#147 - Notes on Telescopes, Singers and Chimpanzees

Education Coffee is a 2xWeekly Newsletter on People, Ideas and Culture.

In each edition of this newsletter, I share five inspiring web resources that I have curated after hours of research to ensure that you have the best education coffee in your inbox. In upcoming editions, I will focus on sharing insights, notes and realizations that I gather from people, ideas, books, films and podcasts.

1. Learning from People

Arijit Singh is an Indian playback singer. Singh began his career when he participated in the reality show Fame Gurukul in 2005. He made his Hindi cinema debut in 2011 with the song "Phir Mohabbat" for the film Murder 2. He received wider recognition with the release of "Tum Hi Ho” from Aashiqui 2 in 2013, which earned him his first Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer. In this video he talks about his journey as a singer on The Music Podcast with the music journalist, Tarsame Mittal. He talks about his love for learning, learning from other artists and understanding his legacy as an artist.

2. Learning from Ideas and Questions

In this TED Talk, Amber Straughn talks about what space telescopes teach us about the universe. Dr. Amber Straughn is an Astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD and is a member of the Webb Space Telescope Science Team. She is also the Associate Director of the Astrophysics Science Division. Amber grew up in rural Arkansas and was the first person in her family to attend college. She obtained her BS in Physics at the University of Arkansas, and completed her MS and PhD in Physics at Arizona State University.

Everything we can see and measure - hundreds of billions of galaxies, trillions of stars, countless planets, and any beings that might inhabit them - all of that only makes up 5% of the known universe. The rest - the other 95%? We have no idea. I will talk about how the Webb telescope reveals new secrets of the universe and what's in store for the future that might give us insight into the unknown 95%.

3. Learning from Books, Websites and Blog

I really enjoy watching author interviews after reading a book written by them. I try not to watch these interviews before reading a book. But watching it afterwards helps me extend my experience of reading a book. I feel the same way about book reviews especially on websites like Goodreads. David Nicholls is one such writer whose books I have thoroughly enjoyed over time. He spoke about his recent book, You Are Here (2024) in this author interview with Nandini Nair at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2025. He spoke about the process of writing this book, the joys of walking, writing for the screen and tapping into personal experiences.

Here is the book introduction for You Are Here (2024)

Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way . . .

Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his wife's departure, he has begun taking himself on long, solitary walks across the English countryside. Becoming ever more reclusive, he’ll do anything to avoid his empty house.

Marnie, on the other hand, is stuck. Hiding alone in her London flat, she avoids old friends and any reminders of her rotten, selfish ex-husband. Curled up with a good book, she’s battling the long afternoons of a life that feels like it’s passing her by.

When a persistent mutual friend and some very unpredictable weather conspire to toss Michael and Marnie together on the most epic of ten-day hikes, neither of them can think of anything worse. Until, of course, they discover exactly what they’ve been looking for.

Michael and Marnie are on the precipice of a bright future . . . if they can survive the journey.

4. Learning from Films, Videos and Shows

Chimp Crazy (2024) is a four part documentary about a group of people in America that keep chimpanzees captive in private enclosures as pets. It shows you the psychology of the owners and makes you try to understand why humans would want to keep wild animals captive. It shows you the dangerous consequences of keeping wild animals captive in small enclosures over a long period of time. It also shows you the sense of connection humans get from this bond that allows them to continue to care for these animals at considerable personal expense and sacrifice over a long period of time.

5. Learning from Podcasts and Music

My new favourite song is called O Yaara by artists Abdul Hannan and Kaavish. It was released in 2024 on the Coke Studio Pakistan Youtube Channel. The video was produced by The Colony and directed and conceived by Saad Sheikh.

Here are my favourite lyrics from the song:

Kya bataoon?
In sawalon mein kab say yoon phassa hoon
Raakh saaray safhay, par likh raha hoon
Fasaanay mein zindagi kay
Mann ko kesay aur kesay behlaoon?

Tukray kaanch kay bikhray zameen par
Chalna chahoon par, chaya hai har qadam
Ye dhuaan
Saans laina hai sazaa

You can read the full lyrics, the translation and an analysis of the same by clicking on the links here.

The video for this song by The Colony describes the relationship of a young couple separated by partition in the sub continent and expressing their longing to meet their loved one. The song captures this longing beautifully through its lyrics. The music has a melancholic tone but also balances that with a tone of gratitude for the good moments they spent together. The team has created an extended film about the story behind the song and the emotions they were trying to capture through the video. This includes interviews with the singers and music producers. I highly recommend exploring the channel archives for more such musical videos.

Thank you for reading this edition of #EducationCoffee. I look forward to writing weekly editions of this newsletter this year. I hope to continue to share resources that will add value to your life. You can also review the archive of Education Coffee for free at this link (100+ newsletters here). You can email your thoughts, feedback or recommendations to abhishekashokshetty@gmail.com. I love connecting with other writers and learners on the Internet.

Abhishek