rantlust

Posted by riyer on March 19th 2007 in Education, Internet, Journalism, Productivity, Statistics, Women, World
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A few of my friends, my wife included, frequently bemoan the fact that the world as we know it is coming apart and things are getting worse every day. The daily onslaught of news on the human condition does not help alleviate this feeling for them.

Ever the optimist, I assert that on the whole this generation is doing better by itself and by its fellow man compared to any other generation in the past. Obviously I say this with no data, only as someone who is actively engaged in a grounds-up effort to provide opportunity to those who have none. Personal experience of being with some of these people gives me that optimism. Now it turns out that there is also data available to show that our lot is getting better, not worse.

Take a look at Gapminder They present human development data across the world in some very cool and innovative ways (Google has acquired their technology to make it available for free).

Go to the tools section and try out the GapMinder World, 2006 (the first one on the Tools page). You can change the X and Y axes (It defaults to Income v/s Life Expectancy but you can change them (e.g. you can compare Life Expectancy v/s Military Spending). It gives you a clear indicator on how things are changing around the world (except in Sub Saharan Africa where, due to the AIDS crisis, things have slipped back a bit).

BTW: It is also a fantastic way to get kids interested in statistics. Over the weekend my 6 y.o look at it over my shoulder and the next thing you know she spent more than an hour in front of the computer playing with the X and Y Axes. She kept telling me everything from “How Malawi compares with the United States in Child Mortality (I explained to her what that is)” , she was playing with Physicans per 1000 people etc, population growth over time etc.

I would also recommend the 1 hour Tech Talk they have posted (given at Google) and the video on Slums.

(Sorry, this post does not fit into any one category that we have - so I choose a few of them)

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Posted by crewcut on June 08th 2006 in Education, India, Politics
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Indian students have been taken for a ride for the last several decades in competing for near impossible admissions to the top universities. With medicos being the centre of the protests, here is a quick look at the number of medical seats in our country versus those available in the US.

Top 7 Indian Medical Schools (Alphabetical Order):
1. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi - 90 (Revised from 50)
2. Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune - 130
3. Christian Medical College (CMC), Ludhiana - 60 (Assumed)
4. Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore - 60
5. Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry - 75
6. Mahatma Gandhi Institute Of Medical Sciences, (MGMIS), Sevagram, Maharashtra - 64
7. St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore - 60

Top 10 US Medical Schools (By Rank):
1. Harvard University (MA) - 692
2. Johns Hopkins University (MD) - 463
3. University of Pennsylvania (PA) - 703
4. University of California-San Francisco (CA) - 600
5. Washington University in St. Louis (MO) - 472
6. Duke University (NC) - 459
7. Stanford University (CA) - 473

Top 7 annual enrolments – US - 3,862 / India - 539
Total number of annual enrolments - US - 68,343 / India - 30,000
Total number of medical colleges – US - 128 / India - 450
Average number of seats per college – US - 530 / India - 67

[Data Sources: India / US. The Indian schools' data has been crosschecked for veracity]
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Posted by crewcut on June 08th 2006 in Education, India, Politics
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There’s a huge hue and cry of what is being termed Mandal II. The Indian government’s decision to reserve 27% of the university enrolments for OBCs (Other Backward Classes) in addition to the existing reservation for SC/ST (Scheduled Caste/Schedule Tribe) based on the report of the Mandal Commission prepared in 1980. This decision has seen students protesting in the streets across the country.

The whole argument is whether admissions should be merit-based or whether they should be used to help backward classes. The vocal anti-reservationists, as they like to call themselves, believe that the quality will come down and that only the “creamy layer” of OBCs will benefit from reservations. The silent minority are quietly praying that the quotas come in to place so they can see more opportunities for themselves or for their children. Even those who don’t have a position find it more fashionable to side with the anti-reservationists.
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