Simple Thinking. High Expectations.
"The important thing is not to stop questioning".

This widely quoted advice from Albert Einstein about never losing curiosity should be taken together with another of his advice about asking the right questions, spending more time to determine the right question to ask because that will point the way towards solutions.

To question is to challenge. To challenge responsibly is to focus on asking the right question, whether of entrenched or even fluid views or opinions. With confidence but in humility.

Whatever I write on is based on subjects I have studied and taught and areas I have worked in. Hopefully, one day, I may resume teaching, through technology.

I have begun with economics & the economy – the subject and the object it studies; information & analytics – so basic and advanced as they play a central role in all walks of life; management & innovation – so decisive in the way resources are used, productively or otherwise. I wish to write on simple and complex themes across the three but hopefully in a manner that will keep you engaged. I will start writing on Accounting and Finance in some time.

I don’t have any specific reader in mind; I have never believed in the idea. All I am asking of you is to be open-minded and respect the efforts that go into sincere questioning.

It is important to be challenged. This is the only way to fight stagnation.

AI: Getting down to building a businessNew 

Jan 19, 2026 | , | 0

Trillions of dollars in business are an alluring prospect in the AI products/platforms space, which will attract billions in investment. Throwing money is not going to fetch results. Just as it happened in the early stages of telecommunications, which was a huge learning for everyone including and especially the companies and governments – because everybody got it wrong – the AI market too will force interested parties to think carefully before plunging. Clinging to entrenched notions could be a path to disaster.

ROI on AINew 

Jan 10, 2026 | , | 0

While there is tremendous enthusiasm for the use of AI, the question for makers of AI is when it will begin to fetch profits, which begs another question – when will users be ready in large numbers to pay for the use of AI agents/products?

Sustainable AINew 

Jan 2, 2026 | , | 0

Land, Energy, Water – sounds like the demand of a people fighting for basics but these are three resources that will dominate public policy discussion in the world as cities vie with one another to attract companies to set up data centres. Sustainability has not been a subject of debate linked to data centres and AI but it should be. Given the intensity of water usage, it is imperative to make appropriate investments in water treatment.

Land-based business models in data centres

Nov 4, 2025 | , | 0

Land might well hold the key to building a business in data centres. While other factors such as connectivity, access to power are of course critical factors, everything starts with land. This means that landowners have emerged (even if they have not realized it) as key players in designing viable business models in the business of data centres. This is true for governments as well as they are among the biggest landowners. The current trend of using land for residential/commercial construction might shift towards data centres.

Four plus one

Oct 19, 2025 | , | 0

If the world is dynamic, there will always be a weakening or strengthening of exiting alignments and forging of new alignments. The likely differentiating factor now is that we will see a future where businesses and national governments will work more closely together than ever before. The reason is simple: (ignoring the domestic) governments have defined goals to face and take on the world for which they will need the support of business, who, in turn, will benefit from building businesses to a scale they could not have imagined

Private Equity, Public Inequity

Oct 3, 2025 | , | 0

Wilful ignorance is unpardonable in anyone, especially those responsible for policy-making, but that is exactly what is happening in healthcare. The business media’s staple diet everyday is valuations, return on investment and so on, with no attempt to look beyond financial and investment metrics to quality of patient care. Taking care of your health has never been more critical than ever before for a simple reason: you just can’t afford to fall sick.

The doorman fallacy (in the age of AI)

Sep 17, 2025 | , | 0

There is an intensifying obsession in businesses with automation, aided and abetted by AI, which is so overpowering that it has displaced from the public sphere all else, displaying a poverty of thinking through. Since it is clearly not a phase, the sooner businesses realise the folly of such narrow thinking, the better it will be. Will they?

An intelligent orientation

Sep 17, 2025 | , | 0

We don’t have to dramatically alter our educational system for AI as is being argued by many because there is no dearth of educational materials on subjects such as Linear Algebra, Calculus, Probability and Statistics, which, however, can be and are studied even without any reference to AI. And the same goes for language too. We need to reorient the study of these subjects from the perspective of AI and build also a new generation of teachers. It is vital that we apply our minds to this if we do not wish this endeavour to go the way of so many Edtech companies

Real safety! For Humanity!

Aug 26, 2025 | , | 0

What a relief! Humanity is safe from AI! AI is not going to take over humanity. For a simple reason.
There is a business to be built, actually businesses, competition to be ridiculed and quashed, new products to be launched, new names to be thought of (no more LLMs – Meta), pricing to be perfected, investments to be carefully planned. With so many practical things to be accomplished, where is the time to take over humanity?

Manipulative intelligence

Jul 25, 2025 | , | 0

It is now beyond doubt that there are multiple players in the field of ‘artificial intelligence’ focused on leveraging the hype that they have themselves created to cash in on attracting investment. The lifeline of the world of IT and computing (of which something called AI is a part) is data centres (using the plural as singular), and the lifeline of data centres in power supply, which explains the continuous search for power efficient locations. And, of course, for fresh investment.

Trusted relationshipsNew 

Jul 10, 2025 | , | 0

Relationships matter, in life and among data. And, just as in life, we need to steer clear off spurious relationships and stay invested with the genuine. Both take a lot of effort and thinking. It gets more challenging with data because of the multiple ways in which it is captured and the multiple formats and databases in which it is stored.

Red flags

Jun 29, 2025 | , | 0

‘Data is the new oil’ – there is now a continuous stream of articles on how data is the new resource, but should be rephrased as ‘correct, relevant and complete data is the new oil’. While it doesn’t have the catchiness of the first, it draws attention to what is at stake because, as a corollary, false/incorrect data can be a drain on resources.

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