Tag: Mathematics

Knowing yourself better

shibaprasadbLeave a comment

Recently I came across a video where one IIT professor was reacting to his student’s video. In that video, the student said that he took Mechanical Engineering just because he was good in Maths and Physics, and at the same time he was also advocating why Software or any IT job might be a better option for an average student. I had a spontaneous smirk when he said that thing about Maths and Physics. This was the reason for me for taking Mechanical as well. Nowadays, whenever anyone asks me what is that one mistake that I would like to correct, I always say I would undo this one.

I used to enjoy studying a lot. Back in 10+2, solving Math problems were like a second hobby for me, after, obviously, watching football matches. But college life changed everything. A thing of pleasure started feeling like a huge burden. My college routine piled up more misery on top of that. And things at times seemed unbearable.

Except for a few topics like Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, etc. (which were ‘Math heavy’), I hardly enjoyed any subject. Then I came to know about Operations Research (OR) in my 4th year. That subject was a kind of revelation for me. Whenever I used to do Math, I would have one question in my mind: How can this be directly applied to real-life problems? OR kind of made me realize on a large scale how we can use Mathematics for that.

Looking back at my college life and those ‘sad boi’ hours, I kind of feel contented that I went through this. You know there is a pattern in sitcoms where they will introduce a side character to bring together the main couple of the show (Karen in The Office, Kelly in Superstore, etc.). My college life kinda did that for me. I realized what I should be doing. Where I am good at. I stopped pursuing MS in Mechanical Engineering and instead focused on doing something related to Math or Data. Data, numbers, stats have been something that always made sense to me. And then I decided to do my Master’s in OR. Now I use OR techniques on a daily basis to make a positive impact for my organization.

Apart from a long retrospection on a lazy Saturday afternoon, there is another reason for writing this blog post. It irks me whenever any of my juniors ask me whether he/she should switch to Data Science to start earning more. If your intention to switch is just to earn more, then best of luck! After some hardships, I understood that I would rather fail in doing something I like. And I feel, for everyone, it is important to find that ‘something’. When you are not employed or associated with any institution, it is important to introspect. The focus should be on knowing yourself better, not mindlessly running after every job opportunity that is available. Otherwise, those ‘sad boi’ hours in life will just be prolonged.

Equations of life

shibaprasadb2 Comments

Few days back Prof. Bijan Sarkar (Yes! the same professor from “Opportunity”) said a thought provoking thing: “f(Knowledge)= Package”

It seems pretty random (no pun intended)? Isn’t it? Let me explain. One of the students of Dr. Sarkar asked him about the placement package of a department. And in reply Professor said that “Package is the function of Knowledge” Now it makes sense, doesn’t it?

Anyways, coming back to the so called ‘equation’. The math nerd in me couldn’t help but shed some light on it further. And what I found was pretty intriguing.

In mathematics we know, y= f(x)= [some equation which relates x to f(x)]. Now there are different type of equations. Logarithmic, exponential, linear and what not. So, if Professor Sarkar’s equation to hold true, f(k) ( calling knowledge as k) should have a right hand side too. Isn’t it?

It actually has that! So what is the RHS part here? It is actually not constant. For someone, it is linear, for someone it is quadratic, for someone it is even exponential. Confused? Let me explain. We all study to gather knowledge. To have a better understanding of everything. But same studying hours or studying the same elements result in different outputs. How so? Because of the “function”. For some of us, the function is linear, for some it is polynomial or even exponential. So even if two people are studying the same thing, it results in gathering different knowledge, different perspectives, and hence different packages. Now, if a person who has a linear function wants to match the output of one having an exponential function, so what should he/she do? Simple! he/she should increase the input value. Which in this case is focus time, concentration, etc.

To put in the language of mathematics, for someone it is f(k)= e^k+c and for someone else, it is probably f(k)= logk +c or ak+c. Hold on what is this +c? Am I doing some integration that I have added a +c? No! Not really. +c is the constants in our life. Like, the family support, the financial support from parents, the mental support and companionship of a friend or a beloved. And it can have both positive and negative values. Sometimes these things in life act as positive reinforcement, and sometimes as a hindrance. Just like in a mathematical equation, the constant is added or subtracted.

Further, I believe there are numerous equations like these that govern our life. One for career, one for family, one for conjugal relationships, etc. As I finish up this post and hit the publish button, I don’t even know whether I make some sense or not. But this is something I have thought a lot and I think this is very interesting.