392. An Exchange during a Train Journey

"It was because the damn Mathematics was not getting into my head that I had ditched it in my Higher Secondary and chose to study Commerce. But when I am applying for a job now, I am asked to take a test in Mathematics, as a part of an aptitude test!" lamented Satish.

"A test in Mathematics is there not only when you apply for a job, but also when you seek admission to a foreign university. Aptitude tests like SAT, GRE and GMAT have Mathematics as one of the main components. I don't understand why no one is protesting!" said Sundaram.

"If you people have a problem with Mathematics, I have a problem with English. We got liberation from the British, but we still remain manacled to the English language. Shall we ever get liberation from English?" asked Murthy.

The elderly gentleman sitting opposite to them in the suburban train smiled and asked Murthy, "Young man! Will you be comfortable if you had Tamil in the place of English, in the aptitude tests?"

When Murthy was struggling to give an answer, Sundar addressed the old man, saying, "Sir! From the kindergarten to the undergraduate program in Engineering, we have taken innumerable tests in various subjects. What is the need for another round of tests in English and Mathematics, after we have completed our studies?"

"Everyone in this world need to have knowledge in two areas. One is language. We need language proficiency for communication. And we need numerical skills for transactions involving money. You might have observed that even vegetable vendors, who may not have had a good education have mastered the numeric skills. Otherwise, how can they mentally work out the price of half a kilogram or two hundred grams etc. of a vegetable based on the price per kilogram and the change they have to give to the buyer who gives a hundred rupee note? And they have to do these mental calculations in a few seconds. When someone bargains, they work out what profit they will get, if they sell at a particular price and decide accordingly."

"What you say is true. But is it not cruel to ask us to remember what we had read in the past and correctly answer the questions asked in a test?"

"It is my understanding that things asked in aptitude tests are those which we all need to know in our day to day life. Don't you think that an educated person should have knowledge about topics like average, percentage, time and distance, time and work, areas and volumes of various shapes etc.? It is possible that in some aptitude tests, advanced or even abstract concepts might have been included. But the reason for including Mathematics and English in aptitude tests is that numerical skills and language skills are essential for anyone to function effectively in this world. If you develop this attitude, then you will be able to tackle aptitude tests confidently!"

Another passenger who was listening to this conversation, quipped, "So, aptitude is all about attitude!"

Satish looked at the old man with amazement and asked him, "Sir, Have you taken an aptitude teat?"

"No, I haven't. But when my grandson was preparing for the GRE, I tried to help him" said the old man, smiling.

"What kind of help did you extend to him?"

"I made him understand that if he developed an understanding of the numbers, solving Mathematical problems would be easy and that if he learnt to identify the key words in a sentence or paragraph, cracking the English test would be easy!"

"How, sir?"

"I will give you an example. Let us take a multiple choice question in Mathematics, of the type being asked in the aptitude tests. The problem was worded like this. 'There are a certain number of animals in a farm. One sixth of them are cows and one fourth of them are sheep.' Some more information was given. The task was to find the total number of animals in the farm. My grandson was breaking his head using expressions like x/3, x/4 etc. I told him that the number of animals should be divisible both by 6 and 4. That meant, the number should be divisible by 12, which as you know is the least common multiple of 6 and 4. In the answer choices, there were only two numbers divisible by 12. So, one of those two numbers should be the answer. When I explained this to him, he arrived at the answer within a minute. He was so excited. Once he had learnt that a sense of numbers is the key to solve mathematical problems in aptitude tests, he became adept in cracking mathematical problems."

"Sir, what is your educational qualification?"

"I did my schooling but didn't get a chance to study in a college. But I have read the Tamil classic Thirukkural."

"Sir, some people say that Thirukkural covers everything under the sun. Does it talk about aptitude test?" asked Murthy, in a mocking tone.

"The train is approaching the station where I have to get down. Let me move to a point near the exit,"

The old man got up from his seat.

"Oh! Being engrossed in the conversation, I didn't notice the train passing the stations!" said Sundar, looking out to see whether he could identify the place which the train was crossing at that moment.

"I didn't either. I am new to this city. I ascertained that the station at which I have to alight is seventh from the station I boarded the train. I was keeping count of the stations the train had passed. It has crossed six stations. So I have to alight at the next station" said the old man. He then turned to another passenger and asked him, "Sir, isn't the next station Chetpet?"

The passenger nodded his head in agreement.

The old man began to move towards the door.

Murthy whispered to Satish with a gleam on his face. "See how I trapped the old man! He has no answer to my question whether Thirukkural talks about the aptitude test!" 

Even before Murthy completed the sentence, the old man spoke from near the entrance in a voice loud enough to be heard by Murthy and his friends. "Young man, Thiruvalluvar talks about aptitude test in the chapter on 'Learning.'

Just as he said this, the train stopped and he got down.

'Even for answering my question, the gentleman has chosen the nick of the moment, making mental calculations, about when the train would stop at the station!' thought Murthy, admiringly.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 40
Education

Verse 392 (in Tamil):

eNNenba Enai ezhuththenba ivviraNdum
kaNNenba vAzhum uyirkku.

Meaning:

Numbers and letters are known as eyes to human beings.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mudhiyavarin kaNakku' by the same author.)

Verse 393
Verse 391