Theme: The Silent Letter

Everything has value, whether good or bad, large or small. Nothing in this world is useless, although we often mistake that for the case. Only when something is missing, do we realize how valuable it is. Even the minutest thing has value. Although a microbe that breaks down the dead is too small for human eyes to notice, its absence could disrupt life over the entire planet. We frequently overlook and fail to appreciate more minor things in favor of bigger things. However, the minor components that go into those more important things are ones we never notice. In reality, we cannot appreciate more than a little portion of our surroundings. Young people are constantly encouraged to create a significant impact, which causes them to focus primarily on the big problems. Small deeds, achievements, and moments are underestimated and ignored by us. Refusing to carry them out means letting them pass. Small things are necessary for great things to occur. It happens with a series of small items and is not done by impulse.

The word "Knight '' loses meaning without the letter "K." "Rendezvous" without its silent letters is not even a word anymore.
Similarly, we have a lot of 'silent letters' around us, which help distinguish many aspects and impart more meaning to life. Small things matter. Making sacrifices can help you become the person you've always wanted to be. These sacrifices are occasionally overlooked and hardly ever acknowledged. Successful people never discuss the pressure of winning; they only talk about winning. Billionaires never talk about the time they don't get to spend with their loved ones; they talk about becoming billionaires.

When Neil Armstrong said, "One little stride for a man, one big leap for mankind," as he took the first step on the moon, it changed the course of history. History can be made even with one "small stride." It must have been someone's dream to set a goal to step foot on THE MOON. This kind of giant leap does not happen overnight. It was composed of tens of thousands, or even millions, of little accomplishments.

The same holds for successful entrepreneurship breakthroughs. The outcome is frequently the same: either a firm succeeds or, worse yet, fails to gain popularity or notoriety. We must advance to grow in our efforts to get there. How do we go about it? The best plan of action is to appreciate every small step.

We all are endowed in many ways. And yet, most of the time, we ignore them. Why do we overlook these small things in our lives? We lose track of them, which can be a colossal mistake. In truth, these seemingly insignificant details significantly influence our life. That is why we must learn to appreciate their worth.

The "slippery slope" argument can support the idea of the silent letter, a normative logical fallacy in which a very modest action starts a chain of events that results in an enormous consequence (mathematicians refer to this as the "butterfly effect").
The butterfly effect teaches us two important lessons: small things matter, and we are all part of a more extensive system. You can transform someone's life with a simple gesture.

Small is the new big. Small activities form our habits. All ideas are made up of those little elements. Small activities begin our attitude and conduct. Over time, small things expand and become more efficient. The small stuff we ignore adds up to meaningful things.
What "small things" in life should individuals appreciate daily?

Have you paid any attention to the events that have led you to where you are now? Or would your life have been significantly different if you had taken another course, chosen another alternative, or never met a specific person? What about that life-changing incident that you will never forget and completely molded or transformed your thinking and acting?
Questions like these get one thinking.

To learn more and find the answers to more such fascinating questions, join us at our leading event/conference, TEDxIITGuwahati 2023.

IIT Guwahati
IIT Guwahati, Amingaon, North Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam 781039.
Guwahati, Assam, 781039
India

Divanshu Kumar

Co-founder & CEO

Divanshu Kumar is a mechanical engineering graduate from IIT Madras and an entrepreneur who is passionate about solving real life problems using first principle thinking. He is Co-founder & CEO of Solinas Integrity which got Best “On Campus Award” in ET Startup awards 2022. He is also Co-founder of Involve Learning Solutions Foundation, an international award winning organization with a vision to develop a sense of agency in school students. He was one of the delegates to represent India at Global Engagement Summit 2017 at Chicago.

Kamal Jeswani

Financial Coach

Kamal Jeswani is an International Speaker and also India's 1st Internationally Certified Financial Success Coach with a CFP and MBA in Finance. Some more of his qualifications and certifications include B.com, QPFP, MBA in Retail Operations, Emotional Intelligence Expert etc. He helps working professionals create secured wealth with his powerful PMG 5.0 model, without sacrificing a good lifestyle. He has been conducting Financial Super Success seminars across India and also trains employees of elite companies like Times of India, Raymond, Welspun, Tata group company, Rotaract club, HR Association of India, etc.

Neeraj Kumar Sharma

IITG Professor

Dr Neeraj Sharma is an assistant professor at the School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (India). He is also an engineer, scientist and researcher. His research interests include understanding of audio (bio-acoustics, health-acoustics, speech and music); Brain-informed signal processing (behavioural and EEG data capture and analysis); AI for human-machine interaction (perception and cognition); Non-stationary time-series signal modelling. After his B.tech from College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar, he received his PhD and Masters from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He was a post-doctoral researcher at the Neuroscience Institute Psychology Dept. at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh. He had also been a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, IIS in Erlangen (Germany).

Neil D Silva

Author

Neil D'Silva (Author, Screenwriter) The forerunner of contemporary Indian horror literature. He has been named one of the "Top 7 Indian Horror Writers" to be read by the UK’s DESIblitz magazine. The founder and creative director of Litventure. His unique stories have struck a chord with a wide range of readers, eliciting praise from various quarters. YAKSHINI is one of his most satisfying inventions. He is the best-selling author of several novels, including Maya's New Husband, which was named Entertainer of the Year at the 2015 Literary Awards, and Haunted: Real-Life Encounters with Ghosts and Spirits.

Plabita Borthakur

Actress

Plabita Borthakur made her debut in PK as Anushka Sharma's sister. She has received rave reviews for her portrayal of Rehana Abidi in Alankrita Shrivastava's critically acclaimed Lipstick Under My Burkha. In 2020, she starred in the Amazon Prime web-series Breathe: Into the Shadows. The show was well-received by both audiences and critics. In 2021, she starred as Ayesha in the web series Bombay Begums, directed by Alankrita Shrivastava. She has recently played the lead role in the Zee5 series Sutliyan.

Seema Lokhandwala

Elephant biologist (UnrestricTED winner)

Seema Lokhandwala is an engineer turned elephant biologist who aims to integrate the latest technologies with data and concepts from elephant communication, behavior and ecology to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that promote wildlife conservation. Her passion includes developing state of art acoustic sensors which aid in mitigating human-elephant conflict and facilitate peaceful coexistence. When not running behind or running away from elephants, she enjoys reading non-fiction novels based on environmental history, politics and wildlife. Seema is currently a PhD scholar at the Centre for Linguistic Science and Technology at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.