ThenkaiThenkai
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tamil

3 posts

A carved hero stone (nadukal) on display at the Tirunelveli Government Museum, Tamil Nadu
ArchaeologyAugust 4, 20269 min readEvergreen

The Forgotten Gods by the Roadside

Scattered across Tamil Nadu are thousands of nadukal — stones raised for warriors killed defending cattle or village, then ritually turned into gods. Here's what the inscriptions, the six-stage consecration ritual, and the class divide behind them actually show.

ancient historyarchaeologyhero stoneshistory
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A dense crowd waving flags amid red smoke from flares
Political ScienceJanuary 12, 20268 min read

One Half of This Argument Has Evidence Behind It

There is serious comparative political science behind the claim that strong subnational identity drives social spending. Looking for equivalent rigour on the other half of the argument — that the same pride predictably turns hostile — I could not find it, and that asymmetry is worth more than a verdict.

chauvinismdravidian movementidentityindia
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A shop sign carrying the same message in Arabic, French, English and German
Behavioral ScienceOctober 19, 20257 min readEvergreen

What Your Language Actually Does to Your Mind

The idea that your mother tongue shapes how you think is either a profound truth or a debunked myth, depending on who you ask. The honest answer is more interesting: some specific versions have strong experimental support, and the most-quoted version failed to replicate.

cognitioncritical thinkingevidencelanguage
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