China used more cement between 2011 and 2013 than the U.S. used in the entire 20th Century. Yes, you heard that right! Now, with this knowledge, it’s not unnatural to imagine China importing lots of crude oil, heavy machinery or vehicles. But the fact is that China’s largest category of imports is an entirely unrelated category … Continue reading The Chip Wars
Order without Design
China has 1100. South Korea 86, Malaysia 61, Indonesia 48 and India a paltry 24. What am I referring to? If you guessed ‘billionaires’, the answer is wrong. It’s the number of skyscrapers taller than 200 meters! Why is India an outlier in this otherwise pan-Asian phenomenon? One answer to this is the low Floor … Continue reading Order without Design
Principles for a Digital Republic
With tech increasingly becoming ubiquitous and intrusive day by day, at what point do we cease becoming engaged citizens and transform into mere consumers of information? The rights, liberties, and privileges that we derive from citizenship are a fruit of centuries of engagement around the ideas of justice, ethics, freedom, equality etc. Today, when our … Continue reading Principles for a Digital Republic
The Freedom to Think
Freedom of Speech is a concept that I’m familiar with. Almost every day, you see some manifestation of this principle in our polity and society. But what does the ‘Freedom to Think’ encompass? Susie Alegre educated me on this and had some hooks to anchor my thinking on this topic. Article 18 of The Universal … Continue reading The Freedom to Think
The Melancholia of Edward Hopper
I’m someone who has always found train journeys to be magical. It’s not the swanky berths, fancy catering or the air conditioning that draws me in but the melancholy of dark vistas, remote hamlets, headlights of cars on lonely highways and tiny deserted railway stations in the middle of nowhere. Watching these sights appear and … Continue reading The Melancholia of Edward Hopper
On Quitting
Grit is the technical term for persevering and being passionate about a project. Reading Angela Duckworth’s work on this subject a few years back, was my first encounter with ‘quitting’ as a psychological concept. According to Duckworth, every pursuit driven by grit has to be regularly assessed against the rationality of quitting. Annie Duke’s dedicated … Continue reading On Quitting
Falconry and the Arabs
I grew up in the United Arab Emirates where the falcon is the national bird. It’s on the national emblem and hence an ubiquitous sight on stamps, official documents, government buildings etc. If you spend considerable time in the Middle East, it’s not uncommon to come across an Arab with a menacing falcon perched on … Continue reading Falconry and the Arabs
The Nation as an Imagined Community
Today, almost every great power has a monument commemorating the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - to honor the men and women who laid down their lives in the service of their nation. Ever wondered why you’ve never ever come across the tomb of the unknown Marxist, the unknown Libertarian or the unknown chicken-tikka lover? … Continue reading The Nation as an Imagined Community
Sanitizing Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl, the celebrated children’s author has suddenly become problematic for the self-proclaimed guardians of 21st century sensitivities. Puffin has hired sensitivity readers to replace ‘problematic’ words such as fat, black, Kipling etc and bring in a gender-neutral tone to his writings, even if it means changing the meaning and tone of his works. The … Continue reading Sanitizing Roald Dahl
On Fandom
Despite growing up in the nineties, I never managed to understand the brouhaha over the phenomenon called Shah Rukh Khan. For me, he was one of those Bollywood superstars, acting in over-the-top melodramatic movies and never really showcasing real talent that would make you sit up and take notice. All this changed during the pandemic. … Continue reading On Fandom
