And maybe why you should too — One morning, I bumped into a friend jogging around Viharamahadevi Park. “Where are you going?”, he asked. “Just around the corner.”, I replied. “To the Library.” “But are there any books there?” “Of course. It’s a library isn’t it?” “I mean — up-to-date books. Recent books. …

Nelson Mandela’s 150th Birth Anniversary Overshadowed by the Meat of the Matter — In an era where the steak has been replaced with science, it seems historical icons are on the menu. July 18, the day the world would traditionally celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela, the renowned fighter against apartheid, passes by with an unprecedented silence this year. Why, you…

A thought experiment. — Many accept that machines are now as intelligent as humans, perhaps more so. Whether or not you agree would depend on your definition of intelligence. That said, there are many definitions of intelligence for which some machines are more intelligent than most humans. With intelligence conquered, the new frontier for…

A Non-Technical FAQ — As a practitioner, my relationship with Artificial Intelligence (AI) is mostly technical. Most of what I read are by other practitioners, and are usually full of mathematics, statistics, programming code and esoteric jargon. However, especially with all the hype about AI, many other people are interesting themselves about AI. Some…

A Boardroom Drama — Success and failure go hand in hand. If you don’t permit failure, you stifle success. True leaders understand this intuitively. The tension was palpable as the ten heads of the departments filed into the opulent boardroom, their faces a blend of anticipation and trepidation. …

What has worked for me — Planning a #Hackathon? Here are some #rules that have worked well for me in the past. #Technology Participants should have the opportunity, technical advice, and resources to work on new things; things that they don’t usually work on day to day. Participants should have the opportunity to work with new…

An Histoire and an Hommage — Oh, Education, thou mysterious brew, who has passed through the ages as a magic potion of dubious repute, lending hope and despair in equal measure. Allow me to chronicle your checkered history… First came the Dark Age when your elixir was but a rare and hidden concoction. The rich dabbled…

Simple Rules. Better Code. — How do you write high quality computer code? Many books have been written on the subject — some very good — proposing many rules for writing better code. However, the problem is “many”. There are simply too many books and too many rules. …

An FAQ — Should you emigrate? Here’s an FAQ to help you make a reasonable decision. Is it legal to emigrate? Yes! Unless you belong to a small group of people who are legally not permitted to leave the country. Is it moral to emigrate? Morality is a collection of principles that society deems right or wrong. Society is notoriously inconsistent, ambiguous, fickle…