The Smartest People Are Often Easier to Manipulate
Theme: Intelligence vs emotional vulnerability Core idea: Manipulators rarely target the least intelligent person in the room. They target the person who believes they can spot manipulation. The smartest people are often easier to manipulate. That sounds counterintuitive. We tend to imagine manipulation working on people who are uninformed, inexperienced, or naïve. But in many […]
How Many Copies Does a Book Sell on Average?
How many copies does a book sell on average? Are you ready to do some exciting maths with me? Yes, I still call it maths. ‘Math’ feels like a someone removed a function from it. 😊 Let’s break it down: Roughly 220 crore (2.2 billion) books are sold globally every year. An estimated 22–40 lakh […]
A round up of the Prime Minister’s Austerity Drive – Atm-niyantrit Bharat
You have to be talented enough to find a moment of boredom in India, especially on our TV, social media, print media, and WhatsApp. The PM announced the 7 austerity measures and gili gili chhoo – just like that a billion and a half expressions started pouring over on whatever media people could lay their […]
A Tale of Two Rapes: The Rise and Fall of “mamata”
Between the Dipali Basak rape case in 1992, and the Abhaya rape-murder case in 2024 (R G Kar Medical College) lies the arc of “mamata”. I am careful here when I write “mamata” and not Mamata – the former being a profound state of emotion, the latter being just the name of the CM of […]
Why Some Cyberattacks Aim to Ruin Careers, Not Steal Data
The no-loss attack An investigation was carried out. A senior professional stepped aside “pending enquiry”. The leadership role was quietly reassigned, and absence was explained as “internal reasons”. There were no copyrights or IP stolen. There was no customer or internal data leak. Neither a financial loss was announced, nor was there any public breach […]
Most Cyber Incidents Begin as Social Events, Not Technical Ones
The innocent office email exchange It begins inconspicuously, like a normal last-minute adjustment to an earlier calendar invite. Along with it comes a document shared with a note that says, ‘Sharing a doc so we’re aligned.’ Small negotiations that keep the business moving. So far nothing unusual. The recipient responds because it feels reasonable to […]
Chapters Apart, Stories Together: A Tale of Two Indian Thriller Readers – III
A five-part micro story series that dives into the world of Indian suspense thriller novels. Through the eyes of two young midnight readers, it explores how suspense thriller Indian novels, top Indian thriller novels, and celebrated Indian thriller authors create unique thrills when the city sleeps. The Unexpected Disturbance There’s a fine line between what […]
Chapters Apart, Stories Together: A Tale of Two Indian Thriller Readers – I
A five-part micro story series that dives into the world of Indian suspense thriller novels. Through the eyes of two young midnight readers, it explores how suspense thriller Indian novels, top Indian thriller novels, and celebrated Indian thriller authors create unique thrills when the city sleeps. Parallel Introductions At 1 a.m., two different windows of […]
Chapters Apart, Stories Together: A Tale of Two Indian Thriller Readers – II
A five-part micro story series that dives into the world of Indian suspense thriller novels. Through the eyes of two young midnight readers, it explores how suspense thriller Indian novels, top Indian thriller novels, and celebrated Indian thriller authors create unique thrills when the city sleeps. The Sounds in the Backdrop The city never truly […]
Chai, Chatori and Indian Thrillers at Gomti Book Festival 2025
When distances are measured not in kilometers, but in cups of chai, you know you are in UP. Now how many chais will it take you to finish exploring all the stalls at Gomti Book Festival 2025? I dare not guess. While you think about that, “Tashreef rakhiye,” says the city, as the book festival […]