At times its a pain if you excel in any field at all.. ppl begin to expect a lot from you and and most of the times you end up trying to live up to all their expectations.. Its not long before you are really sick of it all.. all you really want to do is tell everyone to GTH (go to hell) and do just what you want to do.. but alas.. you cant do that always..
Come to think of it.. i have come real close to telling GTH to everyone.. its a real pain when you have to convince ppl that you are not really as smart as they think you are..
As an example.. i just happened to top my class in the first semester ("just happened to" bcoz it was a repeat of BE syllabus for me).. ppl congratulated me.. fine..
But then begins the commenting.. some of them go like this.. "well you are the topper, you neednt study.. you must be having it all at your finger tips".. what the hell.. all i have is finger tips..nothing more than that..
Even if i say that i havent studied for a test.. "hey you dont have to study.. you can get marks just like that..".. oh yeah.. really??.. i'd like to really see that day..
If i flunk a test and say that i flunked it.. "yeah.. well flunking for you is 19.99999 on 20.. ".. god damn.. it can hardly be expected that i will give in a blank answer paper.. you see, i have been given a blank sheet and asked to write something (related to the question).. well its really tempting to fill the paper with crap (like filling blogs).. so its really rare that i leave any question unanswered..
The best part is that you dont have to know anything about the answer to write it.. all you need is the question and the word meanings of the words in the question.. you can start filling the paper with puraanas (pity the person who corrects)..
I still remember my Artificial Intelligence paper.. we had just gone into the exam hall after mugging in 2 sentences about some kinda machine (who remembers..).. and there was a question that contained the words that we mugged.. it was a 20 mark question.. so what? no problem.. more marks.. more crap.. I still remember i wrote 2 full sides of crap with just those few words.. god knows how i did it.. (well according to my friend, they get trained to write crap at cluny girls' high school.. thats coz they have to write 2-3 30 mark essays as a part of their english course.. well well.. the talent is really useful when you are in engineering..)
So coming back to the point.. ppl think you really know what you are writing in an exam.. but thats not really true.. you may just happen to strike the right answer by beating around the bush.. of course, you wont be getting full marks.. but then something always better than nothing.. and those few marks that you get could just be what are needed to make you the topper..
Its my strong belief that marks are no indication of intelligence.. just bcoz i get full marks in an exam, hardly shows that i know everything in that field.. All it means is that I know the answers to all the questions in the question paper.. So an expert in the field and a person who knows just the answers to the questions asked, both get full marks.. but there is no way to judge who is the expert based on marks alone.. and at times, wrong judgements are costly.. for eg. a company that had been here to our campus for placements had a CGPA cut off and some of the most brainy ppl couldnt even sit for the test as they were below the cut off.. well thats just bad luck for the company.. the joke's on them.. they lost some realll potential..
Given this argument, at times ppl ask me - "if you think marks are not important, why do u still score??".. well for that matter.. there are many things that you dont like or you dont think is important.. but you have to put up with it (like mother-in-law.. :P.. well just kiddin').. why? coz you have to do it and you have no choice at all.. similarly, our system is wrongly oriented in making jugdements based on marks alone.. a lot of discussions about the worth of "education" and "not marks alone" go on.. lots are said.. but you can hardly expect that a system of severval decades will change over night.. so what you can't change.. you have to learn to accept..
As a final note, all i'd like to say is that marks dont make a person intelligent or brainy.. they are just an indication of potential but definitely not a measure.. so it would be foolish to expect great things from anyone by just seeing the marks.. what we need is a fool proof measure of potential on which we can base our judgements.. but thats something yet to be found.. and it is pretty difficult to convince ppl otherwise..
Will such a measure be found at all?? .. will ppl accept it ?? would they be convinced?? will they change their attitude?? will they change their beliefs??.. so many questions.. and they remain questions... IF only all questions would have answers...
....then the set of uncomputable problems would be empty.. :D..
14 comments:
the set of uncomputable problems would be empty
hehe *thumbs up*
So whats ur final say....r marks important or not!!
Is this like an anticipatory bail where you have justified not getting the top marks in this semester even before the tests have started???
-anon
You have raised some good points. Many of us feel the same way.While we do have to meet expectations of other people,it needs to be seen whether they are important people in our lives (Parents, siblings). There is nothing wrong in them expecting and we fulfilling.
About the comments: Whenever u r successful, people do expect u to repeat the performance. For want of a better example, dont we expect Federer to sweep all grand slams or Dravid to score a century everytime he comes to bat. These are due to the high standards that these guys have set. Yes, people sometimes take u for granted, but it is coz they think u really like doing it. I do agree that it becomes really difficult if u do not enjoy , though.
Lastly to the issue of criteria. I believe that the world runs on "trust". Whatever we do,either there is an implicit trust or it backed by experience. Right from travelling in a bus/train or eating at a restaurant, we "trust" or have the experience that we wont get a raw deal.
Similarly,companies "trust" that students with higher GPAs would do well.Personally I too dont like a cut-off for job interviews, but thats the way things are. Companies may have had good experience with guys having good GPAs.So they continue with the process.
Its not long before you are really sick of it all.. all you really want to do is tell everyone to GTH (go to hell)
I think you just did that :-)
Marks can't be the true indicator of intelligence.Sometimes people tops, when he least expected and sometimes frustated when he most expect. But it definitely tests person's ability to maintain the rythm during the exam our.Marks indicates how cool you are during the exam hour.I am ignoring the luck factor here.But one more question is for whom marks don't indicates their true ability.I think when you prepare specially for exams or when you don't take seriously at all.I alwys call marks a illusion.We should not live for this illusion. But all these can't be an execuse for them who performs badly on regular basis.The expectation part from a topper to other is definitely horrible.Sometimes(few) i found that people tell about you that you needn't required study not due to that you are so intelligent to them
but they just creating a hype around you nothing else.I just remembers a story about myself.My batchmates are always creating a hype around me that i don't need more study. Whatever you know is enough for the examination.We have university exmination next day and five people was doing their study in same room.Suddenly another friend came who has some doughts.He asked one of us (not me), and two of them indexed him towards me.Fortuanately i have gone through that topic and i gently answered his questions.Now those two fiends who sent incoming friend towards me surprised tell me that you know this.I got stuck and realize that they really created an illusion about me around.Now i came to expectation from others. when i was in the 2nd year of my B.E we have a course in digital electronics.We have a very very good (later she became my most favourite teacher) in DE.But she is too strict in giving marks and always gives too tricy and hard questions.Most students hate her due to performed badly in her paper.I missed her some initial lectures.When i was attending second lecture i was little bit frustated due to lack of my knowledge.In later part of the class also i never answers any questions in the class.When we have our first terminal one week ago, i have given my 80% of the time in preparing DE.Most of my batchmates given most time in that paper. We all are experincing her first time.When we have our DE paper in my hand that was really good question without any theory question.I remember in one question, have solved in last minutes.When exam was over people have worst word against her.But i was hopeful that i will able to manage 80% marks.But when Ma'am declared marks surprisingly i got 100% marks in DE 20% got failed and she told in class that i was solved the problem well and she enjoyed the copy.But she also mentioned in class that she never expected such performance from me.
But i knew i have nothing like that except my mind clicked at that moment other than some hard work.But after that my life has changed.Even seniors coming to me for doughts in DE.I told them frankly that i have no knowledge at the level u expected but no one beleive me.Now so much hype created in my college that i was under tremendous pressure for next exam. Although i got about 85% next time but ma'am told me i expected more from you.Although in his next 8 exam i have managed 100% in 6 and 95% in two, because later i adapted to havoc and other factors.God has also helped me in the sense that i always strugled in those exams till last moment but finally soved the problems. Now it was too long.So i stop here.
Is this like an anticipatory bail where you have justified not getting the top marks in this semester even before the tests have started???
I dont think "not being the topper" is a criminal offence.. for it to need a bail (anticipatory or otherwise).. :)
So whats ur final say....r marks important or not!!
well as to that.. everything has a level of importance.. u must just give it as much importance as it deserves..neither less nor more..
to Vinak
There is nothing wrong in them expecting and we fulfilling
Its alright to expect somethings.. but too much of expectation is too bad.. but to expect that each and every expectation will be fulfilled at any cost is not justified.. after all to err is human.. thats the point i am trying to make..
Yes, people sometimes take u for granted, but it is coz they think u really like doing it
yeah that very true.. and not very right according to me.. :)
Similarly,companies "trust" that students with higher GPAs would do well
GPA's are highly dependent on the way you perform in the exam.. there are quite a few of my friends who are really intelligent and knowledgable.. however they cant seem to put it concisely in the exam and lose marks => less GPA.. I think such people also need to be given a chance to prove themselves?? :).. what say abt that??..
well its really tempting to fill the paper with crap (like filling blogs).. so its really rare that i leave any question unanswered..
Your answer scripts will be as boring as your blogs. No wonder you are a four pointer.
Many issues. I remember those days when I was going through this Solid State Physics and then DC/AC devices. In both of them I went quite deeply, followed some really great books (Albert Hogg ... many Q. Mechanics related stuffs), C. Kittel (Crystals) and many thing. So having a small mind I could not comprehend all matter. But then if you are mad about something you can't help yourself. My paper went fine, but I just managed to get average marks, ;-(. Huuh.. there were other two subjects ... Comm. Engineering, Microwave Engineering ... and then this subject ... Engineerinng Business ... I mugged a lot ... became the topper in former two!
Getting good marks make us feel good, a single marks can save your career. The real trauma is when in MTech I found people cheating ... infact robbering in class test ... and some of them are suitably high rankers...
Don't know the solution ... true justice comes from within ...
Your answer scripts will be as boring as your blogs.No wonder you are a four pointer
What is the relation between boring answer sheets and being a 4 pointer??
The logic doesnt seem right.. The more boring, the lesser that is read.. doesnt that mean you'll get lesser marks??.. just speculating...
a single marks can save your career
well look at the effects marks have on our careers.. quite a lot..
The real trauma is when in MTech I found people cheating ... infact robbering in class test ... and some of them are suitably high rankers...
That further emphasises what i am saying.. Are marks all that indicative of potential??
Don't know the solution ... true justice comes from within ...
true.. all that we can do is be true to our conscious.. :)
I jus came to know abt ur blog.Was this blog out of frustration or something else...???
The point u made is correct and i agree with that
I jus came to know abt ur blog.Was this blog out of frustration or something else...???
Blogs are just thoughts.. i just put them down in words.. thats abt it.. :)
for all their comments or else tat u dont like u can simply answer with a single word...GTH, never give up, keep doing...
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