Learning on Jaidev's Blog

Learning Tools vs Learning the Craft

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 23:17:22 +0530

This is the second in a series of essays about my experience with the largest data science and programming MOOC in the world—the IIT Madras Degree Programme in Data Science and Applications. The first essay was about learning and practicing programming, and can be read here.

Four years ago, as a part of the data science diploma, I took the Machine Learning Practice course. It had two OPPEs—online proctored programming exams—worth nearly half of the course grade. We were given a list of questions, most of which were numericals, i.e. you needed to type in a number in the answer field. There was a link to a dataset, and a Google colab notebook. While the score depended almost entirely on the answer, the notebook, too, needed to be submitted as a buffer.

A Process for Readable Code

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 05:00:00 +0530

I took a course on data structures and algorithms over the last few months. It is being offered as a part of IIT Madras’ Online Degree Program in Data Science and Programming, taught by Prof Madhavan Mukund. The program is a MOOC in a true sense, with tens of thousands of students enrolling each year. The DSA course itself is offered every trimester, and sees an average of ~700 enrollments every time. It is easy to see how communication becomes critical in running a MOOC at this scale. There is, of course, the operational and logistical communication that goes into the smooth running of the course. But communicating the content of the course is more relevant (the course is also highly interactive - in addition to weekly office hours, there are Discourse forums where students, TAs and faculty are active).

How Not to Ask Questions After a Talk

Wed, 22 Nov 2017 10:04:06 +0530

Dedicated to the memory of Mrutyunjay Mishra (M2). He was a torrent of ideas. He encouraged me to write this post because as much as he talked endlessly without pausing to breathe, he hated wasteful discourse.

New Delhi, January 2024

PyCon India 2017 ended last weekend in Delhi. The conference escaped the infamous winter smog-storm by a whisker. In the last few years, PyCon India has grown to become the largest PyCon outside of North America, with over a thousand participants attending from all over the country. The conference itself was driven by a team of about 50 volunteers.