Random Reflections

  The recent excitement surrounding CHATGPT reminds me of two books I read: “Future Shock” and “The Third Wave”.   Both works, written by Alvin Toffler, were intellectually stimulating, and provided thought-provoking visions of the future.   Although they were published a long time ago, in 1970 and 1980 respectively, long before the advent of AI, many of Toffler’s predictions are still applicable today.   They provide valuable perspectives on the impact of technology and societal change on individuals and organizations. One of Toffler’s predictions that has come to fruition is the accelerating pace of change.   He wrote about how technology and societal changes would happen at an ever-increasing rate, which holds  true today as we continue to witness the rapid development of AI, the internet, and other technological innovations such as robotics and mechatronics.   In “The Third Wave”, Toffler identified three waves of societal change, with the third ...

  With all the brouhaha about U.P. sliding into second place as the country’s premier university upon the recent release of the THE world university rankings, I’ll add in my two cents worth.    Firstly, ranking universities via submitted data by the universities is like judging a beauty pageant using only data of the individual contestants like height, weight, bra size, eye color, waistline measurement, etc.   For all you know, she might be walking with a limp, is cross-eyed and lacking a tooth.   Without actual site visits and interviewing the different stakeholders (parents, students, faculty, and staff) like local accreditors usually do, it’s like ranking the pageant contestants without seeing the candidates up front or interviewing them.    Second, THE and ARWU puts more weight on research and citations of research outputs whereas QS puts more weight on student experience (e.g., diverse/international student body, student faculty ratio), teach...

  Ukrainian War reminds me of the Browning version of Agamemnon: τὸν κρατοῦντα μαλθακῶς   θεὸς πρόσωθεν εὐμενῶς προσδέρκεται translated in English: “ God from afar looks graciously upon a gentle master ”   God ,  from afar ,  looks kindly on  one who exercises his  strength  gently.   No one, indeed, would willingly assumes and bears the heavy burden and yoke of wartime leadership. And I get it, the pressure is massive, the responsibility is formidable. But as Sun Tzu once said, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”. Indeed, amid all the mayhem, there is also opportunity for a leader to hold tight to his convictions, unfazed by the prospect of death, and lead by example.   As Sun Tzu once said, “A leader leads by example, not by force”. Slava Ukraini!