March 2012
70 posts
“The present is not just something which comes after the past; much less...”
– Democracy and Education: an introduction to the philosophy of education – John Dewey
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PLoS Medicine: Improving Ethical Review of... →
When Medical research meets behavioral economics, make sure you dont let people take decisions that hurt them, even if its for the “greater good”.
A PSALM OF LIFE : WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN...
TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined...
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Good and bad: What games tell us about human...
The analysis of human behavioral sequences as recorded in a massive multiplayer online game shows that communication is by far the most dominant activity followed by aggression and trade.
Transition rates of actions of individuals show that positive actions strongly induces positive reactions. Negative behavior on the other hand has a high tendency of being repeated instead of being...
“In the end modern man drags an immense amount of indigestible knowledge stones...”
– Nietzsche
“Writing is not pleasure. You are dealing with memory, pain, and you have to...”
– Colm Tóibín (via spectercollective)
“What if you asked for names of famous Sikh women? You will hear a short pause....”
– 10 Sikh Women You Should Know and Why You Should Know Them (via insaniyat)
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“It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an...”
– Gustave Flaubert
Do all men watch porn? [nope, some lie] →
When guys are younger, their primary focus is on visual stimulation, mostly because they haven’t experienced the deep satisfaction a mature relationship brings. In addition, there’s the forbidden nature of sex and pornography allows men to see something that’s usually hidden.
In a relationship, those things are no longer taboo but are, in fact, PART of the relationship and the...
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Seventy two specimens of castes in India -...
This illustrated manuscript made in southern India in 1837 consists of 72 full-color hand-painted images of men and women of the various castes and religious and ethnic groups found in Madura, India at that time. Each drawing was made on mica, a transparent, flaky mineral which splits into thin, transparent sheets. As indicated on the presentation page, the album was compiled by the Indian writing...
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The Most Peculiar History of the Chewing Gum Man -...
The Most Peculiar History of the Chewing Gum Man, Gelett Burgess (1866-1951), San Francisco, California, 1894 November.
Gelett Burgess was a very prolific author, writing rhymes and stories, drawing pictures, teaching art, and editing a famous humor magazine, The Lark. Among his best-known creations are The Goops, round little creatures he used to demonstrate good and bad behavior. Burgess...
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Wondercon 2012 Gallery- My picks
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“The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own...”
– ~ George Orwell <a liberal is a nationalist as much as a conservative, different nations, though>
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The baloney detection kit by Michael Shermer-...
Ask yourself these 10 questions to evaluate a claim, be it in medicine or miracles.
How reliable is the source of the claim?
Does the source make similar claims?
Have the claims been verified by somebody else?
Does this fit with the way the world works?
Has anyone tried to disprove the claim?
Where does the preponderance of evidence point?
Is the claimant playing by the rules of science?
...
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6 Tips on Writing from John Steinbeck
Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.
Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also...
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Liberals: When is the govt too big? Best comment...
I don’t think size of the government is the right question, I think it’s the power (which may be linked to the scope of government but not it’s overall size) and how they exercise it that matters.
The government’s role in society (from my point of view) is to manage issues that affect the common good of the people who live within the country and to mediate disputes among...
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“We are always talking about the things we wished we knew when we were young....”
– There is something to be said about not learning everything when you are young. Ben Meyers
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“The rules in Delhi were clear – stay at home unless you need to go out. Never go...”
– Meeta Sengupta writes notes to herself about growing up in Delhi
Writer's Blogk: Laziness is the Mother of all... →
audi-nary:
I think it was Isaac newton who said. “Necessity is the mother of all inventions”. I disagree with him. I think Laziness is the mother of all inventions.
Consider the original caveman. All the hardworking cavemen were busy sneaking through the bushes in the hot sun, risking lives trying to catch…
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‘Social inertia the main obstacle’ — Richard... →
We are not aiming to maximise the number of people who have freedom a year from now. We are aiming to liberate cyberspace, and that will take more than a year. All things being equal, it is probably better if more people use free programs a year from now than fewer. But that’s not the whole goal. But people who develop programs have a tendency to take that as a goal. They think, “I want to have...
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Some questions about Domestic violence that need... →
How can feminists be victims of violence?
“But they look so happy together”
“But cant I doubt the veracity of the claim without being called a regressive anti-feminist who thinks women deserve getting beaten up and Meena K is lying?”
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“When the language of emancipation reflects servitude, it becomes an ode the...”
– “My husband is great, he lets me do anything I want, I even learned driving” This is not emancipation, this is slavery. Worse, this is slavery being sold as emancipation.
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“Vocabulary is not just about communication of ideas but also about thinking...”
