Sagnik Banerjee

Questions: Claim: Governments must ensure that their major cities receive the financial support they need in order to thrive. Reason: It is primarily in cities that a nation's cultural traditions are preserved and generated. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reason on which that claim is based. Response: A nation’s cultural tradition is deeply rooted in its countryside. Big cities are home to people who are more interested in gaining wealth and hence give very little importance to tradition. Cities already have enough means to thrive and often have a surplus of resources at their disposal. So governments do not need to support big cities to maintain themselves. I also disagree with the reason of the claim as cultures are better preserved in villages and not in big cities. Big cities have several ways to generate money and they do not need any external help. They have big factories, financial institutions that lend money to the needy, banks, stock exchange and other related offices which are considered the major sources of wealth generation. The economy of any big city is governed by the services sector, a hugely profitable sector. In the US, more than three fourth of the economy depends on the services sector and this sector is thriving in big cities in the form of banking, finance, software etc. When it comes to facilities like healthcare, education, clean drinking water, proper sanity etc. bigger cities have the lion’s share of those. In contrast, villages have limited sources of wealth generation like agriculture, handicrafts, small factories. They contribute to the majority of the economy of the villages. Sometimes these mechanism are not capable to generate enough jobs to retain people to villages. In developing countries like India, villages almost completely depend on agriculture which in turn depends on rain for most of the country. The failure of rain causes the failure of crops and villages suffer due to lack of money to continue the doing agriculture. At this pernicious time, they need government support to sustain the people of villages and their means of livelihood. Villages do not have ample access to healthcare, education etc. as well. The reason for the claim falls apart when we look at the history of any place in this world. Any civilization be it Maya, Indus Valley or Chinese, everything started with villages and not cities. Cities came a lot later in the history of civilization. When people started dwelling and living together, they started to build up communities and for livelihood, they started doing diverse works, enjoyed celebrations, mourn burials. This marked the beginning of traditions, customs being made. Some of the age old customs can still be seen in villages like special kind of dance when crops are ready. But ancient traditions are things of yore for big cities as they are only a place to earn money and become wealthy. People do not have time out of their busy lives to make old custom a part of their lives. And gradually they die. So if the traditions are to be preserved, governments need to support villages that are not self-sufficient. Big cities will take care of themselves.

Question: Scandals are useful because they focus our attention on problems in ways that no speaker or reformer ever could. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position. Response: Society, right from its inception, have been dogged by scandals. Society had also been a witness to several reformers bringing about change to give its people a better standard of living. Reformers have a deep insight about the society as they are a part of it. Scandals have highlighted many issues but the people involved are often interested in material gains caring nothing for the society and its welfare. Although scandals help such issues surface, their contributions to the society is a mere trifle when compared with those of social reformers. Scandals often come to light when a crime has already been committed. They are depicted in the most gruesome way possible. The media often choose to display illustrations of atrocities like murder, abuse of drugs, sexual abuse caring little about the impacts these will have on children. Reformers, on the other hand, have a much better way of handling such problems. They are more concerned about raising awareness about an issue rather than demanding punishment of people involved in a certain scandal. The role media is of immense importance in this regard. It is the media which keeps us updated about recent scandals. But today media is more interested in sensationalizing the issue rather than solving it. Whenever a scandal surfaces, the media would invite “experts” on their show for their opinion. These people often break into groups and critique each other without even trying to reach a solution. When a hospital building fire in Kolkata killed about ninety patients, the media increasingly highlighted the need for compensations for the family of the deceased. People would come on talk shows and demand for discontinuing the license of the hospital. But very little light was shed on the preventive measures that needs to be taken under such dire circumstances. The action of media often leads to extreme harassment of people who have been accused of a crime but have not been convicted as yet. For instance in the case of murder of a 12 year old girl in India, the parents were accused. The media had a field day trying to sensationalize the issue. Her parents eventually became social pariahs and had to lead an absolutely isolated life. There are people who would initiate scandals just to gain popularity. Newspapers are filled with incidents of drunk driving by famous filmstars, of a brawls in night clubs etc. Instead of condemning such practices the media keeps reporting them which encourages people to continue making trouble for their own personal benefit. Social reformers, on the other hand, are educated individuals who genuinely care about people’s well-being. Gandhiji advocated nonviolence and led a very simple life. Social reformers not only create awareness about an issue but they also have a past which is not flushed with disreputable happenings, making them role models. Movements by social reformers like Vidyasagar have put an end to social stigmas like practices of sati and have encouraged widow remarriage. To motivate people to change, Vidyasagar got his son to marry a widow, thus becoming a role model who people can look up to. The changes brought about by social reformers are permanent. Social reforms address an issue and arrive at a solution to the problem. Scandals often lead to changes which are not even properly enforced. When the fraudulent activities of a Ponzi scheme in India was unearthed, there was a huge public uproar. Several cases of venality came into light but nothing has been done yet to curb those practices. Some might argue that there is a positive side to scandals in a way that they focus attention on an issue. Sometimes the public plays a major role in forcing authorities to change for the better. But the same can achieved through social reforms as well. Sometimes social reformers may not be capable of infusing a spirit of action in people but scandals can force people to adopt measures that are beneficial to the society. What remains to be seen is how long such changes, those brought about by scandals, remain in effect. From the discussion above it is clear that the positive side of scandals is outweighed by its drawbacks. In conclusion, reformers have a much better chance of altering the society for the better than scandals do.

Question: Educational institutions have a responsibility to dissuade students from pursuing fields of study in which they are unlikely to succeed. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position. Response: Proponents of modern education have touted the necessity to help children build their futures, apart from imparting skill and knowledge. However, a close examination of methods of education in various educational institutes reveal that the latter has been achieved, but the former is yet to be materialized. Thus educational institutions should strive diligently towards helping students to identify their successful fields. Today’s educational systems have done a commendable job in opening up students to different fields like science, philosophy, literature, arts etc. But mostly, students choose what they perceive as better and a field that can assure them of a good job with a decent remuneration. Very few have sought their passion. In today’s world of computers, students pursuing studies in the IT field have increased exponentially from those a few years ago. These concentrations have arisen due to their promising factors, but are these fields sought by the students with genuine interest? The consequences being job dissatisfaction, unsuccessful careers, frustration and guilt. Finally are we not compromising on the productivity of the nation? To avoid the consequences mentioned above, educational institutions have a very important role to play. Academic interests of a student of an institution may not be coherent with others. Whilst few have caliber in research, a few might be interested in teaching or engineering. Thus it becomes important to nurture students in those fields in which they could excel. Though it might sound like a colossal venture, these academic shades of differences would be more perspicacious through a small project, a group activity, a simple presentation by students or interacting with the students. Like the classroom session meant to enhance the knowledge of a student, an interactive session could probably dissuade a student from choosing the wrong field. Educational institutions, especially the ones which were established a few hundred years ago can significantly help students in this regard. These educational institutes have witnessed numerous failures in their past. They could use the lessons learnt from their past to guide students to a brighter future. Institutes like the Harvard University in the US, the Oxford University in UK had been set up way back in the sixteen hundreds and twelve hundreds respectively have enough experience to help students. Moreover, education nowadays are very costly. If a physics major student opts for several courses in biology then not only will it cost him more, but he will also take a longer time to graduate. He could be able to reduce his length of study in college by making the appropriate choices of courses and also graduate within a lower budget. If educational institutions are to encourage students to pursue studies in suitable fields, then the procedure for counselling the students should be flawless. If the system to understand the potential of a student is faulty, it would do more harm than good and could ruin the career of a student who otherwise might have been very successful. Some educational institutes could attempt to persuade students to take up certain fields which could help the institute financially. Therefore students should always take a second opinion before making the final decision. While now it may be clear that educational institutions have a significant role in dissuading students from pursuing unsuitable fields of study in which they are unlikely to succeed, it should also be apparent that the long term benefits would reward the efforts taken. Further, this simple step would help in the personal growth of the student and would be beneficial for the nation.

Question: To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position. Response: To understand the most important characteristics of a society one should study its deep rooted traditions which have been preserved for centuries. Only studying major cities, which are almost always subjected to outside influences, is not a good reference of the society because it does not clearly reflect the inherent spirit. Therefore, a society's characteristic cannot be truly signified or generalized based on a study of its major cities. The first instance which proves this is an example of one of the busiest cities in America i.e., New York. Being a busy city people there tend to eat in fast foods as they don’t find time to prepare their meal. Therefore, the study of New York doesn’t fetch us a mirror image of the western culture. But the case would be different with another city in America. The study of major cities in India like Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad reveals that people here are extremely busy with their schedule. They find no time for festivals and have less knowledge about their culture. On the contrary people in the rural areas have a much simpler life and take more interest in celebrating. This again serves as another instance which says that study of the major cities does not give a brief idea of the Indian society. In fact, it is the small towns and rural areas which reflect the true culture and heritage of the Indian society. Also a city has many people from different cultures and nationalities whose habits and life style are diverse in nature. For instance, Texas in USA has people from 14 different nationalities which show that the people here have a lot of differences in their way of living and even different cultures. The study about the society should start with the micro element; the family, how a family fit together, there interactions among each other. But in a big city the interactions are vague among parents and children. In terms of religion, city and rural area have lots of differences. In a city, religious activities are more economized. The best example is the difference in how Christmas is celebrated in a big city and in a rural church. City tends to have the technological edge than a rural area. Many people interact with each other using social networking web sites. Other activities are vastly different from the way how there distant counterparts do. Some might argue that the city is a gateway to a society. Every development in technology has its epicenter in the city and it is from a city that such ideas percolate to the distant rural areas. So in such cases the study of major cities may provide a good snapshot of the society. One of the key issues in a society is education. Centers of learning and education are often based in a major city. So it is common for one to think that the study of such cities can portray the society. But it needs to be remembered that not all students get a chance to go to such elite institutes in the city. Several cities in India like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai are home to several educational centers. But in a country like India, where 66% of the population resides in the rural areas, most of the students often have to obtain their education from institutes which are located away from the city. Therefore, as most of the major cities and the other parts of a country differ in their cultures maybe due to the increase in science and technology or some other reasons, it is not a good idea to rely upon the major cities for the study of a society rather study of all the major, minor cities would help in getting a skeletal idea of a society.

Question: As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate. Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position. Response: With the development of science and technology made throughout the human history, especially the past one hundred years or so, people these days are spending more time relying on technology to solve various types of problems. Admittedly, the improvement of technology and its contribution to a more convenient daily life does to certain extent obviate the necessity of many traditional tasks, subtly affecting the humans’ ability of thinking. Nevertheless, as a whole effect in general, technology progress improves working efficiency and labor safety, and frees humans from low-level repetitive physical work to high-level decision-making intellectual work. Therefore, advancement in technology will, in no way, reduce the ability of humans to think. It is true that in many situations, the requirement for thinking seems less demanding than before due to the development of technology as the “brains” of computers have replaced humans’ role in many tasks. For instance, students no longer need to think hard to solve involving algebraic equations as calculators could do the job for them; engineers do not have to worry about the side effect of modifying their design drawings at one place as in the past due to the modern CAD software’s smart updates for all affected parts; people nowadays could simply forget about their previous pains of finding parking lots, when they go shopping at some remote super-markets, as the contemporary online shopping systems will deliver the customers anything they need right away with the help of modern logistics, information technology and advanced transportation tools. The development of technology does so much that humans are no longer required to solve many of the traditional tasks and consequently humans’ ability of thinking seems indeed less explored, exercised or even deteriorating. But does the improvement of technology really eliminate the necessity of thinking and deprive humans of their opportunity of solving problems by themselves? With the fading away of stereotyped problems, such as solving algebraic equation on a piece of sketch paper, people are now faced with completely new types of problems, such as how to utilize calculators and computers to solve more complex problems where instead of the regular manipulation, innovation and creativity are tested. Technology on the one hand frees humans from perfunctory work, yet on the other hand brings in more demanding tasks. In the old days, factory workers had to operate their machines for repeated parts processing which seemed very laborious, however, nowadays they have to program CNC machines for automatic parts manufacturing and tool replacement and they are asked to work on more than one CNC machines as the manager feels the employees are “working less”. Technology does replace humans’ role in many traditional tasks, but technology puts humans in new positions which are more intellectually based. In addition, with the emergence of new technologies, a host of new problems have also turned up. The new technology of utilizing nuclear energy for generating electricity brings forward new questions of its ecological impact when the nuclear plant’s cooling water, contaminated with radiation, is discharged into the rivers and ocean. While the development of antibiotics helped cure many patients with infection, it at the same time also produced the question of bacteria’s developed immunity which makes many previously effective medicines invalid and that whether the development of these antibiotics indirectly facilitates the mutation of bacteria towards a more hazardous and dangerous state. All these new problems never existed before the development of these new technologies and they require far more thinking than the old problems. In conclusion, while technology frees humans from the traditional laborious work, it brings forth new types of problems which are more intellectually intense and even unprecedented. Humans’ mind has been working on all kinds of problems throughout the history to keep up with pace of our world change. With the development of technology, old problems might become obsolete but new problems with more challenges will never stop appearing, ensuring the opportunity for humans’ mind to explore and develop to a higher state and securing the brains’ role of thinking from deteriorating.