Month: October 2024

Goethe on Commitment

Thus spake the great Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

I have not read any of his works, I sadly confess. But I regularly read his quotes that are easily found on the web (wikiquotes and goodreads are great sources.) And of course he is quoted frequently in books and articles.

Goethe said, “All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, until they take root in our personal experience.”

I think over honestly what great minds have already thought. Who was Goethe? Continue reading “Goethe on Commitment”

AMA – the Very Large Numbers edition

It’s been a while since the last AMA post. Actually, I’ve been hugely distracted with the presidential race. I end up spending inordinate amounts of time on X and on YouTube.

And on top of that, I am easily distracted. If I see an interesting book, it immediately goes on my reading list. When comes time to get some work done, I decide to just dip into the pile of books just for a few minutes, and the next thing I know is that I’ve spent hours reading.

But that has its rewards. I learn stuff. Learning stuff is joy. Here’s something I enjoyed. Continue reading “AMA – the Very Large Numbers edition”

The US Presidential Elections

In just 11 days, on Nov 5th, it will be time once again for the US to elect its next president. It appears to me that the die is cast and there’s unlikely to be an October Surprise to change anyone’s mind on whom to vote for.

I am in the Trump camp. It’s a no-brainer for me because his opponent Harris is a cackling retard. Trump is no John von Neumann, for sure. But he’s clearly better than Harris. What matters to me the most is the fabulous team that Trump will bring to his administration if he’s elected. Here they are: Continue reading “The US Presidential Elections”

Limits to Growth

Costco Business Center in San Jose, CA

Are there limits to growth? There must be because the planet we live on is finite. Therefore, it must be that there are limits to growth. But I believe that there are no practical limits to growth. The distinction between the theoretical and practical is important because it has implications regarding our moral imperatives.

In this bit, I continue my reply to Akshay’s comment. The previous bit was Energy and Power. In his comment, Akshay wrote: Continue reading “Limits to Growth”

Energy and Power

The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things. And I say it’s time to address a few recent comments. Let me begin with Akshay’s comment:

Quoth he:

You are right that energy is not an immediate limit to growth. While total energy usage today is about 20 TW (20E12 Watts), solar energy received by Earth at any given time is about: pi * R^2 * Solar_constant = 3.14 * 6.378E6^2 * 1.361E3 = 173843 TW. So, yes there is enormous room for growth in energy usage.

Them are impressively large numbers. It makes my brain numb. But let me being. Continue reading “Energy and Power”

Shubho Bijoya

Ma Durga with (l to r) Ganesh, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kartik.

Today was visarjan and Ma Durga has returned with her children to her husband’s home. After visarjan, people wish each other Shubho Bijoya. So Shubho Bijoya to all.

For Bengalis, and a few other Indian communities, Ma Durga’s annual visit to her maternal home is an occasion of great celebrations. She visits with her children: sons Ganesh and Karthik, and daughters Lakshmi and Saraswati. Continue reading “Shubho Bijoya”