Letters: Stepping in the river

This refers to Srinivasa-Raghavan's column "Do data have context?" (Marginal Utility, October 26), that begins by saying "you cannot step into the same river twice" is a Chinese proverb. It is usual to attribute all words of wisdom to Confucius or, in general, to China. It is not a proverb, nor is it Chinese. It is a well-known thesis in philosophy that nothing is fixed and all is in flux. It is the theory of Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the fifth century BC. Since a river is in constant flow, whenever you step into it, it is a different set of water than what it was before. It is a philosophy, and not a proverb.

Sukumar Mukhopadhyay New Delhi

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