Tag: Government
Constructive use of social networking data through transparency
Transparency has taken on a new meaning in our day. It is not only limited to what a person reveals online, but also how the revealed information is collected, inter-connected, and used to derive conclusions regarding that person. The ones doing all this work also need to show transparency, thereby revealing their motives and intentions…
Finding belief in moderateness in the nuclear age
Nuclear technology is not bad in itself. We have understood the sun and the stars, and in a way, have harnessed the same power to a lesser extent. We have controlled fission, and are yet to understand ways to control fusion for peaceful purposes. The insistence on using solar energy to fulfill the requirements for electricity…
Why our predictions must move away from utter doom to continuity?
The idea of terminal decline is pulling the power of prediction like a black hole pulls light into it. This phenomenon is not new. It has happened again and again throughout history. It has also had its reasons. It is sufficient to say that people desire achievement and progress. However, when the price, the sacrifices,…
Can today’s leaders improve our future by making more positive predictions?
Predictions are humanly impossible and are equally common. Yes, as rare as they should be, they, in fact, form a part of everyday speech. Whenever someone says, I will do this and I will do that, we are in a sense indulging in a prediction. It is our certainty about life itself and our ability…
1 – Aadhar – The belief in the possibility of a good, honest society
To avoid distraction, I have placed a note in the footer. Please read it first, if you wish, to gain perspective about this presentation. The nature of humans and the nature of government: It would seem that by now we would be absolutely clear about these two matters. As it turns out, we are not. …
Cults of black-and-white thinking – a lesson from Jehovah’s witnesses
Cults – what does the word bring to mind? There are thoughts of blind devotion. There most certainly is the charisma or power of a leader over his followers. Finally, there is the absolute certainty of purpose. Whether one thinks of Jim Jones, Hitler, or the Messiah of Israel, these things are to be found…
Observation – The disobedient angel and humans in Eden: what it says about the Creator?
Just in general terms and even with a number of misconceptions, the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden is one of the most popular stories from the Bible. It happens to be right at the start, in the first few chapters of Genesis. That is a prime reason for its popularity.…
Crisis of democracy – social decline through politicization, and insistence on freedoms and rights
It is easier to answer the question, what is democracy as compared to why is democracy. Yes, why is democracy favored and touted as the ideal principle for governance, even though its failure was anticipated right from the time of Plato. As it is practically impossible for all the people to get together and make…
Crisis of democracy – the simultaneous rise of individualism and populism through the agency of the Internet
If one were to make a most basic study of the idea of democracy, it would readily be understood that it stands on the principle of transfer of power. Decades ago and as it happened for centuries, when even the possibility of the existence of the Internet and communication technology as we have today could…
Crisis of democracy – The ongoing confusion regarding separation of institution and individual
“If people were to accept the existence of a government, then they must be the ones choosing it”. This simple idea became the foundation of democracy. Everything that we have today in the form of democratic systems is, built on this idea.
Indian government’s demonetization step – rooted in the concept of the divine
Try as one may otherwise, the human mind by necessity needs to have some basic concepts about the world around us. The concepts we have could be, should be, of a more general nature. Upon these basic concepts, details are added through observations, experiences, training, and learning. If the basic concept is correct, they will…
Indian government’s demonetization step – the test of behaviors
It would be the prime accusation that, the Indian government under the current BJP rule was hasty in announcing, executing, and implementing the decision to demonetize 500 and 1,000 Rupee currency notes. Does this accusation stand to reason? Yes, it does stand to the reason guided by observation. There is more to the faculty of…
Indian government’s demonetization step – an object lesson in today’s world
In the life of a nation, there come times when landmark decisions are made. The decision itself stands to define the future course of that nation. As it is, we are now part of the global whole and therefore, significant decisions create waves that easily go beyond national borders. The ideas of governments, their ambitions,…
The flawed and biased employment of critical thinking
The website, “The Critical Thinking Community” carries this definition of critical thinking, on one of its pages: Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form,…
Criticizing the institutions – what lesson in Jehovah’s witnesses and others?
The short answers is, it depends on the person to join or criticize JWs or any other institution. An important separation between the institution and the individual should always remain in the mind of the observer. The difference and the connection should be a constant, and an obvious fact.
Short thought – 6 – The preferred lie
An assumption took hold, An imagination was sold, Men would find the way out of damnation, People would create their own salvation. The dream lives on, The effort goes on, While the struggling masses wait, There is rampant injustice within the gate. Science has not tried long enough, Philosophy has not explored deep…
Why the difference between the Old and the New Testament? Lessons for us today.
The undeniable fact is, an obvious difference exists between, what the Old Testament (Hebrew-Aramaic scriptures) and what the New Testament (Greek scriptures) speak of. The Old Testament speaks of cruelty that simply defies human understanding, and the New Testament speaks of love that defies human imagination. Yet, both are originating from the same God. How…
Determining what is “fake news”. What is “real news”?
The phrase “fake news” has become popular in recent times. In the year 2016, another related phrase “post truth” became popular. Outside of the political world, there is much that is happening which makes the appearance and use of these phrases timely and legitimate. A consideration of what is behind these ideas will help us…
