What do I do now?

I spend a lot of time thinking since I've joined college.

I had postponed a lot of introspection during the two years I spent slogging away for the JEE. But now, with ample free time and practically no requirement to go for classes, I've finally got some time to look back and see how things have turned out. Things started off on the back foot, and while 1-1 had its charms, I wasn't exactly happy about how things had turned out at the time due to a bad time with the entrance exams for all the wrong reasons.

But I digress, as time has passed, I have learned to live with my failure a little better every day, though it still sticks out like a sore thumb on an otherwise decent academic profile. What has turned out to be an interesting exercise is to compare what I expected from college a year ago and reality.

To be fair, BITS Pilani (this applies to all campuses, but in this case, Hyderabad Campus) has some of best internal systems among all Indian colleges. Optional attendance, good grading system, decent infrastructure, and a lot of freedom is more than what can be asked for a lot of other colleges. Despite some glaring flaws such as a lack of a solid technical culture, this college has punched above its weight for such a new institution.

But as an engineering utopia? I feel like we are way short of the mark Aaron Swartz mentioned in his blog:

"Perhaps it’s natural, when doing something so greedy and practical as a startup, to pine for the idealized world of academia. Its image as a place in an idyllic location filled with smart people has always been attractive; even more so with the sense that by being there one can get smarter simply through osmosis. People describe a place of continual geekiness, of throwing chemicals into the river and building robots in free time. A magical place for hackers to just enjoy themselves."

This aside, I am of the opinion that the version of me a year ago would have been sorely disappointed by the version of me today. I feel that I was much more hardworking and efficient back at that time. The two years in JEE preparation were undoubtedly the worst years of my school life but now looking back, it was the time which did bring out the best of me in the briefest of moments. I would have had no idea just how driven and hard-working I could be for a goal that would always be just a touch out of view.

Despite my frustrations with life during JEE preparation, the epiphanies I used to have on weekly basis with studying physics during JEE kept me going. It was a positive feedback loop with no goading required. On the other hand I can't remember the last time I actually enjoyed learning something in class in this college. I hope it isn't a sign of things to come when I start "engineering" coursework in my 2nd year but I have pretty much lost all motivation to study.  The unbridled enthusiasm I used to have when studying for entrance exams and the giddy thoughts of making batshit crazy projects in college has dwindled. In my first semester, it was a convenient excuse to blame this on burnout after pushing my limits for two years but I've come to realize that the reason is probably shallower than that. It's not just with academics though - wasting time still feels painful but I have nothing I want to do to fill in the gaps. Is there a cause for this? Probably. Have I figured it out? Absolutely not.

It feels like an artificial conflict of time between these misguided academic pursuits and to actually work on something worthwhile. I could put up with it in school with the thought that there would be enough free time to pursue this in college - and while there is - it begs the question why such artificial restraints on time in the form of exams are always looming in the first place.

At this point of time, I don't know what to do. With compre in half a month but a GSoC project and a couple other projects I've planned in the pipeline, it's a pretty easy decision to make the choice of which one of these two things I would want to work on. For a CGPA for which I cannot care for anymore, it might be one of the worst decisions I can make.

Rantings: Indian Education

The Indian education system has been one with many ups and downs. Viewing from not an expert's position, not from a parent's position, not from a teacher's position, but from a high school, bored student's perspective, this post is just a rant about our muddled education system.

CCE: This was supposed to be the next big thing to do away with exams. However, the government's magic wand failed to do much on these counts, and instead of doing away with exams, it succeeded to give us a cornucopia of projects and assignments, to keep us busy in our already syncopated free time. It probably could've done a lot more if they had revised their assessment, but.....

Emphasis on exams: What the education board has largely taught the majority of Indian students is that failure in exams is tantamount to failure in life. It screams to say that exams are the most important thing that could have happened since the Big Bang, and that failing could just as well result in the destruction of the universe itself. It would be an understatement to say that "10th graders in India suicide", because the existence threatening virus has got to almost all age groups. For the sake of lives, try to change these stereotypes, CBSE.

Lack of thinking problems: OK, I know what my fellow students are thinking on these counts in math (no pun intended), but problems like these are reserved for "higher classes". It's like slowly walking on a long path and then being forced to run a marathon. Yeah, these problems can't be left out early for the benefit of the "average student". Sure, it is tough going early, but it will pay off in the end. The bar of the "average student" needs to be raised a notch higher on the metaphoric ladder.

 If you want more evidence, just look at India's IMO (International Mathematics Olympiad) rating of 72nd out of 73 countries. An average South Korea's 3rd grader is astonishingly  just as good as an average Indian 8th grader at mathematical/mental ability.

Hindi: As if the subject wasn't terrifying enough, some wise guy decided to give kids 15 chapters of boredom and then ask arbitrary questions in exams. With themes ranging from dirt, mud and random biographies, the Hindi syllabus clearly wasn't reviewed by a person brought up in a ubiquitous English community. If CBSE can reduce the bar so nonchalantly for sciences, why was this treatment skipped for Hindi?

Uniformed board: This probably saves a lot of confusion, but it means that it needs to cater to all types of society for what the board considers "relevant". Things like forestry and agriculture are hardly needed in urban areas, but then again, this is according to me, not them.

Policies: Read plural of policy and not law enforcing officers. RTE plans to give education to everyone, which sounds like a nice idea, but in reality is far-fetched. With most 3rd graders failing to pass basic English reading tests (94% to be exact), something seems to be wrong. Even if they somehow do get everyone educated, not everyone can get a job in this country, leaving lots of wasted talent.

On a more positive note, literacy rates have jumped by over 12% since 2001's census. Great news, but these shortcomings give one some food for thought.

Comment, criticise and praise at your own will.

7 Billion

Today the world has reached a new milestone, which has compelled me to change the very name of this blog itself. Yes, we reached the population landmark of 7,000,000,000 or seven billion according to a UN estimate. According to me population growth is not a good trend and achieving it has some serious implications. The world is already ridden with poverty, AIDS and a host of problems with which the majority of the population can not keep up with. Sure, we have more people and man-force. But that doesn't help the fact that unlike population, resources do not reproduce by themselves. Providing for seven billion odd people is more than what the earth can give.

 Here's a breakdown of the world's population growth.



This is positive information. The world has only added one billion people in 13 years since the last milestone of six billion. More people would probably mean higher growth rates. It's not happened in this case due to successful campaigns from the Chinese - 400 million less births. However, even with the current growth rate, it will not be sustainable to have more people on this planet in a few decades.

Food for thought. Comment and express your opinions.