Armaghan Saqib

Do you ever wonder why you can’t get a job even after studying for 14 or 16 years? This is an evidence how our education system is disconnected from real life.

Literacy (knowledge) and operacy (skill of doing) are two entirely different things. In our schools and colleges all emphasis is on literacy. The neatly drawn problem sets which assume that all other things remain constant simply don’t existing in real life.

Here are few questions with correct and incorrect answers.

Question 1: Two laborers can dig a hole in 6 days. How long will it take for 4 laborers?

Incorrect answer:

• 3 days

Correct answers:

• Probably 20 days if it is raining.
• Probably 12 days if laborers cannot work in harmony.
• Probably hole cannot be dig at all because of some land dispute.
• …

Question 2: Two masons can build a wall in 10 days. How long will it take for 1 mason.

Incorrect answer:

• 20 days

Correct answers:

• 12 days because now the only mason left is working hard instead of talking to the other one.
• 8 days because the laborer helping him is very efficient.
• 3 months because raw material is finished.
• …

Question 3: There are 10 software developers working hard on a software project. Project is delayed by 2 years. How can we speed up the development?

Incorrect answer:

• Double the software developers. Offer incentive/overtime to the developers.

Correct answers:

• Reduce the software developers to half. (will reduce communication time and increase development time.)
• Cut the already planned features. (can be developed later if ever needed.)
• Dump the project and buy subscription of an online service with similar functionality.
• …

(This can be an interesting exercise to do on your own. Write a question and then write down right and wrong answers.)

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maniya/492875913/

Dale Carnegie tells you how can you become a good public speaker.

You learn PHP syntax by reading “PHP for Dummies”.

You read how you can become a good writer/blogger by reading good “writing” advice.

All those history books, all those case studies, all those sales trainings, all those motivational speeches are there to increase your knowledge. Internet keeps you updated with whatever is happening at this moment.

Education has all the emphasis on knowing things.

There is one big problem with knowledge. You can’t have it enough at any given time. Too many things (laws, stocks, regulations, moods, inventions, wars etc.) are happening parallel to your actions at any given moment. Nature (floods, snow falling, rains, wild fires, earthquake etc.) has its own course of action which may not be known right now.

Knowing things is important but not sufficient.

Knowing things is literacy.

Doing things requires more skills. You need to identify what needs to be done out of hundreds of options. You need to set your goals. You need to prioritize things. You need to be ready with alternate course of action when things don’t work out as you have planned. You need to put yourself in other people shoes to understand what they are thinking.

Doing things is operacy.

There is much emphasis on literacy but little emphasis on operacy.

The easiest way to learn the doing part is, well, to do the damn thing.

You need to do the actual writing to become a writer.

You need to write code to become a PHP programmer.

You need to do actual sales to become a sales person.

You need to deliver a speech to become a speaker.

Start doing today.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/1443743545/