Review: ‘Decolonial Keywords’ (2026)
Everyone who knows me knows that my intellectual coordinates are defined by scientific ideas, even when they’re about sociology or the humanities. This is why I found a new book, Decolonial Keywords:…
COVID-19 pandemic
33 posts
The hidden heatwave
A heatwave is like the COVID-19 virus. During the pandemic, the virus infected and killed many people. When vaccines became available, the mortality rate dropped even though the virus continued to spr…
The news exists to inform, not to educate
I’d like to highlight a letter published in Science on January 2. I have many points of disagreement with it but I’d also like others to read and reflect on it, especially if they’re (you’re) also goi…
The news exists to inform, not to educate
I’d like to highlight a letter published in Science on January 2. I have many points of disagreement with it but I’d also like others to read and reflect on it, especially if they’re (you’re) also goi…
A tale of two awardees
In many respects Krishna Ella and Elon Musk are poles apart but on some they share a few similarities. Both of them have played along with nationalist elements in their respective national governments…
The HMPV cascade
I sense the public panic over the HMPV outbreak in China is finally dying down. I don’t know which TV news channel picked up on it first and blew it out of proportion but it created the sort of time i…
The HMPV cascade
I sense the public panic over the HMPV outbreak in China is finally dying down. I don’t know which TV news channel picked up on it first and blew it out of proportion but it created the sort of time i…
The SARS-CoV-2 red herring
It's no longer about science.…
Tamil Nadu's lukewarm heatwave policy
From 'Tamil Nadu heatwave policy is only a start', The Hindu, November 21, 2024: Estimates of a heatwave’s deadliness are typically based on the extent to which the ambient temperature deviat…
An infuriating editorial in Science
I’m not just disappointed with an editorial published by the journal Science on November 14, I’m angry. Irrespective of whether the Republican Party in the US has shifted more or less rightward on sp…
Tamil Nadu's lukewarm heatwave policy
The policy is only for heatwaves, and if it doesn't expand in future to include the state's own responsibility, Tamil Nadu will miss the forest for the trees.…
India-based neutrino oblivion
In a conversation with science journalist Nandita Jayaraj, physicist and Nobel laureate Takaaki Kajita touched on the dismal anti-parallels between the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) and the J…