Thinking Fast and Slow - Some Lessons

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So, I completed reading Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and I have got some lessons which might be worthwhile for all of us.

The author states that we have two processes for processing the problems, the first one is fast and reflex which is fast thinking i.e 2+2 whenever asked would prompt simple answer of 4 but the Slow Thinking is when we don't have answers at hand i.e 13*27 and we can't answer it abruptly without calculations.

The author had detailed at length as to how our biases and preconceived notions about different concepts affect our judgment about different issues.

He has also clarified that instead of human judgment, calculations based on formulas are more accurate. He mentions about the delivery cases and says that evena  formula can determine about the chances of survival and well being of babies instead of the judgment about the same thing by a human being.

Daniel Kahneman has stated through data that even married and unmarried people are happy by the same amount because if you are married, you enjoy the pleasure of partner and kids but sacrifice the company of friends.

On the other hand, if you are unmarried, you do have a lot of time for friends and so you garner your happiness through this social bank.

Through a series of experiments, he has explained as to how our brain functioning affects our judgment and we jump to conclusions based on our fast thinking processing of problems and challenges.

The book also involves some of the terms of psychology and it needs to be read with due attention. Its a comprehensive book which hinges on statistics and data extraction and the author has relied more on the data collection and then the hypothesis built on the basis of that instead of making judgments based on his personal biases.

"Thinking Fast and Slow" also delineates upon how marketing plays with our minds and how we are tuned to making judgment abased on the stereotypes. 

With charts and graphs and images, the author has tried to explain the delicate concepts of psychology and has connected them with our daily lives so we can connect with the concept being discussed.

It's a good read if you are interested about delving deep into your mind and trying to gauge what eclipses your judgment and how do you make decisions.

If you love reading more about psychology, do read this one as it is detailed and on point, bolstered by statistics and data.

I passed CSS exam with 3 months preparation, Here's my strategy...

Merely by the blessings of Allah Almighty, I was able to pass the Competitive Examination (CSS-2018) with a preparation of 3 months and I would like to share the tips for aspirants and those who want simple tips.

Excuse the ramblings in this topic. Its part of the content writing I learned and wait you can read my blog here: https://streetgrand.com/

Also, I can be followed on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/haidersays/.



Duration

Oct 10 to December 31st, I devoted time from around 6 PM to 12 midnight as I was employed somewhere and used to get back home around 5 after which I took food, tea and then used to study. Even in that window of 6-12, I slept often in between studying for like 25-30 mins.

From Jan to exams (in February) I had taken off days to fully devote my attention to CSS. 

If you devote 12 hours to study everyday then this overall duration for me came around 3 months.


Optionals

International Relations

I opted this instead of Political Science because I thought I am in touch with current and international affairs generally and so it is better to choose the subject where I can analyze different topics instead of cramming theories of Political Science.

For Paper-I, I consulted IR book by Safdar Mullick compiled by Kips and got 56.

For Paper-II, I consulted notes available at Student-Teacher Centre Punjab University Lahore. 

They were written by Muhammad Qasim Zia and are available at Tahir Iqbal Photocopy. (0334, 0321, 0345- 4734258).

BTW, I started preparation of Paper-II on January 17th 2018 and again Allah Almighty was so kind that I secured 69 marks.


Gender Studies

I opted this because it was a bit short and I wanted to learn how we humans are different in our approaches toward life.

I only consulted SP Hammad notes available at Student-Teacher Centre, Punjab University Lahore. I got 62.

Criminology

I selected this because of the short syllabus and I thought I knew some stuff already about this subject like Parole, Probation, Cyber Crime, Money laundering etc.

I consulted book by Advance Publications written by Nasir Khan and Ammar Sattar and secured 74 marks.

Indo-Pak History

I ditched US History in favour of this subject because for US History, I had to learn and memorise even the NAMES and for Indo-Pak History, I thought I had some knowhow of subcontinent and additionally, I analyzed its past paper and thought I can attempt it somehow even without any preparation. I got 52 in the subject.

I consulted book by World Times penned by Mian Azmat Farooq for this.

Mass Communication

I opted this because I was interested in media ever since I graduated. 

Moreover, I was doing something related to current affairs as part of my job and had an interest in media so I thought I might be able to correlate topics a bit. 

I consulted book by HSM publishers and got 55 in this subject. This is not the best book, in fact very average one. I found it to be a copy paste content from the internet and has many grammatical errors which shows that the publisher is more interested in profit than actually guiding the public.
You can consult any book, but be assured that it has all the relevant topics for first reading and then you can search online for added knowledge to add to that.

Compulsory

Essay Paper

I didn't write even a single Essay before the paper because I didn't have much time and I found it complex to write an Essay, get it checked for just to be disappointed.

I simply read a book by Nasir Jamal and fetched notes of KIPS Essay outlines which are available at Punjab University, Student-Teacher Centre to get an idea of how outlines are made.

I memorized some statistics on different issues like global warming, terrorism, water scarcity and fortunately attempted the Essay on global warming.

My strategy was to simply use the statistics I had crammed. My outline was simple like starting from whether global warming and climate change are actually a problem or not.

Then I wrote 'Stats Don't Lie' as a heading (in outline) and used different supporting arguments and made their subheadings (in outline) like ice sheets melting and other aspects confirming my viewpoint.

Then I outlined the reasons and used sub-headings in outline as well. Afterward, I incorporated whether Pakistan is endangered and used statistics related to Pakistan.

Then I gave the heading (in outline) of how to curb global warming and in subheadings wrote 'Measures at international level' followed by 'Steps to be taken at national level' and then 'What humans can do' and concluded the topic.

My Essay was simple as well as the outline. My Essay spanned some 1900 words and I got 42 by the blessings of Almighty Allah. I just kept it relevant, did not do grammar or spellings mistakes. 

I committed a blunder in outline as well as in the body of Essay as I mentioned Pakistan is at 5th most vulnerable spot though it was at 7th spot. 

Even then, I passed the paper.

Tip: Simple, grammatically correct, without spelling mistake and relevant stuff would help you pass the paper. 

Precis & Composition

I did not learn some 2000 words for vocabulary. I knew a bit more than an ordinary graduate in terms of vocabulary but equal to the one who reads the newspaper.

I didn't practice precis for paper, but the work I was doing somewhat involved shortening stuff. I didn't prepare Comprehension. I was in the thorough practice of translation. I got 51 in this paper.

Tip: If you can't memorise 2000 words, don't worry. Divert your attention towards Precis, Composition, Direct-Indirect, Active-Passive and translation.

Islamiat

I started preparation of it on December 24th 2017 and only consulted Karim Dad Chugtai's book 

(Some of my fellows said the book contains wrong references, like the Quranic verses are right but they are numbered wrong; I have not cross-verified it).

I penned Ahadees and Quranic verses on a separate paper (1 or 2 pages in total) and memorized them to be used in paper. 

I skipped the letters written by the Khulafas as I didn't have time and I got 48.

Pakistan Affairs

I consulted only Akram Rabbani's book as its comprehensive and nothing else. I was in touch with current affairs generally as well though I scored miserable, only 36.

General Science & Ability

I consulted book by Current Publishers written by Razza Ullah Khan for this subject. The IT portion related to Computer is somewhat missing in this though. I secured 57 marks.

Current Affairs

I had the knowhow of current affairs but not in detail. You can say I knew the headlines but not the body of news stories.

What I did was that I sat down in December and thought over the affairs that happened in 2017 and made notes of them on my own.

Like Qatar-Saudi Arabia crisis, Doklam Standoff, Islamic Military Alliance and others were the hot issues and so I understood what were the reasons behind the issues and learned some statistics on that and a bit of history ENTIRELY through the internet and prepared the subject. NO BOOK was consulted and I scored 56 marks.

Pro Tips

Don't try to fool the examiner. They have been marking the papers for so long and if you try to beat about the bush, they would sense that very soon and would hit you hard. Be precise and relevant if you are unsure about any topic.

Learn some terms like Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is the name for Iran Nuclear Deal and operation to hunt down Osama bin Laden was 'Neptune Spear'. Use these in your body.

I did not draw diagrams and charts in my papers because I DID NOT KNOW them as I didn't have any time. I did not draw margins on answer sheets and my handwriting is not very good. My handwriting is just legible but you can't say it great or excellent. It's just Okay.

I did not prepare any notes (in terms of actual lengthy notes). Like I penned one-liners and basic crux of different theories (of IR, Gender Studies) which confused me a bit.

I did not appear in any mock exams as I did not have any time. I did not consult any teacher or ACADEMY for written part preparation and learned on my own through books, internet, Youtube etc. I did not read foreign authors and simply read the local authors mentioned above because I wanted to complete the course which was possible only if I could consult a single book without the hassle of exploring different books.

I only consulted two of my friends (Babar Ali Rai and Waleed Ashraf).

Both of these gems guided me on which books should I consult and I owe them a lot. They were a great help throughout the process.

Simply don't believe in myths. If you are an average student and have more than 3 months, you can pass the exam. Believe in Allah Almighty, be humble, sit tight, keep studying and forget about the results. I didn't know I could pass the exam but Karma worked.
I am not suggesting that those who invest more time and read from different sources are wasting their time. All I am saying is that my strategy is just another solution and method which could work for you to pass the exam.

And during the papers, don't discuss the question paper after you are done. Sometimes you would feel that you might fail a subject and think over quitting the attempt but DON'T DO THIS. 

I was sure that I would fail in one of the papers but somehow I passed and so even if you are sure that you might fail in one subject, simply ignore this feeling and move on and attempt every paper with the same energy and dedication.

Books
The books mentioned above are not the best one. I just shared so that those who are starting could grab one and read it thoroughly. 
But if you find any other book, its equally perfect. Just make sure that it covers all the contents of the syllabus and then you can consult multiple sources. I won't get any sort of commission out of these books so I have no stakes attached to these books but yes I consulted these. I would love to help in case anyone is confused about the process. You can get in touch here: Twitter  or drop an e-mail at: sewlix@yahoo.com

Abid Sher Ali on Twitter: A Candid Autopsy

We are living in age of social networks.Be they social messengers like whatsapp or snapchat or web interpretations of them like Facebook or Twitter,everyone is busy mingling with his status or tweet.

As in case of pakistan,people prefer facebook over twitter for the reason that it's trendy,easy to use and interactive.

But our political elite on the other side grabs a much fair space on microblogging site twitter.From uploading their Being Awami pictures to flaunting their political excellence they don't lag behind and some of them remain active while replying to their supporters and peers as well.

But we have a politically notorious celebrity going by the handle @AbidSherAli on twitter,is the current Minister for Water and Power.Hailing from the city Faisalabd known for traditional repartee,Abid maintains to connect with his people on ground and on cyber ground as well.

But at times he crosses the limit while slamming his political opponents. Abid sher Ali is a political player and he must berate his opponents as everyone does but he gives a damn to limits of social decency in his tweets.With followers nearing 2 Lacs, Abid keeps on slamming Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf and Imran Khan in particular.Just to clear the air that i don't mind anyone criticising Khan and his party but political animosity has its borders.With scores of logical spots to bash Imran Khan and Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf,Minister opts to go below the belt.

Following is a summary of his tweets many consider lousy.

Have a look and review whether a MINISTER should be of that intellect to safeguard your rights.

 Remember he is being followed by over 45 prominent journalists/anchors and most importantly Maryam Nawaz Sharif also follows the tweets of the minister.

Trying to figure out what has happened in PTI julsa at Dohbighat Faisalabad. pic.twitter.com/2P1iYsZEIa

— AbidSherAli (@AbidSherAli) May 20, 2016

And another one

Mr @ImranKhanPTI I may not be perfect but at least I am not you ! Bullshitter !

— AbidSherAli (@AbidSherAli) May 20, 2016

Another one

آج دھوبی گھاٹ فیصل آباد میں کالیا میسنا ناکام اور مایوس لوٹا

— AbidSherAli (@AbidSherAli) May 20, 2016

The list goes on

سیاسی میسنے pic.twitter.com/SBS62pds5j

— AbidSherAli (@AbidSherAli) May 18, 2016

ٹلی تم بھی نواز شریف ۂی کے پیدا کردے ہو https://t.co/WLD5wmnuAk

— AbidSherAli (@AbidSherAli) May 13, 2016

Brace yourself here's another one

Pa Tali @ShkhRasheed app Kay siasi Abu Ki bi Hallal offshore companies nikal ai hay ub bi Bao Bao kero

— AbidSherAli (@AbidSherAli) May 13, 2016

فیصل آباد اور دھوبی گھاٹ نواز شریف کے شیروں کا میدان ہے PTI کے لاگڑ بگوں pic.twitter.com/4Jo4oSJr7V

— AbidSherAli (@AbidSherAli) May 4, 2016

Sorry for all these lousy tweets.I was able to browse through current month (MAY) tweets of the minister.
The point is not criticism. Imran Khan and Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf got serious flaws in their policy but the way a minister behaves online with followers nearing 2 hundred thousand is simply clumsy.
Leaving you with the conundrum that had he been a minister in some cultured society with this gibberish.??

Certainly NOT from my side

(Many of his indecent tweets have been sensored by me PLUS the images available on google referring to his tweets depict a more deplorable state of intellect but as they are images so i thought to embed his original tweets just to clear the air regarding Photoshop)

Sadiq Khan:Another thing to love London

 
"Today was an amazing victory for hope over fear and for unity over division – and it simply would not have been possible without your help."

This was the latest tweet by the newly elected Mayor of London Sadiq Khan who bagged triumph against Zac Goldsmith.I don't need to bother about the fact that Zac is Brother of jemima and ex Brother in Law of Imran Khan,Chairman Pakistan Tehreek e insaf.

London has always been a hub of culture, civilization and trendy trends.It's worth mentioning that first traffic light signal was installed in London back in 1868 but Sadiq Khan's victory installed another political light signal for world to follow.

In a Christian but secular community Khan's wins over Goldsmith enlightened the world with a new political reality that Religion which is almost the most sacred and identity pointer for anyone falls on a stony ground when it comes to London.

Zac Goldsmith a tall smart multi-millionaire guy apparently was a much stronger candidate than Khan,a Muslim,Not so rich,with a humble background but Zac forgot one thing,This is London,a land of people from diverse culture and background not drenched in hatred which ZAC was proliferating.He was playing religion card against sadiq that didn't stimulated intellectual cords of the masses.

And what we need to grab from all this is sense,Sense regarding how to elect and whom to reject. Can we simply imagine son of a bus driver and more importantly from another religion  becoming  mayor of a capital in this hate torn society we call "Land of Pure" and pretty recently we saw in our neighborhood, Narendra Modi a man who worked at a tea stall becoming prime minister of India.

One can say that Modi won due to hate factor against Muslims and not due to his TEA selling factor but on the contrary,opinion polls refer ZAC Goldsmith's defeat due to the same hate factor he sold against Sadiq Khan.Londoners rejected his ideology against Muslims although they are still recovering from wounds of 7/7 Bombings which were allegedly done by some radical people who called themselves Muslims and remember Sadiq Khan was Member of parliament that time from tooting.

Zac also wrote an op ed titled " Are we really going to hand the world’s greatest city to a Labour party that thinks terrorists are its friends” but his effort to link terrorism with Muslims proved futile.

We in Pakistan need to borrow this openness,the freedom to vote sensibly,rationally and more consciously in an effort to make this society an epicenter of tolerance.More importantly Americans need to grab their part of wisdom from this London election as they are all set to elect real estate mogul Donald trump as their president.Though he hasn't grabbed the final lead against other moderate candidates but he is surprising the world regarding his fair margin victories in a cultured society like America.

Trump also vowed to ban entry of Muslims in America once he becomes president.Another racial comment was about constructing a wall with Mexican border so infact Americans need to know that hate factor isn't going to take them anywhere,performance and prejudice are incomparable.Being a current super power with an extremist mindset president like trump would be a threat to the world.

We in Pakistan need to be more tolerant. Instead of borrowing only fashion from England ,we need to Mortgage these political values and realities against our filthy corrupt ethnic culture.Sadly,had he been in Pakistan with opposite religion to mainstream one,he wouldn't have been a deputy councilor even.

Thumbs Up London,Felicitations Sadiq Khan