Page 62 - Volume5, Issue 3, May-August 2024

IMPRESSIONS

Navigating a World of ‘What Ifs’

Have you ever played the “What If” game? You know, the one where you lie in bed at

night, or maybe even during class, and let your imagination run wild. What if tomorrow,

India decides to start a special military operation to take back POK? What if there’s no

class tomorrow? What if I suddenly win the 100 Crore lottery? It’s my favourite game. It’s

thrilling, it’s terrifying, and it’s absolutely exhausting. Now Have you ever thought

through these scenarios, well I have…..Like If I win that lottery I’ll give ChatGPT plus

subscription for free to every student. We need that and the colleges do not provide this.

Placement season has started and sometimes I think let’s see what is happening in the

world. And Whenever I open the news app, it’s like a real-life “What If” scenario

unfolding before my eyes. The war in Ukraine, the Conflict in the Middle East, the unrest

closer to home in Bangladesh - it’s a constant barrage of uncertainties. And then there’s

the economy. The market seems to have a mind of its own, swinging wildly. Interest

rates are rising, inflation is soaring, and the job market feels about as stable as a Jenga

tower built by a toddler. It’s easy to get caught up in all of this negativity. It’s easy to start

thinking, “What if I graduate and the job market has gotten worse ? What if the world

just keeps getting worse?”

As an MBA student, I spend a lot of time thinking about the future. After all, isn’t that

what we’re being trained for? To analyse trends, forecast markets, and make decisions

that will hopefully lead to success? But what happens when the future feels so uncertain

that even our best predictions seem like wild guesses?

War, in its traditional sense, has been a constant in human history. Yet, today’s conflicts

are marked by a new level of unpredictability. The nature of war has shifted from

large-scale confrontations between nations to more fragmented and often ideologically

driven conflicts. We are witnessing the rise of cyber warfare, terrorism, and proxy wars,

where the lines between war and peace are increasingly blurred. So I sometimes

wonder, “What if the next war isn’t fought with soldiers on battlefields, but with

algorithms and economic sanctions?” This thought isn’t far-fetched. The future of

warfare is going towards disrupting economies, spreading misinformation, and

destabilizing societies from within, all without a single shot being fired. This raises the

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