Weekend Evening Talks ( with WhatsApp)

Posted on September 30, 2020 by mmpant

WEET: Weekend Evening Talks ( with WhatsApp): 

Since these are evening talks, the weekend is Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

For our lunch-time learning, the weekend is only Saturday and Sunday. 

Friday evening talks are on Quantum phenomena. Saturday evening talks are on Learning and Sunday evening talks are on Thinking.

Time slot for scheduled posts: 8pm to 9pm. But you can access them at any later time as well. They will remain there until you deliberately delete them. 

Schedule of these WhatsApp talks  for October 2020: beginning Friday 9th October 2020:

The Quantum Track: 

Friday 9th October : WEET01: Quantum Magic

Friday 16th October : WEET02: Quantum Concepts

Friday 23rd October : WEET03: Quantum Computing

Friday 30th October  : WEET04: Quantum Biology

The Learning Track:

Saturday 10th October: WEET05: Awaken the Learner Within

Saturday 17th October: WEET06: The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge 

Saturday 24th October: WEET07: How Artificial Intelligence will transform Learning?

Saturday 31st October : WEET08: Questioneering??

The Thinking Track:

Sunday 11th October  : WEET09: Avoiding Natural Stupidity

Sunday 18th October:   WEET10: Ideas: their creation and spread

Sunday 25th October : WEET11: Developing Foresight

Sunday 1st November : WEET12: Thinking Clearly

Brief course descriptors :

WEET01: Quantum Magic 

The purpose of this one hour  session  is to illustrate the Quantum magic that leads from Quantum surprises to Quantum devices. While many Physicists have said that quantum mechanics is magic, the same expression is not used, for example, for relativity, classical mechanics, geology, chemistry or biology. But from semi-conductors to superconductors, photosynthesis and our sense of smell to the migration of birds, Quantum Magic is all around us. 

WEET02: Quantum Concepts

The conceptual building blocks of Quantum technologies are wave-particle duality, superposition, spin, quantum tunnelling, entanglement and decoherence. Quantum engineers work on practically implementing them. This session attempts to describe these non-intuitive concepts. 

WEET03: Quantum Computing

This one hour session is devoted to the nature and future of Quantum Computing. With Quantum Supremacy having been demonstrated by Google in 2019, and the race for solving really difficult problems of new materials, better batteries, pharmaceutical products and coping with climate change, this is perhaps the most exciting knowledge domain now. 

WEET04: Quantum Biology

Quantum biology is an emerging field; most of the current research is theoretical and subject to questions that require further experimentation. Though the field has only recently received an influx of attention, it has been conceptualized by physicists throughout the 20th century. Quantum biology is concerned with the influence of non-trivial quantum phenomena in living systems. 

WEET05: Awaken the learner within:

We are all ‘born learners’ but many factors and experiences make us reluctant and passive learners. This one hour session will rekindle in you the desire to learn well, and forever. There is a bit of warning here also of “use it or lose it”. You wouldn’t want your brain to become a ‘vestigial’ organ, like the appendix; being there but serving no useful purpose. 

WEET06: The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge 

The search for answers to deep questions, motivated solely by curiosity and without concern for applications, often leads not only to the greatest scientific discoveries but also to the most revolutionary technological breakthroughs. In short, no quantum mechanics, no computer chips, or no prime numbers, no cyber-security. 

WEET07: How Artificial Intelligence will transform Learning?

This recently all pervasive technology has been portrayed as the ultimate evil or the final saviour. The truth naturally will be somewhere in the middle. This session deliberates on how  AI will transform learning to serve humanity in an unprecedented manner.  

WEET08: Questioneering??

We were not only born learners, but naturally curious with a lot of questions. Research shows that children ask hundreds of questions every day. The growing up process required that we stop questioning and accepting the various authorities. This session draws attention to the importance of asking questions and how one becomes wiser for having asked good questions.

WEET09: Avoiding Natural Stupidity

The literal opposite of Artificial Intelligence is natural stupidity, and you would be surprised by its pervasiveness. Even if we may not be have the help of AI technologies to empower ourselves, we could significantly improve our lives, if we could cut down on the natural stupidity prevailing in our lives. 

WEET10: Ideas: their creation and spread

It is widely believed that we have evolved from hunter-gatherers, agricultural, industrial to a post industrial society driven by creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. And ideas are the currency of such a society. The goal of this session this is to give you pointers and examples of how you could play an important role in both generation of new ideas, as well as being a propagator or evangelist of useful ideas generated by others. 

WEET11: Developing Foresight

All of us can learn to anticipate the future. All sportsperson playing cricket, football or tennis for example have to guess ( successfully) where the ball is headed. Foresight is the secret ingredient of all success, because without foresight we cannot prepare for the future.

WEET12: Thinking clearly

Thinking clearly is an ability that is acquired by deliberate practice. It is often said that we need to learn how to think rather than what to think. There are often errors that creep into our thinking process-ranging from cognitive biases to envy and social distortions. This session points to such possible errors in our thinking process, and provides guidance on how to avoid them. 

Course access and delivery process: 

  • A WhatsApp group will be created for each talk. The group formation is not contingent on a minimum number enrolled. Even if there is only one person enrolled for a particular slot of a course, the course will be delivered to that person. 
  • I will be making my posts during the scheduled time slot of 8pm to 9pm. These posts may be in the form of text, images of PowerPoint slides, my audios, my videos or curated videos of others… But if you are unable to join the group during that time, you can access them at any later time as well. They will remain there until you deliberately delete them. 
  • About 10 minutes before the scheduled time of my posts I will post a message to the effect that the session is about to begin
  • If any course participant  has a query, question or observation, they may go ahead and make it right there. If this concerns the whole group, please make it in the group. If it is meant as a message to me, then please send me a direct message rather than posting it in the group.
  • If I can make a quick short and effective response, without losing the thread of the conversation, I will respond right then, else I will pool all these and make a special post in response. 
  • Towards the end of the session I will share the PowerPoint slides as a pdf file that can be used in ways that the learners find convenient.
  • You may keep posting your queries and comments even after the scheduled time for my posts is over. All the posts and conversations ( including audio) will remain with you until you consciously and deliberately delete them. This is the greatest advantage of this method 

Enrolment and fee payment: 

  • As the courses are being delivered through WhatsApp the enrolment process is simply that of sending a WhatsApp message to Prof MM Pant at +919810073724. 
  • The fee for each of the above courses is Rs 500/- and can be easily remitted through PayTM to MM Pant ( mobile number : +919810073724).
  • For those who would rather pay into a Bank account, the relevant information is : 
  • Madan Mohan Pant
  • HDFC Bank, Unitech Cyber Park, Sector 39, Gurgaon 

        A/c 26451000000301

        HDFC0002645

  • (The account number is 26451 followed by six zeroes followed by 301)

To know more, please send a WhatsApp message to Prof MM Pant at +919810073724

About mmpant

Prof. M.M.Pant has a Ph.D in Computational Physics, along with a Professional Law Degree, and has been a practitioner in the fields of Law, IT enabled education and IT implementation. Drawing upon his experience in world class international institutions and having taught in various modes of Face-to-Face, Distance Learning and Technology Enhanced Training, Prof. Pant is now exploring the nature of institutions which will be successors to the IITs, which represented the 1960s, IIMs, which represented the 1970 and Open Universities which were the rage of 1980s & 90s. He believes that the convergence between various media and technologies would fundamentally alter the way learning would be created, packaged, and delivered to learners. His current activities are all directed toward actual implementation of these new age educational initiatives that transform education in the post Internet post WTO era.. Prof. Pant, has been a Former Pro-Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and has been on the faculty of IIT – Kanpur (the premier Engineering institution in India), MLNR Engineering College and Faculty & Visiting Professor - University of Western Ontario-Canada. He has been visiting scientist to research centers in Italy, England, Germany & Sweden and has delivered international lectures with about 80 papers published. During his association of almost 15 years with the IGNOU, Prof. Pant has served as the Director Computing and has been the Member of All Bodies (i.e. School boards, Academic council, Planning board, Finance committee and the Board of management). With his interest in Law, backed with practice of Law in a High Court, and his basic training in Science and IT, Prof. Pant has been particularly interested in the Cyber Law, Patent & trade mark issues, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues etc. and has been involved with many activities, conferences on “Law & IT” Prof. Pant is presently; • Advisor to Media Lab Asia - Chairman of working group on ICT for Education, chairman of PRSG handling projects on ICT for education. • Lead Consultant for an ADB funded project for ICT in Basic Education in Uzbekistan • Member of the drafting Group for India’s National Policy on ICT in education • Chairman of the group creating books for class 11 and 12 students on ‘Computers and Communication Technology’ appointed by the NCERT • Preparing a ‘Theme Paper” for the NCTE in the area of ICT and Teacher Training • Advisor and mentor to several leading Indian and Multi-national Companies in the area of education. Prof. Pant has in the recent past been ; • Member – Board of Management – I I T, Delhi for 6 years (two consecutive terms) • One-man committee to create the Project Report & Legislation for Delhi IT-enabled Open University • Advisor to the Delhi Government on Asian Network of Major Cities Project (ANMC-21) distance learning project in association with Tokyo Metropolitan Government. • Chairman Board of Studies, All India Management Association With his mission to create and implement new business opportunities in the area of e-learning & learning facilitation, Prof. Pant has promoted Planet EDU Pvt. Ltd., as its Founder & Chairman, along with a team of highly experienced and skilled professionals from Education & Training, Operations, IT and Finance.
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