The World from Glenn's View

Indian Education system

2008-01-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

Mug Mug Mug - Yes...thats right!...Thats the success mantra for students in the Indian Education System.. I just got over my 7th semester BE exams and i realised one thing - I have just mugged my way through..!....Ask any person abt the working of any method and you get this standard reply - "Why u bother?....Jus mug and vomit in the exam!".....The more you replicate the text book content in your answer sheet, the more you get marks!......and thats true!.....Even in case of subjects like Mathematics.....the usual questions come from various parts of the text book (mostly solved questions).....Mug up the entire text book and you are done!....Practical subjects like programming can also be handled in the "mug" way....Usual programming questions also come from textbooks...(It is very difficult for the question paper setter to write his own question and form the answer)....Study those textbooks.....memorize them and you are done!.......

This is called the Rote Learning System .....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_learning
.....and yes..India is mentioned!

Its high time our Education system gets a revamp.....The system is releasing robots in form of engineers and doctors who are programmed to work but just can't think!.....The streams where your creativity is tested like Arts and Languages have no takers.....The no. of people taking up basic sciences as their main stream is dwindling day by day......Its real sad how things are going on...A society cannot survive with only doctors and engineers!.....

One major thing lacking in the Indian Education system - To inculcate the ability to "Think different"....The progress of human race is impossible without thinking different.....The few who dared to think different have made India proud....its high time the rest do too!!..

These are lines from an Apple Ad......

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them as the crazy ones,
We see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world,
Are the ones who do.

Why isnt Apple called a Monopoly?

2007-11-17T14:58:00.000-08:00

Every now n then i keep hearing about how Microsoft is a monopoly and it stifles competition... But isnt Apple too a monopoly?....From iMacs to iTunes, everything from Apple comes in extemely tight closed packs... Apple too provides a plethora of software with its OS and most Mac users use Safari as their default web browser.....then why is only Microsoft considered a monopoly?.....Is it just because Apple has hardly any market share compared to MS?.....Almost every Apple product is an epitome of perfection.....But then what the heck....I cant put Mac OS X on my PC (Hackintosh does exist...but still )....I cant choose the hardware for the Mac (customization is very limited)......And i cant even remove the battery of my ipod :).....Software availibility is very low for Macs and hardware compatibility isnt great either.....And Mac punishes users of hacked products in a pretty brutal manner......Just take the example of the Iphone.....Any upgrade of software of an hacked Iphone will cause the Iphone to turn to an Ibrick...:)......And the entire hype surrounding the Iphone......if you critically examine the Iphone....it is nothing but a 5 year old car repainted and modified (with its dashboard completely changed)....
Why then, at the end of the day, only Microsoft gets brickbats from its competitors.?....Why people have problems with Microsoft including software in the OS?.....Doesnt Mac include too?....And whats the big deal if you bundle your own software with your product...If your software is better than the one provided by Microsoft......obviously people will shift to your software......Just look at the case of Firefox.....Its not provided by default with Windows but look at how its user base is expanding....

Shisha, Hookah or Noxious Fumes?

2007-11-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

Taken from a Gulfnews excerpt :
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/11/05/10165130.html

"The French anti-tobacco agency (OFT), citing a national laboratory report, said one session with shisha produced 70 litres of smoke, which had 27 to 102 times the carbon tar of a cigarette, and 15 to 52 times more carbon monoxide, depending on the type of shisha smoked."

Hmm....Now i know how people get intoxicated by the "so-called non-tobacco" hookah......Its the Carbon MONOXIDE!.....:)

According to Wikipedia :

The levels of carbon monoxide produced during a hookah session varies widely depending on the type of coal used. Japanese charcoals are thought to produce lower amounts of carbon monoxide. (Is the owner of Mocha's listening? :))

But theres good news for hookah lovers too :

Hookahs can also be smoked with herbal flavours. These contain Sugar Cane Bagasse with no tobacco, nicotine or tar. The popular brands are Soex, Highlife & Black Label. This new method of smoking is aimed at replacing tobacco and its health effects. (Wikipedia).

So the conclusion : Unless you know whats there burning on top of the shisha....You could be smoking highly noxious fumes!!.....

Burj,Burjer,Burjest...Burj Dubai

2007-11-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

Photos of the Burj Dubai site....from 2003 to 2007.....(from burjdubai.com)

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Ahh....astonishing isnt it?...Not just the tower....but also pace it is getting built with....dubai is going crazy..(compare the sheikh zayed rd. in 2003 and 2005)..Reminds me of those early ages where kings used to hire craftsmen and labourers to build monuments.....Something like the pyramids or the Taj Mahal.....:).....pretty much of a similar thing is happening in dubai.....a great king (a.k.a sheikh) importing thousands of labourers from india, pakistan and bangladesh and stuffing them in inhuman labour camps (conditions back home arent too great either...) to build a monument (The world's tallest tower) which the world will watch with their mouths wide-open......

No matter what happens ....the dubai bubble bursts or not.....Shaikh Mohammed and dubai will always be remembered for the audacious projects......Dubai is definitely one place where you think to dare and not dare to think...

Hope the shaikh does something about the labour camps....

Firecrackers or Money-on-fire?

2007-11-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

Today is Diwali...As i am typing this post, i can hear kilos of gunpowder being burnt in the form of firecrackers all around the place.....I feel i am living in Baghdad in midst of US bombing and retaliatory gunfire...:)..I dont know what fun people get in bursting firecrackers.....What do firecrackers signify?!!...Nothing!!..Nothing at all!!...To me bursting firecrackers is nothing but burning gunpowder in a non-destructive way.....People spend thousands of rupees purchasing firecrackers.....Isnt bursting firecrackers an indirect way of burning your own money?....Isnt there any other good use for the "excess" money you have??....Think about the firecracker industry........the children they employ.......the conditions they work in.....We arent a developed country with excess of money to spend on firecrackers.....

Diwali indeed is a festival of lights.....Why not celebrate Diwali the original way?....with deepas and umpteen other "non gun-powder" techniques of lighting up a place...Dont tell me there were firecrackers during Ram's time....:)