Click on the latest Forbes List of Top 10 Billionaires in the world and there are two Indian names, both within the top five. Now do the same with the list of top 10 philanthropists in the world and not a single Indian name emerges! Why? What explains this huge disconnect between wealth and giving? Why are Indians more niggardly when it comes to parting with their wealth? One reason could be cultural. We tend to be much more inward-looking and family-oriented than our western counterparts, notwithstanding the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) worldview that many Indians profess. Another could be that many of the newer Indian billionaires are yet to get comfortable with their wealth. And a third, no less important, could be our unimaginative tax policies that almost dissuade charitable donations. In a rational world, you would expect those who have more to give more, even if it was Karl Marx, the avowed enemy of capitalism who said, 'from each according to his ability … Those whom fortune has favoured must be more willing to share their wealth with those less privileged. That has been the guiding philosophy of many American philanthropists who set up some of its great universities. But not in India, or so it seemed! Till now when, thanks to an astoundingly generous act from Azim Premji, chairman, Wipro Foundation, an Indian is all set to make it to the list of top philanthropists in the world. Compare the size of Premji's endowment (approx $2 billion) with the average $ 4.1 billion given by top 50 US philanthropists last year (according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy) and the scale of his generosity is manifest. The Azim Premji Foundation has been engaged in improving the quality of schooling in Karnataka and with this latest endowment should now be able to contribute even more. Admittedly, it may be difficult for many of India's corporate leaders to match Premji's generosity, though it is worth noting that the top donors in the US last year Stanley and Fiona Druckenmiller — are not the richest. But the good thing is, over the years, there has definitely been more giving than in the past. Now with Premji showing the way, will others follow? And will tax policy foster the culture of giving to advance the collective good? (in syndication with - The economic times)
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The beauty of Mathematics!
1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
Brilliant, isn't it?
And look at this symmetry:
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321
Now, take a look at this...
101%
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:
What Equals 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wondered about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%.
How about ACHIEVING 101%?
What equals 100% in life?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
then:
H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K
8+1+18+4+23+ 15+18+11 = 98%
and:
K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E
11+14+15+23+ 12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%
but:
A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E
1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%
THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E-O-F- G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%
Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Biodiversity on Broadway - Enigmatic Diversity of the Societies of Ants (Formicidae) on the Streets of New York City
'Each year, a larger proportion of the Earth's surface is urbanized, and a larger proportion of the people on Earth lives in those urban areas. The everyday nature, however, that humans encounter in cities remains poorly understood. Here, we consider perhaps the most urban green habitat, street medians. We sampled ants from forty-four medians along three boulevards in New York City and examined how median properties affect the abundance and species richness of native and introduced ants found on them. Ant species richness varied among streets and increased with area but was independent of the other median attributes measured. Ant assemblages were highly nested, with three numerically dominant species present at all medians and additional species present at a subset of medians. The most common ant species were the introduced Pavement ant (Tetramorium caespitum) and the native Thief ant (Solenopsis molesta) and Cornfield ant (Lasius neoniger). The common introduced species on the medians responded differently to natural and disturbed elements of medians. Tetramorium caespitum was most abundant in small medians, with the greatest edge/area ratio, particularly if those medians had few trees, whereas Nylanderia flavipes was most abundant in the largest medians, particularly if they had more trees. Many of the species encountered in Manhattan were similar to those found in other large North American cities, such that a relatively small subset of ant species probably represent most of the encounters humans have with ants in North America'.
Read this article for free here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0013222
