Of Comparisons and Good

Alright, I've been away a while, really sorry. Anyways, the other side of what I've learned.

We're incredibly incredibly good at math. Yes, we are. I remember thinking before I went, that 3 years in college without number crunching as much as I used to in school has led to the considerable decay of my math skills. But once I got there, I realized, most people don't get math for squat! Simple problem (and I'm not blowing my own horn... I think) where I skipped a couple of steps, would bewilder them and I would frequently be asked to repeat what I explained. Having said that, the focus is more on interpreting the equations rather than solving the equations themselves which is fair enough. I mean ultimately, I would want to know what is the outcome of all that mumbo-jumbo. Moral : you need both kinds of people and don't compromise on math skills in school. It's a definite edge.

We've got much better communication skills compared to a larger and more populous neighbor of ours. Honestly, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how most people from that country got in without being able to say a sentence like "My name is xxxxxxx and I am xx years old", whereas we Indians need to slog it out so much. I'm not generalizing, there are exceptions to every rule, and this by no means reflects on how nice people they are, but its so difficult to even converse in basic English and you wonder how they survive in a place where English is the first language. The only explanations I could come up with is - a strong sense of community working to bring people, good presentation of their work even if in some cases it is ordinary.

There have been some debates about whether we're really learning enough in our college. Well I felt that we're learning quite a lot, it was so easy to explain to students over there about various circuits used and why/how/when they are used. We've got a good bunch of teachers here. The only disadvantage is, our learning is too theoretical and individual oriented. In other places, the course to lab ratio is nearly 1:1 and if you say something like "It's ok, I'll do it all by myself", you'll probably get a reply like "Like @*#(*@& you will!!!!"

We've got a good open society which is capable of absorbing different cultures. That is amazing because it means anyone from another country can come in and fit in pretty well. That gives us a definite advantage. We're a democracy too and that means freedom of speech, which means we can say most things we want (at least in hushed circles).

For the average middle class person, computers are slowly becoming a part of life. I can't talk for the whole of India but in the so-called "society" that I live in, its becoming unthinkable to be not able to communicate via email or order items online or end up chatting all night.

We're slowly changing from a country of savers to one of investors, which means more entrepreneurial ventures and original ideas. That is a big step in the advancement of any country. We're about 60 good years behind the developed countries and if we need to reduce that gap in 20 years, we'll need new inventions.

This and more. I firmly believe that more and more people need to go out of the country and see what is happening in the rest of the world. It's a good experience culturally and intellectually. I for one think it has given me a chance to see my country in a different perspective rather than just what the local news channels show. I've learned that many countries look at India as a strategic partner not because they want to, but because they can't afford not to. A company sees India as a growing market and hence a chance for potential growth for itself, this is what drives investment, not the feel-good factor. Many things like that. Having said that, we need to cash in on this opportunity while it lasts and focus on using this money for our own welfare. It's a brilliant opportunity and with people with both advanced language and technical skills, we really should go forward. And we will. Slowly.