Chirps and Tweets Through the Anthropological Looking Glass

Our social media activity has a lot to say about us as a society. Here’s my take on some of the things it says.

[NTUSU Tribune - Opinions Unthemed - Sep '10]

There have been over 20 billion tweets to date.

That’s approximately three times the world’s current population.

With almost 632,000 unique ‘Twitter’ users and 1.9 million tweets per day, ‘Twitter’ is a force to be reckoned with in the social media empire. The extent of twitter’s permeation has made it a viable resource to tap into the societal pulse; it can give us an idea of what we’re talking about and what we’re interested in. Trending topics are a pretty revolutionary feature in this regard because they monitor the things we’re talking about on the social media platform. It’s pretty much every anthropologist’s dream and has piqued my curiosity (which is why you’re reading this article).

Until about four months ago, trending topics on twitter displayed the themes most talked about in real-time tweets. Justin Beiber was always trending. So the algorithm was modified to capture topics that experienced the greatest spike in tweets posted at the time, thus displacing Justin Beiber from his twitter trend throne. People like me who have no interest in Justin Beiber heaved a huge sigh of relief. The side-effect was that the change made twitter quite adept at capturing “breaking news”. Trending topics have now become the “live” pulse of human society in a very real sense.

The unforgiving, perfect memory of the internet has enabled researchers and interested others to collect data on what the societal collective does on the internet. In that sense, twitter is not revolutionary. ‘Youtube’ views have often been used to analyse societal characteristics. Based on the popularity of videos such as “Charlie bit my finger – again!” and the Miss South Carolina slip-up in Miss Teen USA 2007, plenty of uncomplimentary conclusions result about the nature and interests of “the masses”. It appears that we like to watch singing cats, feisty babies, A LOT of Justin Beiber and Lady Gaga music videos and Miss South Carolina make a fool of herself publicly. Twitter trending topics, however, reveal a different picture. A picture that gives one hope that society is not as one-dimensional and inane!

 Over the past two years the top 50 twitter trends look like this-

Image - tweetstats.com

Besides the obvious conclusion that we like discussing Justin Beiber a lot more than Lady Gaga, whatever ‘Youtube’ video views say, there are a lot of other interesting things to note.

• 1.    It confirms the suspicion that we are a music-obsessed society. “#nowplaying” trended for three months out of twenty four. Apparently Steve Jobs hit the nail on the head with the iPod and iTunes. And of course, the word replacing ‘common’ in the English dictionary – ‘iPhone’.
• 2.    .We are not apathetic towards politics. Just as long as it relates to the United States in one way or another.
• 3.   . Festivals are important to us. Tweeting as a fixture to celebrate festivals will henceforth be regarded as a tradition, to be handed down from one generation to the next.
• 4.    Movies are more captivating than sports. Movies based on books are more discussion-worthy than movies not based on books.
• 5.   After watching “Inception”, we’re yet to figure out whether we’re dreaming or not. We also have no real idea what happened to Dom Cobb. The search for answers still continues as does the trending of Inception.

On a more serious note, this top 50 list shows us that we’re *involved* as a society. Global epidemics, conflicts and politics are all things we are interested in and talk about. We’re not just a bunch of airheads who like watching cats play with iPads and babies act like, well, babies. Phew.

WHO MOVED OUR ICE?

[NTU Model United Nations 2010 

Press Corp : Associated Press (Assistant Editor) 

 Council : General Assembly 

 Issue : Protection of the Arctic
Edition : First]

Melting of the Polar Ice Caps

The General Assembly will be in session from today with the protection of the Arctic being the main issue on the agenda. Two primary aspects are expected to dominate deliberations- Global Climate Change, and the Militarisation of the Arctic.

 With a multitude of countries around the globe experiencing the highest temperatures in recorded history, the stage is set for deliberations on measures to curb global climate change. The results of various scientific studies suggest that the Arctic climate is now warming rapidly and much larger changes are projected. If allowed to proceed unchecked, global climate change is projected to result in a 5C rise in temperatures.     

Carbon emission reduction is perceived as key to any effort to curb global climate change. The failure to set a concrete target for carbon emission levels was seen as a major shortcoming of the recently concluded Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. Thus, the challenge before this Assembly is to persuade nations to set a carbon emissions target which is substantial enough to slow global climate change. This is anticipated to be no easy task.

Developing nations such as India and China have been unwilling to reduce carbon emissions drastically fearing slower economic growth. Countries such as Russia have previously refused to acknowledge the alleged severity of the situation. Other major polluters have also refused to abide by emissions targets. Historically the EU has pushed for higher targets and its ability to persuade other nations is viewed by some as being crucial to the success of this session of the General Assembly.

Global CO₂ emissions have grown every year since the first climate treaty was signed at the 1992 Earth Summit. In light of the historical effectiveness of such measures, many experts remain sceptical on the effectiveness of any targets set.

Russian findings corroborated by the US Geological Survey estimate that up to 25% of the world's oil and gas reserves remain untapped in the Arctic. With exponentially increasing global energy needs and the threat of a global energy crisis, it is expected that the distribution of Arctic resources will stem a multitude of controversies and heated debates. The eagerness of Russia and other nations to lay claim to Arctic resources is perceived as being the catalyst in spurring militarisation of the Arctic. Therefore, any attempts to solve the problem of militarisation will have to address the fate of the Arctic resources.

Half of the world’s land area, including Antarctica is governed by Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (NWFZ) treaties ratified by 113 nations. While this may appear to be strong precedent for the establishment of such an accord for the Arctic, all Arctic states are NATO members and so subscribe to NATO's doctrine that nuclear weapons play an essential role in the security of its members. Hence, it remains unclear what conclusions, if any, can be arrived at regarding the militarisation of the Arctic.

Many hope that deliberation in the General Assembly will result in legally mandated co-ordinated international action to curb global climate change and protect the Arctic. The question remains- can and will nations prioritise global well-being over self-interest? 

RC ‘10[1]

A guide to The ICON Recruitment Challenge 2010 for dummies and non-dummies alike!

(NTUSU Tribune - Careers Page - Jan '10)

The Integrated Career Opportunities Network (ICON) Recruitment Challenge is back, and this is a complete guide to the RC (or so we’d like to think!).

First up, we’ll give you an idea of what the Recruitment Challenge is all about and what’s in it for you...

The Recruitment Challenge or RC is an opportunity for all of you out there to experience what a real-world recruitment process is like. It is divided into three primary stages-

·         Stage one involves submission of your resumes to the companies participating in the RC. This year the registration can be done at our booth between the 26^th to the 28^th of January followed by resume submission approximately a fortnight later. For the exact location and timings of the booth, look at one of our posters and banners around school. Most companies only accept a limited number of resumes and submission is on a first come, first serve basis, so don’t miss out on this opportunity!

·         The second stage will take place in February. Applicants selected by the companies will go through interviews identical to those that one encounters in an actual job search. A second group of selected applicants will get to participate in Group Discussions moulded on the lines of probable situations encountered in a working environment.

·         The most exciting stage is stage three, the Grand Finale. Five finalists from each of the two branches of the second stage battle it out to determine the winner of the RC. And there’s exciting prizes up for grabs!

A question you might ask upfront is what’s in it for you – the NTU student? Why should you take the trouble to update your resume and submit it to us? Well there are loads of reasons and here are some of them spelled out...

Firstly, participating in the RC gives you a feel of what a real-world recruitment process is like - invaluable experience for when you’re actually searching for a job. Secondly, it’s probably the only place where you can get feedback from the HRs of reputed firms on your resume. This feedback will not only allow you to figure out the areas that you can improve in but will also tell you what exactly firms are looking for. Thirdly, the top three contestants will get an internship and a cash prize. Exciting, isn’t it? So what are you waiting for, get to working on your resume and come look for us on the 26^th of January!

Reputed Firms. “Hmmm”, you might think. “I wonder what they mean by that”. So here’s a sneak peak at the firms you can expect to see at this year’s Recruitment Challenge.

SHELL

Shell is a well-known petroleum and petrochemical giant with a strong worldwide presence. It is one of the world’s six “supermajors”. Shell was listed as the world’s largest corporation for 2009 by Fortune and named the world’s second largest corporation by Forbes. Other sectors the company has a presence in include those related to the fledgling domain of renewable energy in its various forms such as wind and solar. For more information on the corporation, log onto their website – www.shell.com

The presence of Shell in the RC adds a new dimension to the RC, opening it up to a larger population of NTU students. 

BIOSENSORS INTERNATIONAL

Biosensors International is a medical device company and this is the first year of its participation in the RC. The company is involved in the development, manufacture and marketing of innovative medical devices for interventional cardiology and critical care procedures. It has its global headquarters in Singapore and has been listed on the SGX since 2005. For more information head to www.biosensors.com

We hope that the addition of a company from this sector makes the RC all that much more exciting for all you potential participants out there!

PROCTER AND GAMBLE

Procter and Gamble, better known as P&G is an American multinational Fortune 500 corporation that manufactures a myriad of consumer goods. P&G is the world’s 8^th largest corporation in terms of market capitalization (as of 2008) with a market capitalization exceeding the GDP of a multitude of countries! The corporation is also credited with a few business innovations including the ‘soap opera’[1]. For more information log onto www.pg.com

Those are big names so far right! We weren’t exaggerating!

CREDIT SUISSE

Credit Suisse is a well-known financial services company with a global presence. It provides financial services such as private banking, asset management and investment banking. The firm was established since 1856 and has now grown to reach a market capitalization of 68 thousand million (figure as of 30^th September, 2009). As usual, for more information, visit – www.credit-suisse.com

For all of you interested in pursuing careers in the banking and finance sector, here is your opportunity!

CITIBANK

Founded in 1812, Citibank is the consumer banking arm of Citigroup. Citigroup was the third largest bank holding company in the United States as of June 2009 (in terms of total assets). Citibank not only provides standard banking services, but also provides insurance and credit card services among others. More information is available at – www.citibank.com 

For all those who thought we’d left out the finance and banking sector, here’s another banking firm to apply to.

ICON is proud to have these renowned firms as part of RC’10. We hope that these names instigate you to bring your A game to this year’s Recruitment Challenge. If this didn’t turn out to be quite the informative guide, shot us an email and we’ll correct the oversight with immediate effect! Our email addres: su-icon@ntu.edu.sg

Hope to see you at this year’s RC J

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[1] A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio.

THE RC FAQ

...the answer to THE most prevalent RC-related question on Campus

(NTUSU  Tribune - Careers Page - Feb '10)

By far the most frequent answer given by those of us manning the ICON Registration Booth was to the question “Why should I participate in the RC?” Of course it was just a polite way of asking why one should bother. And the question is fair enough. So here’s the answer.

The Recruitment Challenge simulates a real-world Recruitment process. The basic idea of the RC is to provide an insight into the recruitment process. That way when you graduate and apply for jobs you will know what to expect and can be fully prepared to give it your best shot.

But not everyone will make it all the way. That’s just the nature of the competition. However, it doesn’t mean that you don’t get anything out of it. Company HRs give feedback on all resumes that they receive. This can be very helpful. All the workshops in the world combined cannot provide you with the perspective of the person who could hire you. The RC, on the other hand, certainly can!

There’s not much about the future that we can control, however being prepared for it is certainly possible. And in the realm of recruitment, RC is a good way to prepare.

Now That’s Unusual

The oddities, quirks and just plain weird aspects of NTU...

(NTUSU Tribune - Features - Feb '10)

The first few days spent in NTU are largely the same for everybody. For the first ten days we walk around with maps, turning them one way, then another, trying to figure out how to get to our desired destination. We look at all those calmly passing by and wonder how they accomplished the seemingly impossible feat of knowing the campus as well as the back of their hands! And after a while we become one of those passers-by. To my way of thinking, that’s when the magic of it all vanishes into thin air. The beauty and oddity of NTU becomes neither striking nor visible. My mission was to rediscover all the weirdness that had come to feel, well NORMAL!

The previous Friday, I was headed to tutorial class with a bunch of batch-mates. We were at level 2 of the North Spine and had to make it to Level 5. Seeing as there were more people than could fit into a lift, a handful of us decided to take the stairs. It was only three stories and exercise is good for health right? Well we’d forgotten that a storey comprises 3 flights of stairs. Where in the world do you see that! Needless to say we were leaking sweat like faulty faucets leak water by the time we got to class.

A second quirk I had never paid any attention to before was brought to my attention by a couple of students through a conversation I happened to overhear in an elevator.  “Isn’t it so weird that there are like 5 basements but only 2 floors? And the second floor is the roof, that shouldn’t even count!” remarked the girl. “I wonder who thought that was a good idea...” replied her friend.

I was realising that everyone had an opinion about NTU’s oddities, and the oddities themselves were numerous. Susanna, an exchange student from Mexico pointed out, “The prices of fruit are so different in canteens across campus. It’s weird. I mean it’s all just fruit you know... Canteen 13 is so much cheaper than ‘Food Connection’ for instance!” I don’t know how to explain that one myself.

A few hall 3 and 16 residents were of the opinion that it was weird that their halls were being painted. Why did they think it was weird? Well, because they couldn’t tell the difference between the before and after! Frankly, I think I’d have to agree since I didn’t notice the said painting until it was explicitly pointed out to me.

By far the most common responses I received on this topic had to do with Shuttle Buses and their whimsical travails across campus. One would think they’d been invented to obey Murphy’s Law – you never get one when you desperately need one and you get an entire fleet when they’re superfluous. Oddly enough, the shuttle buses strike me as an accurate reflection of NTU. Whimsical, frustrating, densely populated and circuitous, yet cool to be inside- literally for shuttle buses and metaphorically for NTU!  

AN IMMORTALITY THAT COULD MAKE YOU MORE MORTAL

How our virtual existence is taking away from life as we’ve always known it...

(NTUSU Tribune ~ Themed ~ March'10)

A virtual existence allows us to be whoever we want to be. It allows us to do things not easily done in the physical realm; we can own a zoo, cafe or farm, be a kung fu master or an American idol. Everything you can conceive of you can be, at least in that world. Furthermore, you can control what others see the virtual you as. It’s easy to see why we are enchanted by virtual reality; it seemingly gives us everything we want, or does it?

The fact remains that what exists in the virtual world is confined to it. You could be a billionaire in a virtual world and struggle to make ends meet in the “real” world. The hard realities of the physical world as we know it are the constant we have to come back to. As students those realities are often submission deadlines and exams. We spend hours on end on Facebook, playing games, chatting- basically living as our virtual selves. All that time and energy takes away from what we could devote to academics and ECAs. Rationally we know that we have to strike a balance between our virtual selves and our physical selves. Then why can the large majority of us not strike that balance?

The struggle to balance the disparate worlds we exist in is possibly costing us more than we realise. All that time hunched over computers, skipping meals because we’re too involved in a game, or worse staying up nights communing with computers. The obvious consequence is on one’s health- we’re all university students and again we know all of this. But it doesn’t stop at that.

The way I see it, there is a larger and potentially more troubling issue. The virtual world allows us to be who we want to be. However, in the physical world, we’re rarely who we want to be. In fact, it’d be a boring world if everybody was who they wanted to be; they’d have nothing to look forward to or work towards. So given this distinction between our virtual and “real” selves, how do we figure out where our virtual selves end and our “real” selves begin? My virtual self could be in seventh heaven winning hand upon hand of poker while my real self could be in the depths of despair after messing up a bunch of midterms. What I’m getting at is that virtual reality has the potential to blur the line between worlds to the extent that one could lose touch with hardcore reality.

Our virtual existence continues long after our physical selves have turned to dust. People can write on your Facebook wall whenever they think of you, send you a virtual hug or kiss even when you’re not there anymore. It is immortality in a sense- something we’ve chased for millennia and stumbled upon without really realising. Yet, it’s taking us away from the physical world and changing who we are at the very foundations. Is this change good or bad? I don’t know!

Gods, Aliens or Others?

...which of the above applies to what celebrities are in our lives?

(NTUSU Tribune ~ Features ~ March '10)

While we worry about alien invasions and make horror movies about them (think Mars Attacks!), more impactful invasions take place everyday- Celebrity Invasions. Celebrities dominate our lives. They dictate what we wear, how we talk and what we talk about. They’re the reason we bond with people, the topic of conversation when we meet friends over lunch or run into them in the washroom. In fact there’s even a disease termed Celebrity Worship Syndrome, or CWS, in which a person becomes “overly involved with the details of a celebrity’s personal life”!

A few days back Sachin Tendulkar (a very, very famous Indian cricketer) scored a double century in a one-day international, probably the ultimate feat for cricket enthusiasts. My Facebook newsfeed contained only Sachin’s mention; a friend’s status message read, “if you don’t know who Sachin Tendulkar is, I think it’s time u say bye bye to this world” (I kid you not). People were joining groups and basically celebrating that they were alive to witness this mean feat. The thing is that I was one of the few who wasn’t following the game and so was left feeling disconnected from everyone else. I felt none of the joy, pride or sense of achievement that everybody else felt. So essentially all that did for me was to exclude me from all social conversation and keep me off Facebook for a good 24 hours. I guess what I am getting at is that your celebrity following is a determining factor in your social life. Although an example from cricket has been used to illustrate the point, the same is true of a Manchester United match, a Federer game, a Christiano Ronaldo goal or a Lady Gaga red carpet ensemble!

As an experiment just walk along a row of girls rooms in any hall in NTU and count the number of gladiator sandals you see. Various Hollywood celebrities and supermodels such as Kate Moss started the Gladiator trend a little over three years ago and it’s impossible to go a day without seeing one of them! It’s ridiculous but I have a neighbour who has five (yes, five) pairs. When I asked her about them she gave me this what’s-wrong-with-you look and simply said- “They’re in fashion”. I suppose she thought that explained it all. Besides I’m no one to judge, being guilty of owning a pair myself!

While a lot has been said about the negative impact of celebrities on our lives, the truth is that there are two sides to this coin like every other. Celebrities inspire us in ways that others cannot and make us reflect on things we’d rather ignore. When Oprah shares her struggles with her weight and how she managed to lose 20-30 pounds, we decide that we can do it as well. Suddenly, we’re exercising daily and eating healthy (at least for while) because if she can do it, so can we. Britney Spears is taken to hospital and examined for bipolar disorder. That gets us worried about our own depression and instigates a period of reflection, which would otherwise not have occurred.

That celebrities have an impact on lives is inarguable- whether we do things because they do it, or refuse to do things because they do it. However, their impact need not be entirely negative. Like everything else, it is up to us to control the ways in which they influence our lives; they can be either Gods, Aliens or others.

Science. Stand-up Comedy. What’s the Difference?!

...nothing really if you’re in the realm of the Ig Nobel Awards! Read on for a 99% guaranteed “ROFLMAO” time

Those of you who have not heard of the “IgNobel” Awards are missing out on one of the most entertaining and hilarious things in life. So allow me to enlighten you!

Imagine what would happen if the Nobels got really drunk or inhaled laughing gas. Well, they’d become the Ig Nobels (more fondly known as the Igs)! The Igs are awarded for research projects that “first make people laugh, and then make them think”. Ten projects from diverse categories receive the Igs annually at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre from actual Nobel laureates. And *cough* an ex-PM of Singapore *cough* got the 1994 *cough* Psychology Ig *cough*.

After a few sleepless and highly troubled nights spent contemplating, I present to you my top 3 Igs of all time:

1. 2001 Astrophysics- Awarded to Dr. Jack and Rexella Van Impe of Jack Van Impe Ministries, Rochester Hills, Michigan, for their discovery that black holes fulfil all the technical requirements to be the location of Hell.

At last all us sinners know where we’re headed to! And scientists no longer need to worry about why black holes exist. Phew.

2. 2009 Public Health- Dr. Elena Bodnar received the Ig for her patented invention: “a brassiere that, in an emergency, can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks.”

Who’d have though lingerie could save your life?! Now the WHO knows how to prepare for a pandemic, especially when vaccinations for diseases are unavailable or do not exist!

3. 2005 Economics- Gauri Nanda of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for inventing an alarm clock that runs away and hides, repeatedly, thus ensuring that people DO get out of bed, and thus theoretically adding many productive hours to the workday. Or in our case, ensuring that people get to early morning lectures and tutorials instead of sleeping through them!

While the Igs have certainly recognised some stupendous achievements such as discovering that human beings swim with the same speed in both syrup and water and that cows with names give more milk than those without, they’ve missed out on a few crucial people. So here’s my list of nominations for the 2010 Igs...

Public Health –Mark Zuckerberg

For developing a medium for people to keep in touch with everybody without talking to or seeing them. Facebook allows one to be friends with people they would otherwise find irritating, thus reducing the incidence of psychosis. Status updates warn people to steer clear of those in bad moods, preventing temper flares and decreasing the risk of hypertension. Carpal Tunnel and backaches are a small price to pay in return.

Linguistics-Ex-President George W. Bush’s speechwriters

For their earth shattering idea to “rename” global warming “Global Climate Change”. (Really. In every single one of the President’s speeches.) I’m sure the melting Arctic ice appreciates it!

And finally....

Public Service – Jimmy Wales

For giving us Wikipedia. How else would we complete our assignments and find an avenue to unleash our inner grammar nazi? (Yes, I openly admit to doing the latter. Its therapeutic!)

TOMMROW YOUR DOG WILL EAT YOUR HOMEWORK. AND YOU WILL GET MARRIED AT 29..

Exactly how predictable is THE FUTURE?

“ Everyday millions of people get relationship and career advice from their daily horoscopes. Other fates are cast by the random selection of tarot cards. Long life can be read in the palm of a hand and good fortune in the leaves of a freshly drunk cup of tea. Crystal balls, candles, coffee grounds and fortune cookies have all been used to give people a leg up on tomorrow…”

Thus began a documentary about Nostradamus on the National Geographic Channel. The desire to predict the future has plagued us throughout our existence. We have tried every means possible – from “reading” bloody animal entrails to charting the motions of stars light years away – to fulfill this desire. However, in all of this we have assumed that it is possible to predict tomorrow sitting here today; but do the laws of nature really allow us to peer forward in time?

In the Newtonian era it was widely believed that if the initial state of all the particles in a system was known, the laws of nature would be able to predict all future states of the particles. The conclusion was that nature was predictable; we could theoretically, have prior knowledge of events. We now live in the quantum era where it is known that nature is inherently unpredictable. Given a set of initial conditions there still remain a myriad of realizable future states. We live in a world of probabilities where even the most absurd of events have finite chances of occurring. A whale could call from the sky tomorrow, although it is admittedly not very likely!

Astrology is claimed by many to be a science. Based on the relative positions of celestial bodies, astrologers give millions of believers advice on their careers, finances and relationships. But how exactly do these celestial bodies affect us? The only two known mediums by which heavenly bodies can affect us are light and gravity. Yet, the motion of people around you and the light of the sun or the ceiling light above your head ensure that any such influences are washed out. So unless there is a third unknown force besides gravity and electromagnetism, the heavens have little to do with the course of our lives.

So if the future in indeed influenced by our actions today and is not set in stone then how do so many “predictions” come true? The answer is simple – they don’t! When an astrologer or seer makes predictions, 9 out of 10 don’t come true. We just always focus on the one that seems eerily accurate. That’s just human nature. To put it another way i’ll paraphrase Stanford Professor Chip Heath:

Ways to become the next Nostradamus:

1. Write a lot. Nostradamus wrote nearly 1000 quatrains (4-lined verses). Chances are something or the other will come true!

2. Be as vague as you can while making specific references. The more leeway there is for interpretation, the higher the chance that something can be interpreted as having being ‘foretold’.

3. Talk about negative aspects such as death and destruction. We love to hear that!

Tempting as it might be to blame the Fates or the heavens for things gone awry, they are apparently not at fault. And disconcerting as it might be the future might just be determined by a series of actions and decisions.

SHOULD ELECTIVES BE NON-EXAMINABLE?

Does the graded examination of electives result in a negation of their intended purpose?

Electives are a way to ensure that we obtain a “holistic” or “well-rounded” education. However, the only consideration we have when taking electives is that they should maximise our GPA while minimising our workloads! What is evident is that electives largely fail to achieve the idealistic objectives expected of them.

A while back I was talking to a friend on a similar subject, and he said to me- “I enjoy electives, but not if they are examinable!” On thinking about it, I realised that he’d hit the nail on the head. The reason that electives are not serving the purpose that they should is that the consideration of GPA and workloads overshadows every other consideration on this subject. It is logical to extend this line of thought and wonder whether it would help if the only motivation for taking up electives was to be one’s own interest in the subject matter.

One way to ensure that we take up electives out of interest is to make them non-examinable. Without the stress and pressure of exams, we would be able to enjoy the subject. Perhaps we’d even learn more than what we would by adopting an exam-oriented approach to the subject, thus contributing to a more holistic education.

The glaring problem with the abovementioned scenario is the absence of a quantitative method of assessing the knowledge uptake of the student. While making electives non-examinable removes all other motivations for taking up electives, save an interest in the elective, it also removes the quantitative basis we commonly employ for evaluation. However, a qualitative assessment of the proficiency of students is still possible, which cannot be included in GPA computation. If the intended objective of having electives is to give students a broad perspective and an extensive knowledge base, it should not be necessary to include electives in GPA computation (of course people who tend to perform better in their electives than in their ‘cores’ would disagree!).

While the opinions expressed in this article may seem preposterous, the objective is to ensure that taking up electives does not remain a search for GPA maximisation instead of knowledge gain.

MORE INFORMATION = SMARTER OR DUMBER?

A different perspective on the impact of the internet on our lives...

Yes the same clichéd subject. Who hasn’t heard of this debate? Is the plethora of information we are exposed to via the medium of the internet making us smarter, or dumber?

People who believe that the availability of a seemingly never-ending sea of information is causing us to drown in that very sea, blame it on the specificity and partitioning of information found online. Before such technology was invented, one would spend hours searching for the piece of desired information. During these hours he would pick up various pieces of information that he came across unintentionally. Moreover, the contextualisation of this information would imply that it would be less likely to be misinterpreted. Thus the absence of specificity and partitioning could actually lead to a greater uptake of accurate information.

Proponents of the view that the ease of access to a humungous quantity of information does indeed make us smarter argue that the efficiency and ease with which we can obtain information results in a more knowledgeable society. The sheer amount of time we save when searching for information since the invention and development of the World Wide Web is truly amazing. This should then make more people want to put in the effort (which is minimal anyway!) to search for desired information and thus lead to a smarter society on the whole.

While there are myriad views on this subject, all with some validity, I’d like to argue that the availability of information is not making us smarter or dumber. Having access to information about any subject under the Sun gives us the option of choosing the object of our attention. While some of us choose to read up on world politics and the latest developments in science, others choose to read their friends’ wall-posts and status updates on ‘facebook’. On the whole we still possess an exponentially greater quantity of information than we did a few decades, or even a few years back. The real question is whether this increase in information content is desirable or not; Is it simply an increase in quantity without much regard for quality?