Do Good, Be Kind !

 📚  Why study History, let children learn some AI software programming, said the social media post (ഇപ്പോഴും ചരിത്രം പഠിപ്പിക്കാതെ വല്ല AI സോഫ്റ്റ്‌വെയർ പ്രോഗ്രാമിങ്ങോ കുട്ടികളെ പഠിപ്പിക്കു). _______________________________________________________________ 🌐 Now how does one respond to such statements? Trained Historians have no time for such silly debates but then when I get a chance, I do look for answers to such questions! And here is a compilation of the Top 3 answers! 1. Well, you learn History because it has survived as a discipline for more centuries than your newfound modern tool called AI. 2. One must learn History or for that matter Humanities because ‘Humanities may be the only reason why you may want to live !’ 3. One must learn History because it provides you the Tool to assess the past in the present and suggest solutions for a better future. This question is not about History alone but for that matter any Social Sciences and Humanities discipline. How does on...

You never know which song would play next on the radio and that is a pleasure Article published in 'The Hindu' , Open page , 6th July  https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/enjoyable-unpredictability/article69769389.ece ____________________________________________ “W hy do you still listen to the radio,” asked a friend, when you can tune into playlists and podcasts available. It is almost like, you name it, and we have it. At the snap of a finger, music is available on demand. That question really made me think and what I probably like about radio is the unpredictable nature of it. You never know which song will play next and that anticipation is indeed a pleasure. I still remember the good old days of the 1980s, much before TV came into our lives. My grandfather used to play radio mostly for film music, and All India Radio, Kozhikode did a good job of mixing new releases as well as reminding us of the black & white era songs. The only other source of listening to a so...

  BSc in Physics or a B.Tech in AI ?  ------ Someone recently asked if they should go for a B.Tech in AI (Artificial Intelligence) or a B.Sc in Physics. I did not have to think much - Considering his interest in Physics since high school, I quite confidently said- Let your first degree be in Physics. They asked, Why I am saying this when the whole world is gravitating towards AI.  Well for the simple reason because Physics as a discipline has survived many decades! and still relevant.  This article / blog by Dyutideepta Banerjee is so timely and I have shared this with the student.   Why Physics Matters in AI This is an insightful article drawing parallels between the two.                               https://dyutideepta.is-a.dev/blog/physics-in-ai/ Topping up AI on a particular discipline / domain is where the meat of the matter is - let that be Generative AI, ...

In my previous post , I had written briefly about what it means to study in a multi-disciplinary, inter-disciplinary, cross-disciplinary learning environment.  And that discussion led us to another debate – What are the true aims of Higher Education from the context of India? ________ Let us look at this aspect from the viewpoint of the trinity of Society, Market and the State.   From a Societal viewpoint : – The aim of higher education is to make me (the learner) employable at the workplace of the twenty first century! Very few will have the understanding or imagination that higher education should be able to give them higher order skills such as critical thinking, interdisciplinary outlook for problem solving etc. I will enter the ‘process’ of higher education from the school system – The outcome of the said process should lead to a job is the broader imagination. This is one of the reasons why most of the educational institutions focus on talking about placements and ...

Neeraj Chopra  created history yesterday (16 May 2025).   He  registered his first 90m throw, a mark he had desperately wanted to reach for the past few years. This he achieved at the  Doha World Athletic meet . What is his training schedule like?  He has to spend a significant time in the gym doing strength training to ensure that his arms and elbows are in the best shape possible. Cable pull exercises are important as they strengthen the shoulders, elbows and muscles of the arm. He also has to stand tall with his arms raised above his head, holding a weighted ball. Then he starts kneeling gradually and when he is inches from the ground, he will start bending backwards holding the heavy ball. The body arches back like a bow. Once his entire body weight is on his toes, he finally throws the ball like a catapult. ---- Shouldn’t he be just throwing javelins and perfect in that skill. Do we ask why he is spending time on unrelated tasks such as strength train...

  “Sociology or Social Science for the BA Programme” , enquired a parent and I started using the usual jargons of multi-disciplinarity, inter-disciplinary engagement and I probably ended up confusing them more. And over the weekend I have been thinking about these terms and the ability to explain in simple language in the context of higher education. Image credits:  Kartiki Kane  __________________________________________________________________________________ Multidisciplinary:   In simple words multidiscipline or multidisciplinarity is the existence of multiple disciplines of Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities taught at a University. Conventionally, academic disciplines are categorised into humanities (including philosophy, language, literature, art and history), the scientific disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics) and social sciences (economics, politics, anthropology, sociology etc.). (I have avoided the segregation of Sciences into Na...