The Balls and the Urn Theory

7:30 PM, Wednesday, the 29th of July 2009, this was the time which will go down in the history of XL as the day when the GMP 2009-10 finished their first series of mid-term exams. It was history indeed as for most of us it was weird to be back in exam mode with our first exams in XLRI GMP. Most of us had forgotten that sinking feeling that we used to get just before you walk into the exam because you don’t know anything about the subject. I thought I’d left that feeling behind when I finished my engineering, but apparently, its a feeling you carry for life. It’s like learning a bicycle – You never forget it.

We had our first QT Quiz (Quantitative Techniques aka Maths) on the 17th. This was one of the two quizes that we had as part of the mid terms. Although QT is one of the most dreaded subjects we have, for this Quiz most of the junta was pretty confident. The reason was the syllabus for this quiz was being covered by one of the "supposably" lenient prof and where the students were hoping to cross the elusive "C Grade" barrier because the so called "probablity" of scoring in the other part of the syllabus was very low. Anyways, Most of the students who went confidently came out a bit shocked and directionless for all the pre-exam probabilities that they had worked out regarding the expected questions had went haywire. The dance of the C's, D's and F's had started.

In between passed the other exams such as Economics, Accounting, Marketing etc. Even abstract subjects such as "Ethical Leadership" had left students shaken and drained. Finally, came the D-day - the day of the second QT Quiz. The date was much hyped and dreaded...not only because of the subject but also because of the hoopla created before the exam. There were supposed to be special random seating arrangements, special questions and there was historical evidence (scores of the last batch) which weren't a great source of inspiration.

The exam was supposed to be an open book exam (something very common in XL) and it was told to us that the recommended text given in the class would be of no use. An open book exam generally make matters worse for students.We’re allowed to bring in any textbook/notes/reference material into the exam, but all of us know what that means – The answers are not going to be in any text book.

Even without a text book to do last-minute mugging from, the familiar exam-hall scene didn't disappoint. There were scores of people reading through some printouts and notes, trying desperately to grasp on to the subject – to get hold of something that sounds familiar, but no use. It’s like a drowning man in the middle of the sea, desperately splashing about trying to get hold of something to float on to, but finding nothing. And you all know what happens to the man next – He drowns into the vast ocean, which has euphemistically been called the ocean of knowledge. If you drown into an ocean, even if it is the one of knowledge, isn’t that a bad thing? ‘Cause you’re drowning for god’s sake! How can that be a good thing?

Anyway, we are made to enter the exam hall - odd roll nos. enter first and take their alloted seats; Even roll nos. enter later. The Question Paper and the answer sheet lay sealed in front of us. Once everybody settled down there was a few minutes of silence and people attacked their booklets gingerly as they heard the golden words “You may begin”.

‘Please let me understand the first question. Please let me at least know what the question means’ – I utter my silent prayer to myself. And then there it is – The first question. Just as I finish reading it, I feel the sudden juxtaposition of humor and a slight confidence. "Okay !! I think I can manage the first 10 marks, Lets take it step by step. Don't get excited !!". and then somehow I managed to to pass through the next 90 minutes. Somehow I had managed to put some formulas in place for every question and I didn't even want to crosscheck later whether the answers were right or not. Since I did’t leave the exam paper blank and had written some formulas with some figures, I hoped to get marks for my handwriting at least. Not because my handwriting was good, but because it was so bad that the prof won’t understand what’s written and give me the benefit of the doubt. That was one of my chances I was considering for calculating the probability of getting some marks.

At the end of the exam I saw a lot of happy and relieved faces as well as disappointed faces. I realized that the entire "thriller" show created around the quiz was what we can call the "Balls and the Urn Theory". Management students like us will always argue that Maths is one subject they may never need to use in their actual jobs post MBA and some even question its inclusion in the curriculum. However, At the end of the day, It was this "Ball and the Urn" theory that had made students study maths - for they were left with two choices before the exam - either study to save your "balls" or choose your "urn" before you get cremated in the exam.