Space Research vs Helping the Needy

About an year ago, i had attended this general discussion held by SEDS-VIT (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space or call it the Space Club !!). It was a seminar on how the spacecrafts are launched and what all components go into it. But at the end of the seminar there was a discussion, which is the subject of my post.

The discussion was on the fact that given the poverty, suffering and inhuman standards of living suffered by poeople in so many countries, does it make sense in spending billions and billions of dollars on space research and technology.Isnt it better that, that money be used to feed poor, deprived people of underdeveloped countries and to help them develop ?

Does it make sense ? Ponder .

I think it does not make sense. What is the point in carrying out experiments which we donot even know will yeild anything fruitfull ? and the worst part being that you spend huge amounts of money on it. Money that can bring a smile on many a childs face in somalia or some other backward economy.
I think you should always do things that will satisfy the lot and lead to the greater good. Obviously in this case, the greater good lies in the fact that the money put into space research be diverted towards the development of backward countries. After all, to the average guy how does it matter what NASA is doing ? I think he would be more happy knowing he( his taxes) helped feed dying babies or helped a child get educated, rather than that his money was involved in some complex project of which he cant figure the head or tail and is not sure if its of any use.

Then there is this other train of thought which says, if we never explored new things, never invested on innovation and inquesitiveness, then would columbus ever have landed on the americas or would edison invented the electric bulb ?
This train of thought makes you dream of life in mars, or a holiday in space. It shows how the money going into NASA(or any other space research ageny) is causing so many innovatiove new machines and mechanisms to come out.How solar power and nuclear power are the future.How nanotechnology is going to change the world.Many other such amazing things.

well then it remains upto the individual to decide whether the investment in research would be more frutiful or whether he would rather use the money to satisfy the less fortunate lot around him.
I think, a proper balance between the both should be the perfect way to go about it.
Though it doesnt seem to be the case now. The governments (of the developing, slightly developing and developed countries) are all more tilted towards the reseach cause(for their own selfish reasons) than the humanitarian cause.

Is this attitude is good for the future ?? we'l just have to wait and watch ..!!

people laugh at me coz i am different ..
i laugh at them , coz they are all the same ..
thats 'attitude' ..
and i live it !

Young Indian Engineers

Amateur Blogger is back :) ..

Don't see myself getting anywhere in the blog scenario.
I just don't have an idea what to talk about.
As if that isn't bad enough ,i keep looking at these blogs which have really hi-fi, over my head stuff. How do these people get such ideas.Man i feel like the least creative person on the planet ,as far as writing goes.
One thing I think that has a big say in how and what you write is , 'how much you read'. I don't. Very rarely. Just don't have the patience and passion needed for reading. Regret it though, 'not being able to read', that is.

Now moving on to my topic ( fortunately, I have something in mind this time around).
As I see it, the average Indian graduate is a person looking to make as much money as possible, keep parents happy, secure the future for him/herself and family.
Make money eh. Two ways. Go Abroad or Do an MBA.

1)Going abroad is a piece of cake. Got the cash ? Write GRE. Anyone in his/her right mind and with decent preparation should get 1200+ .VISA is the only problem.But once that is done, fly. Man its simple.
Struggle and learn how to make electricity at home .Go light the neighbours house.

2)Agreed, MBA in a decent college is tougher than an MS abroad. But with the number of MBA colleges springing up, getting a seat is still no big deal.

So is that all to life ?
Get a high-fi degree , a high-fi job in an MNC to suit your education (so they say. its only that the US dollar = 40 odd bucks , thats making your pockets richer. you are stil cheap labour to them) and fill your pockets. Suddenly after that your average 'Middle Class Guy till recenlty' starts having pizza at pizza hut every second day, splurges on designer wear, has a centralized AC at home, starts pubbing and spending more money every month than he would have spent in an year , a few years back.

Huh. Arent we loosing it here? Are their no ideals ? Are their no goals ?
Isnt there anybody who has a vision for this great country of ours ?
Noone ever wants to make small simple innovative things to improve our daily life ?
what happened to progress, innovation, charity, helping the country grow?
Does anybody in thus country even dream of doing something to change the world ?

A look at most of the young Indian Engineers at college and you can see it all.
They are only bothered about tomorrows assignment, next weeks test , final exam and getting marks.
After they get the job they'l be bothered about tomorrows office work, next months power bill and how to get the income tax waived.
Bloody Hell.

Where is the research you need to be doing at this ripe age ? Where is the zeal to excel ?
Does any want to make the fastest car in the world here ?
Is anyone thinking of improving wireless network protocols ?
how about the next biological breakthrough ?
Is anyone looking at getting roads , power and education to every corner of india ?
Does anyone know how many people in this country are still below the poverty line ?

Why does the average Indian Engineer still does not have it in him to (try, atleast) be of signficance and make a difference ?

people laugh at me coz i am different ..
i laugh at them , coz they are all the same ..
thats 'attitude' ..
and i live it !

They think my college sucks !!!

just read a blog which ridicules my university, VIT , Vellore institute of technology ..
http://rmshark.blogspot.com/2008/06/visit-to-vit.html


was just wondering at the audacity people can have to go about writing stuff about an institute of international repute .. did the guy want publicity ?
may be , he did !!
may be he wanted to defame my institute more than he wanted publicity ..

In fact , the reason for the outrage is , i think , not the fact that my institute has been rated better , not that the rating system is flawed , but the fact that his institute has been put down and shamed by not being in the top 10 , the dude's inflated ego couldn't quite comprehend with that fact ..


whatever said and done , the way undergraduate education is done in India , and from what i have heard , the world over , the institute contributes only 20% or even less to what an individual turns out to be in life .. its all up to the individual .. then i see no point in rating institutions and having pointless controversies ..
true talent will go no where .. it will surface at some point surely ..
only a matter of time ..

hmmm .. end !!
random blogger :)


people laugh at me coz i am different ..
i laugh at them , coz they are all the same ..
thats 'attitude' ..
and i live it !

Random stuff .. Indian Educational System !!

first blog ..

mine ..

have you ever thought of a random person writing a random blog ..

if you haven't , well , this is how it would look .. i guess ..



well , firstly , why do people blog ? i mean i don't really get the concept of blogging ..

i guess lonely people do it for some solace .. a hope may be .. a forum to express themselves ..

stars do it because the websites pay them .. and its good publicity ..

and others, just like that because everyone else is blogging ??? may be ..



my purpose though , is simple .. i found my vocab/english/whatever going really bad ..

needed some place to write .. something .. anything ..

so .. blog !!



and as i think of it , i have managed some random shit in this post of mine ..

dunno what i will do in the following ones .. i mean , what will i talk about ..????



lets see .. any day theres a substantial cricket/soccer match , I'll have loads to say ..

may be some politics .. Indian educational system .. boy would like to take a blast at that .. may be some innovative ideas (i totally doubt their practicality though) from yours truly sometime .. otherwise .. more random shit ..



hmm .. i hate the educational system i am in .. have been subjected to this bull shit all my life ..

u go to school/college/university .. people teach random stuff ( most don't know what they are teaching/lecturing .. they only read it a day before , because they needed to deliver a lecture the next day .. some of them are good though .. very rare) .. they have no passion for their job ; teaching .. none whatsoever ..

then theres an exam at the end of the semester/term to test who can remember/retain/rut the maximum .. bull shit .. seriously ..

why cant there be more debates .. more labs .. more discussions on topics .. more innovation promoted among students .. why not text books to provoke the child's mind .. better judgment criteria ..??



Actually , the worst thing is , in India middle class parents (which is say 85%) want an engineer/doctor child .. no compromise

what happened to the athletes, cooks, chartered accountants, lawyers, designers, artists, hoteliers, musicians ??
Are they not people .. don't they have a life ..??

i mean why the hell do you want your child to study, when he/she has no intentions of doing so ..??

why cant you realize that he/she is much better at some other thing and help nurture that talent in the child rather than force your expectations and wishes on them ..

you only want your child to have heavy pockets when they grow up ..

what about work satisfaction ? peace of mind ? .. that happy feeling at the end of a day ??

only comes when you do , what you like ..
which unfortunately , the parents have forgotten ..

It is seriously a sad situation .. and isn't going to change anytime soon .. hope it does though



So much for my random post .. went from i dunno where to where ..!!

amateur blogger ... me :)



though it doesnt seem to be doing anything to my vocab , i will keep posting for a few days .. no harm done i guess .. that will be all for now ..




people laugh at me coz i am different ..
i laugh at them , coz they are all the same ..
thats 'attitude' ..
and i live it !!