Gross National Wisdom

8/14/2019 Gross National Wisdom

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GROS S NA TIONAL WISD OM (GNW) :THROUGH ENGAGEMEN TS OF UNIVER SITIESWITH THE SOCIETY

The Society is the first floor, and the University system is

the second floor built above the first floor. But thebuilders forgot to build the staircase linking the twofloors.

- Ravindranath Tagore

Dr. K. Chidananda GowdaFormer Vice-Chancellor, Kuvempu University

Shankaraghatta, Shimoga District.Karnataka, INDIA


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BHUTAN: GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS

AIM To measure the progress in the welfare ofHuman beings

Parameters used by Bhutan are:

b Care for natureb Economic progress rooted in the principles

of ecology, and gender and social equityb Good governance as reflected in freedom

from corruptionb Promotion of cultural and spiritual values


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GROSS NATIONAL WISDOM (GNW)

WISDOM: The ability to use intelligence for goodpurposes

GNW can be measured using the following indices:

b Relationship of knowledge to lifeb Fitness, Quality, and Excellenceb

Equity and Literacyb Technology and Value additionb Co-existence and Harmonyb Self-empowerment


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UNIVERSITY and SOCIETY

UNIVERSITY

Lessons are learnt first

followed by:

Tests

Practical Experiences

SOCIETY

Testing times & Experiences first

followed by:

Learning Lessons


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RELATIONSHIP OF KNOWLEDGE TO LIFE

Know thyself in order to attain wisdom-Socratis

Unless men increase in wisdom as much in knowledge,increase of knowledge will be increase of sorrow

- Bertrand Russel

Knowledge is power

Knowledge combined with folly, leads to tension in Society

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?- T.S. Eliot

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.

Knowledge has no meaning unless it could be applied tolife - Gandhiji


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FITNESS

Survival of the Fittest - Charles Darwin

The species which survives during evolution is not thestrongest nor the biggest, but the one which is the fittest in thechanging environment.

Because of competition on account of Globalization, the mostappropriate technology survives the fittest person for the job isselected, and only the best product is desired by theconsumers.

Nations have passed away and left no traces, and history gives

the naked cause of it, one single simple reason in all the cases- they fall because their people are not fit.

It is the duty of the Academia to properly advise the societyabout the changes taking place globally.


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QUALITY

w Quality is the fitness for the purpose

w Quality of the products matters most when there iscompetition, national and international

w In quality awareness, Indias rank is 12th among 14

developing nations.

w A public sector company in India exported several croresworth of machinery to Iran. But as the quality was belowthe acceptable standard, the entire consignment wasrejected by Iran. The sales-deed was cancelled. India hadto pay a fine of Rs.7.5 crores as per the agreement made.

w Academia should propagate the culture of Quality.


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EXCELLENCE

That which is done using knowledge, dedication and identity

with the work, that only becomes excellent.- Upanishat

We are what we repeatedly do; Excellence, then is not an act,but a habit.

- Aristotle

Thomas Grays Elegy written in a country Churchyard: Thepoet had detested the 1st, 2nd, 3rd ... Versions. He was onlysatisfied with the poems 75th version.

Trifles make up perfection; but perfection is not a trifle

- Michelangelo

The academia should lead by example and spread the culture ofExcellence


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EQUITY DIMENSION

Survival of the fittest - Jungle law

- animal mindset

Survival of the weakest - Civilised law

- human mindset

Kautilyas mathsya (fish) metaphor:

As there is a tendency of a big fish to eat small fish, the kingdom

or State should use its power and authority in favour of the weak.

Mahatma Gandhi favoured the survival of the weakest:

Whenever you are in doubt, recall the face of the poorest andweakest man, and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is

going to be of any use to him


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EQUITY WITH FITNESS

To become Fit, requires:

- New Technologies

- Modern Facilities

- Specialized Human Resource

Requirement: Large amount of Financial Resources

To establish Equity, requires:

- Monetary, infrastructural, and Legal help by the State

- Knowledge and Skill help by the Academia

Requirement: Joint effort by the State and Academia

Solution?

- Support by the State

- Innovative financial management

- Integrated approach to Education & Training


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EQUITY AND LITERACY

GINI COEFFICIENT:

This is a yardstick used by Economists to measure

Educational inequality.Gini Coefficient : 0 means total equality

1 means total inequality

EDUCATIONAL GINI COEFFICIENT

COUNTRY 1970 1990

India 0.76 0.69

Korea 0.51 0.22

Indications: This is the reason why Korea has fared better than India.

AVERAGE YEARS OF SCHOOLING IN INDIA

Richest 40% of population: About 10 yearsPoorest 40% of population: Almost 0%

- Filmer & Pritchett (Based on 1999 Research)

REQUIREMENT:

The State and the Academia should put in joint efforts to bring down the

Educational Gini Coefficient.


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Technology & VALUE ADDITON

I. An Item in Ripleys Believe it or not

1. A plain bar of Iron = $5

2. Made as a pair of horse shoes = $50

3. Made into sewing needles = $5,000

4. Made into springs of Swiss watches = $500,000

III. Example of Cotton:

n Selling raw cotton? Unwise (No Value added)Selling reels of cotton threads? Slightly better

Selling cotton clothes? Definitely better

Selling cotton ready-made garments? Best ( Highest Value added)

Meaning: n The raw material is not what is important n What is important is how the raw material is made a

Product using Knowledge, thereby adding Value

II. Example of water:

1. City Corporation sells water to Coca-cola = Rs.2.50 / litre

2. Coca-cola sells to Kinley which purifies & sells = Rs.12 / litre

3. Coca-cola Co. makes Coca-cola and sells = Rs.40 / litre


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CO-EXISTENCE AND HARMONY

- Unique culture with others: has the freedom to co-exist- Different societies should have: Free breething space

- Bio-diversity based on Uniqueness: To be celebrated

- Uniqueness feature of nature: To be appreciated

- Many to One: by harmonious integration.

Along with Survival of the Fittest

and Support to the Weakest,

equally important is:

Preservation of the Uniquest;

Requirements are:

Co-existence and Harmony.

Preservation of the Uniquest has the followingimplications:


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DIVERSITY OF INDIAN SOCIETY

Geographical diversity

- Snowy mountains

- green hills- Evergreen forests

- rivers, streams, lakes, tanks

- beaches

- deserts

Diversity of seasons

- Spring, winter, summer, monsoon

Social diversity

- Historical, geographical, cultural, linguistic, religious,

social, political, economic

Religious diversity

- Hindu, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Sikhism

Linguistic diversity

-18 officially recognized languages


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ONE IT TO MANY ITs

India has been sending crusaders fully armed with the knowledge of ITto conquer foreign countries.

In Silicon Valley:

Every third person you meet is an Indian.

More than 70% Software Companies are owned by Indian Engineers.

IT has shown the way to Indias Tomorrow ;

But the future of India is not in IT as in Information Technology.It is in IT as in Indian Talent - R.A. Mashelkar

SWOT OF MANY ITs


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SWOT OF MANY ITs

STRENGTH

ITM : Indian Talented Mindpower

IT-SC : IT - Super Computer

ITPR : Indian Trees and Plant Resources

ITK : Indigenous Technical Knowledge

ITYM : Indian Techniques of Yoga & Meditation

ITS : Indian Technology of Space

ITHR : Indian Treasure - Human Resource

ITMI : Indian Technological & Management Institutes

ITE : Indians Trained in English

WEAKNESS

ITM : Indian Tainted Mindset

ITH : Indian Toiling (work) Habit

ITQ : Indian Thrust towards quality

ITE : Indian Team Effort

ITI : Indian Third-rate

Infrastructure

ITS : Indian Trust of Self

ITCM: IT For Common Man

OPPORTUNITY

ITI : Indian Tourism Industry

ITES : IT enabled Services

ITBT : IT for Biotechnology

ITAB : Indian Talent in Arts for Business

ITC : Indian Trials-Clinical

THREAT

ITEA : Indian Trailing Ethical Awareness

ITW : Indian Thirst for water

ITSA : Indian Toilet & Sanitation Awareness

ITL : Internal Tensions & Losses

ITC : Indian Tree Cover


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SELF-EMPOWERMENT

Human beings possess 4 dimensions of power, and for Holistic developmentall the 4 must be empowered:

Physical, Mental, Intellectual, & spiritual

Quality Higher Education must empower a person in all the 4 dimensions.

With this Backdrop, Swami Vivekananda said:

We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind isincreased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on ones

own feet.

Swami Vivekananda also said:

Every soul is potentially divine. The aim is to manifest this divinity withinby controlling nature, internal and external.

The Universities, whenever and wherever possible should vividly present

before the society various dimensions of self-empowerment:- Attitudes of Mind

- Creativity

- Pillars of Learning

- Learners in the 21st Century

- Technology and Learning


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Attitudes of Mind

According to Dr. William James of Harvard University, the greatestdiscovery of his generation is that human beings can alter their lives byaltering their attitudes of mind. Surprisingly, almost

100% of money in education goes to teach facts and figures whichaccounts for only

20% of success in work.

Most of our attitude is established during our formative years.

A survey was conducted in Harvard University about getting of

jobs and reasons for the same. It has been shown that when a

person gets a job, and becomes successful in it,

80% of the time it is because of his attitude, and only

20% of the time because of how smart he is and how many factsand figures he remembers.


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CREATIVITY

LOSS OF CREATIVITY:

The result of another test:

An Indian students Creativity in the 1st grade : 100 Units

The same students Creativity in the 12th grade : 10 Units

INDIAN AND OTHER CHILDREN:

A Survey of Children of 113 Countries has revealed:

At the age of 6 : Indian children are most talented.

At the age of 16 : Indian child goes down to 26thplace

Meaning : Creativity is wiped out.


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LEARNING and UNESCO

Definition of Learning: Acquiring necessary knowledge and skill forbetter performance.

UNESCO:

The Delors Commission, appointed by UNESCO, for determining aneducational system for the 21st Century, suggests 4 pillars ofEducation:

1. Learning to Know

2. Learning to do

3. Learning to live together

4. Learning to be

Learning to know : Acquiring necessary KnowledgeLearning to do : Acquiring necessary skill

Learning to live together : Acquiring Wisdom for Co-existence &

Harmony

Learning to be : Acquiring calmness inside &


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21st Century learners: Desirable Attributes

1. Learnability: Learning to learn, on ones own

2. Zeal for life-long learning

3. Ability to get knowledge from other disciplines

4. Ability to work in a team

5. Exposure to commercial disciplines

6. Creative skills

7. Integrative skills

8. International Outlook

9. Ability to employ IT

10. Ability to work at interface between traditional disciplines

11. Commitment to sustainable development


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TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED LEARNING

Same Time Different Times

Same Place Classroom Learning Computer Based Learning

Different Places Distance Learning Asynchronous Learning


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LEARNING: Richard Feynman( Nobel Laureate in Physics)

After a stay of 6 months in Brazil, Feynman said:Youth in Brazil are learning to write Physics Examination .But they are not learning Physics.

Is this true for India?


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UNIVERSITYS PHYSICS

AND SOCIETYS EVERYDAY LIFE

U Quantum Physics suggests a holistic approach to outer and inner nature:

- an escape from the Spirit/Matter dualism that has dominated Westernthinking

U The insights of modern Physics can illuminate our understanding:

- of everyday life

- our relationship to self (ourselves)- our relationship to others

- our relationship to the World at large

U It is the duty of the Academia in general, and Scientific Academia inparticular, to enlighten the Society about:

- Modern Science

- Microworld, Societal world, and Macroworld

- Application of modern Science for new ways of thinking

- Usher in a Society with Holistic world-view


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MICROWORLD, SOCIETAL WORLD & MACROWORLD

( Physics tells us about the processes of creativityand transformation in the natural world.

( The physics of consciousness tells us about the

process of creativity and transformation withinourselves and our society.

( The dynamics of both our bodies and our mindsemerge from the same laws and forces that movethe sun and the moon or that bind atoms together.


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SOCIAL APPLICATIONS OF CLASSICAL PHYSICS

T Classical Physics gave Mechanistic World View.Newtons Three laws of Motion inspired thinkers in otherfields also:

- Freud : For founding Scientific Psychology

- John Lock & Others: Modeling their Political thinking- Adam Smith: Modeling of Economics

- Darwin: Modeling Evolution

- Karl Marx: Modeling Marxist Theory

T Isaac Newton believed that the foundations of his workcould be applied to problems in moral philosophy also.


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SOCIAL APPLICATIONS OF QUANTUM PHYSICS

This should inspire thinkers in new directions:

- provide different world -view ( Non-mechanistic)

- provide a new model for Indian culturalintegration


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NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN INDIA

LIBERAL INDIVIDUALISM: CLASSICAL ATOMS

- Atoms of Classical Physics are hard, impenetrable, like Billiard balls

- When these atoms meet, they clash, and go in separate ways

(They are like Bertrand Russels Billiard balls)

- They can not get inside each other

COLLECTIVE THEORIES OF ROUSSEAU OR MARX:WAVELIKE ATOMS

- They oppose individualism

- They recommend a wavelike model of society where waves canoverlap, combine, & get inside each other

- They lose separate identity

- This raised cultural & political difficulties


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WHOLENESS WITH INDIVIDUALISM:

WAVICLE ATOMS

B Quantum things (systems) are both particle- like and wave-like atthe same time

B With their particle-like aspect they stay separate

B With their wave-like aspect they become interwoven.

B They get aspects of both

B We interact with each other individually and also live in a holisticworld.

B It gives us a new vision of relationship within society and withinIndia


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A PLURALISTIC INDIA

QUANTUM PHYSICS : Truth is many-faced, many-valued, Both/And

- when quantum systems evolve, they do so by throwingout many feelers towards the future , each contributing

to the eventual outcome.

- Quantum evolution gives a scientific model for Indianpluralism with many paths and many possibilities, allpaths are valid and all are necessary.

CLASSICAL PHYSICS: Only one valid perspective inabsolute space and time

- Western tradition is like this: one Truth, one God, one way


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CONCLUSION

If we are to rediscover the moral and spiritual rootsof our society, we must do so in a way which

mirrors, which extends and develops rather thancontradicts, the knowledge that science is giving usabout the nature of the physical and living worlds ofwhich we are a part.

- Danah Zohar


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32THANK YOU

Gross National Wisdom

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