What is Qwikipedia?

Ever been on Wikipedia to look up an article? More often than not, we start with one topic, click a few links and within no time are reading about something else.

Qwikipedia is a game that tries to quench this curiosity in us. The objective is to get to a particular wiki page, starting from a specific article, using minimal clicks. There is no single correct answer, so we might surprise ourselves by finding new routes each time!

Wednesday’s Wanderer

Feluda —> Retina

Feluda

Prodosh Chandra Mitra, popularly known as Feluda, is a fictional private investigator created by renowned Indian writer-director Satyajit Ray. Appearing in a series of Bengali novels and short stories, Feluda first made his appearance in Sandesh , a children’s periodical started by Ray’s grandfather Upendrakishore Ray.

So how does Feluda go about solving the mysteries he confronts? Based out of Kolkata and equipped with enormous general knowledge that he has gathered by reading, Feluda is seen solving complicated cases using ‘magajastra’ or brain-weapon, Ray’s way of referring to Feluda’s extraordinary analytical ability.

From the way in which he is portrayed, it is evident that Feluda hugely appreciates Sherlock Holmes. Can you guess who else Feluda drew inspiration from? Its none other than Bruce Lee!

Bruce Lee

Do you take to karate classes after school hours? Be it Karate, Kung fu or any other martial art form that you can think of, they wouldn’t be as popular as they, were it not for Bruce Lee. Seen by many as the most influential martial artist of all time, and even listed as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century by Time magazine, Bruce Lee was a martial artist par excellence apart from being an actor, filmmaker and philosopher.

It is often believed that Bruce Lee had a huge role in changing the way Asians were perceived by the Americans. If you are wondering how, now would be a good time to watch Enter the Dragon or The Big Boss . Or you could get your hands on his biography by Bruce Thomas, Fighting Spirit .

Bruce Lee took his physical fitness very seriously and followed strict fitness routines to become as strong as he possibly could. When a doctor warned him not to abuse his body so much, he is believed to have said, “the human brain can subjugate anything, even real pain.”

Human brain

The human brain is one of the most complexly organised units in existence and among the most vital organs in our system. Though our brain is structurally similar to that of other mammals, ours is much larger than in any other animal when compared in relation to body size.

The brain exercises centralised control over other organs in our body. This means that be it vision, movement or any of our other reactions, the brain has a sizeable role to play.

Retina

The retina is a light-sensitive layer of tissue that is lined up in the inner surface of the eye. When light falls on it, it triggers impulses that are sent to the brain eventually helping us to see.

A recent research that has employed a new stem cell approach for blindness has been found to be successful in mice. In this study, researchers from Oxford University injected light-sensing cells into the eye, which acted as building blocks of a retina and hence help restore vision.

So the path that we have traversed today is:

Feluda —> Bruce Lee —> Human brain —> Retina

Three clicks! Hop over. Its time for the next question:

Thursday’s Trekker

Fidel Castro —> Aniline

Do send in your paths for the above question to school@thehindu.co.in with the subject “Qwikipedia”. Do include your name, class and school!
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