Study, laughter, and politics
i was never an excellent student in any subject throughout my studies, from elementary school, through three years of commercial high school, four years of high school, and four years of university, except for some creativity in composition. i used to rely on my teachers’ explanations, and i always barely passed my exams, often achieving only the minimum passing score.
generally, our education system relied, and still does, on memorizing information or solving problems, and i was bad at both. perhaps i was good at observation and criticism, which was not permitted then and still is not. teaching critical thinking and allowing students to ask questions and offer critiques were not allowed. i tried to break that rule at kaifan evening high school, but the school administration called the police to stop my non-stop questioning and doubting.
undoubtedly, achieving top grades in school and university is important, but it did not mean much after graduation, mostly due to the disconnect between the curriculum and practical realities.
engineers are responsible for building public facilities, which can be one of the factors in assessing a country’s level of progress. i used to think that electrical engineering was the most difficult field of study, but i discovered that this was not true. scientific subjects largely rely on understanding equations, and once they are understood, the ambiguity disappears, unlike humanities subjects, which require special talents, such as the ability to compose novels, poetry, and so on.
therefore, it is not easy to choose a subject and label it as the most difficult. it often depends on an individual’s strengths and weaknesses. however, certain indicators can help assess the difficulty of one subject compared to others, such as observing the rates at which students fail to complete their studies. this is particularly noticeable among physics students, especially those studying quantum mechanics and electromagnetism, due to their reliance on advanced mathematics and abstract concepts that are difficult to grasp. these subjects require calculus, differential equations, and four-dimensional thinking.
to understand biochemistry, it is not enough to simply memorize chemical reactions. it requires three dimensional spatial reasoning, an understanding of mechanisms, and an awareness of different patterns. these are skills that medical students must master; otherwise, they may be deemed unqualified and excluded.
third, advanced mathematics relies on real analysis, abstract algebra, and differential equations. the goal is to prove fundamental principles, not just perform calculations.
fourth, the subjects of “fundamentals of engineering,” thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and electrical circuits contain a vast number of problems. participation in labs and group projects is essential.
finally, there is computer science, which depends on algorithms, data structures, and operating systems. it requires mathematical logic and the development of large projects that can take up to 10 hours to debug. knowing only a programming language, without acquiring computational thinking skills, often prevents students from continuing their studies.
it is astonishing that politicians, legislators, and top business leaders have no connection to the subjects mentioned above, yet they govern the world and control the destinies of nations.
