Wanderings – Page 39 – Akshat Rathi

If you want good ideas, stop censoring yourself

January 7, 2013December 15, 2013 Akshat RathiLeave a comment

Paul Graham notes:

In 1989 researchers tracked the eye movements of radiologists as they scanned chest images for signs of lung cancer. They found that even when the radiologists missed a cancerous lesion, their eyes had usually paused at the site of it. Part of their brain knew there was something there; it just didn’t percolate all the way up into conscious knowledge.

In just the same way we have many thoughts that form in our head but we choose to ignore, or worse, silence them.

This is perhaps also the origin of the idea of brain-storming without criticising. The idea here is that when a team meets to come up with ideas, they sit an enlist as many ideas as possible without judging any idea. It helps to bring out some crazy ideas, which might just be better than any other idea you will get.

Amorphous India

January 7, 2013December 15, 2013 Akshat RathiLeave a comment

The perception of India in the West and, indeed, among Indians themselves has never been more amorphous as it is now. – Amartya Sen on his book The Argumentative Indian

Things that don’t make sense: Part I

December 30, 2012December 15, 2013 Akshat RathiLeave a comment

In this day and age when information travels at the speed of light (well, almost), why is it that some movies get released in the US months before they are released anywhere else in the world? It’s the same with music and books.

Here, here and here are some plausible but not entirely convincing answers.

PS: I’ve noticed that there are somethings which shout “What nonsense!” to me. I’ll be documenting them in this series.