My earlier post # 36/2012 spoke of an amazing bookstore in Oxford, UK. Here, in India, I found another bookstore, which is just as amazing :: The TATA bookhouse in Indian Instt. of Science, Bangalore (Bengaluru for some fanatics). A bookstore where books are piled up from the floor to the ceiling. The place is so small, you wont fall down if you trip over something. You can browse for hours together, until your legs start aching. The things you discover here will make you come for more.
Even the staircase is stacked with books. You wonder how they keep track of all those gems. The remarkable thing I noticed is that, unlike many other bookshops I know, they do not keep any of those dumb "coffee-table books" which you find everywhere. Never mind, they have a real superb coffee house next door where they serve excellent south-Indian coffee and snacks. A visit to Bangalore is not complete without a visit to Tata Book House, and the coffee shop next door.
TATA Book House has a twin sister in IIT Chennai. This one is much bigger, and is much better organised, but it does not impress a book lover, like its Bangalore sister. This bookshop is also located in close proximity to a coffee shop. It is just one floor above "Cafe coffee day". TBH seems to know the formula that book lovers are also great coffee lovers. Good for me !
Thanks to TBH, I am now richer by several great books. I am a happy man !
Interesting Pages
Showing posts with label IIT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IIT. Show all posts
2012-05-04
2011-04-11
Lament of a student
I received this mail recently from a student of maths. If this is what a student feels, we teachers have a lot to think about.
partha
QUOTE //**
Dear Sir,
I am third year undergraduate student at Dept of Mathematics, IIT KGP. And the first thing I would like to say is that the Department Sucks!
I apologize for the language but this is the best I can do considering the enormous amount of frustration I have right now.
I love maths (mainly pure maths) and I am pretty good at it, well at least good enough to understand and appreciate the beauty and depth of this subject. I was up all night going through the awesome library of math books that I have created at my room, solving some olympiad problems and now I'll sleep till the evening missing all my lectures. Is it the right thing to do? Well if the "professors" who teach us maths have no love for the subject or teaching then I think that it is. And I even have real doubts about the competence of some profs as well. Ask them a problem and they'll fumble and they'll ask for some time till the next class and even then it seems like they just mugged up a solution.
It's pathetic! I want to complain, I want to shout at the administration, at the profs, abuse them! But I can't, because I fear they'll ruin my only chance of escape - going for a PhD in maths at a better place, a place where the people teach because they love teaching and because they are good at it.
I am sorry for bothering you with this mail, but after reading your article I felt that you are one of those people who can understand my frustration and I felt like venting.
**// UNQUOTE
The article which provoked the above mail was here originally ::
http://www.freewebs.com/profpartha/publications/futile.pdf
The above article is now at ::
https://drpartha.org.in/publications/futile.pdf
***
partha
QUOTE //**
Dear Sir,
I am third year undergraduate student at Dept of Mathematics, IIT KGP. And the first thing I would like to say is that the Department Sucks!
I apologize for the language but this is the best I can do considering the enormous amount of frustration I have right now.
I love maths (mainly pure maths) and I am pretty good at it, well at least good enough to understand and appreciate the beauty and depth of this subject. I was up all night going through the awesome library of math books that I have created at my room, solving some olympiad problems and now I'll sleep till the evening missing all my lectures. Is it the right thing to do? Well if the "professors" who teach us maths have no love for the subject or teaching then I think that it is. And I even have real doubts about the competence of some profs as well. Ask them a problem and they'll fumble and they'll ask for some time till the next class and even then it seems like they just mugged up a solution.
It's pathetic! I want to complain, I want to shout at the administration, at the profs, abuse them! But I can't, because I fear they'll ruin my only chance of escape - going for a PhD in maths at a better place, a place where the people teach because they love teaching and because they are good at it.
I am sorry for bothering you with this mail, but after reading your article I felt that you are one of those people who can understand my frustration and I felt like venting.
**// UNQUOTE
The article which provoked the above mail was here originally ::
http://www.freewebs.com/profpartha/publications/futile.pdf
The above article is now at ::
https://drpartha.org.in/publications/futile.pdf
***
2011-03-01
Interesting internship at IIT Bombay
Summer Internship
Poster -> http://www.scilab.in/files/workshop_materials/Poster-HiRes.pdf
Or http://www.scilab.in/files/workshop_materials/Poster-LowRes.pdf
Website -> http://www.scilab.in/Textbook_Companion_Internship
Summer internship for the Textbook companion project
The FOSSEE textbook companion project is part of the FOSSEE project at
IIT Bombay. This project is handled by the following professors at IIT
Bombay:
Prabhu Ramachandran (Aerospace Engg Dept), Kannan Moudgalya (Chemical
Engg Dept), Madhu Belur (Electrical Engg Dept), Mani Bhushan (Chemical
Engg Dept), PSV Nataraj (Systems and Control).
Textbook companion summer internship project can be taken up by
students in various colleges who want to undertake a summer internship
at IIT Bombay. The project will involve a teacher of the student (from
the same college) who has taught the subject for at least one or two
years. The teacher will guide the student through the project and will
be responsible for the student's submissions.
The procedure is as follows:
You should know or learn Scilab. Resources are provided here.
For use of any package (other than scilab) you should contact us
separately at contact@scilab.in.
You should propose three books in order of your preference using the
proposal form available at this link (you have to register in order
to access the proposal form).
You must ensure that the book you are proposing has not been completed
under this project or is currently being undertaken under this project
by someone else, (click Completed Books and Books in Progress to see
the respective lists). We will try to tentatively allot one of the
three proposed book. To see examples of the books that have already
been worked upon, visit Completed Books
Please note that the last date for sending codes of one typical
chapter is now extended to 18th March, 2011
It is suggested that you propose the book as early as possible and do
not wait for the last date as your favourite book may get assigned to
someone else.
After we receive your proposal (from the form in item 2 above), we
will respond within a day about which book is tentatively allotted to
you. After tentative allotment, you will submit to us all the codes
for one typical chapter within five days of the allotted book. Fill
the proposal form keeping this 5-days-constraint in mind. The
procedure and format for submitting the codes will be informed by
email.
If you will submit correct and good quality codes then your allotment
will be final with that book. You will be intimated about the approval
or disapproval for your proposal via email within 2 days. If you are
selected then your name along with the textbook proposed will appear
in Books in Progress.
After the final allotment you will start coding of the examples of
entire book in your college itself. You are required to send your
progress/codes to us every week at textbook@scilab.in. Also send the
same to your college teacher. (Note: Lack of regularity on your part
may force us to cancel your internship and the project will assigned
to another intern.)
Simultaneously, you should fill the IITB registration form (Link will
be made available soon on the website) and post it to us.
The time-frame for completion of the book coding will be decided
between you, your college teacher and us.
You will come to IIT Bombay for one week to carry out the changes
suggested by the reviewer. The exact dates for coming to IIT Bombay
will depend upon
Your Vacation
Availability of accommodation at IIT Bombay
Completion of the book
Review of the book
Candidates who finish the report as per specified procedures at the
end of their one week stay here in IIT Bombay will get a certificate:
"Certified that the work completed is equivalent to six weeks of
training under the supervision of the faculty of IIT Bombay".
You will be given an honorarium of Rs. 10,000 for completing this work
and Rs. 5,000 to your college teacher.
For details please click here
You will have to pay all other expenses. For example, some are travel
to and from IIT, boarding and lodging, and internship registration
fees: This will be intimated.
For more details about the Textbook Companion Project, please click here.
For any further query or clarification, please contact us at the
following email address:
textbook@scilab.in
Poster -> http://www.scilab.in/files/workshop_materials/Poster-HiRes.pdf
Or http://www.scilab.in/files/workshop_materials/Poster-LowRes.pdf
Website -> http://www.scilab.in/Textbook_Companion_Internship
Summer internship for the Textbook companion project
The FOSSEE textbook companion project is part of the FOSSEE project at
IIT Bombay. This project is handled by the following professors at IIT
Bombay:
Prabhu Ramachandran (Aerospace Engg Dept), Kannan Moudgalya (Chemical
Engg Dept), Madhu Belur (Electrical Engg Dept), Mani Bhushan (Chemical
Engg Dept), PSV Nataraj (Systems and Control).
Textbook companion summer internship project can be taken up by
students in various colleges who want to undertake a summer internship
at IIT Bombay. The project will involve a teacher of the student (from
the same college) who has taught the subject for at least one or two
years. The teacher will guide the student through the project and will
be responsible for the student's submissions.
The procedure is as follows:
You should know or learn Scilab. Resources are provided here.
For use of any package (other than scilab) you should contact us
separately at contact@scilab.in.
You should propose three books in order of your preference using the
proposal form available at this link (you have to register in order
to access the proposal form).
You must ensure that the book you are proposing has not been completed
under this project or is currently being undertaken under this project
by someone else, (click Completed Books and Books in Progress to see
the respective lists). We will try to tentatively allot one of the
three proposed book. To see examples of the books that have already
been worked upon, visit Completed Books
Please note that the last date for sending codes of one typical
chapter is now extended to 18th March, 2011
It is suggested that you propose the book as early as possible and do
not wait for the last date as your favourite book may get assigned to
someone else.
After we receive your proposal (from the form in item 2 above), we
will respond within a day about which book is tentatively allotted to
you. After tentative allotment, you will submit to us all the codes
for one typical chapter within five days of the allotted book. Fill
the proposal form keeping this 5-days-constraint in mind. The
procedure and format for submitting the codes will be informed by
email.
If you will submit correct and good quality codes then your allotment
will be final with that book. You will be intimated about the approval
or disapproval for your proposal via email within 2 days. If you are
selected then your name along with the textbook proposed will appear
in Books in Progress.
After the final allotment you will start coding of the examples of
entire book in your college itself. You are required to send your
progress/codes to us every week at textbook@scilab.in. Also send the
same to your college teacher. (Note: Lack of regularity on your part
may force us to cancel your internship and the project will assigned
to another intern.)
Simultaneously, you should fill the IITB registration form (Link will
be made available soon on the website) and post it to us.
The time-frame for completion of the book coding will be decided
between you, your college teacher and us.
You will come to IIT Bombay for one week to carry out the changes
suggested by the reviewer. The exact dates for coming to IIT Bombay
will depend upon
Your Vacation
Availability of accommodation at IIT Bombay
Completion of the book
Review of the book
Candidates who finish the report as per specified procedures at the
end of their one week stay here in IIT Bombay will get a certificate:
"Certified that the work completed is equivalent to six weeks of
training under the supervision of the faculty of IIT Bombay".
You will be given an honorarium of Rs. 10,000 for completing this work
and Rs. 5,000 to your college teacher.
For details please click here
You will have to pay all other expenses. For example, some are travel
to and from IIT, boarding and lodging, and internship registration
fees: This will be intimated.
For more details about the Textbook Companion Project, please click here.
For any further query or clarification, please contact us at the
following email address:
textbook@scilab.in
2010-07-11
Linusability + 2
Now IIT-Delhi (my alma mater) has created a special wiki page for "Linux improvement project" (they did not like the "linus" in the "linusability" name).
Take a look ::
Linux usability project
How_to_Improve_Linux_Distro
This is just the beginning. There is still a lot to be done.
partha
Take a look ::
Linux usability project
How_to_Improve_Linux_Distro
This is just the beginning. There is still a lot to be done.
partha
2010-05-08
My lucky day...lucky find
I found the most impressive and most well organised Linux Users Group (LUG), today. I am happy I stumbled on to the LUG at IIT Delhi. Here is the URL ::
http://www.lug-iitd.org/Main_Page
You get many interesting articles, tutorials and news. You can also join their mailing-list where you can interact with young Linux gurus.
I am proud to announce that I am an alumnus of IITD. I have discovered an interesting portion of my alma mater today. Today is my luck day !
partha
**************
http://www.lug-iitd.org/Main_Page
You get many interesting articles, tutorials and news. You can also join their mailing-list where you can interact with young Linux gurus.
I am proud to announce that I am an alumnus of IITD. I have discovered an interesting portion of my alma mater today. Today is my luck day !
partha
**************
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