Divvea @divvea

As an avid reader of Immanuel Kant during my teenage years, I disciplined myself morally in ways that external chaos could never achieve. Kant’s categorical imperative became my inner compass: act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. This pure reason-based ethics grounded me, turning personal turmoil into a commitment to principles that transcend circumstances. The loss of Ali Larijani, a true Kantian thinker who authored multiple works on Kant’s philosophy, including explorations of mathematical method, metaphysics, and synthetic a priori judgments in his thought, feels profoundly personal to me. Here was a man who confronted what he saw as a materialist, genocidal empire on high moral ground, much like Kant’s insistence on treating humanity always as an end in itself, never merely as a means. His death is not just a political event; it is a blow to that rare fusion of philosophical rigor and principled action. The United States, through its Rewards for Justice program, placed a bounty of up to $10 million on Larijani’s head (along with other senior Iranian officials, including Mojtaba Khamenei) just days before his reported killing in an Israeli strike. This act reduces a human being, regardless of political role, to a price tag, a means to an end in geopolitical maneuvering. If this practice were to become a universal principle, no head of state would ever be safe again. Imagine Donald Trump, or any leader, subject to the same logic: bounties issued by adversaries, turning political opposition into licensed assassination markets. The world would descend into a state where dignity evaporates, reason is subordinated to power, and perpetual insecurity reigns, precisely the antithesis of Kant’s vision of a kingdom of ends, where rational beings coexist under laws they give themselves. Larijani, this committed Kantian (Syed Kantian, as some might say), left a piercing question for the Muslim world in his final public message before his martyrdom: Which side are you on? He framed the confrontation as one between America/Israel on one side and Muslim Iran/forces of resistance on the other, urging Islamic nations to unite rather than remain silent or complicit. He emphasized that true security, progress, and independence come not from narrow nationalism but from solidarity across the Ummah, echoing a bloc-like unity similar to the European Union. Today’s EU stands, in many ways, on Kant’s anti-nationalist philosophy. Kant viewed nationalism as outdated, a relic of particularism that must yield to cosmopolitan right and perpetual peace through federations of free states. Larijani, in his last message, similarly rejected narrow nationalism for Iran or the Muslim world, advocating instead for a collective strength akin to a supranational bloc that could guarantee dignity and autonomy for all, much like Kant’s ideal of a federation transcending sovereign rivalries. I am in no position to write a full obituary for him yet; the shock is still too raw, the grief too immediate. But I will write one, in time. For now, this is simply an acknowledgment: a Kantian light has dimmed, yet the imperative he lived by, and that he helped instill in me, remains undimmed. We must will a world where such principles prevail, not bounties and eliminations.

Niels Bohr's final blackboard drawing, with sketch of the 'Einstein box' envisioned in one of their famous debates: sciencephoto.com/media/684419/v… … (Many thanks to @imanjitkumar) #histSTM

@CengizCoskuun Nope! Getting monies from India and spending moolah on Pak.

Stopped cab to report accident on highway, get medical help 1. No way to send exact location 2. No fast ambulance resolution 3. Got calls back from 112, heckling me. Same for my @BluSmartIndia driver. No wonder no car stopped to help!! @PMOIndia @gurgaonpolice @cmohry

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The Rabbit Hole @TheRabbitHole

2 years ago

When you type "why censorship is" into Google search, the majority of suggestions are pro-censorship.

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#PeopleSpotting: @Creativeland appoints Divya Agarwal as its new Chief Strategy Officer. More here: bit.ly/48pEr29 #marketing | #leadership | #appointment | #growth | #business | #success

What is even happening in France?

The Rabbit Hole @TheRabbitHole

2 years ago

When you type "why censorship is" into Google search, the majority of suggestions are pro-censorship.

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The danger is that if we invest too much in developing Al and too little in developing human consciousness, the very sophisticated artificial intelligence of computers might only serve to empower the natural stupidity of humans.

@narendramodi what do people need to do to ensure companies like @agarwalpacker don’t cheat and deliver goods after getting complete payment? These companies are only swindling consumers. @nitin_gadkari they charge hefty freight, promise to transport but don’t comply.

Thanks Hasan Raheem for spending 529 minutes with me in 2022. I couldn’t stop listening to Aisay Kaisay. #SpotifyWrapped open.spotify.com/artist/6gIqKYK…

@ReejuRay4 @NetflixIndia Can you elaborate on this?

@mannibal @NetflixIndia Why do you feel it’s daft? I’m not saying it isn’t or it is.

@LyngdohMawlieh @NetflixIndia What ethnicity do you feel is represented here?

@pemagyalchen @NetflixIndia Can you DM me? I want to understand your points on this better.

@Jonathan_KkM @netflixIndia @netflix Is the song in this video sung in Khasi or is a folk tune?

@marclyng @NetflixIndia Hi, can you DM me what you feel is wrong with this ad?

Guwahati is _______ 📷 utkarshmittal91 #Guwahati #Assam

Got a good psychedelic story? Apply for $10K Ferriss Fellowship from @UCBerkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics to report in-depth print and audio stories by 7/31: bit.ly/39Hul4v. @WritersofColor @najournalists @POCinAudio @NABJ @NAHJ @aaja

My daughter sent this meme to me and I’m laughing so hard my chest hurts.

a compilation of grogu’s cute noises 🥺