Friday, September 19, 2008

The 10 Most Fascinating Savants in the World

Living Google: Kim Peek

Sometimes the most amazing abilities of the human brain are revealed exactly when things go wrong with it. Take, for example, savants - people who have mental abilities that could only be characterized as superhuman (like having photographic memory, playing music perfectly after hearing it just once, or doing complex mathematical calculations in one's head) but otherwise severely disabled in every day cognitive functions and social interaction.

Does the human brain have latent savant-like abilities? Does our higher cognitive functions somehow block these abilities, and why? And can we have savant-like abilities without the accompanying autism and/or developmental disabilities?

One intriguing study by Dr. Allan Snyder of the Centre for the Mind suggested that temporarily impairing the left fronto-temporal lobe in healthy subjects by low-frequency magnetic pulses could result in savant-like mental abilities. (see, for example: article in New York Times "Savant for a Day")

Most savants are born with their abilities (and unfortunately, their developmental disorders), but not all: severe brain injuries can, in very rare instances, cause savant-like abilities to surface (see, for example: The Case of the "Sudden" Savant). One noted savant (Daniel Tammet, see below) is a highly functioning autistic savant who can perform amazing mental feats but does not have significant developmental disabilities.

There are a few savants in the world (called "prodigious savants") whose abilities are so exceptional that they would've been classified as phenomenal with or without cognitive disabilities. Let's take a look at 10 savants with superhuman mental skills:

1. Kim Peek, the Real Rain Man

Even though you've never heard of Kim Peek, chances are you've heard the movie Rain Man. Kim was the inspiration for the character played by Dustin Hoffman in the movie.

Kim Peek was born with severe brain damage. His childhood doctor told Kim's father to put him in an institution and forget about the boy. Kim's severe developmental disabilities, according to the doctor, would not let him walk let alone learn. Kim's father disregarded the doctor's advice.

Till this day, Kim struggles with ordinary motor skills and has difficulty walking. He is severely disabled, cannot button his shirt and tests well below average on a general IQ test.

But what Kim can do is astounding: he has read some 12,000 books and remembers everything about them. "Kimputer," as he is lovingly known to many, reads two pages at once - his left eye reads the left page, and his right eye reads the right page. It takes him about 3 seconds to read through two pages - and he remember everything on them. Kim can recall facts and trivia from 15 subject areas from history to geography to sports. Tell him a date, and Kim can tell you what day of the week it is. He also remembers every music he has ever heard.

Since the movie Rain Man came out, Kim and his father have been traveling across the country for appearances. The interaction turns out to be beneficial for him, as he becomes less shy and more confident.

2. Leslie Lemke

Leslie Lemke didn't have a great start in life. He was born with severe birth defects that required doctors to remove his eyes. His own mother gave him up for adoption, and a nurse named May Lemke (who at the time was 52 and was raising 5 children of her own) adopted him when he was six months old.

As a young child, Leslie had to be force-fed to teach him how to swallow. He could not stand until he was 12. At 15, Leslie finally learned how to walk (May had to strap his fragile body to hers to teach him, step by step, how to walk).

At 16 years of age, Leslie Lemke bloomed. In the middle of one night, May woke up to find Leslie playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Leslie, who has no classical music training, was playing the piece flawlessly after hearing it just once earlier on the television.

From then on, Leslie began playing all styles of music from ragtime to classical. Like the Tchaikovsky piece, he only has to hear the music once in order to play it again perfectly. He became famous after being portrayed in national television shows. Before his health started to deteriorate, Leslie gave many concerts around the world.

3. Alonzo Clemons

As a toddler, Alonzo suffered a head injury in an accident that changed his life. He can't feed himself or tie his shoelaces, but he can sculpt.

And boy, can he sculpt: after seeing only a fleeting image of an animal on a TV screen, Alonzo could sculpt a perfect 3D figure of it, correct in each and every detail right down to the muscle fibers.

4. Gottfried Mind: Cat's Raphael

Gottfried Mind was one of the earliest savants in history. In 1776, the eight-year-old Gottfried was placed in an art academy, where his teachers noted that he was "very weak, incapable of hard work, full of talent for drawing, a strange creature, full of artist-caprices, along with a certain roguishness."

One day, Gottfried's mentor, a painter named Sigmund Hendenberger, was drawing a cat when Gottfried exclaimed "That is no cat!" The teacher asked whether he could do better and sent the child to a corner to draw. The cat that Gottfried drew was so lifelike that since then he became known as the Cat's Raphael:

In the course of his narrow, indoors life, he had worked himself into an almost paternal relation with domestic animals, especially with cats. While he sat painting, a cat might generally be seen sitting on his back or on his shoulder; many times he kept, for hours, the most awkward postures, that he might not disturb it.

Frequently there was a second cat sitting by him on the table, watching how the work went on; sometimes a kitten or two lay in his lap under the table. Frogs (in bottle) floated beside his easel; and with all these creatures he kept up a most playful, loving style of conversation; though, often enough, any human beings about him, or such even as came to see him, were growled or grunted at in no social fashion.

5. Gilles Tréhin

Gilles Tréhin lives part-time in the city of Urville, in an island off the Côte d'Azur, between Cannes and St. Tropez. Never heard of it? That's because Urville exists only in his mind.

Since he was 5, Gilles taught himself to draw three dimensional objects. By 12, he started building a city he called "Urville" (after Dumont d'Urville, a French scientific base in the Antarctic). At first he used LEGO, but shortly thereafter, he realized that he could expand his imaginary city much easier with drawings.

Urville isn't just an idle idea - Gilles has 250 detailed drawings, complete "history" of the founding the the city, and has even published a book detailing it.

6. Jedediah Buxton

Jedediah Buxton, born in Derbyshire, England, in 1707, couldn't write. By all accounts, he has no knowledge of science or history or anything else for that matter except for numbers. Jedediah, as it turned out, was one of the world's earliest mental calculators and savants.

Everything was numbers to Jedediah - in fact, he associated everything he saw or experienced with numbers. He measured the area of the village he was born in simply by walking around it. When he saw a dance, his whole attention was to count the number of steps of the dancers. At a play, Jedediah was consumed with counting the number of words uttered by the actors.

The mental feat of Jedediah Buxton was tested by the Royal Society in 1754 - his mathematical brain was able to calculate numbers up to 39 figures.

7. Orlando Serrell

Orlando Serrell wasn't born autistic - indeed, his savant skills only came about after a brain injury. In 1979, then ten-year-old Orlando was playing baseball when the ball struck him hard on the left side of his head. He fell to the ground but eventually got up to continue playing.

For a while, Orlando had headaches. When they went away, he realized he had new abilities: he could perform complex calendar calculations and remember the weather every day from the day of the accident.

From Orlando's official website:

What makes Orlando Serrell so unique is that he may indeed hold the key that unlocks the genius in us all. Orlando Serrell did not possess any special skills until he was struck in the head by a baseball when he was 10. And his extraordinary gifts seem to be his only side effect. Could this mean once a key hemisphere in the brain is stimulated, we can all attain the level of genius Orlando posses and beyond? Only time and research will tell. Until then we will do well to keep our eyes on Orlando and learn what we can from his experience.

8. Stephen Wiltshire, the Human Camera

As a young child, Stephen Wiltshire was a mute - he was diagnosed as autistic and was sent to a school for special needs children. There, he discovered a passion for drawing - first of animals, then London buses, then buildings and the city's landmarks. Throughout his childhood, Stephen communicated through his drawings. Slowly, aided by his teachers, he learned to speak by the age of nine (his first word was "paper.")

Stephen has a particularly striking talent: he can draw an accurate and detailed landscape of a city after seeing it just once! He drew a 10 meter (~33 ft) long panorama of Tokyo following a short helicopter ride.

9. Ellen Boudreaux

Like Leslie Lemke, Ellen Boudreaux is a blind autistic savant with exceptional musical abilities. She can play music perfectly after hearing it just once, and has a such a huge repertoire of songs in her head that a newspaper reporter once tried to "stump Ellen" by requesting that she played some obscure songs - and failed. Ellen knew them all.

Ellen has two other savant skills that are unusual. First, despite her blindness, she is able to walk around without ever running into things. As she walks, Ellen makes little chirping sounds that seems to act like a human sonar.

Second, Ellen has an extremely precise digital clock ticking in her mind. To help overcome her fear of the telephone, Ellen's mom coaxed her to listen to the automatic time recording (the "time lady") when she was 8. From then on, Ellen knows the exact hour and minute, any time of the day without ever having seen a clock nor have the concept of the passing of time explained to her.

10. Daniel Tammet: Brainman

At first glance, you won't be able to tell that Daniel Tammet is anything but normal. Daniel, 29, is a highly functioning autistic savant with exceptional mathematical and language abilities.

Daniel first became famous when he recited from memory Pi to 22,514 decimal places (on 3/14, the International Pi Day, of course) to raise funds for the National Society for Epilepsy.

Numbers, according to Daniel, are special to him. He has a rare form of synesthesia and sees each integers up to 10,000 as having their own unique shapes, color, texture and feel. He can "see" the result of a math calculation, and he can "sense" whether a number is prime. Daniel has since drawn what pi looks like: a rolling landscape full of different shapes and colors.

Daniel speaks 11 languages, one of which is Icelandic. In 2007, Channel Five documentary challenged him to learn the language in a week. Seven days later, Daniel was successfully interviewed on Icelandic television (in Icelandic, of course!).

When he was four years old, Daniel had bouts of epilepsy that, along with his autism, seemed to have brought about his savant abilities. Though he appears normal, Daniel contends that he actually had to will himself to learn how to talk to and behave around people:

As he describes in his newly published memoir, “Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant” (Free Press), he has willed himself to learn what to do. Offer a visitor a drink; look her in the eye; don’t stand in someone else’s space. These are all conscious decisions.

Recently, some friends warned him that in his eagerness to make eye contact, he tended to stare too intently. “It’s like being on a tightrope,” he said. “If you try too hard, you’ll come off. But you have to try.”

There is a big difference between Daniel Tammet and all the other prodigious savants in the world: Daniel can tell you how he does it and that makes him invaluable to scientists trying to understand the savant syndrome:

Professor Allan Snyder, from the Centre for the Mind at the Australian National University in Canberra, explains why Tammet is of particular, and international, scientific interest. "Savants can't usually tell us how they do what they do," says Snyder. "It just comes to them. Daniel can. He describes what he sees in his head. That's why he's exciting. He could be the Rosetta Stone."

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Butterfly

This is an endangered Butterfly which I captured in Dhankuta, 2006

रामदेव, वामदेव, दामदेव र अग्निपरीक्षा !


अचेल रामदेवको अनुलोम-विलोम, कपालभाती र भस्त्रिका रोगी शरीरदेखि सौखिन सुन्दरीबीच फेसन भएको छ । बोसोले भरिएको पेट, अल्छीलाग्दो मानसिकता र अझ नैराश्य दैनिकीबीच रामदेवलाई पछ्याउनेहरूमा कर्मचारीतन्त्रको ठूलो भीड नै देखिन्छ तर गृहप्रशासनमा उपप्रधानमन्त्री वामदेव गौतमको उपस्थिति भएपछि प्रशासनको सुस्तता तङ्गि्रनुसागै प्रहरी परिचालनमा जमेको बोसो चलायमान भएको चर्चा सुरु भएको छ । यतिखेर सर्वसाधारणले अनुभूत हुनेगरी 'प्रहरी-रमण' सुरु भएको छ । गल्ली र चोकका रेष्टुरेण्टहरूबाट दश नबज्दै भद्दा सङ्गीत र कोकोहोलोले मुक्ति पाएको छ । आमनेपालीबीच नवधनाढ्य संस्कृतिमा हुर्कदो 'रूलेट र व्याक्रा' को क्यासिनो-टुर रोकिएको सुनिन्छ । प्रहरी र प्रशासनको कार्य तदारूकताको यो छनक मात्र होइन गृहमन्त्री गौतमसमेत अपराध नियन्त्रण गर्न अपराधीलाई दनक दिने मुडमा प्रस्तुत हुनुभएको छ । खासगरी झण्डावाल नेता र डण्डावाल प्रशासकहरूको सहकार्यमा अपराधीहरू चलखेल गर्छन् भन्ने गुनासो तीव्र भइरहेका बेला गृहमन्त्री गौतमका यस्ता सबै किसिमको दृढता परिवर्तित सन्दर्भ र नेतृत्वकै अग्निपरीक्षाको रूपमा लिइनु श्रेयस्कर हुन्छ । हाम्रो सन्दर्भमा हामी भावुकतामा छिटो तात्ने र अर्कमण्यतामा चााडो ँठण्डा’ हुने गर्दछौं । गृहप्रशासन यसअघि पनि कुछ’ गर्न जागरूक नभएको होइन । कतिपय गृहलगायत प्रहरी प्रशासनका जिम्मेवार व्यक्तित्वहरू सबै काम नियमित र सुचारु हुन नसक्नुमा त्यहाभित्र विद्यमान काखा र पाखाको दामदेव संस्कृति मनस्थितिलाई दोष थुपार्छन् । भुक्तभोगी पूर्व प्रशासक र प्रहरीप्रमुखहरूको दाबी छ । कोही दामदेवका कारण काखामा पर्छन् म्याद नाघेर पनि बूढा हुदैनन् । तर पाखा गर्दा कोही भने ३० वर्षे सेवामा टाइ टाइ फिस् हुनुपर्छ । वास्तवमा यो अत्यन्तै मननीय पक्ष हो । आक्रोश, आवेग र अमर्यादित शैलीले मात्र नभनिने र नगरिने यो टिप्पणीलाई आगतको मूलमन्त्र बनाइनुपर्छ । प्रहरी प्रशासनले यसबीचमा गृहमन्त्री गौतमको नेतृत्वमा जे र जस्तो सक्रियता देखाएको छ, त्यसले निश्चय पनि सुखद बिहानीको झलक दिन्छ नै । प्रहरीले केही दिन अघि उपराष्ट्रपति निवासमा भएको बम विस्फोट प्रकरणका खलपात्रलाई जसरी सार्वजनिक गरेको छ त्यसैगरी वीरगञ्जको लुटपाट एवं हत्याको घटनाक्रममा प्रहरी प्रशासनलाई स्वयं सभासदले खबर गर्दासमेत उपस्थित हुन नसक्ने विडम्बनालाई चिर्न सके मात्र बिहानीपछिको दिन लोभलाग्दो बन्नेछ । यद्यपि जति नै कुरा गरे पनि हामी कसैले बिर्सनै नमिल्ने तथ्य हामी सबै विनाबर्दीका प्रहरी हौं । त्यसैले चोरको ’ पछाडि दौडेको मात्रै होइन आमनागरिक प्रहरी प्रशासनको सहकार्यमा हातेमालो गर्न तम्सनुपर्छ । गृहमन्त्रीका नव उद्घोषहरू असल नियतले आएको प्रतीत हुन्छ । पार्टीलाई ठूलो बनाउन शक्ति दुरुपयोग गर्ने लक्ष्य होइन भन्ने जस्तो उहाको अभिमतको सदाशयतामाथि शङ्का गरिहाल्नु जरुरी छैन तथापि उहा स्वयंले रेखाङ्कति गर्नुभएको अग्निपरीक्षा त बाकी नै छ । मुलुकलाई अहिले कुनै दलविशेषको गृहमन्त्री पनि चाहिएको छैन । लाखौं लाखौं चिन्तित, असुरक्षित अनुहारले निश्चितता र निष्पक्षताभाव अनुभूत गरे पुग्छ ।

इन्टरनेटमा हीरा कि कीरा ?


विनय कसजू



"धेरै वर्ष पहिले तिमीहरू हातमा बाइबल लिई हामीकहा आयौ र मुक्तिको बाटो यो हो भनेर देखायौ, अनि हामी सबैलाई दास र उपनिवेश बनायौ । अहिले तिमीहरूले यो इन्टरनेट भन्ने कुरा लिएर आएका छौ । फेरि हामीलाई दास बनाउन यो अर्को चाल हो कि भने मलाई डर लागिरहेछ ।" डेनमार्कको लुजियाना आर्ट म्युजियम हलमा सन् १९९८ मे १६ मा 'अभिव्यक्ति स्वतन्त्रता र विकास' विषयमा विचार तथा अभिव्यक्ति स्वतन्त्रताका लािग आधुनिक सञ्चार प्रविधि, खास गरी इन्टरनेटको महत्त्वको बारेमा एसिया र अपि|mकाका केही देशहरूको सम्मेलनमा अपि|mकाबाट आएका एकजना प्रतिनिधिले माथिका कुरा भनेका थिए । उनको कुरा सुन्दा पहिले त मलाई इन्टरनेटको बारेमा केही नबुझेर यस्तो भनेको हो कि जस्तो लागेको थियो । कहाको इन्टरनेट कहाको बाइबल भनेर हासो पनि लागेको थियो । गोष्ठीमा इन्टरनेट सूचना र ज्ञानको अत्यन्तै उदार र प्रजातान्त्रिक माध्यम हो यसले मानिसलाई बलियो बनाउाछ र आˆनो हित र पक्षमा निर्णय लिन बार्गेनिङ गर्न सक्षम बनाउछ भन्ने तर्क धेरैले राखेका थिए ।

मानिसलाई बलियो बनाउने मुख्य कुरा नै सूचना र ज्ञान हो । सूचनामा पहुच बढ्यो भने मानिसको शक्ति बढ्छ भन्ने कुरामा मलाई पहिलेभन्दा अहिले झन्झन् विश्वास बढिरहेको छ । त्यसमा पनि आधुनिक सूचना प्रविधिलाई बौद्धिक वस्तु उत्पादन गर्ने साधनको रूपमा उपयोग गर्नसक्यो भने भौतिक र प्राकृतिक स्रोतसाधनबाट वञ्चित देशहरूले कंगारुको चालले प्रगति गर्नसक्छन् भन्ने मलाई विश्वास छ । बुद्धि वा बौद्धिक क्षमता कुनै देश जात, वा वर्गको पेवा वा एकाधिकार होइन । हिजो हिमालमा चौरी चराउने गोठालो, तराईमा भैसीको आङमाथि बसेर गीत गाउदै रमाउने केटो अहिले अमेरिकाको सिलिकन भ्यालीमा सफ्टवेयर उत्पादन गर्दैछन् ।

नेपालभित्र पनि सफ्टवेयर उत्पादन गरेर तथा आउट सोर्सिङ व्यापार गरेर युरोपेली कामदारसरह पारिश्रमिक कमाउने युवाको सङ्ख्या नेपालमा बढिरहेको छ । वास्तवमा कोइला र खनिजको खानी नभएको र समुद्री मार्गबाट वञ्चित नेपालजस्तो देशका लागि सूचना प्रविधि एउटा अपूर्व अवसरको रूपमा अगाडि छ । तर यो भिल्लका देशमा मणि भनेझैा यसको महत्त्व बुझ्न नसकेर मिल्काइने हो कि भन्ने डर बढिरहेको छ । बाह्रपन्ध्र वर्ष अघिसम्म नेपाल आइटीको क्षेत्रमा भारतभन्दा अघि थियो भन्ने कुरा सुन्दा काल्पनिक कथाजस्तो लाग्नसक्छ । जुन बेला पाल्पामा कम्प्युटर पुगिसकेको थियो त्यस बेला नया दिल्लीका ठूलाठूला व्यापारिक प्रतिष्ठानले कम्प्युटरको प्रयोग गर्न सुरु गरेका थिएनन् । नेपालबाट सˆटवेर उत्पादन गरेर विदेशमा निर्यात गर्नथाल्दा भारतमा त्यसको थालनी नै भएको थिएन । तर अहिले नेपालका सफ्टवेयर उत्पादन व्यवसाय टञाक्सिएको छ, केही त विदेश पलायन भइसकेको छ, र भारतका युवाले स्वदेशमै बसेर विदेशी मुद्रा कमाइरहेका छन् । भारत संसारकै सबैभन्दा ठूलो आउट सोर्सिङ गर्ने र सफ्टवेयर उत्पादन गर्ने देश बन्ने दिशामा उन्मुख छ । यता नेपाली युवा अरबका मरुभूमिका भेडा र उट चराउन, कोरियाका कारखानामा भारी बाध्न, सामान प्याकिङ गर्न जान ताछाडमछाड गरिरहेका छन् ।

जग्गाजमिन बढ्नसक्तैन । जमिनको उत्पादन क्षमताको पनि सीमा हुन्छ । किसानले उत्पादन गरेको अन्न एकपटकमा एकजनाभन्दा धेरैले उपभोग गर्न सक्तैन । त्यस्तै कलकारखानाले उत्पादन गरेको सामान पनि एकपटकमा एकजनाले मात्रै उपभोग गर्नसक्छ । तर एकजनाले गाएको गीत हजारौ जनाले पनि सुन्नसक्छ । सीडी वा अरू माध्यमबाट हजारौ लाखौ प्रति बनाएर बेच्न सकिन्छ । कृषि उत्पादन र कलकारखानाको उत्पादनको उपयोगकर्ताको सीमा हुन्छ तर बुद्धि र ज्ञानले उत्पादन गरेको वस्तुको उपभोक्ताको सीमा हुदैन । हलिउडमा बनेको एउटा फिल्म हजाराै प्रति बनाएर करोडौ मानिसले एकैसाथ हेर्न, मनोरञ्जन गर्नसक्छ । सफ्टवेयर यस्तै बौद्धिक उत्पादन हो जसको उपयोगकर्ताको सीमा हुदैन । बील गेटको सम्पन्नताको रहस्य यही हो किन भने संसारका करोडौ कम्प्युटर उनले बनाएको सफ्टवेयर बिना चल्न सक्तैन । संसारमा जसले कम्प्युटर चलाए पनि अधिकांश प्रयोगकर्ताले कुनै न कुनै रूपमा, थाहै नपाईकन, बिल गेटको खल्तीमा पैसा पठाइरहेको हुन्छ । यस्तो बौद्धिक उत्पादन नेपाली युवाले झण्डै पन्ध्र वर्षअघि थालिसकेका थिए । नेपालको भौगोलिक विषमता, प्राकृतिक स्रोत साधनको अभाव दुई ढुङ्गाबीचको तरुलको अवस्थालाई चिरेर आर्थिक समृद्धिका लागि बौद्धिक उत्पादनभन्दा अर्को राम्रो आधार केही हुनसक्तैन ।

नयाा नेपाल बनाउने सपना देख्ने कुनै पनि नेताले सूचना प्रविधिलाई बेवास्ता गर्नै सक्तैन । गर्नहुादैन । नेपालको आर्थिक विकासका लागि नेपाली युवालाई सूचना प्रविधिमा आकषिर्त गर्न र क्षमतावान् बनाउनु आवश्यक छ । यसका लागि सूचना र सञ्चार प्रविधिका पूर्वाधारहरूको विकास र गाउागाउासम्म विस्तार गर्नु अहिलेको सरकारको प्राथमिक मुद्दा हुनुपर्छ । पन्ध्र वर्षअघि नै यो काम सुरु भएको भए नेपाली युवा जंगल पस्नु पर्ने अवस्था नै आउने थिएन । न त विदेश जाने होडबाजीमै लाग्नुपथ्र्यो ।

सूचना प्रविधिले संसारलाई कम्प्युटरमा ल्याइदिएको छ । यसमा सूचना, ज्ञान र मनोरञ्जन छ । शिक्षा, रोजगारी, स्वास्थ्य, पर्यटन इत्यादि सबै कुरा यसमा छन् । यसभित्र हीरा पनि छ कीरा पनि छ । हीरा खोज्नेले हीरा पाउाछ कीरा खोज्नेले कीरा पाउाछ । अहिले नेपाली किशोर र युवा सूचना प्रविधिको दुनियाामा आकषिर्त भएर देशभरि छरिएका झण्डै पााच हजार, जति साइबर क्याफे र सूचना केन्द्रहरूमा झुम्मिन थालेका छन् । व्यक्तिगत रूपमा घरघरमा यसको उपयोग गर्नेहरूको संख्या लाखौा पुगेको छ । कतिपय युवाले यसबाट आफ्नो भविष्य बनाइरहेछन् । समृद्धि कमाइरहेका छन् भने कतिपय किशोर र युवा यसमा भएका कीरा वा विकृतिहरूको सिकार हुन थालेका छन् । निश्चय नै अनलाइनबाट हुने खतरा निरन्तर बढिरहेको छ । फलस्वरूप, सूचना प्रविधिबाट हुने फाइदा उपयोग गर्न नपाउादै यसबाट हुने बेफाइदाबाट सतर्क हुनुपर्ने अवस्था आएको छ । 'पहिलो गाासमै झिागा पर्‍यो' भनेको यस्तै होला ।

आइटीले हरेक मानिसलाई सूचना र ज्ञानको उत्पादन र वितरक हुने क्षमता दिएको छ । जसले गर्दा कम्प्युटर र टेलिफोन लाइनको सम्पर्कमा भएको कुनै पनि व्यक्तिले आफ्नो कुरा शब्द, ध्वनि, चित्र र चलचित्रमा इन्टरनेटमा राखेर क्षणभरमै विश्वव्यापी गर्नसक्छ । यही क्षमता र प्रविधि उपयोग गरेर धनपिपासु र यौनपिपासुहरूले इन्टरनेटमा फोहोरी वर्णन, शब्द, चित्र र चलचित्र राखेका छन् भने आतङ्ककारीहरूले विध्वंसक प्रविधि सिकाइरहेका छन् । अपि|mकी प्रतिनिधिले डेनमार्कमा भनेझैा इन्टरनेटले संसारलाई कुबाटोमा हिाडाउने सम्भावना बढिरहेको छ ।

तर, विचार गर्नुपर्ने कुरा के हो भने प्रविधि स्वयं आफैमा असल वा खराब हुादैन । यसको उपयोग कसले र कसरी गरिन्छ त्यसैमा कुनै पनि प्रविधिको फाइदा र बेफाइदा निर्भर हुन्छ । सूचना प्रविधि पनि यस्तै साधन हो जसलाई उपयोग गर्न जान्यो भने हीरा हुन्छ, नत्र कीरा हुन्छ ।

यस्तो महìवपूर्ण र उपयोगी साधनबाट फाइदा लिनुको सट्टा 'यो त केटाकेटी बिगार्ने साधन रहेछ' भनेर अभिभावक र आमाबाले इन्टरनेटलाई घर भित्र छिर्न नदिने निधो गरे भने वा यसबाट आफू पनि टाढा रहने र केटाकेटीहरूलाई पनि प्रयोग गर्न नदिने, साइबर क्याफेलाई डान्स रेस्टुरााजस्तो ठान्ने जनभावना निर्माण भयो भने नेपालको अगाडि आएको ठूलो अवसर गुम्ने निश्चित छ ।

इन्टरनेटमा भएका फोहोरी र विध्वंसकारी सामग्रीबाट जोगाउने उपायहरू पनि छन् । उपयुक्त चाइल्ड सेफ्टी सफ्टवेयरयुक्त ब्राउजर प्रयोग गर्ने एउटा प्रभावकारी उपाय हो । तर सबैभन्दा महत्वपूर्ण र प्रभावकारी उपाय जनचेतना र शिक्षा नै हो । बालबालिका र किशोरहरूलाई इन्टरनेट/अनलाइनको दुष्प्रभावबाट जोगाउन अभिभावकहरू पनि सचेत र शिक्षित हुनैपर्छ । प्रतिवन्धात्मक वा नकारात्मक उपायले झन विकृति ल्याउने र प्रविधिले दिएको अवसरबाट बंचित हुने संभावना धेरै हुन्छ ।

अर्को महìवपूर्ण उपाय बालमैत्री सामग्री इन्टरनेटमा राख्नु हो । अहिले वेबसाइटहरूमा नब्बे प्रतिशतभन्दा धेरै सूचना र ज्ञानका सामग्री अंग्रेजी भाषाका छन् । भाषाको दृष्टिले मात्रै होइन, सांस्कृतिक, धार्मिक, सामाजिक, शैक्षिक आदि विभिन्न दृष्टिले पनि ती सामग्रीहरू हाम्रो लागि विराना सामग्री हुन् । तिनको उपयोग हामी सहज रूपमा गर्न सक्तैनौा । अहिले बालबालिका र किशोरहरूले कम्प्युटर खोल्ने बित्तिकै कि त च्याट गर्न थाल्छन्, कि गेम खेल्न थाल्छन् । उनीहरूका लागि आफ्नै भाषा र संस्कृति सुहाउादा कार्टुन, चित्र, बालसाहित्यका सामग्री भएका भए अथवा उनीहरूको विद्यालयमा पढाइने विषयका सामग्री भए पक्कै पनि उनीहरूको ध्यान च्याट वा गेमतिर जाने थिएन । बालबालिका र किशोरहरू अनलाइनमा बरालिनु र दुष्प्रभावमा पर्नुको एउटा प्रमुख कारण नेपाली कन्टेन्टको अभाव नै हो । यसैले एक्काइसौा शताब्दीका बालबालिकालाई चाहिने विषयवस्तु उत्पादन गर्नु अहिले नेपाली अनलाइन प्रवर्द्धकहरूका लागि सबैभन्दा ठूलो हााक र अवसर पनि हो । सूचना प्रविधिको प्रवर्द्धन गर्ने काममा लागेका निकायहरूको ध्यान जति चाडो जानसक्यो उति बेस ।

अनलाइनको दुष्प्रभावबाट जोगिने नाममा/बहानामा हाम्रो भविष्यको पुस्ता यो उपयोगी साधनबाट वञ्चित नहोउन् भन्ने कुरामा विचार पुर्‍याउनै पर्छ । उनीहरूको भविष्य बिगार्ने अधिकार हामीलाई छैन । यसैले उनीहरूलाई सूचना प्रविधिको साधनबाट वञ्चित गर्नुहुदैन । अभिभावक, समाज वा सरकारले आˆनो कर्तव्य पूरा नगर्ने त्यसको सजाय बालबालिकाहरूले र अन्ततः देशले नै पाउने हुनुहुदैन । बालबालिकालाई अनलाइनको खतराबाट जोगाउने अभियानमा लागेका निकायहरूले यसमा विचार पुर्‍याउनु अति आवश्यक छ ।