Tatvadnyani's blog

For those who don’t know, circumcision is the removal of the foreskin from the shaft of the penis, at least as it relates to males. Female circumcision, otherwise known as clitorodotomy, is a wholly abhorrent practice, but well outside my current frame of knowledge, so I will not discuss it further.  Read More »

Any trip to a museum of modern art can cause one to wonder what constitutes art. It is certainly not an infrequent thing to hear such remarks as, “That’s just three blue circles on a white canvass. That’s not art.” Or, “That’s just a box of tissues glued to a chair.  Read More »

I was recently reading an article about the history of the African slave trade. It occurred to me whether as a white person, I should feel some shame at my ancestors for having done such a thing. As a modern person, after all, I had no direct role in the slave trade (discounting the possibility of a role in a previous life). Why should I feel shame about something I had nothing to do with?  Read More »

Of late, there seems to have been a fair amount of concern regarding the changing climatic conditions on earth. There is a sizable opinion that these changes are the direct result of human actions, and that our climate would not be undergoing them if humans had been more environmentally considerate throughout our history and in our present.  Read More »

In my opinion, there may be a number of reasons that a person may want to boycott, but regardless of the reason, I believe that boycotts in all their forms are good. First, a boycott may be motivated by the desire to incite change.  Read More »

Everyone likes to speculate about the possibility of time travel, but no one seems to have enough information to fend off the countless arguments for every single opinion. Every idea about time travel, whether for it or agin’ it, is laden with assumptions about the way things actually are, such as the manner in which time functions in the universe, and indeed that time exists at all.  Read More »

Very high on my list of annoyances is to be told, “Bless you,” or worse, “God bless you” after sneezing. I am embarrassed for those who say it to me. “Bless me?” I think. “You don’t even know me!” But usually I don’t say this unless I am in an especially foul or sardonic mood.  Read More »

A great deal may be remarked about the quality of television programming. However, programming is far too large an umbrella about which to make a meaningful and pertinent comment. There is undeniably quality content on television, and also a tremendous amount of garbage. Which is which is largely subjective, and not a topic over which I care to spend energy tirading.  Read More »