Continuing with the newspaper comments (this blog is mainly inspired by the big bunch of newspapers (at last count 3) that I get at home), Vinod Dham, the father of the Pentium chip, in an interview said, “In China, if you tell someone to walk from point A to B, they do it quietly. In India, they’ll ask you ‘why’ or figure out an algorithm to do it in one-third the time.”
No small words, especially when it’s coming from a man who’s been at the forefront at Intel for nearly 16 years, and is acknowledged as a Silicon Valley legend. And I am in complete agreement with Mr. Dham. In China, the scope for the individual genius is suppressed beneath the greater collective good. Admittedly, this is needed when one’s talking about team work, but then there isn’t that much of an incentive for creativity. Again as Amartya Sen said, we Indians are a tremendously argumentative people. Sometimes these arguments may be inane, but they imply an almost neurotic desire to be not only smart, but also be seen as smart. These arguments serve the purpose of enhancing our abilities where they may seem deficient, as also of buttressing our confidence in our knowledge. The ‘wh’ questions are the main part of our vocabulary. And that is a sign of a genius people.
But that doesn’t mean the Chinese are any less. Mind you, they are now being toasted because they are hard-working. An inherent desire to be applauded sometimes may make a man complacent, to the extent that he forgets his true goal. If India is to retain its edge over China, it has to ensure that this Fountain of Creativity doesn’t dry up; rather that it is supplemented by the Spring of Perseverance and Diligence. Our priorities need to be set right; once that’s done, I think we will not only make our cake but also have it.
No small words, especially when it’s coming from a man who’s been at the forefront at Intel for nearly 16 years, and is acknowledged as a Silicon Valley legend. And I am in complete agreement with Mr. Dham. In China, the scope for the individual genius is suppressed beneath the greater collective good. Admittedly, this is needed when one’s talking about team work, but then there isn’t that much of an incentive for creativity. Again as Amartya Sen said, we Indians are a tremendously argumentative people. Sometimes these arguments may be inane, but they imply an almost neurotic desire to be not only smart, but also be seen as smart. These arguments serve the purpose of enhancing our abilities where they may seem deficient, as also of buttressing our confidence in our knowledge. The ‘wh’ questions are the main part of our vocabulary. And that is a sign of a genius people.
But that doesn’t mean the Chinese are any less. Mind you, they are now being toasted because they are hard-working. An inherent desire to be applauded sometimes may make a man complacent, to the extent that he forgets his true goal. If India is to retain its edge over China, it has to ensure that this Fountain of Creativity doesn’t dry up; rather that it is supplemented by the Spring of Perseverance and Diligence. Our priorities need to be set right; once that’s done, I think we will not only make our cake but also have it.
1 comment:
whatever man. Even if China leaves us fifty years behind, i'd prefer democracy and free speech anyday over their kind of growth.
Our priorities are correctly set atleast in that area, I think. In the longer run, i beleive we'll catch up.
p.s: So you get HT too? Its a far better paper, no?
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