Surreptitious Radical Maniac

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am." The woman below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude." "You must be a programmer," said the balloonist. "I am" replied the woman," How did you know?" "Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help so far." The woman below responded, "You must be a manager." "I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?" "Well," sa...

Are we constantly worrying about the future? Working towards it? Tamed by it? Or are we creating it? Making our fortune? Or just watching as time pass by. It's very curious to see the way 'time' is constructed, which created past, present and future. Taking a smaller example of it, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Interestingly, the Hindi language word for yesterday and tomorrow is the same: 'kal'. Does that mean anything? Why didn't/couldn't they think of different words? Maybe they saw it was unnecessary, and we are just in a perception of time. When I learnt this for the first time in school, it baffled me. I was appalled to see how do I communicate effectively if the word is the same? But, I didn't face much trouble, because it's the same case for everyone. Not just me. “The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.” – Ma...

Capitalism is an economic and political system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. As critics point out, capitalism can cause inequality, market failure, damage to the environment, excess materialism and other challenges. Although these problems can be seen as endemic, it is still one of the major systems across the world. It is seen as broadly winning against communism, and even socialism. But, if it’s successful, as even adopted by many countries, why is it seen as dangerous? Does it have to be dangerous? What makes it stick? Pondering these questions makes me think of human nature. The famous parable of ‘A pond full of milk’ where the king asks people to put milk, but everyone puts water. It explains the innate nature of humans, where they think 'I don’t have to put the milk, someone else will do it.’ Conversely, let me explore the question of capitalism. What makes it stick? Capitalism gets into human nature and biolog...

Is saying 'no' hard? How often are we ready to say 'no'?  In fact, it is one of the most common word which a baby starts to hear from parents, which manifests in different forms like stopping from doing something to eating or playing, etc. Often, this 'no' ends up the baby's list of things which he/she is eligible to do. Well, that's on the opposite end, where the baby hears 'no'. Now, how often, are you ready to say 'no'? Is it easy for you? Why or why no? Here are two interesting examples, both American, one fictional and one real. But, that shows the power of 'no'.    The power of a positive no – William Ury Consider the challenge faced by my old friend Emily Wilson, longtime housekeeper for the family of the celebrated economist John Kenneth Galbraith, when President Lyndon Johnson called one day, looking for the professor:  “Is Galbraith there?”  “He’s taking a nap and has left strict orders not to be disturbed....

I've always been wary of planting trees. Not that it doesn't do good. I don't think anyone questions the benefit and usefulness of a tree. But, my hesitance and wariness is from a different concern. Once my father told, 'taking care of a tree is equal to raising a child.' I'm not here to dispute or question that statement, but critically analyze it with respect to trees. Human babies are the most helpless with respect to any other mammals, and need lot of support and upbringing, even at later stages of life. The physiological development at least demands nearly 10 years of continuous effort from parents to raise the child. It is actually the same with trees. There has to be consistent effort to make sure the planted tree is receiving water and nutrients, and growth has to be supported. Raising a pet is also seen equally to raising a child. Planting a tree also falls in the same respect. The tree grows, ages and also has a lifespan.  Of all the people who pl...

  I'm seeing a problem with these innovations. It's not that these boys didn't do a great job. In fact, with what they have, they did a far better job. They should be applauded. But, it's not going to help them overcome the reality of poverty. By addressing problems with ideas as these is very intriguing, makes young minds think, innovate, specialize and so on.  My question is simple. Of the 23,149 people who liked this post, would you be using this on a daily basis? It can be seen to be used as an exception once or twice, but then it doesn't work. And, what's the excuse that these boys don't have proper toilet? Is that being questioned? That is being sidelined. Imagine what these kids could do if they aren't building toilets, and apply this brain to more challenging needs?  The question of toilets, on the longer run has a viable solution i.e. from using ceramic materials, water connectivity, hygienic conditions, proper waste disposal, drainage optio...

I wrote this as part of article write-up for a course. Feel free to comment and suggest. What makes Capitalism stick and why is it dangerous? Capitalism is an economic and political system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. As critics point out, capitalism can cause inequality, market failure, damage to the environment, excess materialism and other challenges. Although these problems can be seen as endemic, it is still one of the major systems across the world. It is seen as broadly winning against communism, and even socialism. But, if it’s successful, as even adopted by many countries, why is it seen as dangerous? Does it have to be dangerous? What makes it stick? Pondering these questions makes me think of human nature. The famous parable of ‘A pond full of milk’ where the king asks people to put milk, but everyone puts water. It explains the innate nature of humans, where they think 'I don’t have to put the milk, someone e...

Does egg necessarily have to be in a shell? Lately, I was watching a lot of videos related to cooking and one thing caught my eye. Does egg, which we consume everyday, has to be necessarily in a shell? Can it be mass produced with the required aspects and not be in a shell? This just came to my mind. Like, economies of scale, could there be a bigger egg, which is similar to that of 10 eggs? There are already egg whites available in tetra packaging. So, how is that made? Are the regular shells broken and yolk separated? Or, is the egg whites created as such? Maybe eggs can be made differently than with a chicken. Is that possible? Could be. Why or why is not being pursued? Cost efficiency? Feasibility? Or, is it just people like to break the egg to get the feel of it?

Many conflicts across the world usually has same interests or similar objectives. As would it be for any goal or outcome, who is that going to benefit from a particular thing changes. Considering this perspective, you can often see many intangible conflicts, especially related to a piece of land, there would be mutually conflicting goals, not in terms of the final objective, but in conflict of who gets it.  This reminds me of the  famous example where the reply that Francis I of France gave in the early sixteenth century when he was asked what differences led to constant warfare with Spain's Charles V. He replied, "None whatever. We agree perfectly. We both want control of Italy!" As such, you can see both have more commonalities than differences. But, how can this change perspectives? What if something can be mutually used by both parties? or maybe more parties? What stops someone from doing that? It's a simple logic. The greed and possessiveness, whether it's fo...