In the NYTimes series on Class in America, an article on the growing influence of evangelical Christians in the Ivy League -

.... Now a few affluent evangelicals are directing their attention and money at some of the tallest citadels of the secular elite: Ivy League universities. Three years ago a group of evangelical Ivy League alumni formed the Christian Union, an organization intended to "reclaim the Ivy League for Christ," according to its fund-raising materials, and to "shape the hearts and minds of many thousands who graduate from these schools and who become the elites in other American cultural institutions. ....

What is going on here is that religious groups - particularly the evangelicals, are trying to break down the barrier between the church and the state by trying to saturate the next generation of influential people with a particular religious philosophy.

I'm definitely for a moral and ethical code of conduct for the society, but when, rather than scholarly and sincere introspection that takes into consideration the current situation, such a code is defined by a 2000 year old book (and moreover a near literal interpretation of the book) which was written in a completely different society, can a theocracy be far behind?

Yes, there are quite a few problems with the way we currently interact on (and with) this planet. Yes, there are some absolute values that should guide our behavior. But to think that the Bible, or any other religious dogma, can provide the solution to any and all problems in an ever changing world is a grave mistake.

These words of Ben Franklin have been quoted in other scenarios, but they seem to apply here too -
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"

- Chinmay

Categories - ~Me~

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A NYTimes article elaborates on a paper in Medical Hypotheses- The sweet thing about Type 1 diabetes: A cryoprotective evolutionary adaptation.

In simple words, Type I diabetes* was a adaptive response to rapid temperature drop in Northern Europe, and the change wasn't in the genetic information, but in expression!

*In Type I diabetes, the immune system attacks insuling producing cells, thus decreasing insulin, and increasing blood glucose levels. Increased blood glucose means that the freezing point of the tissues is lowered. TI diabetes is very common among descendants of Northern Europeans, and is very rare among descendants of populations who never had to face the minor ice age.

- Chinmay

Categories - ~Environment~ ~Science~

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Just acouple of days back I was thinking about the need for unlimited economic growth - in the context of a world with limited resources - that human (western?) civilizations feel ; and what would happen if we all decide to bump down 'growth' on the priority list for a few years and pay attention to shoring up the rear.

(On a related note, I remember reading somewhere that the ideal inflation rate is not zero, but around 2% - if inflation dips much below that, it can trigger deflation and recession).

In any case, since I'm not that smart in Global economics (nor did I have too much time to think about it :), I didn't figure out the answer to the original question. Serendipitously though, I came across an interview with Jared Diamond* in which he raises some very thought provoking (although not entirely novel) points about the issue.


*Faculty at UCLA, and the author of 'Collapse : How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed'; 'Guns, Germs, and Steel : The Fates of Human Societies' and 'The Third Chimpanzee : The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal'

- Chinmay

Categories - ~Environment~ ~Money~ ~World~

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/. posting this story (Microsoft is working with Ford towards car that can't crash) was just an invitation for smartass comments! Quite a few good jokes in there...

- Chinmay

Categories - ~Fun~

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