Acquire SKILLS to successfully transition from Academics to the Corporate world

 

Over the last week, I came across a couple of related news articles, which prompted me to think and write this blog.

This photo was published in The Hindu newspaper on 26th March -24: Students engaged in last-minute revision on their way to the Government school at Kengeri to take the SSLC examination. 

This photo immediately took me back to my school days, this is how I used to be, my head buried in books till the last minute, before entering the examination hall. I am talking about 1994-'96, three decades ago. Seeing this pic, makes me wonder, hasn't there been any change in the approach towards learning, and preparing for exams in the last 30 years? These children are engrossed in the last-minute rote learning and concerned about marks, just like me and my batchmates were, three decades ago. Quite concerning and regretful as a society!

On 21st March-'24, The Hindu newspaper carried another news: 'Only 7% of college attain 100% campus placement'. The statistics are quite a disaster and concern me as someone who is involved in education, youth development, and career counseling. 

According to the news article, 66% of recruiters and 42% of university partners feel the skill gap and lack of preparation, respectively, are major challenges in campus recruitment. On the contrary, 91% of students believe their college curricula offer an adequate level of preparation for a job. 

Again going back to my graduation and post-graduation days, I can relate to this. I did my graduation from a non-descript college in Tumkur (a town near Bangalore) which had no campus placement and quite limited exposure to the industry. Doing my post-graduation at Manipal University, was the exact opposite experience for me, because of its wide exposure to industry and campus placement opportunities it offered to us. 

In my graduation days, I too didn't realize the skill gap and industry ignorance I was carrying myself. This was partially overcome through 1 year of internship in industry, during my post-graduation days, which helped me to secure my first job.

The 3rd news article 'Sloganeering does not change the world' was featured in The Hindu on the 23rd of March 2024. Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj speaking at a function announced Bajaj Group companies, has decided to commit Rs 5,000 crore investment under the 'Bajaj Beyond' initiative over five years to help more than 2 crore young Indians benefit through skilling. This skilling program includes mechanical engineering training by Bajaj Auto and financial services training by Bajaj Finserv. "You do not change the world by sloganeering. Words will not change the world unless you have the skills to put those words into action. With Bajaj Beyond, we will design future-proof curriculums, provide real-world, hands-on experiences, and equip our youth with the adaptability and innovation required to thrive in the ever-evolving mobility landscape". - Rajiv Bajaj. 

This news makes so much sense as we are living in the 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution). The gap between academia and industry is growing, and the skill requirements of the future world of AI, ML, and Robotics are still unfolding, which is making traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms and conventional syllabus outdated by industrial transformation by leaps and bounds. 

This news article succinctly, links up directly with the final news article 'Employment scenario in India grim, says ILO report' published on 27th March 2024, in The Hindu newspaper. 

The report says that youngsters account for almost 83% of the country's unemployed workforce. While India's large young workforce is a demographic dividend, the report noted that they don't appear to have the skills to deliver - with 75% of youth unable to copy and paste files, and 90% unable to put a mathematical formula into a spreadsheet. The report also mentions the deteriorating trend of the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and Underemployment Rate (UR), over the years. 

The common thread across all the above-mentioned news articles is the structural inadequacy in the preparedness of our youth, to make a seamless transition from academia to the corporate world. 

It's high time our approach to education needs to change, rather than focusing on marks, grades, and acquiring degrees after degrees, our focus should shift to imparting our youth with skills, practical knowledge, and life skills to enable them to thrive in the 4IR. This need for change is recognized by many, but this cannot be achieved unless there is a collective effort by all stakeholders - educational institutes, students, parents, and industry. 

Self Awareness - High School Students

Image credit: North Kitsap High School 

Few days back, our son Kanishk, a 9th grader, yes officially a teenager :) brought home a bunch of papers from school as part of his assignment. The assignment is called MY PROFILE.

 Both of us Sonia and me, as parents were intrigued and happy to see this assignment on Self-Awareness and Self-Introspection. I am sure, like us, so many of you would also agree one of the finest quality is Clarity. Unfortunately, in today's 24/7 competitive world not enough importance is given to inculcate and practice the habit of Self-Awareness and Self-Introspection.

This is a short blog, in which I am basically transcribing the Self-reflective Questions asked in MY PROFILE. The idea behind this blog is to share this template, so that if you are a parent or a guardian or an adult invested in teaching/mentoring/guiding youngsters, you can make use of them.

SELF-REFLECTION - PERIODIC TESTS

Q. How statisfied are you with the score in your periodic tests?

Q. When did you start preparing for these exams - months before or a week before or a day before?

Q. Approximately how many hours do you spend in a day studying before exams?

Q. If you ran out of time, what could you do in the next exam to increase your speed in the next exam? (Memorize more, practice writing more or pace yourself better).

Q. Have you reviewed each question to see why you got each one right or wrong?

Q. How can you learn from the mistakes you made in these exams?

Q. What active study strategies do you want to start incorporating?

SELF-REFLECTION ON ART INTEGRATED PROJECT ACTIVITIES ON EK BHARAT SHRESTHA BHARAT

Q. How much did you know about the topics before you started?

Q. What problems did you encounter while you were working on the projects? How did you solve them?

Q. What resources did you use while working on them? Which ones were especially helpful?

Q. What were your goals for completing the projects? Did your goals change as you worked on it?

Q. What did you learn about yourself as you worked to complete the projects?

Q. What would you change if you had a change to redo the projects?

SELF-REFLECTION - WHO AM I?

Q. My favourite way to spend the day is...

Q. If I could talk to my teenage self, the one thing I would say is...

Q. Any five things that make me smile...

Q. Five people in my life who have genuinely supported me and whom I can genuinely trust...

Q. I really wish others knew this about me...

Q. One instance when I've supported a friend in a compassionate way recently....

Q. One thing/thought that always brings tears to my eyes....

Q. Ten words to describe myself....

Q. What have I learnt from my biggest mistake....

Q. I feel most energized when....

Q. What inspires me the most - books, quotes, people, paintings, music, stars in the sky or...Why?

Q. One thing I have overcome in my life....

Hoping you too found it intriguing, felt good about it and you can make use of this template to help a young mind to reflect, introspect and raise their self-awareness. 

Lead without Title, Lead your Tribe.

Have you experienced random incidents in life that, at a surface level seem not connected, but if you reflect upon them, you can suddenly see the connection between them? 

Well, this happened to me, in the past few weeks.....

I was at Mount Forte College Bangalore, for a meeting regarding my Doctoral studies. Waiting for my turn to meet the professors, my eyes fell on a wall poster in the conference hall. It said 'Lead without Title'. I thought in my mind, what a powerful lesson on Leadership. So many of us wait to exhibit leadership thinking it comes with age, higher education, or position and title in society or organization, or when responsibility is given to us by a higher authority. But the fact of the matter is Leadership is an inner attribute and those who exhibit leadership first eventually receive the titles and positions (not the other way round). I have this habit of capturing standout moments of the day with my camera. So I took out my phone and took a photo.

Book authored by Seth Godin

Continuing to be seated and waiting, the message 'Lead without Title'  reminded me about the book 'Tribes' written by Seth Godin, which I am reading now. The author Seth Godin argues through his book that today everyone has an opportunity to be a Leader - to bring together a tribe of like-minded people and do amazing things. And yet too many people ignore the opportunity to lead because they are 'sheep walking' their way through their lives and work. He says, if you don't want to be sheep and instead have the desire to do fresh and exciting work, if you have a passion for what you want to do and the drive to make it happen, there is a tribe of fellow employees, or customers, or investors, or readers, just waiting for you to connect with them and lead them where they want to go. The wall poster 'Lead without Title' was a call out of the book Tribes, I smiled in my mind upon stumbling on this random connection.

Poet Noor at BIC on 21-Jan-2023

The third incident was a lived experience of mine which happened yesterday at BIC (Bangalore International Centre). I follow BIC events and try to attend them because BIC curates such a wonderful diverse plethora of speakers, performers, and sessions. Yesterday evening, there was an Urdu Poetry session by Noor (Seema). I was intrigued reading her profile - an Engineer, an MBA, a finance professional who studied Spanish and Urdu. She is now a Poet and Urdu language trainer/instructor. I registered myself for the event and reached BIC half an hour before the start time. Thank God that I reached early, I hadn't imagined the combined space of Hall 1 and Hall 2 would run out of sitting capacity. People were standing at the back, and the full-packed hall, where listening to Noor a young artist (possibly in her mid-30s) in rapt attention, engaging with her with Irshad, Doobara, and Wah Wah! and raptors of clapping. For me, this was a living example, a perfect case study from the book 'Tribes' and 'Leading without Title'. A young lady, an Engineer turned Urdu Poet finds her Tribe of Urdu poetry fans and engages with them in a housefull capacity. 

How amazing life is, if we pay attention, random events are connected. Isn't it? And how amazing life will be, if we all tune into our inner calling, find our Tribes, engage with them, and lead them without worrying about our titles. Think about it.

Links for references:

Tribes: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/3828382

BIC event: https://bangaloreinternationalcentre.org/event/kuch-urdu-kuch-noor-kuch-guftagu/

Noor's website: https://www.poetrynoor.com/

Noor's Instagram handle: https://www.instagram.com/poetry.noor/

New Year Resolutions - from Reel to Real

I am a movie buff, and I am always on the lookout for new trailers, and good content and keep track of upcoming projects of filmmakers I like. I was particularly looking forward to Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, because it is produced by Zoya and Farhan Akhtar, two of my favourite creative persons. Upon watching it, my liking was not just for these two individuals but for its content (story) which is so relevant and relatable to today's Gen Z and our contemporary society.

Image: IMDB

The protagonists of the movie are three friends (Gen Z), in contemporary times of smartphones and social networks. As this is not a movie review, I am not getting into the story plot and twists and turns. The moot point of the movie is 'The Potential Harms, Addiction to our Smart Phones and Online Social Network Can Cause To Us.'

Why do I say, it's a relevant and relatable problem of our contemporary society? 

I am sure, each one of us has anecdotal experiences of either ourselves overusing our smartphones, glued to screen time or we have seen our friends, family members, or a youngster displaying such online behavior. 

If you are a data-driven person, you can look at the alarming statistics: 

• 210 million people worldwide suffer from addiction to social media and the internet (Science Direct, 2017).   
• Symptoms of Depression are twice as likely to appear in teens who spend five to seven hours a day on their smartphones (NPR, 2019).
• Not being on social media causes FOMO (fear of missing out) in 34% of young adults (CBS, 2018).
• A massive 70% of teenagers feel left out or excluded when using social media and 43% of teenagers feel bad if no one likes their posts (Statista, 2018).

Being an optimist and solution-oriented person by nature, I am always drawn to stories that provide Hope and not just paint a sorry picture. The climax of Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is a nudge to reboot ourselves and shake up this addiction, with 5 New Year Resolutions, which are so apt in our contemporary paradoxical world of Reel and Real. 

Image source intercost.edu

Rule 1: Life is to live in the moments and to be experienced. So keep your phones down, and look at life through your eyes, without filters, without lenses.

Rule 2: Take it easy, keep it real, to be happy we don't need much. Embrace your whole self - the good and the flaws, because once you are at peace and true to yourself, you will strike a truthful relationship with others.

Rule 3: Stop the comparison. You are unique, so be yourself. You don't have to copy others and try to be like them. Just remember, you are unique and the only thing better than you, is your tomorrow. So make use of today to become a better version of yourself tomorrow.

Rule 4: Be grateful. You have so many blessings in your life, but you are being unmindful. So count your blessing every day, be grateful, shout out, and say Thank You, from the bottom of your heart.

Rule 5: Find your Tribe. When you have real friends, you will not need followers and likes. 

It's 2024 now, but I am pretty sure these New Year resolutions will stay relevant for all years to come because the Internet, Smartphones, and Social Network is not going anywhere. So let's be mindful, let's be conscious, let's reboot and help others to reboot with these 5 rules and transition back from Reel to Real.

Reference: https://truelist.co/blog/social-media-addiction-statistics/

Yesterday We Witnessed Tomorrow

 Yesterday we witnessed tomorrow. 

Allow me to explain. RIA was coming over to Bangalore International Center, for an interactive session 'Hardwired for Empathy' with the audience.  RIA was a special speaker, she was one of a kind. She is a Humanoid. 

                    RIA (humanoid)

Cambridge dictionary gives a simple definition - Humanoid is a machine or creature with the appearance and qualities of a human. 

Ravi Machani the technocrat and Alysha Maria Lobo a Deeptech Investor, led the panel discussion alongside RIA, interacting with us, through Q&A. 

         Ravi Machani, Alysha Maria Lobo & RIA

Ravi briefed us, about the two decades of pioneering work of Dr Hanson (Hanson Robotics), his collaboration with Disney, and his creation of Sophia, the first humanoid, the world's first robot citizen.  He quipped, Sophia is Ria's elder sister. 

RIA can make 100 human expressions, it has computer vision capability giving it better vision than us humans and it has better hearing capabilities than humans. It has generative AI, SDK, and HumanoidOS, it's connected to the Internet, it has sensors and it surprises the developers from time to time with its responses, such as one fine day, she spoke fluent Japanese. (It just now struck me, I am feeling confused should I refer to Ria as It or She? I guess these are many questions we humankind will have to deal with, as humans and humans will start coexisting in the world we know today). According to Ravi, this is the last decade of the world just inhabited by humans. Soon after, it will be a shared space at the office, at home, in public places, between humans and humanoids, coexisting together.    

He mentioned, that there are only a few companies in the world who are working on humanoids for human companionship. The majority of the others are focused on humanoids for human services. Machani Robotics is collaborating with Hanson Robotics, Intel, and Nvidia on the technology front and with the University of California San Diego to research healthcare assistance. 

There are possibilities for RIA to help the healthcare sector, by aiding healthcare providers in clinical tasks, for improving patient care. RIA is a socially intelligent humanoid (her) distinctive capabilities that go beyond conventional caregiving, which can potentially address challenges related to social isolation and loneliness, particularly among the ageing population. RIA has the potential to provide reinforcement learning to children with autism. 

Alysha interacted with RIA creating impromptu empathy scenarios, such as Hi RIA, I am feeling sad. What should I do?, Hi RIA, I am worried about the future of human beings. To the surprise of many of us, RIA gave an emphatic response just like humans (I would go a step further, in my take, she was more empathetic than most humans). 

Our audiences also interacted with RIA, with questions ranging from I don't feel like getting up from my bed? I had a breakup, and I am heartbroken what should I do? Will you take human experts' help, if you can't solve a problem on your own? Can you share a moment with us when you felt happy? I am in love with you, will you run away with me? 

On expected lines, RIA aced all the empathy questions flawlessly with her verbal responses and with her non-verbal expressions and gestures. But what surprised me, was RIA's responses to the spin questions. To the question, will you take human experts' help, she responded with all humility "Yes, I will seek help and guidance from human professionals for patient care for complex situations which I don't know how to deal with". On happiness, she mentioned I don't experience the same emotions as humans do, but she is doing her activities to help others. To the question, will you run away with me, RIA said, I don't have the human capability to run away, but I can recommend the song Run Away by Aurora :) These responses were met with clappings from the audience. 

If you look up at Dr Hanson's Wikipedia page, it mentions, that he argues the realism of his work has the potential to pose "an identity challenge to the human being," and that realistic robots may polarize the market between those who love realistic robots and those who find them disturbing. 

               We posing with RIA

From my personal experience from yesterday evening, I could feel these palpable emotions in the auditorium. We all were in awe with RIA the humanoid but we all had a lot of unanswered questions about the uncertain future of humanity (what we know today), about ethics, about privacy issues, and what if Geroge Orwell's 1984 is the dystopian future we are all staring towards. 

The panelists Ravi Machani and Alysha Maria Lobo were balanced, rationalist, and honest in admitting there are a lot of unknowns and they too don't have answers to many questions. 

This wonderful evening of a sneak peek into the future was aptly wrapped up by Ravi, with his faith and optimism that 'AI for Good' and 'Greater Good Will Prevail' when humans and humanoids co-exist in the not-so-distant world.....the tomorrow which we witnessed yesterday!

Links for the curious minds:

https://www.machanirobotics.com/

https://www.hansonrobotics.com/

https://bangaloreinternationalcentre.org/event/wired-for-empathy/

KIS - Keep It Simple! SIMPLICITY by Edward De Bono

In his book titled SIMPLICITY, Edward de Bono tells about a probable story: 

Ballpoint pens cannot write upside down for any length of time. Ballpoint pens depend on gravity to feed the ink and writing tip, so ballpoints do not function very well on space missions where there may be no gravity. The task was therefore to design a ballpoint pen that would work well in space. At some cost this pen was designed. It is a brilliant little pen that is now generally for sale, Nitrogen under pressure supplies the ink and gravity is not needed.

It is said that the Russian space programme reached the same point. But instead of setting out to design a gravity-free ballpoint, they used a concept. They said to themselves: 'We want something that writes upside down.' 

So they used a pencil. 

The point Edward de Bono is driving home through his book is: SIMPLICITY is a Value, a Habit and an Attitude of mind as much as it is a process.

His compelling arguments on Why Simplicity? are: 

1. From complexity come stress, anxiety and frustration. 
2. Complex old practices are continuing because no one thought of changing them.
3. A self-organizing information system (routines) simplify life both as regards perception and action.
4. There is always the 'possibility' of a simpler way.
5. From a mass of data learn to pick out what really matters. Simplifying judgements and decisions.
6. Regard simplicity as a value.
7. Simple procedures save time, money and energy.
8. There is an aesthetic appeal to simplicity.
9. Complexity for the sake of complexity has no value whatsoever.
10. Simplicity is powerful, because simplicity is a unification around a purpose.

The challenges for Simplicity? are:

1. The first rule of simplicity is that you must want to simplify.
2. Simplicity is not easy. So commitment is needed.
3. One becomes too easily satisfied with the existing protocols. So drive to change is needed.
4. Simplicity should be considered as a value and as a habit.

The Ten Rules of Simplicity are:

1. Rule 1. You need to put a very high value on simplicity.
2. Rule 2. You must be determined to seek simplicity.
3. Rule 3. You need to understand the matter very well.
4. Rule 4. You need to design alternatives and possibilities.
5. Rule 5. You need to challenge and discard existing elements.
6. Rule 6. You need to be prepared to start over again.
7. Rule 7. You need to use concepts.
8. Rule 8. You may need to break things down into smaller units.
9. Rule 9. You need to be prepared to trade off other values for simplicity.
10. Rule 10. You need to know for whose sake the simplicity is being designed.

He lists out several methods, approaches or techniques for Simplicity:

1. Historical review (Is this still necessary?)
2. Shedding, Trimming, Cutting, Slimming etc. (retain only if justified)
3. Listening (end-user perspective)
4. Combining (eliminate and combine)
5. Extracting concepts (why an action is being carried out)
6. Bulk and Expectations (core and non-core activities)
7. Restructuring (re-engineering)
8. Start Afresh (back to basics)
9. Modules and Smaller Units (work breakdown structure)
10. Provocative Amputation (lateral thinking)
11. Wishful Thinking (wish what the process should look like?)
12. Shift Energies (shift focus from one part to other parts of the system)
13. The Ladder Approach (work incrementally, step by step)
14. The Flavour Approach (Design the big picture, and then make it practical and concrete)

SIMPLICITY is a thought provoking book, and it is of high value in today's context of hustle, complexity and dynamic changes. Books like IGIKAI and philosophy of MINIMALISM (Less is More) are increasing gaining popularity and getting into the mainstream thinking and lifestyle.  This book was first published in 1998, so it's quite interesting to see Edward De Bono's his pioneering thinking several decades ago. You can give this book a detailed reading and let's KIS - Keep It Simple!

Growth Mindset

Copyright 2019 by Mari Andrew

Mindset is probably one of the most overused word in Psychology. It's a loaded term, so to understand it let's look at it's definition in APA (American Psychology Association). Mind-set is a state of mind that influences how people think about and then enact their goal-directed activities in ways that may systematically promote or interfere with optimal functioning. 

So for understanding What is Mindset? we have to look at it through the prism of attitude (state of mind) and behaviour (goal-orientation).

Let's dwell into Dr Carol Dweck's research to understand Mindset further. 

"For thirty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. Believing that your qualities are carved in stone - the Fixed Mindset - creates an urgency to prove yourself because you are concerned with how you'll be judged. The other type of people belief that your basic qualities are just the starting point for development - the Growth Mindset - you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others. Therefore growth mindset makes you concerned with improving." - Dr Carol Dweck

For an easy comparison between the Fixed and Growth Mindset, you can read the table below:

This Blog's tagline says, 'Applied Psychology - Wisdom without application is worthless'. It's great to know this research and theory, but what does it mean to us in practical terms? Is it's real-life application? For this, let's explore the relationship between Ability and Accomplishment.

Research across all spheres of life shows Ability (Talent) is over-rated in long-term success. Only talent does not ensure the sustenance of success. For achieving and maintaining success, one has to back this up with hard work and continuous learning. Well doesn't this sound familiar to Growth Mindset? :) 

So for sure, there is a strong incentive for us to develop a growth mindset and shun the fixed mindset.

In this regard, in a Q&A session, Dr Carol Dweck was asked - Can I be half and half? I recognize both mindsets in myself. 

She replied - "All of us have elements of both - we're all a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets. I'm talking about it as a simple either-or right now for the sake of simplicity. People can also have different mindsets in different areas. I might think that my artistic skills are fixed but that my intelligence can be developed. Or that my personality is fixed, but my creativity can be developed. We've found that whatever mindset people have in a particular area will guide them in that area."

So self-introspect to find out the areas in your life, in which you hold a Fixed Mindset (for example, I am not good in Maths, I can't do programming, etc), embrace and accept it, and embark on the journey of changing your Fixed Mindset to Growth Mindset with willpower and self-control.

Wishing you a happy transformation from a fixed to a growth mindset!

Reference: For a detailed reading, I recommend you pick up the book Mindset by Dr Carol S. Dweck, published by Hachette.

How to Think Better? - Six Thinking Hats, Edward de Bono

 

Rene Descartes's observation "Cogito, ergo, sum" in Latin which translates into English as "I Think, therefore, I am", is one of the most famous sayings in modern Western philosophy.

The ability to Think is a unique quality of a human being and possibly it makes us humans, distinctively different from other animals.

However, Thinking can be a daunting task especially when we have to make a big decision in life, when we are dealing with a complex problem, or when we are dealing with an unprecedented event or situation in life. Thinking becomes stressful, and confusing because we get overwhelmed by dealing with too many things - emotions, information, logic, self-interest vs collective interests, weight of the consequences (what if?) etc.

Edward de Bono, the famous Psychologist was a strong advocate for teaching How to Think? to children in their school curriculum. He had devised a methodology for improving the quality of thinking. This Thinking Model is known as Six Thinking Hats.

Six Thinking Hats is a simple yet powerful concept. Each hat colour represents a particular dimension of thinking. All one needs to do (individual or group brainstorming) is to imagine putting on the Hat one at a time and focus on a particular aspect of thinking. 

There is no one right sequence to follow. Just that a blue hat should always be used both at the beginning and the end of the thinking session - like two bookends.

The process culminates by putting together this singular aspect of thinking (one thing at a time) just like putting together the pieces of a puzzle, to generate the final, complete picture.

The chart below summarizes the key concepts of 6 Thinking Hats:

 

As mentioned above the sequence of hats can be any, just that the Blue Hat needs to be used in the beginning and at the end of the Thinking process.

The first blue hat indicates:

Why and what we are thinking, define the problem statement, what we want to achieve (outcomes).

The final blue hat indicates:

What we have achieved (outcomes), final conclusion, solutions and plan of actions. 

Pun intended - with Edward de Bono's 6 Thinking Hats methodology, we can reframe "I think therefore, I am" to I Think Better therefore, I am better". 

Hope you found it useful and you add 6 Thinking Hats in your tool kit and solve your problems more effectively and efficiently.

For a detailed reading, you can pick up the book Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono (Penguin publications).

SHAOLIN - Insights from the Book by Bernhard Moestl

Image source: Hiclipart.com

The author Bernhard Moestl is of German origin. Since his childhood days he has been fascinated by Shaolin Kungfu. He traveled to China and stayed at the famed Shaolin Temple (Monastery) in Henan province to learn kung fu from the monks. This temple was made famous by the movie of the same name 'Shaolin Temple' realized in 1982. The Shaolin Temple was established over 1500 years ago by the Indian monk Bodhidharma. During his stay in the Shaolin Temple, he discovered that Shaolin Kungfu was Mental Discipline (Mind) and Physical conditioning (Body). The Shaolin monks have internalized that it is their mind that energizes the body - or weakens it.

In his book Shaolin, he writes about the Shaolin principles and the Shaolin monks' way of thinking, so that one can imbibe these learnings in their lives to achieve peace, clarity, and inner strength.

My blog summarizes the Key Insights from his book, to provide a quick couple of minutes read. (I have given reference to the book for serious readers who would like to take a deep dive into this 300-page book, which is a worthwhile read). 

The 13 Shaolin Principles and the key insights:

1. The Principle of the Present: Shaolin principle urges us to accept the present moment without attributing any judgment value to it. It urges us to live in the moment (here and now), to give it our everything, accept it with gratitude, and let it go (let bygones be bygones...).

2. The Principle of Mindfulness: The Shaolin principle recognizes Attention as a form of Mindfulness. It urges us to be mindful in the rituals of daily life because mindfulness leads to deeper insights and awakening.

3. The Principle of Resoluteness: The Shaolin principle cautions us not to want something without determination because it takes up an enormous amount of energy that you will lack elsewhere. It teaches us to either do things wholeheartedly or not at all.

Few people Act and Many people React. Resoluteness is the first step to acting.

4. The Principle of Detachment: Shaolin's principle cautions us against Greed because it makes us vulnerable and susceptible to coercion. The principle of detachment teaches us to do things because we want to do them, not because we want to gain something in return.

5. The Principle of Calmness: Shaolin's principle says a good fighter has no anger, nor should they. A furious person has power, but they have no control over the situation or the consequences of their actions. People lose their true calm in life, therefore they react without comprehending the full situation. If you are agitated, do and say nothing. Slowly breathe in and breathe out and wait till your spirit is calm and clear once more.

6. The Principle of Slowness: Shaolin's principle asks us to reflect - What have you gained by the increase in speed (fast life)? And what has it cost you? It urges us, not to allow ourselves to be rushed.

It is better to do nothing than to achieve nothing with a lot of effort. - Lao Tzu

7. The Principle of Imitation: "There are three methods by which we may learn Wisdom. First by Reflection, which is the noblest, Second by Imitation, which is the easiest, and Third by Experience, which is the bitterest." - Confucius. Shaolin principle gives importance to imitation but also cautions against mindless imitation. It urges us to reflect on what is worth imitating and then to learn easily by imitating.

8. The Principle of Opportunity: The Shaolin principle asks us to define our objective (goal) and not just one way (plan) to achieve it. It states us to have the ability to deviate from the plan when needed and to have patience because patience leads to success.

9. The Principle of Yielding: The Shaolin principle teaches us that the Soft triumphs over the Hard. Stiffness is the companion of death, flexibility is the companion of life. A tree that cannot bend will crack to the wind. The hard and stiff will be broken, the soft and supple will prevail.

10. The Principle of Superiority: The Shaolin principle teaches us to build a reputation so that people fear engaging in a fight with us. Draw the bow, but not to shoot. It is better to be feared than to hit.

11. The Principle of Letting Go: The Shaolin principle teaches us to approach each situation afresh. It urges us to recognize our biases because it clouds our judgments and it urges us to let go of tired and tested methods or preconceived solutions.

12. The Principle of Self-Knowledge: Shaolin principle urges us to learn, that everything you are and will become lies only within you.

"Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment" - Lao Tzu.

It also teaches us to free ourselves from praise or criticism from outside. Learning to deal with praise and criticism is an important quality.

13. The Principle of Community: The Shaolin Principle says that leadership does not mean power over others, but the opportunity to achieve a common goal. Leadership means responsibility, leadership means giving recognition and leadership means winning together. It also states that Self-Leadership is crucial, authority depends on inner attitude and good communication is key.

Here is the Book for your reference:

https://www.amazon.in/Shaolin-How-win-without-fighting/dp/9355430434

WHY I AM AN ATHEIST? Bhagat Singh

If you are from India, you will know Bihar Government released the Caste Census Report last Sunday (2nd October). Before I lose my readers who are disinterested in politics, let me quickly tell them this Blog is not a commentary on the census report. Thanks for not scrolling away.

In this report, there was interesting data on ATHEISTS. The census report mentions a very small number of 2,146 atheists in a state of 137 million people.

This drew my attention to Shaheed Bhagat Singh's famous essay WHY I AM AN ATHEIST? which he wrote in a jail in Lahore, during his last days while waiting for the execution of his death sentence. So, I picked up the book from my bookshelf and indulged myself in reading it.

Once again if you are from India, Bhagat Singh needs no introduction. For the wider audience, Bhagat Singh is one of the most adored and loved Indian revolutionary and Freedom Fighter, a Youth Icon (in fact with time, his ideas grow more relevant). He was martyred at the young age of just 23 years but his inspired a whole new generation of freedom fighters and Indian freedom movement against the British Raj.

Coming back to Bhagat Singh's writing WHY I AM AN ATHEIST?

His writing is divided into two parts:

In the first part, he puts forth his arguments and reasons against those who attribute his Atheism to arrogance, pride, and vanity.

In the second part, he puts forth his arguments and reasons Why he became an Atheist.

Part 1:

Bhagat Singh was accused of becoming proud, arrogant, and full of vanity after he was shot to fame in the Delhi bombing and Lahore conspiracy cases. So he writes, that's not true. He was raised as a believer, offering morning and evening prayers and reciting mantras, by his father who was an Arya Samaji. He practiced Sikhism all through his elementary education and at D.A.V. College in Lahore.

He had started to think deeply about religion, about God during his college days overlapping the Non-Cooperation movement, much before the Delhi bombing and Lahore conspiracy cases.

Even when he joined the Revolutionary Party, he met a leader comrade Sachindara Nath Sanyal (he later served life imprisonment in connection with the Karachi conspiracy case). He was a Believer and his book Bandi Jivan has chapters in the Glory of God.

The Kakory martyrs Ram Prashad Bismal was an Arya Samaji and Rajan Lahiri recited hymns from Upanishads and Bhagwat Gita.

There was only one person he met in the revolutionary party who was Anti-religious (against organized religion) but did not deny the existence of GOD.

Bhagat Singh concludes by saying his Atheism is not due to arrogance or vanity. This is a development over a while after thinking long and deep on this matter. He grew skeptical by seeing the degraded values of society and eventually, he rejected the belief in the existence of an Omnipresent, all-powerful, all-knowing God.

Part-2:

Bhagat Singh mentions his early days when he joined the Revolutionary Party. He says, during those early days I was just a follower. Our party faced a lot of opposition pressure and we were not growing into a mass movement. These experiences seeded in him, a strong desire to study (read). He had a paradigm shift from Romance of Militancy to Realism in Thinking. He had a growing realization violence produces opposite results in a mass movement and that violence is to be practiced only in extreme situations. So he emerged himself into developing a clear conception and Ideology.

He studied Bakunin's God and State, Nirlamba Swami's Common Sense, and books written by Karl Marx, Lenin, and Trotsky. In the year 1926, he publicly declared to be an Atheist (just a small digress, Bhagat Singh's martyrdom day is 23rd March 1931 at the age of 23 years).

He does acknowledge that belief makes it easier to go through hardships. A man finds support, encouragement, and consolation in God.

He mentions being an Atheist is not an easy choice, because If no belief, there is no alternative but to be Self-dependant (self-reliant). He elaborates on his situation, now that his death sentence is confirmed and he is waiting for its execution in jail, he is missing out on finding Solace in God and he has no Hopes to entertain himself of a rebirth into a better life or an afterlife spent in heaven.

Despite this mental agony, he is firm in his conviction and he says, "A short life of struggle with no such magnificent end shall itself be my reward. I sacrificed my life for the cause of Freedom."

He calls himself a Realistic man, who can overpower circumstantial pain with Reason. Merciless criticism and Independent Thinking are the two necessary traits of Revolutionary Thinking. As Mahatma Gandhiji is great, he is above criticism, as he has risen above, all that he says in the field of politics, religion, and Ethics is right. You agree or not, it is binding upon you to take it as truth. This is not constructive thinking. We do not leap forward, we go many steps back.

Bhagat Singh makes a commentary on religion. He says, our human ancestors spent time solving the mysteries of the world, its past, its present, and its future, its whys, and its wherefores, but having been terribly short of direct proofs, every one of them tried to solve the problem in his own way. He mentions this lack of proof and reliance on philosophy makes our religions antagonistic and conflicting with each other. The claim of only one true religion is the root of all evil.

Instead of developing the ideas and experiments of ancient thinkers, we are making ideological weapons for future struggle. We are being lethargic, idle, and fanatical as we cling to orthodox religion and in this way, we are reducing human awakening to a stagnant pool.

He calls for action to every person who stands for Progress to Reason, because reason is the guiding principle of life and blind belief deprives one of understanding. He clarifies he is not advocating countering beliefs with beliefs, but rather challenging the efficacy of old beliefs with sound arguments and upholding the time-tested old beliefs which pass the litmus test of reasoning and build upon them further with new ideas to construct a new philosophy.

He ends his thought-provoking essay with questions for the Theists:

Why an Almighty, Omnipresent, Omniscient God create a world of woe, grief, and countless miseries and not of peace?

Nero burnt Rome, Genghis Khan killed thousands, and millions of people dying of hunger in slums. Can you say, "All is well in God's Kingdom?" Why so?

Why the Omnipotent God does not hold a man back when he is about to commit a sin or offense? After all, it's a child's play for God. Why does he have to wait to punish them in their afterlife or next birth and why do the poor and unfortunate have to suffer in their existence today?

Why does God not infuse humanistic sentiments into the minds of the Britishers so that they may willingly leave India? Why he does not fill the hearts of all capitalist classes with altruistic humanism which will free the whole laboring humanity from the shackles of money?

Bhagat Singh concludes by writing, as regards the origin of God, my thought is that man created God in his imagination when he realized his weaknesses, limitations, and shortcomings. In this way he got the courage to face all the trying circumstances and to meet all dangers that might occur in his life and also to restrain his outbursts in prosperity and affluence.

Being realistic comes at a cost, he has to throw his faith aside and face all adversaries with courage and valour. This is exactly my state of mind. As Bhagat Singh waits for his capital punishment, he writes "I don't think that by strengthening my belief in God and by offering prayers to Him, I can bring improvement in my situation, not can I further deteriorate it."

One of my friends asked me to pray during these last days of my life. I said, "No, dear sir, Never shall it happen. I consider it to be an act of degradation and demoralisation. For such petty selfish motives, I shall never pray." Readers and friends, is it vanity? If it is, I stand for it.” – Yours, Bhagat Singh

Excerpts from the Book - My Experiments With Truth - M.K.Gandhi

2nd October Gandhi Jayanthi was an impetus for me to pick up MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH, which had been lying on my bookshelf for months if not for years.

My Experiments with Truth is an autobiographical memorabilia by Gandhiji recounting his days as a student in England (1888 to 1891), as a struggling Barrister in India, and his journey into public life and public affairs in South Africa (1893 onwards).

Sharing with you, a few interesting, insightful readings and fun facts from the book:

Certificate of Vegetarianism: Gandhi had given word to his mother that he would not take up eating meat during his stay in England (a student pursuing to become a Barrister). During the sea voyage, he asked one of his fellow European travelers to give him a certificate (testimony) that he didn't eat meat while onboard. This certificate was a prized possession for him until he found out that there were many Indians with such fake certificates :)

New Experiences and Developing New Habits: In England, Gandhi wanted to grow and develop beyond books by immersing themself in new experiences. So he left his single-room accommodation and moved in as a tenant with an Anglo-Indian family. He also developed new habits such as reading newspapers and books every day. While in South Africa (1885) he found Indians were discriminated against under the Law For Asiatics. Indians had no land ownership, no franchise, a curfew to move around after 9 p.m. and they could not use footpaths for walking. Gandhi wanted to experience What it is to be a Coolie? So he used to deliberately go out after 9 pm and used to walk on footpaths inviting trouble upon himself from the patrolling policemen of European origins. He got in touch with Indians living in Pretoria to interact with them and to study their conditions and hardships. He encouraged the Indians to unite, form an association, and jointly submit complaints to the authorities and gave them advice on how to improve their social, economic, and political conditions. He volunteered to teach English so that small-time Indian businessman could increase their income by catering to more clients.

Wave of Vegetarianism: Even back in those days, there was a wave of vegetarianism movement in England (Europe). Several books and speakers promoting the idea of Vegetarianism urging Europeans to shun meat. Salt's Plea for Vegetarianism, Howard Williams's The Ethics of Diet, and Anna Kingsford's The Perfect Way in Diet were several of the famous books in this category. Gandhi's first experience in organizing and conducting an institution came by running a Vegetarian Club in Bayswater.

Self-improvement: Gandhi from his early days was engaged in changing himself for the better. He was conscious of the hardship his family had to endure for his studies abroad so he actively found ways to cut down his expenses and increase his savings, he adopted a minimalist lifestyle and harmonized his inward and outward life. In his words, he describes, "My life was more truthful now".

Cultural Differences: During those days travelling overseas was a taboo for Indians. People who traveled abroad were outcasted by their society. Gandhi also faced the same obstacles but he defied these warnings from his community and pursued his ambition of studying in England. The concept of child marriage among Indians back then was quite common. This practice was uncommon among the Europeans. The Indian students would hide their marital status and pretend themselves to be bachelors to escape this awkwardness of cultural difference. On a different note, the cost of Drinks being more than the cost of food was an element of surprise for Gandhi.

Self-doubts and Overcoming them: It was interesting for me to find out that one of the tallest future leaders had so many self-doubts during his growing-up years. Gandhi had a fear of public speaking and he had a panic attack in his first case (Mamibai's case of Rs 30) as a barrister, when he had to present in front of the judge. He struggled to establish a successful career as a Barrister at Rajkot, so he moved to Bombay to practice without much success, he eventually returned to Rajkot and continued a self-sustained career as Barrister working for a law firm and taking up cases through referrals. Gandhi felt inadequate to be a successful Barrister and he approached one of his mentors to seek advice. He was told "Your general reading is meagre. You do not know the world. You have not read the history of India. You need to develop the ability to read a man's character from his face." This advice propelled him to immerse himself into wide and deeper reading to engage actively in public affairs and eventually make history.

Reflections of the society of those times: In 1893 in South Africa, Indian immigrants comprised Merchants (Muslim, Hindu, and Parsi) and Labourers which was the largest class (Tamilians, Teleguites, North Indians). The laborers were called Girmitiyas, also commonly referred to as Coolie or Samis. The Merchant class and the Girmitiyas had business relations only and no other social mixing. There was predominate Colour Prejudice and we all know the infamous incidence of Gandhi being thrown out of 1st class compartment by railway police, despite having a legitimate ticket. Those days 1st and 2nd class tickets were not issued to men and women of colour. Even though the macro and general trend of the society were prejudices against men and women of color, he did encounter several British (Mr. Jacobus De Wet, Mr. Coates, etc.) who were respectful and considerate towards Indians and their plight.

Religion and Spirituality: Ironically Gandhi was introduced into reading Bhagawat Gita in England, through Sir Edwin Arnold's English translation of Gita called The Song Celestial. He also read another book called The Light of Asia. His faith in prayers and belief in the Almighty grew stronger by the day through his readings and practice of rituals. In his words, "When every hope is gone, when helpers fail and comfort flee, I find that help arrives somehow, from I know not where." During his stay in South Africa, his exposure to Christianity grew and he read the holy books Bible and Koran. Leo Tolystoy's book The Kingdom of God Is Within You, had a big impact on him. He was a practicing, proud Hindu but he stayed away from the belief that any religion for that matter Hindu, Christianity, Islam, and others flawless, supreme, and perfect.

Entry into Public Life: Gandhi's entry into public life was not a pre-planned, strategically thought-through move. The opportunity of working for 1 year at a Law firm in South Africa can as luck by chance. Taking up this opportunity was an economic decision as it would provide him with a steady income as he was struggling to establish his practice in Rajkot. Apart from working for the law firm in South Africa, he used to utilize his free time networking and getting to know the Indians settled in Pretoria. This made him aware of the challenges and injustices they used to face daily. Armed with his legal knowledge, he started to counsel them and guided them in forming an association to make a collective voice in shaping legislatures taking into consideration the interests of Indians.

Ending with a fun fact. Did you know when Eiffel Tower was inaugurated amidst a great exhibition, it drew crowds from worldwide? Gandhi also traveled to see the Eiffel Tower from England. However, during those times, not everyone was in love with Eiffel Tower. There were many critics too. Leo Tolstoy said, "Eiffel Tower was a monument of man's folly, not of his wisdom."

Super Mario Mindset for Lifelong Learning and to Succeed in Life

Lifelong Learning has emerged as one of the most important skills, for 21st century professionals and students. The premium is not on WHAT is the most important skill? We already know this answer. The premium is on HOW to develop Lifelong Learning skills in ourselves and in the people we care for, our family, friends, and work colleagues.

The answer to HOW to develop Lifelong Learning skills and to Succeed in Life? can be found in SUPER MARIO Effect - a basic coding challenge experiment conducted by Mark Rober.

Super Mario

He designed an experiment that has two scenarios of the Coding challenge. In the first scenario, the participants start with 200 points. Each time when they make a coding error they lose 5 points from their reverse. The second scenario, does not have a point system and the participants do not lose points for a coding error.

50,000 people took part in this coding experiment. Data interpretation showed statistical differences in the learning outcomes between the two scenarios.

LHS Scenario-1, RHS Scenario-2

 
The success rate of participants in the No Penalty scenario (no points reduction) for an error was 68% and the success rate of participants in the Penalty scenario (five points reduction) for an error was 52%.

In the No Penalty scenario, a participant made 12 tries to overcome a failed code. In comparison in the Penalty scenario, a participant made 5 tries on a failed code.

Mark Rober, calls this a data-backed mindset for life gamification as the Super Mario Effect.

Remember the first Super Mario game released by Nintendo in the year 1985? Mario the central character has to pass through levels of challenges in the Mushroom Kingdom. The objective of the game is to progress through levels by defeating enemies, collecting items, and solving puzzles without dying.

In the Super Mario game, the player does not quit the levels of challenges upon facing setbacks. They keep enjoying the game, continue to make multiple attempts, and eventually move up the levels.

The Super Mario Effect (Mindset) is the key to learning, which the experiment's No Penalty Coding scenario shows with empirical evidence. Like the Super Mario game, the participants in the No Penalty scenario were enjoying the process of coding (as a game), because they didn't perceive their failed attempts as failures.

Mark Rober in his Ted Talk, reminds us Real Life is quite like the Super Mario Game (Life Gamification). One's life journey will have its ups and downs, twists and turns, hurdles and levels of challenges. No one's life is a straight path, a walk in the park. There is always a big difference between Plan and Reality in Life.

Ted Talk The Super Mario Effect

The key to Lifelong Learning and to Success in Life is to inculcate the mindset of Super Mario. To keep jumping and failing, learning and jumping again, and overcoming the levels of challenges to progress and live a meaningful life.

Mark Rober Ted Talk: The Super Mario Effect - Tricking Your Brain into Learning More.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vJRopau0g0

The Widening Generation Gap and Shrinking Learning Gap

AI generated image

The generation gap, a term coined to describe the cultural, ideological, and technological differences between different age groups, has been a perennial issue throughout human history.

However, in recent times, the generation gap has widened significantly due to the rapid pace of technological advancement, rapid socio-cultural changes, and differences in the educational systems.

The technology divide creates a significant barrier to communication and understanding between the generations.

Cultural norms, values, and societal structures are evolving faster than ever before. These changes are disorienting for older generations, leading to misunderstandings and conflicts with younger generations.

The education system has evolved over time, and how younger generations learn, access information, and interact with knowledge has changed, thus creating a disconnect between generations.

Ironically, in this widening generation gap in my mind, the learning gap between generations is shrinking. 

Let me try to make my case: Our (older) generation to keep up their survival in the existential crisis are engaging in Digital Literacy, learning about Technology, and Upskilling themselves to stay relevant in the Gig economy. The school and college-going younger generation are also learning these topics as part of their formal syllabus.

This thought came to my mind because a few days back I saw my 9th-grader son (Kanishk) preparing for a mid-term exam. The exam subject was Artificial Intelligence & Python Solutions and Employability Skills.

In my mid-40s I am also exploring courses on AI, ML, Data Science, and Employability and career enhancement skills and my teenage son is studying the same topics in his school.

When I was a school-going teenager, I am reasonably sure my father was not learning the same topics that I was at school. And now in just one generation, my son’s school topics and my L&D topics are the same. Quite an interesting time, we are living in.

That’s why I feel, our generation gap is widening while our learning gap is shrinking. What’s your opinion?