tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61155312023-11-15T18:33:52.817+05:30Ramblings Of A TravellerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-9520214873639979002007-03-09T15:04:00.001+05:302011-09-12T19:01:18.420+05:30Complexification<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div align="justify">That's the latest book i read. It is another one of those 'science explained in layman terms' book.<br />
<span id="fullpost"><br />
It talks of why we must not be surprised by occurrences that are counter-intuitive, and in fact expect such results. He uses the theories such as catastrophe theory, chaos theory, etc to elaborate his point.<br />
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The interesting part is when he explains the limitations of logic/mathematics. Consider a Universal Truth Machine (UTM), which can print out ALL and only, TRUE statements. Now, consider the statement, "The UTM will not print this statement". What happens now? If the UTM prints this statement, the statement would be false, and UTM cannot print a false statement. So, it cannot be printed. But, if it is not printed, then the statement becomes TRUE, and the UTM does not print it. So, the UTM is not universal. The conclusion is that we cannot prove all statements in a system, by using the system. Hence, we cannot expect to learn everything using rational thought. Interesting...<br />
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</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-53692320128783473992007-02-14T17:18:00.000+05:302008-01-29T14:26:48.568+05:30The Argentine AdventureA few Argentines were on a visit (training actually) to India, and i was in charge of making their trip pleasant. My interaction with them threw up a lot of interesting tid-bits.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><div align="justify">Irevna, the company that I work for, has opened a new set up in Argentina, and five guys from there were in India to get to know the company, its culture, etc. I, along with Ashish—my colleague—were in charge of co-coordinating their trip to India. The amount of difference that exists between cultures is vast. Almost everything from weather to how ‘Wednesday’ is pronounced is different.<br /><br />Being in the Southern hemisphere it is only natural that the weather pattern in Argentina is opposite to that of India. It is a temperate place for most part, except for eh South that is close to Antarctica and obviously, cold.<br /><br />The guys, Miguel, Juan, Marcelo, Gustavo and Carlos, were all pretty cool guys with no airs of any sort. They have a tight schedule here and I may not get to interact much, with them. Ashish and I took them shopping on Saturday, and they liked it a lot. Their greatest problem here is the food. They CANNOT tolerate even a teeny-weeny bit of spice. Everything has to be bland, and in India, it is very difficult ( Impossible? ) to find something bland. That’s unfortunate in a way, as they do not know what they are missing out on.<br /><br />One of their pet topics here seems to be the traffic. It always seems to amaze them. It is not the volume of traffic—I am sure Buenos Aires should be equally congested—but the utter lack of order that surprises them. That there are no lanes, that hardly anybody cares for traffic rules, and that everyone really loves to honk is something that they find hard to digest. The last part always gets them worked up!!!<br /><br />From what they have described of Argentina, it is a place that I would certainly like to go - the night life, the carnivals ( ala Brazil ), the geography - all sound interesting. Let’s see…someday, I might go there!</div><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-83616949357896747372007-02-09T16:59:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:49:53.398+05:30The Lover of Trapdoors !<div align="justify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera"><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">The Phantom of the Opera</span></em></a> by <a title="Gaston Leroux" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_Leroux">Gaston Leroux</a>, is the book that speaks about the lover of trapdoors. I was skeptical after reading the title, and after a few pages, thought it must be a comedy. However, it is riveting once you get the hang of the story.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">It is about the 'Opera Ghost' or 'OG' or 'Erik' as he calls himself. There is a ghost in the Opera who terrorises people. He demands a box for himself in every performance and also 20,000 francs every month ( A ghost who demands money ! ). OG then falls in love with a singer and goes to extreme lengths for her. There is a hero too, who loves the same singer; and a 'daroga' who seems to know a lot about OG and his secrets.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify">The author does a good job of keeping up the suspense and later of rationalizing the events that build up to it. A good read.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-65055708147932854822007-02-07T09:40:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:49:59.811+05:30Chaos<div align="justify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos:_Making_a_New_Science"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em>Chaos: Making a New Science</em></span></a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gleick">James Gleick</a> - That was one of the books i recently devoured. It is not a technical book, rather about the history of the science of choas - how mankind's unerstanding of the concept of chaos progressed over the years. A delightful read. Lots of interesting concepts.<br /><br />I was of the view that chaos is random. But it seems, it is not. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Norton_Lorenz">Lorentz</a>, a meteorologist first postulated that non-periodicity could be deterministic. He also went on show that, chaos is not truly random, but it is actually bounded - he gave the world the <a title="Lorenz attractor" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenz_attractor">Lorenz attractor</a>. Of course, he did this with refrence to a meteorological problem. Also, it was he who coined the much abuesd phrase, <a title="Butterfly effect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect">butterfly effect</a> - in scientific terms, sensitive dependence on initial conditions.<br /><br />Then the book talks about self similarity. An interesting observation was that an infinite length can bound a finite area. This concept is used to introduce fractal dimensions - fractional dimensions ( I did not understand much; so would not comment).<br /><br />I one great quote that i found in the book was from a scientist who was displeased with people using the term 'non-linearity systems'. He said it was like saying Zoology is about 'non-elephant' animals - simply brilliant. All our years of education conditions us to think that the world is linear; when in fact, the world in completely non-linear.<br /><br />Then there is a lot about turbulence - a vexing problem in Physics. There was a quote from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Heisenberg">Heisenberg</a> ( The Uncertainty Principle guy ), on his death bed, saying he would ask God, "Why Realtivity and why Turbulence?" He goes on to say, "I really think He may have the answer to the first question."<br /><br />There was a lot of stuff that went way over my head. But overall it was a good read.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-15851718875689057832007-02-05T16:43:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:50:08.482+05:30True Fiction<div align="justify">I have come to realise that i love 'true fiction' ( if there could be such a thing ). By that i mean, fiction that is true to the word - stories about jungles inhabited by ancient 'intelligent' apes - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_(novel)"><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">Congo</span></em></a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Crichton">Michael Crichton</a> - people from other 'levels' coming to our world - <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insomnia_(novel)"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Insomnia</span></a></em> by <a title="Stephen King" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King">Stephen King</a> - and 'creatures/people' from other dimensions - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Atlantis-1-Greg-Donegan/dp/0425169367"><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">Atlantis</span></em></a> by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/103-1376440-3071064?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Greg%20Donegan">Greg Donegan</a>.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Such novels are very interesting despite the inherent obviousness of their being fiction, in the truest sense of the word. Of course, they seem ridiculous in retrospect, but when one is reading through, they are highly entertaining.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-19381354233849218762007-02-03T11:11:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:50:14.312+05:30Fiction<div align="justify">Read a hell lot of fiction recently - Frederick Forsyth’s Avenger and The Afghan, John Grisham’s Broker, and a lot of other small time authors. But it’s an overdose. Forsyth has this obsession with secret services that is getting repetitive, now that I am reading a lot of his novels. But it is still good. Avenger was great. I would call it his best. Of course, it has a lot improbable coincidences, that move the story forward, but on the whole, it’s pretty gripping.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-2761794636985938702007-02-03T10:10:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:50:23.799+05:30Marriage - A Mathematical Perspective !!!<p align="justify">My Mom was visiting me in Chennai, and she silently let it slip that my Dad and she were looking for a suitable girl for my marriage. I was shocked to say the least. I know, it is inevitable, but still…<br /><br />This is another of the real life cases where there is ‘Information Asymmetry’, ala used cars, . But, a more relevant technical discussion here would entail Linear Equations<br /><br />You can consider the problem of finding the ‘perfect’ girl ( or a boy, for a girl ), as a linear equation, where you are trying to maximize or minimize ( does not really matter ) the objective function, subject to certain constraints. But the similarity ends there.<br /><br />In Mathematics, you consider all the possible solutions simultaneously, and choose the optimum one. ( In fact, you don’t need to consider all options, as the solution would lie on the boundary. So, you need to consider only the boundary solutions ).<br /><br />But here, you cannot consider all the possible solutions simultaneously. You have to consider them sequentially. Now, that would prevent you from finding the optimum solution, as do not know if the some solution in the future would be better than the present one. ( Married guys…sounds familiar !!! )<br /><br />So, what happens is, people decide on some important constraints that need to be necessarily met, something like a ‘satisfysing solution’. It is not optimum, but it is sufficient. Surely, you can not keep looking for the perfect girl, simply because you would soon be old, and be thrown out of the marriage market.<br /><br />Another way to look at it would be in terms of ‘ local optimum’. That is, in the set of solution that you can possibly evaluate, this is the best solution. In real life terms – Of all the girls you met, or you could possibly meet, or hope to marry, choose the best one, a ‘local optimum’ ( not a ‘global optimum’ ), and then start praying.<br /><br />I have already started praying !!!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-18213368208440351732007-02-03T09:58:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:50:31.048+05:30For a Car<div align="justify">I am in the market for a car, a used car actually. As I started the process, I realized I know zilch about cars, and was painfully reminded about the concept of ‘Information Asymmetry’. It is highly pronounced in this case. The seller knows pretty much everything, and the buyer is mostly in the dark. And for a buyer like me, with little know how, it’s even more difficult.<br /><br />I am planning to befriend a mechanic, and start searching and evaluating cars, based on newspaper ads. It’s a lot of hard work. Let us see.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-35678741112316410162007-01-20T12:39:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:50:59.782+05:30Chennai Restaurants<div align="justify">Have a lot to write about – my reviews on some restaurants that I sampled, a few book reviews, my cooking adventures, etc. Let me begin with the restaurants.<br /><br />Given that I am a vegetarian, my reviews would be rendered utterly useless to a vast majority. But I labour on for the devoted minority! (More like myself!).<br /><br />There is a hotel in Nungambakkam high road, Little Italy - heavenly Italian food. They have an excellent array of starters – lots of breads. I tried the some ‘assortment of breads’ – two pieces each of a number of great breads – was great, and more than enough quantity too. The pizzas were good, but substantially from the Pizza Hut, Dominos, variety. Should try the pastas next time.<br /><br />Then there is a Dhaba Express in Cenotaph road. I went for their lunch buffet...North Indian spread. Good variety, good taste...at 61 its value for money (especially for heavy eaters).<br /><br />There is Café Mocha in Chennai, in Khader Nawaz Khan road...cool place…spacious, nice ambience, and good crowd. Food and drinks too are good. I visited a few in Mumbai...this looks better.<br /><br />Will try out more, and then give a lowdown on them. Will stop for now.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-87017464949289919972007-01-02T14:37:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:51:07.840+05:30Happy New Year<div align="justify">A new year, and a new post. But, no resolutions for me. I am above such triviality (I am lazy). So, it is more of the same. Excess reading, TV watching, and 'cooking'. Work is cool as ever - meandering as usual.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">TV viewing is in for a change - i guess i have to take a DTH connection as the local cable now has only regional channels..the lone VH1, SAB and Sahara are also gone. Anyway, i have to get one before the world cup, so might as well get it now.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">I am also planning to apply for a four wheeler license. That should work out, and then i will get a car - that will be a big decision!</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Let me describe some of my 'cooking' adventures - It started with Dosai i guess. My mom had made the dough before she left for Coimbatore. I started off on a wrong note - added water, when it was not necessary, and diluted the dough. I poured it in the tawa, and found that it was spreading badly. I somehow managed to half cook it, but when i put a piece in my mouth, i realised, i had forgotten salt. The watery ordeal continued, as all dosais were either half baked gooey looking or black coloured burnt ones. Thankfully, my attempt at coconut chutney was not so disastrous - it was actually good.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-80439239360328998232006-12-18T16:42:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:51:16.270+05:30Reading 'Excessess' ???<div align="justify">I joined the Eloor library on 21st November, and have so far read the following books - Calvin & Hobbes; Agnes Grey; Tale of Two Cities; Impossibility; Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Virus, Three men on a Bummel; Prince and the Pauper and Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys in Desperate Measures. I am currently reading The Runaway Jury. I was wondering if i was just reading too much. Instead i could maybe read some CFA stuff or aomething on Telecom sector. Hmm... </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-58124091146655375102006-12-05T14:54:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:51:30.670+05:30Immpossibility<div align="justify"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Impossibility-Limits-Science/dp/0099772116"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em>Immpossibility</em> </span></a>. That is the book, i just finished reading. Its by John D. Barrow. Its about what is impossible. What is it that human mind cannot do? what is unknowable, undoable, etc ? lots of interesting things...<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">There are the usual mathematical problems..like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hanoi">Towers of Hanoi </a>(IT guys would know that). But what was interesting was the paradoxes..<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno">Zeno's paradoxes</a> were particularly interesting..The best was Russle's paradox - consider a town where there is a sole barber - the barber shaves those who do not shave themselves....then, who shaves the barber ?<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">There is very detailed description of the developments in astromony, astrophysics, particle physics, and the limits that we encounter there.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Then, a lot about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godel">Gödel’s incompleteness theorems</a>, which establish that you cannot prove everything about mathematics, using mathematics, or any system for that matter. It would be possible only for very simple systems, and mathematics is not one of them. This raises a serious issue – if mathematics has an inconsitency, then all our knowledge, which is based on mathematics would have inconsistencies. But, he gets around this by saying that mathematics is too big, and we use a very small part of it; so our knowledge need not be affected.<br /><br />All in all, a good read. But, I must caution though, it would take a long time, not because of the number of pages, but because it’s a lot of gyan – pretty difficult to understand. I did not understand most of it, and even the little that I did understand, I am not sure if I got it right!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-6606494612397833952006-12-01T10:21:00.000+05:302007-02-17T09:51:38.211+05:30Eloor Lending Library<div align="justify">As happens with most of my 'ventures', my attempt to document my experiences at <a href="http://perfettivanmelle.in/index1.htm">Perfetti</a> has officially been discontinued. One long post was enough to discourage me. Now, i don't know, what i would write in my blog. Lets see.<br /><br /></n></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">There is a library near near my place - Eloor Lending Library - decent sort of place, have not explored much., though i have become a member. The initial deposit was 800, refundable if you cancel your membership after 6 months, which is OK. But, the lending cost of 10% of the book price seemed slightly steep. You get to keep the books for 2 weeks. The collection is sort of OK, though there is an overdose of fiction.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />There is a good science section, good in terms of quality, though the numbers are limited. The classics section is also good, and pretty cheap - books of Dickens, etc cost are priced at just 50.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />The first book i borrowed was a <em>Calvin & Hobbes collection</em> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Watterson">Bill Watterson </a>- nothing much to say about that..pure joy. Next, i got <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Grey"><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">Agnes Grey</span></em> </a>by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Brontë">Anne Bronte </a>- said to be her best. I remember in my school days, i had <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuthering_Heights"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Wuthering Heights</span> </a></em>by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Brontë">Emily Bronte </a>as a part of my course - that was one great novel, really good, especially if you appreciate language. The plot was pretty gripping and poignant. So, i was hoping for a similar experience with her sister. But i was disappointed. <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Grey"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Agnes Grey</span></a></em> was bland stuff. It was about a girl from a not so affluent background, who ventures into the world as a governess, and how she longs for love, affection and respect, which she finally gets from a priest. The book is good from the perspective of appreciating the English language, but as a novel, its boring.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-34291317628870324372006-10-13T14:40:00.000+05:302007-02-17T10:03:21.286+05:30Perfetti...oops, Confetti !!!<div align="justify">I am planning to write on my experiences at Confetti. I will make it episodic, and will be completely truthful (well, almost). And yes, the obvious disclaimers apply. So here goes.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">The Adilabad Adventure - 1</span><br /></strong><br />It was around 4 in the evening. I was in Pai Layout, Banglore. It had rained the previous few days, and the roads were badly damaged. Pai Layout was even worse; as it had no proper roads, only mud ones. I was explaining to a panwallah, why he must buy Coughomint, a mint candy with herbasol. (That was my job…but more about it detail, later). I tried one ingenious argument after another after another, but the panwallah was unimpressed. He kept saying the margin was lower compared to Montyfresh, a mint candy from one of our competitors. The salesman accompanying me was also trying. He was speaking in Kannada.<br /><br />As we were engaged in this struggle, I get a call. It is from my boss, Madhusudan. He had asked me to call him at around 3 in the evening. “Good Evening, Boss”. “Good Evening. Where are you, Deepak? What are you doing?” "I am in the market Boss. I am sorry, I forgot to call you". "Never Mind. Can you make it to the Airport by 4.30? Your flight for Hyderabad is at 5PM". I checked with the salesman and replied, "Yes Boss. I think I can make it". "OK. Go to Hyderabad and then call Ram." Ram was my second boss.<br /><br />I take an auto and rushed to the guesthouse. I had planned to take my luggage and then go to the office to collect my ticket. But when I reached the guesthouse, it was locked. I call up the office. They send a guy from office with the keys. I quickly pack my stuff, and take an auto to the airport. The office is on the way to the airport. So, the office boy, stands on the road outside the office, and hands me the ticket in the auto. I somehow manage to reach the airport, and board the plane as the last passenger!!!<br /><br />The plane lands at Hyderabad airport after an hour. I alight, and call Ram. "Hello Boss. Deepak here. I have just reached Hyderabad. Madhusudan boss had asked me to contact you after reaching here". " Yes. You will be working in the rural markets for sometime now. You will start with Reddy (a DSO - Distribution and Sales Officer) first. So, go to the guesthouse, have dinner and leave tonight for Adilabad. It is an overnight journey from Hyderabad. You will get buses from Imli Ban Bus stand". "OK, boss. But I do not know the address of the guest house here".<br /><br />After that, he explained the route to the guesthouse, and asked me to hurry. I called up Reddy, my contact in Adilabad. I had no clue where Adilabad was, let alone know how to reach there. Reddy just told me to go board a bus from Imli Ban. I asked him about my stay arrangements, and he replied that there was only one decent hotel, named Raviteja near the bus stand, and that I could try there.<br /><br />I collected my luggage and caught an auto to our guesthouse. Once I reached, I found Praveen there. He was the housekeeper – a cool guy from North East. He made a great dinner (Great, as I felt then. Later I came to realize that he could make only that dinner – I repeat, only that dinner, no variety. But yes, to his credit, he did make it very well). After the dinner, I took my bags, and set out again – this time to locate Imli Ban. I managed to reach Imli Ban, find a bus bound for Adilabad, and bought a ticket. As I was sitting down, the Television (It was a ‘Hi-Tech’ bus, Andhra slang for buses with TV, push back seats, etc) started blaring old Hindi songs - mostly Kumar Sonu songs. After a few minutes, I became immune to the noise, and started contemplating on what I had got myself into.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-1160058474009341222006-10-05T19:50:00.000+05:302007-02-17T10:03:11.309+05:30I am Back<div align="justify">Well...i am back...after a long break (imposed by circumstances)..anyways, i intend to be more regular know, and am planning something interesting..lets see how it works out.<br /><br />Work in new company is pretty cool..not much tension (unlike my previous job!!!)..chennai is OK..have not yet started anything concrete at office..should start very soon..</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-1147786544432609922006-05-16T19:03:00.000+05:302007-02-17T10:02:45.577+05:30Some more waiting...<div align="justify">i am blogging after a long hiatus...i started this blog as a documented journey of my thoughts...but i think i can now convert it into a documented journey of my physical self.....but all that later...this post is just for the sake of posting..i will start regular blogging sometime in the near future...till then bbye</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-1073227871392220112004-01-04T20:21:00.000+05:302008-01-29T14:26:03.580+05:30Back<div align="justify">I'm back from home .....................................................<br />It was a nice long vacation ( so long that i forgotten what MBA was ). But now its back to the dull routine..............<br />Till the next vacation.( he he he )<br />Bye</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-1071496713171416562003-12-15T19:28:00.000+05:302008-01-29T14:26:03.597+05:30Home !!!<div align="justify">Three more days and then, i am off ( to home !!!!!!!!!!!!!)<br />The exams are a pain. Lots to study ( not to speak of the projects that are due this week ). It is going to be hectic ( But a reward awaits me at the end of it !! ). I will be so busy that i cannot update this blog ( !!!!!!!!! ).<br />So blog ( and friends ( is anyone reading this ?))......see you after the vacations ( that is, next year !!!!!! ).<br />MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR ( in advance!!)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-1070985826598012162003-12-09T20:41:00.000+05:302008-01-29T14:26:03.604+05:30Who is to blame ?<div align="justify">I am back. After a long time....Busy with projects ( one more to go ). Today, we had OR end term. Also, there was a rumour that Accounting ( first term) results were out, and our results were commensurate with our performance ( !!!!!!!! ). There was a huge commotion.<br /><br />Its really confusing. I am unable to understand the contradiction in these, two seemingly unrelated events. Let me explain. Everyone who is anyone is cursing our Accounting Proff for being "inconsiderate" ( How could he do it ? He did'nt teach us properly....blah...blah....) Let me set some some facts right. In any class of his not more than 15 students used to be present. ( and then the talk of him not teaching !!!!!!!!! ).<br />Its a different matter that he could not count himself among the priviliged few who could command the undivided attention of their students; specifically, attendance without compulsion ( ooff.....thats euphemism at its peak !!!!!!! )<br /><br />And then after OR the paper ( which was a farce ), the same students were unhappy that the proff had given an easy paper. They wanted to be "challenged".<br />On one hand they ask for a tough paper, and on the other they cry hoarse against a difficult paper. So ????????????????????????????????<br /><br />Personally, i feel students alone must not be blamed. An equal ( if not more ) share also lies with the proffs. Consider this..<br /><br />A proff knows he is bad. He does not want the students to complain against him. What does he do ? He pleases them by giving them good grades easily. At the end of the course the students realize that they have learnt nothing.<br />Another scenario.....<br /><br />A proff does not know he is bad. The students make him realize that ( poor attendance ). He gets mad, gives a tough paper, and teaches them a lesson !!<br />Again, in the end the students are the ones to suffer. The objective of learning is left unaccomplished.<br /><br />So, its devil vs the deep blue sea. What can we do ????<br />( I wish i had the answer... DO YOU ?? )</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-1070469887704645142003-12-03T22:07:00.000+05:302008-01-29T14:26:03.613+05:30Projects<div align="justify">One hell of a week, this is. After having enjoyed the whole term, now is the pay back time. I am awake till 3 AM daily ( if i tell this to my Engg college friends they would never beleive me !!!!). OR, OB, ME......But it will end this week. Next week will be free and then exams ( which again will be free !!!!). Our OB presentation had the highest number of models fitted. Mention any topic and we have a model ( All this after visiting the organisation only twice !!! ).We even had one that surprised our proff...we had taken it from a knowledge management journal ( i hope she was impressed ).<br /><br />My friend Ani's fame is increasing day by day ( or should i say infamy !!! )<br />He is a cool guy, always ready to submit himself so that people use him to amuse themselves. ( that requires a great attitude ... HATS OFF ANI )<br />well, i have already wasted a lot of time.. got to go...ME and OR are waiting for me.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-1069861944114421532003-11-26T20:37:00.001+05:302008-01-29T14:26:03.622+05:3020 IIMs !!!<div align="justify">Today was a good day. I went out for OB-II project and instead finished BE project. ( But, OB is yet to be done !!). More of it later. </div><div align="justify"><br />I, along with a few other friends had a hot discussion with Satish ( we never seem to agree on anything !!!!!) He suggested opening more ( 20+) IIMs. He had earlier mentioned the same about IITs. He says there will be more number of students who benefit from an institution like IIT or IIM, and the "percolation of quality" would make more people better off<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">There is a fundemental assumption in this argument. That the new Institutions would impart the same quality of education. But there are some grave problems<br /></div><div align="justify"><br />1) Does the government have enough funds to build and sustain such institutions without diluting the quality ( of infrastructure, for instance )<br />Its already talking of limiting the corpus of IIMs to $5Mn..HBS has $2Bn !!)<br />The reason why people perceive IITs and IIMs as increasing quality is because<br />of their infrastructure , faculty, etc......Can the new institutions do this...Take the faculty..Most of us feel the faculty is not good in our college ( being in an IIM, that is one out of six)...What will happen when more colleges come up..? The government is not able to attract good faculty even after offering good pay....<br />....If more colleges.......less money......less pay ....then Faculty quality??????<br /><br />2) Lets assume for argument's sake that the government manages to set up 20 IIMs of decent quality....But, still the students with percentiles 99 and 98 would go to A, B or C..The others would go progressively to IIMs that are perceived to be of lower quality. So the top IIMs would retain their dominance and the others would find it difficult to catch up. Another important factor that makes cathing up infinitely more difficult is that of placements...<br /><br />Realistically speaking companies would first go to the top colleges and then to the others. When an instituition is set up and named IIM, people naturally associate it with, among many other things Good placements, Good jobs. ( Atleast, considering the astronamical fees that they anyhow have to pay). Now if the new institutions cannot fulfill this expectation, it would lead to disillusionment and frustration.<br /></div><div align="justify"><br />Satish puts forth two suggestions to counter this-<br /></div><div align="justify"><br />a) People should not come with expectations ( tell that to someone who has taken a loan and paid 2.5 lakhs!!!!)<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />b) The entrepreneurial spirit must be inculcated and students must be encouraged to create jobs and not look for them...<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">The second one is a theoritically sound argument. <br />Practically, it runs into a few problems...<br /></div><div align="justify"><br />Indians have traditionally been risk averse. To change them would be a prolonged process. The effectiveness of force from the top is questionable..<br />Assuming the colleges succeed in igniting the entrepreneurial spirit in students, remember they still have to confront a society that has not changed. Then, their entrepreneurial wings would be clipped even before they take off<br />No doubt , there have been successful entrepreneurs in India.. But the odds against them were heavy...its a tribute to their fighting spirit that they came out winners..................................................................................................But, will be able to create fighters out of everyone ????<br /><br />I personally feel, that by having an IIM name most new colleges ( remember 20 + ), would end up as just another XYZ college , sharing the IIM name..It would be equivalent to an obscure college, with poor quality having the IIM tag......and nothing more..<br /><br />Before signing off, let me tell that this is the first time satish and me have continued an argument ( we usually argue only once on a topic ....But now,thanks to this blog thing..!!!!)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-1069680918907569242003-11-24T18:49:00.000+05:302008-01-29T14:26:03.630+05:30CAT leaked<div align="justify">I am enjoying this blog business, though it would take some time for me to really open up ( it still feels a little uncomfortable !!). This CAT paper leak has got the entire MBA community's toungues wagging. I too must add my tuppence worth. C'mon, such things have been happening in India from a long time. It the first time CAT has been caught. Nothing extrodinary. No one is going to suspect the caliber of us IIMites ( may be for a few days, but thats all ). </div><div align="justify"><br />We have a course Business Ethics. Its unique to our IIM, and is quite interesting ( i hope my friends dont read this !!). The articles are good to read, though i always wonder what i would have done in those situations of ethical dilemmas. Difficult to say. </div><div align="justify"><br />Accounting is one subject whose very exsistence itself is a great puzzle to me. ( Regardless of its stated benefits, i am not convinced ). Even for adding and multiplying our proff says write " Statement showing Computations Of Cost Variance ". I find it funny ( though not in the exam hall ). And this prof cracks the same joke 4 times , and always with a straight face ( we let him have his 15 seconds of fame !!!!)<br /></div><div align="justify">I am sure people reading this would find my usage of brackets, quite uneconomical. But it think they accurately potray my thoughts. I think in brackets, that is, something goes in my mind and then i find something that contradicts it or feel i must explain it. ( well i am sure i cannot be cured !!!!!!!)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115531.post-1069509228498781892003-11-22T19:18:00.000+05:302008-01-29T14:26:03.639+05:30Blogging...here i come<div align="justify">I've heard blogs are a great way to express oneself, discover oneself, which is what i intend to do.My, friend Satish VM is the inspiration for this, though he does not know ( Satish, are u reading this ? ) .I've spent many a moments thinking aloud, but never penned them - diaries are not my thing. But, this blog thing is interesting..lets see.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0