MANIFESTO FOR A LEARNING REVOLUTION TO ADDRESS ALL SECTORS OF SOCIETY

This is the front cover and brief table of contents of Dilip Mukerjea's latest masterpiece, which will be published shortly. 

It contains a slew of future-readiness and future-savviness imperatives and it's targeted at policy makers, administrators and educators.

 He may have written the book with India in mind, but all the ideas are applicable elsewhere.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT OR TEMPORARY INSANITY?

A QUICK LESSON ON MASTERING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: "Fewer" vs. "Less"

My good buddy, Dilip Mukerjea, an accomplished author, braindancing expert, and also English Language maestro, shares his expert thoughts:

"Gentlemen,

Referring to my point last evening about the distinction and the predominant INcorrect use of "less" in common parlance, please find my explanation of the point I was making:

Misuse of the terms fewer and less will set off alarms in the heads of many language enthusiasts.

According to usage rules, fewer is only to be used when discussing countable things, while less is used for singular mass nouns.

For example, you can have fewer ingredients, dollars, people, or puppies, but less salt, money, honesty, or love.

If you can count it, go for fewer. If you can’t, opt for less.

However, it’s not that simple.

Since the reign of Alfred the Great, a time when Old English was spoken, less has been used in the same way that fewer is currently used.

This long history of usage accounts for supermarkets posting the words “10 Items or Less” over the express lanes, when “10 Items or Fewer” is the grammatically correct option.

If we know the intended meaning of the supermarket signs, does using fewer or less really matter? 

To many who have internalised the fewer or less distinction, the answer is yes.

Using less where fewer is expected will sound jarring to their ears, so consider this as you count items or amounts in the future.

Pax Vobiscum!

:D:):p

A NICE QUOTE FROM DILIP MUKERJEA

A nice quote from my good buddy Dilip Mukerjea, based in Mumbai, India:

"Humans often suffer from kainophobia, the fear of new things. 

Of course, this is a fear that most children do not experience. 

It is adults, be they policy makers, administrators, educators, who are beset by this fear.

They prefer to stay quivering in their cocoons, or should I say, fossilised in their mausoleums. 

We must move on from enclosing ourselves within bricks and mortar to liberating ourselves with brains and wits.

To this end, the time has come for humankind to become humane and kind. To ourselves, to our co-inhabitants of this planet. 

We have a primal need to address our spirituality. 

All of this comes from life, governed by the functions of the human brain... "

[Excerpted from his latest piece of writing, a 188-page 'MANIFESTO FOR A LEARNING REVOLUTION TO ADDRESS ALL SECTORS OF SOCIETY', targeted at policy makers, administrators and educators.]