July 30, 2007
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain; The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy! Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ … Continue reading
July 27, 2007
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Positive Returns on Investment Education has positive returns. That claim is certainly not the most extravagant generalization about education that one can make. It is true unless of course hundreds of millions of people over centuries have been systematically paying … Continue reading
July 26, 2007
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Character and culture determine destiny. Every time our great “democracy” throws up corrupt immoral shortsighted asinine “leaders” — which is happening with sickening regularity — it is important to remind ourselves that it is the “will of the people” expressed … Continue reading
July 25, 2007
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
So last week a producer from BBC World called to say that they are doing a series on India for India’s 60th Independence Day and they would like to interview me. They did not have to twist my arm. I … Continue reading
July 25, 2007
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
At first it was a good idea. About seven years ago, I had been persuaded to join Ryze, a professional networking site. All fine and dandy. Then like poison weeds these networking sites started blooming. Now there’s Linkedin and Facebook. … Continue reading
July 25, 2007
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Expectation Matters George Akerlof’s seminal contribution to economic theory is in the area of information imperfection and how it affects markets. Information asymmetry between the buyers and sellers of used cars (very poor quality used cars are the lemons that … Continue reading
July 24, 2007
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
Pet Peeve #284.
July 21, 2007
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Just another laughing buddha.
July 20, 2007
by Atanu Dey
9 Comments
I am a big fan of using technology in education. Information and communications technology (ICT) is tailor-made for application in education. What I don’t understand is why some people are going on about the use of “wireless, low-orbiting satellite, fiber-optic” … Continue reading
July 19, 2007
by Atanu Dey
13 Comments
I have been shopping at warehouse retail stores for over 20 years, starting at the Price Club in Sunnyvale. In those days, you had to have some union membership to have access to those stores. I was a member of … Continue reading
July 18, 2007
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Dr James Reese informs me that he has republished his interview of Jeffrey Sachs. “Recorded November 2005: Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, listed as one of “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals,” “the world’s best known economist,” and “among the 100 most influential … Continue reading
July 16, 2007
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
The Lumpy Universe One of the puzzles that cosmologists grapple with is the question of why the universe is lumpy. The universe has structure today – from super clusters of galaxies to galaxies and stars and all sorts of other … Continue reading
July 15, 2007
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
The British steal everything from India, don’t they? Clearly, this is a ripoff of what actually happened in a meeting with Lalu Prasad Yadav.
July 12, 2007
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
It’s true.
July 12, 2007
by Atanu Dey
10 Comments
A cyber-friend wrote to me asking what was “the rationale behind giving monopoly rights to big-global-drug-companies in India (by the way of patent protection).” He said that this was “leading to prohibitively expensive life saving cancer drugs (Rituximab at 1.3 … Continue reading
July 11, 2007
by Atanu Dey
20 Comments
Such a Pity It is easy to slip into self-pity when battling what appears to be a nasty ‘flu. One’s view of the world is jaundiced and it all appears rather pointless. Events appear a grimmer shade of black when … Continue reading
July 11, 2007
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
July 10, 2007
by Atanu Dey
7 Comments
Desiderata, the plural for “desideratum” which means “something to be desired or wanted.” Years ago I came across a piece by Max Ehrman titled “Desiderata.” There is a perfection about that piece. Brief and yet packs in a tremendous amount … Continue reading
July 9, 2007
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
I wrote about Thomas Schelling’s book in my last post. Here’s an account of a reporter’s lunch with him that is worth a quick read: The Game of Life. Let me highlight a sentence fragment from that piece: ” . … Continue reading
July 9, 2007
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Rules can be considered the secret sauce in the recipe for a successful society. The biological equivalent to a rule set is the DNA which encodes genes. Like good genes confer reproductive success and ensure the perpetuation of the species, … Continue reading