by Vinoth Ramachandra | Oct 17, 2012 | Opinion
“It’s the economy, stupid” was Bill Clinton’s successful presidential campaign slogan in 1992. Economics began as the science of political economy, but now most conventional economists regard the economy as a quasi-autonomous area of human...
by Vinoth Ramachandra | Sep 26, 2012 | Opinion
Stupidity breeds stupidity. That’s the only lesson one can draw from yet another exhibition of scurrilous anti-Islamic propaganda (in the U.S. and later in France), followed by mob hysteria and the shedding of innocent blood in Libya and Egypt. Who takes the...
by Vinoth Ramachandra | Sep 4, 2012 | Opinion
The attitude of many laypersons to scientific and technical matters is one of reverence. They will drink in the fake profundities of, say, television science programs with a credulity quite as remarkable as that of any religious fundamentalist. Any statement has only...
by Vinoth Ramachandra | Aug 15, 2012 | Opinion
Perhaps the most intellectually stimulating book I have read in recent months is Raymond Tallis’ “Aping Mankind: Neuromania, Darwinitis and the Misrepresentation of Humanity” (2011). Tallis is one of those rare polymaths – a neuroscientist,...
by Vinoth Ramachandra | Jul 11, 2012 | Opinion
I mentioned in my lastpost Aung San Suu Kyi’s warnings against “compassion fatigue” in the case of rich nations’ support for her country, Burma. In my experience, most of those working in government aid agencies, non-governmental relief and...
