Anatomy of Learning - Part III

In the earlier blogs, we looked at the principle of observation and reflection. This brings us to the Part III, which deals with introspection and aspects of introspection that aids problem solving.

The Principle of Introspection

 
We commenced our journey with a series of observations. Based on the data we gathered through the process of observations, we reflected and arrived at a representation of the acquired knowledge that aided problem solving. Once, we arrive at the representation, we need to focus our energies on Introspecting on the value proposition in the solution space. Is this important enough for me to go and nail it to finish? Is this something that I deeply care about? This step is critical because of a few good reasons. This requires us to have understanding of a related concept of motivation and volition. A person is motivated to do something because he sees the reward for doing it. The carrot becomes as much the ‘energy center’ in this paradigm as the impact of the solution. Volition is a state where the energy center is within us. Our core beliefs and sense of purpose drives us. Great leaders have led revolutions from the front without looking for a carrot. They are driven by their inner being or by a call within. Willpower is the overwhelming action based force field that can drive a person with a sense of deep allegiance to a goal state of problem category.

Let us consider an example. While dealing with resources of varied capabilities, we come across people who, in our opinion' are not 'up to the job on hand'. A feedback session to communicate your assessment backed with all the observations made, data gathered will not lead us to the solution. In face of negative feedback, no matter how much data driven it is, people do tend to get into an enclosed space and withdraw themselves away from purposeful action. Introspection leads the supervisor to ask the fundamental question - What is the desired outcome of this session? How do I get to the desired state? How can I navigate from the current position to the goal state with my report on the drivers seat? These questions lead us to an alternate feedback script that can motivate the handicapped 'team mate' into purposeful action taking.
 

Issues in Introspection

A life skill we need, relates to the practice of balanced and purposeful introspection. Any imbalance typically leads to self-flagellation - "I am the cause of all bad things." syndrome, or in several cases to externalization of issues, and therefore holding the environment accountable for all problems. In either case, after several hours of analysis, we come to state of paralysis simply because of the imbalance in the analysis and lack of focus on purposeful analysis. The phrase "analysis paralysis" deals with folks attempting to gather all the data in the world with which a set of all possible conclusions can be made. Then problem solving process takes the shape of acrimonious debates and oftentimes, to a loss of positive energy. A few of the related questions that arise include -

    • Lack of Confidence – Will my voice be heard?
    • Lack of Self Esteem – Will I be accepted?
    • Lack of Accountability – Should I stand up for something?
    • Learned Helplessness – The belief that any effort is hopeless and that it will hit the wall
 

Conclusion

If "unbiased" was the desired prefix for Observation, then "Clarity" is the defining yardstick for quality of reflection. The third stage of the learning process deals with purposeful and balanced introspection - which retains the focus and positive energy - centered on the solutions space that can galvanize the course of actions.

An Indian Fantasy

The law has all the power,
yet I see its impotence
The police has THE job,
yet I see its indifference

I see their limitations
The courts which have a duty
Ensure that adjournments delay
Delivery of justice with impunity

The victims on the street
Face a docile cask,
In fact a billion of them,
join the chorus and ask

For 60 long years we have believed
For 60 long years we were deceived

So, may we take law in our hands
To see if we can make a difference

The logic being
It cannot be any worse than what it is today
The hope being
It could just be the start we need some day

Is cynicism a virtue?

The English News TV Media in India - NDTV, Headlines Today, Time Now and IBN Live is filled with cynicism in the name of debates, shrill notes, screams and rude interjections. These have filled news hours and prime time TV. That brings me to the question "Is cynicism a virtue”. Is this the basis of the TRP system? Don't stalwarts like Dr. Roy see through this rubbish - these loud debates and skewed presentations with a sole aim for managing and manipulating TRP - even if this means that it is steering the public opinion towards a bitter and hopeless society. Why do these gentlemen look absolutely helpless in this rat race? Is this the real heart of journalism and its core purpose at work?

Let's consider these questions and check if all hope is lost. Or as leading anchors of the Indian Elite TV primetime news network world point out - "all hope must be lost". Have a good meal and fill yourself with sarcasm and cynicism we throw at you and that is your Calmpose / Valium for a pleasant sleep and good digestion.

In an earlier blog, I had used a simple premise on which my argument is based upon.

Given that all political parties and players have serious aberrations, weaknesses in their resumes, it is easy for us to have an endless charade where one side simply points to the flaw or an error in judgment in the past from the other side, as the reason for justifying their current stance.

For example, “Why did we bring down the masjid?” “Well, remember 1984 Sikh riot – what’s your stance” - is no way to make progress in any discussion in civil society. There must be a basic acknowledgement that all side have made serious mistakes in the past. “An eye for an eye is not a good response. Think of something better” – must be the defining principle that must emerge in TV debates. That will take us to the next step - the real question - where do we start today? How do we make a start? What are the choices?

Take the Newhour debate on TimesNow on China. It leads us to a serious headache instead of distilling the essence of the problem at hand. Re-running the same clip over a 1000 times only leads to rote learning, my friends and not to any serious analysis. In sharp contrast, I came across a piece by Shekhar Gupta http://www.indianexpress.com/news/our-chinese-wall/516211/ that deals with the same issue. It is more incisive than anything that we hear on the TV channels. I am sure you will agree that both these are examples of journalism. When I speak of a civil discourse, I am not seeking a meek, spineless, pro-government mindset. I am seeking a clarity of thought and expression that transcends the temptation to be loud and TRP focused; just be balanced and layout the options in the solution space. I am certain that this can be done in the nightly-debates that seem to the TRP battlegrounds.

TV Producers must hire better content creators and not allow loud-mouthed news anchors to get away with screams and shouts. Recently on TimesNow, there was interesting line - "we need to take a quick break to break into the breaking news that breaking right now". What on earth is this? Then, we have endless "we told you first", "we were the first" bore from CNN IBNLive.

My Math teacher once told me, being first to finish, just means speed. Being accurate and complete is an equally important metric in Math. If you finished 100 problems in 3 minutes means nothing, if you got 99 of them wrong. Speed and accuracy goes hand in hand in Math. There must be some similar balance in journalism as well. I am no expert, but I am sure there are intelligent folks in that domain to think of such balancing metrics.

What we need is balance in everything we do. Are there examples of good journalism? IMHO, all is not lost. I see several good examples. We do have Nidhi's "Left, Right and Center”, which allows the invitees to speak their minds. TimesNow needs to emulate this virtue. They must stop taking a break and shout down your participants in the name of interjections. Listening skills require attention. Even the Last call is a good example of something I look forward. The anchor, Sonia Singh, actually smiles. You would think I have gone bonkers. Check out the anchors - but for Sonia, Suhasini, Anubha and Nidhi, I have rarely seen any others even attempting to smile. Most people have a grim expression on their face. “Sonia Gandhi is flying Economy Class” does not deserve a “Nation is mourning” expression. Smile :-) It improves TRPs :-)

TimeNow needs another program that is moderated both in terms of sound and content. The current every night debate is simply bad press, bad journalism. Period. No one but Arnab gets to speak, even if they have another anchor on the program. It's a pathetic sight to see Rahul nodding his head with an expression - "I could have said the same thing in a much better way".

I don't have words to express my disappointment with CNN IBNLive. There used to be good programs in the past. FTN needs a make over. Sagarika writes outstanding blogs. I just love them. Why does she not bring out her creative magic in FTN? Her suggestion on an elite Indian Teachers Service was the biggest idea. She and her viewers can present a solid proposal to Mr. Sibal if we can debate on ways to make this happen and present a balanced view - pros and cons included. In business plan parlance, this is called SWOT analysis - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as a matrix. Would this not be a wonderful contribution?

Rajdeep was awesome when he anchored NDTV's Bigfight. Where did that talent go? He did not have to recite - we were the first - when he was at NDTV. Does he have data to demonstrate that chest beating is the sole reason for his channel’s viewership? CNN in US was always behind Fox News in US presidential election predictions and making a call based on trends. But, CNN is not quite shrill and chest beating news channel. Can he re-engineer and re-package his channel in favor for better clarity and differentiated content?

Come on, folks! You all can do much better. Let’s be incisive but balanced. Let us be solution centric and not sarcasm centric. Lets err on the side of hope instead. The power that you wield can be put to good use to mould public opinion, to discuss and debate ways of making our land much better governed.

Like the Hindustan Times ad says - Its time for better journalism. It is time for us to change the content and presentation.

Debating the quality of Justice

Yesterday, I watched "The buck stops here" on NDTV, anchored by Barkha Dutt. She discussed Jon's verdict and if it was OK or excessive. My opinion is simply this. Rape is a despicable act. Acts involving minors cannot be pardoned. The sentence must be as harsh as possible to act as a deterrent. That is how I started thinking about deterrence and what it means to me. My mind wandered into a spaghetti of vague recollections about the appropriateness of capital punishment or whether it is necessary or not.

Being an engineer by profession and thought, I do tend to rely on hard evidence and trends in the data. So...

Is there anything called absolute truth in the context of criminal jurisprudence. My feeling is that there is none. Justice delivered is simply the vector product of all the evidences produced, arguments placed before the bench and logical conclusions that can be drawn 'beyond a shade of reasonable doubt' and well into a zone of 'certainty'. In fact, several cases are judged based on 'the most likely cause' in face of the circumstantial evidence provided before the bench. Therefore, more than the absolute truth, the process of judgment to my mind deals with the most probable cause - not by chance, but by evidence. Not based on whims and fancies of folks, but based on sound legal arguments and logical reasoning.

From the point of programming paradigm, we come across this methodology in the field of expert systems / artificial intelligence. This falls under the science of mathematical reasoning, predicate calculus and bit of fuzzy logic. Each predicate having a confidence factor associated with it and a conclusion is simply what the inference engine can come to with an associated confidence factor. A confidence factor of 1 means absolute truth and 0 means absolutely false. What falls in between are various shades of grey. By very nature of this process, it is clear there is a finite room for everyone who loses a court case, to opine that justice has not been done. This is not just because we are human beings and we are inclined to believe that our near and dear are flawless; but the very nature of the process that leads us to justice.

Does this mean everyone who has been pronounced guilty is actually innocent ? Should be throw away the justice system completely ? No. Not at all. My argument is just the opposite. The purpose of a justice system is to provide a fair trial, look at the data and arrive at a conclusion. This conclusion is nothing but the judgment the court arrives at. there is little value in debating if this is 'really true' or 'excessive'. The judgment sets the benchmark on what it thinks is appropriate for the case under consideration. If "guilty" really feel aggrieved, they need to go to a higher court and seek a re-trial. There is no real purpose served by debating if judgments are wrong, unjust or biased. Yes, judgments are biased towards the conclusions that be drawn based on evidence. There is no such thing as an unbiased judgment. The term 'bias' is not bad at all. Let us try proving the Pythogoras theorem if our assumptions were not biased to accepting a right angle is 90-degress or that a triangle has 3 sides. If the assumptions / evidence presented are blatantly wrong, then I am certain that there are enough checks and balances in every democratic society to debate and demand a fair consideration.

We live in a nation where 26/11 trial is proceeding ever so slowly, although the public opinion [in my circle of observation] believes that this is a case that needs no trial. We have a set of human rights activists that believe that capital punishment even for 26/11 perpetrators is excessive. These are opinions. At the end of the day, it is the call of judiciary to decide what is appropriate and what is not excessive. To me, things are really as simple as that.

Finally to the issue of deterrence. Does a "59 years in jail" verdict really stop people from messing with minors ? It is not easy to answer this question, without a careful consideration of the 3 critical dimensions.

First, if you plot the level of crimes committed by people, I think it will show a normal distribution. To the left of the curve, we have people that are absolutely sin free and to the extreme right, we have people who are downright hideous. What a verdict like this does is to help move the distribution to the left. If the judgment succeeds in bringing about this change in distribution, I believe that it has provided the desired deterrence. It does not mean that there are no one in the right side of the distribution, it just means that the number of people will become progressive lesser. This is the purpose of the any process involved in delivering justice.

Second, when does this not work at all? If sections of the society believe that they are 'famous' enough to influence the process of justice, then we will come across cases of willful suspension of fear in the letter of the law. Even if you are not famous enough, if you are convinced that you can get by, the principle of deterrence fall flat on its face. If I am convinced that I can get by without a valid driver's license by paying the traffic police a paltry sum of 20 rupees, then red light at the crossing and the traffic policemen are no longer providing the required level of deterrence and force to ensure that people comply with traffic laws. In Dallas, Texas, every time I heard the police siren, my hands froze and body shivered. The sight of a cop giving a ticket to a stranger was enough to push me into a state of compliance. I was sure I could not dare to offer a 10 dollar bill to the cop and say 'adjust maadi'.

Finally, if we need to have a sense of certainty that if the police man or the society takes me to the court of law, the justice will be delivered in a timely fashion. In our country, I am sorry to say, that we are far away from it. The average perception is that court cases typically don't end, unless it is a foreigner who is molested. This certainty of courts not deciding cases in a timely manner - dilutes the confidence of the people in the level of deterrence that an effective and efficient judicial process can deliver.

Therefore, it's not the capital punishment. Its not even the law. Its the commitment of the law enforcement agencies - local police, CBI and judiciary to shore up public confidence that they can bring about a purposeful change in the perception. Not through sloganeering. But through purposeful action taking. We must know, we are being watched. And if we care caught, we will be punished. This certainty in itself can bring about a sea change in our behaviors.

Until, then it will be fashionable for us to call US to be racially biased. And wonder why we cannot deliver justice to our rape victims.

Homeschooling: An Alternative Education Paradigm for India

Homeschooling exists in US and other countries. The parents can get study materials, teaching aids and testing instruments from the local school district or an accredited institution. The parents figure out a way to systematically educate their children at home. Recent research suggests that there is no single profile that can define a typical homeschooling parent. The mix includes folks with different educational backgrounds and qualifications or / and different educational philosophies. Some of them are from families who have always home schooled, or parents working together as a community in order to deliver quality education to their children. Sometimes, these teams are bound by common religious denominations or orientations.

People prefer homeschooling for several reasons. There are growing concerns about the school environment [ what habits / traits are picked up at an impressionable age? ]. Then there is the ubiquitous issue of dissatisfaction with the quality and nature of instruction. Even in our country, it may be important for us to point out that paying a higher fee does not translate to better qualit of education. It just means that children get better schools uniforms, shoes, school buses and perhaps lunch [debatable?]. In these cases, there are examples in the west, where folks have opted for home schooling.

Folks with strong religious orientation, have desired to ensure that moral / scriptures related instruction be coupled with standard education. Schools - by and large - are secular by tradition and do have significant tolerance to religious viewpoints. Therefore, there is a tendency for schools to stay away from having religion as a subject of study. Therefore, from a standpoint of religious orthodoxy, where morality and character building are intimately coupled with religious study, home schooling ends up providing a sound alternative for for doing what the Education System wants in addition to addressing topics of personal choice.

Finally, children that require special attention - like kids with mental health issues, autism, ADHD and so on - have had to rely on home schooling or an alternative system of education to meet the requirements. Children with other challenges and disabilities have relied on such alternatives.

The Call to Action

The government must provide this as an alternative to Indian parents by supporting them with instructional aids, study materials and test instruments. This lacuna in our educational sphere needs to be addressed. The ability of picking up a methodology that suits a parent / home would be added bonus. One such metjodology can simply repliacte the schooling rigor by maintaining hours and activities to be performed on a daily or weekly basis. On the other extreme, we can completely work off the the unschooling paradigm which proposes that we leave the child alone until he is ready to learn. In corporate world, this is also referred to as flexi timings. The student picks up the time and sbject of his choice to go and focus upon.

Methodologies for homeschooling range from using set activities and keeping flexible school hours to a laid-back approach known as "un-schooling." Un-schooling is based on the notion that children learn best when they are ready; the student decides school hours, subject matter, learning methods and content material. Parents considering homeschooling can research different models and choose the one that best suits their child.

Is this really new for us?

Not really. Carpenters allow [or even actively encourage] their children to pick up carpentry using 'on the job' training. Several children outside of the mainstream schooling system learn vocational skills by observing and practicing under pressure to earn a living. If you steer clear out of the ethics of child labor for a moment, we can quickly see that in some sense these kids are home schooled in vocational skills.

This requires a good nation wide debate. IMHO, we should not summarily dismiss any paradigm of schooling or education. There is no silver bullet. It may be a mistake if we decided to search for that one elusive size that will fit all. We are looking at 335M students in India. The right to education can only come alive if the education system is tweaked to provide for each of the subtle variations in schooling paradigms while providing adequate support to ensure that the intent of learning and education is met.

We need to look "out of the box" and consider a wide variety of alternative paradigms and platforms, if we are really serious about RTE and ensure that it comes alive in letter and spirit? X Class exams and point system re-engineering can happen in parallel - but these are hardly the core issues in the challenges we will face when we look at Right to Education holistically. Our Children deserve this. They want us to Act. Now.

Stop Whining ! - Part 1

Introduction

We face stress in our everyday life. Some of it is simply physical - like when we are carry a backpack during trekking or simply running from from one chore to another. We feel drained and sapped. This is something to do with our physical stress and lack of stamina. The mental stress is more subtle. In face of constant obstacles and uphill tasks that we carry out. Sometimes, we lose heart. There are other times when we want to do something exceptional to prove a point and all we have see is a set of mistakes that we keep making, leading to increased levels of frustration. This oftentimes manifests itself in the form of uncontrolled anger. There are other times when we are emotionally drained and we are unable to push ourselves any further. We can see sportspersons choking in the final stages of the game, when they ought to have actually raised their game to their next level. So, what we refer to as stress, manifests itself in several ways.

In our corporate life, we can think of similar situations during the product development process, in face of stiff deadlines and demanding customers, different professionals respond differently to everyday stress. Some fall sick, others feel depressed and a few other break down. Management books places the blame squarely on the leader. Yes, leaders are accountable.

Well, the purpose of this piece is not to involve myself in a leadership bashing. I am trying to address a facet that is often times lost in the grind of everyday life. This facet asks an important question - "What can we do as an individual do to manage this ourselves ? Are there techniques and aspects of this issue that we need to aware of ?"

Is stress universal ?

It appears so. Everytime, I watch Wimbledon, I can sense the pressure that players are under. They have to perform to their potential day after day, match after match. The stress - physical, emotional and mental must be immense. People reputations and careers are often times are stake. You can see it in their eyes and you can sense it coming through your TV screens. How are Tiger Woods and Roger Federer able to come back to their sports arena and reproduce their class act so often ? What can employees of Corporate World learn from these examples ? To dismiss these as exceptions and something that is not applicable to us is simply wrong.

What will it take for normal folks to build a psyche similar to what Adidas campaigned for during the Athens Olympics - "Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in a world they have been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing." People that live by such a principle must wake up every morning, must deal with their failures of yesterday, learn from them and shrug off the memories; and walk ahead with a spring in their step to meet the challenges of today and plan for their tomorrows.

The key question that we are asking can be summarized in one simple sentence. Can a person perform to his or her fullest potential regardless of the circumstances ? Given our natural disposition to look at our environment or external causes for our failure or inability to do something or achieve our goals, this paradigm of 'attempting to perform regardless of circumstances seems to be a tall order. But be assured that there are ways and means of accomplishing this and inculcating this as a habit.

Begin from the beginning

We are born with talent. In some sense, talent denotes our inherent ability to be good at something. For example, "The boy is exceptionally talented in Music", always conjures an imagery of a person who is born with a latent ability to be exceptional in some specific field. When we say a person is exceptionally skilled at doing something, we are talking about a few related things. The person has an interest in that area. He has undergone some level of training. He has practiced this over and over again. He is very good at it because of his experience - which is a product of his interest, training, practice and consistently high quality of execution. However, when we say "He is tough" - typically we think of a cold, ruthless, uncaring, hard and inflexible person. Nothing is farther from truth. Toughness is an acquired skill, therefore you can be trained to become tough. In fact, toughness, as we will define, is similar to state an violinist experiences during a concert. Time stops and expands. He is in a zone. He is so focused and engrossed in what he is doing and enjoying the state of excellence that this takes him to, he simply has no sense of external stimulus. If have run a marathon, you would experience this as "RUNNERS HIGH'. Its a state where you body, mind and soul come together work purposefully in tandem and produce exceptional result. It is the state that produces the highest levels of performance. One's emotional state is described by words like - confident, relaxed, calm, focused, alert, instinctive, filled with joy, bliss, nirvana and so on. Your adrenalin pumps and you have a sense of arousal that drives you towards a zone of positive energy like confidence, determination, persistence and fun. Compare this with a bout of frustration, where you are filled with fatigue, helplessness, insecurity, weakness, fear, confusion, low energy, cynicism, sarcasm, temper and rage. Each one of the phrases that describe a state of how one experiences energy - be it positive or negative. Fear makes you go into the shell and hide from something. Confidence and determination pushes you to face a challenge. Rage and Anger moves you away from positive engagement, while fun, bliss and enjoyment pushes you towards purposeful action and positive engagement. It reminds me of force field analysis that we encounter in QC Tools workshop.

Some emotions are empowering and free your talent and skill; other emotions are disempowering and effectively lock your potential out. Empowering emotions are those associated with challenge, drive, confidence, determination, positive fight, energy, spirit, persistence, and fun. Disempowering emotions are those associated with feelings of fatigue, helplessness, insecurity, low energy, weakness, fear, and confusion. The reason emotion is so important is its connection to arousal. Emotions are biochemical events in the brain that can lead to a cascade of powerful changes in the body. It basically determines your ideal and optimal performance zone. Fear moves you away from the problem, confidence brings you closer to the solution; temper and rage move you away from engagement, fun and enjoyment bring you back to purposeful action taking. In the 7 QC tools, this is called force-field analysis. One set of stimulus pushes you away from the center while the other set draws you towards it.

Therefore, we can experience toughness as a state that produces a consistent stream of positive and empowering emotion - that ensures physical, mental and emotional balance and control.

Summary

This was an introduction to the subject. We looked at various aspects of performance and scanned the dictionary for words and phrases that describe action orientation or lack of it. In summary, the call to action is to never get engulfed in negative thoughts and emotions. Never keep suggesting to yourself that you are not good enough to do something. You are a product of what you believe you are. Your success is a function of what you do and how well you do as opposed to your DNA or genetics. We will continue to dabble in this "toughness waters" and explore the ocean of positive force field that produces a purposeful call to action.

Until then ... So long and good bye .. and thanks for all the fish :-)