The complete quote appears below:
April 5, 2013
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
Category Archives: Quotes
February 19, 2013
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
The Right to be Free & the Duty to Take the Consequences
Mahmood Madani, the general secretary of some Islamic outfit called Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind is reported to have told a private TV channel that some Muslims have voted for Narendra Modi and the BJP in the recent Gujarat state elections. Madani is … Continue reading
January 20, 2013
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
Rabindranath Tagore: “The Stream of Life”
This poem is from Tagore’s Gitanjali. It is simply titled “Praan” which means “life” in Bengali. The English translation is by Tagore himself.
January 17, 2013
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
Lord Acton: “Great men are almost always bad men, . . . “
I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favorable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, … Continue reading
November 13, 2012
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
The Cult of Ignorance
November 7, 2012
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Democracy in America
If you thought that I was about to quote Alexis de Toqueville, you were wrong. I quote H. L. Mencken. “As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward … Continue reading
October 18, 2012
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
Common Sense
I was on the phone with my friend JP, talking about how extraordinarily successful the United States has been. I believe that part of that success arises from extraordinary luck. Around the time when the US became an independent nation, … Continue reading
March 9, 2012
by Atanu Dey
3 Comments
Sam Harris on “The Ten Commandments”
“If you think that it would be impossible to improve upon the Ten Commandments as a statement of morality, you really owe it to yourself to read some other scriptures. Once again, we need look no further than the Jains: … Continue reading
February 9, 2011
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Thomas Jefferson on Democracy
A few quotes from Thomas Jefferson, for the record, as they appear to refer to India’s present predicament.
May 4, 2010
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
Heinlein On Democracy
Thus spake Heinlein. “The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has eventually happened to all perfect democracies throughout all histories.”
April 12, 2010
by Atanu Dey
7 Comments
Random Quotes — Best Sellers
A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular … Continue reading
February 18, 2010
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
The Importance of Committing
That great Indian teacher, Gautama who became the Buddha, had once instructed his followers to stop dithering. He said, “Bhikshus, when you sit, you sit. When you stand, you stand. Don’t dither.”
October 9, 2009
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
Mother India
Will Durant (1885 – 1981) was an American historian, writer and philosopher. His most famous work is the 11-volume “The Story of Civilization”, published between 1935 and 1975. In a 1931 work, “The Case for India“, he had this to … Continue reading
September 22, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
To Dream the Impossible Dream
This morning I was reminded of the words of a song “Impossible Dream”. The song goes thus:
September 16, 2009
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
Thomas Jefferson on Christianity
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826), the third President of the United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776) had this to say about Christianity –
September 15, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
Paul Romer: Charter Cities
Cities are the engines of growth. Therefore, a policy that promotes urbanization of the population is an indispensible instrument for economic growth and development. In the following TED Talk, Paul Romer, a world-class growth economist at Stanford, makes the case.
September 7, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
Change is Digital, not Analog
“If the old model is broken, what will work in its place?” ask Clay Shirkey in a blog post “Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable.” (March 2009). The full implications of technological change is impossible to foresee even by those who … Continue reading
September 6, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
A Caution from Carl Sagan
From Carl Sagan to you know who via me.
September 1, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
Looking for Causes must precede the Finding of Remedies
Garrett Hardin (April 21, 1915 – September 14, 2003) proposed what he called the First Law of Ecology, which states “You cannot do only one thing”. He is also the author of the 1968 paper, The Tragedy of the Commons. … Continue reading
June 27, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
Minsky on Words
Marvin Minsky of MIT is a cognitive scientist and an artificial intelligence pioneer. I recently came acros his 1981 paper on “Music, Mind, and Meaning” which I found informative and profoundly thought provoking. Here’s an extended quote from it, for … Continue reading