​How do we know if something exists? Does it need to have some physical form? If not, then how do we know if it exists? Notice how we went full circle on that initial question? We're not alone, as mathematicians and philosophers have discussed and debated on the nature of the most fundamental thing in the universe: numbers.

You can take this question as an intellectual exercise, though this topic can be discussed seriously in some academic circles.

When we pick up a can of hairspray, how do we know it's safe for us to use it? How did the manufacturers know how much haircare material and gas to pump into it to ensure a controllable release? What about a pressure cooker, the propane tank in the kitchen, or the tires of a car?

We take these thing for granted. But have we ever wondered about laws that govern them?

Where do we get our energy from? Most of you would say food, carbohydrate, or sugars, which is right. But those answers may be enough to satisfy a preschooler, not those taking biology, or having even the mildest interest in its branches.

A simple question sometimes require an extensive answer, and this being the study of life, the answer is never simple.

Every time Intel or AMD releases a new processor, the technogeeks amongst us rave on how many transistors they had crammed into it. The number used to be in the thousands, then millions, and now billions. But what are these things that we associated with power, speed and better gaming experience?

These humble devices have a unique history, and without it much of our civilisation would not have existed.

So the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro has concluded, and I'm sure many of you are rooting for specific events. For myself, it's the athletics, there's something about pushing the human limit of speed with nothing but muscle power that epitomises our obsession with achievements.

Zeno had thought of this - he is Greek after all, and proposes an extraordinary race that shapes our understanding of mathematics and physics, even today.