Aki asked, “What are your thoughts on universal basic income?” We could start with the definition of “universal basic income” (UBI) which the Wiki says is “a form of social security in which all citizens or residents of a country… Read More ›
Month: January 2017
Getting There from Here
James Burke tells a story about a time when he and his team were lost in some place in Ireland. This was before Google maps and mobile phones. They asked a local for directions to some place who replied in… Read More ›
Ask Me Anything: “The Netherlands welcomes Trump in his own words” Edition
The description of this video says, “The whole world was watching for the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States: Donald J. Trump. Because we realize it’s better for us to get along, we decided to introduce our… Read More ›
Lee Kuan Yew’s advice to a young lady doing her PhD
Lee Kuan Yew was what I consider a good human being. He had not just brains and guts, he had a heart. Here’s one side of him that is funny and warm.
Why does India grow so fast if its education system is so poor?
We have to admit that India’s education system gets an F grade. India does not feature in any of the world rankings of universities. Sure there is a lot of hype about the IITs but aside from the delusions of… Read More ›
Hanson’s essay on “Trump and the American Divide”
Victor Davis Hanson, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution in Stanford University, wrote a long piece for the Winter 2017 issue of City Journal magazine titled “Trump and the American Divide.” I find reading a well-written, thoughtful long piece… Read More ›
Ludwig von Mises on Socialism
“A man who chooses between drinking a glass of milk and a glass of a solution of potassium cyanide does not choose between two beverages; he chooses between life and death. A society that chooses between capitalism and socialism does… Read More ›
Maya, Moksha, Nama and Rupa
Maya Pondering the fact of death, I am reminded that impermanence is a central feature of the world we live in. The phenomenal world — of things and events — is called maya in the dharmic traditions (namely Jain, Hindu,… Read More ›
Material and Cosmological Beliefs
I am a Hindu. In what sense am I a Hindu? Does what I read, write, wear and consume make me a Hindu? I think, read and write in English, I wear Western style clothing, I live in a Western… Read More ›
The Ownership Society — Revisited
The idea of “empowering” people was all the rage a few years ago. The answer to all of India’s woes, it seems, lay in empowering people, whatever that meant. I thought it was basically stupid. Why? Because people who are… Read More ›