Nicholas Kristof Travels To South Sudan, Where A Famine Brought On By Drought And Civil War Threatens

Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom. I thought little of the future. I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration.

James Joyce in Araby

Song: “Lovesick Misery” by Sanders Bohlke

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Check out Prasanna Choudhary's Twitter profile as an animated movie. https://www.vizify.com/prasanna-choudhary/twitter-video

A new question for the jury: Did my brain implant make me do it? « The Jury Room

We’ve written as lot about “brain malfunction” [aka “did my brain make me do it?”] defenses here but this is a new twist on the neurolaw question. Deep brain stimulation (“DBS”) is a well-accepted treatment for a number of serious and treatment resistant neurological conditions from Parkinson’s Disease to depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. As effective as DBS can be, there are also concerns about how, in some patients, it changes one’s personality to cause “undesirable or even deviant behavior”. The behavioral/personality changes depend on the location of the deep brain stimulation (and the functions carried out by that portion of the brain). 

So. You have a condition for which everyday treatment is ineffective or causes side-effects worse than the condition itself. Your doctor suggests a brain implant to offer deep brain stimulation (DBS). You are unfortunately, one of those for whom DBS creates behavioral reactions and you do something illegal. Are you responsible? Or is it your brain implant? […]

The article is very complex and the ideas in it are provocative. We cannot do justice to the questions raised by these writers in a brief blog post. It’s a very serious question.

"When you agree to a cutting-edge treatment and you are informed that for some people, behavioral changes may occur, do you thereby accept responsibility for any actions you take under the influence of that treatment?

"Or, since the behavior is completely different than anything you have previously displayed  and is thus believed due to the treatment (which can be shut off) is it fair to deny responsibility?

"And if you encounter aberrant behavioral effects but decide to not shut off the DBS because you appreciate the ways in which it helps you function, are you then more responsible for any illegal act you committed since you are choosing to continue down the same path?"

Yes. This is a new question. Not, “did my brain make me do it?” but “did my brain implant make me do it?”. Ultimately, however, the larger question remains the same. Where does our personal responsibility end?

https://www.brainpickings.org/2021/03/19/eula-biss-on-immunity/

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IMG_7809 by Pooja Pant

Genesis of Capital in India

Genesis of Capital in India

My book ‘Genesis of Capital in India’ in Kindle Edition. https://www.amazon.in/GENESIS-CAPITAL-INDIA-Prasanna-Choudhary-ebook/dp/B01MRTPPTA?_encoding=UTF8&keywords=genesis%20of%20capital%20in%20india&qid=1480937433&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1  

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Gettysburg

Reblogged from Flickr Blog:

"The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1-3, 1863, at a small town in Pennsylvania. With an estimated 50,000 Confederate and Union casualties, the battle was a major turning point in the American Civil War."reads the…

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The Digital is Political

The Digital is Political

The political ideas we have held for centuries are ill-equipped to respond to today’s challenges.

Source: The Digital is Political

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Best GIFs of 2012:

mrdiv