I, The Absolute

 Our (wife’s and my) Singapore visa was approved. We are going to Singapore during Term break as I had planned earlier. Meeting with four banks is on. This is not going to be for job interviews, but just exploratory. If the banks’ and my objectives have a common ground, then I will work towards getting call from at least one bank in Singapore. Since I am going so far, will use the opportunity for rest and recuperation. Badly need a break to unwind and get ready for the second, but tougher, half of the course.

 Life is full of trade-offs. Nothing has better taught me to respect this than MBA program. There is no perfect world. Hence I cannot have the best of all of that I want. I need to give up some to have some. It is true that what I may want now, I may not after certain time. But, then decisions are context driven. Consulting industry is quite appealing to me, but I find equally interesting aspects in banking industry. I need to choose one and be focused, and for good. After Singapore trip, I will finalize my decision on consulting as a career option.

 I won my bids in three of the five courses I had bid for. The courses that I won, I got them at very low points. Now I will have good number of points to bid aggressively during the remaining terms. I still feel that the system is a fair one. If I desperately wanted to do the courses I lost out on, I should have bid higher points. The value I attached to these courses is the points I had allocated to them. Bidding system closely aligns with individual incentives and interests. Any system that is harmonized with human nature and individual incentives can-/will not go wrong.

 Continuing on the above, my respect for the ‘wisdom of the crowds’ has further gone up. As a group, individuals, when they do not act in unison with ulterior motives or act to subvert the system, rarely go wrong. There is an observation in the book by the name wisdom of the crowds that in the TV program “who wants to be a millionaire”, the best helpline was ‘ask the audience’. Audience could give correct answers significantly more number of times than the expert requested for help through ‘ask the expert’ helpline. The book gives many examples, which reinforce the fact that crowds, even a group of common people, have better judgment than any individual expert does. This book is a must read.