ESP Biography

“Should I ask him/her out for a date?” “Should I apply to Stanford?” “I am facing a decision situation - what should I do?” We face decisions all the time in our life, and often make them without realizing that we have choices. How should we think clearly about our decisions? This class introduces students to decision analysis, the best story we have on approaching decisions thoughtfully. Developed largely at Stanford, Decision Analysis is inspired by the Buddha’s approach of combining a warm heart with a cool head. A cool head protects us from the trap of losing our balance with emotion, while a warm heart protects us from indifference. We will learn how to dissect our decisions into their components and look at them in a manner that gives us insights. This class will be taught in an experiential manner (and not theoretical lecturing), with students grappling with decisions and learning in the context of class simulations."

The course tells students how the fascinating buildings and bridges we see around us are created. It walks them through the entire process, right from the initial inception to the final construction.

Students will be taught how the gigantic and not so gigantic structures are created, how they are conceptualized, how they are designed, how they are constructed, and what happens with them till the time they are demolished.. all this through a lively example involving the student audience.