Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Why do Americans win despite bring less intelligent than Indians

I was watching a documentary on the American Education system which opened with the shot of a 12 year old being asked,"what is 10 % of 100?".The kid took about 5 steps and 3 minutes to answer this.While an Indian student of the same grade level will answer that out of reflex.An Indian of the same level also focuses on tougher problems.If children are the very pillars of National success, why is the USA on a much higher level than India?Why does America have more patents than India?The answer to that directs us to a concept that is alien to most Indians-Creative Thinking.
Consider 3 people-Bill Gates, James Cameron , Mark Zuckerberg.
Bill Gates-This man virtually rules the software world.William Henry Gates was a drop-out of the University of Harvard and yet is the 3 rd richest person on planet Earth. A popular quote by him goes on like this,"I was never the University topper but today,all university toppers work under me". I reckon this statement tells us everything. Despite being a mediocre college student he still possesses a net worth of more than $50 million.This all happened because he thought differently. He was more creative than the rest of the pack. Don't get me wrong about his hard work.He worked hard but he channeled it in the right direction.
James Cameron:-He made a movie that grossed the maximum for 11 years and after that,he broke it himself! When it comes to the box office,he really is "the king of the world".Another man who considered college insignificant.Yet he revolutionized film making with Avatar.He made Titanic which won 11 Oscars,thus impressing both,the critics and the public.
Mark Zuckerberg-This dude probably is the monarch of cyberspace.Only 2 years into Harvard and he's the world's youngest billionaire. Plus,he cheated in most of his exams and vilified the University's female community. Again,why is he so successful?Why has a film been made on him and not on Harvard's physics department topper?Why is Mark Zuckerberg the Time Person of the Year and not on the perpetual classroom hand raiser ?Once more,he thought differently and had an idea.He didn't follow the bandwagon.
Another person who's on fire these days is Jullian Assange.He didn't graduate and yet most governments are afraid of him. Score 3 for creativity.
Why don't Indians think differently?Why are they the common fish?This can be attributed to our education system.
Our Education system in layman's terms,forces us to "eat and puke". Read the text(don't bother understanding it),memorize(understanding optional) and the anti-peristaltic movements in your brain force the content into the answer sheet.
Creativity is what differentiates humans from apes,animals...blah blah.Creative thinking is why you're reading this. And I can go on and on. Ever heard about the Intel top 30(or 20,I dunno). The competition requires you to "invent" something. It's not a pen and paper test. And the prizes-no,not a pen or a pencil,more than $50 million dollars and a meeting with the most powerful person on the planet-the president of the US of A. Now you can understand why they invent. There ain't,oops,isn't(the education system is responsible for this) any such contest in India.
People,start innovating,inventing and most importantly,implementing.What,your knowledge. Be educated and not memorized. Thank you o faithful readers once again for reading. Hope this inspires.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Top 10 Movies (according to the Stanleytude)

10)Annie Hall
Director:Woody Allen
Woody Allen,Diana Keaton
Probably Woody Allen's best movie,the movies shows neurotic comedian (Alvy Singer) falling in love and trying to maintain a relationship with the ditsy Annie Hall(Diana Keaton).Filled with humour and drama,this film makes it an ideal choice for number 10 in the Stanleytude.A treat for all Woody Allen fans and those who like comedy.
1977 Academy Awards (Oscars)-
Won – Best Picture – Charles H. Joffe and Jack Rollins
Won – Best Actress in a Leading Role – Diane KeatonWon – Best Director – Woody Allen
Won – Best Original Screenplay – Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Nominated – Best Actor in a Leading Role – Woody Allen
9)Cast Away
Director:Robert Zemeckis
Tom Hanks,Helen Hunt
An iconic drama featuring the attempts of cast-away Chuck Noland(Tom Hanks) in surviving on a lone.If you wanna see the legend at his best,
you've gotta see Cast Away.
8)Titanic
Director:James Cameron
Leonardo DiCaprio,Kate Winslet
Titanic is a movie where the critics and the masses join hands.Apart from being the second highest grossing movie of all time,it also has the record for the most number of Oscars(11).
Terrific acting coupled with dynamic direction,Titanic ranks #8 on the Stanleytude.
7)The Pianist
Director:Roman Polanski
Adrien Brody
A take on Wladyslaw Spiellmann's (Adrien Brody) true life,The Pianist depicts the brutality imposed upon the jews and the life of Poland's best pianist in the midst of this dystopia.
Best Actor-Adrien Brody
6)Sixth Sense
Director:M.Night Shyamalan
Haley Joel Osment,Bruce Willis
Probably one of the best horror movies of all time,the story of troubled kid Cole Sear(Haley Joel Osment) troubled psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) established Shyamalan as one of the premier directors of Hollywood
5)Rain Man
Director:Barry Levinson
Dustin Hoffman,Tom Cruise
A legendary movie inspired from the life of Kim Peek,the movie explores the life of falling businessman Charlie Babbit(Tom Cruise) and his autistic brother Raymond Babbit (Dustin Hoffman) and the unusual relationship existing between them.
4)Schindler's List
Director:Steven Spielberg
Liam Neeson,Ben Kingsley,Ralph Fiennes
A biography of businessman turned savior Oskar Schindler(Liam Neeson);this movie has the distinction of being the best holocaust movie in the Stanleytude. A delight for SS fans.
3)A Beautiful Mind
Director:Ron Howard
Russell Crowe,Jennifer Connelly
The true story of schizophrenic mathematician John Nash(Russell Crowe) which shows Russell Crowe delivering his best performance and the acute storyline. The movie potrays the life of a brilliant but somewhat different genius.
2)The Pursuit of Happyness
Director:Gabriel Muccino
Will Smith, Jaden Smith
A classic rags to riches story about an intern Chris Gardner(Will Smith) who has no choice but to make it to the top.Will Smith delivers the best piece of acting in the last 10 years and elevates the performance of the film to a height unimaginable by any other actor.

So,this is it.It all comes down to this film.Ladies and gentlemen,hold your breadth. The Stanleytude presents you,Numero Uno-
1)Dr Strangelove:or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Director:Stanley Kubrick
Peter Sellers,George C. Scott,Sterling Hayden
Directed by the best director Hollywood has ever seen,Dr Strangelove is a satire on the cold war and a misdirected order that could lead to a possible apocalypse.Peter Sellers,in 3 different roles,delivers the best acting performances of Hollywood and not to mention the legendary Stanley Kubrick direction.
Readers,i hoped you liked this list.I'm open to criticism and suggestions.
Until the next blog,it's goodbye from the Stanleytude.

A Bar called CCE and the Exam Hangover

August 1-the second batch of unit tests end.All including me are jubilant.I decided to treat myself to a day of relaxation.But Alas!(to exclaim the least)Half way through school and the schedule for the half yearly exams(called SA1 in our bar) has come up. If that's not bad,there's more.The exams start in exactly a month.Isn't that a little more than we bargained for?And for those still not believing me,its true.On September 1,the bar is gonna start a new item in the menu.Ok,some people might say,"what the heck,we'll finish it like we always do."Lets have a look at the appetizers before we consume the new menu-
Science-3 big chapters
Social Science-5 new chapters
Hindi-countless new chapters+grammar
English-same as hindi
FIT-4 new chapters
Math-2 new chapters(a little considering the other appetizers)
Fine,let the exams with a monstrous agenda come up.But then,another restriction of the bar comes up. No breaks between exams for Hindi,English,FIT and just a 1 day break for Science.I think I'll soon meet the optimists at the pessimist association registration office(which isn't far from the bar,I can assure you).
If i pick out a random student from the crowd and ask,"William(if his name is William),how do you feel about the menu of the bar,then?". I'm sure I'd see concentric circles in his eyes.For those who still haven't registered at the pessimists office,there's another problem.Practical exams happening in the middle of the month.
Most of you might be thinking that this happens every year.But let me tell you,this just begun.What I mean is that this has been happening since the last two years ever since the CCE system begun.
A little about our bar.The bar was constructed by the municipality to break down a coffee house only because the caffeine in the mocha was a little above the tipping point.This coffee house I'm talking about represents our forgone board exams.
Let's take hold of reality and break away from the metaphors.This problem is not a random discrepancy.It's a common issue.The irony is that it has been done to reduce stress.All i ask is how is this helping students.The board exams were much better.We could study 1 month before the exams and yet cope up with it. Having practically more than 2 exams every day is truly mind boggling.The Einstein's who could be conducting physics experiment's have to prepare a speech for a class debate which will ultimately have no consequence.The Leo da Vinci's who could be painting right now are forced to recite some Hindi poem that they'll forget milliseconds after reciting it only because of some marks that is supposed to "define" them.I'm not writing this to spark a revolution because I know this won't matter.I'm just expressing my and all the students' grief.For those of you who think I'm wasting time typing this,think again.I'm eating my dinner,studying and typing this.Readers,wait for my new blog.Till then the Stanleytude is pulling it's shutters down.