Life through poems, stories and passion
I think a very underrated feature of many big-picture questions we have is the feature of 'emergence'. You can picture emergence as how something may take on a whole new characteristic or form when its scale is sufficiently enlarged. The parts by themselves wouldn't have it, the feature is only visible when taken as a whole. For … Continue reading Emergence- How new features emerge through collective behavior
Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max TegmarkMy rating: 5 of 5 starsA speculative but realistically framed look at life in the age of AI. More specifically, this book contemplates advances in AI that result in human-level 'artificial general intelligence' and above- that an AI would be 'capable' to do … Continue reading Life 3.0- Book Review | A Must-Read!
My neighborhood has a very predictable morning. Flowers bloom in March. It rains in July. It's hot in May and cold in December. Regardless, the municipality cleaning ladies roll their cleaning trolleys up the streets every day, parking it from time-to-time as they sweep up plastic and other garbage from the streets and fling it … Continue reading Mornings in my neighborhood
(A Dhruv Somayajula hyperventilation based on absolutely true events) I woke up to a harrowing experience, no less a battle than Cannae, Panipat and Plassey, though the numerical odds between the combatants were quite level. The following is my mission report: "0900 hrs - June 11, 2021 - The Battle of the Almirah This huge, … Continue reading Morning Madness
(SPOILERS AHEAD) I am a big fan of Disney's Pirates of the Carribean franchise, and the history of pirates and their depiction in general. Which is why I jumped at the chance to read this book and pen some thoughts to spread some love for the piracy trope. The novel Treasure Island by RL Stevenson … Continue reading Reviewing ‘Treasure Island’ by RL Stevenson
Indian history does not get talked about enough (the what-actually-happened-and-was-recorded part of it and NOT the flying spaceships, anti-gravity stones, and our prescient discovery of head transplants kind). History school books generally emphasize a select few empires and dynasties, relegating the rest of our vast history to a footnote or a paragraph. Like shining a … Continue reading The Importance of History
Hotel Sea Princess is a charming and elegant hotel on the Juhu beach, offering me a scenic view of the Arabian Sea. The vast expanse of the light blue waters merging with the sky on the horizon, and the diminishing wetness of the packed sand on the beach is a natural Prozac to a weekday. … Continue reading A Day at Juhu Beach
Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Emperor of All Maladies- A Biography of Cancer is a deep dive into the history of cancer, its recorded occurrence and treatment. The book highlights the multitudes of ground-breaking innovations that have helped scientists understand and, to a lesser extent, treat the various kinds of cancers occurring among humans. The book follows … Continue reading The Emperor of All Maladies- a review
Julie Orringer's The Flight Portfolio, is a stirring story of the human spirit. It is a story of an American putting his life at risk to rescue hundreds of people from a fate worse than death, and in the process, rediscovering himself, his love for life, and the love of his life. Varian Fry, a … Continue reading A Flight Portfolio: Humanity in times of crisis
A visual of an ordinary moment of extraordinary happiness at Rajpath It is the year 1911. The British Indian government has just decided to shift the capital of their prized colony, India, from the inconveniently placed Calcutta to the far more accessible and significant seat of power- Delhi. Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker have been … Continue reading Central Vistas and Redevelopment
North Star Talks 