Aaron Swartz- the Genius!

When a very young persons does something which is expected from adults, we call him a genius! Obviously such individuals have very sharp brains and can achieve, create much more than adults, faster and earlier than expected during their life span.

The peculiar case of Aaron Swartz needs a bit of discussion. He was involved in forming specifications for RSS (Rich Site Summary) at the age of 14 and contributed in many ways to computer field.

He also was a “Hacker” in common man’s language but was a genius in the computer fraternity!! One man’s Terrorist is other man’s Martyr! He proposed that information should be free. In principle it is a good idea but to collect and manage the information you need money! Wikipedia is a similar example, it is free but Wikipedia always requests for donations as they need money to run the site.

Hacking articles from MIT site and downloading them to make them available for free is something similar. Who was Aaron to decide that he had rights to hack articles (or was it stealing!- people will get upset with this word)? Who gave him the rights? Why his father made a statement to MIT guys “You are destroying my Son!”  when MIT involved police to investigate the hacking? Why did Aaron not meet MIT guys and told them to give him the articles instead of downloading them without their knowledge? This is very similar to Open Source Operating systems. Microsoft, Apple they charge for OS because they take full responsibility for the OS and give support. We know how slowly Open Source free Linux is evolving! Why is it wrong to charge for knowledge? Why not give everything free then! Doctors should not charge us fees, Accountants also should not charge us consultation fees. The Folklore and business do not walk hand in hand.

Friends share your thoughts with me as somehow I am not comfortable with Robinhoods of this world!


Rape and the Ass of a Law!

We assume that if morally we are on the right side of law everything is fine in this world! But it is not so. I read an article in Times Crest (http://www.timescrest.com/society/virginity-and-rape-sentencing-9566) and I am horrified to say the least.

Yes I am talking about the rape in Delhi! We assume that with the fast track courts and so much publicity, by  March end all the required things will be done and the culprits will be sentenced to death. Please read the article in Timescrest before reading further.

Had the unfortunate girl NOT died you can imagine what would have happened. What does the law say! The current interpretation of Law is to be lenient to the Rapist if

  1. The Victim has had sexual relations in her life prior to rape or she is married ( then it is not a great offence to rape!)
  2. If the Victim is known to the culprit
  3. If the Victim gets married during the trial (Looks like marriage washes away the atrocity)
  4. If the culprit is a minor we all know what the law says

The system is so designed that it makes sure that the Victim is thoroughly disheartened, disgusted, scared and tired by the time she goes through medical exam after the event. Rape is considered to have “happened” only if certain physical activity has happened. If this cannot be proven the culprit can go scot-free!

This system is probably created by people who justify feticide, those who are “you can’t clap with one hand” theorists, and the MCP’s! Let me assure you that except MCP’s others are NOT necessarily men!

How do we change this? You can’t change this by death sentence, chemical castration and so on. This needs a very major change in thought process in our society, homes and in how we raise children. It can be changed giving respect to women. Allow freedom to women.

Do we really have a  right to say “Vande Mataram”?