Thursday, August 27, 2009

Rattva 06-07-08-09 Anti-ROTE

Let Me Give it a Thought.
And People Try and Think About it.

Imagination is the only thing a Man Truly Possess.
It is our only Hope, only Salvation.
It is the gift that man has. Imagine a time when there were no Aeroplanes, no Internet, no Missiles , no Electricity, no Bulbs, no Computers, no Cars ... Ad-Infitum

But Then man had courage to I-magine.( doesnt it begin with a I. Its what I want to Do)

If you don't have Imagination, you don't have Anything.
Lets Get Back Into History. We have seen so many people who have acheived greatness by doing the unconventional, doing the not so popular.

The First Man who was Willing to Undertake a voyage "Around" the world( Ferdinand Magellan to be more specific), Relied on Nothing more than mere Suspicion that the world may not be FLAT as Everyone else Believed, and his own Undying Belief that the Earth was round.
Didn't The People Believe Him to be stupid . Some Sought of Psycho.

And, I Respect Him, Because He had the Courage to Say " Bring It On, I'm Ready to Rumble"

So people give your Whims and Fancies a chance. They Might Just Turnout To Be True.
And Even If They Dont, You Havent Lost Anything.
You Have Pampered Yourself( By Trusting Your Instincts)

I mean, what evidence did he have in the 15th century that corroborated that the earth was round? None.

So his Adventure was based on a Wild, Risky plan. He had the nerve to do something Wild and achieve something Extraordinary. He knew he Might Fall off the Edge of the Earth if he was wrong and the rest of the world was right.
But if there was a Risk, he was Willing to take it. If he had to be Laughed at, or Die for attempting something that Stupid, then so be it. That was the Price he was prepared to pay for his conviction.

Thats It.

"Free Me From The Shackles Of Marks and Grades
And Let Me Soar High Into the Skies Of Knowledge And Imagination"
( Just Got Carried Away)
What we need today is that scientific curiosity. What we need are people who would be willing to trade all they have for one moment of revelation.

See thats the point. We need people who would rather be Laughed at for Defending their "FANTASTIC" ideas than Spend their Lives Wondering about What Might have been. The Educational system should reward Inquisitiveness as opposed to mere Rote.
The education system we have now rewards the ones who can Imitate best.( The one who fills pages, writes non required crap, at times i think they weigh the answersheets before giving marks. Also, Handwriting is more important than knowledge...they have changed the 'Imagination is more important than knowledge' thing)

So does Handwriting= Knowledge ??
Or well that way doctors shud be the most Stupidest people in the world.( No hard feelings, fellow docs. I know the Chemists do recognise Your Handwriting)

But what good is imitation if we aspire to move forward? Curiosity should be incentivised. Knowledge should not be a means to a better or richer life. It should be a reward in itself.

Memory Is Important. And No doubt that xams cant be done away with. But Mere Grading On the Basis of reproducing the text book, is not what it should be.
Is the education system producing inquisitive minds or copy writers ??( Xerox Machines to be more specific)

History textbooks should carry historians' opinions, not politicians'.
Science textbooks should come with a very visible disclaimer that all of science is merely based on our interpretation of observable facts, and it may or may not give the complete picture.

Scientific rules exist only until proven otherwise. Give in the reins. It's time to be bold and declare our ignorance.
There is nothing shameful in a search to find the truth, inspite of our very human limitations. And nothing is more dignified.







Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Median Student

The Median Student

The median student (not the average topper, not the average loser, but the average, average guy in any classroom) is a funny species. What goes through our minds is idiosyncratic to our kind and if you are not one, you cannot appreciate it. So this blog is dedicated to those of you who fall under the "Average Joe in class" category.

The first few days of a new year or semester are always interesting. Everyone is smiling. The average topper is thrilled with the prospects of being introduced to things he probably already knows.He sits in class with that annoying smirk which Alexander might have had on his face when he found out that the next kingdom he planned to conquer was ruled by the most honourable yet debile kings.

The average loser is smiling. Semesters don't matter to him. His is a case of bliss induced by ignorance. And he knows how to enjoy it. He knows that its going to be another semester of trying to learn things that he will not learn. Another semester of being in a trance in the classroom. He knows it's funny. And he smiles.

The median student is also smiling but it's an uncomfortable smile. I will tell you why. We are glad that the first few days will be spent on pointless things in class. New subjects will be introduced and basics will be run over. We feel like kings. "Hey! I know this!". We are happy that things seem easy. We are mildly happy that we may come across things that sounded so cool when others spoke about them. We know that we will be introduced to things we've probably only heard of. We know that we can cling to most of what's being said in class but we always need the "kind average topper's (an endangered species)" helping hand soon. We are worried that shortly we will write tests. Again, a time when we seem happy just before the test and disappointed soon after we start writing it (Of course the other groups are happy before and after). We know that "I think I'll do well this time" feeling too well to fall for it again. We know that we will punch the keys on calculators over and over thinking we have made mistakes in keying the number in.We believe that this semester is going to be different from all but we also know that the odds of that happening are pretty grim. We know it all.

It's not easy being the median student. It takes one to empathise. And I feel sorry for all my fellowmen. As for the rest of you...stay where you are. The grass IS greener there,,,,but as someone puts it .....the grass is greener on the both the sides..but i am sitting on the fence...


Sunday, August 9, 2009

I Was Thinking The Other Day...

( Stumbled Upon This Quote Some Where....Incredibly True!!)

I was thinking the other day about how the most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time.
What do you get at the end of it? A death. What is that, a bonus?

Well... I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you're too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you're young enough to enjoy retirement.
You drink alcohol, you party, and you get ready for High School. You go to school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last 9 months floating...then you finish off as an orgasm!

... now that's a ride. ... oh yea!
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