An Ode to Principles

Today I hate being a teacher. I remember her coming to my room to pour her heart out, despite her problems with articulation. I don't remember her words, only her tears rolling down, her struggles trying to understand life and what it meant. Often she just came to my room and sat and cried and went off. And then, as every cloud has a silver lining, her problems seem to disappear like whats left of the rain clouds after a thundershower. As they broke up and disappeared the sun came out.

I had resolved that i would tell her how much I admired her and her courage. But I couldn't, at least not as long as she was a student. I had to wait till graduation day. But I wonder if I was too late? Why was I afraid to tell her when I had the chance. What is this thing called Academic Ethics? Why do I have to pretend I am an impartial (heartless) machine when I am not. How can I see all my students as the same, when they are clearly unique and wonderful people to know?

Today I hate being a teacher, I hate academic objectivity and hereby renounce the supremacy of professional ethics......until I understand it better.

The terrorist argument

Let me summarize the main point in a large number of emails I got. Its basically very simple.

"If the majority of terrorists belong to one company and the majority of them wear a specific hairstyle, isn't it sensible to target this group specifically?"

Needless to say it was a friend in the insurance business who put it so succinctly! The answer to this argument is equally simple.

ETHICS stand in the way of statistical arguments. For example, if statistically women have more chances of breaking minor traffic rules, does it mean we can say WOMEN SHOULDNT DRIVE? Or if in a western country it was observed that immigrants were responsible for a disproporinately large number of crimes, can we put away immigrants.

The law says that no man is guilty until proven to be so. And in the eyes of the law/justice all people are equal. THIS IS ONE FIELD WHERE THE STATISTICIANS should keep OUT!!

The New Face of Terror!

I have changed my appearance to keep pace with the changing face of terrorist fashion. The current look is based on more recent photographs in the media. This look is my protest against "Profiling". In the western world anyone who is Asian and has a beard is a suspect. The appearance is to send a message. Not all bearded Asians are terrorists, no matter what they look like. Not all followers of Islam are terrorists! If a few hundreds die from terrorist attacks a few MILLIONS suffer from being judged without thinking! Do not let your fear blind you to justice and fairness!

Whenever I travel internationally with a beard, I get pulled out for "Random" checks at airports and in switzerland I was taken away by the police and interrogated in a small room, because they caught me taking photographs of a flower bed! Read about it here.

Roadtrip to bengalore

everybody is kunfu Fighting..

Uncle and nephew battle it out at Kanyakumari the southern tip of india where three seas meet