Unreal Blog

Mind and matter is a problem in philsophy — how does a non-material mind make changes to the material world around us? Of course, it is a problem only in philsophy. We all know how to move about and do physical stuff, no mystery there. Still…

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What is the purpose of philosophy? And why are philosophers paupers?

Read the rest of "Love of Wisdom"

On what is important in life. And what is not.

Read the rest of "Midlife Crisis"

Some beliefs are superstitions, while some others are scientific theories. What exactly is the difference between them? Let’s listen to what Pirsig has to say about it.

Read the rest of "Ghost of Gravity"

Here is an unreal look at the what and why of time. Why do we have a sense of time when none of our five senses can sense it?

Read the rest of "Only a Matter of Time"

When philosophers look at anything, it becomes a bit technical. Their technical analysis may sound boring and irrelevant. Here is an attempt to tilt things in their favor.

Read the rest of "Half a Bucket of Water"

On my strange and funny dreams.

Read the rest of "If Time Died Now, I Would Be Happy"

What do we mean by rationality? Why do we think it is a good thing to be rational?

Read the rest of "On Rationality and Delusions"

A review of my forthcoming book, “Principles of Quantitative Development,” to be published by John Wiley & Sons in Feb 2010. This review is written by Shayne Fletcher, Executive Director, Nomura, and author of “Financial Modelling in Python,” reproduced here with permission.

Read the rest of "Principles of Quantitative Development"

Switching from God, philosophy and other higher pursuits, here is a topic close to home. How do people make a lot of money? Can I do it too?

Read the rest of "How to Make Money"

Blind-sight is an interesting neurological syndrome, and a philosophical conundrum. It shows how we may have senses that we are not consciously aware of. If there are senses that we can be unaware of, how sure can we be of the “sensed”? Or of our “delusions”?

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Here is a concept of God that doesn’t violate the known principles of science, and should therefore be consistent with the so-called scientific worldview. Mind you, plausibility of the concept says nothing about its veracity; but it may say something about it being a delusion.

Read the rest of "A Plausible God"

An unreal review of the book The God Delusion. [...]The book gave me a strange feeling of dissatisfaction. You see, you may believe in God. Or you may not believe that there is a God. Or you may actively believe that there is no God. I fall in this the last category. But I still know that it is only my belief, and that thought fills me with a humility that I feel Dawkins lacks.[...]

Read the rest of "The God Delusion"

The story of Helen Keller is the story of the dark reality that traps you in the absence of your senses. It is also an illustration of the role of language in breaking out of that darkness.

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In this post, I get into the risky business of interpreting scripture. Why is it that we do not appreciate others interpreting our beliefs? Well, that is fodder for another post.

Read the rest of "What is the Word?"

Mathematical finance is built on a couple of assumptions. The most fundamental of them is the one on market efficiency. Is it wise to trust this assumption? Are there limits to it? Are we operating at the right scale to ignore the shakiness of the market efficiency assumption?

Read the rest of "Modeling the Models"

This short piece is part of a column coming up in the Wilmott Magazine. Although summarily treated as a sort of curiosity, this idea may indeed blossom into a full-length book. For that reason, you will find more posts on related topics soon. For instance, why is it that hard work does not always equate to enhanced bank balance? Why do celebrities and entrepreneurs make so much more than normal employees? Want to know? Stay tuned…

Read the rest of "Philosophy of Money"

The last post in this series, this one exposes the extreme cases both in allowing and in denying bonuses, and their implications. Both the options imply our acceptance of certain economic idea. And, as with most things in life, it is not quite clear which is right, once you think long enough about it. A happy and stable middle ground is what we should seek and find.

Read the rest of "Bonus Plans of Mice and Men – VI"

If you generate profit, don’t you deserve a share of it? Profit generation and increasing shareholder value — these are the hallmarks of top talent in our capitalistic world view now. What is good for the shareholder is certainly good for the talent as well.

Read the rest of "Bonus Plans of Mice and Men – V"

Another common argument is that bonuses are necessary to retail the so-called “talent.” Are they?

Read the rest of "Bonus Plans of Mice and Men – IV"