The power of Coursera and online learning

Coursera is a potent learning tool.

This declaration comes as a surprise to no one. However, it is essential to note that Coursera has innovated and created a platform that is only possible over the internet. Where it lacks in social interaction of schools and universities, it has made up through its unique pedagogy. I've gone through a few courses and have listed the ways Coursera currently brings value.

No filler content

Anyone who's gone through university has experienced a professor that adds filler content to classes. It is inevitable. The structure of classes on Coursera ensures that there is no filler content. The lessons are scripted, structured, and perfected before recording. Not only do students get to repeat lessons infinitely, but professors can also re-record a lecture to perfection.

Self-Paced 

Slow learner? Not an issue, you can repeat the same thing plenty of times. 

Fast learner? Not an issue, you can play the videos at 2x.

Forgot the previous class? Not an issue, you can go through the content the same way it was taught the first time, thus ensuring recall. 

The fact that a student is not forced to conform to the standards of 'the average' means that the student can learn at their own pace. They don't have to be bored or lost in class anymore. 

Atomic videos

Coursera developed a platform and a new way to learn. Students can learn concepts in videos of no longer than 10 minutes. Each concept is given a separate video and is (at times) independent of the other videos. What's better is that short quizzes follow videos. These quizzes serve as revision and proof of comprehension. If you haven't followed the concept, the quiz immediately reveals the fact, and you watch the video again!

This is a far cry from the way universities teach. At present, it is not possible to implement such an arrangement in universities. Even if the system is implemented, students are still held up to the standards of the average. There is no escaping the standards of the average in a university setting.

Value education over the certificate

You can attend most courses without having to pay. If you value education over the proof of education, Coursera is the perfect place to learn. There are no paywalls; there are no entrance criteria; you get to learn from the best whenever you like. 

World's best professors available 24/7

You get to learn from world-class professors at a moment's notice. You can learn whenever you want and wherever you want. You're not necessitated into staying close to the professor. All you need is an internet connection and an electronic device that can connect you to the internet. 

There is no time in history where the opportunity to learn from the world's greatest teachers is so economical and convenient. I believe that Coursera still has room to exploit the unique benefits of the internet and further develop its pedagogy. But it's clearly on the right path, and I want to see how they revolutionize education.

Who shall be the Millionth person to be infected by Coronavirus?

I don't intend to scare anyone more than they already are by the pandemic, however, COVID-19 is scarier than I thought. I did some basic analysis on the number of people infected with the disease, and the results are stunning.

Unless France, Germany, Italy and countries hit by the virus don't shut down as China did (which is very unlikely), the total number of cases can be expected to reach 1 million people in each country by late March/early April. I have attached a Spreadsheet that outlines projections for COVID-19. I believe such projections are not public to maintain calm. People must have an understanding of what is being dealt with at this very moment.

The analysis is straightforward; I found data regarding the Total number of Coronavirus cases from here. The data was converted to the logarithm of total cases as the growth of the virus, when unconstrained, is exponential. Slopes and intercepts were obtained using Simple Linear Regression. Using these slopes and intercepts, I further extrapolated the logarithm of cases up to 1st April 2020. The logarithm of Total cases was then converted back to Total number of cases. While the dataset is time series and ideally one shouldn't use Linear regression for analysis, it gives a good idea about the growth of the virus.

Further information and observations can be found on the blog post. I shall continue updating the blog over the next few days. [I shall add facts and observations here in some time]

The spreadsheet I used can be found here. I aim to expand the number of countries analysed and include more relevant metrics like Total Active Cases in future iterations.

All suggestions and comments are welcome

Amazon’s Fires will keep happening; except now, you won’t hear about them.

The Amazon Forest fires in August 2019 drew a considerable amount of attention. It was impossible to go through the internet without having heard about it, or seen images of the fire. Rightly so, it is a huge sink of atmospheric carbon for the entire world. The continued existence of the Amazon Rainforest ensures the survival of Humans with our present technology. So, what leads me to the title?

Brazil (both the government and the people) will, in general, undertake activities that economically benefit themselves. It will optimise for Brazil. Brazil has an unrecognised export to the world. As a result, it is not compensated for the export and hence does not see economic benefit to the ecological services it provides to the world. The export being Carbon Sequestering, Oxygen Generation, and rain generation through the Amazon Rainforest.

On the other hand, agriculture, especially cash crops grown in Brazil, such as Sugarcane and Soybean, directly benefit the economy. As a result, Brazil’s people and government are incentivised to either participate or, turn a blind eye to the destruction of the rainforest in their boundaries. The government is only truly optimised for the population within their borders, i.e., to whom they are accountable. The Brazilian government has to show economic development, economic development the rainforest cannot drive.

It is important to note that the fires in Brazil’s rainforests are human-made and not natural. Suppose they were natural, such as the ones in California or large parts of Africa, it would be harder to pin the issue on human economic activity.

Since Brazil does not see any immediate economic benefit from the Amazon, they are incentivised to find better economic utility of the land. A result of which is more of the Amazon turning into industrial and agricultural land for economic productivity. It must be noted; if Brazil sees economic benefit from the Amazon and the services it provides to the world, forest fires will cease. The natural tendency for further economic growth by burning down the forest will still exist, but at least there would be a direct consequence to the economy for burning the Amazon.

It’s reasonably clear that the Amazon will continue burning till the time that Brazil is not paid. It is the tragedy of commons on a global scale.

Now, why won’t you hear about it again? This goes back to the way modern media is designed. The story is not novel enough to garner attention for the precious ad dollars. One rarely hears a story on the same topic after the completion of the attention cycle. Think about it; how often does one hear or read follow up on a news story. If the headline does not draw clicks, it will not be published.

Proof lies in the search trends of the forest fire.

In summary, the Amazon Rainforest is a victim of the tragedy of global commons and attention apathy. A solution to this would be the creation of an economic model where Brazil is paid for environmental exports that it provides to the world.

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I have a lingering feeling that this is not a true case of Tragedy of the Commons. Brazil has full sovereignty over the land it holds. The consequences of the fires are felt globally, but the benefits of the fires only accrue to the owner of the land, i.e., it is not a public good at a global level, it is privately owned by Brazil.