Category: People

Making of a garden city

leekyew

Whether personal or societal, transformations generally require will and vision. In the case of personal transformation, unless one is a schizophrenic, a combination of intelligence, basic human values, determination, foresight and will is sufficient. For social transformation, something more is needed. Clearly leadership matters.

Here’s something to think about. Below the fold is an extended excerpt from the book, “Lee Kuan Yew: The Man and His Ideas” by Kwang, Tan and Fernandez. Indian leaders ought to take note. Or at the very least, they should read what Lee Kuan Yew has accomplished.
Continue reading “Making of a garden city”

Darwin and The Daily Show

Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show ranks among my most favorite shows. It’s intelligent and funny, and does not shrink from calling a spade a commonly used gardening equipment with a wooden handle and a metal working surface. Here’s one hilarious segment on evolution.

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http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:124491

You will find a collection of evolution related segments here.

In honor of Charles Darwin turning 200 years young today (you don’t look a day over 139, Chuck!), I’ve assembled some of the finest evolution-related clips from The Daily Show’s history. I have to say though, I have some misgivings about this, because I don’t believe I descended from some damn monkeys. No, I believe we all descended from space-pandas, like it says in The Bible.

Lincoln and Darwin: Who was the more important?

If you have 15 minutes to spare today, you have to read this Malcolm Jones article, “Who was more important: Lincoln or Darwin,” in the Newsweek issue of July 2008. (Let’s also take a moment to reflect on our great fortune that we live in an age when it is possible for us to have access to so much great stuff to read without having to visit a physical library.) I quote a few bits from that article for the record but I entreat you to find the time to read the whole thing.
Continue reading “Lincoln and Darwin: Who was the more important?”

Darwin Quotes

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Darwin wrote:

“To kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing of a new truth or fact.”

“My mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding laws out of large collection of facts.”

Quotes from the Jan 2009 special issue of Scientific American on the Most Powerful Idea in Science issue.
[Image source]

Here’s what Gary Stix’s article, “Darwin’s Living Legacy”, in that issue begins with: Continue reading “Darwin Quotes”

Slowly wise and meanly just

The Vatican has decided that Charles Darwin was not really wrong. In a remarkable display of mealy-mouthed post-hoc rationalization, it claims that Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is not inconsistent with the idea of a biblical creation of life. Vatican Buries the Hatchet with Charles Darwin, says TimesOnLine.
Continue reading “Slowly wise and meanly just”

Happy Darwin Day

lincoln

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Feb 12, 1809 must have been an extraordinary day.

It is special for me because two of my heroes were born on that day. Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were both born on this day 200 years ago. This year, 2009, is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s book, On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

So I will dedicate the next couple of posts on Darwin and Lincoln.

Happy Birthday, Mr Lincoln and Happy Birthday Mr Darwin. The world is a better place for your having been here.

Jan 23rd: Subhas Chandra Bose’s Birthday

Netaji Bose was born on this day in 1897. When and where he died is a mystery. The airbrushing of his image from the consciousness of Indians bears testimony to M K Gandhi’s success in crushing his opponents. Gandhi appointed Nehru as his successor and the rest is, as they say, history.

Gandhi cast a very long shadow on India. Mao is supposed to have replied, when asked about his opinion of the French revolution, “It is too early to tell.” The official line in India — and therefore the line parroted by the vast majority of ‘educated’ Indians — is that Gandhi was a prime factor in India gaining political independence. I think it is too early to tell whether Gandhi was good for India or not. But give it a few more decades and I am confident that Gandhi’s image will undergo a radical transformation. Satyam eva, as the old Sanskrit saying (which is India’s motto) goes, jayatey. Truth alone prevails. Eventually.

Update: Thanks to all those who pointed out that the title of the post was incorrect. I have changed the “Jan 13th” to “Jan 23rd.”

Thanks to rahushar for correcting my incorrect transcription of “satyam eva jayate.”

Narendra Modi for PM — NOW!

The more I hear of what Narendrabhai is doing in Gujarat, the more I believe that India needs him as the PM. The man has a backbone unlike the spineless bozo who shall remain unnamed here. The man has a brain. And the man knows what is economic development means and how to make it happen. The spineless bozo will not know development even if development came up and bit him on his behind.

If India cannot have Lee Kuan Yew, it is not a problem because India has Narendra Modi. That is not quite true — Gujarat has Modi, not India.

Here’s a piece on Modi. Go read it and admire the man. (Link thanks to Prashant Kothari.)

Ramachandra Guha on Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Longings for a Nobel Prize

It’s been a while since I wrote a post on SSRS. To remedy that neglect, here’s something about the man.

Ram Guha wrote a funny entry in his Oslo diary with the title “Nobel Longings.” (Thanks to Sushant for the link.)
Continue reading “Ramachandra Guha on Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Longings for a Nobel Prize”

Lee Kuan Yew on PURA

In an article in the Business Line titled “Kalam’s PURA will not work,” Lee Kuan Yew makes the case for urbanization of the population for India to develop.
Continue reading “Lee Kuan Yew on PURA”