Monday, January 4, 2010

Absolutely Relative

Thanks to Aamir khan for giving a festive feel to the last week of every year.
3 idiots is making huge statements yet not compromising on the entertainment.

Inline to 3 idiots i have a Chatur Lingam in making at my home as well.. my 4 year old cousin.

Recently i was home and my cousin wanted me to see something.
She showed me her report card and boasted proudly ...."I came first in my class".
I could sense a chatur in the making ...
Alrite in all these years i have become a computer engineer and
computer engineers have a tendency to analyse everything logically and in great details.
We also worry a lot about the worst case scenarios in all our algorithms...

So here is a fully detailed analysis of my cousin coming first in her school
There will be around 50 schools in my city,so in worst case scenario her rank amongst all the toppers would be 50.
Extrapolating On state level -around 2500,on national level -around 2500000 .
if we keep doing this worst case analysis she might be ranked at some 250000000 in the world.

She is relatively a topper in her school but absolutely she is no where near ..

I think this relative thing is befooling all of us as it gives us a false picture of being the best but relatively.
At the same time i believe giving a absolute rank is impossible as it would require a huge synchronization in infrastructure
and a central body to look after it.

So we can do something ...
We can make the growth of a person "Absolutely Relative" to himself.
It goes like this...
If yesterday i could read 300 words in 5 minutes.
Lets see if i can read 350 words in 5 minutes today.
I am improving every day and in this way my growth would never stop as i am always improving my last performance.

As i never come first or last in this kind of evaluation,i am on a continuous learning curve.

I just wish i could make my little cousin understand this little educational reform of mine.

After all
Life is not a race
We don't have to run fast....
We won't be like a broken anda if we don't compete...

16 comments:

Secretariat said...

Growth should be measured both relative and with respect to others. At times measuring growth to others can boast the feeling on competition and healthy competition indeed improves performance quiet fast.

Isha said...

i didnt lik d blog its far away from ur usual style of writing and its not nice hehehe

lony said...

Broken anda.
Why do you compare with anda?

tuxdna said...

i guess the blog story is broken... its been taken well until at the last few lines.

life is a race even if we don't want it to be...

we have to run fast so that we can beat ourselves every moment...

umm... where does this broken anda arrive from? :)

Anonymous said...

a nice reconstruction of the famous 'mera competition sirf mujhse hai' line of thought. Fully agree having followed it for long now :)

Sanchit421 said...

ur cousin might not necessarily become a chatur by cmg first in class....cmg first gives her a 'sense of achievement', which fuels every success story...competition is not always bad, infact its gr88 as it gives us a pursuit (does playing nfs alone have d same fun as multiplayer?) wht u must see that this comptt does not become unhealthy, and hence, externally u always compete with others, but internally its with own self.

also chk out: http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/sagarikaghose/223/54036/from-three-idiots-to-a-nation-of-idiots.html

Gaurav Vashist said...

@All hmmm....i wanted this blog to receive a lot of unfriendly comments :) somehow some took it nicely and some got offended...it's a very subjective topic and each one an have a different opinion,infact each one of us can have varied opinions at different situations...

I wanted to see how do i receive not so friendly comments...

@prav Perfectly right,dono ki hi jarurat hai but i think apne se competititon should be a lot frequent and the dusra wala should be only at times.

@Isha Thanks a lot for a honest feedback...as they say your worst critic is your biggest admirer.

@Rookie -Hmmmm ...not seen 3 idiots till now. :) Watch it ..uske baad anda will amke sense

@tuxdna - even if its a race....we can beat ourselves but in that race hum hi jeetenge aur hum hi haarenge so it again comes down to better yourself.


@abhishek -I just compete with myself a i know one day i'll defeat all competetion and then whom willl i compete against.:)Rock on ..thats the best way to improve...

@Sanchit-I read that article and i agree with only one fact that she says that arts is not the same as engineering.and she has enjoyed her arts as much as she could
It may be possible that arts studies are brilliant in India.

....Movie is critical about engineering system and i have absolutely no doubts to that...Remember Aamir asking in the movie why iit? if iit->iim->banker? Thats the thing.... when you end up in a non engineering job the whole point of coming first in JEE or 12th or any XYZ exam seems out of place...I want my cousin to realise that there is a horizon beyond coming first in class..the greater happiness lies in getting enriched in knowledge rather than on being awarded for getting that knowledge.Its more about the achievement rather than the award.

Acha lastly more than the article i loved the comments...please dekhna ek baar.Similar to Raja Sen.

Gaurav Vashist said...

more than being critical of engineering system.... i think it is critical of how mindlessely we choose our races....,I have entered a few mindless races myself and there is something beautiful about them...when you win it you just feel so what? now what ?that accomplishment.. that satisfaction is just not there .Bigger message is choose to do what you love to do.Don't choose something because someone else made merry doing it...you may not njoy it at all..

Its just a case of looking at a C and asking whether it is concave or convex?

None is wrong....we just have different view points. :)

Gaurav Vashist said...

Lastly my cousin becoming Chatur ....
It was not because of her coming first that i sensed it.If you see it was out of the boastful pride with which she showed me the report card.

See i am a firm believer of the shloka

Vidya dadati vinayam vinayadat patratam. patratam dhananopti dhanad dharmah tatah sukham

Bold one means that first thing that comes from education is humility(vinamrata)...

If the education doesn't give you humility it is failing at the very first lesson.

Vidya has to give "vinayam" or else vidya is faulty or the way we are giving the vidya is faulty.

lony said...

@vash
3 idiots - still waiting for a watchable print, it hasn't been released in Finland.

Abt movie being critical of engg system, guess majority of people are missing the point. Before getting innovative, you have to survive. Indian families has not reached the point where one could survive choosing any occupation which they like. So, the cut throat race we do have has its own pros. It provides a mean to survive in this place. Look at the 3 idiots site for once. It give examples of some great minds, but failed to explain that how rich were they or what occupation they did have. Choice is the luxury for few, nd for majority engg/medical is still their best bet to improve their life. Whether one like it or not. We are few of the privileged ones who got the choice.
I guess movie fails to explains the basic facts, that before you do go for choice, you need to have it. Look for instance, Madhavan/Nagesh. Both were engineers. First they earn enuf to survive and than pursued their choice.
To conclude my point, look at the life of Ramanujan. Genius died at very young age due to mal-nourishment. Wonders could have happened had he have taken the route of survival first.

Gaurav Vashist said...

@Rookie - hmmm very practical points yar.

The cousin that i am talking about in this post doesn't exist ,she is just an representation of the next gen.she is my child ,your child.....

I just hope we make life a choice for them and not just survival.

That was the point of it...

lony said...

agreed with that.
Life has to become a choice for the next gen.

On side note, i would recommend a movie which while not be comparable to 3I, gives exactly the meaning of survival and choice.
The Blind Side.
Its based on the true story. Do watch it.

pranav said...

'compete with urself.........' not with the compitition coz one day u'll beat the comp. then against whom u'll compete,, n as far as measuring growth is concerned, it needs reforms at every level primary,secondary as well as tertiary. And u have suggested a nice way to 'MEASURE GROWTH' as well by giving that reading example......' grading(if at all) should b based on skills rather than craming ,poems,theorems, formulas, derevations and scribbling them on papers......'gud one GAURAV keep the course!!!!!!

ManojBlogs said...

Liked the post and the discussions as well.. For me.. I guess ..at some point in time you will ponder upon and realize that there is something else that you could have done better... and then you start doing that.. and then there is no one competing with you.. its you and only you.. :)

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Anonymous said...

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