I am a thinking particle
or a thin king, named particle.
My name is Soroush. But call me George if you like. As in George Sorosh 😀
This blog is to share my thoughts.
Short Info:
it’s 2020. Interests: Artificial Intelligence – Technology – Finance and Economics – VC and Startups
Some background…
18 Apr 2020
Let the actions speak the words They Can:
It was 2011, and I got admitted to the top engineering university of Iran (SUT) in the most sought major of the time (Mechanical Engineering). Yet over time it felt like university was a waste of time. I was sad and frustrated so I started dodging most of the classes. Why should I take a class in my university while a world class professor is sharing his course online? Why should I attend marketing lectures while I can watch the Wharton’s marketing course on Coursera? Every hour not spent in classes was a pleasure.
Funny things happened. I even got full score in differential equations but I never saw the face of lecturer because I did not attend a single lecture in that semester (by law, I should’ve been considered a fail, not a top mark. But they did not check who was present in the class :D). I felt like I could evade the whole formal education and earn a PhD while no one notices that I am not there. I felt like I was living in a undeveloped-left-out-of-civilization tribe and getting a degree was like hunting a bear so I could wear its pelt as a sign of capability and competency in the tribe(society). The higher the college degree(the bigger the bear that I killed), the higher social class attributed to me by tribe folks. I disliked getting a degree for the sake of having one.
I did not want to continue. At least not Mechanical Engineering, and not SUT. Funny thing is that with all those classes that I were absent, I came out as a Talented student and was offered to study MSc. without an entrance exam! As a result of such dodging experiences, my confidence of dropping out, grew. But there was a problem. Compulsory military service. So I had to continue my study or I should’ve spent two years in military. (After graduation I worked two years for school of Management and Economics in my university instead of army)
So what do you do with your free time when you dodge the classes?
I started doing things I liked. I sharpened my programming skills. Learned about business, economy, startups, etc.
As of writing this(2020) , I am fascinated by AI. I have already spent about three years(part-time) learning different topics in AI.
Maybe I made a strategic mistake by not applying for graduate schools for msc or phd of mechanical engineering. I could later change my major as many friends of mine did. Or maybe I should’ve hunted bears for the tribe. I m happy I did not do that.