HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF A.I?

  

If you've used ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any of their cousins, you already know the feeling: sometimes the answer is brilliant, and sometimes it's a wordy mess that misses the point entirely. The difference, more often than not, isn't the AI - it's how we're talking to it. These tools have quickly become some of the most powerful productivity helpers ever invented. They can draft emails in seconds, summarize long articles, brainstorm ideas, plan trips, explain confusing medical terms, and help you compose the perfect birthday note to a grandchild. But most people are only scratching the surface, because they keep tripping over the same handful of mistakes. Once you know what they are, they're remarkably easy to fix and no technical background or smart programming are required.

 

Do not ask Vague Questions

Proper prompts are essential for a large language model (LLM) to function. These have to be clear cut and accurate and not vague and open ended. This is the single most common reason people walk away disappointed. If one types "Write me an email to my doctor" or "Give me ideas for my anniversary" - and then wonder why the response feels bland, generic, or off-target, the LLM can not be blamed. Think of it this way: if you walked into a restaurant and told the waiter "Bring me food," you'd probably get something edible, but it almost certainly wouldn't be what you actually wanted. AI tools work the same way. They aren't mind readers. They take what you give them, and a thin prompt produces a thin answer.

Compare these two prompts:

Vague: "Write a letter to my neighbor about the fence."

Specific: "Write a polite but firm 150-word letter to my neighbor letting them know that the wooden fence between our yards is leaning into my garden bed and needs repair. I'd like to stay friendly because we've lived next door for fifteen years, but I want to make clear that I'd like it fixed within the next month."

The second prompt tells the AI everything it needs: the length, the tone, the relationship, the specific problem, and the desired outcome. The result will be dramatically better, often usable with only a small tweak or two.

 

How to avoid a catastrophe?

Before hitting "enter," ask yourself four quick questions:

1.      Who is this for? (My grandson, my insurance company, a casual friend?)

2.      What's the purpose? (Persuade, inform, entertain, apologize?)

3.      How long should it be? (Two sentences? A full page?)

4.      What tone do I want? (Warm, formal, playful, businesslike?)

Put those answers into your prompt and you'll see the quality of your results improve immediately.

A useful habit: treat your AI prompt like instructions to a thoughtful but brand-new assistant. The more they know about the job, the better they'll do it.

 

Do not forget to give the AI Context and Examples

Even a well-worded prompt can fall flat if the AI doesn't know your situation. Many people leave out the very details that would help the AI deliver something genuinely useful - not because they're hiding anything, but because they forget that the AI is starting from a completely blank slate every single time. It doesn't know you, your family, your job, or what you've been working on, unless you tell it.

Let me give you an example - "Help me write a toast for a wedding" will produce a perfectly serviceable generic toast. But: "Help me write a five-minute toast for my daughter Smita's wedding. She's marrying Diwakar, an architect she met in college. I'm her father, I want the tone to be warm and lightly humorous, and I'd like to mention how she used to organize pretend weddings for her stuffed animals as a child."

Now the AI has a real story to work with - and the result will feel personal instead of pulled from a template.

Show AI, don't just tell

If you want the AI to match a certain style or tone, paste in a sample. "Write a Alumni newsletter in the style of this one I sent last year - [paste it in here]." The AI will pick up on your voice, your sentence rhythms, and your favorite turns of phrase. This single trick can transform AI output from "obviously written by a robot" into something that sounds genuinely like you.

Give the AI a role to play

1.      This role-play surprisingly changes the quality of its answers. Try starting with phrases like: "You are a patient retired English teacher helping me edit this..."

2.      "Act as a financial advisor explaining this concept to someone with no background in investing..."

3.      "Pretend you're a travel guide who specializes in walking tours of small European cities..."

When AI has a designated role, it gives more satisfactory answers.

Provide AI with background knowledge

Before you ask your question, take ten seconds to add a sentence or two of background. Who you are, who it's for, what you've already tried, and a sample if you've got one. This small investment of context pays off enormously in output quality.

 

Don’t give up on AI easily

Walking Away after the First Try is foolish. This is perhaps new to you, spend time in befriending it. People often treat AI like a vending machine: push a button, accept whatever comes out, walk away grumbling if it isn't quite right. But AI isn't a vending machine - it's a conversation. And the magic almost always happens on the second, third, or fourth exchange, not the first. If the response isn't what you wanted, you don't need to start over with a brand-new prompt. You can simply tell the AI what to change, the same way you'd give feedback to a writer or editor.

Some of the most useful follow-up phrases include:

1.      "That's too formal - make it warmer and more conversational."

2.      "Cut this in half. Keep only the most important points."

3.      "Give me three different versions, each with a different tone."

4.      "You missed the most important point: [explain]. Try again."

5.      "Make this sound more like something I'd actually say."

6.      "Now rewrite it for a reader who doesn't know much about the topic."

This is also the secret behind how professional writers get great results from AI: they iterate. They don't expect perfection on the first pass - they expect a starting point, then they sculpt it. You can even write "Look back at what you just wrote. What are its weakest points, and how could it be improved?" You'll often be surprised at how thoughtfully it identifies its own flaws - and the rewrite that follows is usually much stronger.

You can also ask the AI to ask you questions before producing anything. A prompt like "Before you answer, ask me three clarifying questions to make sure you have what you need" can turn a mediocre exchange into an excellent one. Suddenly the AI is interviewing you, drawing out the specifics it needs to do a great job.

Always think of the first response as a draft, not a final answer. Plan to spend at least one or two follow-up messages refining it. You'll get vastly better results - often in less total time than starting over from scratch.

 

Don’t trust everything AI tells you

This is the most important mistake we make with AI and this can cause real harm. AI tools have a habit known as "hallucination" - a friendly-sounding name for a serious problem. They will sometimes invent facts, make up statistics, fabricate quotations, or cite books, studies, and court cases that don't actually exist. And here's the part that catches people off guard: the AI sounds just as confident when it's wrong as when it's right. The headlines are sobering. Lawyers have been fined and publicly embarrassed for filing court documents stuffed with AI-invented case citations. A major tech company's stock dropped sharply after its AI confidently stated a factual error during a public demo. Travel articles generated by AI have recommended visiting non-existent landmarks. Medical chatbots have been caught producing fabricated citations to reputable journals to back up dangerous health claims. The pattern is clear: AI is brilliant at generating text that sounds right. Whether it is right is a different question entirely.

So, when it comes to health and medical information - never act on AI medical advice without confirming with your doctor. Financial and legal questions - tax rules, inheritance issues, insurance details, contract language all need to be duly verified by experts. Confirm with a professional, AI cannot replace a qualified professional. Always double check:

1.      Specific numbers, dates, and statistics - especially anything you plan to share, publish, or act on

2.      Citations and references - if the AI quotes a book, study, or article, check that it actually exists before relying on it

3.      Recent news and current events - many AI models have a cutoff date for their knowledge and may not know what happened last week, last month, or even last year.

Treat AI output the same way you'd treat advice from a very well-read but occasionally unreliable friend - useful as a starting point, but always worth verifying for anything important. A simple rule of thumb: if you'd be embarrassed to be wrong about it, take two minutes to check it against a trusted source. Many AI tools now have a web search feature built in - turning it on is one of the easiest ways to reduce the risk of hallucinated facts.

 

Don’t cram everything into one giant prompt

It's tempting, when you have a big project, to dump the whole thing into the AI at once. "Plan my two-week trip to Italy: I want flights from Delhi, hotels in four cities, a day-by-day itinerary, restaurant recommendations for each dinner, a packing list, useful Italian phrases, tips on tipping etiquette, and a budget breakdown."

The AI will give you something - but it will almost certainly be shallow, generic, and full of errors, because you've asked it to juggle eight different jobs at once. AI tools, like people, produce their best work when they can focus on one thing at a time. The fix is simple: break big projects into a series of smaller, focused conversations, letting each step build on the one before it. Using the Italy example, a much better approach would be:

1.      First, ask for help choosing which four cities to visit based on your interests, time, and travel pace.

2.      Once you've picked them, ask for a suggested order and rough number of nights in each.

3.      Then ask for a sample day-by-day plan for the first city.

4.      Then ask for restaurant ideas for that city in your price range.

5.      Then move on to the next city, and so on.

You'll end up with vastly better answers - and because each step is focused, you'll also catch any mistakes more easily before they get baked into the larger plan.

This same principle applies to almost any project: writing a long letter, planning a family gathering, researching a major purchase, learning a new topic. Small, focused exchanges beat one giant ask, every time.

 

Know what AI is good at and what it isn't

It's wonderful for drafting, summarizing, brainstorming, explaining, and rephrasing. It's less reliable for arithmetic, very recent news (unless web search is on), and anything requiring real-world judgment about your personal life. When in doubt, use AI as a thinking partner - not the final decision-maker.

 

So, I hope you have understood the scope of the available LLMs and how we can make the best use of them. They are like a new friend whom you have recently met, with time your friendship will only get mature and it will be of more and more help. You will understand its strong point and its limitations and eventually your relationship will become sound and fruitful.

BEDSIDE TEACHING ROUND WITH PROF. C.G. AGARWAL

 

Prof. C G Agrawal was our teacher in Medicine, when we were doing our MBBS in King George's Medical College in Lucknow. Even today, decades after his retirement, he remains a highly skilled and well known Physician in Lucknow. His home in Niralanagar still attracts patients from all over the state and even from surrounding states and Nepal. He remains the last word in diabetology and his patients almost worship him.

 

Dr. Agarwal completed MBBS in 1966 and MD - Medicine from King George Medical College, Lucknow in 1970. He is a very respected member of Association of Physicians of India, Indian Medical Association (IMA) and American College of Chest Physicians. Decorated with Gold Medal in MD, Dr. Agrawal has also been conferred with Certificate of Honour in 1966. He is a Diplomat American Board of Int. Medicine (1972) from Harvard in the U.S.

 

Prof. Agarwal was a very young teacher, fresh from his overseas training, when we were studying Medicine. He was quite a charismatic person, with lots of stories to attract our attention and convey his message. So, whenever, during his lectures, he would hear a hum he would stop and break into one of his stories, how he met Gregory Peck or how once in Heathrow, while waiting for his flight, Elizabeth Taylor helped him to pick up the tie he was wearing that day! These stories were enough to regain our complete attention, and then he would continue with the lesson being taught. We, the students, were literally in awe of him, and many would spend the next weekend searching for a tie like his one!

 

Today, I am reminded of a morning ward teaching round, in which four from our batch were allotted two patients by his Senior Resident, on the prior evening, to present before him, one of bronchiectasis and one of hypotension. Dr. Agarwal walked in the Medicine ward, cheerful as ever. I presented the patient who had bronchiectasis.

 

Bronchiectasis is a condition where repeated infections cause the bronchus and its branches to widen or develop pouches. It makes it hard to clear mucus out of the lungs and can cause frequent repeat infections. Coughing a lot with pus and mucus is the main symptom of bronchiectasis. 

 

After this presentation by us he asked us to examine the patient in his presence and then he showed us how the coarse and leathery crepitations of Bronchiectasis sound and how they are distinctly different from the fine crepitations of CHF, which he demonstrated in another patient. The coarse crepitations of Bronchiectasis were low pitched, longer and early inspiratory sounds, whereas the fine crepitations in the CHF patient were high pitched, brief and late inspiratory sounds.

 

The CHF patient too was coughing, and so was our patient of Bronchiectasis but he showed us how the sputum or phlegm they were bringing out was so very different. The CHF patient had pinkish thin frothy sputum, which, he told us, was a sign of pulmonary edema. Our patient was bringing out thick tenacious yellow coloured sputum, which was a feature of infection. 

 

Fine crepitations are caused by the reopening of small airways and alveoli that have collapsed due to fluid or inflammation. The rapid equalization of pressure during inspiration leads to the characteristic crackling sound. These sounds are similar to the sound of hair being rubbed between your fingers near your ear, he explained.

Coarse crepitations, on the other hand, are caused by air passing through larger airways that contain fluid or mucus. So, they indicate presence of secretions in large airways. The intermittent opening of these airways produces the characteristic sound. These sounds resemble bubbling or the sound of Velcro being pulled apart. In our patient of Bronchiectasis these sounds were very coarse, and almost leathery.

 

Dr. Agarwal then went on to explain that when we are ill, especially if it is an illness that involves a hacking cough, it is not uncommon to cough up phlegm, or sputum. The color of this mucus phlegm can tell us a lot about the pathogens that have caused the infection. The body is a mucus-making machine, producing around 1 to 1.5 liters of this gel-like substance every single day, even when you're healthy, he explained.  In health, phlegm/mucus is mostly clear and minimal. If you are coughing up significant amounts of phlegm you could have an infection or allergies.

Phlegm is produced by our patient because his respiratory tract has become inflamed, which leads to the coughing. The phlegm can be of different colours and each of these convey a message to the physician:

 

White or Gray Phlegm 

If your patient is coughing up white or gray phlegm then this could be a sign of an upper respiratory tract infection or sinus congestion.

Normally, paranasal sinuses don’t drip, but when there's inflammation, either viral or bacterial, it can cause a drip from the sinus into your throat. This post nasal drip will make your patient caugh when he tries to sleep.

Coughing up gray phlegm could be a sign that your body is trying to rid itself of resin or tars that have accumulated as a result of excessive smoking or inhalation of air pollutants like smog or dust. 

 

Green or Dark Yellow Phlegm 

Coughing up thick and dark yellow phlegm could be a sign of a viral or bacterial infection, or a lower respiratory tract infection. Usually, this occurs when the body's immune system sends white blood cells, the neutrophils, to the area of infection. These cells contain a green protein, which, when present in large numbers, give the mucus a greenish tint. 

 

Brown phlegm 

Smokers tend to produce more brown phlegm, which often comes out mixed with saliva in a grainy texture. Smoking can cause the phlegm to turn brown because of the resin, tar and other particulate matter in cigarettes, which the body is trying to expel. If you don't smoke and are coughing up brown phlegm, it could be down to the food and drink that you're consuming - Chocolate, coffee, and red wine to name but a few.

Pink Phlegm 

Coughing up pink phlegm could be a sign of a pulmonary edema, or Congestive Heart Failure, as we saw in the other patient. When seen in small amounts, it can also be a sign of bleeding because of repeated coughing. This type of phlegm can sometimes have a frothy texture - this is especially common in those who have pre-existing heart problems. 

 

Bloody Phlegm 

Blood in the phlegm is known as haemoptysis, while streaks of blood in phlegm is a benign sign of bronchitis. Coughing up a large quantity of bloody phlegm could be a sign of tuberculosis, pneumonia, cancer, or pulmonary embolism. 

 

So, Dr. Agarwal concluded that the nature, the amount and the colour of the phlegm is vital to come to a clinical diagnosis. 

 

Our group now walked to the next patient. My colleague presented the lady as a patient of hypotension. This was a new admission, still being investigated and so after examining the patient, and finding no major clinical signs to demonstrate, Dr. Agarwal gave us an idea of how to approach a patient of hypotension.

A reading of less than 90/60 mm HG is considered hypotension. Everyone’s blood pressure drops occasionally and doesn’t cause any noticeable symptoms, he said. For example, the transition from a sitting or lying down position to a standing up one can cause a drop in blood pressure.  This is postural hypotension or orthostatic hypotension.

However, certain conditions can cause prolonged periods of hypotension that can be harmful:

·         Significant blood loss due to an injury – oligovolumic shock

·         poor circulation due to a heart condition

·         pregnancy

·         dieting to lose weight

·         infections of the bloodstream - septicemia

·         anaphylactic shock

·         diabetes - baroreflex dysfunction of diabetic neuropathy

·         thyroid disease.

Furthermore, certain medications such as beta-blockers, erectile dysfunction drugs, and antidepressants can also cause hypotension.

When the blood pressure drops, baroreceptors (nerve endings within the carotid arteries and heart) respond by sending signals to the brain to increase the heartbeat and constrict (narrow) blood vessels to raise blood pressure. A faulty baroreflex prevents adequate raising of the heart rate and constriction of blood vessels when standing, leading to a sustained drop in blood pressure.

 

Having persistent low blood pressure is harmful. If the blood pressure gets severely low, the body will not receive enough oxygen to carry out normal functions. A decrease in oxygen levels can lead to impaired functioning of the heart and brain as well as cause difficulty breathing. In certain cases, people suffering from low blood pressure can lose consciousness or go into shock.

 

Signs & Symptoms of Hypotension

 

1. Dizziness or Light-Headedness - A low blood pressure causes poor blood flow to the brain. This decreases the oxygen supply to the brain and makes you feel dizzy and light-headed. This is often associated with a sudden change in position, such as standing up to quickly or waking up in the morning.

2. Fatigue - Low blood pressure will affect your patient’s energy levels, causing fatigue. The flow of blood throughout the body plays a key role in the production of energy as it provides the body with oxygen and other necessary nutrients. The mitochondria with cells require nutrients for energy production. When there is a disruption in the blood flow due to a decrease in blood pressure, it disrupts the energy creation process, which in turn causes fatigue and tiredness.

3. Rapid Heart Rate or tachycardia - Poor blood flow to the heart causes it to contract irregularly. If the heart is not getting the required amount of blood, it tries to compensate for this by beating faster. This can cause the pulse and breathing to speed up, and even a frequent change in body temperature.

4. Cold, Clammy Skin - Having cold, clammy and pale skin is another sign of low blood pressure, especially when it’s also accompanied by a rapid heartbeat and shallow breathing. This occurs when there’s not enough blood circulating in your body due to a drop in blood pressure.

5. Lack of Concentration - Due to a decrease in blood pressure, blood is not being moved to the brain at a normal rate. As a result, the brain cells are not getting the required oxygen and nourishment that they need to function properly. This makes it hard to concentrate. If you start to feel foggy and can’t concentrate on what you’re doing despite trying hard, get your blood pressure checked.

6. Unusual Thirst - Being unusually thirsty means that you’re dehydrated, which can at times cause your blood pressure to drop. In fact, this is your body’s way of telling you that you need to add more water to your blood, in an attempt to raise your blood pressure.

7. Blurred Vision - The lack of oxygen in the blood resulting from a drop in blood pressure affects eye movements significantly. Suddenly experiencing blurry vision can be scary, and the effect can be long-lasting or permanent, as this can be caused by glaucoma, myopia, retinal detachment, and a migraine too.

 

 

Treatments for Hypotension

•       Drink plenty of water to avoid a drop in blood pressure due to dehydration. 

·         Intravenous fluids / blood transfusion

•       Do not cross your legs when you sit. 

•       Avoid standing up quickly from a sitting or sleeping position.

•       Get enough sleep so you always feel refreshed. 

•       Eat foods rich in essential vitamins B12 and folic acid to prevent anemia. 

•       Avoid smoking and drinking in excess, as both can cause poor circulation. 

•       Learn your triggers and try to avoid them

 

This is how our morning teaching round with Dr. C.G. Agarwal ended. Dr. Agarwal is a great communicator and there are many videos in YouTube to testify for the same. He graced our Golden Jubilee reunion in December 2025. We pray to God for his long and productive life.

SEEING ‘INTELLIGENCE’ IN A NEW LIGHT

 

Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Individuals differ from one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought. Although these individual differences can be substantial, they are never entirely consistent: a given person's intellectual performance will vary on different occasions, in different domains, as judged by different criteria.

 

Everyone likes to think of themselves as intelligent, and enjoys to hear themselves called 'clever' by other people. We have all heard of IQ tests, and most of us have heard of the three main intelligence groups: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. The first idea is a little out of fashion, and the second never really caught on. According to a famous Harvard Professor of Education, Howard Gardner, both ideas fail because there are actually 9 intelligences! And, wonderfully, we all possess these intelligences to uniquely differing degrees. Gardner defines intelligence as a “bio-psychological potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture”

 

Multiple Intelligences: An Educational Theory

Howard Gardner, Ph.D. has spent the latter part of his career finessing the theory that all humans share nine distinct 'intelligences' to varying degrees. He first proposed the theory of multiple intelligences in his 1983 book Frames of Mind, where he broadens the definition of intelligence and outlines several distinct types of intellectual competencies. Rather than intelligence being something that can be described as if on a spectrum, i.e. 'this man is more intelligent than that man', every individual has a unique set of intelligence skills. And this is not wishy-washy make-believe, but a renowned psychological theory from a Harvard expert.   His theory has been associated with the recent trend in schools to focus on so called ‘child centered’ learning, because traditional teaching assumes one single type of intelligence, which is unfair on those of us who don't fit that straight jacket. 

 

Gardner would prefer that learners take an active role in their own assessment, internalizing the kind of adjustments they need to make based on their experience of feedback from trained professionals (teachers). He compares this with how people learn and master sports, music and arts. But these examples can be expanded to include all of us in our daily lives, not just kids at school. After all, everyday is a school day in the real world!

 

So, what are the 9 Different Intelligences?  These are:

 

1. Musical-rhythmic and harmonic (Music Smart)

Have you always had a tremendous understanding of the relationship between feeling and sound? Perhaps you enjoy a particular awareness and appreciation of sound, with superb recognition of patterns of tone and rhythm. People with high skills in this area often become successful as: composers, DJs, entertainers, music producers, musicians, voice coaches. How much of this intelligence do you think you have?

 

2. Visual-Spatial (Picture Smart)

All those years ago at school did you enjoy making art? Then you probably have a very high visual spatial intelligence. Even if you didn’t do very well at art you still have this intelligence to some degree. We all have a certain understanding of the relationship between different images, and between space and effects. People who do well in these areas often spend their professional life in these fields: architecture, art, engineering, graphic designing, inventing, photography, landscaping, sculpting. Have you ever fancied doing jobs like these? Perhaps you have already done so.

 

3. Verbal-linguistic (Word Smart)

If you feel very comfortable expressing yourself using the written and spoken word, interpreting and explaining ideas with language, then you must have a very high verbal-linguistic intelligence. The kind of jobs you would be suited for would include: journalist, lawyer, poet, teacher, TV/radio presenter, writer. Does this sound like you?

 

4. Logical-mathematical (Logic Smart)

If you are good at analyzing problems, noticing patterns and have always had skill at making mathematical calculations then you surely possess logical-mathematical intelligence in great abundance. People with such intelligence are suited to these jobs: banker, computer programmer, engineer, scientist, and trader. Are you such a person?

 

5. Bodily-kinesthetic (Body Smart}

Not often thought of as an intelligence, people who rank highly in this area of the mind exhibit good body to eye coordination, great manual dexterity and enjoy poise, balance and agility. People who excel at bodily-kinesthetic intelligence often succeed in careers as: athletes, dancers, nurses, biologists, physical therapists, sign-language interpreters. How well could you have seen yourself doing in jobs like these? Needless to say, these may deteriorate with age and illness.

 

6. Interpersonal (People smart)

This intelligence describes our ability (or lack of ability) to relate to other people. People’s behavior often requires interpretation, and that’s where this part of our intelligence kicks in. People who really excel at reading their neighbors can do very well in these types of employment: advertising, care giving, coaching/mentoring, counseling, education, HR, mediation, politics, psychology, sales, teaching, training, therapy. Do you believe you can read people well?

 

7. Intrapersonal (Self Smart)

This intelligence should not be confused with interpersonal, which describes our relations with our neighbors. Intrapersonal intelligence is our sense of self-awareness. Do you understand yourself? Can you react to your own needs and changing circumstances? How aware are you of your place in relation to others? This kind of intelligence is necessarily subjective, therefore only a trained intelligence expert can be expected to tell you how much of this intelligence you have. Perhaps it is something that we can control ourselves through meditation.

 

8. Naturalistic (Nature Smart)

This intelligence was a late addition to Gardner’s theory. It describes the kind of intelligence required to understand our relationship with our natural surroundings. For example, in earlier parts of our evolutionary story we would have had to understand the differences between flora and fauna, and develop our skills in hunting, farming and domestication. It has been suggested that not only farmers, hunters and modern day gatherers (or foragers) possess abundance of this intelligence, but also chefs and botanists. So if you are a bit of an amateur biologist and a keen cook, you probably are a true Naturalist.

 

9. Existential

This is one of my favorite intelligences, because it is clearly something we all have inborn. As a child did you ask a lot of existential questions, such as ‘why is there something, and not nothing?’, ‘why is grass green?’ Or have you heard your grandkids asking the same questions – and been unable to answer? If so, you probably have something in common with some of the world’s greatest philosophers and spiritual leaders. 

 

Other possible intelligences

In the future it's possible that Gardner may add at least one more intelligence to his list. As a world famous educator it's perhaps unsurprising that he is beginning to recognize something called the 'teaching-pedagogical intelligence.' This may be enabling us to pass on information to other people. What else? Well, many people have argued that humor and sex require their own separate intelligences; Gardner however does not believe that these are intelligences by themselves.

 

Multiple Intelligence Test

So now you have had a good think about yourself and how intelligent you are, why not take this quick 5 minute test to see what kinds of percentages you possibly posses. However, there are no right answers, just your unique self. No matter what, you possess all of these different intelligences in varying degrees and they all go towards making you the special person you are. 

Try to think about how well cultivated these 9 parts of your mind are. Do you possess some of these intelligences naturally? Have you improved upon others? Which have you been neglecting? Learning Gardner's theory will really help you think about yourself as a whole person. 

 

Gardner’s theory has had significant impact on education. It encourages pluralistic teaching methods, where educators present material in multiple ways to encourage different intelligences. Thus, a lesson might combine story telling (linguistic), hands on experiments (bodily-kinesthetic), and visual aids (spatial) to reach a wider range of learners.

Critics argue that labeling these abilities as separate intelligences broadens the definition of intelligence beyond traditional scientific standards, raising questions about empirical validation. Despite this objection Gardner's framework provides a more nuanced understanding of human cognitive abilities, highlighting individual strengths and encouraging diverse educational strategies. A monkey can not be declared smarter than the elephant because it can climb up a tree!

 

 

TEACHERS AND PARENTS – A FORMIDABLE TEAM IN COLVIN

 

You can call it a generation gap. Parents and teachers often remember their childhood, and expect the children and the students of today to be just like them, little realizing that times have changed and so have the values and the priorities of  their offsprings and students. During these years many parents and teachers are "caught in the trap" and make common mistakes in raising and educating their children, however, this situation can be avoided. Making mistakes is human, and the wisdom is to know this and to understand that there are certain statements that create strong resistance in the minds of adolescents which process in a way that’s completely different than what you could fathom.

I was brought up in a middle class Bengali family that had moved from Calcutta to Lucknow because of my father’s transferable job but once we came to this city, we knew we are never going to leave it. My parents would only settle for the best school in town, and though it was a very expensive one they chose Colvin for me. I distinctly remember my interview in the Principal’s office. The principal, Mr. Kashyap, after a few run of the mill qusetions which a student of Class II was supposed to answer, asked “Son, what is your father?” I don’t think I understood the question very well and so very confidently said “He is a man.” “Wonderful”, he exclaimed, “and that is exactly what we want to make one out of you, a good, honest and sincere gentleman, who would one day be the pride of your family, this school and this country!” He then turned to my father and said “Mr. Bhattacharya, Colvin today may not be in a position to promise that your son will be an outstanding scholar, but the fact that he will be an outstanding human being, who will stand out in the crowd, I have no doubt about that.”

I have, in my previous blogs, documented in great details about the teaching in Colvin, about the teachers and their innovative punishments. You can read it by clicking: https://surajitbrainwaves.blogspot.com/2023/11/remembering-my-teacher-and-my-father_16.html

Today I will share with you some pages from my father’s diary, written almost 60 years ago after a parent – teacher meeting. Beyond academics, these meetings allowed teachers to discuss the child’s behaviour, attitude towards learning, and social interactions with peers. This comprehensive feedback helped parents to understand how their child adapted to the school environment. A child’s academic success is often closely linked to how involved their parents are in their education. These meetings in Colvin motivated parents to take an active role, offering them a chance to better understand the curriculum and the school’s expectations. But this parent teacher meeting, which my father kept a note of, was very different.

My father wrote that it was attended by around 20 parents and Class teachers of all sections of Class VI and two senior teachers, Mr. M.G. Rao and Mr. P.N. Chaube. The contents of this meeting was most fascinating, the two senior teachers were in fact teaching the parents the secrets of good parenting. No doubt, they were very experienced in parenting, having raised their own families, but the golden experience of being a teacher in Colvin too gave them the authority. Today, I can  not imagine such a meeting and the parents might take offence, but the sagacity of the senior teachers and the humility of the parents both deserve a lot of respect, for it was purely passing down of invaluable wisdom! What they were actually telling the parents was why they should avoid certain common admonitions while disciplining their children. These are a few of them:

1. "It's not that I don’t trust you, but..."

There is nothing more irritating to adolescents than adults who turn to them and begin their spiel with this sentence - it means to them that they simply do not trust them. It is very important that you don’t say these words because the meaning hidden in this sentence is very confusing. If you don’t trust your teens, just tell them that. Give your adolescent children a little more credit - if you tell them you don’t trust them, they will try to find a way to gain your trust.

2. "Because I said so."

Let's be honest with ourselves, as parents, we also don’t like to hear these words, and between us, this argument is very weak. When you say this sentence your adolescent children are probably thinking that you have no real reason behind your decision, or that you simply don’t want to explain your thought process to them. If you are going to say that you are not allowing them to do something, you must also explain why you aren’t allowing them to do so. If you explain yourself correctly and clearly, this will leave no room for debate and prevent feelings of frustration in the future for both sides.

3. "You’ll understand when you get older"

Your teens have one foot in the door and one foot out, and when you use this statement, they realize that they are still young and that you think they’re stupid. It's true that this isn’t your intention, but think about it, if they are old enough to learn how to ride a bicycle, decide which extracurricular activities they want to join, and start thinking about what colleges they want to attend, they are mature enough to have an opinion on a particular subject. Just because their opinion is not based on a lot of experience or is different from their parents' opinion, doesn’t mean they are immature or don’t understand, it just proves that they are different from you, and that's okay. Instead of using this phrase, try telling your adolescent children about the life experience that led you to a particular opinion, and ask them challenging questions about dealing with certain situations to develop their thinking and readiness for life.

4. "When I was your age, I was never ..."

We all know that this statement is far from true, and it is perceived by your adolescent children as a fact that you were perfect boys and girls during your teenage years. Moreover, no matter how perfect you think you were when you were young, you had to have made at least one mistake along the way. Perhaps you’ve decided to forget all your mistakes or chose not to share them with your adolescent children because you don’t want them to repeat your mistakes. However, what they need most is a human role model, someone who has made mistakes in his past and can identify with them. Sometimes, being the perfect parent is not necessarily what your children need. And have you ever thought that the children’s grandparents can spill all the beans of your childhood and falsify your story!

5. "What are you not telling me?"

Most of us agree that it is a good thing to know what adolescent children do, where they spend their time and with whom. The problem is that asking questions about these issues is interpreted as an investigation, especially when they don’t want to tell you about something they’ve done. All in all, this is simple logic, but there is a very fine line between worrying about your children and trying to take out skeletons that don’t exist in their messy closet. It is very important to take your teen's word for it and if you can’t, then there is a trust problem that needs to be solved, maybe even just on your part. Ideally your kids should have absolute confidence in you and confide in you, but for that you need to make a friendly atmosphere at home, not a hostile one.

6. "Why can’t you be more like your sister/ brother?"

One of the worst things you can do as a parent is to compare your children to others, within the family and in general, and at any age. When you turn to them with such a statement what they’re actually hearing is that they aren’t good enough; Such a statement undermines them and makes them worry and convince themselves that they aren’t living up to your expectations. Instead of asking "Why can’t you be more responsible like your sister?" Ask "Why can’t you be more responsible?" His sister is a different person, with a different personality. This child is most certainly not like his sister, but still he can be trained to be responsible.

7. "Money doesn‘t grow on the trees"

When you choose to say that phrase, your adolescent children understand that what they are asking for is too expensive and that you aren’t going to buy it. Because this sentence is so commonly used, it doesn’t have the same impact it once would have. Instead of being snarky, simply tell them that what they're asking for is too expensive, and you can’t buy it. If you want to teach them about the importance of money and wise economic conduct, you need to do so without using condescending phrases and talk to them at eye level.

8. "What are you doing in your room all the time?"

It is perfectly normal for teenagers to have the desire to break away from their families and escape to their rooms. They are with their families every day and it is okay to allow them some independence. What you’re actually trying to convey to them with this sentence is that you miss them and want to spend time with them, so just tell them that! Their brains are busy with a lot of thoughts and they probably just aren’t aware that they’ve become a recluse. This sentence will only drive them deeper into their teenage caves.

 

I am amazed at the contents of this meeting, not only because of the extent to which the teachers in Colvin would go into character building of their students, but how easily they could team up with the parents to make a formidable team. Academic performances of individual students were also discussed with their class teachers, but what I can understand from my father’s diary is, that was certainly not the most important part of the meeting. These interactions went far beyond the basic exchange of information—they helped build a meaningful partnership that supported the children’s academic and personal growth. Parents, teachers, and students in Colvin would work together to ensure that each child received the best possible education, with everyone contributing to their success.