Google

Hi Google! Google, Google, you are my everything!

Only thing I am jealous of the current generation is the existence of google at their finger tips to clear any doubt or to acquire any knowledge about anything in any field.
This thought takes me to some of the tough classes I did attend at the Engineering College in late 60’s.
There were not very many good books in Electrical Engineering at that time. One by “M.G. Say” and another by “Theraja” , I had at that time about Electricity. Sorry, I forgot the full names of the authors. Say’s explanations are short and precise, but not that elaborate. Theraja’s are very elaborate and simple to read with a lot of examples of problems with the descriptive solutions.
I have this habit of trusting and believing everything in print. (Even now, my husband and kids have to remind me not to believe what I get as forwards in Whatsapp and some other stuff in the internet.)
Some of the smart ones in my class told me, there are so many mistakes in the solutions in Theraja’s book.
There was no calculator at that time. I didn’t like the “slide rule” we were allowed to use for the calculations.
Actually it slowed down my problem solving skills. While multiplication tables, addition, subtraction came to me directly from head, “slide rule” slowed down my calculation process as a whole.
There were all types of lecturers and professors coming to teach different subjects. I am not a genius, but a little above average, that’s all. I depended more on the lectures, so I wouldn’t miss any class. Our education system is like that time, spoon feeding by the teachers. Researching and learning from other resources were at PhD level studies only. Never knew that method. So if I missed a lecture, it was difficult for me to catch up.
Even though I concentrated well, sometimes, I found it difficult to follow some of the lectures. If I had some doubts, according to my nature, I would get up and ask, but that was in Schools.
Majority of the class was boys, so it was a little embarrassing for me to ask a question, in front of everybody, even though I was not at all shy in front of the boys, since I had grown up with my twin brothers.
Only once I made that mistake of asking a doubt in the class. The lecturer thought I was trying to pull his legs, so instead of clearing my doubt, he asked me one or two questions to answer and I failed in answering them correctly in front of the whole class. So on my part that was the end of clearing doubts from a lecturer/professor during the lecture.
The sessional mark the lecturer/professor gives a student was another thing which stopped the kids of asking doubts. We didn’t want to question them and made it difficult for them to give us a good answer to make them feel like a fool in front of the whole class. Any grudge caused by that kind of action from a student side, for sure would be reflected on his/her sessional marks which add up to about 20% in our finals. ( I am not sure about the exact percentage, sorry!)
Nobody wanted to lower the sessional mark , so everybody was at their best behavior to be in the good book of lecturers/professors.
All of us sat in the class like we understood everything they taught us as if we were all geniuses. Some of our lecturers/professors were great teachers. Some, I felt, why did they waste their time as well as ours?
Teaching was not at all one of their talents, so I don’t blame them.
There was not at all anything equivalent to google to improve the general knowledge at that time.
Yes, but there was a College library full of books.
Yes, there was Encyclopedia available at that time. But nothing was anywhere near google.
Recently I saw a different kind of plant in my garden. Never seen it before anywhere. Then it flowered and eventually it bore fruits unique to it. I looked in the google to find the fruits similar to it. But I couldn’t find any fruit similar to it. Then one day Aby, my son, came to run some errands for me. I asked him,
“come and see this fruit”,
“have you seen it before ? Any idea what it is? You know, I like to eat wild berries, but I am wondering whether it is edible?”
He took his iPhone , asked me,
“didn’t you google? Don’t you know, google has a reverse image search”.
No, I didn’t know there was an option like that.
Within two or three minutes, he showed me the type of fruit I have in google, using “reverse image”.
Yes, it was edible. I was thinking, how lucky this current generation is. All these developments came within the last two decades. When I graduated in Computer Science in 1992, I remember in our last class, our professor Dr. Mary Robinson Slabey telling us about the future “Super Highway” coming to connect all the personal computers to each other, so they would be able to communicate each other just like telephones.
I was trying to imagine the cable just like phone cables connecting all the individual personal computers to each other…
Now I think about the kids of this generation! The knowledge is at their finger tips. There was some jealousy somewhere at the bottom of my Heart, I pretended not to be aware of it. That’s life!

PostScript: Google
One of my classmates asked me few questions, after reading the blog “Google”.
It is more than 50 years, since we graduated from Government Engineering College, Trichur. So for his questions, I had to answer the following, so I am adding it as PostScript: Google.

I did graduate from
Mansfield University, Pennsylvania in 1992.
I was 39 years old when I joined for this four year Bachelor degree in Computer Science. But I could complete it within two and a half years, since the transcript of the Engineering degree showed the subjects taken already and so I didn’t have to repeat them.
After graduating, I
worked as Programmer Analyst, Software Engineer, in different places like: Guthrie, Cornell University, Osram Sulvania, Orthstar etc.
It was a very fast changing/growing field, very challenging at that time…
Main frame computer to personal computer, internet, laptop…
So much developments in such a short time…
Wow!
Only when I look back now, I wonder how did I cope with that super fast Technology World?
Bachelor degree of 4 years in USA was so easy comparing to what I studied for integrated professional Engineering degree of 5 years.
See what I ended up with!
Bragging… No, it is not. I am honest in all my dealings.

I graduated from the class of about 30 kids as the best student and with an honor of Magna Cum Laude with 3.89/4 QPA.
Sounds like I am bragging and actually I feel kind of embarrassed 😩.
I was not that patriotic when I lived in India. But once I was outside India, I always had the feeling that I am representing the whole India!
I was trying desperately to show others that I am as good as anybody else or better than all of them. Still I never had to try that hard to attain that.
The education system in USA is very simple. It felt like a breeze comparing to the Engineering degree, I took. I just attended the classes regularly, did my homework and attempted all the tests which happened after each chapter. The final examination was not comprehensive for most subjects. So less stress for the students.
For Engineering, I didn’t study that hard, so I didn’t pass out with flying colors. Only during the study leave, I read the texts and notes once. But I attended the classes and tests regularly and submitted records and drawings in time. I never studied everyday. That’s it.
Only difference was at Mansfield Univetsity, I always stood up and cleared my doubts in the class. Majority of the classmates were in their early twenties, only four or five were like me – middle aged. This time, I was very serious about my studies and I wanted to acquire full clear knowledge of what I studied for my degree. I didn’t study for grades this time, but for knowledge.
Did I get a good job with my Computer Science Degree?
Yes, I did. Landed a job as Programmer Analyst at Cornell University, Ithaca. One of the Ivy League Schools!
I was so happy to get a job at that prestigious Institution, where I never got a chance to study.
At that time (1992), I don’t think the Silicone Valley was in existence.
Also only Main frame computers were in existence. Internet, personal laptop computers etc. came in existence only after 7+ years.
I worked on main frames, used COBOL language, Mumps, Natural etc.
I did drive 61 miles one way for 3 years or so to reach my work place at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
Since we lived in a small town far away from any big Cities, there was not very many choices for me work vice.
Also I gave the preference in career to my husband’s, so always looked for a job somewhere nearby to my small town where my husband worked as the Director of the Emergency Department of the Troy Community Hospital.
My next job was in Osram Sylvania, Towanda, PA.
The distance was only about 28 miles, one way. There my job was to collect all the data from the main frame and put in a database to use with personal PCs.
The Internet was coming and I was preparing the company for it. That’s how main frame computers died. I worked as a contractor there, so made exactly double of what I made at Cornell University.
This is the story of my life.
I couldn’t shine that high with my computer science degree since I always gave importance to my husband’s career. We always settled in a place where it was convenient for my husband’s job.
Also I liked to have a happy and peaceful married life and to be with the family all the time. There was no University nearby to study for post graduation in Electrical Engineering, that’s why I went to a nearby state College “Mansfield University” which was only 21 miles away from my home and took another degree that was available major in Computer Science which was a new subject for me.
I didn’t have that much of an ego to compete with my husband
But I have proven myself that I can conquer anything I want, but it was my choice how high I wanted to go.
I don’t have any regret about anything.
I always try to be a better person than of yesterday’s.
God was always very kind to me and I am thankful for all His blessings, showered upon me.
Sorry, if I bragged too much!
It is only once in a life time, I get a chance like this to talk about myself, right?