[Fsf-friends] Linus Torvalds -just for fun

[Harish Narayanan]

kush wrote:
> Also the student in western system of education decides what they want 
> to really study whereas we in India are asked to cram any and 
> everything to give us so called "more rounded" knowledge --ultimately 
> the course is so vast that we just get superficial knowledge of 
> everything and hardly learn much.

While this is perhaps essentially true, I just have a tiny bit to add as 
one who now has a little experience as an educator.

An educational system which allows everyone to choose exactly what they 
want---even from the earliest stages---results not only in a vast 
assortment in the sorts of things people know, but also the depth to 
which they are knowledgeable. Just because you give choice doesn't mean 
people are always motivated enough to go very deep. Unlike a more 
structured, rigid system, a more flexible one doesn't attempt to force 
or correct this, for it doesn't see a problem. The onus is now now on 
the individual to accomplish.

What I am probably saying here is that the educational system plays a 
big role no doubt, but individual motivation and inclination play just 
as big a part. (Which means things can go both ways either way.)

Oh, and something dawned upon me recently. While it may appear as though 
having to know a lot of things from different areas---even including a 
lot of memorisation[1]---is a bad thing; it is not. Often times, to 
solve complex problems, you need to draw on information from varying 
sources, and you need to know a lot before you can assimilate them into 
something cogent. A system which doesn't force this on people will not 
produce as many kids who are "more rounded;" not offering them the 
skills they need to achieve this.

Harish

[1] Note: Memorisation. Not rote memorisation. Rote memorisation is bad 
either way you look at it.