Mid-Week Reads - The Best of Politics, Economics, & Ideas

• South Africa under apartheid in the 1970s. I will use just one word to describe this  audio-visual story: Brilliant. (BBC)

• Jagan Mohan Reddy lied to EC on assets. (First Post) Also read ‘Father’s sins catch up with YS Jagan’. 

• Debt is like sex. (Reuters) 

• How strong is China’s economy. (The Economist) Also check out the Special Report on China’s burgeoning economy.

Performance History of Computers

Computers are fascinating! They come in all shapes and hues. Here is an interesting infographic on the performance history of these awesome machines. 

Click on the graphic for a larger view; sourced from visual.ly.

Sunday Reads - The Best of Politics, Economics, & Ideas

• Six reasons why the rupee is falling. (BBC)

• What-if and what-is: The role of Speculation in Science. (NYT)

• Emperor Akbar shares his secrets of power. (ET) Also check out this list of India’s most powerful CEOs. (ET) 

• The God busters. (Telegraph India)

Source: Economic Times

Note on Sunday Reads

The regular Sunday feature, Sunday Reads - The Best of Politics, Economics, & Ideas, will be published in this space at 1 pm today.

Book Reco: A Fine Balance

A few readers of this blog suggested that I recommend books that I find interesting / inspiring / useful or all of these.

In my first book reco, I will review Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance. I have read all of Mistry's works, like Such a Long Journey, Family Matters, and Tales from Firozsha Baag. 

Mistry was born in India in 1952 but emigrated to Canada in 1975. A recipient of several international awards, he recently was bestowed with the prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature (for 2012).

A Fine Balance is Mistry's best work. Rarely have I come across a work which deals in with a myriad of human emotions with such profound intensity and care. Mistry writes of a India in chaos — of a country that is caught in the maelstrom of political emergency, social decadence, and economic deprivation.

The story revolves around the lives and travails of four characters: Dina, a Parsi widow, Maneck, a student, and the uncle-nephew tailor duo of Om and Ishvar. The story, set in the politically charged atmosphere of the 1970s, enthralls us with the varied emotions that colour every aspect of the lives of these four characters.

As an Indian,I could easily identify with each of Mistry's characters. I think Mistry's characters are universal — for emotions like happiness and suffering, love and hate, trust and betrayal, success and failure are universal. 

Mistry has hewn his characters not just with words but with soul and I think that is the biggest asset of this work. Go ahead and invest in this work; I say invest because the returns by way of happiness will be life-long. 

After reading this work, I am sure you would agree with me that Rohinton Mistry is a master at work.

Mid-Week Reads - The Best of Politics, Economics, & Ideas

Here's your Mid-Week installment of interesting reads.

• How Thomas Edison, Mark Zuckerberg and Iron Man are holding back American innovation. (WaPo)
  

• An idea worth at least 40 nanoKardashians of your attention. (Ethan Zuckerman) 

• Indian economy: 2004-14 will be as damaging as mid 60s, 70s. (ET Blog) 

• Teaching the language of the enemy. (NYT)

A Thomson Reuters infographic depicting neat comparison between smartphones.

A Different Kind of Commencement Address

The practice of Commencement Address in colleges across the U.S. is well established. Check out this unusual address titled 'The Commencement Address That Won’t Be Given', by Robert B. Reich.

Prof. Reich is the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley; he was Secretary of Labor in the Bill Clinton administration. He is the author of bestsellers, 'Aftershock' and 'The Work of Nations'.

Read this excerpt from Prof. Reich's Commencement Address; the link to his Web site is given after the excerpt. 

I am sharing this interesting Commencement Address in this space as I believe it will lend you a different perspective on the dynamics of education, learning, economic conditions, and most importantly, how small things can come together to screw the future. 

The Commencement Address That Won’t Be Given

Members of the Class of 2012,

As a former secretary of labor and current professor, I feel I owe it to you to tell you the truth about the pieces of parchment you’re picking up today.

You’re f*cked.

Well, not exactly. But you won’t have it easy.

First, you’re going to have a hell of a hard time finding a job. The job market you’re heading into is still bad. Fewer than half of the graduates from last year’s class have as yet found full-time jobs. Most are still looking.

That’s been the pattern over the last three graduating classes: It’s been taking them more than a year to land the first job. And those who still haven’t found a job will be competing with you, making your job search even harder. (End of excerpt)

Read the complete Commencement Address here.