SSB Experience: A Wonderful Failure

 
About 4,500 candidates appeared for the Territorial Army (TA) written exam in Lucknow last July. Out of these, only 150 were shortlisted to appear before the Preliminary Interview Board (PIB) at Central Command. Among 150 candidates that were interviewed, only 37 were recommended to appear before the Services Selection Board (SSB) at Kapurthala. Furthermore, in our batch of 65 candidates (others being from Western Command) who appeared before the SSB, 22 were screened-in on the first day, and only 3 went on to be recommended by the board. Using this data, the selection rate for an average TA applicant comes out to be < 0.04%, i.e. < 1 in 2500 applicants. Comparing this with CAT (a highly competitive exam for MBA admissions), ~2.5 lakh applicants contest for roughly 10,000 seats at IIMs. This translates into a selection rate of 4%. Thus, a quick calculation reveals that an average applicant is 100 times more likely to make it to an IIM, than as an officer in the Indian Army! The TA selection procedure stretches over a long period of time with written exam being held in July, PIB in October, followed by the final SSB procedure in April. In this blog I will touch upon my personal observations from my 5-day experience at the SSB.    

To begin with, we had a very diverse and mature group. The age ranged from 23 to 41 years, and the candidates came from very different fields, i.e. from medicine and research to aviation and merchant navy and many other professions in between. During our stay, a Company Havildar Major (CHM) was appointed as the group organizer, and served as the go-to-person for all of candidates needs during the stay. Typically, the days started with morning tea at 4:30 am. All the meals were to be attended in the mess in proper formal clothing, and utmost discipline was expected from the candidates during their stay.

The SSB procedure seeks to evaluate the candidates on 3 parameters, i.e. Manasa (mind/thoughts), vaacha (speech), and karmana (actions). All candidates are rated on these parameters by 3 different military officers (usually of Lt. Col. Rank). Only when all three evaluations for a candidate intersect at a desired point, a candidate is recommended by the SSB. The evaluators do not talk to each other or share candidate's information until the final day of conference. Moreover, the officers and all the assisting staff are in civil dress on all days but the day of conference. This is probably to elicit a more natural behavior from the candidates. Various tests designed to evaluate a candidate can be characterized into 3 different groups:

• Intelligence tests and psychological pointers
• Personal interview
• Leaderless group tasks, command task, and individual task

There is little to be said about intelligence tests, which determine the mental ability of candidates. Moreover, the psychological tests provide a peek inside the minds of the candidates. In my opinion, a candidate should be as natural in his responses as possible, and should probably not prepare for these tests. On the contrary, basic familiarity with the group tasks helps. In the first group obstacle task, I was almost clueless on what to do with the planks and rope. However, as we proceeded on, the tasks seemed much easier. No wonder the repeaters (people who’ve appeared for SSB in the past) seemed to have better group dynamics than freshers. It is important to note that even one unruly member in the group has the potential to disturb the dynamics for the whole group. Similarly, in the individual obstacle task also a little familiarity beforehand serves well. E.g., applying the logic of point maximization it seems counterintuitive to start with the zigzag beam walk which has the lowest number of points among 10 different obstacles to be completed in 3 minutes time. However, giving further thought, one realizes that it would be difficult to balance oneself in a state of exertion after going through other task, and thus one is better off starting with the balancing task.

The interview is intense (almost 1 hour long), and one needs to prepare much more than I thought. Other than oscillating across the candidate’s life history, random problems are presented and the candidate is expected to come up with a range of possible solutions. Here resourcefulness of ideas is important, and one can readily improve only upon original ideas. The interviewer also judges the passion of the candidate for the army, and one should be able to demonstrate his interest through knowledge of weaponry, military organization, current issues etc.

The 4^th day is the best to go out as a group to see the city. We visited the Kapurthala rail coach factory after which we ended up at a local eatery. On the final day, a conference is held where all selecting officers get together and discuss each candidate’s performance. After the conference the candidate is either recommended for commission (after clearing medical requirements), or not-recommended.

I found the 5 days to be full of speculation on the methods of testing. Candidates overanalyze the situations and everything seems pre-planned and like a mind-game being played. This is probably because, unlike all other examinations, in SSB there is no score or feedback given on the performance of candidates. It is a simple recommended or not-recommended decision after the final conference. This leaves many doubts in the minds of candidates, which further lead to speculations. So I decided to delve a little into the evolution of the selection procedure.

The SSB procedure has it’s roots in the War Officer Selection Board (WOSB) which evolved in the British army in 1942 during the second world war. The need was to select able officers quickly by the use of psychological tools as used by Germans. This can be seen from the following conversation in the British House of Commons in 1942:

MP Thomas Horabin commented:

 “What is wrong with the British Army?… It is not that the British soldier is inferior to the German or the Japanese, man for man. I am certain that this generation of British manhood is as tough, courageous and tenacious as any generation that has gone before. The root cause of our humiliating defeats lies in another direction.”

to which MP Dr. Francis Fremantle replied:

“A great deal more attention has been paid [to psychological selection] in the German Army than in our own…”

A typical WOSB between 1942-44 was as follows:

Day 1

New candidates were greeted by a Major or Sergeant Tester and ‘put at their ease’ ready for psychological tests. Candidates were then divided into four groups.

After time to settle in and look around, candidates went to the rooms where they would be set written tests. After being given their numbered armband (candidates all became numbers and had to hide ranks to maintain objectivity), they were addressed by the President who told them ‘about the aims and method of the Board... and described the role of the individual members of the testing staff’.

A break ‘for mid-morning tea or cocoa was followed by the written tests: a life-history questionnaire, three 20-minute intelligence tests, a family-history questionnaire (marked 'Confidential'), and three psychological projection tests. By 5:30pm, candidates were ‘free for the evening’ and the psychological staff and Sergeant Testers assessed the written tests.

Days 2 and 3

The four groups of candidates participated in interviews with the President and Psychiatrist, and tests led by the Military Testing Officers including discussion groups, ‘Command Situations’ where candidates had to lead a group, and obstacle courses (which became leaderless group tests). The battery of tasks were again separated by lunch and tea breaks. Each member of Board staff wrote reports at the end of the day's tests.

Day 4

Any supplementary tests were conducted on the final day, and then the Final Conference was held for Board staff to discuss the candidates and make final decisions.

Experienced candidates will realize a striking similarity between a WOSB developed in 1942, and the present day SSB procedure. Even though, I believe that over the years the SSB has gone ahead to refine the procedure to draw from latest research and also to suit Indian scenario.

At the heart of SSB procedure are the leaderless group tasks that conceal psychological techniques under a military appearance. Solving an obstacle task by creating bridges with planks and ropes is easy. However, convincing and taking the group along is totally different. To add to further conflict among candidates, there is no instruction on whether the candidates are evaluated as individuals or as a group. This conflict is demonstrated in the following figure.

The design of group tasks is practical application of the Field Theory postulated by Kurt Lewin in Germany in the 1940's. According to this theory, the task provides a field to reveal the inner qualities of a candidate. Moreover, the testing officer, rather than observing a candidate’s physical ability, looks for reaction to forces, such as:

“The frankly anxious who react with aimless and restless activity, fidgety mannerisms, a tense expression, nervous facetiousness, automatic and unintended truculence etc. the ‘compensators’ who thrust, bluff, boast, exhibitionistically seek the spotlight or in some similar way seek to mask their insecurity: the depressives who apologise, seem mortified and blame themselves for everything; the ‘projectiles’ or ‘blimbs’ who paranoidally blame the materials, the nature of the task, other members - anything but themselves: the hysterics who express their insecurity in irrelevant acrobatics or pressure of speech which contribute nothing to the task.”

The selected candidates are probably not the best among the lot. Neither are the rejected candidates not deserving of selection. However, the process ensures that the selected candidates possess the right combination of skills, temperament, and personality that befits an army officer. After all, the cost of selecting a wrong person is huge, for the individual as well as for the military organization. Perhaps a low rate of selection also serves to boost the pride and sense of responsibility that lies on the shoulders of an officer. On our last day we were made to think about famous personalities who did not make it through the SSB, e.g. Amitabh Bachan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Dravid and APJ Abdul Kalam. This was probably a dose of consolation. Even more, never ever in my life have a shaved consecutively for 5 days, but for my stay at SSB. Even a small act of shaving made me realize that perfection is not just a sudden burst of enthusiasm, but a sustained effort towards excellence. Going through the stringent procedure, one is convinced of the integrity and rigor of the SSB process. Spending time with the group and quality interactions serve as a mirror to evaluate one’s own self. Taken in the right spirit, a rejection in SSB in fact serves as a further motivation to work-hard, strive for perfection, and comeback to SSB with a dream to live the life as an Indian Army Officer.

Personally for me it was a choice between TA and IIM-A. Had I been recommended in SSB, I would have settled for a mediocre career (my current job) along with a part time commitment to the India Army. This, I thought, would have been a pretty satisfying package as a whole. Perhaps I was wrong. Now that I am not recommended, the goal is to boost my career with a 2 year MBA program at IIM-A. Hopefully in a few years, when I’m in a proper and satisfying career trajectory, I will reappear for the TA examination and clear the SSB to become an officer.

References:

1. White, Alice Victoria. From the science of selection to psychologising civvy street: the Tavistock Group, 1939-1948. Diss. University of Kent, 2016.
2. Wikipedia contributors. "Field theory (psychology)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 4 Feb. 2017. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

Case study of a misleading nutrition label

It is unusual for a FMCG brand to have such a rapid rise as that of Patanjali. What makes this even more interesting is that the rise of Patanjali brand is mostly fueled by making a claim of ‘moral righteousness’, over their multi-national competitors. In this case study, I try to explore the claims made on a product of Patanjali brand - ‘Patanjali Namkeen Biscuit’. 

On the product labels it is claimed that the product has ‘NO ADDED SUGAR’.  Furthermore, it is also claimed on that the product is ‘CHINI RAHIT’ which literally translates to sugar-free.   

Contrary to the claims made on the product, a look at the ingredients list shows that the product contains glucose and honey. The ingredients glucose and honey are clearly ‘added’ sugars in the product, and not merely natural sugars occurring as a result of some other source. Even more, the nutritional information table on the product selectively mentions cane sugar as nil, but does not report the total sugar content in the product – which is a usual industry practice.

From a laboratory analysis of the product it was found that each 100g of the product contains sugars as follows:

Total sugar     : 14.8 grams

Glucose           : 5.73 grams

Fructose         : 9.07 grams

It is thus evident that the product contains 14.8% sugar, of which glucose is about 39% and fructose is 61%. Moreover, this sugar is ‘added’ and is not naturally occurring from other ingredients (eg. from wheat flour). In light of this information, it is apparent that the claims on the label are utterly misleading and can potentially have adverse effects on people suffering from diabetes.

There also seems to be confusion between terms, perhaps due to English-hindi mixup of language. For the general public, the term sugar is commonly understood as table sugar, i.e. cane sugar or sucrose – a glucose-fructose disaccharide. However, in common parlance, blood glucose concentration – a biomarker for diabetes patients - is also called ‘blood sugar’. In this regard, glucose may be regarded as sugar even as per common language. Indeed glucose is nothing but sugar, and so is fructose.

On the basis of this information and facts, it makes sense for a respectable brand like 'Patanjali' to correct the information on it’s product as follows:

1. The claims ‘NO ADDED SUGAR’ and ‘CHINI RAHIT’ be removed. 
2. ‘Total sugar’ content be presented under the carbohydrate section in the nutritional information table printed on the product.

India’s cattle racism

[This post is a reaction on strengthening of laws banning beef trade in India]

There exists a ‘cattle-racist’ tendency among our society to discriminate between cows and buffaloes. This sentiment manifests as regional laws geared towards preferential treatment of cows. Thus, beef (cow-meat) trade is banned but carabeef (buffalo-meat) trade is permitted. Over time, the practice of this law (and our palate for hig-fat milk) has led to ‘buffaloization’ of India’s cattle spectrum. 

Lets assume that economics drives most of the decision making in a free market. With this assumption it becomes preferable for a farmer to rear buffalo for milk, as it can be sold to the slaughterhouse when it grows old and(or) turns un-productive, thus generating extra income. Whereas, since the unproductive cows cannot be sold for slaughter, there would be an extra-cost associated with it. Thus over time the market would favor production of buffaloes. In fact, most of the cattle dense states (PB, HR, UP, AP) already have more buffaloes than cows! Pure cow milk, today, is difficult to find in the market.

Thus, rather than strengthening the old laws which discriminate between buffaloes and cows, there needs to be a plan such that India’s cattle diversity is maintained. India needs a strategic cattle policy.

Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh constitute the 'Buffalo Belt' of India

Infographic of relative populations of cattle and buffaloes in different states of India.

Data source and analysis:

Data was obtained from the 18th Live Stock Census, Department of animal husbandry, dairying & fisheries, of the ministry of agriculture. Census data was analyzed using the normalized log-ratio method. The log of ratio of cattle to buffalo was normalized to values between 0 and 1. Normalized values were assigned an RGB color value using the colorRamp package in R (http://cran.r-project.org/). White-red and white-blue color ramps were assigned to positive and negative log-ratios respectively.

Some notable patterns:

• Hilly states (JK, HP, UK, North-eastern states) have more cattle as compared to buffaloes.
• States with water scarcity (TN, KA, MH, MP, OR etc.) have lower no. of buffaloes as compared to cattle.
• GJ, RJ and AP (relatively dry/plain states) are the most balanced in terms of cattle and buffaloes.
• Northern states with plenty of access to water and ponds (PB, HR and UP) have the highest number of buffaloes. Thus, actually making up the buffalo belt of India.

Thoughts, Action --> Behavior! 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' is Kahneman's review of how psychology explains our decisions.

Science is so much more fun when presented in a form of a non-fiction novel-like book. I recently read 'Thinking, fast and slow' by Daniel Kahneman, which I had bought more than a year back at the Heathrow airport. It was a best-seller and I had a long desire to read something on psychology, which prompted me to bye the book standing out in the bestseller section. But not until recently could I catch up on my reading backlog (thanks to infinite free time I have after defending my Ph.D. dissertation). Surprisingly, it turned out to be one of my best reading experiences. The book could be described as a massive review of scientific literature in behavioral psychology.

I had never thought that a subject like psychology could be so intricately linked with decision making and economics. Kahneman and Tversky (the author's collaborator) laid solid foundations in the field of 'behavioral economics' with their simple yet sound  experiments. Starting with basic concepts of heuristics (loose pointers which enable us to reach a decision) and biases, the book introduces the reader to the complexity of decision making. The theory is convincing enough on how our intuitive judgements and decisions are risky 'chances' at best or irrational and harmful at worst. Kahneman educates the reader with the works of several scientists and theorists, in a simple language and giving utmost credit to the experimenters. Reading the book, I realized how ignorant we are about the irrationality or biasness of our judgements and decisions. Furthermore, one can only imagine on how much of psychology has Kahnemann seen develop before his eyes.

The author vastly uses astounding examples, problems and tasks to keep the reader involved throughout the book. Most complex concepts are kept short and succinct, beautifully avoiding the details. Once started, it's difficult to keep the book aside. But as one review rightly suggests "buy it fast. read it slowly.", to maximize the benefit from the book it is indeed helpful to read it slowly. I found it good to read a maximum of 2-3 chapters daily, which helps the concepts sink in. The book is also very nicely organized and divided into small chapters. It is a must read for almost anyone from all walks of life. My personal favorite chapters were on anchors, regression to the mean and rare events. Read the book to know more on what they mean!

BOOK REVIEW: ‘THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES - A BIOGRAPHY OF CANCER’ BY SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE

[May contain spoilers]

Most of the reviews of this book I read describe the work as compassionate, humane and engrossing. The book's description itself very rightly says that the author "examines cancer with a cellular biologist's precision, a historian's perspective and a biographer's passion". However, my attempt here would be to give a glimpse of the magnitude of work it really is.

The book starts with the father of modern chemotherapy - Sidney Farber’s discovery of aminopterin (a folic acid analog) in 1947, which caused remissions in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Using this point as the axis, Siddhartha Mukherjee (SM) dissects both flanges of history, moving back and forth through the ages with utmost deliberation. The challenge for any science writer is two-fold, i.e. to capture the interest of a lay man and that of an expert. SM is an expert in explaining the origin of complex medical jargons sometime diving into etymology to develop a neat context. Even the core statistical principles and epidemiological approaches are expounded upon vividly.

In the subsequent chapters, he carefully steers us through the political turns in the journey of cancer. He talks in detail about the contribution of Laskerites & Jimmy fund. SM also takes us through the birth and journey of the national cancer institute and various personalities of the cancer world.

How the seeds of cancer are knitted with our lifestyles is also covered in good detail. Special chapters are dedicated to carcinogens, smoking and the prevention of cancer. How the tobacco industry lobbying operated in the late half of twentieth century and the role of media advertisements. I particularly liked the legal aspect of anti-tobacco campaign, and the story of how the tobacco advertisements actually faded out of public life, after years of legal battles.

SM tracks the rise and descent of various theories of cancer over time. He gives a lucid coverage of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery starting appropriately from the humble beginnings, e.g he starts tracing the development of radiation therapy right from Madame Curie's discovery of radium and the idea of chemotherapy coming from chemicals of war. From the first chemotherapeutic drug - methotrexate to targeted drugs like Herceptin and Gleevec, in the later part of the book SM transitions to the genetic level acridly describing the complexities of DNA and proteins in common language.

In the last chapter of the book, he makes a cataclysmic attempt to connect all the dots. He traces the ancient queen Attosa's illness of breast cancer travelling through time from 2500 BCE to the 2000s and gives insights on her prognosis in different phases of history. Although it sums up the history/biography of cancer till date, one would have to read the whole book to see the bigger picture SM has put forth. It is definitely a worthy reading for anyone who has even a passing interest in science.

Fasting Metabolism & Political Activism

[This article has been submitted to American Society for Nutrition as a blog]

Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption activist in India, has been sitting on indefinite fast since the last eleven days. Being a Gandhian by philosophy he applies non-violent means of protest to raise his concerns. I have been closely following on the developments since his fast began and therefore was tempted to write this blog about fasting metabolism.

Fasting as a political tool has been used since a long time and was popularized by Mahatma Gandhi whose longest fasts went up to a period of three weeks. Since then it continues to inspire many activists throughout the world, one of the famous being Kieran Doherty's hunger-strike in Northern Ireland which lasted 73 days!

Anna Hazare during his indefinite fast at Ramlila Maidan.

So, how long can a person stay alive with only water and no food?

A general estimate for a normal healthy male would be about 35-40 days, however there have been no controlled studies in this direction due to obvious ethical reasons. The survival would of course largely vary between individuals, depending on their genetic makeup, body condition, age and other factors. Females could survive much longer than males owing to a higher fat to protein ratio (since fats are more calorie dense than proteins). When the body is depleted of exogenous nutrients, it starts mobilizing the fat and protein stores to meet maintenance energy needs. Calorically speaking, a person could survive as long as all the fat and protein reserves last, however once the micronutrients such as vitamins become limiting, survival is compromised.

Exogenous glucose lasts for up to 5 hrs once fasting has commenced. Once all the glucose is depleted, the energy needs of metabolism are met by glucose derived from glycogen stored in the liver and muscle. Glucose from glycogen can serve as a dominant energy source for up to 1 d, after which renal and hepatic gluconeogenesis from adipose fat and muscle protein start taking over.

The liver converts fats into ketone bodies, mainly β-hydroxy butyrate and acetoacetate, a process called ketosis. The capability of long-term survival in humans really depends on the adaptability of human brain to utilize these ketone bodies as the main energy source. The glycerol produced on release of free fatty acids can directly be used for gluconeogenesis.

After two days of starvation, about 60% of the glucose is supplied by liver. The main sources for glucose synthesis in liver are alanine from muscle, glycerol from lipolysis and recycled lactate and pyruvate. The remaining 40% of glucose needs is met by the kidney using glycerol from adipose and glutamine from muscle. A prolonged starvation might be fatal mainly due to organ failure, as is the case in anorexia.

Ancient medicinal systems like Ayurveda recommend short term fasting to detoxify and purge the body of unwanted chemicals. There can also be several physiological benefits from short-term fasting. Large amount of literature is now available to show the significance of calorie restriction in extending life span. Other benefits of fasting could be lower risk of heart diseases and higher insulin sensitivity. Fasting is also used as a spiritual tool to turn one's mind inwards into introspection and self-inquiry, and thus is practiced in many religions. However, there can be various associated side effects like nausea, headaches and muscle aches, and therefore a physician’s advice is recommended.

I would like to end with a quote by Mark Twain which says, "A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicines and the best doctors."

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References:

http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.nutr.26.061505.111258

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-long-can-a-person-sur&page=2

http://blogs.plos.org/obesitypanacea/2011/05/13/the-science-of-starvation-how-long-can-humans-survive-without-food-or-water/

Image from:

http://www.freepressjournal.in/tfp_cms/gall_content/2011/8/2011_8$largeimg217_Aug_2011_202432967.jpg