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Across a year of conversations on ContraMinds and The Super CMO Show, a pattern quietly emerged. No matter the domain—AI, careers, marketing, health, or leadership—the same deeper questions kept surfacing, demanding better judgment rather than easy answers.
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Summary of the 12 Guest Perspectives

•Sai Gaddam explored the shifting boundary between human intuition and machine intelligence, arguing that relevance lies not in competing with AI on prediction, but in owning judgment, context, and responsibility.

•Prof. Rohit reflected on careers and identity, highlighting how growth often stalls not because of missing skills, but because people cling too tightly to familiar versions of themselves.
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•Steven Puri examined creativity in an age of abundance, emphasizing that taste, discipline, and clarity of intent—not access to tools—separate enduring creators from forgettable ones.

•Neeraj Sagar reframed longevity as a career problem, challenging the idea of linear success and arguing for slower pacing, sustainable ambition, and long-term energy management.

•Jillian Reilly surfaced the invisible permissions people wait for, showing how agency is often constrained less by external barriers and more by internalized rules we never question.

•Prof. Vasant Dhar addressed accountability in an AI-driven world, reminding us that even as machines improve at prediction, humans must remain responsible for values, trade-offs, and consequences.

•Prof. Jeevanjyoti critiqued formal education systems, pointing out the widening gap between how institutions teach and how adults actually learn through experience, curiosity, and feedback.

•Prof. Prasad Naik spoke about leadership under pressure, highlighting the importance of discernment—knowing what to protect, what to cut, and what to double down on when growth is no longer easy.

•Akhil Almeida warned against false signals in modern marketing, showing how overreliance on surface-level metrics can create confidence without clarity.

•Nitin Seth unpacked why transformation is emotionally hard for organizations, even when intellectually accepted, revealing that change fails more from fear than from strategy.

🔗 Links & Resources:
ContraMinds: https://www.contraminds.com
Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://blog.contraminds.com

🎧 Listen on Podcast Platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4xceASphmwAjJONTlsvo2Y
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contraminds-decoding-people-minds-strategy-and-culture/id1485202972

Follow ContraMinds:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/contraminds
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/contraminds/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/contraminds
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/contraminds

Let's know what you liked and learnt!

In this powerful conversation, Prof. Jeevanjyoti Chakraborty of IIT Kharagpur breaks down something we all struggle with — how to really learn. Most of us study for exams, memorize formulas, follow structured notes… yet never develop the mental muscle of learning on our own.

Prof. Jeevanjyoti explains why students today feel lost when confronted with uncertainty, why our schooling ignores curiosity, and why tinkering, breaking things, and exploring messiness is essential for growth.

He talks about:
– The curse of coaching and predefined learning paths
– Why learning to learn is more important than any degree
– How students can build “research instincts” early
– Why mechanical engineering is deeply connected to biology
– How India can rethink teacher training and lifelong professional upskilling
– The need for continuous education for engineers, just like doctors

He also shares deeply human moments—from his vulnerabilities as a professor to the mentors and mathematicians who shaped his thinking. This episode is a must-watch for students, parents, teachers, leaders and anyone who wants to stay relevant in a fast-changing world.

Chapters
00:04:01 – Students Forget Professors Are Human
00:07:10 – Learning How to Learn Opens Your World
00:12:57 – Build Your Learning Muscle Slowly
00:21:44 – Words Are the Gateway to Knowledge
00:26:39 – India Needs a Culture of Tinkering
00:36:46 – Teachers Must Evolve How They Teach
00:39:39 – Professionals Must Keep Upgrading Themselves
00:49:27 – Success Is When I Impress Myself
00:49:44 – Time Management Solves Most Problems
00:50:23 – I’d Tell My Grandparents I’ve Done Okay
00:52:00 – Learn in Class — Don’t Postpone Learning

This episode was made possible by the great folks at https://goaffortless.ai.
⁠Effortless⁠ has been designed to be user-friendly, aiding you in your journey to streamline financial tasks. Experience the convenience of achieving e-Invoicing and E-way Bill Generation in just a couple of clicks, simplifying your business processes.

#LearningHowToLearn, #LifelongLearning, #CuriosityMindset, #EducationReform
#StudentSuccess, #EngineeringEducation, #IITKharagpur, #TinkeringMindset
#ContinuousLearning, #ContraMindsPodcast

🔗 Links & Resources:
ContraMinds: https://www.contraminds.com
Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://blog.contraminds.com

🎧 Listen on Podcast Platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4xceASphmwAjJONTlsvo2Y
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contraminds-decoding-people-minds-strategy-and-culture/id1485202972

Follow ContraMinds:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/contraminds
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/contraminds/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/contraminds
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/contraminds

Let's know what you liked and learnt!

In this deep and wide-ranging conversation, Professor Vasant Dhar( @NYUSternBusiness ) NYU professor, AI researcher, investor and author of Thinking With Machines—breaks down how artificial intelligence is reshaping judgment, expertise, work and society. He explains why the future isn’t “AI vs. humans” but humans thinking with machines, and why sense-making, question-framing, and domain expertise will determine who thrives in the AI era. If you want to understand how AI will transform your work, your learning, and your decision-making over the next decade, this is a must-listen episode.

Order your copy now on amazon: https://www.amazon.in/Thinking-Machines-Brave-New-World-ebook/dp/B0FY46ZK3K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3QWFVXWM6XPBW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QAmd26NZIHy0tIeYIGVA9wvWljQv9YbpT7dVn5Z_CsSu8yGu7NFctEIu-iDWXad6GunWWKCMnaRyvt__e_tfi11CiYvt20oq-_MeJANKPT6GHAsyavm_PtNpxQsVdaKpFLk_673aPz2pHbeiuoi6fFUQTXOEz3mzlWKFXGJRDS3Deg6v-iAhkc182XN9vl0ZSP5Fm5O6J4Y4tJtRdH7pb1v5fPajSXVaBcT3MiC4RKY.Ctza_MtdSMwkOgdCD26V1hTDzPexrVmU3gOhKYn5-6M&dib_tag=se&keywords=thinking+with+machines&qid=1763633694&s=digital-text&sprefix=thinking+with+amchine%2Cdigital-text%2C208&sr=1-1

⭐ 5 Key Takeaways

1. The future is “thinking with machines”—there is no opting out.
2. Sense-making is going to become the most valuable human skill.
3. AI will bifurcate humanity into superhuman performers and de-amplified dependents.
4. AI agents can now execute complex, multi-step workflows—data gathering, analysis, valuation, critique—mirroring expert reasoning.
5. Trust in AI depends on predictability and consequences of error.

This episode was made possible by the great folks at https://goaffortless.ai.
⁠Effortless⁠ has been designed to be user-friendly, aiding you in your journey to streamline financial tasks. Experience the convenience of achieving e-Invoicing and E-way Bill Generation in just a couple of clicks, simplifying your business processes.

#AI, #ArtificialIntelligence, #VasantDhar, #ThinkingWithMachines, #FutureOfWork, #AIAgents, #MachineLearning, #SenseMaking, #ContraMinds, #TechPodcast

🔗 Links & Resources:
ContraMinds: https://www.contraminds.com
Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://blog.contraminds.com

🎧 Listen on Podcast Platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4xceASphmwAjJONTlsvo2Y
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contraminds-decoding-people-minds-strategy-and-culture/id1485202972

Follow ContraMinds:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/contraminds
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/contraminds/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/contraminds
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/contraminds