Month: November 2013

The Indian Constitution was adopted on Nov 26th, 1949.

The wiki entry says, “The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950, proclaiming India to be a sovereign, democratic republic. It contained the founding principles of the law of the land which would govern India after its independence from British rule. On the day the constitution came into effect, India ceased to be a dominion of the British Crown. The Indian constitution is the world’s longest constitution. At the time of commencement, the constitution had 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules. It consists of almost 80,000 words and took 2 years 11 months and 18 days to build.”

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I have tried unsuccessfully to read the constitution. I could not understand it. Over the years I have asked thousands of educated Indians if they have read the Indian constitution and not one has claimed to have read it fully. A few have read parts of it, some only the preamble, and most have no idea what it is about except for that they know that it is the longest constitution in the world.
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You cannot Parody a Parody

I have never made it is a secret that I find Bollywood unbearable. But I have to confess that I have watched the 1975 blockbuster Sholay a dozen times at least. Why? Because one particular sequence in it cracked me up something wicked. It is a traditional joke — someone ostensibly speaking in favor of a person but actually doing everything possible to undermine that person’s case. As a rhetorical device, it is deliciously persuasive because the humor hammers home the underlying message more effectively than straightforward speech.
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The Indian mission to Mars is a Waste

Countries, as much as individuals, have to allocate limited resources rationally. Even those tasks that have net benefits have to be considered in relation to the net benefits of other tasks that could instead have been done — the simple idea of opportunity costs explored in the previous post, “The Importance of Prioritizing and Sequenceing.” In the following I argue why India’s mission to Mars is a waste of valuable resources.
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The importance of Prioritizing and Sequencing

Our successes and failures are a consequence of the choices we make, individually and collectively. Consistently good choices made over extended periods of time lead to success, barring any unfortunate and unanticipated circumstances. I explored that idea in a recent column at Niti Central. Here it is, for the record.
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Happy Birthday, Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan was born on this day in 1934. Thanks for Cosmos and the many books I loved passionately — The Demon-Haunted World and Pale Blue Dot. Here’s a tribute to you that I like from the ever-entertaining SciShow guy.
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