Skip to main content

Grades -- Quantization Error

"... It is rumored that some professors decide grades by tossing coins ...."
-- The Art of Computer Programming, Vol. II, DE Knuth
In my school days the marks that a student used to get in terminal exams had a resolution of 0.5. Importantly, if you get 24.5 in some paper there was good chance that it will get modified to 25. Good!!! So it was natural to try for at least an increment of 0.5. Nice. Whatever be the situation the quantization error was at most 0.5. Meanwhile I think that the system was quite fair and their was no short-cuts. I moved to colleges where although the phenomenon of quantization error was still prevalent but other factors emerged. Contacts, mugging (although it was in school also; but in colleges mugging was done knowingly), cheating and many many other political games.
Well with time I came in a college where huge quantization error also came in picture. They call this quantization phenomenon as grades. Whatever be the interpolator you will use you could not get some picture of talent by using these grades. See an example of a subject, where grades were distributed as, 70+ 'A', 35-69 'B' .... and like this. This is great. Now these pictures of 'A' and 'B' are often used to represent oneself, so a person having score of 36 and other having 69 will smile together. Yeah they should smile together. Interestingly I found that students still do cheat(before coming to examination hall they pray Goddess saraswati (minerva) --- God Help me to write paper in a good way, God help me to get success ... blah, blah, blah ...) . If you are not cheating ... you should die. If you are reporting that some malpractice has ocurred ... they say, where it has ocurred, we were there,... what rubbish you are talking!!! Now after some hours of mental trauma, you come to the conclusion ... it is hard to believe in human beings in context of truth. There is none.
So Pinky cheats, Rocky copies, hitech Guy does manipulation and Mr.Ass gets beaten. Next day you will find them discussing issues in this country called India, and very very worried!!!
So this great person, DE Knuth, has rightly quoted above mentioned line in his book, The Art of Computer Programming.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Sister Nandita Saha, wrote a poem when she was in her 10-11th standards. An intelligent student, she always wants to major in Physics area. Hope god helps her. IF ONEDAY……….. If one day u feel like crying…. call me. I don’t promise that I will make u laugh…. But I can cry with u. If one day u want to run away… Don’t be afraid to call me I don’t promise u to ask u to stop But I can run with u. If one day u don’t want to listen to any one… call me. I promise to be there for u. I promise to be very quiet. If one day u want to be alone, just remind me. I promise I shall not disturb u But I promise to bring more calm for u. If one day u feel like crazy… Give a knock to me. I don’t promise to make u normal But I can listen to ur heart……… If one day u feel not very special Just look at me, I don’t promise that I will make u special But shall cross the ‘’not’’. If one day u feel very sad Click to me. I don’t promise to make u hap...
5 comments
Read more

Praying for "love"

Dear Love, I am sitting beside you. I know you are ill for several days. Your health looks miserable and many a times you were not able to respond. I have been busy in my work, and could not take care of yours. I am feeling really bad and guilty for my behavior. I remember those moments when we were talking, laughing and enjoying every moment of our life. Watching your pale face I am feeling sad and disheartened... It was almost two years back when we met. I came to this place ( IIITb ) alone, with none of my old friends with me. No one was here with whom I could talk, share my thoughts and was feeling as if I am in desert. True, it is that there were folks around me, but effectively, even then, life was dry and relentless. In those dark moments I met you. Initially you were unresponsive in many contexts, but gradually I came to know lot of things about you. Believe me, at the very first sight I got enchanted to you. You were the real fashionista, always wearing in black embroideries c...
15 comments
Read more

Is Education becoming too costly ... ?

Thus, I am back to Bangalore . It was (as should be) very nice and refreshing Home going, also the social thinker within me was kept alive (in silent mode) and lot a many social fabrics were unthreading themselves in my imagination. I do not have wide study of Social constructs, neither I have the chance to participate in any relevant discussion, so I am not going to make any assertion, rather it will be a compilation. Of the many a things that touched my mind set during this journey, education was one of them. Particularly the cost of a "good" education can be any thing these days. Also, degrees are easily available for those who have money. This essentially means, you can buy engineering, medical, business management and many other degrees. Dilution of Courses and Examination -- The standard 10 th and 12 th examination ( CBSE ) has become lot easier. I have heard of Sample Papers being distributed among students, in Kendriya Vidyalaya (they conduct pre -exam tests usi...
2 comments
Read more