Yippee dedda doo

Without meaning to sound conceited in any way, it is one of the facts of life that I am far better at giving viva voce exams than I am at giving written exams. Because in written exams, when I don't know something (which is rather frequently, considering the amount I study) I simpl blank out. In viva exams, on the other hand, when I'm asked something I don't know the answer to, I seem to have the knack of making up answers on the spot, which, luckily for me, seem to do the trick.

Today (well, yesterday, really) was my viva oral exam for my dissertation. After talking about my study, methodology, tools etc., and coming up with rather decent explanations for why on earth my study shows no significant differences between the two groups, the external examiner picked up on one my results pertaining to gender differences. He asked me why I thought such a result had come up, and from there, we went onto socialization of boys and girls in India, leading to a rather animated discussion about the state of women of India.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I'm in my element when I have to make up answers during interviews. They also know that the aforementioned topic is, honestly, something I can go on and on about*. So you can well imagine how my viva went and why I've been grinning since my exit line, which incidentally, was essentially a summary of this post.

See, it pays to be a feminist. Now if only the rest of my exams involve such discussions, I'm all set.

*Apparently, almost everyone does know this about me, because I hear the second some of my classmates I've never really spoken much to heard what turn my viva had taken, they were certain it had gone well. I need to become more enigmatic.

Meme #2: Page 123, Line 5

Meant to put this up weeks ago, but didn't quite get round to it. I can't believe I haven't blogged in nearly a month! It's like I'm going the Zig's way! ;)

Another meme doing the rounds of the blogosphere these days is this:

Open the nearest book to page 123, go down to the 5th sentence and type up the 3 following sentences. Then, pass the message along to other people you want to invite to contribute to the game.

So the only book around me right now is Udai Pareek's Training Instruments in HRD and OD (dear Lord, I sound like a nerd). The chapter is Relevant Conceptual Frameworks of Personal and Interpersonal Orientation, and the section is on Coercive Bases [of Power]. So here goes:

"For the same reason, charisma is included in coercive power, because a charismatic leader arouses strong emotions, and get things done. The leader does not treat his or her followers as mature people who are competent to make their own choices. Referent power is different, as we shall see in the next section."

Everyone who reads this and has a blog, you are tagged.