IIT Shaastra - the spirit of engineering - a case study in dumbness

you thought iit students are the smartest people on this planet? you thought iit's are the richest indian colleges? wait till you read this...your thoughts will be shattered, your eyes will be illuminated after staying in darkness and you might become blind. the truth shall be revealed right here right now right way.

last week, iit madras organised a tech fest, called shaastra, a huge event which even had coverage from news papers and participation from colleges all over india. so we went for a physics quiz there. the first dumb statement which the organisers make is "there should be 2 per team, but maximum you can have is 3!"

then after the prelims they announce the results. they want to have 8 teams in the final. to be on the safer side they decide to have waiting list, just in case any team doesnt turn up. guess how many waiting list teams do they have. 1? very very bad guess. 4? closer still far far away donkey! 8? bingo...8 teams in waiting list to fill up 8 places! now maybe i am underestimating iitians...maybe they are too smart...they wanted audience for the finals and hence they put so many in waiting list so that atleast they come!

now what do they do with the audience? they have to entertain them right? so they have audience round in between the quiz. first question...i get it correct...happily i run for my prize and see the guy coming toward me but i dont see any prize in his hand. then when he reaches me, out of his closed fist come 2 popping coffee bites!!!! i am stunned!too stunned to think what to do! i just say "what else should i expect from iit" and walk off. its only later i realise what i should have done. i should have asked a question to the audience myself. "which is the cheapest college on earth? and given the correct answerer 3 chockolates(i already had 1 alpenlibe in my pocket) and say..see even i gave more than the iit" and then should have showed a middle finger to the organisers and walked off from the place, but such good ideas take time to come! neways i was too eager to eat coffee bite to think of such great ideas!

not long ago...iit had held a maths competition called forays. guess what they gave the winners in that competition.a showcase item with all wierd heart shaped things on it. the best prize in that competition was an engineering book. tell me, why do mathematicians need an engineering book?!!

if you are still not convinced that iitians are dumb and iit is a poor college...you deserve to join iit!

but iit gave me something good atleast, they gave me a topic to write about in my blog!