नास्तिक (heterodox)

Good job, Ed!

Ramesh — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:33:16 +0000

The new Labour leader Ed Miliband does not believe in God. Good for him!

Assorted Links

Ramesh — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:10:22 +0000

Hitchens on Slate – Don’t Be an Ass About Airport Security
FT offers some good news – Gender pay gap falls to record low
James Fallows says anyone can learn to throw like an athlete
Hitchens on Vanity Fair – predicts the poison they (tea partiers) have helped disseminate will still be in the American bloodstream when the country needs it least.

How did this happen?

Ramesh — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 23:50:04 +0000

Google ebook store opened earlier this week and I was checking it out today. I was surprised to see that one of the books I was looking for (Briefer History of Time by Hawking) had way more reviews in Google ebook store (291) than amazon (105). Looks like they are importing reviews from somewhere. I wonder – from where?

Interesting …

Ramesh — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:50:12 +0000

Amazing sand animation

Ramesh — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:29:33 +0000

It ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings

Ramesh — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:29:23 +0000

State of medical education in India.

Ramesh — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:35:01 +0000

Education system in India is a mess. For the most part, it is outdated and very examination centric. Educating the student never seems to be the priority, while graduating them almost always is. That is why it is ridiculous of people like Tom Friedman to keep touting India’s educational achievements, in their criticism of US education system.

This op-ed from a couple of CMC (Vellore) professors on the state of medical education in India is a depressing read

The current approaches to undergraduate medical education do not meet the challenge of managing the basic health needs. Unless fundamental course corrections are made, undergraduate medical education in India is bound to flounder and produce doctors who lack the skill and confidence to manage common diseases and illnesses in the population. The imperative is to re-work medical education and to re-orient training to make it relevant to meet the health needs of the country. The system needs to struggle and transform itself with better and appropriate science and more humanity to make it responsive to societal needs.

No, not at all

Ramesh — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:17:47 +0000

How right wing echo chamber works …

Ramesh — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:55:27 +0000

Unintended consequences

Ramesh — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:18:42 +0000

Bear kills militants in Kashmir

Unexpected benefits

Wildlife experts say the conflict in Kashmir has actually resulted in an increase in the population of bears and leopards.
Following the outbreak of the insurgency people had to hand in their weapons to police – which put a halt to poaching.

Perverse results

As a result, there has been a greater incidence of man-animal conflict, say experts.

There have been many reports of bears and leopards killing or mauling humans in different parts of the Kashmir valley in recent years.

Three years ago, residents of Mandora village near the southern town of Tral, beat a black bear to death which had strayed into the village