IIM Calcutta WAT-PI experience

WAT topic: A lot of scientists think that artificial intelligence has the potential to take over humans. Do you voice the same concern? What are your views?

Started with the fact that the most distinguishing characteristic of Homo Neanderthals, and later us – the Homo Sapiens has been the brain size and the energy consumed by it. We are not the physically strongest species on Earth. What allowed our hunter-gatherer ancestors to tame nature and other animals was the ability to make strategic decisions. Only recently we have started getting competition from the machines we made ourselves.

*Defined artificial intelligence, mentioned how a machine defeated the world champion in Go, also wrote about how AI is replacing even trading jobs, how it has already replaced a large chunk of the manual labour*

Wrote that thinking alone doesn’t set us apart. Even dolphins and elephants can think. What distinguishes us the most is our ability to imagine and talk about things that don’t even exist. This has enable humans to do all innovation. Then explained how AI is taking even that uniqueness from us. Most music experts in USA couldn’t distinguish the original symphonies of Mozart from the one produced by AI.

Concluded that AI is definitely going to take over humans. But instead of being apprehensive about that, we should be eager to experience the new world created synchronously by us and our artificial partners.

Panel:

2 males, 1 female. (M1 in his late forties or early fifties, M2 in his thirties.) F1 had a face that only someone bored of existence can have. M2 looked like someone who was bored of the bullshit interviewees had been telling him.

M1 opened the door and called me in, I went in without saying anything to him. Wished the other panellists good afternoon and took the seat after handing over the documents.

F1 (before I sit properly): Tell me a bad habit of yours.

Me: I am not intuitive at times...

F1: Then how do you make decisions?

Me: This is not something that happens every time. I am not intuitive only in some cases. For example, a friend recently remarked that people in Delhi have very different dressing sense from people of Mumbai. I have stayed in Mumbai for some time. But I never observed this myself before.

Another thing, until recently I used to pronounce the z sound as the j sound. I never got to know that I am pronouncing it differently. It would be ज़ but I would speak it as ज.

M1: Zebra right?

Me: Yes, so I would pronounce Zee News as Jee news. I didn’t even know that these were two different sounds.

F1: I don’t think there is anything bad in it.

M1: I don’t think it’s bad at all. Even Pranab Mukherjee used to pronounce like that.

Me: Sir, maybe not a bad thing but when I found out that during my 22 years of life, I had never even noticed it, I was surpris…

M2 (Going through my certificates of Coursera) to M1: This seems to be an increasing trend.

M1: Do they give proper assignments?

Me: They have assignments, but most of the times they are not necessary. They have quizzes as well at the end of each lecture.

F1: You have taken a pay cut from your previous job. Why is that?

Me: Mam I wanted to have some corporate exposure…

M2: 4 mahine me pata chal gaya corporate me jana h?

Me: I had an ed-tech venture of my own, I took up this job because I wanted to understand the students’ behavior and expectations from a teacher’s perspective. I wanted to understand the ground reality myself. When I felt like I had learned enough I switched to have some corporate exp…

F1: Which specialization do you want to major in?

Me: I haven’t decided on it, I am open towards all, but I am inclined towards Finance due to my Mathematical background.

M2 (hands me over a rough sheet): Write me a formula related to Finance and Mathematics.

Me: [Wrote a formula for present value of money from periodic constant future cash flows, explained the terms]

M2: Draw the curve of Present Value vs the r.

Me: [Drew and explained how]

M2: What if the amount of the constant future cashflows is higher, how will that impact this graph?

Me: [Drew]

M2: How can I find the area under this curve?

Me: Integration. Aise-vaise..

M2: Okay, integrate 1/(1+r)^n

[Done]

M2: For the same future cash flow, will the present value be more for India or for Japan?

Me: Sir Japan has a lower interest rate compared to India, so the rate used for discounting will be less and the present value would be higher.

M2: Why is that? Why is the rate lower for Japan?

Me: Sir Japan is a developed country, so their growth rate is less. That’s why the rate is lower. Japan even had a negative interest rate some times back. So if the rate is around 10 percent for India, it hovers around 2-3% for a developed economy.

M2: Why does this happen? Why does a developed country have 
lower growth rate?

Me: Sir, as a country is developing, after a stage there is a saturation point. They will need intensive capital and much more innovation to continue growing at the same rate.

M2: Is the graph of this saturation concave or convex?

Me: Sir it will be concave downwards like this [Drew]

M2: You are working as a Decision Analyst…F1: What does a decision analyst mean? M2: Kuchh stats vats karte ho?

Me: I haven’t done it till now, but other in ZS do.

F1: You have worked here for only one month.

Me: I am currently working here.

M2: Oh, achha

M2: What is the capital of Cambodia?

Me: I can’t recall.

M2: Where does Cambodia lie?

Me: Sir I can’t recall its geographical location right now. Cambodia has a lot of Hindu temples, it’s famous for this.

F2: You started Edurik Learning Solutions, who is handling it right now?

Me: Spoke for about 2 minutes on it. The idea, my role, market etc..

M1: So it’s your own company?

Me: Yes Sir, I even got it registered as an LLP a while back. (Some more on it)

(M1 and M2 look towards each other)

M2: You didn’t a job from campus?

Me: It was through campus.

M1: Besides it helped him in CAT.

Me: Told him how CAT and JEE are largely unrelated.

M1: Something about Edurik

Me: It was not for CAT. There are already huge players there. I wanted to enter a market which had low competition and low entry barriers.

M2: How many Vedas do we have?

Me: 4

M2: Name all of them.

Me: Rigveda – the name Edurik is actually derived from Rigveda. I took rik from it…

M2: I know, that’s why I asked you.

F1: Continue with the names.

Me: Yajurveda, Samveda, Atharav Veda

M2: What about Ayurveda?

.

.

F1: What kind of books do you like to read?

Me: I like reading things which are mind stimulating and challenge conventional wisdom…

F1: Write the names of five books you have read.

Me: Thinking Fast and Slow..

M2: Who wrote it?

Me: Daniel Kahnmen

M2: Okay, continue

Me: I read 100 years of Solitude some months ago

M2: Who is its author?

Me: I can’t recall the name, it’s Gabriel something. He is Spanish, and the book was also originally written in Spanish. He is a famous author.

M2: He is a famous author.. what is he doing now?

Me: Sir, he died long ago.

M2: Continue with the next book.

Me: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

M2: Where is it set in?

Me: Afganistan

M2: What’s the capital of Afganistan?

Me: Kabul

M2: Continue with the next book.

Me: I have read Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill

M2: Where was Napolean from?

Me: USA

M2: No, the original Napolean.

Me: Can’t recall.

M2: What was his last name?

Me: Bonaparte, and Napolean was from France

Wrote and Spoke “Atlas Shrugged”

F1: Who wrote Atlas Shrugged?

Me: Ayn Rand

F1: What is the philosophy of Ayn Rand called?

Me: Objectivism.

F1: Explain Objectivism to me in one line.

Me: I can’t explain it in…

F1: Okay, take two.

Me: [Explained. Also told something thing my takeaways from Atlas Shrugged, the character of Hank Rearden and rational-egoism of Ayn Rand]

M2: Is it a he or a she [for Ayn]?

Me: It’s a she.

M2: Are you sure?

Me: Yes.

M2: When was the book Atlas Shrugged written?

Me: In the 1960s

M2: Tell me some events that happened in the 60s

Me: Jawahar Lal Nehru was no longer the Prime Minister. Indira Gandhi took over. India was having war with China, and Pakistan. Lal Bahadur Shastri died while returning from Tashkand

M2: Okay, that will be all.

M1: Just one thing. Does Rao Edusolutions visit your campus?

Me: Yes Sir.

M1: They recruit engineers, and people take up the job?

M2: Better than digging coal in mines.

I smiled and got out as fast as I could.

A glimpse into the future

“Alternating Current is useless:” Thomas Edison. “There is a world market for maximum five computers:” Thomas Watson, IBM founder. “People will soon become tired of watching television:” Daryl Zanuck. “The iPhone will not capture any market share:” Steve Balmer. “The internet will soon collapse:” Robert Metcafe, Ethernet inventor.

You know the other part of the story…

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Love Story

Stage 1 (The beginning):
मेरे रश्क-ए-कमर तूने पहली नज़र, जब नज़र से मिलाई मजा आ गया
...आग ऎसी लगाई मज़ा आ गया
...उसने शरमा के मेरे सवालात पे, ऐसे गर्दन झुकाई मजा आ गया

IIFT WAT-GD-PI Experience

Copied from my earlier Pagalguy article. 

Profile:  10th, 12th, B.Tech (IIT(ISM) Dhanbad): 93, 91, 7.58 (70.8 after conversion), IIFT: 99.96 percentile. 

One Year Without Sugar

I was an addict. Sugar was my drug.

Most of my energy came from sugar. I would mix it in everything. Rice, milk, curd… even water.

Exactly one year ago, I stopped. Completely.

The beginning:

I used to read a lot of self-help books and articles. I probably read a thousand self-improvement posts on Quora and Medium. It was like porn. I would get excited for half an hour, then forget all about it.

Advice for future CAT aspirants

A friend (NIT, 2016 pass out) resigned from his job in Nov. 2016. His passion was in management. And being a brilliant student, he was dead sure of getting into an old IIM. As expected, he got 99.95 percentile in CAT.

Here comes the twist: A, B, L, and I have not even shortlisted him for the interview. Out of the old IIMS, only IIM-C has called him. Another twist here: C has given calls up to 99.6 percentile, they have distorted the selection criteria in such a way that he is ahead of the last person called by only 1.47 marks. Now the fun thing: IIM-C awards 2 marks for academic diversity and 4 marks for work experience. So, he will have to give an extraordinary GD-PI performance to have any realistic chance of being selected.

===

The purpose of this article is not to frighten or dishearten you but to provide a realistic view of the admission process of IIMs. It is written only for GEMs. If you don’t belong to General Engineer Male, no need to read further.

Most people think that getting into IIMs (old ones) is all about securing more than 99.5 percentile in CAT. Sorry for shattering your dreams, but that isn’t even 10% the battle. Your whole life counts. From the chromosomes that determined your sex to your graduation stream, everything is considered. If you happen to be a General Engineer Male, things over which you have no control, you are screwed. A girl having 92 percentile and a GEM having 99.5 percentile have equal chances of getting into an IIM. Gender is not the only thing going against you, they consider work experience, academic diversity, your marks in 10th, 12th & graduation and the quality of the work experience. If you somehow manage to get a call, your selection depends entirely on the interview. Engineers are seen with contempt there. They have so many to choose from.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on reservations.

If you are a GEM having less than 90 percent in 10th or 12th and below 7.5 CGPA in B.Tech, think twice before putting your time and effort in preparing for CAT. You might regret it later. Life is unfair and the Indian education system is even more so. Unless a revolution happens, don’t expect the end of reservation or such diversity bullshit in a hundred years. However, there is no point in fretting about things over which we have no control. Here is a plan of action you can follow if you like.

If you are a fresher:

1. Before starting your preparation, read the selection criteria of all the IIMs. Every IIM has a different criterion. Indore gives 76% weightage to your 10th and 12th marks. Others have similar weird process. Prepare yourself mentally for what you are getting into. Here are some threads (to depress you) https://www.quora.com/Is-it-possible-to-score-99-5+-percent…, https://www.pagalguy.com/…/all-i-want-to-speak-about-gem-ge… . Know the worst that can happen. It’s time you start practising stoicism.

2. If you are still in B.Tech, focus only on building your GPA. Forget about CAT (or at least don’t neglect your GPA for CAT preparation). You will have 4-5 years to go for an MBA after B.Tech. Remember that even half an extra mark in your mid semester will count. Bargain, beg, plead with the prof as much as you can.

I know that you hate the rat race for marks. I hated it too. But the MBA world is all about rat race. During my 2nd and 3rd year of B.Tech, I had some rules: I never sat in the examination hall for more than 45 minutes in mid sem and more than 1.5 hours in end sem. I regret it now. Make sure that you don’t have any regrets.

3. Try to gain as much expertise in your stream/area of interest as you can. If you can publish a research paper, do it. If you can organize/attend any conference, do it. Get yourself enrolled in as many clubs as you can. Get published in reputed newspapers/magazines. Try to get good internships. You have to show that you are different from the herd.

4. Consider other exams. If they don’t want you, why do you want them so desperately? Depending on your ambitions, there are good colleges other than IIMS. XLRI, IIFT, NMIMS, to name a few. Though I don’t suggest going for GRE/GMAT in this era of rising protectionism; if you are rich enough, you may consider MS/MBA from a foreign university.

If you are a working professional: DO NOT QUIT YOUR JOB. CAT is capricious.

Will add more things later.

The most powerful thing in the world.

Year 1991, PV Narsimha Rao was dying. His neck would wobble every time he opened his mouth to speak. Nobody thought he would live more than a few months. Then something miraculous happened. His health improved. Five years later, he retired after serving as the 9th PM of India, before finally dying in 2004.

What made PV Narsimha defy death and live 13 years more?

Freud had famously said that all motivation comes from two desires: the sex urge and the desire to be great. Desires rule our world. The most common of them are money, sex, and power. But a few people have still managed to control, even eliminate them.

The force that transformed a dying man into one of the best PMs India has ever seen was not Power. Not even Money. That intangible, yet the single most powerful force is the “feeling of importance”. The same thing which Freud described as “the desire to be great”. People have learned to tame the other natural desires, but NOONE can control this desire.

Everyone gets his feeling of importance in a unique way. Politicians feel themselves important when they are able to exert power over others. Criminals and terrorists get this feeling when they see others being terrified of them, and after successfully committing crimes. This desire is the reason why organizations give sexy and meaningless titles to their employees, to make them feel they are valuable.

But this desire to be great doesn’t necessarily comes from the ability to exert power or to make large-scale changes. Some people get it from as simple things as being different from others. This is what monks and hermits do. This is also what most researchers do, they feel themselves superior to others when they discover something the ignorant public doesn’t know about. This feeling of superiority drives the entire research area.

The same line of reasoning is used to brainwash people. “Do you want to live like millions of others who live a mundane life, those who take birth, have families, work like slaves all their lives, and ultimately die without achieving anything. Their life has no meaning. Their death doesn’t affect anything. Their existence has no value. Do you want to be like that or do you want to make an impact in the world?” From religious preachers to terrorists, everyone uses these lines to persuade people to join their organization by giving them a feeling of importance. The latest addition in this category is Anonymous. Just watch their last video.

If you know this one thing, you know the secret of all negotiations and persuasions. This is the ultimate secret of effectively dealing with people. Find out how the other person gets his feeling of importance, and give it to him. If you are able to do that, he is your slave.
(Some ideas taken from How to Win Friends and Influence People)

P.S. I am back to writing, so expect more interesting articles.