Category Archives: Op-eds
WordPress.com rolls back its botched ‘experiment’
So, WordPress.com has restored the family of premium plans that it had until April this year, and has done away with the controversial ‘Starter’ and ‘Pro’ plans. The announcement on the WordPress.com blog yesterday has already garnered a high 65 … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged Automattic, blogging, Dave Martin, Matt Mullenweg, WordPress.com
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With Gyanvapi article, Abhinav Prakash Singh does logic wapsi
The national vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Abhinav Prakash Singh, published an article on May 22 on the Gyanvapi mosque issue that is from start to finish an exercise in verbal sophistry. But while we have come to … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged Abhinav Prakash Singh, Gyanvapi mosque, Indian Express, logical fallacy
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Why there’s no guarantee that Musk’s Twitter will resemble Dorsey’s
Many folks are saying they’re not going to leave Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk’s acquisition because Musk and Jack Dorsey aren’t different. Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Op-eds, Tech
Tagged Elon Musk, free speech, Jack Dorsey, Parag Agarwal, social media, Twitter
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To be better at being anti-crypto
Molly White has a difficult read, one that I’m forced to agree with in spite of my vehemently anti-cryptocurrency position. Three representative paragraphs from her post: I … think that [cryptocurrency-based financial solutions] are enormously attractive to people who see them … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Tech
Tagged cryptocurrencies, Molly White, NFT, upper caste, upper class
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Renewable energy and technological debt
Renewable energy is a bit like oil. Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds
Tagged climate adaptation, LMIC, nature-based solutions, renewable energy, resource colonialism, technical debt, wind energy, World Bank, YAGNI
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Free-speech as an instrument of repression
One of the more eye-opening discussions on Elon Musk’s attempt to take control of Twitter, and the Twitter board’s attempts to defend the company from the bid, have been playing out on Hacker News (here and, after Twitter’s response, here) – the … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Tech
Tagged democracy, Elon Musk, free speech, Hacker News, Parag Agarwal, poison pill, social media, Twitter
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About vaccines for children and Covaxin…
I don’t understand his penchant for late-night announcements, much less one at 10 pm on Christmas night, but Prime Minister Narendra has just said the government will roll out vaccines for young adults aged 15-18 years from January 3, 2022 … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged Bharat Biotech, Covaxin, COVID-19 vaccines, paediatric vaccination, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, vaccine triumphalism, ZyCoV-D, Zydus Cadila
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Disappointing persons of the year 2021
I’m starting to think that in this day and age, you will but err when you pick individuals for traditionally ‘prestigious’ awards, prizes, recognitions, etc., probably because the sort of people who can stand out by themselves have to have … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science, Tech
Tagged Balram Bhargava, Elon Musk, Indian Council of Medical Research, persons of the year, SpaceX, Tesla, The Week, TIME Magazine
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