Life in R-Land without Channel-I?
A Brief History of Humanity
For thousands of years before even the concept of years was developed, humans (read students) were nomadic hunter-gatherers (read gathering knowledge) who travelled from place to place in small groups with very limited interaction with other groups and no signs of civilisation (read educational institutions). Soon, with the agricultural revolution (read Revolt of 1857), there came a time when cities and permanent settlements started to develop near rivers (read Ganges Canal) and human civilisation (read IIT Roorkee) started.
Initially, every person or group was self-sufficient in terms of the resources they needed. With the development of civilisation, it became necessary to use the collective knowledge and effort (read IMG) to lead better lives.
In a permanent settlement, there were people who practised agriculture, people who raised animals, people who provided services like transportation, and many more. But all of them had a surplus of some resource and shortage of some other. A wheat farmer had extra wheat but no meat while a poultry farmer had extra meat but no wheat. Such an imbalance of resources lead to the simultaneous existence of resource (like trunks, fans and bicycles) wastage and shortage, thus, contributing to miseries in the lives of humans.
To counter this problem, humans with their collective knowledge, developed the concept of markets where people could Buy and Sell resources. Wastage of resources reduced up to a large extent and people could now get what they needed. There was happiness all over!
Until the time the cities and civilisations, in general, were small (read fewer departments), it was easy to know what was happening in the different parts of the society. As the cities expanded and kingdoms grew in size (read more departments, courses and branches), it became increasingly difficult for information to travel from one corner of the kingdom to another. News of important events like festivals (Thomso? Cogni? Sangram? E-Summit?) and wars (read Hackathons and other competitions) were often missed by the people. Appointment of new generals (read Deans), royal courtiers (read HoDs) and public officers (read Professors), even a new King (read Director), was unbeknownst to a lot of citizens who were directly or indirectly affected by it. This constant lack of awareness in the society lead to miseries in the lives of humans.
To counter this problem, humans with their collective knowledge, developed the concept of NoticeBoard where all the important information was displayed for the public. Finally, people were now aware of the happenings of the state and could actively take part in the activities related to them. There was happiness all over!
In the rapidly advancing civilisation, the concept of educating (read electronically educating) humans started to emerge. The greatest thinkers and philosophers (read our own professors) started collecting and writing books (read the life-saving slides) for passing their knowledge to fellow students.
There was no centralised collection of all the educational materials. The students relied on those (read CRs) who were in direct contact with the authors to get the books to read. Getting the books of other authors was a nightmare for many. This lack of collective storage of knowledge lead to difficulties for learners hence leading, again, to miseries in the lives of humans.
To counter this problem, humans with their collective knowledge, developed the concept of libraries (read LecTut) where all the books were available for the public. People could now access all the books of all those great authors conveniently. There was happiness all over!
With the rise of education, the world was becoming more and more advanced. There were competent people, some with high scores in education, some with experience in trading and business, some with experience in wars, some with all of the above. There were lots of skills which one could develop in lots of ways.
With so many skilled people in the society, how could they show their skills to those offering new prospects? It was physically challenging, and often impossible for people to go and display their skills or achievements to everyone they wished to show it to. Nor was it easy for those offering certain opportunities to compare the prospective candidates based only on the information they could gather, primarily from word of mouth. This inability of conveying the academic, artistic or any other kind of worth of an individual lead, again, to miseries in the lives of people.
To counter this problem, humans with their collective knowledge, developed the concept of resumes (read SHP), a document (read webpage) in which people could list out their qualifications and achievements to be conveyed to others. People now had a way of keeping a record of their notable skills to prove their self-worth. There was happiness all over!
People could now display their self-worth but the problem of finding jobs still remained unsolved. There were worthy people with healthy resumes seeking opportunities but they did not where to look for work. There was a multitude of places where prospective employers could advertise available positions. With so many diverse sources like word of mouth, newspaper ads (read TPO notices), etc. , it was very easy to miss opportunities, which could have been life-changing. Moreover, it was not always the case that all the information about the opportunity was available to the applicants. These difficulties for people looking for jobs lead, again, to miseries in the lives of humans.
To counter this problem, humans with their collective knowledge, developed the concept of unified job markets (read Placement Online) where all the prospective employers and applicants could register themselves. People could now know all the opportunities and know all about the opportunities available for them. There was happiness all over!
In all this humdrum of life, be it filling your stomach, training your brain, mastering your crafts, it was the heart which started to suffer. People were so lost in using the collective knowledge and efforts in improving their professional lives that they nearly forgot about the soul, deep within the bodies. All the effort was done for development, but now there was a need to spice up lives. All that was needed was a little touch of love in the monotonous lives of human-cum-machines.
To counter this problem, humans with their collective knowledge and collective love (read IMG, with love), developed the concept of valentines (read Connect-e-Dil) to connect hearts all over. A red rose was no more just another flower. There were colours of love in the air and love became as colourful as a rainbow. There was not just happiness all over, but also love!
It is the human collective knowledge and effort, with love, which has been solving the problems of humanity since time immemorial. Not all the problems are solved yet but nor is the collective knowledge stopped functioning. It is we, the humans, who can be the part of this collective knowledge, directly or indirectly, and spread happiness forever. Just don’t forget the love!
