Schools Kill Creativity

There is a direct correlation between my affinity for schools and number of days to finals. And discernibly, the relation is inverse. In fact, my affinity for schools is inversely proportional to the square of number of days remaining for the finals.

As finals approach, I think I channel my mental energy to activities that I am made to to instead of ones I think are important in my personal development intellectually. This drives me into a mental introspective state where I conduct philosophical surgeries and spiritual operations as to what truly is the purpose of exams. Call it undue mental stress levied due to academic pressures or my bias against conventional testing methods, namely examinations, I fail to see its benefits.

Since I did not want to study for my Mechanics and Differential Equations exams two days from now or work on my paper, or on my design project or presentation, I watched this video that resonated with my current state of mind. The video argues that schools kill creativity by giving rise to academic hierarchies at the top of which sits mathematics followed by humanities and arts at the bottom. And, this hierarchy is precisely determined by marketability of each discipline, meaning how suitable is it for getting a job. We study what we study not necessarily because we truly are passionate about that discipline but because it has a better scope and has a greater probability of making our lives better, monetarily and tangibly of course.

Take a look at the video, if you have time. It's fascinating, not to mention humorous.

Site of the Month (November)- Ted.com

Ok, so I came up with a great idea, namely - nominating a site for the month.

Reason: To promote the site and spread great ideas that others may not be familiar with prior to it.

For the month of November, I chose Ted.com. And again, this is not a scientific decision but rather a personal one. I think Ted.com is a great website to learn from whenever you have free time. This semester my reading hobby has suffered a strong blow due to a very tight schedule. As a result, I thought I really need to compensate for this loss by watching some intellectually stimulating videos with great ideas implicit in them. Aptly, one of my friends suggested Ted.com and I've been an addict ever since.

An excerpt from Ted.com's website:

TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with the annual TED Conference in Long Beach, California, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK, TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Program, the new TEDx community program, this year's TEDIndia Conference and the annual TED Prize.

Every video has subtitles in several languages thereby widening the scale and scope of spreading ideas to non-English speakers and the deaf. Take a look at the website and browse through some videos and I promise you won't be disappointed.

I have embedded a sample video that I liked of a simple guy in Africa who on his own built a windmill. It will inspire any youth from a poor nation to do something for one's country.

Thanksgiving Dinner, American Style

When I tell my friends that I will be staying at Trinity (on-campus) over the Thanksgiving Break, they flood me with their sympathies. I really don't that much because I had no idea what Thanksgiving meant until I came to the US. I actually used to think it had something to do  with appreciating others and saying thank you. How stupid right? Turkey, eating a turkey dinner should have sprouted to my mind. Anyway, I feel sad when I miss festivals celebrated back home.

I thought Thanksgiving would never have any meaning for me until I had my Thanksgiving Dinner with my host family. No, Turkey was not the part that appealed to me. Turkey does not even taste good. Oh, oh, I just said it. Goat and chicken meat resonate with my taste buds better. Can't help that goat's meat is the most delicious meat in the world, if you know how to cook that is. This year I had Thanksgiving Dinner at two places. I know, right. The first one was on Wednesday, a day before with InterVarsity. The second one was with a half-Nepali, half-American family. The food was good but the atmosphere was even better.

I could imagine how blissful it would be to see all family members unite for a nice family dinner. Amazing. We talked about a lot of good things. And then it was followed by a game of Poker. Before we left, I also got a chance to play records on their really old device. I don't even know what the name is. Wait a minute. It is called Gramophone. No, that did not come off top of my head, I wikipedia'd it.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. And thanks everyone for reading this. It's Thanksgiving day.

New Moon is a waste of time and money

Alert: Anyone considering watching the Twilight saga-New Moon should know this before hand. This movie is a total waste of time and money.

I fell asleep several times during the movie. I do not even know why I went to see this movie. It was actually because my friend really wanted to see it and it was his birthday so, we could not opt for 'Men who stare at Goats'. The only incentive for me to watch this movie was the actress, who is somewhat beautiful.

There was no high point in the movie. People in theater seemed to be very bored. The script was borrowed from old style Bollywood movies  and sounded really silly and hilarious. I could not make any sense why Edward suddenly left Bella (on a fine day). And, how could he leave her in the middle of the jungle? If he wanted to leave her, at least he should have taken her safely to her home.

The movie was absolute nonsense. Warning: Do not watch it unless you do not have anything worth to kill your two hours. The hype created is overrated.

Trinity Students Don't need a reason to be Innovative

Trinity's students don't need a reason to be creative. Their creativity spills in whatever they do. See this artistic  arrangement of chairs in Murchison Computer Lounge by an anonymous artist who did not know what to do after completing his paper. Trinity students keep innovating.

Newspaper Readership Program by ASR

Ok, so here comes some confidential information. Potentially, this information could be used by behavioral marketers and advertisers to reach out to Trinity students' newspaper readership behavior.

I processed raw data using my "superior" spreadsheet skills and converted into graphical representations that are somewhat more appealing.

The above data is based on treasurer report as submitted by ASR Treasurer for Aug-Sep 2009.

The United States of Fighting Terrorism

      When Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a US military psychologist opened fires on his fellow military personnel, it sent shock waves throughout America at a time when the White House was busy formulating Afghan policies. Many media networks hastily termed it as an act of Islamic extremism only to be aptly cautioned by President Obama.

    This unfortunate incident transmitted a signal to Americans that they still seem unwilling to accept. American magazines and television networks after ‘deep digging’ falsely associated this to his alleged ties with Islamic clerics. They went on further to claim that real reason behind this act can probably never be known. Really? Is it that hard to see something that is so obvious? Even without taking any psychology courses, I can rightly claim that every human being has his breaking point. For Hasan, this was his breaking point.

    If Hasan were an Islamic extremist- a ‘jihad’, he would have done things differently to cause more damage, like use explosives which is rather characteristic of ‘infiltrators’ to make a statement.  Experts and advisers to the White House have expressed clearly that the threat to a nation’s sovereignty is a stronger revolutionary force that calls for action than religious extremism. And, Hasan’s breakdown at a point when he was about to be stationed in Afghanistan testifies to the claim above. Hasan’s outburst has to be attributed to the transnational US military operations that undermine Afghan sovereignty rather than a misconstrued religious fanaticism association.

    One thing that surprises me is Americans’ reaction to 9/11 attacks and their behavior as if all of this ‘mess’, which the US calls ‘war on terror’, started with that unfortunate incident. US-backed CIA has led assassination attempts of country presidents like Fidel Castro, Sukarno and overthrown democratically elected governments in Iran and Indonesia only to reinstate US-favored regimes. US military, despite UN warnings has compromised other countries’ sovereignty by direct military attacks and other sanctions to fiddle in internal affairs, among which Gulf War, Vietnam War and Korean Wars are just a few to name. It has maintained a biased and one-sided support for Israelis backed by rich Jewish New Yorkers that discernibly angers the Arab world sparking anti-US sentiments.

    Perhaps, the US dreams of staging yet another glorious victory over 9/11 perpetrators just the way it did with Japan over Pearl Harbor attacks. But, Uncle Sam needs a word of caution here since he is not the only nation with nukes now.

   Borrowing ideas from Thomas Friedman, the US due to its misdirected policies in the past has projected itself as “The United States of Fighting Terrorism”. The US, in doing so has not only gained enemies but more importantly has lost its edge in innovation and control over global economy. Think of the glorious Cold War decade when the US maintained enormous political and economic control over the world without firing a single missile. Military offence begets hatred and more resistance. The US needs to reinvent itself as the “500 pound Economic gorilla” if it wants to maintain its stronghold because, it is economic prosperity that translates to greater leverage on global issues.

-Purushottam Shah

Note: The above article originally appeared in the Trinitonian, a  student run independent campus weekly newspaper of  Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas.

A Fun Filled Diwali Night Entertains Trinity Tigers

Diwali Night, one of the truly cultural events at Trinity opened with a brief lecture by a professor at UTSA who enlightened audience about the significance of celebrating Diwali or Deepawali, the "Festival of Lights". Even though audience count was somewhat lesser than last time, that can be attributed to audience being divided between Diwali and play 'UrineTown' at Trinity's theater, premiered almost at the same time rather than the argument that people did not show up assuming it would be same as last year.

For those who missed it, this year's Diwali had many unique events to offer. First of all, there was a guest performance by students of Indian community at UT-Austin, among which Reena Patel stole the show with her superb performance. Second, two of our homegrown talents, Nikita and Ashwin sang classical songs and played a traditional instrument called Tabla. Never had Trinity Tigers had a taste of authentic Indian Classic Music. Trinity's claim that Class of 2013 is the most diverse, talented and academically strong seems to have some credibility. Third, there was another classical dance by pair of Aparna and Ashwin again. Meena, Heena and Aparna staged another amazing performance over tunes of a very popular and ostensibly sensuous Bollywood song. Looney Dance Crew, clearly one of the favorite dance groups on campus sealed the show with their characteristic dance over a Bollywood tune. Hilarious and entertaining style of two anchors, Raj and his partner withdrew a lot of laughter, applause and attention.

Diwali Night is one of the few events at Trinity that enrich Trinity students with an authentic cross-cultural experience. Not surprisingly, there were more non-Indian performers who looked gorgeous in Indian costumes. The level of attention and participation that Diwali Night withdraws from Trinity students belonging to varying cultures is laudatory. Hard work and organization that was put in it by ASA (Asian Student Association), HSU (Hindu Student Association), Looney-Crew and other dance performers is worthy of appreciation.

Physical Plant Likes Flowers More Than We Do

Look at the picture above which is just outside Mabee, closer to McLean Residence Hall. The flowers look beautiful, don't they? We all love flowers. But look closely and you will see that branches of these bushes protrude out on the pavement. So, if you were to walk from Mabee to McLean (which I do several times a day), you would have to dodge them or risk contact which could be dangerous since they are in line with your eye level.

The problem becomes worse if there are people walking in opposite directions towards each other and there is a vehicle on the road which rules out the option of stepping off the pavement and using it. The movement is halted since space is simply not enough for both parties to walk and yet maintain a safe distance from these bushes. Physical Plant is doing great work with mowing lawns, keeping grasses good length, clearing pavements of any dry leaves and cleaning Northrup glass windows which look shine proudly under luminous lighting at night. I mean we all love these flowers but it would still look beautiful if Physical Plant were to trim it a little to make movement easier on these pavements.

More Bang For Your Dine

The easiest thing to do for us humans is: to criticize. We criticize about all kinds of things; Trinity students and staffs complain about false representation in the Trinitonian and international students complain of inadequate services among many. But nothing comes even close to the criticism that Aramark Dining Services draws from student body at Trinity University.

Students at every chance they get lament at exorbitant Aramark food prices and Trinitonian columnists go one step further to compare prices of pineapple cups in Mabee to that of a pineapple offered at HEB and term Aramark pricing as 'ridiculous'. Mabee Hours comes second in the list that students complain most about. But a recent development on part of Aramark to offer special combos at a price cheaper than earlier has left Trinity students baffled and amused. Aramark which had projected itself as a soul-less classic capitalist, driven towards maximizing profit did something that students would call 'out of the blue'.

We students always fear running out of dine money before the end of semester which is partly aggravated by upward adjustment of Aramark food prices in line with inflation. Never have we seen downward readjustment, if you will. Sandwiches that we used to get for $6.19 now comes for $5.99 with free drinks and home-made chips and similar special combos have been introduced for pizza, hamburgers, quesadilla and Pasta. If Aramark seeks to redeem its brand image then probably it will get much more than that. It will win more berth in students' hearts if it continues this offer for considerable time. But how long is this 'considerable length of time' is questionable since Aramark has a condition * for limited time only.

Should Professors put tentative syallbus online prior to registration?

It's that time of year again when Ratemyprofessor.com complains of sudden influx of traffic and Facebook walls are filled with questions like 'Which professor should I take for Microeconomics?', 'I heard Dr. #### is a tough grader'. I wonder if professors read their profiles on these pages. At least they would know what students think candidly about their style of teaching.

I am also sorting between few courses even though my course schedule is pretty much already laid out. Engineering at Trinity maintains a very strict curriculum with limited flexibility, if at all. Surprisingly, my best course each semester so far has been a non-engineering course. No wonder, who likes solving differential equations or calculating moments of a couple on Thursday nights and weekends? First Year Seminar (Frankenstein and Beyond) taught by Dr. Mackenzie Brown was my favorite course during first semester and Globalization and International Development(SOCI/ANTH 4362) taught by Dr. David Spener is my favorite class this semester.

I want to take Special Topics in International Politics (PLSI 3349) but am not sure if I want to take PLSI 3349-1 (War, Conflict and Alliance) or PLSI 3349-2(The European Union in International Politics). Sadly, the course catalog has no description about these courses since they are special topics offered only during particular semesters. And this is where ASR's new initiative to request professors to put tentative course syllabus online prior to registration will be useful. Hopefully, it will cut down on number of add/drops, help students make wiser, more informed decisions and also less W's will appear on student transcripts. Students often argue that unless a test/exam has been administered for a course, they should be allowed to withdraw from the course without getting a 'W' on their transcript. But professors and administration thinks that would simply create more volatility in course operation and class size.

Trinity University in Pictures

These are two pictures that I took from my cell-phone. They are processed a little using PhotoMatrix software.

Northrup Building at Trinity University

From Drop Box

Pregnant Lady Statue at Trinity University

From Drop Box

Trinity in Pictures

Here are two pictures that Paurakh Rajbhandary took. I took some pictures too, but I they are not processed yet.

Trinity University's Miller Fountain

                                                                         Trinity looking gorgeous.

Halloween at Trinity

Happy Horror Leen Hollow Leen.Halloween

It was quite a Halloween scene at Trinity last week. Halloween stickers in Mabee and somewhat more artistic ones at libraries added to the experience, however my favorite part was the candies placed by one of McLean residents that I picked as I walked in and out of the Hall. InterVarsity joined the Halloween party with its free pancakes while Susanna with its hard work, creativity and resident volunteers created quite a scene worth a tour. Calvert Ghosts as a tradition was kept alive with participation of Calvert residents. And, there were dance parties and frat parties. The one that stood out, in my view, was 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'.

Rocky Horror Picture Show was a real culture shock as part of my stay in the US. Not that it would have been any less shocking had it been mentioned in the International Student Orientation Class though. I wouldn't imagine that people could go to that extent, guys kissing guys, girls kissing girls, groping in public, stripping naked and other activities that I do not intend to describe. I like to keep my blog somewhat readable for all audiences. I arrived late to the show which was intentionally devised to avoid getting a V mark on my forehead. Yes, I was tipped off by some knowledgeable friends. Maintaining a safe distance from the stage, I was a spectator ion in this reaction where ions of opposite charges, protons with negative charges and possibly no charges defied the conventional laws of attraction. I didn't see it beyond 10 minutes.

The word Horror aptly describes my general perception of the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'. I wonder what would happen if there were to be something like this in my country, Nepal. It will never happen. Halloween is a culture that I have not understood yet or at least gotten comfortable with. We do honor the dead in Nepal but it is nothing like this.

I met a girl who was dressed up in some costume that I wasn't familiar with. However, I said, "Hey, Megan Fox."

She replied, "Really, do I like like Megan?"

I said, "No, you look like a Fox."

This is a Tangential Break: Looking at the quality of humor in the Trinitonian, I thought I would also try my luck. I didn't say that. Totally punned that.