Archis's Blog

I was just listening to the new revamped Superman Returns theme score. It’s great. The dude who made the theme songs for Indiana Jones and Star Wars is the same dude who made this theme song (accoding to some website).

So I dont think it’s much to ask for my own theme song. The “Archis Gore” theme music. Whenever I enter a room, people should imagine listening to inspirational theme music (and if I can arrange it actually hear it).

The real reason I want to win code4bill? Well, for a long time, I’ve been rather depressed that Indian-traddition proponents spend a lot of money on so many wrong things, but nobody has thought of making Mahabharat the way it was meant to be.

I mean look at other traditional people elsewhere. Look at the trouble they went through when making “The Ten Commandments” or “Ben-Hur”. I mean that’s real passion. Even if it takes more money, more efforts and more resources – tradition is a place where nobody should compromise. I’ve been trying to push this idea for a long time, and hopefully will get some funds to do the same.

Lets get George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and co. to make us a great Mahabharat movie. We need to spend money, we need to spend time, we need to spend our lives if we have to. But tradition must be preserved. And simply protesting on roads is not going to help. If we want our next generation to know what made Mahabharat or Ramayan so great, let’s show it to them – in the grandiose style of Star Wars (or even better – I’m taking SW only as a baseline). Let the world experience the philosophy, morals, principles, decisions, choices, characters and storylines of our great epics which go much beyond religious boundaries but are tales of morals and principles. Let’s show people what morals, ideals, principles this country was founded upon far before the idiotic petty religious infighting began.

But all this, after an “Archis Gore” theme song is made.

Well, I thought Microsoft deserves a good word from me for being so good to me. Let me sum up the experience to satisfy your restlessness with the phrase, “Microsoft is everything we imagined it to be from the outside, and even much more.”

It’s absolutely brilliant working here. We’ve got full freedom to do anything we want. We can attack the problem in our style. There’s no “standards”, or “specifications” or “guidelines”. We’re all given a problem and we have to solve it as best as we can. That’s it. Pure, core, problem solving. Just the way I had imagined the industry should be. Microsoft fullfils all my dreams. I dont think I’ll be leaving this place anytime soon unless they kick me out from their side.

And after a long time, I’m not thinking of my pay. Haven’t given it a single thought since I came here. I’m so happy being on campus that going to my room seems to be the bad thing (remember how you used to feel going to school daily?). They’re accomodating all of our eccentric and peculiar habits in stride. Many who know me will know how wierd I am. They dont seem to mind one bit. For the first time in my life, I dont feel like a social outcase. I’ve been feeling depressed and neglected for the last couple of years constantly since I was always a misfit. Microsoft doens’t mind at all!

I wish I could say more, but I really got to get some work done.

Well, I thought Microsoft deserves a good word from me for being so good to me. Let me sum up the experience to satisfy your restlessness with the phrase, “Microsoft is everything we imagined it to be from the outside, and even much more.”

It’s absolutely brilliant working here. We’ve got full freedom to do anything we want. We can attack the problem in our style. There’s no “standards”, or “specifications” or “guidelines”. We’re all given a problem and we have to solve it as best as we can. That’s it. Pure, core, problem solving. Just the way I had imagined the industry should be. Microsoft fullfils all my dreams. I dont think I’ll be leaving this place anytime soon unless they kick me out from their side.

And after a long time, I’m not thinking of my pay. Haven’t given it a single thought since I came here. I’m so happy being on campus that going to my room seems to be the bad thing (remember how you used to feel going to school daily?). They’re accomodating all of our eccentric and peculiar habits in stride. Many who know me will know how wierd I am. They dont seem to mind one bit. For the first time in my life, I dont feel like a social outcase. I’ve been feeling depressed and neglected for the last couple of years constantly since I was always a misfit. Microsoft doens’t mind at all!

I wish I could say more, but I really got to get some work done.

This is it. Exams over (well, not really, but I’m bunking what’s left of them). I’ll be joining Microsoft to compete in the final round of the Code4bill competition to try and become the one single champion who gets to work with Bill Gates’ team at Redmond. Wish me luck.

I have not slept in 50 hours now and hence am quite tired and unable to think clearly. Energy low. I think I’ve got a serious caffine overdose (I feel like puking right now), I cant seem to be able to eat anything. Will catch some sleep.

Keep reading……

This is it. Exams over (well, not really, but I’m bunking what’s left of them). I’ll be joining Microsoft to compete in the final round of the Code4bill competition to try and become the one single champion who gets to work with Bill Gates’ team at Redmond. Wish me luck.

I have not slept in 50 hours now and hence am quite tired and unable to think clearly. Energy low. I think I’ve got a serious caffine overdose (I feel like puking right now), I cant seem to be able to eat anything. Will catch some sleep.

Keep reading……

You know how I hate my mailbox having more than 10-15 mails per day (I know it’s a lot to ask, but that’s how I am). Since there seemed no end to the orkut scraps and mails on “where to go” and “what to do”, I finally took out the time to put together some advice and guidelines on how one may go about choosing their career path in their future. Of course, this is NOT by any chance even remotely reasonable advice, but it’s my advice and whatever I would have answered over mail, I’m answering here.

There have been many questions like “What if I dont get into so-and-so college? What will I do then?”. The first and foremost thing to understand is that life isn’t over. And you’re not alone in the struggle. There are many (3000+) students who’re going to pass BCS alongwith you and there’s always a way. The best way out is to talk to your teachers, college HODs, seniors, etc. and get a large perspective. Dont take a single person’s advice too seriously. Everyone is highly influenced by their own demons of the past.

The second thing to remember is to NEVER take desperate decisions. If you feel you’d be unhappy in a certain place, dont go there. Explore other options. But NEVER choose a path because all other options ran out. Remember to stay in control of your life, and dont let the world force you towards anything. Even if you choose the last option, remember to *choose* it and not go there as a compromise.

So do ask specific questions by mail only if you cant find an answer here. As with all my e-mails, this should be a long one, so hold on to your coffee mugs because this should be long, confusing, controversial and somewhat offensive to some.

If you do want to go to a college or a training institution, then below is an entry containing advice on that topic.

Remember that Engineering gained popularity only because government jobs required engineers. The same is true with many degrees nowadays (especially if you want to be in the industry). The industry wants good people, not dogs with certifications of “vaccinated against rabies” around their necks. I dont mean to disgrace degree-holders in any way here (being one myself), but for those who’re worried they wont get admission in MCS, remember that MCS is just a dog-tag. The key point to remember is that a good person from MCS will be selected and a bad one rejected – just as any non-MCS person would be.

So let’s consider your options:

1.  MCS (or M.Sc. Computer Science): This would be a natural choice since it’s a direct successor to the B.Sc. (C.S.) degree. It builds upon what you’ve learnt in BCS so is a more streamlined course (although a much more boring one).

If you’re planning to go into research, this is a safe choice. Since it gives you better credentials (BSc+MSc combination is well-known), it is easily understood by universities all over the world.

Plus, being two years, it’s much faster to complete 10+2+4 years of education through M.Sc. than the three-year courses. The six-month industrial training makes life a lot easier (practically only 1.5 years of college).

2. Other PG degrees like MCA and M.Sc. (Tech): I wont comment on these because I have no idea. However, I’ve seen some great syllabus in M.Sc. (Tech) and I’ve heard that it is considered equivalent to M.Sc. in mathematics. This one, you had better talk to your own teachers and note that I am giving a complete disclaimer on these. DO NOT take my word for these degrees.

3. Join the industry (NOTE: I personally advocate a PG degree at any cost above anything else).

This should be a nice option. Plus, some companies also offer a joint work-study thing where you can work while you earn your degree. This should also be a good option to explore.

When picking a company, I suggest some common guidelines to follow:

a) Take your time in selecting your place of choice. DO NOT erratically switch jobs. It looks VERY bad on your resume. Take a break for an year if you’re unable to decide. But once you take up a job, stay there for a good 4-5 years. If at all you do leave, leave it for a rational reason such as an opportunity to study abroad or a quantum leap. Dont simply switch jobs for better pay. It looks very bad. While attrition is high and money dictates all, it’s bad manners to do so.

b) Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Dont go by your friends’ hypes and whims. If you’ve known a certain company for many years through friends and relatives, then better go there. You’ll have an outlet in case of problems.

c) Go to a homely and warm place. Personally I prefer a lower job and lower pay if I’m going to be treated as a human and if the employer is going to be sensitive to my family problems, or personal problems, instead of someone who treats me as employee no. 1138 (a tribute to George Lucas – the greatest movie maker of all time).

d) Better talk about your future options with your employer rather than guessing. If you expect pay raises, or future opportunities to study or upgrade yourself, then it’s best to talk it over with the HR people instead of guessing. Better not sign a four-year bond unless you clarify things. Take your time. But dont switch jobs!

4. External private training/courses: Sometimes it may be a great idea to get some external courses or certifications. For example, some companies offer you pay increments for each additional Java Certification. The Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)  is currently touted to be the top certification in the world.

If you’re game for it, and would like to define your own playground, then this is a great choice. Dont want for official UGC degrees. Just go out there and get some training on wierd unusual stuff. Sometimes you’ll get a job simply because you’ve got a unique combination of skills. Say, Linux Administration + Java Enterprise Developer may get you onto a deployment team for some J2EE-based vendor.

This is a great playing field if you can mix and match according to unique needs. If there’s a combination of skills that someone requires which doesn’t fit into the standard “syllabus” than such courses could give you a very strategic edge above others.

You know how I hate my mailbox having more than 10-15 mails per day (I know it’s a lot to ask, but that’s how I am). Since there seemed no end to the orkut scraps and mails on “where to go” and “what to do”, I finally took out the time to put together some advice and guidelines on how one may go about choosing their career path in their future. Of course, this is NOT by any chance even remotely reasonable advice, but it’s my advice and whatever I would have answered over mail, I’m answering here.

There have been many questions like “What if I dont get into so-and-so college? What will I do then?”. The first and foremost thing to understand is that life isn’t over. And you’re not alone in the struggle. There are many (3000+) students who’re going to pass BCS alongwith you and there’s always a way. The best way out is to talk to your teachers, college HODs, seniors, etc. and get a large perspective. Dont take a single person’s advice too seriously. Everyone is highly influenced by their own demons of the past.

The second thing to remember is to NEVER take desperate decisions. If you feel you’d be unhappy in a certain place, dont go there. Explore other options. But NEVER choose a path because all other options ran out. Remember to stay in control of your life, and dont let the world force you towards anything. Even if you choose the last option, remember to *choose* it and not go there as a compromise.

So do ask specific questions by mail only if you cant find an answer here. As with all my e-mails, this should be a long one, so hold on to your coffee mugs because this should be long, confusing, controversial and somewhat offensive to some.

If you do want to go to a college or a training institution, then below is an entry containing advice on that topic.

Remember that Engineering gained popularity only because government jobs required engineers. The same is true with many degrees nowadays (especially if you want to be in the industry). The industry wants good people, not dogs with certifications of “vaccinated against rabies” around their necks. I dont mean to disgrace degree-holders in any way here (being one myself), but for those who’re worried they wont get admission in MCS, remember that MCS is just a dog-tag. The key point to remember is that a good person from MCS will be selected and a bad one rejected – just as any non-MCS person would be.

So let’s consider your options:

1.  MCS (or M.Sc. Computer Science): This would be a natural choice since it’s a direct successor to the B.Sc. (C.S.) degree. It builds upon what you’ve learnt in BCS so is a more streamlined course (although a much more boring one).

If you’re planning to go into research, this is a safe choice. Since it gives you better credentials (BSc+MSc combination is well-known), it is easily understood by universities all over the world.

Plus, being two years, it’s much faster to complete 10+2+4 years of education through M.Sc. than the three-year courses. The six-month industrial training makes life a lot easier (practically only 1.5 years of college).

2. Other PG degrees like MCA and M.Sc. (Tech): I wont comment on these because I have no idea. However, I’ve seen some great syllabus in M.Sc. (Tech) and I’ve heard that it is considered equivalent to M.Sc. in mathematics. This one, you had better talk to your own teachers and note that I am giving a complete disclaimer on these. DO NOT take my word for these degrees.

3. Join the industry (NOTE: I personally advocate a PG degree at any cost above anything else).

This should be a nice option. Plus, some companies also offer a joint work-study thing where you can work while you earn your degree. This should also be a good option to explore.

When picking a company, I suggest some common guidelines to follow:

a) Take your time in selecting your place of choice. DO NOT erratically switch jobs. It looks VERY bad on your resume. Take a break for an year if you’re unable to decide. But once you take up a job, stay there for a good 4-5 years. If at all you do leave, leave it for a rational reason such as an opportunity to study abroad or a quantum leap. Dont simply switch jobs for better pay. It looks very bad. While attrition is high and money dictates all, it’s bad manners to do so.

b) Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Dont go by your friends’ hypes and whims. If you’ve known a certain company for many years through friends and relatives, then better go there. You’ll have an outlet in case of problems.

c) Go to a homely and warm place. Personally I prefer a lower job and lower pay if I’m going to be treated as a human and if the employer is going to be sensitive to my family problems, or personal problems, instead of someone who treats me as employee no. 1138 (a tribute to George Lucas – the greatest movie maker of all time).

d) Better talk about your future options with your employer rather than guessing. If you expect pay raises, or future opportunities to study or upgrade yourself, then it’s best to talk it over with the HR people instead of guessing. Better not sign a four-year bond unless you clarify things. Take your time. But dont switch jobs!

4. External private training/courses: Sometimes it may be a great idea to get some external courses or certifications. For example, some companies offer you pay increments for each additional Java Certification. The Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)  is currently touted to be the top certification in the world.

If you’re game for it, and would like to define your own playground, then this is a great choice. Dont want for official UGC degrees. Just go out there and get some training on wierd unusual stuff. Sometimes you’ll get a job simply because you’ve got a unique combination of skills. Say, Linux Administration + Java Enterprise Developer may get you onto a deployment team for some J2EE-based vendor.

This is a great playing field if you can mix and match according to unique needs. If there’s a combination of skills that someone requires which doesn’t fit into the standard “syllabus” than such courses could give you a very strategic edge above others.

Let’s start in a systematic manner here, by identifying the components that make up a college. I shall also list down what to look for when a college claims they have certain properties from the list below. Some critical analysis should do wonders. There’s a lot of vague and unrealistic claims out there and it’s best to be clear about stuff from the beginning.

1) Freedom:

This word means different things to different people.

a) For people like me, it means the freedom to do whatever we want – even to fail if the situation calls for it. What situation would justify me giving up my exams? – I could think of several answers quite easily. The ACM ICPC, some dramatic project almost near completion, a chance to work on a problem that requires only me to solve it, etc. are things that would easily make me give up exams. I really dont care for marks and stuff anyways – nobody has ever asked me marks in a job interview yet, and I dont think anyone ever will.

b) For others, Freedom may mean the freedom to study. I know this is a wierd sort of freedom, but if you have too many classmates of my category, then it really requires college intervention to make sure others get to study. You see, there are people who want others to study just the way they do. If they spend all day reading a book, then they want the college to force you to read a book all day. There are some who call this type of behaviour freedom. You cant have fun if they’re not having fun. This sort of thing was outdated in Europe after the dark ages (probably sometime around the 13th century), but is endorsed a lot here.

2) Extra Curricular Activities:

Again, different people have different definitions. Some people think of conferences, competitions and projects. Others think of dancing, music, fine arts, etc. Yet others think of dance balls and discos and pubs. If you’re thinking what college selection has to do with all this, then think again. I’ve been through some pretty bad experiences in life cause I thought the same. We’ll get to that a bit later in the “Control” point.

But then you wonder, can’t you do all these things through any college? Unfortunately it saddens me to say – no! You see, college’s involvement (or lack of the same) could be a major factor in your activities.

The ACM ICPC winning teams have ACM ICPC problems as their class assignments (the Chennai Mathematical Institute, for example). Some colleges (like Fergusson) sponsors the entire cost of the ACM Team each year. The more involvement your college takes, the better chances you have of succeeding. How many colleges in Pune encourage students to visit the Indian Science Congress every year? Even institutions claiming to be “scientific” and “great” dont do this.

In this case you have two options – an institute that prevents you, or one that ignores you. The second one is obviously more preferable. They may not proactively support you, but so long as they dont get in your way, you may find your own way. The one that prevents you is the dangerous of the two. They proactively prevent your growth.

For example, suppose you’re particularly giften in dancing. Suppose your group was selected for a performance of high significance. Would your college simply allow you to go, or would they be happy and proud of you for going? There is a big difference here. Some colleges take pride in the fact that Computer Science postgraduates perform in other fields as would anyone else. Some colleges frown upon this fact and find it shameful that computer science postgraduates dont spend the whole day at college studying.

So find a place where you can do what you want. Even if the degree isn’t great and even if the college isn’t reputed, it’s ultimately the same University of Pune degree. Out of experience, I’ve noticed that nobody really cares about your college/degree outside of Pune. Think of the larger long-term perspective. Having a Masters in Computer Science and being part of a significantly popular dance group is worth more as a person to you than a degree from a reputed college that looks no different on paper, at the cost of giving up a unique opportunity that would make you unique in the CS community.

Of course, not many will agree with me on this, but hey – this is my BLOG. I feel a person should look for personal satisfaction rather than pleasing others. So what if some company thinks you’re crap? Go to other companies. There are those who want good honest people. It may take time, but you will get your break. If you have a gift for something, dont sacrifice your natural gift for what people think or what people say. If were people any good at “thinking”, we’d never have corruption, poverty, war, etc. So stop worrying about “people”. History has shown us that people are very very dumb creatures.

3) Control:

This is a somewhat dangerous point but relates to be above (perhaps my list isn’t all that orthogonal afterall). Some places will simply love to try and control you. It is their pathetic way of taking out their frustration on you. This is both true of academicians and industry experts. Many teachers love to show off in front of students.

It’s always best to choose a college that has teachers who spend more time in teaching you and correcting your mistakes, than teachers who spend time telling you how great they are. Teachers sometimes have their own insecurities that they try to suppress by boasting in front of students. I personally was very rebelious and my common reaction was, “If you’re so great, go and bankrupt Microsoft instead of showing freshers how dumb they are.” (A statement I can no longer say ) ) But this is something you should always consider. A great teacher is polite to students half his age and shows off his abilities by threatening IBM Research or Sun Microsystems. A pathetic teacher sucks up to big companies in hopes of more money and shows off to students half their age. (Actually this argument applies equally to your seniors as well)

4) Dependence:

Many times, a college is highly interested in making you dependent on them. This is another variant of the “control” feature above. Some colleges may not be reputed much, but they make their students so strong that they get jobs on their own might. Other colleges may have reputation and may give students jobs based on their reputation. In the long run, the former college is preferable. It gives you a confidence that you got your position on _your_ might and _your_ abilities.

Trust me – the satisfaction is unbelievable. I had always been in a college where I couldn’t say stuff like, “IBM Research visits” or “NASA visits”. But I’m happy where I am – because I’m there on my own might. I may not be in a great high position – but wherever I am, I reached on my own. I didnt use my degree/institution to get there. It makes me confident to remain where I am. I may never go ahead, I may not deserve anything higher than this. At least, I know _my_ worth as a human being. I wont take crap from anyone on how “I owe my success, however small it may be, to them”.

Who knows? Tomorrow you might end up in Germany or France or Scotland? And your local Pune-based college rankings may mean squat to them. What would you do?

5) Perfectionism:

This argument is related to the honesty argument. Some colleges dont claim anything and they do nothing. Some colleges dont claim anything but do a lot. Others claim a lot and do a lot. While even others claim a lot and yet do nothing.

The fourth category is an absolute no-go when it comes to admissions. It’s best to go to an institution that claims little, but achieves perfection in it. For example, a certain institution may emphasize algorithms, but would only teach some basic introductory stuff. Another institution may focus on databases but make you damn good at them. Always prefer the second institution. The reason relates to point (4) above. In the former institution, you’d constantly be using your degree names and course contents to justify yourself, instead of showing results. In the latter case, you’d simply configure an enterprise-wide database system with intensive security measures and your interviewer wouldn’t even care about your degree.

There are places out there who boast of great Linux and great Tex. It’s better to use Windows and MS-Word honestly and do your work on time, rather than using Linux and Tex and using it as an excuse for shoddy work. Nobody wants to hear, “I had a delay in submission because I use the great god-given Tex.”

When you open your mouth, its important you be able to prove it. If you use something because it’s allegedly more powerful, than it should increase the quality of your work instead of decreasing it. So if you can actually use Lisp to ease your work, use it. Otherwise, stick to your language of choice. Dont go for fancy stuff that you begin to use “because it is better”, and actually ends up diminishing your productivity.

Here again, when choosing an institution, look for one that can live up to their boasts (even if they be very small). If they claim “big” projects and show non-working kernel modules, try to avoid the place. If there’s a place that claims to make only simple GUIs, but if their GUI is being downloaded 2000 times per day, it’s the perfect place to be. Naturally, if you find a place that will merge the two together (complexity AND perfectionism), you will have found a gold-mine.

“Complexity should NEVER be an excuse shoddy work”

6) Teaching methodology:

The above two arguments also translate to the way teachers teach. In some places, your teacher will say he is right because he can prove it. In other places your teacher may say he is right because he is great. The second one is the worse of the two. Not even Hon. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam can publish a paper in any journal “because he is a reputed scientist”. When it comes to science, cold, hard facts have no alternatives.

In the former case, your teachers are making you independent, strong and confident by teaching you how to rely on facts to draw conclusions. In the latter case, you’re qualitatively no better than a trained parrot in a cage.

You must choose whether you want to remain a human with your own convictions, or a highly trained parrot employed for the amusement of your boss.

Let’s start in a systematic manner here, by identifying the components that make up a college. I shall also list down what to look for when a college claims they have certain properties from the list below. Some critical analysis should do wonders. There’s a lot of vague and unrealistic claims out there and it’s best to be clear about stuff from the beginning.

1) Freedom:

This word means different things to different people.

a) For people like me, it means the freedom to do whatever we want – even to fail if the situation calls for it. What situation would justify me giving up my exams? – I could think of several answers quite easily. The ACM ICPC, some dramatic project almost near completion, a chance to work on a problem that requires only me to solve it, etc. are things that would easily make me give up exams. I really dont care for marks and stuff anyways – nobody has ever asked me marks in a job interview yet, and I dont think anyone ever will.

b) For others, Freedom may mean the freedom to study. I know this is a wierd sort of freedom, but if you have too many classmates of my category, then it really requires college intervention to make sure others get to study. You see, there are people who want others to study just the way they do. If they spend all day reading a book, then they want the college to force you to read a book all day. There are some who call this type of behaviour freedom. You cant have fun if they’re not having fun. This sort of thing was outdated in Europe after the dark ages (probably sometime around the 13th century), but is endorsed a lot here.

2) Extra Curricular Activities:

Again, different people have different definitions. Some people think of conferences, competitions and projects. Others think of dancing, music, fine arts, etc. Yet others think of dance balls and discos and pubs. If you’re thinking what college selection has to do with all this, then think again. I’ve been through some pretty bad experiences in life cause I thought the same. We’ll get to that a bit later in the “Control” point.

But then you wonder, can’t you do all these things through any college? Unfortunately it saddens me to say – no! You see, college’s involvement (or lack of the same) could be a major factor in your activities.

The ACM ICPC winning teams have ACM ICPC problems as their class assignments (the Chennai Mathematical Institute, for example). Some colleges (like Fergusson) sponsors the entire cost of the ACM Team each year. The more involvement your college takes, the better chances you have of succeeding. How many colleges in Pune encourage students to visit the Indian Science Congress every year? Even institutions claiming to be “scientific” and “great” dont do this.

In this case you have two options – an institute that prevents you, or one that ignores you. The second one is obviously more preferable. They may not proactively support you, but so long as they dont get in your way, you may find your own way. The one that prevents you is the dangerous of the two. They proactively prevent your growth.

For example, suppose you’re particularly giften in dancing. Suppose your group was selected for a performance of high significance. Would your college simply allow you to go, or would they be happy and proud of you for going? There is a big difference here. Some colleges take pride in the fact that Computer Science postgraduates perform in other fields as would anyone else. Some colleges frown upon this fact and find it shameful that computer science postgraduates dont spend the whole day at college studying.

So find a place where you can do what you want. Even if the degree isn’t great and even if the college isn’t reputed, it’s ultimately the same University of Pune degree. Out of experience, I’ve noticed that nobody really cares about your college/degree outside of Pune. Think of the larger long-term perspective. Having a Masters in Computer Science and being part of a significantly popular dance group is worth more as a person to you than a degree from a reputed college that looks no different on paper, at the cost of giving up a unique opportunity that would make you unique in the CS community.

Of course, not many will agree with me on this, but hey – this is my BLOG. I feel a person should look for personal satisfaction rather than pleasing others. So what if some company thinks you’re crap? Go to other companies. There are those who want good honest people. It may take time, but you will get your break. If you have a gift for something, dont sacrifice your natural gift for what people think or what people say. If were people any good at “thinking”, we’d never have corruption, poverty, war, etc. So stop worrying about “people”. History has shown us that people are very very dumb creatures.

3) Control:

This is a somewhat dangerous point but relates to be above (perhaps my list isn’t all that orthogonal afterall). Some places will simply love to try and control you. It is their pathetic way of taking out their frustration on you. This is both true of academicians and industry experts. Many teachers love to show off in front of students.

It’s always best to choose a college that has teachers who spend more time in teaching you and correcting your mistakes, than teachers who spend time telling you how great they are. Teachers sometimes have their own insecurities that they try to suppress by boasting in front of students. I personally was very rebelious and my common reaction was, “If you’re so great, go and bankrupt Microsoft instead of showing freshers how dumb they are.” (A statement I can no longer say ) ) But this is something you should always consider. A great teacher is polite to students half his age and shows off his abilities by threatening IBM Research or Sun Microsystems. A pathetic teacher sucks up to big companies in hopes of more money and shows off to students half their age. (Actually this argument applies equally to your seniors as well)

4) Dependence:

Many times, a college is highly interested in making you dependent on them. This is another variant of the “control” feature above. Some colleges may not be reputed much, but they make their students so strong that they get jobs on their own might. Other colleges may have reputation and may give students jobs based on their reputation. In the long run, the former college is preferable. It gives you a confidence that you got your position on _your_ might and _your_ abilities.

Trust me – the satisfaction is unbelievable. I had always been in a college where I couldn’t say stuff like, “IBM Research visits” or “NASA visits”. But I’m happy where I am – because I’m there on my own might. I may not be in a great high position – but wherever I am, I reached on my own. I didnt use my degree/institution to get there. It makes me confident to remain where I am. I may never go ahead, I may not deserve anything higher than this. At least, I know _my_ worth as a human being. I wont take crap from anyone on how “I owe my success, however small it may be, to them”.

Who knows? Tomorrow you might end up in Germany or France or Scotland? And your local Pune-based college rankings may mean squat to them. What would you do?

5) Perfectionism:

This argument is related to the honesty argument. Some colleges dont claim anything and they do nothing. Some colleges dont claim anything but do a lot. Others claim a lot and do a lot. While even others claim a lot and yet do nothing.

The fourth category is an absolute no-go when it comes to admissions. It’s best to go to an institution that claims little, but achieves perfection in it. For example, a certain institution may emphasize algorithms, but would only teach some basic introductory stuff. Another institution may focus on databases but make you damn good at them. Always prefer the second institution. The reason relates to point (4) above. In the former institution, you’d constantly be using your degree names and course contents to justify yourself, instead of showing results. In the latter case, you’d simply configure an enterprise-wide database system with intensive security measures and your interviewer wouldn’t even care about your degree.

There are places out there who boast of great Linux and great Tex. It’s better to use Windows and MS-Word honestly and do your work on time, rather than using Linux and Tex and using it as an excuse for shoddy work. Nobody wants to hear, “I had a delay in submission because I use the great god-given Tex.”

When you open your mouth, its important you be able to prove it. If you use something because it’s allegedly more powerful, than it should increase the quality of your work instead of decreasing it. So if you can actually use Lisp to ease your work, use it. Otherwise, stick to your language of choice. Dont go for fancy stuff that you begin to use “because it is better”, and actually ends up diminishing your productivity.

Here again, when choosing an institution, look for one that can live up to their boasts (even if they be very small). If they claim “big” projects and show non-working kernel modules, try to avoid the place. If there’s a place that claims to make only simple GUIs, but if their GUI is being downloaded 2000 times per day, it’s the perfect place to be. Naturally, if you find a place that will merge the two together (complexity AND perfectionism), you will have found a gold-mine.

“Complexity should NEVER be an excuse shoddy work”

6) Teaching methodology:

The above two arguments also translate to the way teachers teach. In some places, your teacher will say he is right because he can prove it. In other places your teacher may say he is right because he is great. The second one is the worse of the two. Not even Hon. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam can publish a paper in any journal “because he is a reputed scientist”. When it comes to science, cold, hard facts have no alternatives.

In the former case, your teachers are making you independent, strong and confident by teaching you how to rely on facts to draw conclusions. In the latter case, you’re qualitatively no better than a trained parrot in a cage.

You must choose whether you want to remain a human with your own convictions, or a highly trained parrot employed for the amusement of your boss.

I was recently working on polynomial approximations of trained artificial neural networks. I shall finish up the project cause I finished the programming 90%, but some editors of prominent ANN journals think it’s utter crap (they didn’t say it in so many words). So it’s officially abandoned for now. I guess you have to learn to live with it. You win some, you lose some. Altough, I am disappointed at having spent a lot of time on this, at least I know one more method of how not to polynomialise neural networks. At least I had lots of fun doing it, which is what really counts in the end.

I am beginning to feel like those stupid evil villians from kids’ superhero TV shows where in each episode they try to take over the world and are defeated daily (God! it must be boring to be both – the supervillian or the superhero). I make a daily attempt at some substantial breakthrough in computer scinece, and end up helping someone in biological sciences or embedded systems or wireless protocol stuff. In the end, my work turns out to be totally worthless in CS. Oh Damn! But finally, having decided to work on BCIs, I’m soon giving up my ambitions and interests on core computational theory and stuff like that. Oh well, one must choose, and attempting to decode brain signals is much funner than decoding machine behaviour – this is more of a personal preference, so please dont take offence if you’re a big computational fanatic. I do love algorithms and all that, but I’m now going to pass out from postgraduation and it’s time I began narrowing down my energy into one area of interest.