one. And there, he meets a lady called Ruth, who tells him about the mysteries of the heart and the brain and teaches him a series of exercises to ease his own sufferings and reach his goals, he gets to know about the extraordinary things that can happen when we harness the power of both the heart and the mind-by meditating. Ruth teaches James the greatest magic trick of all- the ability to get whatever you want by meditating and the art of opening your heart to others. Dr. Doty teaches us that happiness cannot be without suffering, that compassion is born from understanding suffering, and that only when we have compassion in our hearts can we be truly happy. It’s a journey which unravels the mystery of the link between our brains and our hearts.  I absolutely liked the book because it taught me that there is no use of being aware of the world when you are unaware of your own self.  

By:

Suhani Harit, VIII-E

Book review on

Make it stick: the science of successful learning       

By

Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel

The pattern which has been used for learning at every stage of our life has been focused on repeating the content single-mindedly with an aim of burying the content into our memory by repetitive exposure. In daily language, a general term for this pattern is “cramming” and its scientific name is “massed practice”. 

Scientists have now found out that learning a concept through repetitive reading doesn’t indicate that significance of its concepts and application has been understood. However, we still rely on this practice to achieve good grades by cramming the content before exams for the sake of passing the examination. Retention of the content followed by massed practice is short- lived and thereby does not encourage the application of knowledge to novel situations.

Our memory plays a central role in applying knowledge to complex cognitive tasks and in drawing inferences from already known facts. With recent scientific discoveries in the field of cognitive psychology, more facts about memory have been encoded leading to a better understanding of how we learn. Common study habits and practices like rereading, highlighting, cramming that we follow are counterproductive, that is, they create the illusion of mastery but fade away quickly.

Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel offered techniques for becoming more productive learners through their book Make it stick: The science for successful learning. In this book, they applied the knowledge of cognitive psychology to educational science. There are in total 8 chapters where they used the key principles which this book suggests – spaced repetition of key ideas and interleaving of different but related topics. Therefore, they covered key ideas more than once by repeating principles in different contexts. To make the learning easier and lifelong, make it stick provide strategies for all the students, teachers, and anyone interested in self-improvement.

Authors suggest that introducing difficulties while practicing, self-testing, waiting to restudy new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic over other leads to a more durable learning experience.

I selected this book because I feel as future teachers and educators, it is our responsibility to teach students research-supported techniques for improving their learning and thereby reducing the practice of cramming.

 BY

CHHAYA DHINGRA

TGT SCIENCE

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The Book Review of The Shiva Trilogy By Amish

(Book 1)The Immortals of Meluha- By Amish

Set in 1900 BC, in a near perfect empire created centuries ago by Lord Ram. The story of a man, whom a legend turned into a god.

The writing style of mythology flawlessly mixed with friction is what keeps one hooked to the story. Amish's subtle writing style and the way he narrates the tale is truly awesome.

Shiva, just a simple tribe head and Tibetan immigrant in Meluha, whom the legend of "Neelkantha" turned into a Mahadev, the God of Gods. 

This book talks about Shiva, finding about the legend, exploring the great empire, falling in love with emperor Daksha's daughter- Sati, and accepting his duty as the savior of the Sooryavanshi Meluhans, and as the destroyer of evil Nagas and the Chandravanshis.

(Book 2) The Secret of Nagas- By Amish

In the last book- The Immortals of Meluha, Shiva finds out that the legend of Neelkantha he knew was just from the side of Sooryavanshis, but what now when he got to know that the Chandravanshis he's supposed to destroy have the same legend and he is their Neelkantha too?

The sinister Naga warrior has killed his friend, but right now Shiva needs to look deeper into the truth.Shiva sets out with his most trusted people and thousands of soldiers. Sati is pregnant, together the two decide that their first child will be born in Kashi.

Leaving Sati, her friend Krittika and son Kartik in Kashi, Shiva takes his troops to the far land of Branga looking for clues about the Nagas or the serpent people. The evil Nagas who killed his friend and later tried to attack Sati.

But on returning he finds out that Sati's first child and her twin sister are still alive,and are Nagas. The sister being Kali, the Queen of Nagas, and the son Ganesh, the Lord of the people.

This journey ultimately leads him to the Naga's secret land and the surprise that awaits him there.

(Book 3) The Oath of Vayuputras- By Amish

The third book in Amishverse, the third and the last book of The Shiva Trilogy, The Oath of Vayuputras talks about Shiva finally discovering the true evil.

The secret land of Naga, the capital of their kingdom- Panchvati, is where Shiva's troops are headed to. He finds out that his dear friend, Brahaspasti, the ex lead scientist in the Somras plant of Devagiri- the capital of Meluha, is still alive and planned the attack on him.

Brahaspati is the one who reveals that it's Somras, The drink of gods, they should be fighting against.

Shiva then, with the help of Vasudevs, the tribe left behind by the last Vishnu- Lord Ram and Vayuputras, the tribe left behind by the last Mahadev- Lord Rudra, declares a holy war on those who will continue to use Somras. But mainly on Emperor Daksha and King Dilipa, who are being controlled by the great Sage- Bhrigu. He believes that Somras can never be evil.

Shiva travels to Pariha, the land of fairies, the land of the Vayuputras, to get a Daivi Astra. Though banned by Lord Rudra, Shiva and Gopal- the leader of the Vasudevs, want to use Daivi Astra to force Bhrigu and Daksha to surrender.

But by the time he returns, the war has already ended, with Sati being murdered. An angry Shiva destroys the capital of Meluha- Devagiri completely erasing the history of Somras.

The trilogy ends with Shiva and his people being popularized as Gods for their deeds and actions.

By- Kanu Supriya Jha

Class- IX