Filter Coffee #051

On the Learning Curve

Dear Readers, thank you very much for your generous appreciation of 🔗 FC #50.

• Yogita says the rhyme-as-reason effect is referred to as the Eaton-Rosen* phenomenon, a cognitive bias that makes people more likely to remember and repeat. (*No researchers by the name Eaton-Rosen have ever published papers on the topic. The most likely explanation for how this term originated is that on July 11, 2013, an anonymous Wikipedia user inserted the term “Eaten-Rosen phenomenon” into the Wikipedia article of the rhyme-as-reason effect, stating that this represents “alternative nomenclature” for this cognitive bias.)

June 20th is declared by the UN as ‘World Refugee Day’. This year the theme is ‘Every Action Counts’. The day celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

June 20th is also ‘Father’s Day’. Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there and also those women who have been more than a father to their kids. I liked an anonymous quote I came across: “Dad, your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever.” I think as fathers all of us are happy to be our children’s guides.

June 18th, 1983 was a historic day in Indian cricket. Kapil’s Devils won the world cup! Look at Kapil’s feat against Zimbabwe which helped India get to the finals and beat the West Indies. The scorecard: 1-0 Gavaskar, 2-6 Srikkanth, 3-6 Amarnath, 4-9 Sandeep Patil, Kapil walked in, then 5 for 17 Yashpal Sharma, 6-77 Roger Binny, 7-78 Ravi Shastri, 8-140 Madan Lal. Three hours later India were 266 for 8 and Kapil remained unbeaten at 175! Let’s salute his indomitable spirit and leadership. Not to forget Mohinder Amarnath’s feat in the finals. He scored 26 runs and took 3 wickets for 12 runs in 7 overs!

📚 The Learning Curve

Going back in time to the 60s, we siblings were familiar with the words ‘learning’ and ‘curve’ but never did we realise that the two words together would have another connotation. It is only much later in life that I came across this phrase learning curve. 

The learning curve is not structured but differs from situation to situation and individual to individual. In fact, it normally does not involve academic learning. It has more to do with what one does to hone one’s skill in any given field in changing circumstances.

If you asked me about cooking I might claim to be on the learning curve but my wife would stoutly dispute that I am learning, let alone being on the curve. In contrast, a sous chef can fairly claim that he is on a learning curve to become a chef in his own right.

Speaking of cooking, I think my wife knows almost everything there is to know about cooking, but she surprises me by talking to chefs and picking up a new recipe or two when we are on a holiday or on a cruise. For her, the cooking learning curve keeps going up. 

I think music is another area where a serious student is forever in pursuit of perfect rendition. The vastness of the vocal art keeps her on a flat curve of learning and she has to stay on it all through her musical career. The flat curve represents riyaaz or sadhana. This applies to all forms of music.

Many put themselves on the learning curve and stay on it for career progression or for knowledge integration. Take me for example. I passed out law decades ago and the curriculum we had then paled into insignificance compared to the curriculum of the National Law School. I had to stay on the learning curve all through my career — and haven’t got off that curve even now.

Progression on the learning curve can also be compared to a hundred-meter dash and a half marathon. A fresh IT graduate can hit the ground running but after a while, he finds himself on the learning curve to stay current. The progression of a person wanting to be a pilot resembles a Marathon — from the flying school to eventually fulfilling his dream of flying the Dreamliner. 

The same can be said of a medical student who is dreaming of becoming a super-specialist. In the medical field, the learning curve is all about surgeons learning to do non-invasive or robotic surgery or doing traditional surgery with sophistication.

CLC or the Covid Learning Curve is a phrase I have coined to share some thoughts with you on how the pandemic has been a blessing in so far as it has exposed most of us to new ways of doing various activities whether it be personal or official.

Let us look at the Gen-past, i.e., elder citizens who are 75+. Many of them were unfamiliar with iPhones or Android phones and how to access the various features including social media. Today they have learnt to send messages, do either WhatsApp video or Facetime with their sons, daughters and grandchildren. They now know what ‘online’ means and have learnt to order medicines, food, and various other daily needs. They have put themselves on the CLC, and are continuing to find ways to maximise the advantages that the virtual medium has to offer. 

Most of us, despite being familiar with technology, find ourselves on the CLC. Soon after the first lockdown, we started working from home (WFH). Many of us had to learn and keep abreast of innovations in remote working. Learning about virtual meetings on various platforms like Zoom, Teams, Webex, etc. made us realise that platform is not where the train stops but it is where we train ourselves to communicate. Communicating on a virtual platform and being taken seriously requires a disciplined approach, as the meeting dynamics of a real-life meeting and virtual meeting are quite different.

Phrases like screen sharing, waiting room and break-out room have acquired a new meaning. WFH has also taught us to make an effort to balance the domestic tensions and the pressures of WFH and stay relevant to the organisation by being efficient and productive. All of this indicates that we will, in one way or the other, continue to be on the CLC and who knows what new lessons the third wave might teach us if ever there is one.

It is no surprise that the pandemic has made people learn to use apps like Arogyasetu and Cowin. People unfamiliar with the English language have learnt to use words like ‘sanitizing, mask, positive, negative, social distancing, vaccination, etc. Sanitize has been spelt in more ways than you would think possible — ‘senitiser’, ‘santyser’, ‘santijer’ and so on. Pronunciation hardly matters when you realise the pronounced effect the pandemic has had in making people learn new words that are contextually relevant.

In a lighter vein:  How circumstances can put one on an unanticipated learning curve:

• An out of job guy took to the learning curve and became a locksmith. It has opened many doors for him.

• After looking at a long memo, the CEO wrote, “You should learn to be brief. Tell me in one sentence what might happen if I bend the law a bit?”. The Law Officer replied: “Sentence is what you will get.”

• A 60-year-old lady started to learn how to swim. Someone asked her: "Why the sudden interest in swimming?" The lady replied: "Whenever my son and daughter-in-law quarrel with each other, my daughter-in-law always asks my son: If your mom and I fall into the water, whom will you save first? I do not want to put my son in a difficult position.”

• Little Johnny was learning numbers. To teach 5-5, the teacher asked, “You have 5 burgers and if I take all of them from you what will you be left with?” Johnny replied, “French fries.” 

• Finally, in this cell phone era, when people prefer texting and hardly carry a spoken conversation, they need to put themselves on a learning curve to relearn social conversation. Otherwise, there could be a situation like this — The wife tells the husband, “The maid is expecting.” Without taking his eyes off the phone, he asks, “How much does she want?”

Dear readers, please share your unique experience of being on the CLC. See you next week!