Pursuing interests
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It's always been this way, and in fact I've got so used to it being this way that I find it a little difficult if it's different.
It's this business of pursuing my interests irrespective of what is going on in my 'official' academic life. And more often these pursuits either haven't exactly coincided with the curriculum or have been such transmogrified behemoths of the prescribed course that I've tended to think of it as different.
Math became a joy only when it went off the curriculum and the social sciences became worth contemplating only after it was 'officially' out of my study list. (don't worry, my marks didn't get affected...I managed to clock almost a ton even in social sciences in the ICSE 10th, 97, if I remember right...that was a record :-)). So it was/is with most of the other courses I took a fascination for, whether the hardcore course related subjects or the slightly separated ones like philosophy, writing, poetry etc. - it was never in sync, if ever it was taught 'officially'.
And why has this been so? One reason is that a rigid curriculum or framework destroys for me the beauty, if any, in the subject, and even the best professors (and there are very few I would classify as such) end up teaching for that exam. And at some point in time when my digressions get life threatening, I am forced to revert to that exam-focussed study to save my skin (which most friends around me are doing all the time) and that destroys whatever interest there is left in the subject.
There are many other reasons too...I've spent quite some time analysing this...but the bus is due in a few minutes...so I'll close this here for now.
But a closing line...nowadays, when sometimes I get an opportunity to officially do what I like it becomes a little discomforting. I'm so used to doing what I like most of the time, and going through those officially 'prescribed' textbooks when I need a break that when sometimes I officially get to do what I like, I don't know what to do in the break...perhaps blog :-).
It's always been this way, and in fact I've got so used to it being this way that I find it a little difficult if it's different.
It's this business of pursuing my interests irrespective of what is going on in my 'official' academic life. And more often these pursuits either haven't exactly coincided with the curriculum or have been such transmogrified behemoths of the prescribed course that I've tended to think of it as different.
Math became a joy only when it went off the curriculum and the social sciences became worth contemplating only after it was 'officially' out of my study list. (don't worry, my marks didn't get affected...I managed to clock almost a ton even in social sciences in the ICSE 10th, 97, if I remember right...that was a record :-)). So it was/is with most of the other courses I took a fascination for, whether the hardcore course related subjects or the slightly separated ones like philosophy, writing, poetry etc. - it was never in sync, if ever it was taught 'officially'.
And why has this been so? One reason is that a rigid curriculum or framework destroys for me the beauty, if any, in the subject, and even the best professors (and there are very few I would classify as such) end up teaching for that exam. And at some point in time when my digressions get life threatening, I am forced to revert to that exam-focussed study to save my skin (which most friends around me are doing all the time) and that destroys whatever interest there is left in the subject.
There are many other reasons too...I've spent quite some time analysing this...but the bus is due in a few minutes...so I'll close this here for now.
But a closing line...nowadays, when sometimes I get an opportunity to officially do what I like it becomes a little discomforting. I'm so used to doing what I like most of the time, and going through those officially 'prescribed' textbooks when I need a break that when sometimes I officially get to do what I like, I don't know what to do in the break...perhaps blog :-).
posted by Ayan Bhattacharya @ 5:30 AM
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