Yesterday's Empires into Dust The Buddha’s enlightenment was centered around the realization that the universe is characterized by impermanence (called annicha in Pali) and change, that nothing abides eternally. That event occurred when he was intensely meditating under a tree 2,500 years ago in a grove. That place is known today as Bodh Gaya, a … Continue reading Bihar — Part 1
Month: May 2007
Back in Pune
Being lost is worth the coming home, as Neil Diamond observed in his song "Stones" many many years ago. Traveling to Delhi and Patna was worth the leaving behind of those places, I feel. Now I am back in Pune, the weather is awesome, and I am fully charged up with all sorts of interesting … Continue reading Back in Pune
Mumbai, Delhi, Patna
If you have been wondering whatever happened to yours truly, wonder no more. The last few days I have been in Mumbai, attending the Sun Technovate '07 -- "INDIA -- the Next Big Idea." Got a chance to see Scott McNealy, chairman and co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Scott and three others students at Stanford University, … Continue reading Mumbai, Delhi, Patna
Open Source and Education
From the article How the Open Source Movement Has Changed Education: 10 Success Stories: "MIT provides just one of the 10 open source educational success stories detailed below. Open source and open access resources have changed how colleges, organizations, instructors, and prospective students use software, operating systems and online documents for educational purposes. And, in … Continue reading Open Source and Education
Reduce your attention deficit
Everything has a cost and this arises from the basic fact that we are mortals. We are given a finite amount of time. Time is the limiting constraint, not money or stuff. The more stuff out there that clamors for our attention, the more acutely we wish "had we but world enough, and time."[1] Aside … Continue reading Reduce your attention deficit
Hang Drum
The hang drum looks a bit like a flying saucer from some '60s science fiction B-movie. But it does sound very nice. While the clip is loading, read below the fold about the hang drum. A hang (pronounced 'hung' or 'hong') is a melodious percussive musical instrument, similar to a steel drum. It uses many … Continue reading Hang Drum
The Indian Education System — Part 10
[Previous post: Part 9.] The liberalization of the education sector in India, that is, allowing free entry – especially for-profit firms – will result in increased supply of educational services. Here I will explore the predictable consequences of this. We begin by recognizing that education is not an undifferentiated homogeneous good; there are distinct levels … Continue reading The Indian Education System — Part 10
