Life
Rohan Arya Varma
A software engineer who, in his spare time, likes to read books and write essays and reflections. He is also the site owner and primary contributor, because who else would be?
Essays
Moral Capital: The Case for Marketplace Virtue
"There is no ethical consumption under capitalism." This quick, cynical soundbite circulates online as a moral shrug. If there's no ethical consumption under capitalism, why should I bother trying to make more ethical choices? Behind the meme lies an anti-capitalist moralism. From this perspective, capitalism loses
Essays
Re-Personalization: AI and the Classical Revival of Modern Education
The Big Idea: As AI reshapes the way we learn and work, it also challenges the foundations of modern education. This essay explores how two ancient forms of learning—classical tutoring and apprenticeship—offer promising blueprints for an AI-native world. By analyzing the bifurcation of future jobs into relational generalists
Essays
From Metal to Myth: Why Modern Money Is Built on Trust
The ability to think in abstractions is among humanity's most distinctive traits, and there is no abstraction, no collective fiction more universal than money. At the dawn of civilization, a numbered piece of paper had no practical use. You can neither eat it nor plant it, and it
Essays
Singaporean Exceptionalism: The Power and Precarity of a Modern City-State
On May 12, 1797, the Doge of Venice, Ludovico Manin, abdicated. The Great Council, the primary legislative body, voted overwhelmingly to dissolve the Most Serene Republic. Two days later, Napoleon marched in with his troops and raised the French tricolor over the Piazza San Marco. After 1,100 years, Venice,
Life
Two and a Half Years Later: A Reflection on My Part-Time Master’s
Essays
Why Singapore’s Adult Literacy Is Falling Despite High Global Rankings
Singapore's literacy challenge is often overlooked, being neither a pressing economic concern nor a matter of fundamental rights. Given our national focus on pragmatism, these issues of literacy can seem peripheral. Singapore consistently ranks among the world’s best — with one of the highest GDPs per capita, exceptional
Tech
Connecting the Dots: The Various Considerations of Graph Visualization
In information visualization, each visualization technique has a different niche. Line charts show the relationship between two variables, and bar charts provide a way to compare values associated with different categories. However, none of these tools convey the relationship between different entities, and that is where graph visualization comes in.
Essays
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea: An Exploration of Purpose and Masculinity
This post contains major spoilers for The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima. That being said, the plot is simple and secondary to the themes and symbols. Continue at your own discretion. What does it mean to strive for glory, for greatness? What passions lie
Life
Some Books I've Read in 2024
Essays
The Compromise of the Skeptic: An Analysis of The Black Swan
One of the most mind-bending books I've been reading is The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I had decided to start reading it due to its iconic stature in 21st-century non-fiction; it seems as if every other book references some aspect
Essays
Death by Summary
Most people I know had a reading era in their childhood. Borrowing books from the library and engaging in discussions surrounding popular series is a fond memory I have of my childhood. It's hard for me to forget receiving Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on release day