Samarth Bansal
@samarthbansal
Samarth Bansal
Imagine a society without any form of government. People come together and agree to form a government. What powers would you be willing to give to this government, and what rights would you reserve for individuals? This thought experiment, associated with philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, explores the nature and legitimacy... See more
The Survival Lottery: In a society facing a severe shortage of organs for transplantation, a lottery system is proposed where individuals are randomly selected to be killed for their organs to save multiple lives. Would you support such a system? This experiment, proposed by philosopher John Harris, pushes the logic of utilitarianism to its limits... See more
The reason we’re so increasingly intolerant of long articles and why we skim them, why we skip forward even in a short video that reduces a 300-page book into a three-minute animation — even in that we skip forward — is that we’ve been infected with this kind of pathological impatience that makes us want to have the knowledge but not do the work of... See more
Maria Popova • Maria Popova — Cartographer of Meaning in a Digital Age
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you... See more
Rainer Maria Rilke • Letters to a Young Poet
In a world where no one is compelled to work more than four hours a day every person possessed of scientific curiosity will be able to indulge it, and every painter will be able to paint without starving, however excellent his pictures may be. Young writers will not be obliged to draw attention to themselves by sensational pot-boilers, with a view
... See moreBertrand Russell • In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays
Imagine if governments decided to add Prozac, an antidepressant, to the public water supply with the intention of enhancing the population's overall happiness. What ethical, medical, and social implications would arise from this decision, considering the principles of consent, the nature of happiness, and the potential impacts on societal... See more
David Lynch on the limitations of language:
“Cinema is a language. It can say things—big, abstract things. And I love that about it. I’m not always good with words. Some people are poets and have a beautiful way of saying things with words. But cinema is its own language. And with it you can say so many things,... See more
Manifesto for slow learning:
1. Focus on direction, not destination
Immerse yourself completely in the journey and you will reach your final goal gradually.
2. Raise your hand
Asking questions is a fundamental human right.
3. Learn at your own pace
Find your rhythm, find your flow. Don’t compare yourself to others.
4. Unplug
You have the right to
... See moreAustin Kleon • Slow Learning
