Knowledge vs. Degree

Today, I followed my daily routine; sit on the roof where cold air gently touches my hair and gives me room to think. I think that my troubles fly away with that air and refreshes my mind for incoming new ideas. Today, I have a different aspect of life to think about. I just had a discussion with my parents. They wanted me to get a degree in everything that I do whereas I wanted a real-time learning. I think learning is more necessary than to acquire an academic degree. The concept of knowledge only after degree builds an immense criticism in me.

In the context of Nepalese society, a degree-holder is in a demand. I would quote them the “Pandits” as people assume they are the knowledge house with every possible learning in their field. Well, “pandits”, meaning the holy spirit directly related to god, are only the people with normal degrees.

Can you guess what it would be for the people with MBBS or Engineering degree?

“People with immense learning intellectual”

Or in other words, “GOD”

Well, I agree that the rigor of the curriculum might make them knowledgeable. However, it has nothing to do with learning and degree. I would say that they have different identities. Simply gaining theoretical and some practical knowledge of the designated course would not make them “god”.

People have been performing most of the engineering skills from the ancient times. Remember the Egyptians who made pyramids with their skills who had no degrees. Also, Mayans had a good knowledge in astronomy though they were not even sure whether earth rotated the sun or the other way around.

All th eskills that we are used-to have been passed upon us by our ancestors. All the high-tech devices and scientific success are nothing but the refurnished form of simple tricks applied by the ancestors. So, these degrees have not brought any innovation to the world which could “wow” the people.

Lets take a recent example,

You must have heard about Kelvin Doe. Who was he?

The obvious answer would be He is the boy who became a youngest visiting practitioner at MIT who invented his own battery and also made a radio station.

From the fact, did he have any degree for doing so? He wasn't graduate of MIT or Harvard. In fact, he had not even completed his high school. Though, he had that knowledge and trenchant towards technology in him that paved his path to innovation.

Thing of Bill Gates or Mark Zugerberg or any other university dropout who has reached to the top position in the world. They are leading the economy but still, they have not acquired any degree. With this, I don't intend you to drop out. The gist is that learning does not need to be from getting a degree.

My interviewer of Princeton said that Bill Gates did not drop out because he could not study. Rather, he dropped out due to the disability of the degree-based curriculum which did not lead to the innovation he wanted. He clarified that ideas comes from brain and not degree.

I believe that my uncle who had only practical knowledge of working as a mechanic is a better mechanical engineer that a student with excellent GPA in mechanical engineering.

Degree never relates with learning. Knowledge can be gained at any moment with any methodology. Degree and learning are the different partitions. Learning grows with practice whereas degree only shows the way to that practice. People can learn from failures, innovations and accidental success. Kelvin did not “wow” MIT with his academic degree. Rather, he did it with much effort, failures, knowledge and innovation respectively. Microsoft and facebook did not evolve from degree. They arouse from innovation or knowledge.

The cold air is still playing with my hair. Though, the feeling of this playfulness of air has grown much deeper in my heart as I have reached to my conclusion. I don't know about the community but I am satisfied and clarified with my answers. I now feel that I must climb down the roof and go to sleep. Not a single book taught me to do so. But I will...

A salute to army

All these feelings started with the entry of an army man in our house. That man had strange behaviors. He used to come silently and be cool enough that made me wonder if he was not a REAL army. He used to bring many army stuffs in home and shared openly with my family. This was another thing to suspect on. Why is he being kind to us? May be that’s a master plan. May be he thinks we are terrorists. He was in no way an actual army for me as I thought no army would be kind.

Days proceeded. He brought the whole family in his room. It was more of a group of armies that a family of army. This made me suspect him even more. Well, fear had overtaken the suspicion. I was afraid if he would kill all my family in a single shot.

I felt his special sharp eyes on me. Whenever I passed by him or vice versa, he used to give me a sharp look with threatening eyes. Who was I to question an army why he looked at me that way? I had to get away from him as soon as possible. To avoid further eye-contact, I started to look down whenever he passed by me. Due to this, I did not have to look at his ever threatening and frustrating eyes. May be he felt weird or may be proud. It was none of my business.

He used to dine with us sometimes and we used to dine with him. Even though nobody suspected his presence, I had a huge suspicion in his phony smile. Additionally, he used to give me that killer’s look every time he smiled. However, I was not afraid of him. I felt that my parents were there to protect me from that danger. His clinks of wine glass and the strike of spoon on the plate was really confusing. I felt that there was some message in that sound too. May be a chopper would fly by our house and kill us all. I could think of nothing other than “Kill”.

I could not control my fear with his presence around me. I did not know what to do but my glass for fear was already starting to over flow. I would compare myself with Sheldon Cooper when he could not tell something he wanted to. Finally, I gathered guts to ask it to my mother.

“Haha, my dear son. He is an army and we are not terrorists. Army is also a human and he is a social being” my mother said.

I could not get her abstruse words (it was hard for me to understand then). So, I asked my mother to clarify in simpler language.

Calmly, she sat down and said that the army in our house was a very good man. Army does not mean a person with great strength and rude behavior. Infact, army are our protectors and they are very helpful. They have many hard trainings in their life but they also have a soft heart. In fact, they are more than a simple people as they have greater responsibilities and have quality to protect the country as well as to love the people living inside it.

That day, I realized how hard being an army was. They are not only the people with great guts but also a “sacrifizer”. On one hand, they are powerful and courageous while on the other hand, they are sacrificing their own family for our sake. I regretted the misconception that I had for the army in our house. His eyes were “kinder” for me. His smile was no more suspicious. Further, a good feeling came for the army.

Army is the protector and also a “sacrificer”. So, I feel like to salute the brave people of nation, army.