Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

firstpost.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 154 posts

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#71

Post by Demiurge »

nathan_long wrote: post #63
Demiurge wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a lot like saying, you could be born to any mother. It is simply an accident of birth, who is your mother. Does it mean you shouldn't love your mother, your family, and you don't owe your family for their love and bringing you up?

A great analogy. I love my family because they are my family, and I love my country because it is my country. That doesn't mean I should think that either is objectively the best, or turn a blind eye to their faults, or treat others unfairly to favor them. I love my family and country because they are mine, they helped make me, and my memories are with them. Which helps me understand why Brits and Egyptians and Chine…

I agree on all this :)

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#72

Post by btilly »

Demiurge wrote: post #35
burntfingers wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With respect, it's much easier to make this argument [that you are indebted to your mother] if you are privileged to be born to a good mother who loves you and brings you up well.

I don't disagree. But, even a bad mother is one who gave existence.

True. But many become parents through bad decisions. Should we celebrate those decisions?

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#73

Post by vehementi »

couchand wrote: post #65
mildtrepidation wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one is suggesting culture should be ignored. It's pride that's the problem. Did you do something to earn your nationality? Culture in itself is an important difference that makes people a lot more interesting to each other. But the examples given are not the same kind of difference: Olympic swimmers aren't expressing their culture. They're all, by rule, doing exactly the same thing. That the one from your nation d…

I wholeheartedly agree that there's no reason for me to feel pride in an athlete's abilities just because we're from the same nation, but I think a gold medal winning athlete has plenty to be proud of.

Her talent (accident of birth) and choice / opportunity to practice that talent for an exceptionally long time (part worthy of pride, part privilege)

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#74

Post by sliverstorm »

mildtrepidation wrote: post #31
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Culture is the largest difference between people. We are the animal that can (re)program itself. Nationality correlates to culture greatly. So there is still plenty of difference between peoples of the world. Its silly to ignore this.

No one is suggesting culture should be ignored. It's pride that's the problem. Did you do something to earn your nationality? Culture in itself is an important difference that makes people a lot more interesting to each other. But the examples given are not the same kind of difference: Olympic swimmers aren't expressing their culture. They're all, by rule, doing exactly the same thing. That the one from your nation d…

Did you do something to earn your nationality?

No, but we all contribute to our nation (taxes, labor, voting) so when our nation achieves something great, we share a small part of that success.

Think of a soccer team. Everybody on the team celebrates and feels proud when #23 scores a goal, even though they didn't score the goal themselves. They share in #23's success.

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#75

Post by Beliavsky »

The article's criticism of IIT and IIM (elite Indian universities) could be made of the elite U.S. schools too:

"The short point: our system is designed to keep people out, not get them in. The true value of an IIT or IIM is not the intellectual capital they produce, but their filtering expertise – which keeps all but the superlisters out of these institutions. When the people entering the institution are the best among the best, they will shine no matter what the quality of faculty or the curriculum."

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#76

Post by dasil003 »

tobiasu wrote: post #66
jwr wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Did you do something to earn your nationality? Some people did. As an example, my grandfather had to fight for the right to live according to his culture, because our country was invaded. Once you fought for your freedom, you begin to feel rather strongly about "nationality", defined as belonging to a group of people that share your cultural beliefs. And yes, you could say he "earned" his nationality. He did not fi…

Was he, per chance, invaded by a nation that loved its nationalism uber alles? A nation that was only recently unified from many tribes, and whose politicians longing for a great nation resulted in 50-70 million dead? No thanks. Nationality is whose warlords turf you are born on. The second we get over this concept, the world will be a better place.

> The second we get over this concept, the world will be a better place.

Thus paving the way for our multinational corporate overlords to consolidate control. Personally I am very scared for the type of global corruption that will be possible without national boundaries.

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#77

Post by Demiurge »

Lewton wrote: post #64
Demiurge wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a lot like saying, you could be born to any mother. It is simply an accident of birth, who is your mother. Does it mean you shouldn't love your mother, your family, and you don't owe your family for their love and bringing you up?

You should not love your mother just because she's your mother, you should love your mother because she loved you and did her best to raise you well And if she did neither she -deserves- no love Keyword being deserves, of course you can love a bad mother I don't see why different rules should apply to a mother who gave birth compared to one who adopted

You don't have to love your mother, if she doesn't love you. But you should still feel you owe her for your own existence. It's not that she (or country) can't do any wrongs, it's that whatever wrong they do, it has to be weighted against this ultimate gift, which few wrongs can outweigh. But, they certainly can. We are talking about outliers, though, the territory where all analogies break down :)

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#78

Post by Demiurge »

btilly wrote: post #72
Demiurge wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree. But, even a bad mother is one who gave existence.

True. But many become parents through bad decisions. Should we celebrate those decisions?

Haha, yes. Perhaps I am an accident. I do celebrate it though :)

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#79

Post by random42 »

What a content-less piece of link-bait fluff!

To me, the article boils down to..

1. Find a large system (India)

2. Find "issues" within the system (Brain drain in a densely populated country with limited resources, caste system, not being able to compete with first world countries in cutting edge research/capitalistic economy, people's deeply routed perspective etc.), all of which are non-trivial to fix.

Such non-trivial will exist in any "real" (not theoretical) large system. Wishing them away magically is kidding oneself.

3. Rant about them.

4. Do not provide either insights on why the issues exists OR the way forward to tackle them.

Pretty mediocre article, IMHO, which does what arm-chair critiques do best — criticism.

Re: Nadella as Microsoft CEO: A slap in the face for Indian system

#80

Post by ibrow »

disputin wrote: post #47
ibrow wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Rugby on Sunday. They were looking very good actually, might be a dark horse for the Six Nations.

Much like as has been mentioned of Olympic athletes, the local sports team is rarely local. The players are from everywhere except the locality. The only things local are the stadium and the fans. St Paddy's is fun, but I don't understand the ball game cultures at all, laying claim to a team's victory, a sort of socialising a stranger's success. Maybe just an excuse to celebrate on occasion. I simply can't relate. I…

Think you're over egging the pudding there. Was simply responding to the question "Ireland won anything lately?"
Post reply on HN