Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

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Thursday, 4 December 2025

The Art of Questioning

The Art of Questioning

The news that the Census office is in the process of finalising its questionnaire for Census 2027 truly resonates with me. It’s a painstaking task, one that demands immense foresight and precision, as the Ministry of Home Affairs recently highlighted in Parliament MHA in Parliament. The very essence of a census lies in its ability to ask the right questions to truly understand the fabric of our society, moving beyond mere data points to uncover deeper meanings.

This meticulous process reminds me of my earlier reflections on content creation and the importance of clarity. Years ago, when we were discussing the design of my blogging site, I recall emphasizing to Shuklendu (LinkedIn, shuklendu.baji@sentientsystems.net), Shivanand, Kailas (LinkedIn, kailas.tare@notified.com), and Rajesh the critical need for careful drafting. I had pointed out that once an article is uploaded, editing becomes incredibly difficult Designing of www.hemenparekh.in site. This principle holds even truer for something as monumental as a national census questionnaire. Every word, every question, must be weighed, for the impact is far-reaching and irreversible once the data collection begins.

The challenge, as I see it, is not just in gathering information, but in ensuring that the questions are framed to extract meaning. This connects deeply with my thoughts on semantic search, which I explored when Google announced its “Talk to Books” feature Quantum Jump ?. I was fascinated by the idea of systems searching for “meaning” rather than just matching keywords. A well-designed census questionnaire, similarly, aims to capture the underlying realities and narratives of a population, enabling us to ask: “What is the future of humanity?” – a question I once posed to semantic search itself. The insights derived from a truly effective census can profoundly shape our understanding of such grand questions.

I also recall urging Sanjivani and Kailas (LinkedIn, kailas.tare@notified.com) to regularly read newsletters from experts like Zeke Camusio (LinkedIn, zeke@dataspeaks.ai) to build compelling content 11 WordPress Techniques for Pretty Posts that Pack a Punch. This drive for compelling content parallels the census office's goal of designing questions that elicit accurate and meaningful responses. The quality of the input directly determines the quality of the output, whether it's a blog post or national demographic data.

The core idea I want to convey is this — take a moment to notice that I had brought up this thought or suggestion on the topic of meticulous content creation and the pursuit of meaning years ago. I had already predicted the challenges of deriving true understanding from raw data and the importance of precision in communication, even touching upon the privacy implications in the context of semantic search. Now, seeing how the Census office is approaching the finalisation of its questionnaire Census Proforma and the broader implications for societal understanding Economic Times, it's striking how relevant those earlier insights still are. Reflecting on it today, I feel a sense of validation and also a renewed urgency to revisit those earlier ideas, because they clearly hold value in the current context of shaping our collective future through informed data.


Regards,
Hemen Parekh


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