In high school, we had quite a few inspirational talks or assemblies. More often than not, these were based on the actions or thoughts of someone our age, who passed away long before his/her time. Now, I am not saying the morals of those talks were not worthwhile messages, because they were. “Spread happiness,” “give people a second chance,”and “live life with a smile” are all great messages. However, in conveying these morals, the presenter often portrayed the person he/she was trying to memorialize as a flawless individual with a great message that all of humanity should hear. Yet, is that truly an effective way to remember our loved ones? Are we lessening or potentially harming their memory by only epitomizing their good qualities? Continue reading

If a person is drowning, do you reach out to help them, or teach them to swim?  The answer is obvious of course, help them.  But will that prevent them from drowning in the future? Continue reading

One night, while reflecting on Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture, I had a strange idea.  If I wrote a book, as the sole artifact the world would have to remember me by, what would its chapters be?  What would I deem important enough to tell the world, and how would I make it relevant?  That was the starting point of the below two pages, a brief summary of some of the chapters I would put into such a book.  Following Randy Pausch, I begin each lesson with an anecdote, and follow up with how that illustrates what I learned.  Enjoy, and let me know what you think! Continue reading

I heard a great quote by a friend’s dad last year, which I feel is extra pertinent now that I am going off to college (especially in terms of interacting with one’s roommate:)

“Good relationships must be fluid.  If one person can’t do something, the other has to step in, and vice-versa.  People must be willing to support each other, be there for each other, and fill each other’s gaps.  If the people are not fluid, the relationship will not work.”

I like to visualize this in terms of gears.  As long as there is enough oil, the gears work together in perfect unison.  But if the oil starts running out, friction builds up, and eventually the gears wear each other out to the point where they no longer work.

I got my name not for its sound, not for its spelling, but for its meaning.  My mom woke up the morning I was due to a bright red sunrise, and decided to call me, or at least make my middle name, the Sanskrit word for red.

Those were the good old days, when parents picked their childrens’ names based on personal preference.  In those days, it didn’t really matter what someone was called.  A “James Smith” (the most common male name in the U.S. in 1990) was equal to an “Amal Nanavati.”  No one (except racists) judged people by their names, and there was no significant advantage to one name over another.

However, in today’s rapidly globalizing world, there is.   Continue reading

We hear fun facts about lefties all the time.  Albert Einstein was a lefty.  Lefties tend to have a higher IQ than righties.  In fact, we talk of people’s dominant hand so objectively that we assume it is a trait people are born with.

However, are humans truly genetically coded to be more right-handed, or is it a cultural phenomenon? American society is definitely right-favoring.  We write left to right, making it difficult for lefties to see what they previously wrote.  We drive on the right side of the road, hold our right hand to our heart, teach the “Right Hand Rule” in Physics, and primarily make right-handed scissors.  Even linguistically our culture favors right: right means correct, whereas left comes from the Old English word left meaning “idle, weak, useless.”
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