Thursday, July 31, 2014
website useful for mechanical and civil engineers
http://bendingmomentdiagram.com/ hey guys i recommend you to go to above mentioned site it is useful for mechanical and civil engineers
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
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"When you try to balance an object, if the point of support, the pivot point, is not at the center of gravity then the object will rotate either clockwise or anti-clockwise depending on which side has more torque. However, if the pivot point is on the same vertical line as the center of gravity, then the object, no matter what shape, is going to balance. It will be stable if the center of gravity lies below the pivot point. If the center of gravity is above the pivot point, even a slight disturbance will pull it off balance. In our case if you want to have a stable situation, the center of gravity of this assembly has to be below the pivot point. The pivot point is where the toothpick rests on the rim of the glass. The actual center of gravity must lie in the empty space between the two forks and below the pivot point to achieve stability." | |
Sunday, July 27, 2014
moment
MOMENTS
A MOMENT is the turning affect of a force, commonly known as Torque.
Videos: 
Moments can be Anywhere
Moments can be Anywhere1. Moment Definition
The Moment of a force is the turning effect about a pivot point. To develop a moment, the force must act upon the body to attempt to rotate it. A moment is can occur when forces are equal and opposite but not directly in line with each other.
The Moment of a force acting about a point or axis is found by multiplying the Force (F) by the perpendicular distance from the axis (d), called the lever arm.
Moment = Force x Perpendicular Distance M = F x d
(Nm) = (N) x (m)
Notes;
1. Clockwise is a positive moment.
2. Take care with units here - especially with mm. It is best to convert everything to m first.
2. Perpendicular Lever Arm
The force is not always perpendicular to the given lever arm. In this case, the correct perpendicular distance must be determined. (By the way, the perpendicular distance is also the SHORTEST distance between the force and the pivot point.)
Calculating the perpendicular (shortest) distance;
Calculating the perpendicular (shortest) distance;
A pure moment has no force - just rotation. Example below shows a support stand to counter the vertical force so that only a pure moment (torque) is applied to the wheel nut.
4. Moments Can be Placed Anywhere!
When a pure moment is applied to an object, it can be moved to different locations without changing anything - the reactions are exactly the same. This means the total moment can be calculated anywhere on the body and always giving the same answer. This is very handy - we can any location (the most convenient one) to calculate the total moment.
The most convenient place to take a moment is usually the busiest joint - like a pin joint with multiple unknown forces (more about this in the next chapter).
Example: Screwdriver in a long slot
The turning effect (torque or moment) of the screwdriver is exactly the same in each example above. The applied moment is independent of the location of the moment.
4. Moment vs Torque
There is no difference really, both are turning effects and both are measured in Nm.A textbook definition: A turning effect is called Moment in static situations (with no motion). In dynamics applications (with movement) a turning effect is called Torque. So a spinning motor shaft has torque, but a lever has moment. This is the textbook definition, but in practice the two terms are often used interchangeably. E.g. "Torque wrench"
5. Equilibrium of Moments
When dealing with moments, equilibrium exists when the total moment is zero. (Otherwise it will accelerate in rotation, angular acceleration). Mathematically this is very simple - add the clockwise moments and subtract the anticlockwise ones.For equilibrium of moments;
"Taking clockwise as positive, the sum of all moments about point A is zero"
These calculations are very simple. The most common mistake is not getting the perpendicular (shortest) distance between pivot and force. Another thing to watch is not keeping track of the signs (CW or CCW moments).
6. Force Couples
Two equal forces of opposite direction, with a distance d between them will cause a moment, where;A special case of moments is a couple. A couple consists of two parallel forces that are equal in magnitude, opposite in sense and do not share a line of action. It does not produce any translation, only rotation. The resultant force of a couple is zero, but it produces a pure moment.
A tap wrench is an example of a couple. The two hand forces are equal but opposite direction.
Taking moments about the centre (both clockwise);
Moment = F * d + F * d = 2Fd
The moment caused by a couple = The force * the distance between them.
Example of a couple: Wheel brace using two hands pushing opposite directions.
7. Moments of components (Varignon’s Theorem)
In equilibrium, the sum of moments about any point is zero.Principle of Moments, or Varignon’s Theorem
“The moment caused by the resultant force (of some system of forces) about some arbitrary point is equal to the sum of the moments due to all of the component forces of the system.”
Amazingly, you can choose ANY point and it still works! So we usually pick somewhere that is easy to calculate - like at the intersection of several forces so we don't have to include them in the calculation (because distance = 0, hence M=0) In the tap-wrench example above, we can also take the moment about the left force:
Moment = F * 2d = 2Fd
It doesn't matter which point you pivot around, the moment is always zero. This is very handy when doing calculations.
For a body in equilibrium, the total moment about ANY point is always zero. So we usually pick a point that makes our calculations easier.
Demonstration of Varignon's Theorem The Principle of Moments, also known as Varignon's Theorem, states that the moment of any force is equal to the algebraic sum of the moments of the components of that force. It is a very important principle that is often used in conjunction with the Principle of Transmissibility in order to solve systems of forces that are acting upon and/or within a structure. This concept will be illustrated by calculating the moment around the bolt caused by the 100 N force at points A, B, C, D, and E in the illustration. 
First consider the 100 N force.
Since the line of action of the force is not perpendicular to the wrench at A, the force is broken down into its orthogonal components. The 40mm horizontal and the 50mm diagonal measurement near point A should be recognized as belonging to a 3-4-5 triangle. Therefore, Fx = -4/5(100 N) or -80 N and Fy = -3/5(100 N) or -60 N.
Consider Point A.
The line of action of Fx at A passes through the handle of the wrench to the bolt (which is also the center of moments). This means that the magnitude of the moment arm is zero and therefore the moment due to FAx is zero. FAy at A has a moment arm of twenty mm and will tend to cause a positive moment.
The total moment caused by the 100 N force F at point A is 1200 Nmm (1.2Nm).
Consider Point B.
At this point the 100 N force is perpendicular to the wrench. Thus, the total moment due to the force can easily be found without breaking it into components. The total moment caused by the 100 N force F at point B is again 1200 Nmm (1.2Nm).
Consider Point C.
The force must once again be decomposed into components. This time the vertical component passes through the center of moments. The horizontal component FCx causes the entire moment.
Consider Point D.
The force must once again be decomposed into components. Both components will contribute to the total moment. FDy d = (60 N)(80mm) = -480 Nmm
Note that the y component in this case would create a counterclockwise or negative rotation. The total moment at D due to the 100 N force is determined by adding the two component moments. Not surprisingly, this yields 1200 Nm.
Consider Point E.
Following the same procedure as at point D. FEy d = (60 N)(240mm) = 1440 Nmm
However, this time Fx tends to cause a negative moment. Once again the total moment is 1200 Nmm.
At each point, A, B, C, D and E the total moment around the bolt caused by the 100 N force equalled 1200 Nmm. In fact, the total moment would equal 1200 Nmm at ANY point along the line of action of the force. This is Varignon's Theorem.
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8. Moment of a Resultant
It turns out that when we add up the moment of several forces we get the same answer as taking the moment of the resultant.To obtain the total moment of a system of forces, we can either...
- Calculate each moment (from each force separately) and add them up, keeping in mind the CW and CCW sign convention.
- Calculate the moment caused by the resultant of the system of forces about that point.
9. Moment of Force Components
This means we can do the opposite too -we can break the force into components to easily find each moment. This is a common trick for solving complex moment problems because it usually makes it much easier to find the perpendicular distances to each force. (However, even this is pretty easy when the problem is drawn up using CAD)Simple Worked Examples
1: Simple MomentA mass of 30kg pushes on a lever (crank) 170mm long. What moment does it cause about the centre shaft?M = F * d Convert to correct units; F = 30 * 9.81 = 294.3N d = 0.17m M = 294.3 * 0.17 = 50.03Nm |  |
2: Moment Equlibrium
If the system is balanced (equilibrium),
 + (5 × 0·50) - ( F x 0.25) = 0 In order to balance the 5 N force acting at 0·5 m from the pivot, we require 10 N on the opposite side at 0·25m. |  If in equilibrium, the anticlockwise turning effect of force F must equal the clockwiseturning effect of the 5N load. |
3: A couple
Hand forces F= 25N and distance d = 140mm. Find Moment M applied to the tapping cutter.
Moment = 2*F*d
= 2 * 25 * 0.14 = 7Nm | |
4: Perpendicular distance
If these wheel nuts must be tightened to 85Nm, what is the force F?
Angle = 35 degrees, d = 420mm.
From M = F * d, then F = M / d
Perpendicular distance = d * cos (35)
F = 85 / (0.42 * cos(35))
= 247.06 N |  |
bending moment and shear force
Definition of Bending Moment
Bending Moment is the torque that keeps a beam together (anywhere along the beam).
It is found by cutting the beam, then calculating the MOMENT needed to hold the left (or right) half of the beam stationary.
If this is done for the other (left) side you should get the same answer - but opposite direction.
It is found by cutting the beam, then calculating the MOMENT needed to hold the left (or right) half of the beam stationary.
If this is done for the other (left) side you should get the same answer - but opposite direction.
Bending Moment in 19 seconds...
In the video above, the wooden plank has been cut through at mid span. The only thing holding it together is the spring loaded hinge. This hinge applies a clockwise moment (torque) to the RHS, and a counter-clockwise moment to the LHS.
The hinge is applying a moment to BOTH sides of the beam. This is called Bending Moment. You can't normally see it happening unless the beam breaks, but bending moment is being applied everywhere along the length of the beam.
Yuri van Gelder: Reuters
The gymnast pushes each arm downwards - hard. He is applying a moment to each arm, turning himself into a "beam" between each ring. The longer the arms the greater the bending moment - which is why the wrist is turned inwards, slightly reducing the length of each arm.
Positive Bending Moment
Simply supported beam loaded from the top. Positive bending..
This type of bending is common - where the load is pushing down and reactions at the end push upwards. This is called positive bending.
In a more strict sense, positive bending is a sagging beam.
Positive bending is whenever the beam tends to sag downwards. Negative bending bows upwards - called hogging.
Positive Bending Moment: http://examcrazy.com
To calculate the Bending Moment at any location along the beam, we "cut" the beam at that point, then do a moment equation for ONE SIDE of the beam (left or right - whichever is easier). You don't do both sides because the moments balance each other and you will get ZERO. (Because it is equilibrium - of course)
Shear Force
We can cut the beam to find the Bending Moment (by doing moment equation of ONE side).But what if we don't know where the maximum is? Are we going to pick lots of places to "cut" until we eventually find it?
There is another way. We can use shear force to find bending moment, using a diagram method.
But first - a definition of shear force in a beam.
Imagine ONLY the sliding aspect of the beam, not the bending. This is a bit wierd since beams don't slide apart, they bend apart. But anyway, we still need to get this shear force thing happening.
Imagine the beam as a stack of magnets. They can slide OK but not bend.
Now if one hand pushes up and the other down, it slides. (shears)
Of course, it doesn't matter which magnet slides, they all want to slide. This one just happened to have the least friction, but in factevery slice has the same shear force.
Positive Shear Force
In a diagram we would show it like this;
When the left hand side (LHS) goes up then this is called positive shear force.
A Shear Force Diagram is a graph of the shear force all the way along a beam.
Example
Consider the Bending Moment at Points A,B,C and D on the beam below;
Shear Force Diagram
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Fluid pressure from gravity or acceleration
The weight of a fluid can exert a pressure on anything underneath it. Also, the relative movement of a liquid or gas can apply a pressure.
Pressure
Pressure is defined as force divided by the area on which the force is pushing. (See the lesson on Pressurefor details.) You can write this as an equation, if you wanted to make some calculations:
P = F/A
where
- P = pressure
- F = force
- A = area
- F/A = F divided by A
Pressure due to gravity
Since the weight of an object or material is equal to the force it excerts due to gravity,
An object can exert downward pressure due to its weight and the force of gravity. The pressure you exert on the floor is your weight divided by the area of the soles of your shoes. If the force is due to the weight (W) of the object, the equation is then: P = W / A
Water pressure
The water pressure at the bottom of a lake is equal to the weight of the column of water above divided by the area of that column.
Pressure at depth is Weight / Area
Column on top of head
If you were standing on the bottom of a swimming pool (assuming you would not start floating), there would be a column of water the diameter of your head all the way up to the water surface, pushing down on you. If you took that column of water and weighed it, and then divided that weight by the area of the top of your head, you would get the value for the water pressure on your head.
The reason it does not affect you is that your internal body pressure increases to neutralize most of the water pressure. But at greater depths, the water pressure can become so great that it can harm the diver.
Demonstration with can
A demonstration of how water pressure increases with the depth of the water can be done with a large tin can. Punch nail holes in a vertical line up the side of the can every inch or several centimeters. Then fill the can with water. The water may just dribble out the top holes, but the increased pressure with depth causes the water to squirt out with more pressure at the bottom holes.
Air pressure
Likewise, the air pressure on the top of your head is the weight of the column of air (which is several miles high) divided by the area of the top of your head. The average air pressure on your head is 16 pounds per square inch! That is a lot of weight you are holding up.
Air pressure in weather
When weather report indicates high pressure, that means the column of air reaches up higher than it does for a low pressure reader. A barometer measures the air pressure or the weight of the column of air.
Air pressure is due to the weight of all the air going several miles up above you. It is approximately 16 pounds per square inch in all directions on your body. Fortunately, our bodies have internal pressure that equalizes the air pressure.
Balloons
The air pressure inside a balloon pushes outward in all directions. When the pressure increases, the size of the balloon increases, until it finally bursts. The internal air pressure is much greater than the external air pressure.
Different altitudes
The normal air pressure in Denver, Colorado is less than in This is because the higher altitude of Denver means its column of air is not as high as in Milwaukee.
Since many snacks are sealed in pressurized bags, a bag sealed in Milwaukee requires higher internal pressure than one made in Denver. Thus a Milwaukee bag of snacks will expand when brought to the lower air pressure of Denver and could even explode.
Direction of fluid pressure
Now, what is different about pressure caused by a liquid, or gas is that not only is there pressure pushing down at a given point, but there is also the same pressure pushing up and to the sides.
All directions
The pressure is the same in all directions in a fluid at a given point. This is true because of the characteristic of liquids and gases to take the shape of their container.
Water pressure is the same in all directions
What this also means that any hollow container submersed in a liquid has pressure on every square inch of its surface, top and bottom.
Swimming under water
When you swim under water, the pressure of the water gets greater on your body, the deeper you get. Now, the question is: "Why aren't you crushed by all this weight?"
The reason is that your body compensates by creating an internal pressure that is equal to the air or water pressure. You are somewhat like a balloon filled with fluids under pressure. Now, when you go very deep under water, the water pressure may get greater than your body can compensate for, and you get uncomfortable.
Other pressure effects
Other effects of fluid pressure are motion, heating and chemical effects, as well as applications in the field of hydraulics and in aircraft.
(See Applications of Fluid Principles for details.)
Wind and current
The movement of a fluid, such as with wind or the current of a river can apply a pressure to an object in its way proportional to the surface area perpendicular to the direction of motion.
Streamlining the object reduces this pressure.
Heating and chemical effects
When you heat a fluid, it usually expands. If you heat a fluid that is in an enclosed container, the expansion will result in greater internal pressure. For example, heating a balloon will cause it to expand.
Likewise, chemical reactions that give off gases will increase the pressure inside the container. For example, shaking a carbonated drink bottle releases more gas and will result in greater internal pressure. This can be experienced when you open the bottle and the drink squirts all over.
Hydraulics
When a fluid—especially a liquid—is in a partially closed container, a force applied in one area can result in a greater force in another area. This effect is used in hydraulics to create a mechanical advantage by having the force applied to a small piston resulting in a greater force applied to large piston.
Aircraft
The scientist Bernoulli discovered that the air pressure in a tube goes down when the velocity of the air in the tube increases. This discovery became known as Bernoulli's Principle.
The greatest application of this principle is used in airplanes. The wing of an airplane is usually curved on top and flat on the bottom. When the air moves over the curved top portion of the wing, it speeds up because of the shape. This lowers the pressure with respect to the bottom part of the wing. Lower pressure on the top results in the lift required to keep the airplane aloft.
Summary
Fluid pressure from gravity is the weight of the fluid above divided by the area it is pushing on. Fluid pressure applies in all directions. Internal pressure of an object equals the external fluid pressure, otherwise the object could be crushed. Wind and heating can also create pressure.
Fluid pressure from gravity or acceleration
The weight of a fluid can exert a pressure on anything underneath it. Also, the relative movement of a liquid or gas can apply a pressure.
Pressure
Pressure is defined as force divided by the area on which the force is pushing. (See the lesson on Pressurefor details.) You can write this as an equation, if you wanted to make some calculations:
P = F/A
where
- P = pressure
- F = force
- A = area
- F/A = F divided by A
Pressure due to gravity
Since the weight of an object or material is equal to the force it excerts due to gravity,
An object can exert downward pressure due to its weight and the force of gravity. The pressure you exert on the floor is your weight divided by the area of the soles of your shoes. If the force is due to the weight (W) of the object, the equation is then: P = W / A
Water pressure
The water pressure at the bottom of a lake is equal to the weight of the column of water above divided by the area of that column.
Pressure at depth is Weight / Area
Column on top of head
If you were standing on the bottom of a swimming pool (assuming you would not start floating), there would be a column of water the diameter of your head all the way up to the water surface, pushing down on you. If you took that column of water and weighed it, and then divided that weight by the area of the top of your head, you would get the value for the water pressure on your head.
The reason it does not affect you is that your internal body pressure increases to neutralize most of the water pressure. But at greater depths, the water pressure can become so great that it can harm the diver.
Demonstration with can
A demonstration of how water pressure increases with the depth of the water can be done with a large tin can. Punch nail holes in a vertical line up the side of the can every inch or several centimeters. Then fill the can with water. The water may just dribble out the top holes, but the increased pressure with depth causes the water to squirt out with more pressure at the bottom holes.
Air pressure
Likewise, the air pressure on the top of your head is the weight of the column of air (which is several miles high) divided by the area of the top of your head. The average air pressure on your head is 16 pounds per square inch! That is a lot of weight you are holding up.
Air pressure in weather
When weather report indicates high pressure, that means the column of air reaches up higher than it does for a low pressure reader. A barometer measures the air pressure or the weight of the column of air.
Air pressure is due to the weight of all the air going several miles up above you. It is approximately 16 pounds per square inch in all directions on your body. Fortunately, our bodies have internal pressure that equalizes the air pressure.
Balloons
The air pressure inside a balloon pushes outward in all directions. When the pressure increases, the size of the balloon increases, until it finally bursts. The internal air pressure is much greater than the external air pressure.
Different altitudes
The normal air pressure in Denver, Colorado is less than in This is because the higher altitude of Denver means its column of air is not as high as in Milwaukee.
Since many snacks are sealed in pressurized bags, a bag sealed in Milwaukee requires higher internal pressure than one made in Denver. Thus a Milwaukee bag of snacks will expand when brought to the lower air pressure of Denver and could even explode.
Direction of fluid pressure
Now, what is different about pressure caused by a liquid, or gas is that not only is there pressure pushing down at a given point, but there is also the same pressure pushing up and to the sides.
All directions
The pressure is the same in all directions in a fluid at a given point. This is true because of the characteristic of liquids and gases to take the shape of their container.
Water pressure is the same in all directions
What this also means that any hollow container submersed in a liquid has pressure on every square inch of its surface, top and bottom.
Swimming under water
When you swim under water, the pressure of the water gets greater on your body, the deeper you get. Now, the question is: "Why aren't you crushed by all this weight?"
The reason is that your body compensates by creating an internal pressure that is equal to the air or water pressure. You are somewhat like a balloon filled with fluids under pressure. Now, when you go very deep under water, the water pressure may get greater than your body can compensate for, and you get uncomfortable.
Other pressure effects
Other effects of fluid pressure are motion, heating and chemical effects, as well as applications in the field of hydraulics and in aircraft.
(See Applications of Fluid Principles for details.)
Wind and current
The movement of a fluid, such as with wind or the current of a river can apply a pressure to an object in its way proportional to the surface area perpendicular to the direction of motion.
Streamlining the object reduces this pressure.
Heating and chemical effects
When you heat a fluid, it usually expands. If you heat a fluid that is in an enclosed container, the expansion will result in greater internal pressure. For example, heating a balloon will cause it to expand.
Likewise, chemical reactions that give off gases will increase the pressure inside the container. For example, shaking a carbonated drink bottle releases more gas and will result in greater internal pressure. This can be experienced when you open the bottle and the drink squirts all over.
Hydraulics
When a fluid—especially a liquid—is in a partially closed container, a force applied in one area can result in a greater force in another area. This effect is used in hydraulics to create a mechanical advantage by having the force applied to a small piston resulting in a greater force applied to large piston.
Aircraft
The scientist Bernoulli discovered that the air pressure in a tube goes down when the velocity of the air in the tube increases. This discovery became known as Bernoulli's Principle.
The greatest application of this principle is used in airplanes. The wing of an airplane is usually curved on top and flat on the bottom. When the air moves over the curved top portion of the wing, it speeds up because of the shape. This lowers the pressure with respect to the bottom part of the wing. Lower pressure on the top results in the lift required to keep the airplane aloft.
Summary
Fluid pressure from gravity is the weight of the fluid above divided by the area it is pushing on. Fluid pressure applies in all directions. Internal pressure of an object equals the external fluid pressure, otherwise the object could be crushed. Wind and heating can also create pressure.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
engineers
Engineers are trained from the start to look at problems in different ways. They don’t just take the solution head on, but try to find the various ways and possibilities around it. They not only have been trained intensively with mathematics in order to strengthen their logic, but with many other science subjects. This allows them to analyze situations taking into consideration the different hazards and problems that could occur.
If an architect presents a group of engineers with a sketch or drawing; the engineers build what the architect asks for in the most feasible and safest way possible. When they eventually find a solution; they tend to solve it in steps. In doing so, this helps them amend or delete any unnecessary steps, making the process faster. It is an engineer’s job to look at the problem as a whole and try to solve it systematically. If solutions cannot be obtained, a compromise would be reached.
As an engineering student myself, I have seen the difference between school education and university education for engineers. Unlike school, where you were required to memorize most of the time, the engineering course requires you to understand and explain every aspect of a situation. Even when presented with a set of problems, we are trained to sum up all those problems into a single equation. There is also a lot more hands-on training where we get to experiment and test out different methods of finding solutions.
It is all due to the rigorous mental training that engineers have gone through. Many of today’s solutions have been further enhanced by the minds of engineers. This is proved by the amount of engineers employed in various non-engineering sectors, where they are required to design complicated working systems and plans. Without them some of the world’s greatest problems would not have solutions today.source:http://henri1471.blogspot.in/2009/01/how-do-engineers-think.html
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Friday, July 18, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
BEST PROFESSORS
Answer added to topic Indian Institutes of Technology.
Rukmini Bhaya Nair, one of India's most renowned poets and linguists, erstwhile HOD of Humanities Department, Visiting Faculty at Stanford University, Lexicographer. Ph.D from Cambridge.
Well, Ma'am's impeccable credentials and her inimitable charisma don't make her the best professor; but her wit, amiability and humility, which never allowed us to realize that the person teaching us was an international public figure, being good friends with the likes of Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth and Gulzar.
I was fortunate to undertake the course titled 'Workshop in Creative Writing' by her and it was the only lecture, which was held at 8 o' clock in the morning, where I never missed a class.
For me, the most important virtue of any teacher is that the teacher should take keen interest in one's students' thinking process and should not consider them inferior to him/her. Nair Ma'am has been one such exceptional teacher, who listened to our thoughts with non-judgmental stance, read all our writings with immense interest as well as acceptance, and was considerate enough to acknowledge writings/arguments that were even moderately good. Despite the fact that she began the course with the first sentence, 'writing cannot be taught, but caught', she taught us writing better than whatever we had caught from all our past readings.
Some unique experiences:
Though now I wish that I had interacted more with her during my time at IIT, I can at least recommend anyone with a creative bent of mind to attend her course. You would learn a lot and realize that yes, there are amazing, though rare, professors in the campus who would shoo away every speck of sleep even if the class is at 8 am. FROM QUORA
Well, Ma'am's impeccable credentials and her inimitable charisma don't make her the best professor; but her wit, amiability and humility, which never allowed us to realize that the person teaching us was an international public figure, being good friends with the likes of Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth and Gulzar.
I was fortunate to undertake the course titled 'Workshop in Creative Writing' by her and it was the only lecture, which was held at 8 o' clock in the morning, where I never missed a class.
For me, the most important virtue of any teacher is that the teacher should take keen interest in one's students' thinking process and should not consider them inferior to him/her. Nair Ma'am has been one such exceptional teacher, who listened to our thoughts with non-judgmental stance, read all our writings with immense interest as well as acceptance, and was considerate enough to acknowledge writings/arguments that were even moderately good. Despite the fact that she began the course with the first sentence, 'writing cannot be taught, but caught', she taught us writing better than whatever we had caught from all our past readings.
Some unique experiences:
- I remember the most unique exam that I had ever taken: where we were handed wooden elephant toys, all distinct, which we had to describe in words - so detailed that Ma'am should be able to identify which elephant out of those 60 we were talking about.
- Madam was very open to class participation, in truly international feel. While discussing poetry, a student suggested her to dissect a rock song. The next day, she brings forth and discusses a heavy metal song in the class.
- Our class projects, the assignment, that had 35% weightage had to be a long creative writing piece delving into a genre chosen from among 60 different kind of emotions like jealousy, love, anger, greed etc. that she had enlisted. It was one of the best exercises to polish writing skills, as it forced us to observe a particular emotion very keenly and bring that observation in practice.
- She made me understand the difference between sadism and schadenfreude. If you get robbed and I enjoy, it's not sadistic pleasure. It's schadenfreude. If I rob you and I enjoy, it's sadistic pleasure.
- Unlike other elite literary (pseudo-)intellectuals, Madam never took a cynical stand towards Chetan Bhagat, instead asked for our opinions, which quadrupled my respect for her. She presented us with a balanced view that Chetan Bhagat, despite not being a very brilliant writer, deserves great credit for evoking the reading spirit among youth and striking a chord with them with his simple language, which many brilliant writers couldn't.
- She had called her friends for a special lecture in our class. You know who her friends were: Sir Mark Tully, the eminent journalist; Ritu Menon, award winning publisher and Keki Daruwala, the well-known poet. She was also planning to call Gulzar Saheb into our early morning lecture, but unfortunately dates couldn't be finalized.
- I used to send her my stories every now and then, which she used to read and critique. I remember one of her suggestions, when I had sent her two of the love stories that I had written - one humorous (which I considered to be my best one) and another philosophical (which I thought was a little boring). She had liked the philosophical one more, saying that a good story is the one which makes one think, rather than laugh or cry.
- I remember during the course, my first novel had gotten published. Madam somehow had got to know about it; she summoned me and asked for my book. Fearing that she wouldn't be able to relate to it as it was a comedy of errors in the life of a student, I shyly said, "Ma'am, you wouldn't like it," to which she had replied, "You, being a writer, should never underestimate your own work". It was an uplifting feedback which has been etched in my memory ever since. I'm still to give her the book though. :P
Though now I wish that I had interacted more with her during my time at IIT, I can at least recommend anyone with a creative bent of mind to attend her course. You would learn a lot and realize that yes, there are amazing, though rare, professors in the campus who would shoo away every speck of sleep even if the class is at 8 am. FROM QUORA
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