Duality Principle

Landing into a new semester at IIT Delhi, it didn't take long to come face-to-face again with some plain stupidities in IIT system. Rejoining facebook has one sure advantage; it keeps you updated with the latest buzz around. And back here at IIT, the buzz word is not Ragging or Girnar (the newest hostel) but Course Registration. In last few hours, I saw my Facebook feed flooded with status updates with some words in common - "kicked out of so-n-so course (in the first class itself)". The kicking out is not due to mischievous students or disciplinary misconducts, but because of 'course overloading', 'departmental exclusivity' or simply an outrageously unreasonable Professor. IIT Delhi proudly boasts of an open and flexible academic system with students being free to choose their courses until they adhere to certain academic requirements. But the add-drop period in the beginning of every semester exposes the rigidity embedded in the system - all due to the convenience of Professors most of the times. e.g. a prof wants to teach a class size of 50 instead of the allowed strength of 75; another one would not like anyone else than mechanical engineers to take the course; another one ready for only post graduate students. I've always been OK with freedom given to profs to run the course as they find it the best for students and the course itself, but it is simply unacceptable on the part of profs (a kind of teachers) to abuse that authority just for the sake of their own convenience.

Another example of blatant misuse of power in IITs was uncovered recently about illegal quota system functional in IIT Kgp for the last four decades (whooping!) [1]. Obviously, Directors, Deans and other office bearers were involved; and now we know what kind of people frame rules for the 'brightest' young minds of India and practically ru(i)n their lives as they want. I remember another news about a JEE scandal reported a few weeks back which was equally shocking and shameful. [2] So, the questions are: "How do people of this conduct rise up to the levels of being Deans or Diros? Is the worth of IITs as a 'premier institute of national importance' due to its students or the setup?". These instances of dual standards adopted by faculty raise strong doubts on the process of recruitment for faculty positions itself.

By the way, if you're still wondering about the relevance of the title with the content above, it is because I'm officially a 'Dual Degree' student now, having switched to the 5-year B.Tech + M.Tech. program in CSE. So, this is how my academic log in page looks now:

For those who are still not aware of my tragic life story, I aspire to get into Civil Services after I am done with my graduation (no, that's not the tragic part!). To appear in 2011, one has to be born on/before 1st August 1990, and I missed that mark by a very close margin (being born on 5th August instead). So, I had one full year to spare, for which I preferred an extra year of stay at IITD itself for an extra degree in my hand at the end of it over a full time job or a 'drop' for full-time preparation. The associated irony is that because I didn't want to pursue Comp. Sc. as my career, I have to study it for another year. Funny!

Changing of Guards

I landed back at IIT Delhi yesterday and have been 'enjoying' the humidity floating around me with some friends I've missed the most during last few months. Now another semester is about to start and it's time to let go of the last phase of my life, i.e. the internship. A few days ago, I rated IIT life to be absolutely incomparable to that at MSR (here). But someone has truly said that you start missing something when you start moving away from it. I felt something like that when I realised this Friday that this day onwards, I won't have such lovely and brilliant people around me anymore. I would miss the whole culture of 'Party Hard, Work Harder' culture at MSR, particulary, the Lab Sabha, the PowWow, the perennial pantry supplies, World Cup and the diversity of TEM.

Moving on with life, I guess its time to let go of the FIFA World Cup theme too as it's now long over (YEAH! Spain won, still happy about that!). Just to keep it in memory, my blog used to look like this at one time:

So, as the theme undergoes a radical change, so does the way of life. From the smooth flowing Microsofty Life to the rough IIT Life, the transition is fundamental. Got some lectures to attend in the morning (unlike no strict office timings at MSR), so should catch some sleep! Ciao!

Microsofty Life

The summer break is nearing its end, and so is the internship at MSR. 10 days from now, I'll be back to my home grounds at IIT Delhi, and as I look back at the last 2 months, I realise the striking contrast between IIT (Delhi) life and MSR (Bangalore) life. So, an attempt to list a few as a memoir to the Microsoft experience. (Keeping a count on the positives and the negatives)

Food (yes, for the foodie I'm, this deserves to be the first point):
The regular Paneer Tikka at Mezbaan couldn't find an equal match here. But the variety and delicacy of Idli-Dosa here made me fall in love with Bangalore in a few days. The 'sasta, lekin sabse achha' award clearly goes to the Southie food here. I'm not sure whether the Idlis of Holistic or the Dosa of Sip n Bite would be edible for me anymore. (+1)

Accomodation:
The first week at Bangalore was spent in uncertainty of our resting place for the next 2 months. Finding a suitable place, affordable yet providing satisfactory services, became a heated affair (thanks to our Police Officer (retd.) landlord). While we faced some harsh consequences of being in a language-hostile city, the realisation that however inhuman be the living conditions in our hostels, the life is much smoother and hassle-free there. (-1)

Weather:
This one undoubtedly goes to Bangalore. Never during the whole period did I feel that the internship is actually 'Summer' internship. But, sadly, when I was enjoying the pleasant evening breeze in Bangalore, some of my dear friends were burning in scorching Delhi heat. Our rational Deans and Diro turned down a very valid and popular demand to allow coolers in hostel rooms. (+1)

Getting a bit long, eh? Some quickies now :-
OS: Windows 7, never missed Ubuntu (Jaunty or Lynx). (+1)

Music: Winamp playlists earlier, it's Grooveshark, Pandora or Shoutcast internet radio here. (+1)

Internet: High speed corpnet with no blocked sites and no limits, proxy quota is a forgotten concept. (+1)

Email client: Experienced the beauty of Outlook, bye-bye Thunderbird. (0)

LAN: No oDC to grab all kinds of pirated (or dirty) stuff in minutes; no LAN gaming, despite the (work)stations equipped with powerful graphic cards. (-1)

On TV: Football (World Cup was a phenomenon). Cricket-lovers virtually non-existent here. (+1)

Sports: Football, yet again, and because I can run, I'm not that bad at it. Missing volleyball though. (0)

Snacks: Besides the 5pm snacks with infy variety, the perennial pantry supply helped me about 5 kgs weight in about a month. (+1)

Score, anyone? +5, right? Yet, I missed IITD so much at many ocassions. So, what did I miss out above?

LIFE:
Yeah, there is no substitute to campus life. When I joined IIT, some wise man (no offence to the ladies!) said that the coming years would be the most cherished time of your life. Live it to the fullest, while you can. In this brief stint of corporate office life, I entirely realise the truth in his words. Going to office every morning, sitting in the same chair, working on the same project invariably on each day - the monotony of life couldn't be broken even by the lavish Lab Retreat at Lalitha Mahal Palace, Mysore. Life is too smooth here, with some department dedicated to solve every problem of yours (except the research problem you're working on). What makes IIT life worth living, despite the various negatives listed above, is the variety of challenges encountered regularly - from getting a letter signed to winning an inter-hostel competition; and the irreplacable friends that provide you strength to stand tall in every challenge. Though I met some wonderful persons here, I couldn't help missing the always cheerful WindT and the wonderful company I enjoyed there. Anupam and the SPICY gang deserve a special-mention, who are now accessible only at long-distance. A few long-distance friends became even 'longer-distance' due to switching of time-zones, and thereby, restricting the communication options. Without some people, even in the biggest software company of the world, life feels small. The countdown has begun. Can't wait to get back to IIT Delhi.

PS: @Interns at MSRI or elsewhere: Help me to add more points that come to your mind.

Spain or Netherlands?

This is the million-dollar question (literally) at the moment. And probably, by the time you would read this, most of you would know the answer to this big question. But, one thing is certain - we will have a new name on the trophy this time. Here I make another attempt to remember somethings worth remembering about the knockout stage mainly of the biggest sporting event, which reaches climax today (the earlier one is here).

Round of 16:

Germany playing England, and Spain playing Portugal so early in the Cup race were the highlights of this round. While Germany truly slaughtered the English side, Spain stepped ahead quietly with a single-goal victory. While, Argentina and Brazil continued looking good to strengthen their claim for the cup, Ghana ended the American Dream to keep the host continent's hope alive. Two big faults by referees which went against England (for Germany) and Mexico (for Argentina) led to resurfacing of the old debate of inclusion of more technology in the game. Though FIFA President went on to apologise to English and Mexican team, governments and people, the question of the extent of damage these errors caused to the fairness of a tournament as big as FIFA World Cup remains open to debate and discussion.

Quarter Finals:

4 matches, 4 South American teams - 1 in each. And the one team that went through was not expected to reach the Semis before the kick-off of the World Cup. The giants - Brazil and Argentina subsided to let Netherlands and Germany to go through. While the Dutch team impressed with consistent passing and constant attacking to perforate the Brazilian defence, German team continued to crush their worthy opponents mercilessly to rise to the title of World Cup favourites. Ghana failed to become the first African team to end up in the last 4 due to 'Hand of God', first and 'Bar of God', later. Gyan is going to regret that missed penalty all his life for sure. But the early exits of Argentina and Paraguay at this stage denied some naked runs (Paraguan defeat came as a disappointment for many excited males) [1], [2]

Semi Finals:

Diego Forlan led the brave Uruguan side so far with his skilled gameplay, but a short lapse in concentration of defense gave the Dutch team an opportunity to break-in twice in 3 minutes. Many people wished the other semi-finalists (Germany vs Spain) to clash in the Grand Finale instead. The star-studded line-up on both sides raised the expectations to a heated competition. But as the game kicked off, Spain took lead and played their game of passing in the mid-field and waiting for the opportune moment. They never allowed Germans to take control and raise the pace of the game to their advantage. Spaniards succeeded in getting to the Finals with another low-scoring victory.

Third-place Playoff:

I missed the first half of the match as I failed to get back to MSR from Mysore in time, but according to a friend (Apoorv Gupta):

"Yesterday's match was awesome... lots of aggressiveness, and a lot of bad passes etc. combined to make it one of the most entertaining so far." But, surely Uruguay deserved the extra-time, which Forlan had almost won with his almost-perfect free kick as the last shot of the match.

Now, its time to enjoy the colourful closing ceremony put up to mark the culmination of another edition of World Cup! I'm going to miss the World Cup so much, so many memories in the '3rd floor collaboration room' of MSR! My intern experience would remain incomplete without the mention of these football matches. :)

When should the Bidding end?

The day started out normally as it has been for about 8 weeks now - Getting up, leaving for Microsoft Research and working on the same project from morning till evening (night). Lately, the difference is me reaching office as late as 1 pm, due to the longer sleep required after the evening football (playing, not watching) sessions. Lately, the difference is me still confused where my intern project will lead to, because of some unorganized mentoring. Lately, the difference is me not happy at the place which probably is the dream for some of the best in my stream. This difference is that I wanted to write myself out this time. Not because I don't have people to talk about it, because I am lucky to have them and I've talked my heart out to them, but I wanted to talk about it to myself. So, I want to pour out some of the thoughts my mind has entangled itself into.

One thought that troubles me is our decision-making process about our goals and the path we take to strive for them. One such process took place when my intern started here, when 3 researchers and me sat for a 'brainstorming' session for hours to find a project of my interest. But, the session failed to churn out an intern topic that interested me. One possible reason could be my misplaced interest which was to do something that involved more than pure coding, which involved actually going out to the field to study how the technology we develop is being used, which could make my stay here different from that at IIT Delhi, which could make it meaningful to be a part of Technology of Emerging Markets group. So, at the end, I agreed to start upon a project for the sake of my internship half-heartedly, and throughout my stay here I've thought, what if I would have taken more time to decide. Now, the internship will end in a few days and won't have a strong influence on my future, but the issue still troubles me because of the 'what if', because I'm standing at a stage where the crucial decision of my career path needs to be taken, because I would certainly like to avoid the regret of 'The Road Not Taken'. So, how much time, patience and energy should we spend on actually finalizing the decision, so that it doesn't cross the optimal limit when we start wasting those resources on deciding and not executing the decision? How do we hit the best trade-off between the two conflicting motives? When should the Bidding end?


Meanwhile, a Ted talk in which Dan Ariely asks, "Are we in control of our own decisions?"