Posts

On eugenics

People often talk about athletes and entertainers when they talk about inherent abilities. Advocates of eugenics love that. They particularly love one piece of statistics: "17% of all American 7-footers play in NBA". There are holes in this statistic, but still it's a striking proportion (lowest estimate I saw in 2.8%). So the assumption is that you can breed a race of 7-footers that will have a disproportionate advantage in basketball, and by extension, you can make similar argument for any profession. But that "extension" becomes a bit more than a stretch when you consider that sports and entertainment are literally exhibitions of simplified traits. So no shit, Sherlock, you can select for specific traits and win medals for it. But human society and activities are complex, a single trait does not define the value of a person. Be it running a business or fixing stuff or cooking meals-- every activity requires a potpourri of skills. And that is the reason we cr
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On God

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Where do you go searching for me, dear? I am right here with you. Not in pilgrimage, nor in icons, Neither in solitudes Not in temples, nor in mosques Neither in  Kaba  nor in  Kailash I am with right here, oh dear, I am with you. God is the place in your heart where you save things you learn in life.  It is the alter you  cleanse with your own hands and  adorn with your treasure.  It is the Tirtha you visit a thousand times a day and ask for guidance and it whispers back.  It is the hall of mirrors that reflects your true self back to you and creates and recreates  you in your own image. Where do you go searching for me, dear? I am right here with you.
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Occidentalism... from the Orient

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 "Occidentalism" as a concept is generally seen in a negative light, as it comes out of the conservatism toolbox as a counter to Orientalism. And that is kinda justified, since Occidentalism does not come with the immense baggage of colonialism and the skewed power dynamics that gives you the license to create a dominant narrative. But it's not non-existent. There is a strong stereotype of the Western society in the oriental mind, and with the recent growth of Asian influence in the world, it's starting to reach the Western audience. While it's not the antithesis of Orientalism in outlook, it's quirky and stereotypical enough to take notice. And the easiest place to find it is in Indian films that portray Western characters.  Historical films from India portray two kinds of westerners-- kind of a good cop/bad cop combo-- the cruel, wily, condescending colonial master and the sympathetic British lady swooning over the Indian protagonist (Exhibit A: Naatu Naatu)
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The stoics

An alarm goes off between  unturned pages of Meditations.  One wolf lies dead. Another growls at the door. I look at the clock and its hands are the only stoics in the room.
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14 years later...

I created a blog with the same name back in 2007. It was a time when blogs had already started evolving from personal journals to massive community engagements. But I was oblivious to all that. I was just happy that I could have a web presence for free. It was a prestige thing, too. Not many people owned a blog (even less read one).  It was a simpler time-- people used to blog about things they put on facebook now-- hobbies, baby or cat photos, movie reviews, recipes, haikus, whining about school or work or government. My blog was no different. It was chock-full of pointless ramblings, failed attempts at creative writing and fragments of (laughably simple) MATLAB codes-- all to impress friends. Then along the way I found out that people were making money from blogs, so I started putting ugly adsense banners in my blog and posting nonsense Buzzfeedy things to boost traffic ("Ten online games you cannot resist"). It did not help, just defaced my blog and ruined my inner peace.
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