Application

Its been a rainy day in Jerusalem. Was stuck in a very nice combination of heavy duty wind and and some unreliable rain on my way back from the office. Looking out of the cab window I noticed how beautiful the diffraction patterns on the foggy windshield made for some spectacular viewing. Optics of course is a more interesting physics piece in photography. And here I was remembering my classes from school and college.

Onwards to the point now. There's been a lot of flak directed at the education system especially at the college levels of knowledge transfer. More so in the recent times especially after a few ground-breaking reforms from the education ministry side and in no small measure from the movie "3 idiots". Heard quite a few complaints from people around me as prior murmurs turned to dissents of a louder kind.

The first thing that comes up is usually the fact that so much emphasis is put on rote learning that it kills creativity. Performance is quantized (pardon my lack of a more apt synonym due to my limited lexicon) on the basis of a standardized grading which is unfair and inadequate. The reason given as the incompetence, lack of dedication, unimaginative attitude of those imparting knowledge. Ironically as a professor of mine once said "Those who can do it, the rest teach". The fact with the industry doing its best to suck talent and the system and alumni unwilling to innovate for their oft unheralded alma mater, this is not going to change. It is probably the best the system can churn out and it may not be stupendous but it is much better than as it is being framed. Most of these teachers give as they received changing very little.

I saw a blog by a journalist which slams the movie in question for raising a finger against the system and although I agree with her on the fact that our education system does the best or maybe better with what it has, I do not agree that the movie truly shunned the system. Maybe a few individuals who impose but not really the system. What it really does raise a point about is the fact that the learners in fact never utilize it. Each one receives the same but only a few read between the lines and a fewer still read beyond the lines. If the system was wrong, the anomaly would not exist. It is in human nature to blame and change others rather than adapt which is pretty much the story of human evolution.

To touch upon the statistics on suicides in schools and colleges as a rational thought and analysis would desensitize the loss of life. Somewhere changes need to take place to work with the system rather than against it. Few have gone against it and come out on top. So few that their names are used as examples when they should be exceptions. To use the system is a sign of growth and innovation. It should not, nay, cannot be taught. You either teach yourself that or learn it on your own. The system is a platform to leap off not an elevator to get to the top. To expect it to spoon feed free thought is like asking a computer to have fun on your behalf. The practical application of theory must be observed, pursued and understood, not served on a platter.

Closing thoughts (Warning: I believe you may not like or agree with my following point of view): The same bricks build a mansion and a crude shelter. If all bricks were only used to make mansions, then a mansion wouldn't be worth much. We need the crowd for the deserving to stand above it. The system needs to churn out ordinaries so that the extraordinary may climb above it. Not everyone can follow their heart and find excellence, life does not permit it, somewhere a balance needs to be reached. Some can have it all and that they must. Equality is only good for ideals.