Discussing religious questions with the experts — In the first part of this series I wrote about Christian upbringing in foreign countries, about Catholic kindergartens and schools in Bombay, India. In my very early teens, schooling switched to a new town and a new school. That is what this chapter is about. When my father approached 70…

How I was brought up in religious surroundings, and how it affected my youth and adult life — Before we embark on this trip, I need to give you some background. I was born the son of a German who had fled the Nazis before WWII to the British colonies, and a Portuguese-Indian mother, in the coastal city of Bombay, India. My father was from Catholic Bavaria, my…

After a hiatus of over a year— I was working on two books — I am returning to the Friedel Chronicles — Why the long pause? Well, this is how things developed. As I described in my introductory post, I have a fairly interesting life behind me. When I reached seventy, it seemed that an autobiography would be appropriate. But, said son Tommy, I should not try to flat-out write the book…

Muhammed Ali inspired me to take up boxing in my college days. But it was very different to his fights. — As mentioned in a previous article, in my youth I had three great sporting heroes: Muhammed Ali, Bobby Fischer and Franz Beckenbauer. Nobody else came close to them. …

Who hasn’t gone through the Monte Hall problem? So, why not confront Enders and Hennes with it? — Recently, they got a vivid description of the famous probability puzzle: you are in a game show, and the host shows you three doors. Behind one of them is a beautiful new car, behind the other two are sacks of potatoes (in the original version they are goats). The host…

Finding the three mistakes in a sentence; and how to identify a poisoned cask of wine — Today was Enders-and-Hennes day. We spent it at the local lake, where an unusual number of families had gathered, drawn there by the sun and the easing of Covid restrictions. After a few weeks of abstinence, the boys were glad to exuberantly run around the water-side playground, full of boundless…

During early childhood, in the hill station jungle resort, it became necessary to actually attend school — in the Megacity of Bombay. — Much of my early childhood was spent in Lonavala, on the slopes of the Western Ghats, India. The town was a favourite of the erstwhile British colonialists, and we, a German-Portugese-Indian family, had a very nice house there. I spent a lot of time at the jungle farm of my…

Childhood adventures with stone-age tribals — As a child and a young boy, I spent a lot of time in the jungles of the Western Ghats of India, staying at an agricultural research facility run by my uncle Paul and aunt Trudy Stein, in the middle of the moist deciduous forest of that area. My father…

I have always been fascinated by optical illusions. Today I want to show you one that tricks your ears (and brain). — I have written about incredible optical illusions — links can be found at the bottom of this article. They trick your brain into seeing things that are not what you see. A quick example: Which square, on the above chessboard, is darker, the one marked A or the one marked…