Here’s how to choose a good college after 12th JEE/NEET…

This blog is intended towards those who are in pivotal moment in their lives, those are in the 10th standard, 12th standard (especially) or someone who is switching job or getting a job for the first time, someone who is starting their business or someone thinking of retirement(okay that might be a stretch)… I am not a self-help guru, I am just trying to convince you one thing, be impractical in your decisions and stop giving fuck about the people’s opinion! You are just 15/17, you have yet to have sex, so don’t be too serious about the life just yet 🙃 (Also, title is slightly deceiving, apologies).

What to choose in the age of AI?

I believe practicality can be a happiness buster sometimes. When we lean too heavily on practicality, we risk becoming mere automatons, lacking in conscious awareness. Nowadays, people often fret about the impact of AI on their jobs. What will they do? What should they learn? Because if they don’t work for something which gives money and if they don’t make money they won’t survive! While their concerns are valid, I find such life decisions overly restrictive. Learning should never be solely about practicality. Following intuitions is really useful, especially in the age of AI. Give me two minutes to explain.

Our brain knows very little about “Good Career”

The vast majority of the neurons in our brains are inaccessible to our conscious minds – let’s call it the “unconscious” mind. While our conscious mind makes decisions, calculates, analyzes, and weaves narratives to comprehend the world, the unconscious mind handles background processes. It operates so quietly and subtly that we often fail to recognize its influence. Why do we fall for someone? What makes a person attractive to us? Why do we prefer one thing over another, one field over another? Why do we favor biryani over veg pulao (apologies to veg pulao fans)? Such preferences are not calculated; they simply occur because they reside within that 99.99% of the brain inaccessible to our understanding. We know the results but not the mechanisms.

We use methods like fMRI to detect brain activity, essentially creating a video of the brain’s responses to various stimuli. What happens in our brains when we listen to music or hear the voice of a loved one? What occurs when we prick our hand with a sharp needle? Countless studies, both in neuroscience with fMRI and in psychology, aim to uncover the workings of the unconscious mind.

Following intuition leads to happier career

After centuries of research, we have developed numerous theories about emotions, the workings of the unconscious mind, and how our brain activity helps us navigate the world. Yet, none of these theories can reliably predict our actions or emotional responses in specific situations. Love, passion, beauty, care – these intangible aspects of human experience elude scientific explanation, despite their immense power.

Those who embrace such emotions tend to lead happier lives, as they rely on a deeper, less calculating part of the brain. Intuition, another enigmatic phenomenon, defies straightforward scientific explanation. It draws on our brain’s processing power, past experiences, traumas, relationships, and accumulated knowledge, all converging in our subconscious mind.

When faced with decisions, we’re often advised to follow our intuition, a scientifically sound yet inherently unscientific approach. Perhaps, when embarking on new endeavours that will shape our careers or lives, we should learn to embrace the unknown, to follow paths beyond the purely practical.

Ask yourself, what would you like to do…

When AI is taking over the job market, when we are facing severe recession across the globe, when economies are falling and democracies are under threat, there’s no way we can make a decision about our career/job/business which can sustain for longer term. Things are changing drastically, so we have to change drastically along with it. There’s only one major organ in our body which can rearrange itself constantly and that is our brain. While there’s no solid theory yet to explain how it works, we can still rely on it for the sake of its uncertainty. 

So when you want to learn some new skill, want to choose a new college, want to get into good paying job, its better to just to do/choose what feels good (enough) to you. Allowing your brain to do its calculations and let the result unfold. Be little more brave, be little more confident, not get restricted by the choice but to get overwhelmed by amount of possibilities. Here’s a quote by Steve Jobs which sums it up perfectly: “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary”.

Hope that helps a little, Thanks of reading 🙂