What 3 years of failing in the same subject taught me 📚
How to survive a subject that’s out to kill you😥
I consider myself reasonably intelligent and above average in Mathematics. However, through my 18 years journey of being a student, Mass Transfer (MT), a crucial subject taught during the Chemical Engineering course, proved to be my Achilles' heel.
In the early 1990s, while it was being taught, I was more inclined to chat with my friends in the engineering college canteen. I ended up missing all the classes and subsequently had to retake the exam at least five times over the next three years.
Every semester, facing the reappear exam paper felt like attempting to scale Mount Everest. The subject seemed to hold a grudge against me for skipping the classes.
The crux of the problem was this: I needed to formulate an equation after comprehending the MT problem, plot the results on graph paper, and then utilize the graph and equation to obtain the answers.
However, I found this as elusive as solving the Riemann Hypothesis.
This was in the era before Google, before the internet, before YouTube. So Self study options were really limited.
That standard Treybal MT textbook proved to be terrible introductory guide, more suited for a PhD student than a novice. Most of my classmates had memorized solutions and somehow scraped through the exams. Out of a class of 70, only about 5 truly grasped the topic.
I was marooned on the MT island while the rest of the ship sailed away, akin to an academic Chuck Noland in Cast Away!
Adding to the complexity, I had secured admission in an MBA course, but if I didn't clear this lingering subject, I would have to wait for one more year.
Finally, when I'd had enough, I humbled myself in front of the college professor and implored for private lessons. In about ten sessions, the subject finally clicked for me. As far as I recall, I achieved a respectable score in the subject.
Even now, two decades later, I occasionally dream that my MT exam is still pending, and the engineering college has sent me a reminder about it.
However, this experience imparted several valuable lessons:
§ Pay heed in class, especially when seniors caution against underestimating a subject.
§ Seek out a student-friendly textbook early on, one with straightforward numerical problems and comprehensive solved examples.
§ Secure a knowledgeable tutor for personalized one-on-one sessions as soon as possible, especially if YouTube tutorials prove insufficient.
Finally, be emphatic about someone who’s caught in a situation and is making sincere attempts to get out of it.
