Shakuntala Devi strove to simplify maths for students - The Hindu

Among her distinctions was her ability to, given a date in the last century, mentally ascertain the day.

The ‘human computer’, ‘mental calculator’, math whiz Shakuntala Devi passed away here early on Sunday aged 80.

Ms. Devi, who was suffering from respiratory problems and later developed heart and kidney complications, had been in a Bangalore hospital for two weeks.

Ms. Devi held a Guinness World Record for her lightning-speed calculations. Among her distinctions was her ability to, given a date in the last century, mentally ascertain the day.

In 1977, she calculated the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in just 50 seconds. In 1980, she multiplied two 13-digit numbers given to her randomly by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London.

“It is sad that her techniques to simplify math were not used by educational institutions,” said D.C. Shivdev, a trustee of the Shakuntala Devi Educational Foundation Public Trust.

“She strove to simplify math for students and help them get over their math phobia. It is a pity that her techniques died with her.”

She authored several books including Fun with Numbers, Puzzles to Puzzle You, and Awaken the Genius in Your Child.

Child prodigy

An indisputable child prodigy, Ms. Devi began to give public demonstrations of her math skills at the age of just six. But it was even earlier, when she was three, that her father — a trapeze artist and lion tamer — first discovered her genius.

Her father, who had rebelled against his orthodox Brahmin family’s wish that he join a circus rather than become a temple priest, noticed his daughter’s uncanny ability to memorise while teaching her a card trick.

Impressed by her gift, he then travelled with Ms. Devi on road shows where she performed her mathematical feats. Ms. Devi, who had no formal education, had once described her ability as a ‘gift’.

Keywords: Shakuntala Devi, mathematical genius, human computer, Shakuntala Devi death

Engineering students locked into Microsoft Office - The Hindu

Come June 30, over 80 lakh college students all over India would have little choice but to use Microsoft Office 365 in their college computers, locked by a government contract that may well be more expensive than the use of an open source equivalent in the long run.

The decision by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) will limit engineering students to a particular product at a time when their exposure should be widened, say experts. It also forces college administrations to adopt one technology instead of giving them the flexibility to install whatever suits their students’ needs best, they said.

Efforts to contact Microsoft were unsuccessful until Sunday night.

In open source, the core of the technology is available without charge as free download. Open source requires no initial investment, with many vendors offering support and maintenance at half the price charged by proprietary software vendors.

The AICTE, which serves more than 11,500 technical colleges and institutes across the country, had awarded Microsoft a contract last year that let the AICTE implement the company’s cloud email and storage offering, which centralizes email storage and provides for a simpler and potentially less expensive solution.

A recent notification by the AICTE states that all institutes must compulsorily install and use Microsoft Office 365, a productivity suite, which has little to do with the functioning of the cloud-storage service.

There is no free, open-source cloud-based offering, and Microsoft’s product, priced at zero initial cost, fulfills that need. Dr. S.S. Mantha, Chairman, AICTE, announced, “Office 365 will enhance our day to day communication, collaboration, and monitoring of the colleges we oversee... This will help us promote and propagate innovation across all 11,500 institutions.”

The AICTE notification that announced the mandate says the project needs to be completed by June 30, 2013.

Open-source software such as Linux has become popular among college students in recent times as its zero-cost approach promotes inclusivity, with former President Abdul Kalam stating “In India, open source software will have to come and stay in a big way, for the benefit of our billion people.”

Addressing what he called a popular misconception about the availability of support for open-source installations, Raghavendra Selvan, an assistant professor at an engineering college in Bangalore, clarified, “Once you have installed such a product, there are companies that will charge you just for maintenance and support.” Red Hat is an example of a large enterprise that caters to just this need.

If the government would consider an open-source alternative, it wouldn’t be the first time. In early 2011, the state government of Kerala deployed an open-source enterprise-resource planning (ERP) package named Fedena to assist over 15,000 schools and 70 lakh students.

Mr. Selvan suggested the government could use the Fedena model, and added, “The office suite is not necessary. Using Office 365 would only limit students to Microsoft's perspective and stand in the way of serious open-source research in rural colleges,” he added

An experiment in creativity - The Hindu

People Prateek Sethi makes learning a much easier task

Walking on water doesn’t necessarily have to be a miracle. All you need to do is chuck a little corn starch in the water. The ensuing fluid turns solid when pressure is exerted — you can even dance across it.

“But if you stop, you will fall in,” laughs Prateek Sethi, who hosts a show titled FAQ on Pogo TV that deconstructs science, making it more appealing for young audience. Prateek has enough experience in working with kids. He has been doing so for a decade now — conducting shows, creating television promos for various channels including Hungama, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, facilitating science-based workshops and now recently, creating videos for school education. “You need people to put the threads together — facilitate easy dissemination of information,” he says. “Science has to be made simple for kids. The first big problem is the jargon and second big problem is that it is always distant for them. We need to defuzz it.”

And in the workshop he proceeded to do exactly that — using easily available objects to exhibit various phenomena. “Any everyday household object can be used to conduct experiments,” he says. “Science is there in everything we do. For instance, an empty soda can and balloon will repel or attract each other due to static electricity. It’s the 3 Idiots philosophy — you need to have not just knowledge but the working knowledge,” he says.

Though he loves his science, this graduate from NID-Ahmadabad, continues nurturing his creative streak and is the co-founder of Trip Creative Services, a design studio for communication related needs. Yet he firmly believes that science and creativity are two sides of the same coin, rather than vastly diverse functions. “Art follows science,” he says. “It is an integral link.”

On future plans, he is now in the process of creating e-learning videos for rural children. “The concept is brilliant because it reaches there. And a better educated society makes better choices,” he says. “We just need to figure out the efficiency of the energy grid involved.”

Ask Prateek what drives him to do what he does and pat comes the reply. “I do what I do for the next generation of our country,” he says. “When I was growing up, I didn’t have half the resources they have today and I want to push up progress further.”

“I am an explorer,” he continues. “The new excites me, the old fascinates me, the present captivates me and the future makes me smile. I provide a vision, direct movement and experiences, but most of all make sure the ideas actually come to life.”

PREETI ZACHARIAH

Speaking Japanese in Coimbatore - The Hindu

From wanting to read the Manga comics in original to being able to talk to clients, Coimbatoreans find many good reasons to learn Japanese

Right approachStudents not only learn Japanese language but also experience Japanese culture at the institute.Photos: S. Siva Saravanan

Aravind, a class XII student loves Japanese animation films and comics. “I want to read the Manga comics in Japanese and watch the animation films without subtitles!” he says. In order to do that, he has enrolled into ABK-ATOS DOSOKAI, a Japanese Language Learning Centre, at R. S. Puram.

It is break time and the students relax after a heavy session on Japanese grammar. Aravind’s friend Praveen is also a student there, and they are discussing animatedly “J-pop” and “ghost animae”. Praveen enjoys Japanese music. “The Japanese pop music scenario is quite active. They are as strong as the Korean pop music now. Like K-pop, they are called the J-pop,” he explains.

They are also huge fans of Japanese ghost animation films. Their teacher and director of the institution, S. Shanmuga Priya, who they call “Sensei”, meaning “teacher” in Japanese, says that the two of them persuade her to watch these films. “I do not like ghost films. Since they have given me the CDs now, I have no other option,” she smiles.

A post-graduate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) course, from Chennai University, Shanmuga Priya was all set to join a private company. “It was my teacher, Ranganathan, the chairman of ABK-ATOS DOSOKAI in Chennai, who encouraged me to start a centre in Coimbatore.”

Another student, Chithra, in the advanced level, says it is her admiration for Japanese culture that inspired her to come here. “Japanese people are humble and modest,” she says.

P. Monisha, who was selected by the Japanese government for the Kizuna programme to visit the Fukushima site, is in awe of their hospitality. “I was called to a few houses and treated so royally.”

The syllabus at the institute has been designed to familiarise the students with Japanese culture. “When you learn a language, it is important to know its cultural background. We use audio-visual programmes so that the students are exposed to right diction, mannerisms and accent. We teach the students to use chopsticks and wear a kimono”, says Shanmuga Priya.

The Japanese Education Ministry has set the syllabus, and the course material is also provided by them. There are around 30 students, who fall into the basic- and advanced-level batches. Both the courses qualify the students to attempt the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).

Despite the fact that the language has around 1850 standard scripts, the students say that they find learning it easy. “It is such an interesting language. You soon forget about the difficulties,” says Chithra.

Shanmuga Priya says the students’ knowledge of Tamil is a great help. “For instance, the Tamil expression Poyittu Varen is there in Japanese as well. They say Itte kimasu, which means the same thing . Shanmuga Priya now has plans of starting a library of Japanese books. “However, my first priority is to expand the infrastructure of the institute,” she says.

The students’ knowledge of Tamil is a great help. Tamil has a wide range of sounds and alphabets. Hence, the students grasp the pronunciation of Japanese words fast

S. Shanmuga Priya

Live without thinking - The Hindu

INTERNET According to French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, the wise need to accept both mental and physical limits. Sudhamahi Regunathan

Alain de Botton takes the help of philosopher Michel de Montaigne to help us understand how to overcome a feeling of inadequacy in the fourth video in the series of “Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness”. The talk is titled ‘Montaigne on Self Esteem’.

“Montaigne was a rather lovable kind of philosopher because he seems to understand what makes us feel bad about ourselves and in his book addresses three main areas of inadequacies,” says Botton, “Firstly, bodily inadequacy; that is we are not comfortable with our body, we feel awkward about it. Secondly, the inadequacy we feel when we think others are judging us; our customs and habits are not being approved of. And thirdly, intellectual inadequacy; when we feel we are just not clever enough.”

As usual Botton takes us to the home place of the philosopher, which in this case is a small French town 30 miles east of Bordeaux. Here stands a castle overlooking hay farms where Montaigne was born. Montaigne’s life was enviable, and as Botton says, could spark a feeling of inadequacy in itself: a nobleman, a lawyer, a friend of the king of France, twice Mayor of Bordeaux…and he retired at the age of 38 to sit in his castle and read, reflect and write.

Montaigne wrote about all that was left out in conventional writing…he felt that we were surrounded by wrong role models who do not give space to what we actually are and this can give rise to hatred when we fail to make the grade. And so he wrote about ordinary things so as to make every reader feel “normal”. As Botton says he took the reader into confidence by sharing some very intimate and not so pleasant facts about himself, like even farting and his bowel habits. This way he let the trappings of sophistication and hypocrisy drop.” The most terrible and violent of our reflections is to despise our own beings…”

Montaigne worked at one tower at one end of his castle. As Botton takes us up to his bedroom he tells us Montaigne loved the idea of drifting into sleep and so he would have the church bells ring in the middle of the night, so that he could drift back to sleep!

Up till Montaigne most philosophers had said that it is reason that brings us the best chance for fulfilment. Montaigne differed. He said our mind creates all our problems. The first problem with having a mind is that, “… we are disgusted with our physical selves, we often think we are too fat or too gross or uncouth and develop eating disorders, sexual hang ups and embarrassments,” says Botton. “Montaigne knew many people around him afflicted by physical shame. He knew a man who killed himself because he let off a cacophony of farts at a banquet. A woman who was so embarrassed to eat that she always ate behind a curtain. Another man was obsessed that he should be buried in his underpants…Montaigne urges to accept that we are half animals…he reminds us that kings and philosophers shit and so do ladies...in this regard he felt animals are cleverer than us because we they are more comfortable with their bodies. We should accept our bodies gracefully and with a touch of humour…says Montaigne.”

All around the world, people tend to view with intolerance anyone who does not share their customs. “We are all liable to face prejudice the day we stray from our customs,” said Montaigne. So he pleads that we should not judge more by habit than experience.

As for intellectual confidence Montaigne asserted that we need wisdom and for wisdom all you need is humility, modesty and an acceptance of your intellectual limits. The wise accept mental limits just as they accept physical limits…College education perhaps misses out on lessons in life... it tests learning more than knowledge…and that leads to a wrong sense of the self.

Montaigne thus cautions against intellectual arrogance and says the best way to live is without thinking…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOjDttEtfGI

AICTE norm for SC, ST students upheld - The Hindu

HC bars State from lowering the mark

From the coming academic year, SC/ST students in Tamil Nadu will have to secure a minimum of 40 per cent marks to qualify for joining undergraduate courses in technical education. The Madras High Court has ruled that the State government is barred from fixing a lower eligibility mark than the one prescribed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

The First Bench, in its order of Wednesday, declined to give a direction to lower the minimum eligibility criteria from 40 per cent as fixed by the AICTE to 35 per cent as prescribed by the State government for SC/ST candidates.

In its judgment on a writ appeal and a writ petition, the Bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar, made it clear that by an order on August 22 last year, the court had given an interim direction that status quo be maintained. Students belonging to SC/SC(A)/ST who had obtained 35 per cent marks, but less than 40 per cent marks in the 10+2 examinations, got admission to the engineering colleges in the State. They were pursuing their studies at present. “Hence, all such admissions made during the years 2011-12 and 2012-13 in respect of SC/SC(A)/ST candidates shall not be disturbed, and they shall be allowed to pursue their course.”

The Acting Chief Justice observed that so far as the issue that many seats had remained vacant in engineering colleges in the State on account of the prescribed 40 per cent eligibility criteria for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Caste-Arunthathiyar/ Scheduled Tribe was concerned, even before the AICTE had prescribed 40 per cent as the minimum eligibility criterion, seats in the engineering colleges relating to such categories remained vacant. In fact, for 2011-12 when for the first time the AICTE prescribed the eligibility criterion of 40 per cent for the reserved categories, the number of vacant seats in respect of the categories fell to 17,469 from 18,372 seats during the previous year.

Originally, the state government filed the appeal against a single Judge’s order of July last year dismissing a writ petition. The Judge had held that the State had no legal or constitutional authority to challenge the AICTE regulations.

The Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Technical Education SC/ST Employees Welfare Association filed a writ petition seeking to quash the AICTE’s notification of July 4, 2011, stipulating 40 per cent minimum marks for the reserved categories.

The State government submitted that the requirement of a higher percentage of marks would put the socially backward students belonging to SC/SC (A)/ST to serious disadvantage in getting admission to engineering courses.

The Bench said from Supreme Court decisions, the principles which emerged included that the State could not prescribe minimum eligibility criteria lower than what had been prescribed by AICTE. However, it could prescribe higher eligibility criteria. If the State fixed a higher minimum eligibility criteria than that fixed by the AICTE, admissions to technical courses should be made only on the basis of the State-fixed eligibility criteria, even though seats meant for the reserved category remained unfilled.

Applying the Supreme Court principles to the facts of the present case, the Bench said the State government could not have prescribed a lower eligibility criterion in respect of reserved category candidates, i.e 35 per cent instead of 40 per cent prescribed by AICTE. It could have, at the best, only prescribed equal or a higher than the minimum marks fixed by AICTE, the Bench said and dismissed the writ appeal and the petition.

A bitter battle turns sweet at the end - The Hindu

L. Ponnudurai

Dalit boy completes chemical engineering and lands job, despite all odds

Four years ago, L. Ponnudurai was cleaning tables at a restaurant in Rajapalayam bus depot. In a month from now, he will begin work in a reputed cement company, as a chemical engineer.

The story of this gritty Dalit boy from Gopalapuram village near Rajapalayam in southern Tamil Nadu is an inspiring one. When he was barely five years old, his mother had committed suicide. Soon after this, his father remarried and sent him away to his grandmother’s place.

A relative noted his keenness to learn and put him in a government Adi Dravidar hostel. “My relatives were mill labourers and earned very little. To avoid burdening them, I used to stay in the hostel even during holidays,” said Ponnudurai.

He scored 96 per cent in Class X, and friends suggested a vocational course at a polytechnic institute. But, Ponnudurai said, he was keen on studying further.

Scholarships helped him finish Class XII with 93 per cent. He, however, faced a roadblock when he wanted to pursue his dream of going to college, as he did not have money to buy a form and apply for engineering counselling.

One day, his former physics teacher spotted him working at Vasantha Bhavan in Rajapalayam. “The next day, all my teachers landed up there. They had pooled in money to send me to Chennai and apply for engineering,” said Ponnudurai.

But this was not the end of Ponnudurai’s struggle. He tried to apply for an education loan all on his own, but bank officials wanted his father to be present. “He came only after my school teachers pleaded with him and promised to pay for his travel,” he added.

Ponnudurai came to Chennai with Rs. 2,000 and two pairs of clothes, but these were not his concerns. “Having studied in Tamil, learning in English was very difficult,” he said. Taunts over his complexion or his trousers almost broke his will. “I ran away thrice from campus, vowing never to return, but friends persuaded me to go back. In the hostel, I kept to myself,” he said.

But now, life is looking up. He recently cleared a recruitment interview with Ramco Cements and has got a decent offer. “I cannot ask for more.They let me answer questions in Tamil. I did not want to work in an IT company. I studied chemical engineering and I really like the subject,” he said, smiling. He has other plans too. “In villages, even bright students are unaware of opportunities, admission procedures, and scholarships. I want to convince students there to finish college,” he said