Value of College Education

1- What a College Education Buys:

But the education kids are rewarded for may not be the same education their parents think they are paying for. Economists would say that a college degree is partly a “signaling” device — it shows not that its holder has learned something but rather that he is the kind of person who could learn something. Colleges sort as much as they teach. Even when they don’t increase a worker’s productivity, they help employers find the most productive workers

In recent decades, the biggest rewards have gone to those whose intelligence is deployable in new directions on short notice, not to those who are locked into a single marketable skill, however thoroughly learned and accredited.

2- College Education and The Placebo Effect:

The placebo effect is scientifically established, well-known effect in medicine. Basically, when doctors prescribe a sugar pill (a placebo), a good percentage of patients do get better. Note that while a placebo is just a sugar pill, the effect on the patient is very much real - patients do get better, not just imagine that they get better, so there is no quackery involved. The human mind and the human body have powerful self-healing mechanisms, and these seem to be triggered by the placebo.

3- Education Unbound:

IIT Bombay has a budget of Rs 120 crore a year, of which Rs 100 crore comes from the central government. With 5,000 students, this means a subsidy of Rs 2 lakh per student per year. This is not sustainable and is the key reason why the government system has not expanded. The private sector has to step in, and it has.

When you turn degrees into commodities and anyone can buy one from somewhere, you're going to lower the overall level of education in the population - while those with the pieces of paper hold them up as proof that they are educated. They FEEL educated. The universities are charging for their human capital as much as their teaching prowess. Yes, it is partially selling certification and there is no doubt that many schools engage in this. The value of this certification fades over time, though. The chance to be around so many people who are driven and creative and resourceful at an important time in life does not though, it pays dividends through the years.

Vichaar Shoonya + 1

From RGV's blog, a thought for the day---
Q: Can you give me an example to differentiate between knowledge, intelligence, genius and wisdom?
Ans: Knowledge is to know that a snake contains poison; intelligence is to figure out what the poison contains and how it can kill you. Genius is to create an anti venom. Wisdom is to know all this but yet not to fuck around with the snake just in case the first three go wrong.

Capital gains : A vivid, wide-ranging (and very scary) portrait of unbridled consumerism in the post-liberalisation years. [Thanks to Jai Arjun Singh]

Infamous List: To clarify, the people in these lists are/were good, honorable people. What is unpleasant/infamous about the lists are the circumstances in which these people found themselves.

Rabindranath Tagore in Conversation with H. G. Wells

Gapminder: Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact based world view.

Free Hindi Ebooks Download.

Mentor Yourself: Five core strategies for developing a more satisfying and successful academic career.

End of an Argument. How ?

Agrippa's Trilemma :The trilemma is a breakdown of all possible proofs for a theory into three general types:

* The circular argument, in which theory and proof support each other.
* The regressive argument, in which each proof requires a further proof.
* The axiomatic argument, which rests on accepted precepts.

This Trilemma is just for giving you an idea about types of arguments and little bit of creating impression about me (:P).

We came across several heated debates on the online community, forums and blogs about any topic. In a typical argument, each person tries to prove themselves right and the other person wrong. Instead of synthesis or refining of ideas, our focus shifts to stick to our owns idea as prime and supreme one. In the end, each person only ends up either more entrenched in their views or influenced by dominant juggling of words, regardless of who seems to deliver the most rational argument. Arguments are done for the sake of progress than victory. An argument can't be won by resistance. It will only increase the stubbornness of others and a little communication of importance will be achieved. Trying to prove yourself right and the other person wrong is like making a frontal assault on an entrenched enemy position. The goal of your argument is attempting to raise the other person’s awareness while maintaining your own sense of inner peace and identity with the idea.

I wanted to know why so brilliant individuals can't agree on a small point for evolving into next level of discussion. Its major reason which I can catch was that our education system fosters competitive excellence rather than intellectual curiosity or cooperation . Also, I want to know how to conclude these arguments as per seen similar situations in much popular fish market like Group discussions (GD). Any suggestions ??????????????

For good reading purpose,

1- Tagore and his India --- Amartya Sen.

2- Leszek Kołakowski (1927- 2009)

3- Who killed the Indian University ?

4- An interview with Fatima Bhutto.

5- Recession: How Risk Models Failed Wall St. and Washington?

Introspecting Career

"I am an enthusiast, not an expert."

It took me 23 years 11 months to realise and write this line. Now, this line holds key to my future. I was never involved with full extent in anything in past. I was working as a CATALYST for the process but didn't actively participating in it. Further, this nature prevents me to start anything new as entrepreneur or provide service under hierarchical structure order. What I am able of was to inspire/aspire others for achieving higher goals. So, I have decided to plan my career on this inherent talent. Now on, I will give a talk about my career in casual manner in this post.

A Quote for Self Motivation at Start:  "Don’t meet people who just want to meet you. Do something that makes everyone want to meet you. Make a short that is good enough that no one can ignore.”--Anurag Kashyap

Once upon a time, I met a mechanical engineer working in Delhi metro project. What we majorly talk is irrational here but his one sentence always keep in the mind. He stated that make yourself irreplaceable with gaining expertise in the line of work, otherwise you had wasted a great opportunity in the life. I may not fully agree with him still consider it for introspection purpose in the professional life.

I was more process oriented doing thing step by steps till I entered ITBHU. My thinking changes 180 degree after that. Soon due to carelessness, I came in the category of Engineers for whom: It doesn't matter ki question kya hai, they say bataoo answer kya laana hai. Rest of the account about my graduation years is briefly stated before. Then, I escaped from the core mechanical area after graduation and got job in the I.T. (service sector). Long gone back those days of relaxation and now I have highly monotonous routine of office-home and viceversa. I can describe my life in the words of Anton Chekhov (provided by the furobiker)-: Any idiot can face a crisis, it's day to day living that wears you out.

People who know me are well aware of my fickleness and desperate search for career path. Standing on one leg and balancing other leg may not be my favourite stance but my career progress is like that only. A sort of dissatisfaction from the present and highly aspirational future dream. This parallel career with 'happy go lucky' attitude is taking too much toll on my health with loneliness increasing another psychological problem.

It is my philosophy that our thinking is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices we make up with fully owning responsibility. I have interest in Cinema, Socio-cultural studies, Intellectual Property rights, Composite material, Energy Engineering, Administrative Services, Knowledge Management & Developmental Studies at different span of time-line in last 5 years. Finally after a long run in diverse field, I have started preparing for entrance examination of MBA in rural management.I had previously heavily criticized my fellow batch mates (not all but most of them) for blindly pursuing MBA without even assessing their inherent potential. It may be my prejudice but I think it takes very long time to decide your career shape before investing your time and hard work in it. So, IRMA Anand or XIRM Bhubaneswar are my dream destination. If the dream comes true, I will be abiding technical/software and corporate field forever. Note down that I write this blog without fear of HR & Management which can easily sneak into personal blog in recession times.

There is no right or left for me now...there is only up and down of life.

For the times they are a-changing and I have found something to compete for finally..

A Quote for Self Motivation at End:. “All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”—T.E.Lawrence

A Crazy Post !@#$

Image is of Madman painted by Theodore Gericault. Now the preview of this writeup should be cleared to you.

"Logic is deduction, not description. Understanding is secondary; the reasoning is the thing. In Logic and Mathematics, we do not understand things . . . we reason and deduce."
--- Quoted from the movie :The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser.

This slightly amended dialogue from the movie set the mood of this post. I haven't seen the movie but read this punch line on pfc. Suddenly, I wanted to compile some hotch potch about wisdom, knowledge and information.
Starting with poetry.....

Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
-T.S. Eliot

And then progressing with a quote...

Knowledge comes by taking things apart:analysis. But wisdom comes by putting things together.--John A. Morrison

On reading about genius people on nimmy's blog, my heart propelled me to put my crazy idea into words. I choose very arbitrary topic: Knowledge Management. I have put a paragraph here of my crazy idea about KM....

"Reducing carbon emissions of corporates is vital to green IT, a task that recession-induced cost cutting has indirectly fulfilled. I found new mantra for information usage in the era of green IT. Reduce, reuse and recycle the information. Information pollution is term coined by me only in this age of knowledge economy. Knowledge management people should have used this mantra, Its free and open source. Thesis of green IT, Antithesis of Information network and prosthesis for KM guys."

See, I have no clue what I had written here in chaos. I think it is there to confuse people involved in KM field. If you are smart then figure the meaning yourself...

I am going Insane or mad with each day, now you decide....
I am off.