I have been putting off writing this for a long time. First because I was busy vacationing in NY then because I was waiting for the exam results and now simply because there were better things to do. So I have finally got down to writing about this very unique exam and here are the details.
For as long as I can remember, ever since I first learnt the word 'EXAMS', the day before any of those was spent studying, studying and studying. It was either memorizing for exams of history/geography types or solving and revising formulae for maths types. Sometimes it was both!
But I had never faced an exam where I didn't have to study atall. Maybe study less because the exam was not important or I knew the stuff well but never zero studies. And same applied to the nervousness before exams. Maybe it was less sometimes and more at other times, but never zero.
Thanks to Dr. Dankel's AI course, I finally found an exam where I could show what I knew without being nervous and without studying atall the day before. The reason? It was a Take-Home exam!!
So then the day before the AI mid-term, I chat and complete some job work tasks in the afternoon. In the evening, I am off to Momoyaki (a chinese eatery) for dinner with Megs. A sumptuous dinner of noodles and sushi later we go to Kohl's for some after-dinner shopping. Browsing thru lots of clothes, accessories takes up most of the evening. Back home at night and still no studies to do. It makes me feel a little creepy but watching "What happens in Vegas" sets everything right :) Also thrown in is an episode of Star Trek Voyager and a midnight snack.
Next day D-day of an exam I haven't remotely studied for. A small voice at the back of my head asks me "what if you were mistaken and its not a take-home". Dr. Dankel enters class...voice dismissed...receive paper to take home :) The rest of the day spent giving the longest exam I ever gave. 8 hours of straight work consulting notes, books...writing code and other answers...thinking and more thinking. Finally the morning after I push the exam under Dr. Dankel's office door and heave a sigh of relief!!
Perhaps I should have tried this on my students back at Atharva. The challenge is not to the student giving the exam but to the professor designing it. No matter what notes or books or other resources you consult, you will still need to be very very good at the subject to do well in the exam!
The results of this extraordinary and unforgettable exam? A 96/100. Not bad for a grad student eh?
