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Premature Imitation and India's Flailing State
Social Media, Physics Nobel, Church, and Fashion Design
Peeyush Jain & Mohit Garg
October 08, 2025
Salutations, Olio aficionados! 👋
Midweek greetings to all, as we unveil the 193rd chapter of Weekly Olio—a delightful concoction of laughter, insight, and a sprinkle of mystery. Within these pages, you'll discover a handpicked selection of fascinating finds from the vast realms of the internet.
Keep your eyes peeled for this week’s Publisher’s Parmesan, arriving this Sunday!
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The Quote 💭
“On social media, a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.”
The Tweet 🐦
Have you heard of Cooper pairs?
In an ordinary conductive material, current flows because there are electrons that are free to move through the entire material. In some materials, the individual electrons that push their way through the conductor may become organised, forming a
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize)
2:13 PM • Oct 7, 2025
This is the week where winners of the Nobel Prize are announced. The Physics Nobel for 2025 went to three gentlemen whose discoveries underpin the development of quantum computing!
The Infographic 💹
How Judaism transformed into the Lutheran Church. Took a bit...
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The Short Read 📝
A Letter to the Fashion Designers of Tomorrow - by I Will Circle Back
I Will Circle Back is a community-powered storytelling platform exploring the circular economy through the lenses of fashion, culture, and everyday choices. Their mission is to make climate storytelling accessible, engaging, and actionable—without guilt or fear.
The article has a message for the fashion designers - keep drawing, knowing your lines shape ecosystems, wardrobes, and unseen futures. Your sketches are blueprints for culture, marking the beginning of a garment's journey. Draw in circular lines to create lasting beauty, not just momentary art. Read more…
The Long Read 📜
Premature Imitation and India’s Flailing State - by Shruti Rajagopalan and Alexander T. Tabarrok
This paper explores the increasing gap between the State’s ambitions and its limited administrative capacity. The Indian elite—English-speaking, upper-caste, and often foreign-educated—adopt Western-style policies that exceed India’s institutional abilities and social realities, leading to “premature imitation.”
The authors argue that elite-driven policymaking often prioritizes symbolic progress over practical outcomes, as seen in case studies on maternity leave, housing regulation, open defecation, and education reform. They highlight that generous maternity laws and strict housing codes benefit only a few, while education and sanitation reforms falter due to cultural and bureaucratic issues. The paper suggests that developing nations with weak state capacity should adopt a presumptive laissez-faire approach, relying more on markets and organic social evolution. True progress, they contend, comes from aligning policy with institutional capability rather than imitating rich-country models. Read more…
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We’ll be back in your inbox 2 PM IST next Wednesday. Till then, have a productive week!
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.
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