Snow – a few flakes and everything stops!

For anyone in the UK it will be no news that we’ve had the heaviest snow fall for 18 years. For anyone outside the UK – guess what…?

That’s not the interesting bit though. The interesting bit is the reaction which has been reported in the media to the snow and its consequent effects, particularly on the social infrastructure – transport, schools, hospitals etc. To be brief, for at least a day or two, everything stopped – no buses, few trains, schools closed, hospital clinics cancelled. In the red top (tabloid) newspapers, this was a scandal – Britain Grinds to a halt…what can’t we be like the Canadians or Russians who have weather much worse than this every year…etc?

This is not just about snow; it’s about how people and societies prepare for uncommon events. It’s just not practical or economic to have Moscow-style snow-clearing kit tucked away in warehouses all over the UK for use once every 20 years. Of course there will always be the ‘Something must be done’ brigade who argue that any inconvenience to their lives must be a sign of the downfall of British society, but more reasonable people will recognise that economy of preparation is a sensible course of action.

What does this have to do with exams? Well I think it illustrates the point about focussing your efforts on likelihoods. Yes, you can try to prepare for every possible, but unlikely, question. And if you are a highly able candidate (on the distinction/merit boundary) then it may well be worthwhile for you to have your mental snowploughs all oiled up and ready to roll. But if your abilities and goals are more modest (you’re on the pass/fail boundary), it makes more sense to prepare for the likely questions and if you’re unlucky enough to get a rare ‘snowstorm’ of a question, just accept that you’re going to have to rely on some hard shovelling to get you out!