Standing Tall

Dear All,

Along with the retreating monsoon, yet another iteration of MTH111M is coming to an end, and yet again I feel emotional to bid adieu to the wonderful batch of Y26! The massive size of this course puts immense responsibility on my shoulders to the point of utter exhaustion but also gives me the unique opportunity to interact with so many bright young minds over an extended period of 7 weeks—only a few lucky people get this opportunity. Pure and unadulterated conversations with students who know that I do not know their names help create so many memories that make me richer than Richie Rich!

Recently I heard a few talks by Industry Experts on what they look for in potential employees, and the most common requirement was “resilience”. The title of this message means exactly this—showing strength, courage, and dignity, especially while facing difficult situations and heavy pressure! It is also a reference to the title song of Pokémon XYZ—my favourite season due to the Ash-Greninja bonding.

An 18-year-old is a sequence that has just begun, and I often feel that adding a few more years of a careless and/or short-sighted attitude does not change the convergence properties of the sequence! But I feel worried whether such sequences will converge to a good limit or will keep oscillating.

Several students actively pursue internships and plan trips with friends, keeping themselves busy during every single vacation. Nothing is wrong with that, but one common hidden reason is their unwillingness to spend extended periods at home. Maybe it is due to the change in habits, lifestyle, and a (at least partially) broken connection with family. When both parents are working hard to earn for the family, and especially to secure their children’s future, they often have little energy left to meet their kids’ daily emotional needs. When kids are hyper-focused on competitive exam preparations, which is also the parents’ wish, they get isolated from society and often have very few emotional outlets. When several dimensions of a teenager’s life get slowly stripped off—often in the form of long and tight schedules, missed family events, and interrupted hobbies—studies and progress measured in terms of numbers become the sole measure of success, and in turn, the purpose of life.

However, the problems we face in life are not only academic in nature. In fact, most problems do not require an intellectual solution. Oftentimes, emotional intelligence plays a more significant role than academic intelligence when it comes to solving real-life issues. So many Reddit posts from IITK talk about isolation and loneliness. It is a serious issue, and the problem is that because most people experience it, very few are in the position to help others. If you dig deeper, you will realise that each successive generation is facing more emotional problems and an inability to adjust with others.

A human is a social animal, by design. During one Saturday office hour, I asked students to find study group partners, and a common reaction was that of awkwardness. Being a part of a group needs commitment and sharing, and an unwillingness to commit eventually results in unstable relationships as well. Is being interested in one’s own progress so important that we forget that we could grow together as well? In past generations, two partners in an arranged marriage used to learn to adjust—and I am not saying everyone was happy in such arrangements, but it gave stability to the family. As an adult, it might also help to start seeing your own parents in a new light and understanding their lives from the perspective of a third person. The current trend of instability in relationships and a decreasing interest in lifelong commitment results in a  lack of a continuous narrative of a life, which ultimately results in loneliness, even at a later stage in life. Career success is yet again just one measure of success, but one needs people to celebrate with who genuinely find happiness in our achievements—and relationships are built on give-and-take!

The feedback I collected about the two activities that were a part of the course evaluation echoed the same sentiment: I wish I could complete the project alone, large teams do not work, freeloader and hard-working students struggle, etc. But did you realise that this was exactly the non-mathematical purpose of the projects? Choosing teammates, keeping an engaging environment, division of labour, working towards a common goal, and most importantly, adjusting with each other. Most of the commenters seemed to assume that only others are difficult to work with, but they themselves are very “naturally easy” to be around! It is easy to see flaws in others, but extremely difficult to find good in them, and an even tougher step is to look in their eyes and admit that they are good at something. If you ever tried complimenting others, see how you feel more connected with them. I was at least glad to see that your glasses changed from a competitor view towards others to a teammate view, at least for a while. Your four-year-long journey on the campus has just begun, and you could make it smoother if you genuinely try to understand each other as companions rather than competitors. Is it so hard to have multiple healthy relationships with the same person, only one of which is that of a competitor? Multiple roles might allow you to help each other stand tall after setbacks in life.

The ability to build human connections is also the most important answer to the question: what should a human be educated about in the current AI era? AI can help you deal with machines, and anything algorithmic in nature. If you hope to stand tall and make your mark in this era, your success will likely be measured by your ability to change with a fast-changing world. This requires a deep sense of emotional stability—a predictable anchor in life—which ultimately depends entirely on your grounded support system.

A well-defined purpose in life will also help you evaluate the importance of your studies in the process. Most of you are unhappy with your current branches and have the sole aim of changing your branch by the year-end. Moreover, this desire often stems entirely from the opportunities that the new branch could offer, and does not depend on your interest in the subject itself. This pointed focus on winning the numbers game often results in using unfair means while achieving the goal. I remember one Practical Ethics discussion that unraveled how normalised cheating eventually spills into relationships and distrust on the personal front, and corruption on the professional front. However, do you know that the current era requires you to have knowledge of at least two domains? You can easily learn the things you like if you have a well-defined purpose in life, but combining them with your assigned branch knowledge could give you a unique interdisciplinary advantage in realising your goals—the problem I see is that several of you do not have a well-defined goal yet!

I could perhaps help you set some short-term goals for your student days at IITK, which I believe are absolutely necessary in this AI era. Firstly, learn to ask good questions! AI can help you answer questions, but you need the ability to phrase them in the first place. Multiple humans interacting with AI for the same problem often get the same answer. Do we want to become copies of each other, like a homogenised mass that does not care about the absolute truth? Learn to appreciate art—it distinguishes us humans from machines. Have deep conversations! Watch meaningful content! Let your emotions flow!

Even with a strong support system, it will be challenging for your generation to find purpose in life. This purpose gives meaning to life, and traditional measurable parameters like money are only a part of the whole story. Life is not only about chasing goals; it is also about enjoying the journey. I have recently spoken with some older students who prioritise work-life balance over anything else, and I feel silly when I see their maturity. (As you can see, I am already very bad at not letting my work spill over to my personal time!) At this juncture, I would like to recommend watching a metaphorical short film titled “Full Time” by Omeleto on YouTube (please excuse the language of the film, but watch it for the message).

I know that each one of you has sacrificed a lot to arrive at this point in life just to attain new heights that only a few can achieve. It reminds me of a beautiful sher from a ghazal written by Tahir Faraz and sung by Hariharan:

इस बुलंदी पे बहुत तन्हा हूँ,

काश मैं सब के बराबर होता!

(I am deeply lonely at this height (of success); if only I were equal to everyone else.)

You will need to learn to live with AI around you, and also prepare to survive without it, if need be! I genuinely wish your generation realises the importance of collaborative efforts to stand tall against internal and external pressures!  Most importantly, build good habits that will help you stand tall in front of your own eyes!

Hope to keep in touch!

Best wishes,

Amit