07 – Sep – 10

1. Not explaining colour preferences – Human’s preferences for colours with a large subset of variations of hues and tones can still not be explained singularly. Feature v/s objects, preferential variation over time – 1900 words – Psychology – International Culture & Cognition Institute
2. The new geographical division of Europe – Hint – It is not along the horizontal lines, it is along the vertical lines of North and South – 700 words – Foreign Policy – Slate
3. Authors and their day jobs – Author John Grisham on his day jobs – 1000 words – Books – NYT
4. Saving the world and the Hegemon – How China saved the world but why being a hegemon is a thankless task? – 900 words – Foreign Policy – Project Syndicate
5. Whither Open Data? – An essential argument between access and means of access. How openly available data is being used and misused (empowering the empowered) on the basis of availability, skills etc – 2000 words – Cyberspace – Blog
6. At a war – an believer and an atheist – A chaplain and his atheist assistant in Iraq – 2000 words – Culture – WSJ
7. Word-bytes on business – Three point agenda on business – 900 words – Culture – The Atlantic
8. “Happiness is subjective, it takes many forms, and one of its forms is immorality” – Against the pursuit of happiness – 4500 words – Reflections – The Guardian
9. “Any attempt to get tough with the Chinese would also bite us in the ass,” – About the stance of labour unions on the rise of China and the debate on political stance “whither the carrot or the stick” – 4500 words – Foreign Policy – The Nation

30 – Aug – 2010

1. On Jonathan Franzen’s Novel – Freedom – Reflections on the author’s ability to comment on today’s society in a Tolstoyan way – 2400 words – Books – Slate
2. Shekhar Kapur on Grassroot entrepreneurship in India – The director’s description of a routine interaction with the kid owners of a Blackberry repair shop and roadside vendor of Blackberry charger – 1300 words – Reflections – Blog
3. Self-impact analysis of America’s Iraq effort –  5 effects of America’s Iraqi war on its society – 800 words – Foreign Policy – Slate
4. The rise of Potash – Importance of Potash (used extensively in fertilizers) and the looming food crisis (China dependency fact – caters to 20%  population on 5% areable land) – 1300 words – Agriculture – FT
5. Customer service is a cost centre – Why firms see customer service as a cost centre and why cost driven approach breeds acceptance of bad service – 950 words – Marketing – The New Yorker
6. A great interview with Iran’s foreign min – A great interview where he stutters, avoids and deflects and generally beats about the bush – 2200 words – Interview – Spiegel
7. The fall and fall of EU – The increase of nationalism in EU speculating towards the demise and dismantling of EU – 1300 words – Foreign affairs – WP
8. Romancing the mathematician – Superb article on mathematicians and the recently concluded Intl. Congress of Mathematicians, Hyderabad, India – 2000 words – Culture – Open Mag