A tragedy of Vedic proportions

If you have been following the news from India over the last few weeks, undoubtedly you’d have gawked at the following gems:

“We discovered the Pythagoras Theorem but we gracefully allowed the Greeks to take the credit” [1]

“We realize that the Mahabharata says Karna was not born from his mother’s womb. This means that genetic science was present at that time.” [2]

“Ancient India knew aerial combat techniques” [3]

“Ancient planes powered by donkey urine” [4]

Check out 'Philosophize This'

I think we can all safely agree that, for most of us, a naked bearded guy shouting Eureka in his bathtub is the furthest extent of our grasp on philosophy. It is a subject rarely taught in schools or encountered in the mundane activities of adult life. Alas, philosophy is such a wicked beast, that even those interested in investing the time and effort in grappling with it, will be turned away by such gibber-gabber as 'One cannot step twice in the same river' [1]. Even the definition of the field is widely disputed, with common substitutes being largely vapid linkages of words - "Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge,values, reason, mind, and language. " [2]

Je suis Charlie

My favorite Je suis Charlie cartoon, by the co-creator of Asterix, Albert Uderzo. A meta- interpretation of 'the pen is mightier than the sword'. 

My 2014 in Prose

The start of any year is a good time to take stock of one's life. Books are an integral part of mine, and in this post I hope to review my 2014 in reading. I will not be talking about any particular book in depth, instead will focus on the general trends in my reading preferences. I will also put forth my reading goals for 2015. In short, 2014 was a great year for my reading (yay!). I ploughed through 35 books, most of them veritable tomes (500+ pages) and this journey introduced me to new authors, styles of writing and hidden tastes.