Accidental Blogger
A general interest blog
Category: Educational, Cultural & Social Matters
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An excellent essay by Ryan Sayre in 3 Quarks Daily.
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On this Halloween, with nothing much on my mind, let me share some ghostly goings-on in Houston. A houseful of visiting relatives – it's a classic mixed blessing. Just ask businessman Tony Barton and his wife, Kim. First came a relative, then the relative's friend, then relatives of relatives who lived with the couple. Soon, the trim, three-bedroom house…
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The sentencing of Sri Lankan born hedge fund billionaire, Raj Rajaratnam to a lengthy jail term on charges of insider trading is big news in the financial world. The news has also proved to be of special interest to South Asian Americans who are used to seeing the conspicuous success of members of their community but not so much their downfall.…
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“Beyond economic theory, market, invisible hand and price as the only sense of value, we base our actions on an evolved sense of fairness…we share with…higher primates….Fairness trumps price….[A]n evolved wisdom about being together in the clan trumps selfishness as we live together. Capitalism ignores that wisdom.”
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The passing of Steve Jobs understandably prompted a chorus of grief and eulogy among his fans, along with refrains of the usual hyperboles voiced during his lifetime in praise of his genius and technological vision. Although I admire the evident courage he exhibited during his final years as he struggled with his health, I have…
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Van Gogh did not kill himself, authors claim (Norman Costa) Vincent Van Gogh did not kill himself, the authors of new biography Van Gogh: The Life have claimed. Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith say that, contrary to popular belief, it was more likely he was shot accidentally by two boys he knew who had…
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Ever since I arrived in the US nearly thirty years ago, I have heard grumblings about immigrants not adhering to American ways. Exotic looks, clothes, foods, languages and religious practices raise many a native eyebrow. Of all these, the sound of a foreign language seems to be the biggest irritant. US immigration laws require all aspiring…
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“…[T]the builders of Gobekli Tepe may have been settlers (not hunter gatherers) at the site, living in spaces…both sacred and domestic….The Gobekli Tepe people carried out symbolic and sacred activities on a hilltop they adorned with massive architecture — 5,000 years before Stonehenge.”
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“…[Elizabeth] Kolbert is repeating the Anglo-Protestant Black Legend about the Spaniards, rooted in the rivalries and sectarianism of the 16th and 18th centuries, but persisting down amongst English speaking secular intellectuals. The reality is that the Spaniards did not want to kill the indigenous peoples [of the Americas], they died of disease and the societal…
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Today's NY Times has a discussion of 'Pathological Altruism', but is it truly 'altruism' to give till it hurts the giver? Altruism, on the face of it, is the opposite of selfishness. The dictionary definition (Merriam Webster) 1: unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others 2: behavior by an animal that is…
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“The meaningful cases in law almost always involve a clash of virtues….On the side of execution without further delay, the virtue upheld is that of “finality of judgment.”…[T]hose seeking to delay the execution…for reconsideration of…evidence promoted other virtues: deliberation and mercy.”
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Every year around this time we have some fun with the Beloit College Mind-Set List. This year's version was out a few days ago. Rather than examine that in detail, let me point you to 3 QD writer Akim Reinhardt's observations on the changing character of the incoming freshman classes that he has taught over the years.
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I’m hoping to see, for the first time, a materialization from the ashes of obliterated people and structures. I would really like to see a rejuvenation of pride and confidence in New Yorkers and in everyone. I’m still wondering if I’ll feel that way. I think that’s the real reason I want to go to…
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In high school I fell in love with the book, “One Two Three … Infinity,” by George Gamov. It gave me a feel for numbers including an introduction to infinity. It was the beginning of a life-long interest in Einstein’s theories of Special and General Relativity. That life-long interest expanded into Cosmology and Quantum Mechanics.
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We have spoken about it before here. Now some tech savvy desis have made it official. More from Muneeza Naqvi of the Associated Press.
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