Indian engineering colleges are terrible at approaching technology

You might remember the good old Turbo C++ IDE from your common engineering classes. While the nostalgia inducing GUI can look like a smurf threw up pixels on your screen, there are actual reasons why you'll never see a qualified programmer use something that almost literally resembles a makeshift BSoD.

In fact, this isn't a problem that only I've decided to speak up about. Engineering students have long since taken to sites like StackOverflow to express their concerns about this as well :

Here's an example.

And here's another.

Now, I don't deny that there might be some hidden superpowers that might make Turbo C an excellent IDE/Compiler, but taking what's common from the answers in the links above, there is a genuine reason to stay away from it: Turbo C is just way too old.

Here's the thing: The way technology works, something obsolete is almost as good as irrelevant.

When it comes to technology, it's in its nature to keep itself changing by constantly updating to newer and more efficient practices. No matter how popular a product in this field is right now, if it can't keep up with these changes, it will soon be forgotten.

There are very few exceptions to this, and I'm sure half of you are already shaking your heads :
But Arvind, for learning programming basics, Turbo C works just fine. Any C++ program that works in a newer compiler will also work on Turbo C, so what's the big deal?
Actually no, it won't. Remember when I said that technology keeps updating itself to follow newer standards? Well some of these standards are not backwards compatible. So if you tried to compile a newer C++ program across an old C compiler, it isn't necessarily going to work.

My issue with the way colleges here teach technology isn't just restricted to the fact they use software older than I am (which is a pretty big problem by itself), but I'm also unhappy with the entire mindset in which these things are taught.
Applying logic and critical thinking isn't generally encouraged. Programs are given to students, and they're expected to memorize the flow for the time being. The components and elements will be explained, but their logical use cases and why they need to be used there are left in the dark.

The entire idea of "finding a solution to the problem" is a foreign concept to students. There is no inspiration for creativity. Why would someone put in the effort to come up with a better or different solution when they know that no one's going to give a crap? It's no surprise that senior CSE or ISE students find their syllabus so hard. They're randomly expected to do new and advanced things after their entire thought process behind coding was built on programming habits they developed by memorizing programs that aren't even relevant to today's technology.
An education system like this helps only to churn out manpower to companies which require constant grunt work and pay very little. They'll have no problem letting you go when that work is done and you've displayed no creative prowess to help the company innovate.

No matter how big of a disadvantage you realize this can all be, there have been people who made it out of this system without lasting damage. Quoting a comment on one of the StackOverflow answers above,
"If you want to gain some real-world experience, take on the challenge of getting the University to update its compiler technology. You will be helping all of the students gain a more relevant education, improving the value of the university program, and learning tons about how to persuade people when you have no direct influence, a key part of any professional's life."
In my college, I intend to at least try to bring about some positive change by communicating with the authorities, and on the off chance that it fails, I could always start a club where we teach ourselves all that which today's graduates sorely need.

A record every day

This post is part of the "First Few Old Blog Posts" archive.
You could expect a certain lack of coherency/maturity from these posts.

One particularly interesting fact about my weird life is that I have an obsession with getting stuff done. Even if any work at that point happens to be non existent.
If any day passes by without any significant reduction from my workload/to-do list or any addition to my personal records , then that day is to be considered as a complete waste of time and energy.

Now , if you've read my older blogs , then you'll know that I am an OCD patient. What that means is that I need to consistently keep a track of any work done , any work that shouldn't be done , any work that should be done in the future , and so on.
Out of all these , obviously the most important is to keep track of any work that needs to be done in the future. This is why last year , I furnished a complete To-Do list of every work that needs to be done by me at some point later. As of now , the list stands in 57 points of work that needs finishing. All the points mentioned on the list do not consist of everyday work such as shopping or cleaning the lawn as some might expect , but it is rather a collection of long term projects such as learning Android Development or writing a previously thought out novel.

I hold this list to high regard. Every point noted within demands a lot of time , patience and energy which would in some way or the other benefit me later either by self gratification . or by any other method.
When I look back to my past , I see the transition or marking progress. When I was 10 , I used to see how much I had progressed every year. By the time I was 13 , I measured progress monthly. And now at 15 , I do so in a more or so , daily/weekly manner.

The next point and the most important point is the one presented by the title of this blog.
And that is my commitment to setting records.
You see , every now and then , I attempt activities that are not listed in my to-do list either because they are not important enough or they produce inconsiderable results. Among these , I put forward great emphasis on personal achievements.

What sort of personal achievements you ask?
Well let's say that just today , I got chased by a beggar for the first time , I walked over a sewer bridge for the first time , I tripped over a road divider for the first time and I was ambushed by a group of crows for the first time.

It's just that the possibility of doing "firsts" fascinates me. The fact that I'm doing (or being done) something for the first time in my life gives me a great deal of satisfaction and that is why I deliberately put myself in such situations where such "firsts" are possible.
Like for example , all those "firsts" that I accomplished today , they were the result of deliberately choosing to walk all the way to my friend's house , rather than taking a cab (or an auto in linguistic precision).

This is why sometimes , instead of sitting at home and trying to contemplate on sad and stupid stuff , I sometimes set foot outside my house to get some achievement accomplished.
Just this month , during the Diwali dinner held at school , I accomplished a lot of "firsts".
I took pictures with every girl in my class (except 2 because they did not turn up to the party)
I wore a suit for a good whole of an hour
I confessed to a watchman how hideous his uniform was
I walked 10 meters on my toes and most importantly ,
I ran through every corridor that the school had (a pretty great task considering that the party was held at the grounds implying that every corridor was fucking dark and deserted)

And the most daring firsts were also recorded this very month
I stayed 24 hours without food
I stayed 24 hours without water (on separate days) (dehydration is worse than hunger. I had to sleep more than half of the day to keep myself distracted)
I slept for 20 hours straight
I ate a burger for every hour in a day
And most importantly - I got drunk for the first time (this was just last week and it was just a few simple glasses of beer , nothing to worry about)

So , yup. With all these stuff to do , I take pride in saying that almost every day , I am setting and breaking records. It seems eminent that with so much , soon I will be needing a list to maintain all these achievements , and every achievement that was close to completion and every achievement that should be avoided  , and so on.

So , yup. That is it. In summary , I give high regard to working and achieving. Something that I take pride in.
I know that many of the records as such do not present much moral value and you will dissent in opinion about the necessity of performing such acts , but I assure you that they were all executed in safe environments. The last think I want you to assume is me being a reckless teen. Pssh , me? I barely even get out of my house.

I just think that this is my blog , and it needs to contain any personal habit that needs to be mentioned. Also , I haven't posted a self centered blog in a very long time.

This is my Blog. My first Blog.

This post is part of the "First Few Old Blog Posts" archive.
You could expect a certain lack of coherency/maturity from these posts.

When I was younger, I always thought of keeping a book where I could pour my thoughts into when I was in a pensive mood. Well I kept one for a few months too in my 2nd grade. I had lost it a long time ago. And never thought of doing it again. But these days, all I seem to do is think So, here's my blog which allows me to model my thoughts to present to you all and also to keep up with the latest trend of "blogging"

No. I'm not the writing type. You won't catch me carefully writing an essay just for lulz. If my homework demands it, then it would probably just see another one of those retarded writings which are not dissimilar to those of my classmates. Its not that I can't, in fact, i'm pretty sure my levels of creativity are above average, its just that whenever I try, I always feel like I can do better. Unfortunately, I never end up reaching the level of expectation I have for myself since I pay to much attention to even the slightest detail and carving all of them into symbols of perfection can be a bit tiring. So this blog also serves the purpose of allowing me to be creative without really giving much thought about how its presented.

Wow. You just read me rant about my childhood and essays, and you're still reading. You must really like me. Unfortunately, this first blog happens to be related about me and stuff, so since you've read this far, it wouldn't hurt to know more about me now would it?

Right, so I'm a programmer living at Bangalore,India , currently doing his ninth grade at high school. My interests would involve discussing/contemplating anything on the topic of computers, science (mainly physics or biophysics), or mostly Philosophy and Life in general. I am also inclined a bit towards religious symbology and history (Not Indian), this maybe because I've been reading Dan Brown again and again. Oh, i must have forgotten to mention - I read a lot. I just love to read. I've been reading different authors' works but when I read Angels and Demons, I knew that Dan Brown had hit me home. He was my perfect author. Nothing had inspired me more than his books had.

I haven't kept a blog before and I need to start this new habit, so it is hard to tell when I may post again. It can take from a day to a week and also maybe to a month. This post however was restricted to lame talk about me (and you read it all , you're awesome) , however hopefully , the next posts will be more enlightening and really get your attention far better.

Cheers.

Quote: "Genius always finds itself a century too early." ~ R W Emerson