The need to disrupt the educational sector
The educational system is flawed from its inception, from how the curriculum is structured, to the metrics that are used to evaluate the results. The notion that our schools and colleges, equipped with a static and linear system of teaching, deemed effective, has been proven wrong time and time again by the fact that the number of graduates in the discipline of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has increased exponentially in recent years, yet the scale and scope of innovation have plateaued out. This calls for a paradigm shift in the industry.
Learn by building
The human brain is inherently inefficient in memorizing words and numbers, and throws the whole lot into the short-term memory of the brain (hippocampus). The brain is a lot more adept at understanding logic and memorizing images which lay the solid foundation around which the educational system should be structured upon. Being a self-taught
programmer, I figured out that I substantially increased my rate and depth of learning by diving headfirst into a problem and trying to figure it out on the fly, rather than attending lectures and doing a course on the topic. The internal mechanics and working of a system can be inferred by building the component from scratch. The act of putting the system together brings a new sense of understanding in the overall working of the machine and also the purpose of every component that is being used.
Connecting the dots
It is common for technologies to overlap in different industries. Take for example — a transponder used in avionics for identifying aircraft is also used in satellite communications. Ingenuity is taking a process or system from an existing field and applying the same to a new field thereby making the system better. Building understanding around a topic (for example — a satellite) and its related subtopic (for example — photovoltaic cells for power, the thrust and escape velocity required to send the payload to space, and the orbital dynamics for the satellite) can help you transfer your understanding to another field. There’s certainly merit in taking the entire system as a whole rather than studying isolated components within a system.
Reverse engineer
Most often than not, it is easier to work yourself backward by taking things apart and understanding through deductive reasoning how a system works rather than taking a linear top-down approach. This bolsters your comprehension of the internal workings of the machine.
Nothing needs to be the way it is because it’s the way it’s always been
The current system evaluates the aptitude of a student by quantitatively measuring the retention capacity for a fixed amount of data, for a specified period of time. This metric system is doomed to fail as it focuses on the wrong objective. Instead, the student should be awarded based on his/her intellect to connect different systems or ideas to make the existing design more efficient or economical. It is important to understand that systems are designed the way they are because it is the most efficient/economical form that has been proven to date. Thinking from first principles can often take you through the path less traveled and disprove such claims. Awarding based on ingenuity to connect the dots rather than just retention capacity has a much higher chance to spur the rate of innovation and revive the educational sector.
Knowledge does not equal power.
Knowledge is potential power. Knowing all the things in the world and
having industry-shifting ideas makes no difference if no action is taken on it. That’s why it’s important to have a couple of skill sets under your tool-belt, like economics, marketing, and personal finance, that will help breathe life into your ideas.
Final thoughts
Education marks the fine line between fact and fiction and should exist to inspire and impart meaning to the world around us.
I believe that in the short window of time when life blossoms, to when it passes on, there exists a chance to make a difference. Education and perseverance can go a long way in helping you make that difference.
“Everything is possible. The impossible just takes longer.”
Dan Brown
