Comments on: 10 things I learned at IIT

By: Pravesh

Pravesh — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:05:20 +0000

With respect to point 3 of your list: HUGE DISLIKE. The generalization is not true. There are people who practice science for the excitement of practicing science!

By: shikha

shikha — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:02:20 +0000

wht evr u wrote its so ..true….esp d phrase…unsympathetic world..n survival of fittest….

By: Rakesh

Rakesh — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:43:28 +0000

In my opinion, when the author says “I lost my schoolboy love for science in college because I could not cope with the demanding mathematics.” is a bit naive. If one really has interest in science then every other stream apart from it feels empty, the logical nature and the excitement of every new concept one learns, can not be matched by anything else. I am also a student of physics at IIT, and I have to say, to survive the maths (at least in Physics), all it requires is persistent hard work, and it doesn't matter how many times one performs poorly in tests, the thirst for higher intellect will always push you to work even harder.

By: Sudesh Kumar Agrawal

Sudesh Kumar Agrawal — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:08:45 +0000

well well sorry to say(:P) but I had completely realized almost all of these by the end of my first semester(Civil Undergraduate,IIT Bombay).So, I thought to start writing…..but this maths courses really do not allow.I really know I would get bored doing a job.And I completely agree that we really enjoy the two facets of life-happiness n grief when we have good friends by our side.But there is one good thing about IITs- they give a lot of opportunities.(The root cause is the unlimited internet connection,I hope u agree!!!Students can't event think of putting their face of the screens.)

By: Jaymin Kotecha

Jaymin Kotecha — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:53:59 +0000

nice post, dude..

By: shubhendra

shubhendra — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:20:16 +0000

hey Ram, I appreciate the way u have summarized the collg days, looks like those words just touched my heart….nice work man……..god bless

By: ritesh

ritesh — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:49:25 +0000

@ all and cleverdoll
I didn’t learn even those 9 out of 10 things . (except point no

By: nila

nila — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:48:02 +0000

dude,i feel as if u have penned down some of my feelings too.but i feel if we were in a lesser college we might not have got even 10 things to learn.

By: Bando

Bando — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:34:27 +0000

spot on!!!

By: Nitin

Nitin — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:44:34 +0000

Nice post man..and nice blog.

By: cleverdoll

cleverdoll — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:47:57 +0000

@Subash,
Thanks for visiting and thank you for your words; they are very encouraging.

@Weedy,
There would be a lot missing from our lives without college. Despite all my cynical derision of the institutional education system, I must say that IIT has been one unforgettable roller coaster ride and the single most valuable 4 year stretch of my life. I definitely did not end up in the wrong place – I ended up in the middle of a most interesting chaotic world. If we said that our colleges were not great because true learning occurs outside the covers of books and classroom walls, we would be lying. The filthy hostel, the unhealthy mess, the unruly bathroom queue and the sweaty workshop where we grew a pair of balls and became wise men, were still part of the whole college experience. And again, let’s not forget the classroom either. If today I have no fear understanding scary words like chromatic aberration, Laplacian, Hamiltonian and the divergence of a vector field, its because of all the neat stuff I heard in class.

By: Weedy

Weedy — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:07:32 +0000

Yes maybe it is comprehensive(am not sure myself!). But is it just that we simply ended up in a wrong place? Also, I cannot imagine a life without it.
@Anup, Competitive education is like arranged marriage. One has no options whether the interest is there or otherwise.

By: Subash Nayak

Subash Nayak — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:33:22 +0000

Dude,

Your analysis on IIT education system is to-the-point, objective, and still able to convey the message very clearly. It is far better then my old analysis. Never ever I have heard of this bitter truth told in a single sentence.

“Most of them knew little about politics, philosophy, good cinema, classical music, art, photography, English usage, changing a fuse, tying a tie, swimming, riding motorcycles, talking to girls, dating, dancing, telling a good book from a bad one, playing a musical instrument, cooking, good table manners, dressing well, laboratory ethics and research! Well, you can only learn so much from your books.”

Good blog dude. Keep in touch. My e-mail id is subash.nayak@gmail.com

By: cleverdoll

cleverdoll — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:21:58 +0000

@Chintamani, thank you.
Our mutual acquaintance Akshay(5) has similar feelings about institutional education. Birds of a feather…

By: Chintamani

Chintamani — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:36:02 +0000

This is a brilliant one, seriously things I totally agree with and wouldn’t have been able to express so eloquently.Totally agree on the institutionalised education bit, somehow the objective of it is totally lost in the process.

By: cleverdoll

cleverdoll — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:57:09 +0000

@gajendra,
Thanks dude.
I had given up the search for objectivity long before I went to IIT. That’s where reading too much philosophy gets you! Although, I am now more comfortable with subjective reality than ever.

By: gajendra

gajendra — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:25:40 +0000

Dude you summarized the IIT life in a very nice way. I agree with your first point the most. The also had the same realization. Basically you have subjectively depicted the weirdness underwent by IITians in search of objectivity.

By: cleverdoll

cleverdoll — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:07:35 +0000

@Vikas, Thank you. And thanks to Google alerts! Hope your last year in college will be great!

@Weedy, The learning in engineering courses in India is far too comprehensive but lacking focus. They must think we are polymaths! We should just be allowed to focus on what we want to study, especially after the first year.

@Akshay, Thank you sir. I have known you long enough to know that you share my disdain for most things institutional.

By: Akshay

Akshay — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:28:18 +0000

Very well summarized sir. A large chunk of the ‘education’ in IIT was non-technical for me. Although even i wouldn’t want to go back to those days, i do miss hostel life, most of all. But by and large, IIT made me a cynic towards institutionalized education!

By: Weedy

Weedy — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:53:37 +0000

Engineering was one part that was really slow, with almost no learning in comparison with the high school, 11 and 12th subjects we did nothing study subjects repeatedly! As I recall, most subjects were repetitive one could pretty much write any exam with no prep. No wonder the non-core subjects appealed to many.
“I now realize that I will never really be happy at any job, no matter how much it pays.” – Most do not get that.

By: Vikas Shenoy

Vikas Shenoy — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:02:30 +0000

Hi, came across your post after Google alerted me on the ‘IIT’ Alert.

In fourth year here at IIT Madras, I can relate to most things you say. Nice post!

Cheers,
Vikas

By: cleverdoll

cleverdoll — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:14:53 +0000

@Anup,
I wrote a FORTRAN routine to predict wave breaking characteristics of second and higher order waves for my B.TECH project. Not quite the tsunami predictor I wrote about, but theoretically could be used as one component of a tsunami warning system. Anyway, I mentioned tsunami mainly for literary effect.
Kudos on your achievement in Shaastra Robotics. I have been there and the best I could manage was a very drunk robot with wheels for legs.

By: Anup

Anup — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:17:05 +0000

I agree with you man.Knowledge is only one dimension of your persona. It takes a range of other qualities to make a consummate character.

I am really surprised about the work which you have done in your Engineering.Although I knew that IITs are different brand altogether, I thought modeling such a complex geological system as ocean and land [to predict tsunamis] was out of any single individuals capacity.

We never did these things though. Our university so foolish as to keep VHDL in sixth semester [which included microprocessor design] when we only had a rudimentary knowledge of Logic Design in 3rd.

But my own interests have made me learn a little about many interesting subjects such as General Theory Of Relativity, Tensor Calculus and a great deal of Aircraft Instrumentation & Air Navigation.

My only achievement in my Engineering was winning First Place in Robotics Competition held at IIT Madras[Shaastra 2007].