So continuing from where I left off in the last post, I wanted to tell you why there were no sting operations in “those times”. Actually, I don’t want to be unfair to those times. There was a lot of fine investigative journalism. When I started reading newspapers, it was exciting times, because the Indian Express under Arun Shourie was taking on Rajiv Gandhi’s government. But no, there were no hidden camera stings, and the few who were taking on the government were some exceptionally brave souls.

Let me go over the reasons why there were no hidden camera stings at that time. Some of them apply even today.
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Firstly, you’re welcome. I still remember those days when you interviewed a famous personality, but you couldn’t get the trashy newspaper you were working for to carry that interview. From there to a prominent blogger, you’ve come a long way.;) (Note to others: Inside joke. Please ignore)

Having said that, I must confess that I am utterly baffled by the point you are making. Completely, utterly baffled. Here’s why.
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Abi points to a study which finds that the average Wikipedia article contains four errors while the average Encyclopaedia Britannica article contains three. Abi thinks that the study vindicates Wikipedia, and if you think that Wikipedia is ridden with errors, then indeed it does. But if you, like me, expected Wikipedia to be better than EB, then it must be a bit of a disappointment.

So here is a question. There are two ways to measure the quality of Wikipedia. One is to take a sample of articles in Encyclopaedia Britannica, take their corresponding articles in Wikipedia, and compare the two on quality. The other is to take a sample of articles in WP, take their corresponding articles in EB and compare the two in quality.

Is there a difference between the two methods? If so, why and which is the better way?

To clarify, I don’t mean that he has the other good qualities of Chandrababu Naidu. I am referring to Chandrababu Naidu’s complete takeover of the party from the other more “legitimate” heirs of NTR. My impression is that Raj is much more popular among the Sainiks than his cousin. The question is, is he so popular that after Bal Thackeray, the whole of the party will simply gravitate to him?

Discuss

J Alfred Prufrock, the pseudonymous civil servant of the blogosphere takes exception to Amit’s generalisation of a government servant’s attitude, not because the generalisation is inaccurate, but because it hurts his feelings and will discourage those few who do not fit into that generalisation.

Well sorry about those hurt feelings, but a generalisation doesn’t have to be 100% accurate to be useful. If they were, we’d call them laws of nature, not generalisations. When I say that the traffic police are corrupt, I don’t mean that every single policeman is corrupt. It simply means that if I am stopped by a cop for jumping a red light, I can safely assume that he is out looking for a bribe and he is not out to fine me.
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Now that the weather department has decided to name cyclones hitting India too, I think that we should insist that they follow the Americans’ lead completely and name them keeping in mind the region they are hitting. Tamils and Bengalis should insist on assigning Tamil and Bengali names for the cyclones, not boring ones like Baaz and Agni. Haven’t we heard those before? I for one, would like to hear “Cyclone Kalaiselvi has moved further north and it looks like it will give Chennai a miss” or “Cyclone Priyaranjan has further intensified and will hit Kolkata”.

There aren’t many cyclones hitting the west coast, but of course the ones that do should be given Maharashtrian names. I would love to reel under a cyclone named Dhurander Bhatwadekar.

Now of course, when I had observed that the good blog names are all taken, I had not reckoned with the creativity of some smart people. I am referring, of course, to Aadisht’s blog, “Majorly shadymax arbit fundaes” which gives me a smile whenever I think of it. And he writes some amazing stuff too. Great analysis and great humour, all in one blog.

Then Kunal Sawardekar’s blog is named Ceteris Paribus which is Latin for “Other things remaining constant”. Good name too, especially if you are doing your masters in economics. He too is very very smart and writes engagingly.

What’s common between the two? Yes, they are smart, libertarian, and members of the Cartel. The moral of the story is that if you turn libertarian, your IQ will increase by 50 points. You will have a cool blog name and you will attain merit in this world and next.

Oh, and those who are wondering where and if I am writing non-nonsensical stuff, please head over to
Indian Economy, where I am arguing against regulation.

“I buy the Bombay Times only for the pictures”

By now Swami must have lost all his nails and Surya all her hair, so I guess I am a tad late with the answer to this puzzle.
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A trader working for China’s State Reserve Bureau shorted a huge amount of Copper and Copper prices are rising, mostly because of demand from the Chinese. So the Chinese government is going to lose billions of dollars on the trade. The trader has gone missing. Real life stole Michael Chricton’s storyline.

I am on record as saying that I love urban sprawl. It turns out that whether I love it or not, it is inevitable.

The last time The Examined Life covered Dilip’s experiments with the GDP, I noted that he was making a plausible sounding, but incorrect point. Now he has gone and made another post, and this time he makes two points, one plausible, but still incorrect, and the other so baffling that only the use of big big words saves it from being identified as self-evidently absurd.
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