http://www.urch.com/forums en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:57:12 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.urch.com/forums/tm_images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.urch.com/forums http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/128472-essay-sadness-true-happiness.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:49:44 GMT Not my best essay. Would appreciate any comments, pointers or general advice. A rating would also be nice. Thanks a ton in advance. :)

-----
Topic: "Only once one has known real sadness can one feel true happiness"

----

"Between nothing and grief, i choose grief" declared the protagonist of 'Breathless' the English translation of Godard's existential masterpiece 'A bout de souffle'. The profundity of this intertextual quote from Faulkner that conveys the necessity of grief or sadness in our existence.

Gautam Buddha said desire is the cause of all sadness. Therefore one must renounce desire and in order to achieve liberation or Nirvana. Liberation from the clutches of the material world into a state of nothingness.

Now one must pause after having stated two diametrically opposite yet undeniable views and request the reader to bear with one a little further, as one attempts to reconcile the twain. For Prince Siddhartha - the original name of Gautama Buddha to have made the statement above he had to have seen and experienced travesty himself. Prince Siddhartha was born in the lap of luxury. His loving mother, the queen and his father, the King made sure Siddhartha never saw sorrow or any of the things that may cause sorrow. He lived the perfect protected blase utopian life until the day he forced his charioteer to go off of his normal path one day. Here is where the sensitive prince witnessed mourning for the dead, the cry of the staving baby and the suffering of the old. answer it was only having felt real sadness did the prince turn into a saint, and did his pursuit of happiness begin.

Nothing can only result from inaction but inaction is only possible in death. Inaction is death. Desire, in its purest form, is the driving force of life, the inner force the propels us forth, it is what leads us to action, to live.
And action or karma is the only responsibility of man. Though desire is also the cause of sadness it is the only path to happiness. Without action towards possibilities we wish to make real in our lives, without taking the risk of failing, failing and experiencing sadness, how can one feel happiness? What is happiness but the fulfillment of a desire, whether the desire be Nirvana or of bearing and raising a child.

Finally, i would state the argument of contrasts. How can one tell light if it is not surrounded by darkness? This was Gods answer when a little Angel made of light asked God why there was so much sorrow on earth. God sent the Angel to earth as a criminal how was about to murder a woman for money, when another man came and saved her. The man became a Hero, the lady and her family were filled with happiness. The Angel said now i understand why. ]]> GRE AWA tommytommy http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/128472-essay-sadness-true-happiness.html http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/128167-need-comments-my-1st-attempt-gre-just-under-week-away.html Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:54:24 GMT ill be writing my gre in 5 days time. this is my 1st ever awa attempt and i would appreciate any feedback ...suggestions needed...and possible score thanks A recent study suggests that people who are left-handed are more likely to succeed in business than are right-handed people. Researchers... ill be writing my gre in 5 days time. this is my 1st ever awa attempt and i would appreciate any feedback ...suggestions needed...and possible score
thanks


A recent study suggests that people who are left-handed are more likely to succeed in business than are right-handed people. Researchers studied photographs of 1,000 prominent business executives and found that 21 percent of these executives wrote with their left hand. So the percentage of prominent business executives who are left-handed (21 percent) is almost twice the percentage of people in the general population who are left-handed (11 percent). Thus, people who are left-handed would be well advised to pursue a career in business, whereas people who are right-handed would be well advised to imitate the business practices exhibited by left-handers.

________________________________________

The author seems to base her opinion that right handed business execs are not as successful as the left handed business execs on data and information that is debatable in nature as a result of which her conclusion seems unsubstantiated .
The first flaw in the data that is used as the basis to reach the conclusion that left handed business executives are more successful than their right handed counterparts is that the number of subjects studied by the researchers seems too small when compared to the number of people in the general population. If more business execs were involved in the sample space of this study then we probably could see that the number of business execs that are left handed and the number of left handed people in the gentlemen in the general population would have had a closer numerical value as the influx of more right handed execs would due to the increase in the sample space would even the figures.
The other concern with regard to the data is the method or procedure used to determine data. How did the researchers determine if the business execs were right or left handed is not clear. Such facts are not reaily available so what data was made use of to determine if the exec was left or right handed. The internet for example , if used , is not the most reliable place from where data can be attained.
There are also a number of cases where people who are left handed switch to using their right hand and vice versa. There are cases where people are more comfortable using their right hand for all tasks but use their left for a few others. Then there is a group of people who can use either hand to write. The classification and grouping of such people in both the general population and in the sample space is debatable.
Being a business exec is one thing but being a successful business exec is a different matter altogether, If the sample space was further refined on basis of turnover and profits for each group we might see a different result altogether from that which the author states and would help support the fact that right handed business execs are more adept at their job than the left handed execs.
The age and experience of the business execs should be taken into account too, an older and more experienced business exec certainly has the luxury of time to reverse all the bad decisions that a younger inexperienced business executive would make.
The educational qualification of a business exec also would have a great say in the matter. There is a possibility that the business execs that tend to use their left hand are coincidentally more educated than their right handed counterparts due to the limited number of people taken into consideration.
Hence,it would be folly to make a decision on whether to pursue a career in business on the basis of whether the person is left handed or right handed based on this data alone. The author should use more comprehensive and detailed data to support her case. ]]> GRE AWA flavian http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/128167-need-comments-my-1st-attempt-gre-just-under-week-away.html http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/127985-essay-teamwork.html Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:46:41 GMT Prompt : When people work in teams , they are more peoductive than when they work individually

"There is nothing called a collective brain".
Howard Roark, The fountainhead.

Man is a social animal. A society comprises of many individuals of differing expertise. When population was small, many of the societies were self sufficient, but later when population increased so did the trade relations between different societies. As the needs increased, production had to increase too. It was not possible to provide goods and services on an individual level, co-ordination of multiple individuals to achieve a common goal became a necessity.

When multiple people work in teams, it is not necessary to witness a spontaneous increase in productivity. People differ in nature, abilities, attitudes and goals. They need to be managed in order to focus their abilities to achieve a goal. Managing multiple individuals is one of the most arduous task in business administration, next only to manage different teams.

Human body is often quoted as a (wrong) example of team work. According to pundits, brain manages almost all functionality as the team leader manages the team. Different organs are attributed different team member's well defined roles. They are interdependent,work in harmony and sustain the team producing results. But the single most important factor is overlooked in this comparison -- that the individual's self. None of the organs is a separate entity with its own self. They are always ready to do what they are designed to do, where as in the real world with a human team member that is not always the case. Accounting for the self of an individual is the most difficult part of team co-ordination.

When multiple individuals are involved, a team can face a number of setbacks depending on the individuals. A dull team member could hamper the entire team's performance like a weak link in a chain undermine its strength. The exceptional team members could feel that they are bogged down by the need to explain the obvious to ninnies.In practice, if this were not the case, the largest companies would have been the best. The complexity of efficient management is one of the reason why large corporations dedicate increasing amount of resources to manage teams.

Team work is not without its own merits -- but this is heavily depended on how efficient the team is managed. With well defined roles and responsibilities decided after factoring in the individual involved, a team can produce more than what the individuals are capable of producing separately. For example, even tough many of the Nobel awards are conferred to individual researchers, their work acknowledges the efforts of other individuals (often junior researchers) who assisted them to make breakthroughs. Similarly, technical book authors often acknowledge the team of individuals who assisted them to make their work possible.

In conclusion, depending on the team, contributing individuals, management among other factors, team work can be more efficient. There can be no generalization possible in this issue. Teams of individuals may contribute to Nobel prices. But if Picasso or Da Vinci had to work in teams, they would have never produced their master pieces. So was Issac Newton or Einstein. ]]> GRE AWA omnara http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/127985-essay-teamwork.html http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/127818-essay-museums-independence-govt-control.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:10:11 GMT Prompt : Museums should have the liberty to exhibit whatever displays they want without the interference of government censorship

"A free society is defined by rules"

Man is a social animal. He is perceived by the society by his interactions with other members of the society of which he is a part. Society expects the members to abide by the rules and regulations of it and in turn offers the members a list of privileges to enjoy. Thus, by defining a set of rules and limits to individual freedom and by enforcing them, a society can extend a list of privileges to its members. And freedom of expression is such a privilege.

Guarantee of freedom of expression fundamentally frees up an individual's thought process and expressions stemming from it from concerns about repercussions from society or its members. But, at times this privilege, in the hands of some individuals, can become quite harmful to the well being of the society. For example, an artists can produce a piece of work of very high artistic value dealing on a taboo subject by the society. Or it could be considered blasphemous by a religion. Recently, when a cartoon series depicting some aspects of Prophet Mohammed appeared in a Dutch newspaper, international diplomatic relations between Netherlands and Gulf countries were strained. Such incidents sometimes forces societies or governments to re-evaluate the privileges granted to its members or citizens. This is called censorship by the government.

Traditionally Museums are where pieces of art by various artists are displayed. But now a days there are different museums like museum of computer science, museum of avionics and museum of technology. What if some scientists open a museum of atomic bomb design or a chemical weaponry museum? Anybody who is interested can get into the museum, learn the theory behind atomic bomb making or chemical weapons, and set out on making one. The whole human race could be endangered if such technology falls into wrong hands.


In case of a traditional museum, assume one museum plans to exhibit the work of a famous artists. Further, assume that the particular piece of art violates the boundaries and hurts the religious feelings of a minority group. In such an instance, Government is absolutely right in prohibiting the display as it is a measure to ensure that social harmony is maintained. Otherwise, if protests turn violent and if the government has to resort to using force to keep peace and harmony, the harm done to the society far outweigh the advantages of maintaining the freedom of expression.

The society or government - which is a more tangible manifestation of it- has every right to ensure that its members confine to the limits imposed. Museums are no exception to this. Art might be for arts' on sake, but if one entity enjoys the privileges extended by society, one has to abide by the rules. ]]> GRE AWA omnara http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/127818-essay-museums-independence-govt-control.html http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/127699-punctuation-errors.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:55:26 GMT do punctuation errors in AWA lower the score very much? do punctuation errors in AWA lower the score very much? ]]> GRE AWA userx34 http://www.urch.com/forums/gre-awa/127699-punctuation-errors.html