Category: Opinion
-
How to Be A Good Armchair Activist
I do not see armchair activism as a pejorative. It can be a valuable form of activism.
-
Why India Misunderstands Violence
The room was cold and lit by artificial lights. It was in a large building in a corner of the city unknown to 10 year old Manu. He has tried everything — resisting, pleading, crying, shouting — to no avail. First they made him unconscious. Mercy! Then they cut him open… Three hours later Manu…
-
Public Health is Bullshit
If a clinician treats tuberculosis with Paracetamol alone, they would be labeled an idiot. Tuberculosis is a disease caused by microorganisms. But also tuberculosis disproportionately affects people who live in poverty and undernutrition. Thus treating TB requires anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) and also nutritional rehabilitation. Paracetamol might help with the symptoms, but is not sufficient. The…
-
1kg Equity Please
When there is a power-cut and kids are annoyed, we tell them “Here’s 10 rupees, go to the shop and buy 1kg current (electricity)” The kids immediately get it. You can’t purchase electricity like that. It is not an off-the-shelf good. But when it comes to equity (equity as in “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion”, not the…
-
21st Century Humans Are Incredibly Easy to Fool
The 18th century chess machine called The Mechanical Turk fooled humans for almost 84 years. It was a human secretly sitting inside the machine who was playing chess — no machine, no artificial intelligence. If something like that came up today, would we find out the secret sooner? Absolutely not. At any moment in time…
-
A Bigger Microscope Won’t Solve The Problem
In the article titled Johann Gregor Mendel: the victory of statistics over human imagination, the authors argue that big data analysis using machine learning, deep learning, et al can identify patterns that human beings can’t and hence these become “an important tool for developing more effective therapeutic strategies for complex diseases”. Let us examine whether…
-
Creepy ‘Savarna Liberals’ as Portrayed in Sinners (2025)
Spoiler alert: This is an interpretation of the 2025 movie Sinners which includes descriptions that reveal the plot of the movie. So, if you still haven’t watched the movie, you come back and read this later. This movie gets described as “musical horror” by many Western reviewers. While it certainly is a musical treat, the…
-
Caste-Capitalism Nexus – An Overview
In this post, I’ll describe how caste and capitalism exist as closely related structures that reinforce each other in modern India. I begin by defining caste and capitalism. Then I describe how caste forms the bedrock for capitalism in India. And finally I talk about ways that capitalism reinforces caste, completing the loop that forms…
-
‘Democracy’ is a Useless Word
Democracy is a word that’s vague and has multiple meanings. It is often used as an excuse for not doing anything. The use of the word should raise suspicion about the intentions of the speaker. Most people when explaining democracy start with an even worse definition of the word: “government of the people, by the…
-
‘The Good Place’ is Good
Swathi and I started watching ‘The Good Place’ after we finished watching ‘A Man on the Inside’ (thanks to Pooja’s recommendation in the South Central podcast) and craving for more Ted Danson. There are 4 seasons and we finished it within a month! It was a whirlwind ride on philosophy. Although not as exciting as…