Imagine you go to a village in Norway and you see a strange phenomenon. You see Sun rising at midnight! Then you see the same thing the following day, the day after that, and back-to-back for a week. Based on your “observations”, you come to a generalized conclusion that the Sun rises at the midnight…
Explaining Knowledge To A 5-Year-Old
It’s interesting to think about how do we know what we know. And no, I am not talking about just academic knowledge or professional skills. But literally, everything that we know, right from how to talk to religious stories and the latest celeb gossips. If you think about it, we generally know from our observation…
Via Negativa: 7 Simple Techniques to Transform Your Life
Or how to “do more” by “doing less”! Most often in life, we are always in pursuit of adding more to our lives. We want more income, more freedom, more creativity, better health, and a better state of mind. And rightly so, we also spend so much of our time and energy in these pursuits. …
Why Beer Could be the Greatest Invention of All!
Remember that scene from The Shawshank Redemption where our characters enjoy icy cold, bohemian-style beers on the rooftop. Well, that was my first happy memory of beer. I had tasted beer once or twice before that, but it had mostly tasted bitter. But not even 18 at the time, the time to experience and appreciate…
Is Happiness really a choice?
I used to often take umbrage at the statement “Happiness is a choice”. After all, why would anyone choose to be unhappy? But recently, I have started seeing some truths in it. So to understand that little truth, let’s do a simple thought experiment. Let’s think of our happiest moments in life. For most of…
Should Science care about Morality?
Two years back, a question intrigued me in an after-event Q&A. Should there be scientific research about topics that could potentially lead to social outrage and choas? The questioner even referenced the question to research related to the human race and the potential presence of other human species among us. One of the speakers answered…
Please don’t cancel the kid.
I just found out that a Cricketer from England, Ollie Robinson, got suspended for racist remarks. What baffled me (or actually not at this point) is that the tweet was made almost 10 years ago, when he was 18. Let me get this straight: Racist remarks are horrible and they should have no place in…
Let Your Kids Enjoy Their Virtual Worlds!
Whenever we see a 3-year-old playing with an iPad, or 8-year-old spending all his vacation inside a PlayStation, two conflicting thoughts come to our mind. The first one is of amazement — “Wow, we were playing with dirt at the age”. But the second one is of condescension — “These newbies are missing out on life!” We are quick…
The day I learned cooking
How cooking taught me one valuable lesson about life! I remember the day I finally decided to learn cooking. ‘Insanely delicious’ hostel food and tight student budget meant I had succumbed to looking for alternatives. Plus, there was this distinct charm of students making their food (illegally) in their hostel dorm. So, in 2013, the…
From now on, write for yourself. Period.
(Note to self to start ignoring the imaginary audience.) We have all experienced this while trying to write stories. Thinking of imaginary readers and audiences, and trying to impress them. Let’s face it, we want others to like and appreciate our writing —be it just to experience that surge of dopamine whenever someone claps and compliments…