I don't exactly understand when..

..someone tells me at IIMA that they learnt a lot more speaking with other students and interacting with them than from studying. I believe it is a way to justify what one is doing is correct. I feel that way since I used that excuse way lot in engineering.

I am reminded of Rene Descartes quote:

“It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.”

Usually those who make that statement never put in much efforts behind studies. So technically, yes, one did learn more by interacting with others than from studying since the time put for the latter was bare minimum and hence the chance to learn was also very less! Now justfying that it was the "better" thing to do can be argued upon, but I cannot win that argument since "better" depends on how one wants to spend his or her time. But I do feel its not the best use of time at IIMA.

Technically one is using only one set of resources ("peers") and believe he or she is making the best use of it. Whereas I believe this place has atleast equally, if not more, to gain from the other set of resources ("profs/books/learning atmosphere" and what not).

One who makes the best use of both the resources has ideally taken out the maximum out of this place. The one who has only studied or the one who has only spent time chit chatting has missed a good opportunity and more importantly, taken away an opportunity (a seat) for someone else who could have made a better use of this opportunity.