This is the latest hot story in the internet - Hannan Binth Hashim, the wondergirl! The whole episode is really so amusing that I just can't believe it and I am going to question the credibility of this story. So if this is indeed true, I owe a big apology to her. It could be also possible that it is partly true and it was exaggerated by some of the bloggers and news papers.
I read it first in the Malayalam daily, 'Mathrubhumi', which is one of the most respected news papers, known for sticking to journalism ethics and all those funky words which one can use when describing a reputed news paper. So when you read any news from such a source you don't have to doubt the credibility of the news; you read it and you take it all, is not? On the first read, I was all praise for the young talent. Questioning Einstein!!?? Doubt the Bing bang theory!! All at the age of 15!!!!! And here is me. I remembered that the video lectures about Special Relativiy theory from a Stanford University professor I downloaded from youtube is still sitting in my laptop. I have not even watched the first 5 minutes of that entire lecture series. Right click -> Properties : 'date created' and 'last accessed' are the same ;-) some six months back! I am the one who couldn't go past the second chapter of 'Brief history of time'. And this 15 year old girl.. My my!! And she is a fellow Indian!! I got goose bumps!! Motivated, I got back to my work, testing my code. Bloody hell!! The processor is still not willing to yield. I spent an hour on the bloody board still with no result. I am not good.. I felt like giving up. Motivation! that is what I need. Hmm, I know an easy source of motivation now, don't I? I opened 'Mathrubhumi' website and started reading the article about Hannan again.
What?? Hold on!! She designed a rocket? And NASA launched it?? Was it not there when I read it last time? Or did I not see it because of the excitement? Now that is unreal! She was supposed to be researching in theoretical physics and astro-physics. What has it got to do with designing space crafts? I read the article again. She graduated from NASA! Well, she is holding the graduate certificate as well. I zoomed in the pic, it says 'Space school graduate'. Googled it; couldn't find anything. The article quotes her mother saying that it took 13 days of exams and experiments and presenting papers at NASA's space school in Houston to achieve that. Okay, so NASA's space school in Houston then, googled again. Wow, NASA do have a space school in Houston. I opened the first link:
The space centre is the official visitor's centre of NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston:
So do they have a school where they award graduate degrees? Aha! they do indeed! I read on..
Well well! it doesn't look like a real graduate degree! The space centre is really like an exhibition centre. School students can join for a five day course for a fee, where in they do different team activities - designing rockets etc (nothing too technical as depicted in the numerous Hannan related blogs and articles). And at the end of the school which is after the pre-mentioned five days, they award a certificate of graduation. It is this certificate which the girl (Hannan or who ever really that is) in the picture is holding! I am not certainly getting much motivation here!
I googled for all Hannan related articles. All those come up were from Indian bloggers or some Indian news sites. Some says she has papers presented in MIT, University of Boston etc. Mathrubhumi says she is going to join MIT as a student. So from tenth standard to a graduation in MIT then? I searched the websites of all these universities and NASA where she supposedly has presented papers on Astrophysics. Couldn't find anything about her. Searched in the Siemens Westinhouse Science and Technology Competition site where she is supposed to compete with other students. Couldn't find her details at all. Why am I not surprised now? One last try - searched for Dr. Soumya Vasudevan who is a Hind Rattan winner - Hannan's mentor as described in the article. Wikipedia doesn't list that name among the Hind rattan winners, but that is not really an exhaustive list. So I searched again. Initially when I posted this article the first time, I didn't find any details about her. After some googling I got the details of Dr.Sowmya Viswanathan (note the difference in name), who is a Hind Rattan award winner, but she is a medical practitioner. I also noticed that the 'American Journal of Theoretical Physics' where Hannan's papers are going to get published, never existed.
Hmmm.. I think I will call it a day and test my code tomorrow.
By evening Mathrubhumi has published another news about educational minister calling to congratulate Hannan! What?? Well, I don't know. I am all the more bemused! What is it? A true story or a hoax?
Hey there!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blogging world!
Ur first post itself is sooo long ;)
I did happen to receive a forward today regarding Hanan.
Going thru ur findings, I think it is a hoax! Someone must be behind them just for the sake of fame and money.
LOL and the news channels are behind the "Quotation Gangsters"
NOw it's clear why kalam said he didn't understand a thing...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteits a true story...i guess...i am not looking into facts...becoz it was not only published in mathrubhoomi,it was published in many more magazines...and no one can say that she cant do al these things..becoz as the news says...she started learning plus two physics books at the age of 9 itself...so she might be a brilliant girl...
ReplyDeleteJai said...
ReplyDeleteits a true story...i guess...i am not looking into facts...
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I think that is what you should look for, don't you think?
It's so strange that the media has jumped on the story without bothering to ask for a copy of her supposedly famous paper! Shouldn't at least one Indian scientist (familiar with Einstein's work) be asked to take a look at it?
ReplyDeletecongrats
ReplyDeleteThe writer could have cross checked the things with hannan before writing this article; kozhikode is neither in space nor in moon. It is located at kerala, india only. Pls check the matter and ask hannan all the facts.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that Kozhikode is a place in Kerala. It is also true that Hannan holds a certificate from Space Center.
ReplyDeleteWhat is not true is her big claims of rocket design, theoretical papers challenging Einstein and all the media hype surrounding it. Nobody has found any credible information about the so called publications. I see only the claims. Important questions are: Where has she published her theories? Is that a refereed journal? Has anyone interviewed any of the scientists mentioned in the Mathrubhumi article?
Sah said...
ReplyDeleteThe writer could have cross checked the things with hannan before writing this article; kozhikode is neither in space nor in moon. It is located at kerala, india only. Pls check the matter and ask hannan all the facts.
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Sah, This article was the work of a lousy afternoon in office. And what I have put there are plain facts. If Hannan claims she has done all these, what different story would she have to tell if one calls and asks? And how do you think I can contact her? She hasn't diplayed her phone num and address on a billboard for everyone to see, has she? Ofcourse she is not in space or in moon. But I am not in Kerala or in India either.
I am going to graduate from UIUC this year in Maths, I never heard about that theory of zero,... infact in some rubbish site, some one proposed that 0 = infinity. Such ideas says he doesn't know even UG maths.
ReplyDeleteEinstein even dint produced that in a day.
More over that Siemens competition is only for US citizens or Green Card holders.
http://www.collegeboard.com/siemens/eligibility.html
It's pure media hype.
ReplyDeletePlease see the comments section of khaberein news on this topic http://www.khabrein.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26288&Itemid=66&limit=1&limitstart=1
Prof. murthy whom she claims to one of the guides, has come out with his version. In personal communication, the other profs also have denied guiding this girl on such non-sense work. Be little logical guys!
Yea. I too did see that comment posted by Prof. Murthy before. I didn't post it here because anybody can comment on that site putting Prof. Murthy's name there. So I was not sure if the comment was gemuinly made by Professor himself.
ReplyDeletekuntham !!! wat pillaisir said s absolutly right ..its actually a media hype..
ReplyDeletehttp://favazpatla.blogspot.com/
Yea. I too did see that comment posted by Prof. Murthy before. I didn't post it here because anybody can comment on that site putting Prof. Murthy's name there. So I was not sure if the comment was gemuinly made by Professor himself.
ReplyDelete----
I stand by my statement.
Jayant Murthy (feel free to email me for authenticity).
I stand by my statement.
ReplyDeleteJayant Murthy (feel free to email me for authenticity).
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Would like to do that. But how can I get your email id?
Pl see link
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stjosephsangloindianschool.org/photo3.html
to read about what her school has to say. There is also a mention of her "absolute theory of zero " in it. "Her research named ‘Absolute Theory of Zero' modifies the value of zero and other real numbers."
@Anony
ReplyDeleteI have visited the school website before. This was not there then. This is a more recent update I guess. And it says about all those details which I concluded as baseless.
"Modifies the value of zero and other real number"!!????????? what?? mandatharathinum oru athirundu!!
The news abt. Hannan has been published by reliable sources, so it doesn’t seem 2 b a hype…. As to ur doubts, i would like 2 clarify that 1) IIMSc. stands for Indian Institute of Mathematical Sciences located at Chennai, India…… 2) Though Siemens Westinghouse Sc. & Tech comp’t is open only 4 US students, Hannan has been given exemption bcoz of her excellent track records…… & finally 3)Dr. Soumya Vasudevan was awarded Hind Rattan award on Jan.25th , 2006.
ReplyDelete@Jayakumar
ReplyDelete1) IIMSc. stands for Indian Institute of Mathematical Sciences located at Chennai, India……
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It is not Indian Institute of Mathematical Sciences, It is IMSc and it is Institute of mathematical science. But, have I said anything about IMSc in my blog?
2) Though Siemens Westinghouse Sc. & Tech comp’t is open only 4 US students, Hannan has been given exemption bcoz of her excellent track records
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Have I disputed about the entry criteria? I said there is no details about her in their website.
3)Dr. Soumya Vasudevan was awarded Hind Rattan award on Jan.25th , 2006
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Again, it is not Soumya Vasudevan, it is Sowmya Viswanathan and she is a medic. It is written clearly in my blog.
& finally
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& finally, have you read my blog at all? READ before commenting.
You might say these are all minor mistakes in the news. But thats how the whole news was framed. Everything she claims exists, but with a minor difference in name.
You’ve been tagged! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://elegantchic.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/tagged/
Nice to see Sunil Mukhi(String Theoretician TIFR Mumbai) on the comments. Well lets wait to see the absolute theory of zero published. As stated as a mix up of STR, Big bang and Darwins theory of evolution, it looks like a fraud. Any way lets wait and watch
ReplyDeleteNegative effect of media technology? like road traffic jams?
ReplyDeletePillai sir,
ReplyDeleteI wonder why Hannan is silent even after so much of criticism. The latest to join is wikipedia which has threatened to remove page on her for being "non-notable probable hoax with too few and too minor references". The article will be deleted on October 2, 2009 unless credible citations and details are not included in the page. It is time her supporters (she claims to have so many of them)made some relevant contribution to wikepedia. We are also waiting to hear.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteIn the news report it was mentioned that one Prof. M S Raghunathan from TIFR advised her to go to IAA and IISC.
TIFR is in Mumbai and not in Pune. It has one nodal centre there which is NCRA Pune. But there is no faculty named M S Raghunathan in NCRA. Infact he is a Homi Bhabha Chair in Maths Dept TIFR Mumbai and as some of you may know is a famous mathematician.
@anony
ReplyDeleteEverything mentioned by Hannan or her parents are like this; so close to being true, but totally fake. The Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi has apologised corrected its mistake last week.
Hello Mr Pillai,
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the confirmation. It would be good to have the link of Mathrubhumi correcting its mistake please.
Thanks a lot in advance.
Here it is Ashwani:
ReplyDeletehttp://epaper.mathrubhumi.com/index.php?id=7602&cat=14&date=2009-10-05
bottom left hand corner. Looks like after they realized the blunder they didn't want to make a profuse apology. So there is a letter from the reader stating all the inconsistencies in the news (pretty much what I have written here and in some other blogs as well), and Mathrubhumi admitting the mistake. They had swiftly removed the original news from the website after realising the mistake. But what is sad is a few weeks back Hannan appeared in the news again - this time in Kerala Kaumudi. I don't know what these journalists are doing.
Once Kaumudi apologises, maybe Desabhimani will publish the hot news... :)
ReplyDeleteHi Mr Pillai,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. They have made the correction look like "some minor mistakes" :)
Thanks a lot for the link. Now I can forward to all those who have forwarded me the news.
Updates:
ReplyDeleteHannan's school has selectively deleted news about hannan that was previously at this link< http://www.stjosephsangloindianschool.org/photo3.html >. I got this info from suchand's blog
< http://suchandscs.blogspot.com/2009/10/blog-post.html >.
another info from pappoos blog
< https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1366484230997847009&postID=7214475804051624537&page=1 >. Siemen's competition participants list has been published at < http://www.siemens-foundation.org/en/index.htm >. Among the 400 students selected as semifinalists and finalists, our hannan's name does not figure.
she is real she is here in Boston came to present here a paper at MIT staying with my friend
ReplyDelete@ Michael
ReplyDeleteIf she is real, would you be kind to clarify the inconsistencies about her which I mentioned in the blog? If she is presenting a paper in MIT, can you provide the link to the event? I still can't find nothing about her in the MIT website.
There are lot of inconsistancies and lies involved in all these events. As a victim of her lies I here by clarify that I have lot of unanswered questions about those presentations, admissions etc. I have never seen her but talked to her and emailed her because of one of her well wishers request. According to her she stayed with me , and I took her around for competions...There are a lot of people like me around ,just realizing the truth (or lie). I wish her well but will not support her dishonesty.
ReplyDelete@Anony
ReplyDeleteCould please reveal who you are though? And how you know Hannan..
I am a physician with 19 years of experience, One of her well wishers who trusted her blindly (not now I suppose) introduced her to me. She is in USA claiming that she had presentations in MIT and Harvard last week. I did trust her too in the begining and was ready to support her to my ability, but certain lies and inconsistancies became evident with proof so I made it clear that I do not want to be a part of it. To my knowledge she has multiple sponsors helping her with her trips etc.
ReplyDeleteThanks. If she is indeed a great, she wouldn't have cooked up all these lies.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI live in Boston, and i was laughing at the mathrubhumi story. Can some one post here, what kind of presentation she is going to do in Harvard and MIT. I have few acquaintances in both the places.
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteNothing she is going to Present in MIT nor Havard, I was a well wisher of Hanaan, but back-out with clear e-mail to her and to my friends about her misbehaviour and misinterpretation of matter. Also, she lied to all her Friends, Family and to the media, with a clear mind of FRAUDSTER!
What was the aim? Surely not MIT or Harvard but some quick money in the form of Support????
Moreover, the media should be sued (especialy Mathrubhumi a leading regional daily and ASIANET TV) for mis-leading the young people!
Last but not least, we lost another brilliant / Talented Girl! Can the media help her to get back to the right TRACK??
The morale :- Children need Guidance! Right Guidance....
Another possible science scandal (here in the US), which has yet to come to light and that the media has yet to acknowledge was the bogus results of the 2004 Siemens science competition, in which that year's top winner claimed to have invented a NEW alternative energy technology that, in fact, was over 30 years old (but little known). Not only were the, so called, experts who were asked to judge the competition completely duped, but all those in the media were as well (well, that's not so hard to believe). It remains to be seen if Siemens will ever fess up, or if the media is going to go back and check that one out again.
ReplyDeleteFor those curious, check into the 2004 Siemens competition results and the claimed "new" technology.
I think it is very important that, in particular, science scams and bogus science stories are ferreted out as quickly as possible, because people (and the media) tend to trust scientists far more than ordinary people - and that's the way it should remain. If scientists lose credibility (as with climate
change research) then we are in serious trouble!
The 2004 Siemens Science Competition was another scandal that still needs to be exposed.
This story first came in this website http://www.defence.pk/forums/world-affairs/
ReplyDeleteIf you go to that site, you could see that it is a Muslim propoganda site of Pakistan Government.
By now everybody in the world knows how much truth can come out of Pakistan.
You can find a lot of similar stories - of Muslim men inventing everything from the wheel to the latest Intel chip. But this is the first time that they publish a story of a Muslim girl outshining everybody else including Einstein.
Usually, Muslim women are given only a status of a breeder in such forums. This is a welcome change.
Here's another story from the same site (http://www.defence.pk/forums/world-affairs/ )
ReplyDeletePakistan among countries working on military robots
LONG BEACH: Pakistan is among the countries working on the development of military robots as robots will be armies of the future in a case of science fact catching up to fiction, a researcher told an elite TED gathering on Wednesday. “The United States is ahead in military robots, but in technology there is no such thing as a permanent advantage,” Peter Singer, who has authored books on the military said. “You have Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran working on military robots.” Singer warned that while using robots for battle saves lives of military personnel, the move has the potential to exacerbate warfare by having heartless machines do the dirty work. “We are at a point of revolution in war,” Singer said. Singer predicted US military units will be half machine, half human by 2015.
After a mere 10 minutes of research on NASA’s website, I can assure you that there is absolutely no way that a young girl, barely a teenager, was “invited” to participate in groundbreaking research. There are several different programs offered for children that age, BUT all of these programs are simply summer camps; the types of places where everyone is awarded a medal and a certificate for participation. In order to participate in anything that even resembles research, one must have completed at least part of a U.S. undergraduate degree and go through a rigorous application process.
ReplyDeleteI am completely shocked by the lack of fact checking, on behalf of Indian publications. While it is always exciting for Indians to hear about the accomplishments of other Indians, it is a completely different story for media-outlets to blindly believe the stories of a teenage girl. She speaks of scholarly publications that do no exist, in addition to fictional research programs, and “special” admission to MIT — and people are suddenly in awe of this supposed child prodigy. So powerful was this naivete that Hannan, through unknown sources, funded two separate trips to the U.S., (the second time bringing her mother along as well), where she simply frolicked here and there with various strangers. All this happened while she was telling both her hosts and her supporters that she was amidst “serious research” and “paper publications” at MIT. Such uncontrolled, outrageous lying.
While in Boston, she told many people that she was staying with MIT Professors, and that the school had created accomadations for her — in all actuality, she stayed with complete strangers who took both her and her mother into their home only out of genorosity and kindness.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, members of my family believed this manipulative girl’s stories. In an attempt to be hospitable, two family members traveled to visit Hannan at her so-called “NASA Presentation” — they were stood up, after waiting for hours, so they simply left some contact information for Hannan.
Hannan went on to tell future hosts and god knows who else that her connections (my family) had taken her on trips across the United States, that she had stayed at our home, and other complete falsities. She gave out the contact information, without permission, to several people (saying it belonged to various, made up persons).
In hearing and researching this horrific story, I am still in disbelief that a person could be so conniving. Parts of me even feel as though half of the “Support Hannan” comments on this post were probably written by Hannan herself. For a child, as young as 14 years old, to defraud organizations and different individuals, in order to life some fantasy or attempt to move to the U.S., it’s just absolutely ridiculous.
While I do not doubt she is smart (for one has to be very intelligent to trick so many), I must say that regardless of how intelligent she might me, she obviously lacks any semblance of a moral code.
Those of you who feel as though you know this girl, and support her whole-heartedly as she triumphs the world of science — why don’t you take some time to read excerpts of her writing, (since the entirety of her paper is unavailable.) The portions I read were in no way a representation of scholarly, research writing. I doubt that there is anything to her actual “research,” apart from the fact that she strung together a few separate lines regarding theoretical physics, while making outlandish claims about the possibility of life on other planets.
I deeply pity those who fell prey to her malicious intent. I hope that you, nor anyone you know lost money to this fraudulent cause. Hannan is back in India now, but I think that she should face severe consequences for her actions. In the U.S. it is illegal to garner money for a faulty cause, and it seems as though that is exactly what she did, in order to fund her adventures abroad. Furthermore, shouldn’t she have to answer to a higher authority regarding the countless times she openly lied to media outlets and supporters?
Where is the justice?
Hanan................
ReplyDeleteDon't think that you are bigger than anything.Actually
you are nothing.And I hate you than anything!
is this anonymous a rejected lover
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for you,Hannan .. God bless.
ReplyDeletebless u all success
ReplyDeletehttp://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/28/11920006-16-year-olds-equations-set-off-buzz-over-325-year-old-physics-puzzler?lite
ReplyDelete