Month: August 2021
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With Great Power Comes Great Accountability
Where should the line between ‘doctors should be held accountable for medical malpractice’ and ‘doctors are humans and they can make mistakes’ be? [Source] There is a world where this dichotomy/binary is not entirely false – medical negligence/malpractice jurisdiction. And the courts in such cases have a very nuanced approach to this question. For example,…
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Merit is Entitlement, not Privilege
In debates around reservation and merit, there is a recurring pattern. First, someone will say “There is no level playing field. Someone starts from privilege, someone starts from lack of it. Therefore, merit is just privilege.” Then, the opponent will say “What makes you think I’m privileged? My parents struggled to make their ends meet.…
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Why Would Conservatives Change when Liberals Don’t?
In the debates around “merit”, the conservatives have a very straightforward view – “hierarchy is natural, one should only care about oneself and getting ahead in one’s life”. The liberals, on the other hand, are the confused bunch. They have a hatred for hierarchy, but they live and breathe hierarchy too. They hate that people…
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The Academic Publication Industry is Modern Day Feudalism
Even if the cost of journals were low and affordable, open access to scientific knowledge is the ethically correct and practically useful position for humankind. Internet has made publishing costs near zero. Why do journals still continue to exist? And why are they so expensive to society? A common defense of journals is that “peer…
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The Difference Between a Politician and an Academic in Politics
If academics and politics seem like separate fields to you, that’s because your definition of academics has been corrupted by the academicians you have seen and their self-centredness. Academicians can be of two types. The ones who “care only about science (or “truth”)”. The ones who care about society in addition to science. Those who…
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Anger is a Valid Emotion; Conflicts Bring Real Peace
I have seen “triggered” being used as an insult at social justice activists when they become angry. People hold anger itself as an invalid or incorrect emotional state to be in. That is not very smart. Anger is a perfectly valid emotion. Anger is a reaction to a provocation, hurt, or threat. Anger is a…