Mea Culpa first. The Poiesis blog had slowed down during the summer, mainly due to unfortunate injury to my right hand, which in turn first stalled and then slowed my typing and writing. I will be gradually back to the intended pace. The “break”, however, revealed few observations: (1) The volume of textual communication (emails, texts, notes) are written without much thought. Writing polite and laconic responses is hard! (2) How AI on voice-activated typing is still behind the curve for voices with accents! For short phone messages and texts, the voice app was fine. For longer word documents, the voice-activated typing was awkward and slow, but doable. For typing technical documents (latex, programming codes), one might as well think…
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In the world beset with mundane proclivities, we are mesmerized by lives that challenge our imagination. Stephen Hawking lived such a life. Prof. Hawking was a living proof that the infinite can exist in our finite bodies. His frailty underlined the finite in all of us — our physical littleness, and the small treacheries of misfortune in our meager lives — all the while as his capacious thoughts strode all of space and time. “A Brief History of Time” is often said to be the best selling book that no one had read. A statement that is “all clever and no wise”. In the 90s as a teenager in Madras, Hawking’s book and his life were distinctly inspirational to me,…
Leave a CommentAt Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowan posted his ten favorite science fiction novels. A very interesting list that includes some of my favorites. I have read 9 out of those top ten. (I have not read the highly rated The Three-Body Problem, by Liu Cixin, of which I have only heard rave reviews. I hope to read it soon). I doubt that I will ever be able to read all Science Fiction that I would like to read. But, the list made me think of what my favorites would be. For the list, I am considering books I have loved reading when I read them (some in early-teens), and books that I have continued to come back to and enjoy, with no…
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Leave a CommentIt has been a quiet hiatus here on the blog (work and other commitments), as we had the pleasant interruption of Superbowl finally making its way into Philadelphia. I haven’t watched an NFL (National Football League) game in two years now (will explain why at a later point). So, I write this entire post from the position of an amateur and a long time center-city resident in the City of Brotherly Love. Like Thanksgiving, Super Bowl is perhaps a uniquely American cultural event. I am not alone in thinking that most Americans watching on TV were rooting for the Eagles, who were fighting against unforgiving odds. It is perhaps safe to say that the support for the underdogs, exceeded any previous…
Leave a CommentGrowing up in India, one saw the image of Gandhi everywhere. Gandhi was Mahatma (“great soul”), whose aura soared above the martyrs of struggle for Independence. Gandhi’s bespectacled visage is still a universal presence on rural committees, on non-profit logos, in drawing competitions, and in children’s “fancy dress” parades on his birthday celebrations. He is etched on the Indian currency bills and sketched in collective memories, but always with the same imagery: the charkha (the wheel), the round spectacled bald head, the walking stick on which his spindly weight rested, the white khaddar fabric and time-piece, and the ever-present smile. Even as Gandhian lifestyle fades into the distant past, with memories being re-layered in celluloid hues of Kingsley’s face, Gandhi’s round spectacles…
Leave a CommentEarlier last fall, walking in San Francisco, from the Caltrain station to Embarcadero, I came across a scene that is now etched in my memory. It was about 430 pm before the rush for evening dinner began. A group of restaurant workers, most of them Hispanic, stumbled out of a side door and were settling on the pavement of a by-lane, opening up packets of Chinese food that had just been delivered. They were clad in prim white kitchen wear, clean and tidy, which only highlighted the exhaustion on their faces, perhaps in anticipation of a long evening of toil. I continued walking around and came across the inviting doors of a Michelin-starred restaurant, emphasizing a contrast that is shockingly…
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