Iman Malhi's MIT Inspire Blog

Writer's Block noun a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece Writer's Block. The hopelessness of staring at a blank screen, not knowing how and where to begin.  I  have my data and research nearly complete. But putting that data into words, and explaining how the data correlates to each other seems extremely difficult, at least to me. I'm not quite sure how to begin. I suppose my first job is to start writing the Abstract and then focusing on actually writing the paper.  Scientists aren't quite sure what causes Writer's Block, or mental blocks of any kind. I hypothesize that Writer's Block is caused by a mix of being too distracted to write and not knowing what to write. Writing a research paper shouldn't be this convoluted (tedious and time-consuming, maybe, but not difficult). But I personally have always had problems with writing in general. Even these blog posts are unusually difficult for me to write. ...

I've decided that it would be more practical to avoid focusing on specific countries for my paper, instead, I've decided to write a paper called  “ Does culture affect how schools operate and how the public values education ?" Perhaps I'll alter the title a bit in the future. I know I've been changing the premise of my paper quite a few times now. But I want my paper to be genuine, creative, and the best it can possibly be. My paper is going to question why and how Asian-Americans GPAs and the highest salaries in America. And why Portugal has the highest percent of University Graduates out of all the countries in the World. Does the culture you were brought up in affect how you view education? And why? What are the factors that contribute to high academic performance? And does this translate into the country's workplace as well? My paper will potentially answer these questions and more. Thanks for reading. Please leave any suggestions/criticis...

As stated in my previous post, I've decided to shift the focus of my paper to answer the question " D o es the overall difficulty of schooling in a country result in more successful people ?" Here is a list of the countries I've decided to research & report on. 1.) Finland Why : Finland is widely regarded as having the best public education system in the world. School in Finland are much less stressful and hectic than the schools of other countries. But, that begs the question, is school in Finland more effective in creating successful, productive people? There are differences of opinions, but hopefully, I will know the truth by the end of my research. 2.) South Korea Why : South Korea is infamous for its rigorous schools and the amount of extremely overwhelming studying students are pressured into doing. But, Korea is also one of the smartest countries in the world. But are the majority of people successful? And is the demanding school schedule worth it?...

As the title states, I've decided to alter the focus of my research paper. Originally, my paper was to highlight the differences of schools based on culture. But now, I've decided to shift the purpose. Now, I plan to have a paper (name to be decided) on the question " Do more difficult schooling systems result in more successful people ?" For example, South Korea has a notoriously difficult education system. Does that mean South Korea produce more successful people per capita in comparison to other countries? America, on the flip side, is known for its mediocre school system. But, does that mean America is less likely to be home to intelligent people? I disagree. My hypothesis: Countries with more difficult educational systems are not more likely to have more successful people per capita. I believe success depends heavily on personal willpower and how you grew up. I intend to begin researching my paper tomorrow. My timeline looks a bit like this: December 17th...

Every research paper requires research. Some people gather data through other studies already conducted. Others gather data through experiments. Currently, I am gathering information for my paper by conducting a survey. Here is the link to my survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/S5K8TM2 I have gotten 39 responses so far, ranging from the Netherlands to Japan. The bulk of my responses have stemmed from Europe. To avoid corrupt data, I plan to get more representation from other countries. My study is aimed at students - from middle school students to college. One question on my survey asks "How satisfied are you with your country's education system?' I decided to graph the answers I have so far. USA -  3.6/5 Americans seem to generally have a moderate to high view of their education system. A majority of Americans voted a "4" on the 5-point-scale. The median score was about 3.6 out of 5. NETHERLANDS - 4.2/5 Residents o...

In a research paper, one could argue that the title of it is as important, if not more important, than the abstract. This is because the tile of your paper is your first impression. Whether your studies are respected and admired depend a lot on the title. There is a misconception in the scientific community that the more confusing and verbose the tile of a paper is, the more credible and honorable it is. But the fact is that some of history's greatest studies had short, succinct titles. For example, JJ Thomson (renowned chemist) named his study, which was published as a book, Electricity and Matter . His title was brusque and straight-to-the-point. On the other hand, one mustn't risk having a title which is too vague.  Here is my dilemma. I want a concise, brief name for my research paper, which will be studying the differences in schools in different countries and cultures, but I also want it to be informative. As I said in yesterday's post, I have y...

Everyone is different. Everyone has different talents, interests, and passions. People are not 2D characters - we have a certain depth to us. We are all unique in our tastes and preferences. People are often characterized as "left brain" or "right brain." Intelligent or emotional. Cunning or artistic. But the fact is that nobody is like that. There is not a single person on this Earth who is completely "left" or "right" brained. We have interests spanning a wide range of different subjects. And I suppose that's what makes us human. My name is Iman Malhi. I'm fourteen years old. If you asked me, "What is your passion?" I wouldn't have a straight answer. The truth is, all my life I've considered myself a more mathematically inclined person. I loved science, math, and most of all, computing. So why would I participate in a humanities-based competition if, for all my life, my fascination was not there? Well, when I be...