Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Genesis of the quest forum-A labour of love-part1

Somebody may ask why a private person like you want to go public with this kind of forum etc. I never liked going public probably because of shyness which could be a polished way of hiding some complexes one might be having!! But then I always justified my introvert behaviour by saying “You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.”(Who can write it!! It is Khalil Gibran again!!)We humans are good at justifying any of our actions that too with a lot of reasons.We like to rationalize any of our actions as we are people of science which is nothing but systematization of rationality and logics.But the comic tragedy is that we often use logic/reason to foster unreason like in the proverbial story of the spider. So I might have been doing something of that sort.Whatever.. Why this change?

Again if it is a genuine QUEST for knowing things- which I can say without being modest that it was always there with me ever after reading The Giants of Science”- biography of some eminent scientists during my high school days which made me a great fan of Archimedes- an embodiment of 100% commitment to the task in hand which made him forget even his nakedness (if we go by the story often told to us). But then such a ‘quest’ like the religion some of us follow is often considered as a private affair(Here again you see a lot of distortions- for many religion which has distorted to ritualism and make a public demonstration of it. )

So why I am following suite?Why I want to publicize my QUEST??

Michael Shermer � The Soul of Science: Excerpt

Michael Shermer � The Soul of Science: Excerpt

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

-The Prophet-the book I love

The Prophet All of a sudden it occurred to me why I am not keeping the book I love to read every moment is not available on my blogs.So this link.Now I need not carry a hard copy with me.With omnnipresent internet I can catch the lines anywhere.This is one book I love most.That is the only comment I will make about it.Those who want to find why I love it just go through it

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Independence day thoughts of a budthu

India is celebrating 64th anniversary of its freedom from colonialism.
Today I am reminded of this I read long time back (Who else can write it-It has to be Khalil Gibran if I have to remember)
"Humans are divided into different clans and tribes, and belong to countries and towns. But I find myself a stranger to all communities and belong to no settlement. The universe is my country and the human family is my tribe.
I love my native village with some of my love for my country; and I love my country with part of my love for the earth, all of which is my country; and I love the earth will all of myself because it is the haven of humanity, the manifest spirit of God.
I sing the praise of my birthplace and long to see the home of my children; but if the people in that home refused to shelter and feed the needy wayfarer, I would convert my praise into anger and my longing to forgetfulness".KHALIL GIBRAN

Do not call me unpatriotic .I believe in India where there is not caste creed discrimination,no parochialism,inclusive growth and secular and democratic- not the sham democracy we have today.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Kahlil Gibran: a fan site (The Prophet, Quotes, Poems, Biography, Books, Artwork)

Kahlil Gibran: a fan site (The Prophet, Quotes, Poems, Biography, Books, Artwork) This Lebanese poet has been my constant companion ever since my graduation.I love all his works.But my most favorite is 'The prophet'.I always carry a copy of it either in hard form or an audio version.I have never come across any profound book as these.I just love 'chewing' it again again and yet again...

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Root of All Evil? Part 1: The God Delusion. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)

The Root of All Evil? Part 1: The God Delusion. (Richard Dawkins, 2006) Prof.Richard Dawkins argues that the world would be better off without religion. Dawkins opens the programme by describing the "would-be murderers . . . who want to kill you and me, and themselves, because they're motivated by what they think is the highest ideal." Dawkins argues that "the process of non-thinking called faith" is not a way of understanding the world, but instead stands in fundamental opposition to modern science and the scientific method, and is divisive and dangerous.
A must see documentary for all who are concerned with the rise in fundamentalism in all religions(no religion is an exception here) in the recent times and 'making good people to do bad things'.

Richard Dawkins - The Enemies Of Reason - Part1 - Slaves to Superstition

Richard Dawkins - The Enemies Of Reason - Part1 - Slaves to Superstition Dawkins points to some of science’s achievements and describes it as freeing “most of us” from superstition and dogma.He saysreason is facing an “epidemic of superstition” that “impoverishes our culture” and introduces gurus that persuade us “to run away from reality”. He calls the present day “dangerous times”. He returns to science’s achievements, including the fact that, by extending our lifespan, it helps us to better appreciate its ‘other’ achievements. He turns his attention to astrology, which he criticises for stereotyping without evidence, and he tries an experiment in which 20 people of various star signs is asked if the verdict for Capricorn applies to them, while being told it is their ‘own' star sign. See the results!!!

Richard Dawkins - Enemies Of Reason - (Part 2)

Richard Dawkins - Enemies Of Reason - (Part 2) Prof Richard Dawkins looks at how health has become a battleground between reason and superstition. A third of us now spend a total of over 1.6 billion a year on superstitious alternative remedies, but 80% of them have never been subjected to properly conducted trials.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Index - Archive - RichardDawkins.net

Index - Archive - RichardDawkins.net. A web site dedicated to the defence of science and reason.Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science author. He was formerly Professor for Public Understanding of Science at Oxford and was a fellow of New College, Oxford.Dawkins is well known for his straightforward criticism of creationism and intelligent design. In his 1986 book The Blind Watchmaker, he argued against the watchmaker analogy, an argument for the existence of a supernatural creator based upon the complexity of living organisms. Instead, he described evolutionary processes as analogous to a blind watchmaker. He has since written several popular science books, and makes regular television and radio appearances, predominantly discussing these topics.

Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science author. He was formerly Professor for Public Understanding of Science at Oxford and was a fellow of New College, Oxford