Makar Sankranti 2016 is just done and dusted. Pongal and Bihu is over. And soon we can look forward with eager anticipation to being regaled by a genre of stories which hit our media every spring and summer - large-scale cheating in school and college exams. For those with short memories, here's one such happening from March 2015.
For those who believe that this is a peculiarly Indian behavioural trait, or at best a third-world phenomenon, please be prepared to be corrected. It's pretty common in Stanford too. Yep, that's right - Stanford. Here's proof that I'm not hallucinating - check this out. And no, it isn't limited to Stanford - it appears to be pretty widespread - see here.
Since cheating appears to be a universal, and universally appealing phenomenon, my curiosity was aroused and I did some Google research as to why cheating is so widespread. I finally came to the conclusion that it's all a question of ROI - return on investment - and hence purely economic.
Let me explain. A child needs to pass in school in order to get into college. A college degree is essential in order to get a job. A job is essential for livelihood, marriage, etc. etc. Hence the economic connection is clearly demonstrated. QED.
Economics also tells us that risk and return are directly proportional - the higher the reward, the higher is the willingness and propensity to take risks. However, time has shown us that at the highest levels of reward, there is precious little risk. We just need to look at what happened to Wall Street and global banks in the 2007/8 meltdown. They burnt up billions of dollars, bringing global economics to the brink of collapse through what can only be described as chicanery and fraud. But they got saved by taxpayers' money. And not a single executive went to jail for even a single day.
There's a lesson here for all of us - if you must cheat, cheat big, really big. Then the government will step in and save you. Amen.
For those who believe that this is a peculiarly Indian behavioural trait, or at best a third-world phenomenon, please be prepared to be corrected. It's pretty common in Stanford too. Yep, that's right - Stanford. Here's proof that I'm not hallucinating - check this out. And no, it isn't limited to Stanford - it appears to be pretty widespread - see here.
Since cheating appears to be a universal, and universally appealing phenomenon, my curiosity was aroused and I did some Google research as to why cheating is so widespread. I finally came to the conclusion that it's all a question of ROI - return on investment - and hence purely economic.
Let me explain. A child needs to pass in school in order to get into college. A college degree is essential in order to get a job. A job is essential for livelihood, marriage, etc. etc. Hence the economic connection is clearly demonstrated. QED.
Economics also tells us that risk and return are directly proportional - the higher the reward, the higher is the willingness and propensity to take risks. However, time has shown us that at the highest levels of reward, there is precious little risk. We just need to look at what happened to Wall Street and global banks in the 2007/8 meltdown. They burnt up billions of dollars, bringing global economics to the brink of collapse through what can only be described as chicanery and fraud. But they got saved by taxpayers' money. And not a single executive went to jail for even a single day.
There's a lesson here for all of us - if you must cheat, cheat big, really big. Then the government will step in and save you. Amen.
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