Just Thinking

Sorry for not keeping in touch. I have been traveling places, meeting people, doing stuff. Very busy by my (admittedly low) standards 🙂 Anyway, I am fine and thanks for asking. Here’s what I am thinking about Continue reading “Just Thinking”

Keep Observing, Wondering, and Asking Why

My Dear Abhishek,

It gives me great joy to write a letter to you which you will understand – although you may still have to ask your mom or dad to read it out to you, and explain some bits. My previous letters to you will have to wait till you grow up a bit more.
Continue reading “Keep Observing, Wondering, and Asking Why”

Rajan Parrikar’s Pictures from the Mojave Desert

Light and Shadow at the Trona Pinnacles .(Click to see the whole lot.)

My friend Rajan Parrikar’s recent photo shoot in the Mojave Desert. He calls it Light and Shadow at the Trona Pinnacles.. “During a recent visit to Death Valley in California’s Mojave Desert, I overnighted in the desert town of Ridgecrest to shoot at the nearby Trona Pinnacles. This atmospheric locale has served as a setting for several well-known sci-fi movies and commercials. The basin with its Trona Pinnacles, the adjacent Searles Lake salt pan serviced by an unlikely railroad, and flanked by the Slate Range to the east and the Argus Mountains to the west, evokes an ambience that is at once enchanting, eerie, and alien.” Continue reading “Rajan Parrikar’s Pictures from the Mojave Desert”

There’s only so Much that Needs to Get Done

In a comment to a previous post Ketan wrote that the “total number of people required to produce all the goods & services needed to fulfill all the needs of Indian population is less than the available workforce.” I explore that point here. Continue reading “There’s only so Much that Needs to Get Done”

Why the Congress Must Go

It is generally true that most of the problems humanity suffers are created by humans. It is also generally true that humans eventually figure out solutions to those problems. However it is important to note that the two sets of humans — the problem-creators and problem-solvers — are disjoint sets. We can paraphrase Einstein’s astute observation: Problems cannot be solved by the same set of institutions and organizations that created them. India’s myriad modern problems have their genesis in one institution alone, the Congress party. In this post, I argue that for India to progress, Congress has to go. Continue reading “Why the Congress Must Go”

The Congested-shortage Economy

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The drive to the airport last week in Mumbai was no different from most drives in Mumbai. It was congested and progress was excruciatingly slow much of the way. The line at the security check was long. Only two of the five machines scanning the carry-on bags were working and progress was slow. That was the cause of the congestion at the security check. When the boarding time came — and went — I asked at the gate when will boarding start. At the check-in counter, I had been told that the flight was on time. Now I was told that the flight had not landed and was circling overhead — because of congestion at the airport. It’s a repeating pattern and it tells an interesting story. Continue reading “The Congested-shortage Economy”

Sir Walter Scott: “Breathes there the man …”

Today I am reminded of a fragment of a poem that I had learned in high school. It is by the Scottish poet — Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). It is from his narrative poem, “The Lay of the Last Minstrel” (1805). It is worth memorizing. Here it is: Continue reading “Sir Walter Scott: “Breathes there the man …””

Random Quotes — Best Sellers

A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read ‘The Lost Symbol’, by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it.

— The Economist