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"its more difficult to get into IIT than Harvard" By what metric? I doubt that everyone who got into IIT could get into Harvard. But I may be a bit biased bec

by ken47 6y ago

"its more difficult to get into IIT than Harvard" By what metric? I doubt that everyone who got into IIT could get into Harvard. But I may be a bit biased because I work with some IIT graduates who are a bit underwhelming relative to the reputation of their alma mater.

govg 6y ago
It's a hard comparison since Harvard and the IITs have different admission processes. Admissions to the IITs happen via a single exam, which is held at the end of 12 years of school education and is conducted over a few hours consisting of upper level physics, chemistry and mathematics. Harvard meanwhile has a lot more in terms of admission criteria, with essays, SAT scores and other things taken into consideration. The easiest way to justify OPs stance is to compare the admitted / applied ratio for both schools, owing to the sheer number of people taking the IITJEE and the relatively low number of seats available (around 10k), the success ratio is lower than Harvard.
- ken47 6y ago
  I agree - that could be the closest to a sound argument, but it's a very superficial one. Someone who claims to be highly intelligent by virtue of their alma mater should know better than to advance such an argument to an educated audience.
  - zeroxfe 6y ago
    OP was not saying anything about intelligence or claiming to be highly intelligent. It was a personal (and very interesting, IMO) anecdote on their experience with math text books.
    - ken47 6y ago
      I take no issue with his anecdote. He said that getting into IIT was more difficult than getting into Harvard, which is a pretty clear claim about the intelligence of an IIT student, and by extension, his intelligence. The IIT graduates I've met are generally quite smart, but I've also noticed occasional arrogance which can lead them to think, say, and do irrational things, such as implying the superiority of IIT to Harvard, e.g. comparing apples to oranges.

by ken47 6y ago

govg 6y ago

It's a hard comparison since Harvard and the IITs have different admission processes. Admissions to the IITs happen via a single exam, which is held at the end of 12 years of school education and is conducted over a few hours consisting of upper level physics, chemistry and mathematics. Harvard meanwhile has a lot more in terms of admission criteria, with essays, SAT scores and other things taken into consideration. The easiest way to justify OPs stance is to compare the admitted / applied ratio for both schools, owing to the sheer number of people taking the IITJEE and the relatively low number of seats available (around 10k), the success ratio is lower than Harvard.

ken47 6y ago
I agree - that could be the closest to a sound argument, but it's a very superficial one. Someone who claims to be highly intelligent by virtue of their alma mater should know better than to advance such an argument to an educated audience.
- zeroxfe 6y ago
  OP was not saying anything about intelligence or claiming to be highly intelligent. It was a personal (and very interesting, IMO) anecdote on their experience with math text books.
  - ken47 6y ago
    I take no issue with his anecdote. He said that getting into IIT was more difficult than getting into Harvard, which is a pretty clear claim about the intelligence of an IIT student, and by extension, his intelligence. The IIT graduates I've met are generally quite smart, but I've also noticed occasional arrogance which can lead them to think, say, and do irrational things, such as implying the superiority of IIT to Harvard, e.g. comparing apples to oranges.