Best Stats You've Ever Seen

Here is an amazing video, which shows - how much data there is around us, which can be meaningfully converted to information, through thoughtful interpretation and creative presentation.

In the words of TED:
"You've never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called 'developing world'."



Hans Rosling developed this breakthrough software behind his visualizations through his nonprofit Gapminder. The free software — which can be loaded with any data — was purchased by Google in 2007.

Small is Beautiful

These days reading "Small is Beautiful - A Study of Economics As If People Mattered". I think this one quote from the book pretty much tells what the book is all about:

"A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption.... The less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity. Modern economics, on the other hand, considers consumption to be the sole end and purpose of all economic activity."

Gandhi, Tagore on Symbols

We are doing a course called "Business, Government and Society" here at IIM Bangalore. Today there was a lecture on 'Sense Making by Public' which talked about importance of symbols, stories and metaphors in driving Public Policy/Opinion.

This reminded of some readings I had done long back on Tagore and Gandhi's ideological differences. Particularly, how Tagore would criticize Gandhi for using symbols to amass people, which he considered would harm in the long run. Compared to Gandhi, Tagore's focus was on self-motivation rather than on discipline, and on fostering intellectual curiosity rather than competitive excellence. This mission, ideology or emphasis was clearly visible in the symbols, metaphors they would advocate or promote to drive the people of India - to eventually become the India of their dreams!

Some quick excerpts from web:

• "The first subject of discussion was idols; Gandhi defended them, believing the masses incapable of raising themselves immediately to abstract ideas. Tagore cannot bear to see the people eternally treated as a child. Gandhi quoted the great things achieved in Europe by the flag as an idol; Tagore found it easy to object, but Gandhi held his ground, contrasting European flags bearing eagles, etc., with his own, on which he has put a spinning wheel. The second point of discussion was nationalism, which Gandhi defended. He said that one must go through nationalism to reach internationalism, in the same way that one must go through war to reach peace."

• Tagore, for example, remained unconvinced of the merit of Gandhi's forceful advocacy that everyone should spin at home with the "charka," the primitive spinning wheel. For Gandhi this practice was an important part of India's self-realization...If Tagore had missed something in Gandhi's argument, so did Gandhi miss the point of Tagore's main criticism. It was not only that the charka made little economic sense, but also, Tagore thought, that it was not the way to make people reflect on anything: "The charka does not require anyone to think; one simply turns the wheel of the antiquated invention endlessly, using the minimum of judgment and stamina."

• Tagore upbraided Gandhi for stating that a massive 15 January 1934 earthquake in Bihar constituted divine retribution for the subjugation of Dalits..."A man like me," Gandhi argued, "cannot but believe this earthquake is a divine chastisement sent by God for our sins" — in particular the sins of untouchability. "For me there is a vital connection between the Bihar calamity and the untouchability campaign."... However, Tagore hated the epistemology implicit in seeing an earthquake as caused by ethical failure. "It is," he wrote, "all the more unfortunate because this kind of unscientific view of [natural] phenomena is too readily accepted by a large section of our countrymen."

• Two of Tagore's more politically charged compositions, "Chitto Jetha Bhayshunyo" ("Where the Mind is Without Fear") and "Ekla Chalo Re" ("If They Answer Not to Thy Call, Walk Alone"), gained mass appeal, with the latter favoured by Gandhi.

References/Further Reading:

• Tagore and His India by Amartya Sen
• Wiki page on Rabindranath Tagore
• An august dispute : Gandhi and Tagore
• [*]"Rabindranath Tagore:the Myriad-minded Man" by Andrew Robinson Krishna Dutta
  

[*] Just ordered the last one from flipkart :)

Let me take the side walk

There's too much traffic on the road
Let me take the side walk

Amidst all this pressure, confusion
Let me walk my talk

Don't want to fell deep into
The hollowness of power and wealth

Just want to stick to - No inhibitions
And do what I want

Nevermind the them and they all
Let them grow, grow tall

I ll just look around - click, capture, compose
And all I want to do - is explore

I will just stay off the road, make my way
Got no ambitions - to reach the top

There's too much traffic on the road
Let me take the side walk

है क्या?

Not sure, पता नहीं

बेचैनी हैं बस
कुछ चुल्ल
शायद ख्वाहिश कोई
कोई छिपी आरज़ू

पर for sure
कोई कोशिश कही नहीं
न कोई खोज है
न ही genuine इंतज़ार

पर फ़िर भी
कभी कभी
कुछ कशमकश

ये मस्त मौसम
जगमगाता चंद्रमा
मंद हवा

अब मैं फूहड़ क्या जानू
तू ही बता
Knock, knock
हैं क्या?

There's Just No Pleasing Some Folks

Cheese Omlette

एक और साल,
आया,
गया,
आ रहा है,
फिर हो जायेगा गुम एक साल बाद |

***
साल नहीं, ये बस लम्हे है,
निबट रहे है ये यूँ फटाफट,
सो इससे पहले हो जाये देर,
Basically, before it's just too late
उडा ले मौज ऐ मन, हपाहाप,
हपाहाप,
हपाहाप...