I don't know when this trend of designating certain days to observe and celebrate people started - I think we can safely blame Saint Valentine for this. Not only did he manage to contribute to the world's burgeoning population and thereby upset nature's delicate balance, he also set a precedent that has enabled this world to come up with this concept of so many "days" that it's tough to keep score.

I can still understand Valentine's Day - the world forgets to love most of the time, so we need to be reminded what we're really here on earth for. But why Environment Day? Isn't it every single person's duty to treat the environment with care and respect every single day? Why Doctor's Day? Aren't doctors doctors the rest of the year? Why only Mother's Day and Father's Day and not In-laws Day? Okay, forget that.

Are these days merely an exercise in tokenism and blindly aping the west? It might be a bit of a stretch, but are these "days" encouraging a cavalier disregard for the very concepts

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Go ahead, play the video below and focus on the white dot at the centre.

Did the dots stop changing colour as they began to rotate? If so, remember what Obi Wan Kenobi told Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: "Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them." Yes, your eyes have just deceived you. Watch it again; the dots continue to change colours during the video. "Their spinning motion somehow suppresses the viewer's ability to detect those changes."

The illusion, which was created by Jordan Suchow, a Harvard University graduate student, and George Alvarez, an assistant professor in Harvard's psychology department, is called "Silencing awareness of change by background motion." It won top honors on May 9 at the 2011 Best Illusion of the Year contest in Naples, Fla.

Would you like to know more about the science behind this award winning illusion? Check out a study by Suchow and Alvarez.

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Recently, I met this guy who has been unnecessarily worked up about buying a car. While talking to him in this regard, I realised that he is just one of many others who is feeling confused or anxious about buying a car. Guys, feelings such as these are a normal part of the car buying process. Take a deep breath and relax, here are some things that may help you make your choice easier.

1. Do you really need a car?

The first question you should ask yourself is why do you need a car right now. Isn't it absurd to drive to work when almost every office provides employees with transportation facilities? (The trend now is cycling to work).  Do you need a car for your regular shopping trip to a supermarket that is just two minutes away from home? When we travel long distances we mainly use buses or trains. Occasionally you can even hire a car. So why do you need a car? I'm not discouraging you, but think twice and convince yourself about the necessity for a car.

2. Should you buy a new or

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I, as a friend calls me, am proud to be an '80s child today. (He doesn't call me that endearingly, quite the contrary, in fact.) I lived in the times where the typewriter was a living, working machine not yet made obsolete by that most overbearing of man's inventions, the computer.

I was brought up in a home full of books. My sisters and I were encouraged to read the newspaper from the first word to the last - my father always told us, read and you can conquer the world, for if your choice of weapon is language, he said, victory will be yours, wherever you go. We were encouraged to write letters to the editor of the daily we subscribed to. Alas, we never had a typewriter at home, though. To make up for the lack of one, we were marched off, in succession, upon the completion of our 12th exams, to the nearest 'commerce institute'. To do what, you ask? To learn typing.

By the time it was my turn, being the youngest in the family, computers had already begun their steady encroachment and

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