Tag: learning

  • Linking learning & labour

    I’m a huge Asimov fan, and am constantly amazed at how he was able to have a perspective of the future on multiple fronts. I was reminded of two of those recently thanks to their application (of sorts) in contemporary scenarios.

    First, Hari Seldon‘s (pretty much the foundation of Asimov’s Foundation series) psychohistory, which was able to make general predictions on the future behaviour of large populations using history, sociology and statistics. The easy contemporary connection is big data and predictive analytics.

    Second, a short story written by him called ‘Profession‘, (do read) in which every person’s profession is based on an analysis of his/her brain, and no choice is given to the person in this matter! In India, we seem to be already there even without the analysis!

    Collectively, these two made me think of employment, and on a related note, education. The thought was that with so much of data available on education and employment, we should be able to create ‘tests’ to compute the interest and aptitude of individuals at a very early age. What this would aim to do is to eliminate the herd education that currently exists. Instead, children would learn things that help them in a profession for which they have the intent and interest, using say, a combination of traditional classrooms and MOOCs. Also, this would no longer be one part of a life cycle, but a continuous process – helping the individual thrive in a dynamic environment.

    If you remember, LinkedIn was my representative for ‘L’ in the ‘change imperative‘ deck. That was because I felt that it had the data and the vision to be the catalyst for this kind of a change. I was very happy when it underscored this faith with the fantastic ‘future self‘ experiment, in which they identified the future professional self (5 year time frame) of LinkedIn user Kurt Wagner – another user Mussarat Bata – using various data points!

    LinkedIn hasn’t really built this as a public tool, but just imagine the possibilities! A platform that shows people the possibilities which take them closer to their ‘purpose’. (remember ‘The Evolution of Work and the Workplace‘?) I sincerely hope to see this in my lifetime. 🙂

    until next time, live and learn

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  • ThinkVidya

    A one-stop shop for all learning needs, from schools and colleges to dance, music, computer classes and more, that’

    s what ThinkVidya has set out to do. In conversation with co-founder Santosh Kevlani.

    [scribd id=60221325 key=key-1ugbo27vv9ry6tleu52j mode=list]

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  • The PHP categories

    Humanity can be broadly divided into four based on how that title was interpreted.. of course, the fact that most of humanity does not read this blog is irrelevant in this context, because the ‘humanity’ i speak of itself is subjective.. 🙂 That humanity is itself skewed, because by definition, one of the PHPs can be understood onlyby Indians, and the other, only by the technically unchallenged… the first kind of humanity is the kind that says ‘Oh, of course’ when i say PHP stands for Phir Hera Pheri.. the second is the kind that says ‘Oh, of course’ when i say its a recursive acronym that stands for PHP: Hypertext Processor (of course i had to google for it, you thought this was a lazy post, huh?)….. the third kind of humanity is the kind that says ‘Oh, of course’ irrespective of which version i tell them… and the fourth kind is the one that says ‘Oh’ irrespective of which version i tell them…
    the subjectivity comes in because only the first two are included in the scope of this post, i hate the third because i have to include it, and the fourth will still be saying ‘Oh’ after the post…
    I am one of the guys who actively started using a comp only after it changed its interface from alien green coding type to friendly clickable types.. i took up blogging also because of an easy interface… i think i stopped growing after that, because everything’s made easy with Blogger… i have managed to do good copy paste, thats how this look came about, because i just needed to tweak the code and add the image.. there wouldnt have been a snag, but for the fact that i feel limited sometimes, like this one, was all geek and latin to me, but would have loved to be part of it… i started education again recently and was getting somewherewith feeds and tags… but then these guys (the second and third kind) have to keep changing everything always… its a little like the first time i was in Bombay, and was learning hindi numeral, by the time i read the number and checked my guide, the damn bus was gone!!
    so, you would ask, why dont i learn code.. well, around 6 years back, i enrolled myself to learn C , a year later, i was still there, @ C.
    so, as you must have guessed, this post is the result of two things – the conspicuous shortage of intelligent thoughts that make a post, and the conspicuous frustrations of being technologically challenged 🙂

    until next time, hope you C the point!!

  • Life of Mi

    apologies to a certain mr.yann martel for the title, (and yeah, i know its not pronounced “p”, but i can only be so creative!! 🙂 )…. this post is because this week happens to have a moment thats chronologically perhaps the most defining moment of my existence. so i am jotting down a few things i have picked up on the way, a few things that have changed my perspectives, a few things they didnt teach me in school or college, but a few things that life has made me learn anyway… (someone has inspired me to write it this way, i would give credit, if only i know who)
    i’ve learnt that i could not have belonged to an earlier generation.
    i’ve learnt that i might want to do a whole lot of things again, and not do some, but i cannot.
    i’ve learnt that we will always be too small to comprehend some things.
    i’ve learnt that sometimes we have to take the time to be happy.
    i’ve learnt that some friends last forever, some fade away.
    I’ve learnt that money is a lousy way of measuring happiness, but it still is THE way.
    I’ve learnt that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache or joy for life.
    I’ve learnt that good friends are family members that God allows us to choose.
    I’ve learnt that we don’t have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
    I’ve learnt that ‘customer is king’ ……………..in books.
    I’ve learnt that sometimes, the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon.
    i’ve learnt that some people are sweet enough to read your entire post, irrespective of font size.
    I’ve learnt that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
    I’ve learnt that we cannot change our background and circumstances, but we can change ourselves.
    I’ve learnt that you shouldn’t compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do.
    I’ve learnt that it’s not where I am that is important. It’s where I am going.
    I’ve learnt that no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides.
    I’ve learnt that it takes a long time to become the person I want to be.
    I’ve learnt that its very difficult to imagine youself in someone else’s shoes.
    I’ve learnt that sometimes we are helpless, we can only cry.
    I’ve learnt that we cannot change some things, the desire is there, but……
    I’ve learnt that you can keep going long after you think you cannot.
    I’ve learnt that either you control your attitude, or it controls you.
    I’ve learnt that there are people who love you dearly, but just don’t know how to show it.
    I’ve learnt that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.
    I’ve learnt that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.
    I’ve learnt that maturity has more to it than how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.
    I’ve learnt that no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for your grief.
    I’ve learnt that sometimes you have to put the individual ahead of their actions.
    I’ve learnt that wherever i drive, the worst drivers follow.
    I’ve learnt that some people are fake, but unfortunately, more convincing.
    I’ve learnt that we realise we love our parents only after they are gone.
    I’ve learnt that times change, and so do people, nothing can stay the same, and so, i have still a lot to learn.