How do we make sense of the madness around us? Well, there's the rational,
scientific approach: gather data, build models, keep refining and iterating,
get closer and closer to the truth. Gautam Menon joins Amit Varma in episode
224 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe the exciting field of biophysics
and his work in building mathematical models of infectious diseases --
especially Covid-19. Also discussed: the joys of science, and how Indian music
is the best embodiment of the idea of India. Kumar Gandharva FTW!
Also check out :
1\. Gautam Menon on
Twitter,
Ashoka,
IMSc and
Google
Scholar.
2.
https://science.thewire.in/health/sars-cov-2-variants-b117-b1617
-india-second-wave-uncertain-future/" target="new">The Novel Coronavirus Variants and India’s Uncertain
Future -- Gautam Menon.
3.
https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/coronavirus-pandemic-
infectious-disease-transmission-modelling-kermack-mckendrick-theory-seir-
model/" target="new">How Do Scientists Model the Spread of an Infectious
Disease? -- Gautam Menon.
4.
Control, Consensus, Chaos: The Global Response to the
Pandemic -- A talk on YouTube by
Sheila Jasanoff.
5.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-02/the-big-
question-can-india-find-a-way-out-of-its-covid-nightmare" target="new">The Big Question: Can India Find a Way Out of Its Covid
Nightmare? -- Shahid Jameel
interviewed by Bobby Ghosh.
6\. Past episodes of The Seen and the Unseen on Covid-19, featuring (in
reverse chronological order)
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2021/5/2/episode-223-the-economics-and-
politics-of-vaccines/" target="new">Ajay
Shah,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2021/4/18/episode-221-science-and-
covid-19/" target="new">Anirban
Mahapatra,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2021/1/31/episode-210-feeding-the-
hungry-in-the-pandemic/" target="new">Ruben
Mascarenhas,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/12/27/episode-205-indias-tryst-
with-pandemics/" target="new">Chinmay
Tumbe,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/10/25/episode-196-the-importance-of-
data-journalism/" target="new">Rukmini
S,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/9/20/episode-191-our-cities-after-
covid-19/" target="new">Vaidehi
Tandel,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/6/14/episode-177
-indias-economy-in-the-time-of-covid-19/" target="new">Vivek Kaul,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/6/7/episode-176-the-nuances-of-
lockdown/" target="new">Anup
Malani and
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/4/19/episode-169-taking-
stock-of-covid-19/" target="new">Shruti
Rajagopalan.
7.
https://www.amazon.in/Family-Other-Animals-
Corfu-Trilogy-
ebook/dp/B06ZZMLMKT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ID2ZG2IE6QIP&keywords=gerald+durrell+my+family+and+other+animals&qid=1620519919&sprefix=gerald+dur%2Caps%2C305&sr=8-1" target="new">My Family and Other Animals
-- Gerald Durrell.
8.
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/11/29/episode-201-a-cricket-tragic-
celebrates-the-game/" target="new">A Cricket Tragic Celebrates the
Game -- Episode 201 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ramachandra
Guha).
9. _
https://www.amazon.in/Superforecasting-Science-Prediction-Philip-
Tetlock-
ebook/dp/B00Y78X7HY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?
encoding=UTF8&qid=1620520068&sr=8-1" target="new">Superforecasting: The Art and Science of
Prediction
-- Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner.
10.
We Are All Gamblers -- Amit
Varma.
11.
Range Rover -- Amit
Varma's column on poker for the
Economic Times.
12.
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2019/7/22/episode-130
-demystifying-gdp/" target="new">Demystifying GDP -- Episode 130 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rajeswari
Sengupta).
13.
The New World Upon Us --
Amit Varma (on Alpha Zero).
14.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/01/why-does-the-pandemic-
seem-to-be-hitting-some-countries-harder-than-others" target="new">Why Does the Pandemic Seem to Be Hitting Some Countries Harder Than
Others? -- Siddhartha Mukherjee.
15.
Episode
Zero: The
preview episode of The Seen and the Unseen.
16.
Indian Scientists’ Response to CoViD-19.
17. A state-level epidemiological model for India:
http://indscicov.in/for-scientists-healthcare-professionals/mathematical-
modelling/indscisim/" target="new">INDSCI-
SIM.
18.
https://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/anup-malani-discusses-indias-second-
covid-wave-grand-tamasha-podcast" target="new">Anup Malani on India’s COVID Second
Wave -- Episode 13 of Season 5 of Grand Tamasha,
hosted by Milan Vaishnav.
Books recommended by Gautam Menon
1. _
https://www.amazon.in/Spillover-Animal-Infections-Human-Pandemic-
ebook/dp/B009EQG794/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=spillover&qid=1620521175&sr=8-1" target="new">Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human
Pandemic_ --
David Quammen.
2. _
https://www.amazon.in/Rules-Contagion-Outbreaks-Infectious-Diseases-
ebook/dp/B07JLSHT7M/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=the+rules+of+contagion&qid=1620521205&sr=8-2" target="new">The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread - and Why They
Stop_
-- Adam Kucharski.
3, _
https://www.amazon.in/Early-Indians-Story-Ancestors-Where-
ebook/dp/B07YYM1CM4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=tony+joseph&qid=1620521234&sr=8-1" target="new">Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came
From_
-- Tony Joseph, who also
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2019/3/18/episode-112-early-
indians/" target="new">appeared on
Seen/Unseen.
4. _
Lilavati's
Daughters_
-- Edited by Rohini Godbole and Ram Ramaswamy,
5.
https://www.amazon.in/Man-Who-Knew-Infinity-
Ramanujan-
ebook/dp/B00P6TZFT6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Robert+Kanigel&qid=1620521295&sr=8-1" target="new">
The Man Who Knew Infinity
-- Robert Kanigel.
6.
https://www.amazon.in/Never-Let-Me-Kazuo-Ishiguro-
ebook/dp/B002RI9ZX6/ref=sr_1_3?crid=T0TLZ3ZZKK63&keywords=never+let+me+go+kazuo+ishiguro&qid=1620521334&sprefix=never+let%2Caps%2C270&sr=8-3" target="new">
Never Let Me Go
-- Kazuo Ishiguro.
7. _
https://www.amazon.in/Half-Yellow-Chimamanda-
Ngozi-Adichie-
ebook/dp/B002RI9TB4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=half+of+a+yellow+sun&qid=1620521362&sr=8-1" target="new">Half of a Yellow Sun_
-- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
This episode is sponsored by
The Great Courses
Plus. Check out their course,
https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com
/mysteries-of-the-microscopic-world" target="new">Mysteries of the Microscopic World , taught by Bruce E Fleury. For free
unlimited access for a month,
click
here.
Please subscribe to
The India Uncut
Newsletter. It’s free!
And check out Amit’s online course,
The Art of Clear
Writing.
Leer más
How do we make sense of the madness around us? Well, there's the rational,
scientific approach: gather data, build models, keep refining and iterating,
get closer and closer to the truth. Gautam Menon joins Amit Varma in episode
224 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe the exciting field of biophysics
and his work in building mathematical models of infectious diseases --
especially Covid-19. Also discussed: the joys of science, and how Indian music
is the best embodiment of the idea of India. Kumar Gandharva FTW!
Also check out :
1\. Gautam Menon on
Twitter,
Ashoka,
IMSc and
Google
Scholar.
2.
https://science.thewire.in/health/sars-cov-2-variants-b117-b1617
-india-second-wave-uncertain-future/" target="new">The Novel Coronavirus Variants and India’s Uncertain
Future -- Gautam Menon.
3.
https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/coronavirus-pandemic-
infectious-disease-transmission-modelling-kermack-mckendrick-theory-seir-
model/" target="new">How Do Scientists Model the Spread of an Infectious
Disease? -- Gautam Menon.
4.
Control, Consensus, Chaos: The Global Response to the
Pandemic -- A talk on YouTube by
Sheila Jasanoff.
5.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-02/the-big-
question-can-india-find-a-way-out-of-its-covid-nightmare" target="new">The Big Question: Can India Find a Way Out of Its Covid
Nightmare? -- Shahid Jameel
interviewed by Bobby Ghosh.
6\. Past episodes of The Seen and the Unseen on Covid-19, featuring (in
reverse chronological order)
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2021/5/2/episode-223-the-economics-and-
politics-of-vaccines/" target="new">Ajay
Shah,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2021/4/18/episode-221-science-and-
covid-19/" target="new">Anirban
Mahapatra,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2021/1/31/episode-210-feeding-the-
hungry-in-the-pandemic/" target="new">Ruben
Mascarenhas,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/12/27/episode-205-indias-tryst-
with-pandemics/" target="new">Chinmay
Tumbe,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/10/25/episode-196-the-importance-of-
data-journalism/" target="new">Rukmini
S,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/9/20/episode-191-our-cities-after-
covid-19/" target="new">Vaidehi
Tandel,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/6/14/episode-177
-indias-economy-in-the-time-of-covid-19/" target="new">Vivek Kaul,
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/6/7/episode-176-the-nuances-of-
lockdown/" target="new">Anup
Malani and
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/4/19/episode-169-taking-
stock-of-covid-19/" target="new">Shruti
Rajagopalan.
7.
https://www.amazon.in/Family-Other-Animals-
Corfu-Trilogy-
ebook/dp/B06ZZMLMKT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ID2ZG2IE6QIP&keywords=gerald+durrell+my+family+and+other+animals&qid=1620519919&sprefix=gerald+dur%2Caps%2C305&sr=8-1" target="new">My Family and Other Animals
-- Gerald Durrell.
8.
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2020/11/29/episode-201-a-cricket-tragic-
celebrates-the-game/" target="new">A Cricket Tragic Celebrates the
Game -- Episode 201 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Ramachandra
Guha).
9. _
https://www.amazon.in/Superforecasting-Science-Prediction-Philip-
Tetlock-
ebook/dp/B00Y78X7HY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?
encoding=UTF8&qid=1620520068&sr=8-1" target="new">Superforecasting: The Art and Science of
Prediction
-- Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner.
10.
We Are All Gamblers -- Amit
Varma.
11.
Range Rover -- Amit
Varma's column on poker for the
Economic Times.
12.
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2019/7/22/episode-130
-demystifying-gdp/" target="new">Demystifying GDP -- Episode 130 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Rajeswari
Sengupta).
13.
The New World Upon Us --
Amit Varma (on Alpha Zero).
14.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/01/why-does-the-pandemic-
seem-to-be-hitting-some-countries-harder-than-others" target="new">Why Does the Pandemic Seem to Be Hitting Some Countries Harder Than
Others? -- Siddhartha Mukherjee.
15.
Episode
Zero: The
preview episode of The Seen and the Unseen.
16.
Indian Scientists’ Response to CoViD-19.
17. A state-level epidemiological model for India:
http://indscicov.in/for-scientists-healthcare-professionals/mathematical-
modelling/indscisim/" target="new">INDSCI-
SIM.
18.
https://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/anup-malani-discusses-indias-second-
covid-wave-grand-tamasha-podcast" target="new">Anup Malani on India’s COVID Second
Wave -- Episode 13 of Season 5 of Grand Tamasha,
hosted by Milan Vaishnav.
Books recommended by Gautam Menon
1. _
https://www.amazon.in/Spillover-Animal-Infections-Human-Pandemic-
ebook/dp/B009EQG794/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=spillover&qid=1620521175&sr=8-1" target="new">Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human
Pandemic_ --
David Quammen.
2. _
https://www.amazon.in/Rules-Contagion-Outbreaks-Infectious-Diseases-
ebook/dp/B07JLSHT7M/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=the+rules+of+contagion&qid=1620521205&sr=8-2" target="new">The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread - and Why They
Stop_
-- Adam Kucharski.
3, _
https://www.amazon.in/Early-Indians-Story-Ancestors-Where-
ebook/dp/B07YYM1CM4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=tony+joseph&qid=1620521234&sr=8-1" target="new">Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came
From_
-- Tony Joseph, who also
https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2019/3/18/episode-112-early-
indians/" target="new">appeared on
Seen/Unseen.
4. _
Lilavati's
Daughters_
-- Edited by Rohini Godbole and Ram Ramaswamy,
5.
https://www.amazon.in/Man-Who-Knew-Infinity-
Ramanujan-
ebook/dp/B00P6TZFT6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Robert+Kanigel&qid=1620521295&sr=8-1" target="new">
The Man Who Knew Infinity
-- Robert Kanigel.
6.
https://www.amazon.in/Never-Let-Me-Kazuo-Ishiguro-
ebook/dp/B002RI9ZX6/ref=sr_1_3?crid=T0TLZ3ZZKK63&keywords=never+let+me+go+kazuo+ishiguro&qid=1620521334&sprefix=never+let%2Caps%2C270&sr=8-3" target="new">
Never Let Me Go
-- Kazuo Ishiguro.
7. _
https://www.amazon.in/Half-Yellow-Chimamanda-
Ngozi-Adichie-
ebook/dp/B002RI9TB4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=half+of+a+yellow+sun&qid=1620521362&sr=8-1" target="new">Half of a Yellow Sun_
-- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
This episode is sponsored by
The Great Courses
Plus. Check out their course,
https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com
/mysteries-of-the-microscopic-world" target="new">Mysteries of the Microscopic World , taught by Bruce E Fleury. For free
unlimited access for a month,
click
here.
Please subscribe to
The India Uncut
Newsletter. It’s free!
And check out Amit’s online course,
The Art of Clear
Writing.
Leer menos