This week's main article recommendation, by the incredible Mahima Vashisht, is a stirring ode to that most curious Indian practice - of wives not taking their husband's names.
(Incidentally, no #SOTD Digest this week, since it is on a mid-season break!)
a. 'He who must not be named' by Mahima Vashist (Womaning in India)
There are few writers who write about such universally relevant topics (such as gender) with such freshness, clarity, wit and warmth as Mahima.
I've had the pleasure of hosting Mahima on my podcast - catch that conversation in case you haven't yet.
After a longish hiatus, Mahima is back with her delightful newsletter - Womaning in India - in a new avatar.
This post delves into the age-old Indian practice of wives not being able to take their husband's... names!
As always, Mahima peppers the write-up with several vivid real-lfe examples. For instance:
Of course while the topic is a serious one, Mahima brings her trademark wit (with several hilarious memes).
Her Voldemort analogy is so brutally funny and inspired... Also check out the way Mahima ends the post. :)
Mahima had me in splits at several points in the post. But it is ultimately a read that will make you think deeply about this absurd practice that we have all taken for granted... like many others in the realm of gender.
b. 'The Single Most Important Thing to Know About Financial Aid: It’s a Sham' by Kevin Carey
If you have kids who are looking to join a US based college in the near future, you should read this article.
In the piece, the writer chronicles some of the questionable practices that private colleges use, to meet their admission targets
Note how he starts with an individual story:
It turns out colleges are just using these incentives to meet their enrolment targets.
Kevin uses the analogy of how airlines manage their ticket booking:
It's a troubling thought. This portion captures the major concerns of the article well:
With college debt accounting for more than $1.7T, and the sector facing the headwinds of online learning programs, these are indeed interesting times for colleges.
Caveat emptor!
a. 'Way to go, Ohio' on Revisionist History (Malcolm Gladwell)
Malcolm Gladwell is back with another season of the stellar Revisionist History podcast. The theme of this season is 'experiments'. In Episode 1 of the season, Gladwell starts by asking leading social scientists about their favourite fantasy experiments.
Episode 2 - this one - recounts the fascinating story of an experiment in the city of Akron, Ohio (US).
In it, an entire city's school board was convinced to add a foreign chemical to an ingredient that all of us consume everyday: salt.
That chemical? Iodine.
At that time, many people, especially in inland areas, were afflicted by a terrible disease called goiter. An intrepid doctor convinced an entire's city's school board to run an experiment in which some students were given salt fortified with iodine instead of normal salt... and the result was a huge success! The experiment led to the elimination of the disease and a worldwide adoption of iodized salt.
It is a fascinating story of a city agreeing to become guinea pigs in an experiment that may not have seemed like a slam dunk, but eventually resulted in countless lives being saved and improved.
Gladwell ends the story with a devious possibility - what if we manage to create a powder version of the Covid vaccine, and decide to add it to salt? How will the anti-vaxxers respond? :)
Super-insightful tweet - actually blog post. Influencers are about to face some real competition!
An obvious-in-hindsight chart:
What is more surprising than the steady rise in prices of service-based sectors is the fall/stagnation in manufactured goods.
Here's what I wrote about it:
I'm always a sucker for a good relief map - I just loved this representation of India's southern peninsula posted by Raj Bhagat (follow him for some great map related visuals!). Open the link on your laptop/desktop if possible and check out the Palakkad gap... and oh, we have frequently trekked to Tamhini Ghat, which is a stunning place!
"It's not what you look at that matters; it's what you see"
- Henry David Thoreau
a. Key & Peele - Auction Block
Another Key and Peele goodie. Uff, how they can take such a dark subject like slavery and make it so funny.
Key and Peele play characters who are about to be auctioned off as slaves and are initially angry at the prospect... but increasingly get despondent that no one is choosing them to buy!
The writing is sharp, relentless and witty.
As they say: Comedy = Tragedy + Time
That's it folks: my recommended reads, listens and views for the week.
Take care and stay safe.
Ravi
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