Digital rivers

Imagine standing on the Kelani Bridge, looking at the river flow towards, underneath and away from you. Or standing at a river delta, looking at the veins merge with the sea. Perhaps all of us have, risking stern reprobation from parents and grandparents, played in the garden just after heavy rain, splashing around, looking at …

Acts of kindness

Lawrence Lipscomb is not a name many would recall or even associate with the White House under Obama. The photo featuring him may, however, be more familiar. In it, the then President Obama fist-bumps Lipscomb while walking down the hallway of a federal building, after a meeting. There are two officials with Obama. One looks …

Conversations with strangers

Being an introvert is the most challenging when forced to interact with others in large numbers. I’m happiest alone, or in the company of close friends, who are few. When I am with someone I know very well, there is no pressure to converse or broach a specific topic in a given time or space. …

Mapping stories

What binds a community together? Initially one might assume it is to do with having the same language, external enemies or economic interests. However, something generally precedes all that: common ideas that are passed down from generation to generation and that shape the development of the community. These ideas lend a distinctiveness to the collective …

The first month

A coup’s normalisation is key to long-term success. Architects of an unconstitutional transfer of power have to quickly give the impression everything is under control and nothing is going awry, so as to allay public fears, even amongst ardent supporters, that it may lead to more widespread chaos or instability. By 9 November 2018, just …

The new oil

Example 1. My son, like other children born then and since was issued a book at birth that to me looked like an Excel spreadsheet printed out in landscape orientation. It was used to record his height and weight. On every visit at regular intervals, our paediatrician recorded measurements to ascertain whether my son’s growth …

Data signatures

With documentaries like ‘The Great Hack’ we are deeply fearful – and rightfully so – of how our data can be used, abused and weaponised. Over the past three years, significant political developments on both sides of the Atlantic have fuelled a global debate around the role, reach and relevance of social media in our …

We are how we frame

When and under which conditions is rape acceptable? Is raping a male more acceptable than raping a woman? If it is your wife, is hitting or kicking her once in a while ok? When killing a child, is it better to die quickly or slowly, individually or in a group? As a measure of paternal …

What the data reveals

While data isn’t destiny, the study of how individuals capture attention on social media gives both indication and insight into their electoral prospects. Nearly a decade ago, in the sixth Presidential Election of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sarath Fonseka – the two leading candidates – each set up Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr accounts …

Missing the wood for the trees

“Houston, we have a problem” is a famous line from 1995’s Academy Award-winning ‘Apollo 13’ film, told to NASA’s ground control by actor Tom Hanks, playing Mission Commander Jim Lovell. Based on real events, a catastrophic explosion crippling a spacecraft bound for the moon became a test of NASA’s ability to completely shift gear, from …