Minds Without Fear

The Atlantic Monthly recently published a list of The Top 100 most influential Americans. Arguably, many on that list would also make it into a list called “The Top 100 Most Influential People” as well. Indeed, the modern world is defined and shaped by many on that Atlantic Monthly list. It is remarkable how much the world of today (both good and bad) owes to those who were, and are, Americans. In every broad area of human endeavor—science, technology, politics, economics, law, medicine, education, literature, architecture—Americans have made seminal contributions.
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The Utility of Suffering

The question of the utility of suffering has been asked for as long as sentient beings have walked the earth, I suppose. And it is unlikely that it would be answered any time soon — an answer that does not insult the head nor outrage the heart, that is.
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Zen and the Art of Development

I was asked recently to ask a quotable question. My facetious response was that I only ask quotable questions. But I did consider the request seriously for a bit, and among the numerous questions that I wish people would ask themselves, I selected one that I think is particularly worthy in the context of development and economic growth. The question is this—and you may quote me freely—is there any instance of a technological development that was specifically created for the poor? The same question in the policy arena would translate into: is there any instance of a policy which was ostensibly pro-poor which actually helped the poor?
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A Trivial Economics Question — Part 2

Yesterday I posed a couple of trivial economics questions. The first was: “I have an object X that I wish to assign (gift or give away) to one of three: A, B, or C. How do I determine whom to give it to if I am concerned about allocative efficiency? Assume that A, B, and C have different preferences and abilities to pay.”
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A Trivial Economics Question

Here is the story. I have an object X that I wish to assign (gift or give away) to one of three: A, B, or C. How do I determine whom to give it to if I am concerned about allocative efficiency? Assume that A, B, and C have different preferences and abilities to pay.

To put a nice twist to the story, what if I am also concerned about equity? That is, although I have only one object X, I don’t want to be unfair to the other two who will not get the object X. What is the best way—the mechanism—to resolve this issue?

Of course, the answer changes if I don’t wish to give more than just the object X, as opposed to the case where I am willing to give more than X just for the sake of being fair to all three.

Finally, a real world situation. My siblings and I have inherited our parents’ property. The eldest occupies it, but the other three (including me), are waiting for our share. What is the most economically efficient way to distribute the value of the property if the property itself is indivisible?

Your views are solicited. Let’s see if we can find answers to the questions that we find satisfactory. And if we do, perhaps we will understand a little more about the question of how economies work. That is the beauty of economics. From seemingly trivial—though interesting—questions, one can gain insight into larger questions.

POST SCRIPT: I made the mistake of putting two entirely different scenarios on the same post. So there is much confusion. I wish to clarify that the “efficient allocation of an object X” is a seperate matter from the “fair and efficient distribution of an indivisible inherited property.” Conflating the two was not my intention.

IIT-Inspire, Invovle, and Transform — 2

[Continued from Part 1 of this series.]

Made Up Stuff

Naturally, I was not part of the organizing committee and so I can’t know how they chose the keynote speakers of Dec 23rd at the Pan IIT 2006 meet. Therefore, I give in to wild conjecture. Consider this a sort of “reverse process engineering.”

“We need to choose a keynote speaker.”

“Yes, but to attract a wide range of audience, we must have more than one. Let’s set the parameters first. How about someone who appeals to technologists, as we are all techies. At the other end of the scale we have to have someone who widely regarded as a spiritual leader. Most of all, we must have famous personalities.”

“I guess that is a great strategy. We must have complete and comprehensive coverage of the entire spectrum. We need the commies as well as the capitalists amongst us satisfied. So, we must get a money bag to be a keynote speaker. Married speakers as well as bachelors.” Continue reading “IIT-Inspire, Invovle, and Transform — 2”

R U MAD ??????

HELLO,

PLEASE STOP WRITING NONSENSE ABOUT OUR GURUJI SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR JI. HE WILL NOT EVEN GET A SINGLE PENNY OUT OF ART OF LIVING ORGANISATION. HE IS STRUGGLING SO HARD DAY & NIGHT TRAVELLING ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR PEACE AND A SMILE FROM HEART. I GUESS YOUR LIFE MUST BE FULL OF TROUBLES..NO DOUBT ABOUT IT….STOP JUDGING ABOUT GURUJI..YOUR LIFE WILL BE PATHETIC AND IT IS ALREADY PATHETIC…STOP ALL YOUR BULLSHIT AND RUBBISH. ATLEAST JOIN THE BASIC PART 1 COURSE YOU WILL CHANGE. MY LIFE TOTALLY CHANGED BECAUSE OF GURUJI OTHERWISE IT COULD HAVE BEEN MISERABLE. TRUST ME HE IS GOD.. YOU WILL REALISE ONCE YOU DO THE COURSE. I’M NOT HERE TO HURT YOU..PLEASE REALISE GURUJI IS A GOD’S GIFT. HE IS VERY VERY NICE PERSON ON THE EARTH. I CAN NOT REPAY HIM FOR EVER. MY FEE IS NOT AT ALL WORTH…I GIVE MY WHOLE LIFE TO GURUJI..ONCE AGAIN PLEASE STOP ALL YOUR RUBSIH AND REALISE….YOU WILL SEE A BEAUTIFUL WORLD.

JAI GURUDEV

HEMANTH

[Thus wrote Hemanth {previously published email address removed}. I would be embarrassed if I had such worshippers. Sri Sri Ravishankar, please read and weep. To answer your worshipper who asked if I was mad, I assure you that I am merely confused, not mad. I am confused regarding why your worshippers write such emails to me when I have not written a single negative comment about their “Gurudev.” Gurudevji, if you are here for the first time, please read my final word on you.]

Essence of Leadership

“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”

— John Kenneth Galbraith

IIT–Inspire, Involve and Transform

Hoopla at the Bandra Kurla

The PanIIT 2006 conference was a marvel to behold. I was among the over 5,000 (so the organizers claimed) who attended the event at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, Dec 23rd to the 25th. I had had my misgivings about being part of the hoopla but my curiosity trumped discretion eventually. I don’t regret being there, mind you, as it was a supreme learning experience. Besides, I got to meet some interesting people, and see some people who I had heard and read about a lot but never seen them in the flesh.
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Competition and Choice

From Bath, England, Keith Hudson’s Daily Wisdom mailings are a source of endless delight and surprise. Wide ranging and eclectic, Keith’s musings are edifying to say the least. Here, for the record, is today’s bit which focuses on a topic close to my heart–education.
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