Why Exams are Ballyhooed

 ..and why they shouldn't be, is the full title of this piece.

The major reason is that they don't give the full picture. It's a small part of what a student or applicant is. The other problem with exams are that they often become a game rather than a real test of knowledge, application or skill. The written exam as it is done in the education system is, more often than not, a test of how well you play the exam game-hence the undue importance of coaching classes. They can cook up the menu to order, and train you to crack any exam on earth, provided there's a pattern to the exam.

The purpose of an examination may not just be to test your regurgitation skills, but maybe also to test how you can think about a problem, or even state what is the problem. Too much emphasis on solving a given problem begs the question- is it the right problem, in the first place? A good example may be chasing GDP growth without looking at the Human Development Index, in national terms. You may achieve one at the cost of the other, so teaching tradeoffs or thinking about these in an exam may be important.

Life is multidimensional, and exams should also reflect that..a score alone cannot define a person, who may have talents that are not measured by it. Sometimes a narrow skill is required which an exam may test for a particular job, but in most cases, we need a broad set of thinking skills that can be applied in multiple ways. That, most exams fail to test. Maybe it's time to relook at it, pandemic or no pandemic...

Trip to an MBA Class

 I mean my MBA class, as a student. That would be late 1982. The subject was Organizational Behaviour. I recently found some notes-cyclostyled (you may not know what that is, but it was a primitive form of copying or Xeroxing. They involved some readings, an exam description, a definition, and an analysis of my personality. Here they are. Most are self-explanatory-

This set of courses- 3 of them, including one elective, were some of the best I had at IIMB and the others were not bad either! Only a couple I slept through. But O.B. really opened my eyes, helped me understand myself and others a lot better, and I think may have contributed to whatever little success I have had at managing people in various positions of academic leadership I have held in my 40 years since! That's a lot of contribution, but of course it was the foundation for other learning over the years. This is probably the most important subject in an MBA program, if taught by experts.

Car Colour and Personality

I am on the cusp of a breakthrough theory- that car colour is related to the personality of the guy/gal who chose that colour. Check this out-

Dark colours - these guys have dark secrets to them. Tough to unravel.

White- Apparently the most popular colour for a car in India- naive, transparent, find it difficult to hide their feelings, and can get into trouble in a world that prizes diplomacy.

Golden- Have a heart of gold, more valuable than the metal.

Silver- not quite there (Golden), but getting there. Some more effort needed.

Red- impatient, inclined to speeding, paying higher insurance premium (according to American insurance company data).

Blue- They are the people who will take on your blues, or give you the blues. Depends on the season.

Yellow- don't tell me there are guys with yellow cars! Eeeeks..