Welcome to part 2 of my mini-series on ‘Helping your Friend?’. First, a quick commercial break.
Just to let you know, ‘Helping your Friend?’ is now a major digital book, which can be bought from your convenient e-book store for a mere price of $69.90. So what are you waiting for? Great value, very worth it, get your copy quickly!
Now that the little advertisement is over, I would like to continue with the post. This second part will be talking about telling on your friend. As promised, this is the second ‘suggested’ topic from a post awhile back on friendship. And once more, it’s going to be a little controversial, though not as touchy as the post before this.
So, what’s this post going to be about? The answer is *drumrolls*
Telling on your friend. Otherwise known as backstabbing.
No one likes to be backstabbed. Don’t tell me you know someone who enjoys being stabbed in the back on a regular basis. Maybe you do, but I don’t really care since this post isn’t about the people who love being backstabbed (those people aren’t even human; have they no emotion nor sense of self-pride?), it’s about normal people, people who hate that feeling of being ‘betrayed’, and of course, the perpetrators. Let’s get things running, shall we? I’d like to begin things with a short recount (don’t expect things to be so detailed; I’m not writing a composition!).
Once upon a time, Mark was playing soccer in his classroom. A few other friends were also playing soccer with him. Naturally, if you were to play soccer in class, you are bound to hit things, right? Not very surprising, that’s what happened to our poor old protagonist. Mark accidentally kicked the ball at the notice board at the back of the classroom.
Of course, something even worse had to happen. Poor old Mark, ever so unlucky; the ball rebounded off the notice board, ricocheted off the open back door, and bounced into the corridor outside the classroom. Right at that very moment, a teacher, Mr Stone, had to walk past. Picking up the ball, Mr Stone walked into the classroom. “Does this ball belong to any of you? I found it in the corridor.” (note: Mr Stone had not seen what had happened just now; he had no knowledge of the incident whatsoever), Mr Stone asked the people in class.
“Yes, yes it’s mine. Thank you Mr Stone!” Mark said, slightly nervous; if Mr Stone knew he had been playing soccer in class, he was so screwed. But, Mr Stone didn’t know. Smile on his face, he returned the ball to Mark. As soon as he did that, Mr Stone asked Mark, “Mark, may I know how your ball ended up in the corridor anyway?” Mark replied, “Oh Mr Stone, how unfortunate I was; I accidentally dropped my ball when I was about to leave the classroom and it rolled into the corridor.” However, before Mr Stone could say anything, Damian spoke up.
“Mr Stone, Mark’s lying! He was playing soccer in the classroom; I saw him with my very own eyes!” said Damian.
“Mark, is what Damian is saying true?” asked Mr Stone, voiced tinged with suspicion.
“Umm, I, errr, I—I –“ Mark stuttered, too afraid to say anything coherent. He knew the consequences of being caught for playing soccer in class, a punishable offence. But before Mark could finished his sentence, Damian interrupted, repeating his claim, “Mark was really playing; Joshua and Eugene were also playing with him!”
To cut the long story short, Mark, Joshua and Eugene ended up with a whole bunch of demerit points. All because of Damian who wouldn’t shut up.
This is a classic example of a backstabber. These kind of people have questionable motives; some want to sabotage their classmates, while others just can’t keep their mouth closed. Why these people are like that, I do not know. I do know, however, that this can be very irritating.
Beforehand, I must emphasise, schools do play a part to breed this kind of mentality. Sounds controversial, doesn’t it? But it is true, although only somewhat, that schools encourage people to have this kind of twisted mentality. It isn’t really the fault of the school; pressure is main culprit here. Unfortunately, schools are an immense source of pressure for many students; they feel a need for competing with their fellow classmates, which leads them to commit such acts, to give them an edge over their classmates, to gain the favour of their teachers, who will favour them more than their classmates guilty of offences. What’s more, schools encourage students to tell on their classmates who do wrong. This is not wrong, but people do have to draw the line somewhere. I would say a good line to draw would be more serious offences like spray-painting parts of the school illegally and the like.
However, sometimes, such as the above situation, telling on others is not smled upon, at least not by other classmates. You think you’re helping them, and the school only spreads ‘propaganda’ to the students to tell them that telling on someone who is doing something wrong is good (think of the numerous times which teachers have said that ignoring someone who is doing something wrong is not right), you think that by being ‘extra’, that they learn from their mistakes. The truth is, you are merely sabotaging yourself. Yes, you will be hurting other people, but ultimately, the person who will be hurt the most is the yourself, the person who told on your classmates. Where’s your sense of class spirit? True class spirit is what the school tells you is the courage to report your ‘friends’ doing wrong things, but in fact I would say that it is helping your classmates. You would never appreciate a classmate who got you into trouble, now would you? Damian could have just kept his mouth shut, which he didn’t. If he had not said anything to Mr Stone, nothing would have happened to Mark and his friends.
Here’s something I found. It’s by a disgruntled student who was backstabbed by his classmate. As I don’t ever want to be a backstabber, I am not going to reveal who wrote this. But here it is anyway; a prime example of what someone who has been backstabbed would feel.
I hate back-stabbers; if you aren't willing to help your classmates, shut up. If not, get the hell out of the class. I'm sure there are people who love you being a dog. No one wants you. No one. Maybe SOME of your 'friends' do. But no one gives a damn about them as well. At least they're better than you. They wouldn't tell on their classmates. You have absolutely no class sprit at all. If it were legal, you'd probably be in many pieces by now. Impaled, burnt, decapitated. You're just a lousy, unwanted, boot-licking suck-up. That's all you are and ever will be. Have fun with your life. If you even have one. Since you live in a cage in the staff room. Go on, lick that shoe. Lick it, dog. Polish it with your tongue. And hurry, I don't have all day.
Want to know what happens to those people who backstab others? Most of the time, they are hated. They couldn’t just keep quiet and not tell on their classmates, could they. They HAD to say something. Seriously, don’t you find that exceedingly annoying? I know I do. If you don’t have anything to say to protect your classmates, then don’t say anything at all at the very least. Just don’t be ‘extra’ and tell on your classmates, getting them into trouble. You certainly wouldn’t enjoy it if the same thing happened to you.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Helping your Friend? Part 1: Copying
Welcome to my interpretation of an extremely ‘controversial’ topic. Please do not report me for this post. If you want to read it, that’s your decision, but please note
Copying.
(Maybe I should make it clearer. Yes, that’s what I shall do.)
Copying homework.
(Hmm I think it needs to be more clearly defined. So here’s where the blog post shall really start. Yay.)
Copying does sound totally wrong, doesn’t it. Most people such as teachers will definitely say it is, no matter what it is. Copying that essay, copying that sought-after assignment answer, and taken to an extreme, copying during an examination. All of this is awfully wrong right? Take it from a *coughs* good, innocent, always hardworking boy like me, who mugs like crazy from the moment school ends, on the bus home, for the rest of the day and night even whilst having dinner, all the way until 6am where I eat my breakfast and go to school, still mugging on the journey there. I don’t even know the meaning of ‘slack’. Could a kind soul please inform me of the definition of this word? And, uhm, copying is obviously wrong to good boy such as me. Very wrong, indeed.
(note: the later part of the above paragraph may or may not be true [What?? I mean it’s obviously true!]; you decide for yourself [actually, there isn’t much need to think about it, it’s a fact that I’m a good boy :P])
Oh dear it seems that I have digressed once again. I do not like digressing? Do you like brownies?
Well it seems I have done so once again. So, back to the main point of this post. Are you really helping your friend by letting him copy your work? The answer goes both ways (I sense shock and anger at this point of time).
First, I shall acknowledge the traditional, age-old argument that copying is wrong. Duh, it’s quite wrong, taking the hard work of other people and substituting it for your own. And yes, you won’t learn anything from copying. So, according to this, if you keep copying your friend’s history homework, you will fail your history examination simply because you do not know anything (i.e. you haven’t learnt anything at all, except maybe, how to be an expert at copying history homework). Blah blah blah so on and so forth, copying is wrong! You don’t learn anything, and you are also exploiting other people by taking their hard work. You could get into huge trouble for copying what is not yours and pretending the work you have submitted is actually your own. Tsk tsk, please be like me and just do your own work ^^
However, hardworking as I may be, I still have to address the other side of copying. (At this point, I shall throw off that persona of mine [wait, it’s not even a persona, it’s an accurate depiction of me! Or is it?])That is, the ‘benefits’. Now now, copying really doesn’t seem to have any benefits. Or does it? Okay fine, the following doesn’t exactly translate into benefits, more of ‘nothing wrong’ with copying (please stop criticising me for my warped and unconventional thinking; for the sake of the blog, I do need debatable topics).
I will start of with an example. One Wednesday morning, in the classroom where students gather before lessons begin, student A has forgotten to do his Science Assignment. Which of the 3 Sciences, I’ll leave it up to you to decide (hey, it’s just an example). As student A thinks ‘OMG, OMG, OMG this assignment needs to be handed up by today!’, he starts to panic, and he gets more and more desperate. What to do, what oh what should he do? If he were to tell the teacher the truth, he would probably be sent outside the class, especially since his record with him isn’t exactly 100% great. Anyway, ‘forgetting’ isn’t a valid reason for anything, not in the context of a school. ‘Forgetting’ will get you thrown out of class, forced to stand at the back of the room, and even demerits.
Therefore, any logical person would only have a few options at this point. 1) Own up; not very logical and ‘smart’ but honest nonetheless (at least you won’t feel so guilty when you’re standing at the back of the classroom). 2) Think of another, more ‘acceptable’ excuse. This is harder than you think. But if you do manage to, it will be extremely useful (and lucky) of you. 3) Copy the required homework.
So, student A picks option 3, which is to copy homework. Normally, this is frowned upon and you will be in deep stuff if you (get caught for) do[ing] so. However, for the purpose of argument, I shall say that it isn’t all wrong. Why? Student A has to fulfil a few conditions for these copying to be ‘okay’. Student A must already know about the topic. As in, student A already has knowledge on how to do (most) of the questions in the assignment, given an adequate amount of time, which in this case, he does not have the luxury of. Also, the student he is copying from, student B, must be willing to allow student A to copy from him. Let’s just say that student A already knows about the topic, and knows it relatively well, and that student B is willing to let student A copy his work. Given this, what’s really wrong with student A copying the assignment? Sure, he won’t learn anything, but he already knows everything about it; he just lacks the time to answer the questions. Sure, he can’t copy during an exam, but he doesn’t need to; wouldn’t he have adequate time and enough knowledge about the subject to do well in the examination? And, more importantly, student B is LETTING him copy the work. Student A isn’t forcing student B to, is he. If you let someone copy your work, in the context of school, it would be viewed as wrong, but given the above reasons, there is nothing really wrong with it? And what about the value of teamwork they encourage in school? Isn’t this a prime example of showing it? Furthermore, won’t you feel better when someone wants to copy your homework; someone actually thinks your work is good, by copying it, he is demonstrating his wish to become like you, so shouldn’t this be a ‘morale booster’? It gives you that ‘feel-good’ experience, a feeling which so many people yearn for.
Alright, I have reached the end of my argument. Maybe I have some more to add on, but I’m too lazy to. Maybe I do, maybe I don’t (okay this is once again irrelevant). Anyway, if you look at copying from how I did in the later part of my post, there really doesn’t seem to be anything wrong, does it? But please don’t tell your teacher I told you that ‘copying is okay’ when you get caught. Because, it is still WRONG in the eyes of the school, in the eyes of the law. Yes, that is the unfortunate (and sad?) truth. Remember, I am merely writing this for the sake of the post, for the sake of argument.
Yet another (useless) moral of the story: You can copy, it might have adverse effects on you (but that’s not my problem anyway), just don’t get CAUGHT.
Copying.
(Maybe I should make it clearer. Yes, that’s what I shall do.)
Copying homework.
(Hmm I think it needs to be more clearly defined. So here’s where the blog post shall really start. Yay.)
Copying does sound totally wrong, doesn’t it. Most people such as teachers will definitely say it is, no matter what it is. Copying that essay, copying that sought-after assignment answer, and taken to an extreme, copying during an examination. All of this is awfully wrong right? Take it from a *coughs* good, innocent, always hardworking boy like me, who mugs like crazy from the moment school ends, on the bus home, for the rest of the day and night even whilst having dinner, all the way until 6am where I eat my breakfast and go to school, still mugging on the journey there. I don’t even know the meaning of ‘slack’. Could a kind soul please inform me of the definition of this word? And, uhm, copying is obviously wrong to good boy such as me. Very wrong, indeed.
(note: the later part of the above paragraph may or may not be true [What?? I mean it’s obviously true!]; you decide for yourself [actually, there isn’t much need to think about it, it’s a fact that I’m a good boy :P])
Oh dear it seems that I have digressed once again. I do not like digressing? Do you like brownies?
Well it seems I have done so once again. So, back to the main point of this post. Are you really helping your friend by letting him copy your work? The answer goes both ways (I sense shock and anger at this point of time).
First, I shall acknowledge the traditional, age-old argument that copying is wrong. Duh, it’s quite wrong, taking the hard work of other people and substituting it for your own. And yes, you won’t learn anything from copying. So, according to this, if you keep copying your friend’s history homework, you will fail your history examination simply because you do not know anything (i.e. you haven’t learnt anything at all, except maybe, how to be an expert at copying history homework). Blah blah blah so on and so forth, copying is wrong! You don’t learn anything, and you are also exploiting other people by taking their hard work. You could get into huge trouble for copying what is not yours and pretending the work you have submitted is actually your own. Tsk tsk, please be like me and just do your own work ^^
However, hardworking as I may be, I still have to address the other side of copying. (At this point, I shall throw off that persona of mine [wait, it’s not even a persona, it’s an accurate depiction of me! Or is it?])That is, the ‘benefits’. Now now, copying really doesn’t seem to have any benefits. Or does it? Okay fine, the following doesn’t exactly translate into benefits, more of ‘nothing wrong’ with copying (please stop criticising me for my warped and unconventional thinking; for the sake of the blog, I do need debatable topics).
I will start of with an example. One Wednesday morning, in the classroom where students gather before lessons begin, student A has forgotten to do his Science Assignment. Which of the 3 Sciences, I’ll leave it up to you to decide (hey, it’s just an example). As student A thinks ‘OMG, OMG, OMG this assignment needs to be handed up by today!’, he starts to panic, and he gets more and more desperate. What to do, what oh what should he do? If he were to tell the teacher the truth, he would probably be sent outside the class, especially since his record with him isn’t exactly 100% great. Anyway, ‘forgetting’ isn’t a valid reason for anything, not in the context of a school. ‘Forgetting’ will get you thrown out of class, forced to stand at the back of the room, and even demerits.
Therefore, any logical person would only have a few options at this point. 1) Own up; not very logical and ‘smart’ but honest nonetheless (at least you won’t feel so guilty when you’re standing at the back of the classroom). 2) Think of another, more ‘acceptable’ excuse. This is harder than you think. But if you do manage to, it will be extremely useful (and lucky) of you. 3) Copy the required homework.
So, student A picks option 3, which is to copy homework. Normally, this is frowned upon and you will be in deep stuff if you (get caught for) do[ing] so. However, for the purpose of argument, I shall say that it isn’t all wrong. Why? Student A has to fulfil a few conditions for these copying to be ‘okay’. Student A must already know about the topic. As in, student A already has knowledge on how to do (most) of the questions in the assignment, given an adequate amount of time, which in this case, he does not have the luxury of. Also, the student he is copying from, student B, must be willing to allow student A to copy from him. Let’s just say that student A already knows about the topic, and knows it relatively well, and that student B is willing to let student A copy his work. Given this, what’s really wrong with student A copying the assignment? Sure, he won’t learn anything, but he already knows everything about it; he just lacks the time to answer the questions. Sure, he can’t copy during an exam, but he doesn’t need to; wouldn’t he have adequate time and enough knowledge about the subject to do well in the examination? And, more importantly, student B is LETTING him copy the work. Student A isn’t forcing student B to, is he. If you let someone copy your work, in the context of school, it would be viewed as wrong, but given the above reasons, there is nothing really wrong with it? And what about the value of teamwork they encourage in school? Isn’t this a prime example of showing it? Furthermore, won’t you feel better when someone wants to copy your homework; someone actually thinks your work is good, by copying it, he is demonstrating his wish to become like you, so shouldn’t this be a ‘morale booster’? It gives you that ‘feel-good’ experience, a feeling which so many people yearn for.
Alright, I have reached the end of my argument. Maybe I have some more to add on, but I’m too lazy to. Maybe I do, maybe I don’t (okay this is once again irrelevant). Anyway, if you look at copying from how I did in the later part of my post, there really doesn’t seem to be anything wrong, does it? But please don’t tell your teacher I told you that ‘copying is okay’ when you get caught. Because, it is still WRONG in the eyes of the school, in the eyes of the law. Yes, that is the unfortunate (and sad?) truth. Remember, I am merely writing this for the sake of the post, for the sake of argument.
Yet another (useless) moral of the story: You can copy, it might have adverse effects on you (but that’s not my problem anyway), just don’t get CAUGHT.
Difference between a Great and Good Leader
Is a good leader a great leader? Yes! But is a great leader a good leader? Maybe not (This may sound really confusing, but all will be revealed soon in time). You might ask, “What is the difference between a good leader and a great leader?” The answer to that question, to put it simply, the difference is humility. The following is an example.
The boss of a company is a great leader. One day he decides he should thank people in the company. So what are the criteria? He opens up an employee record book and scans through the pages. Finally he reaches a decision. “I should praise those people who have been doing their job consistently!” he says to himself. He goes round the workplace thanking surprised workers but leaving others in the lurch. This isn’t very good. What would a good leader be doing? Read the next example to find out…
The boss of a company is a good leader. One day, he decides to thank people in his company. He takes out an employee record book and thinks of the criteria. “Those workers who have been doing their job consistently should get my thanks!” he says. Then what of the other workers who have not been doing a very good job? He thinks hard before reaching a solution. For those who have been working for the company for a long time, he thanks them for the time they have put into the company. For those who have no other reason for thanking, he thanks them for working for him and encourages them to work harder.
Of course the great leader might act like a good leader but that isn’t always the case. That is the difference between the two kinds of leaders. One was more humble than the other. This can make a big difference. If you are offered a job with more pay but a crappy boss, would you take it? I know I wouldn’t (although, if he’s paying lots and lots of ka-ching for very very simple work, the temptation to put up with someonefull of bull somewhat nasty is rather strong…).
The companies with good bosses are more likely to ride out a recession if all their workers are offered jobs in other companies with bad leaders. The workers of a company with a good leader feel more appreciated by their boss and thus would want to stay on. Who knows; the new company might fire them if their work is not ‘up to standard’.
([useless] moral of the story: Just do your work well and you won’t have to worry about your boss)
References (really long ones):
http://72.14.235.132/search?q=cache:I1nITx3QoeMJ:knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm%3Farticleid%3D377+good+leader+versus+great+leader&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=sg
http://72.14.235.132/search?q=cache:gMtiNIpzB7AJ:www.score-southmetro.org/cgi/sitemap.cgi%3Fhref%3Dworkhardtobeagoodleader.html+good+leader+versus+great+leader&cd=90&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=sg
The boss of a company is a great leader. One day he decides he should thank people in the company. So what are the criteria? He opens up an employee record book and scans through the pages. Finally he reaches a decision. “I should praise those people who have been doing their job consistently!” he says to himself. He goes round the workplace thanking surprised workers but leaving others in the lurch. This isn’t very good. What would a good leader be doing? Read the next example to find out…
The boss of a company is a good leader. One day, he decides to thank people in his company. He takes out an employee record book and thinks of the criteria. “Those workers who have been doing their job consistently should get my thanks!” he says. Then what of the other workers who have not been doing a very good job? He thinks hard before reaching a solution. For those who have been working for the company for a long time, he thanks them for the time they have put into the company. For those who have no other reason for thanking, he thanks them for working for him and encourages them to work harder.
Of course the great leader might act like a good leader but that isn’t always the case. That is the difference between the two kinds of leaders. One was more humble than the other. This can make a big difference. If you are offered a job with more pay but a crappy boss, would you take it? I know I wouldn’t (although, if he’s paying lots and lots of ka-ching for very very simple work, the temptation to put up with someone
The companies with good bosses are more likely to ride out a recession if all their workers are offered jobs in other companies with bad leaders. The workers of a company with a good leader feel more appreciated by their boss and thus would want to stay on. Who knows; the new company might fire them if their work is not ‘up to standard’.
([useless] moral of the story: Just do your work well and you won’t have to worry about your boss)
References (really long ones):
http://72.14.235.132/search?q=cache:I1nITx3QoeMJ:knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm%3Farticleid%3D377+good+leader+versus+great+leader&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=sg
http://72.14.235.132/search?q=cache:gMtiNIpzB7AJ:www.score-southmetro.org/cgi/sitemap.cgi%3Fhref%3Dworkhardtobeagoodleader.html+good+leader+versus+great+leader&cd=90&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=sg
Everyone needs Friends
I am bored.
This takes away my boredom.
Therefore I am doing this.
(Unrelated logical reasoning)
Friendship takes on many different forms, from helping your friend up when he falls or letting him copy you homework without telling your teacher (no no no don’t go running away at this point, even though you may be quite guilty of this *evil grin*). Although the latter doesn’t sound like helping because most teachers would say that you ‘aren’t helping your friend because he wouldn’t be able to copy from you in an exam etc etc (you know the drill)’, it is in fact helping your friend in a somewhat more *holds breath* unconventional way. But that’s something for another post, so I shall not talk too much about that here.
Anyway, friendship is normally a special bond shared by people who have similar interests (I’m not talking about your average fan club). A real friend wants to see you improve and grow in life (and occasionally [or sometimes even MORE than occasionally] the need to borrow your money [without returning *wink*]). Unlike a real friend, a ‘fake’ friend will only stay with you as long as you are of some use to him. Such as the portion in the previous sentence in brackets.
A real friend will stick with you no matter what happens. When you break a window in school because you kick a football way too hard, he won’t run away with the rest of your team when they see that bad-tempered teacher running towards you with a snarl on his face. He will stay with you and help you ‘deceive’ the teacher to make him think it was your teammates who broke the window so that you will get the least amount of scolding possible.
A real friend will not get jealous when you get good grades (Okay fine. But just a little.). Neither will he tease you when you fail that mathematics test (Alright, alright I admit it, I might say ‘Deserve it!’, but it’s only natural for that to happen…). A real friend will never put on an angry face and stomp off in a huff when he notices you have thirty more marks than him. Only a ‘fake’ friend would do that kind of thing. A little competition is good but you must remember not to take things overboard. If your friend wants to borrow your notes because he missed class, you should lend him your notes if he is your friend. Don’t try to sabotage him and tell him that there were no notes as this can only bring things downhill. Imagine if he really thought that there were no notes so he couldn’t study properly for the test. That would be really nasty of you. That friend trusted you so much as to believe that there were no notes; he thought of you as a great friend, only to have you stab him in the back. (Well well it seems we have another topic for another post :D)
Lastly, a real friend will help you up when you fall down. He won’t be so bad as to leave you on the floor with passers-by staring awkwardly at you (although that’s pretty funny). He will help you to your feet and support you to wherever your original destination was. A ‘fake’ friend, however, will most likely just ask you to get up by yourself and get to where you were headed by yourself even though you have a nasty gash and blood trickling down the side of your leg onto the pavement.
Then again, some people are really good at masking their true intentions. They can act all caring and friendly when you’re with them, but as soon as you are facing tough times (or get whatever it is they befriended you for in the first place), they will ditch you. Yes they will. That’s how cruel some people are. But that’s just how it is. It’s hard, it’s impossible, but you have to learn to be unlike Antonio, do not ‘hold the world but as the world’. Doing so will get you nowhere (the only thing it will get you is deceived, lied to, which isn’t the nicest feeling).
We should treasure our friends and stay loyal to them if they are indeed real friends. If they tell you secrets, you shouldn’t go around telling the whole world. Keep those secrets to yourself. And, stop listening to One Republic whose lead singer repeatedly emphasised about giving ‘all my secrets (his) away’. If a friend told you those secrets, he meant for you to keep them secret. Otherwise they wouldn’t be called ‘secrets’, would they. If the person trusts you enough to tell you that, you can be sure he thinks of you as a friend. Don’t ruin your friendship over secrets.
However, as with the main point of the paragraph somewhat above, you can never be too sure. The secrets you have been told might have been for the sole purpose of deceiving you into doing something. I don’t know what, but something bad. Probably something that will have dire consequences on yourself. Anyway, don’t take this too seriously; it’ll only give you a headache when you think about all the possible outcomes when you are told a secret.
Everyone needs friends. Even the richest of people would still be lonely even though they had all that money because they had no friends. All the money in the world couldn’t buy you a friend, someone whom you can talk to; someone who is willing to listen without expecting anything. We need someone to share our experiences and feelings with. No one can live with everything bottled up inside of them. You’d probably explode. Or have a mental breakdown. Or end up in a mental ward as a casualty of your own doing.
Holding long conversations with the dead.
This takes away my boredom.
Therefore I am doing this.
(Unrelated logical reasoning)
Friendship takes on many different forms, from helping your friend up when he falls or letting him copy you homework without telling your teacher (no no no don’t go running away at this point, even though you may be quite guilty of this *evil grin*). Although the latter doesn’t sound like helping because most teachers would say that you ‘aren’t helping your friend because he wouldn’t be able to copy from you in an exam etc etc (you know the drill)’, it is in fact helping your friend in a somewhat more *holds breath* unconventional way. But that’s something for another post, so I shall not talk too much about that here.
Anyway, friendship is normally a special bond shared by people who have similar interests (I’m not talking about your average fan club). A real friend wants to see you improve and grow in life (and occasionally [or sometimes even MORE than occasionally] the need to borrow your money [without returning *wink*]). Unlike a real friend, a ‘fake’ friend will only stay with you as long as you are of some use to him. Such as the portion in the previous sentence in brackets.
A real friend will stick with you no matter what happens. When you break a window in school because you kick a football way too hard, he won’t run away with the rest of your team when they see that bad-tempered teacher running towards you with a snarl on his face. He will stay with you and help you ‘deceive’ the teacher to make him think it was your teammates who broke the window so that you will get the least amount of scolding possible.
A real friend will not get jealous when you get good grades (Okay fine. But just a little.). Neither will he tease you when you fail that mathematics test (Alright, alright I admit it, I might say ‘Deserve it!’, but it’s only natural for that to happen…). A real friend will never put on an angry face and stomp off in a huff when he notices you have thirty more marks than him. Only a ‘fake’ friend would do that kind of thing. A little competition is good but you must remember not to take things overboard. If your friend wants to borrow your notes because he missed class, you should lend him your notes if he is your friend. Don’t try to sabotage him and tell him that there were no notes as this can only bring things downhill. Imagine if he really thought that there were no notes so he couldn’t study properly for the test. That would be really nasty of you. That friend trusted you so much as to believe that there were no notes; he thought of you as a great friend, only to have you stab him in the back. (Well well it seems we have another topic for another post :D)
Lastly, a real friend will help you up when you fall down. He won’t be so bad as to leave you on the floor with passers-by staring awkwardly at you (although that’s pretty funny). He will help you to your feet and support you to wherever your original destination was. A ‘fake’ friend, however, will most likely just ask you to get up by yourself and get to where you were headed by yourself even though you have a nasty gash and blood trickling down the side of your leg onto the pavement.
Then again, some people are really good at masking their true intentions. They can act all caring and friendly when you’re with them, but as soon as you are facing tough times (or get whatever it is they befriended you for in the first place), they will ditch you. Yes they will. That’s how cruel some people are. But that’s just how it is. It’s hard, it’s impossible, but you have to learn to be unlike Antonio, do not ‘hold the world but as the world’. Doing so will get you nowhere (the only thing it will get you is deceived, lied to, which isn’t the nicest feeling).
We should treasure our friends and stay loyal to them if they are indeed real friends. If they tell you secrets, you shouldn’t go around telling the whole world. Keep those secrets to yourself. And, stop listening to One Republic whose lead singer repeatedly emphasised about giving ‘all my secrets (his) away’. If a friend told you those secrets, he meant for you to keep them secret. Otherwise they wouldn’t be called ‘secrets’, would they. If the person trusts you enough to tell you that, you can be sure he thinks of you as a friend. Don’t ruin your friendship over secrets.
However, as with the main point of the paragraph somewhat above, you can never be too sure. The secrets you have been told might have been for the sole purpose of deceiving you into doing something. I don’t know what, but something bad. Probably something that will have dire consequences on yourself. Anyway, don’t take this too seriously; it’ll only give you a headache when you think about all the possible outcomes when you are told a secret.
Everyone needs friends. Even the richest of people would still be lonely even though they had all that money because they had no friends. All the money in the world couldn’t buy you a friend, someone whom you can talk to; someone who is willing to listen without expecting anything. We need someone to share our experiences and feelings with. No one can live with everything bottled up inside of them. You’d probably explode. Or have a mental breakdown. Or end up in a mental ward as a casualty of your own doing.
Holding long conversations with the dead.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
What Makes a Superhero?
Hmm… It’s been a long time since I last posted anything…. But I’m back now!
Alright, straight to the point. What makes a superhero? This is a question which garners much excitement no doubt, especially among fans of popular comic icons. Ask a fanatical idolizer of Wolverine from the X-Men, and that person would probably tell you all about Wolverine’s healing powers and almost indestructible skeleton, only vulnerable to the very metal of cosmic origin it was made out of. Ask a Spiderman fan and it would be very likely he would proclaim the wondrous spider-like abilities of the red-and-blue suited, web-slinging, Peter Parker. Ask a Twilight wannabe and the probable female supporter of either the camp of Jacob the werewolf or Edward the vampire would tell you all about their ‘superhero’. All of these superheroes share common attributes, they all have ‘awesome’ powers (and are handsome?), have secret identities (except, well, Edward and Jacob, but then again they do not really count). But many people fail to see that superheroes aren’t just all about their powers, it is what they do that makes them what they are. Which brings me to the most important similarity; all these superheroes do good.
Firstly, most superheroes have superhuman powers. Yes, most, not all. Not all superheroes need to have powers. It is what they do that matters more. Yes, Spiderman uses his spider-like abilities to save the people of the New York in his story. Yes, Wolverine makes good use of his powers to save people. Yes, even Jacob and Edward use their powers to save Bella. From what? I am not sure. Maybe from themselves, maybe from each other, maybe from other nefarious villains but that’s beside the point. The main point is, it doesn’t really matter if superheroes have superpowers, it is what they do that matters more. Fine, I do admit that powers do come in useful, but look at Batman. He saves Gotham city, and he doesn’t even possess a single ‘superpower’ (although, I must also admit he possesses the power of extraordinary courage, however that doesn’t exactly classify as a power in traditional context). Therefore, it is not really necessary for superheroes to have ‘superpowers’.
Secondly, most ‘superheroes’ wear costumes. Hiding identities is extremely important for superheroes, given the consequences they face when their identity is exposed. Villains would know how to get to these heroes, get what they want from them at ease, and the whatnot. However, it isn’t compulsory for all these superheroes to mask their identity in order to do the good they are expected to do. Sure it does make them look pretty darn cool most of the time, but it certainly isn’t a must, especially not in the context of the real world. Take a look at Al Gore for example, he does good; he strives to save the Earth from global warming. Yet, you do not seeing him run around in a latex suit with his underpants on the outside. Once again, it is what a superhero does that makes him a superhero, not the costume the superhero wears (Edward doesn’t wear much of a costume does he? And Jacob can’t even keep his shirt on). Thus, it isn’t a requirement for all superheroes to wear those sometimes very silly-looking costumes of theirs. What matters more, I reinforce again, is what they are actually doing.
Well, it seems my argument has brought me to my last point and probably the most important of the lot. Even though it can be seen from the justification portion of the above paragraphs, I would still like to summarize it here. The most important power any superhero has to have is a (really, really) strong heart for the good he is trying to achieve. Though this doesn’t really classify as a superpower, it is something that draws the line between ‘superheroes’ and ordinary folk. Superheroes need not wear masks. Superheroes need not be able to fly. Superheroes need not be strong. The only strength they need is inner strength. The will and desire to do good, along with the courage to do so. Superheroes always face many challenges, challenges which seem almost impossible to overcome. Faced with such a mountain of a task, they still do not give up; they persevere, and most of the time, manage to reach what they are aiming for. All they need is the courage to target what is good, the greater good, and to, of course, try their best to achieve it. After all, a superhero wouldn’t be called one if they didn’t do good.
And yes, that does mean Edward and Jacob are superheroes.
Alright, straight to the point. What makes a superhero? This is a question which garners much excitement no doubt, especially among fans of popular comic icons. Ask a fanatical idolizer of Wolverine from the X-Men, and that person would probably tell you all about Wolverine’s healing powers and almost indestructible skeleton, only vulnerable to the very metal of cosmic origin it was made out of. Ask a Spiderman fan and it would be very likely he would proclaim the wondrous spider-like abilities of the red-and-blue suited, web-slinging, Peter Parker. Ask a Twilight wannabe and the probable female supporter of either the camp of Jacob the werewolf or Edward the vampire would tell you all about their ‘superhero’. All of these superheroes share common attributes, they all have ‘awesome’ powers (and are handsome?), have secret identities (except, well, Edward and Jacob, but then again they do not really count). But many people fail to see that superheroes aren’t just all about their powers, it is what they do that makes them what they are. Which brings me to the most important similarity; all these superheroes do good.
Firstly, most superheroes have superhuman powers. Yes, most, not all. Not all superheroes need to have powers. It is what they do that matters more. Yes, Spiderman uses his spider-like abilities to save the people of the New York in his story. Yes, Wolverine makes good use of his powers to save people. Yes, even Jacob and Edward use their powers to save Bella. From what? I am not sure. Maybe from themselves, maybe from each other, maybe from other nefarious villains but that’s beside the point. The main point is, it doesn’t really matter if superheroes have superpowers, it is what they do that matters more. Fine, I do admit that powers do come in useful, but look at Batman. He saves Gotham city, and he doesn’t even possess a single ‘superpower’ (although, I must also admit he possesses the power of extraordinary courage, however that doesn’t exactly classify as a power in traditional context). Therefore, it is not really necessary for superheroes to have ‘superpowers’.
Secondly, most ‘superheroes’ wear costumes. Hiding identities is extremely important for superheroes, given the consequences they face when their identity is exposed. Villains would know how to get to these heroes, get what they want from them at ease, and the whatnot. However, it isn’t compulsory for all these superheroes to mask their identity in order to do the good they are expected to do. Sure it does make them look pretty darn cool most of the time, but it certainly isn’t a must, especially not in the context of the real world. Take a look at Al Gore for example, he does good; he strives to save the Earth from global warming. Yet, you do not seeing him run around in a latex suit with his underpants on the outside. Once again, it is what a superhero does that makes him a superhero, not the costume the superhero wears (Edward doesn’t wear much of a costume does he? And Jacob can’t even keep his shirt on). Thus, it isn’t a requirement for all superheroes to wear those sometimes very silly-looking costumes of theirs. What matters more, I reinforce again, is what they are actually doing.
Well, it seems my argument has brought me to my last point and probably the most important of the lot. Even though it can be seen from the justification portion of the above paragraphs, I would still like to summarize it here. The most important power any superhero has to have is a (really, really) strong heart for the good he is trying to achieve. Though this doesn’t really classify as a superpower, it is something that draws the line between ‘superheroes’ and ordinary folk. Superheroes need not wear masks. Superheroes need not be able to fly. Superheroes need not be strong. The only strength they need is inner strength. The will and desire to do good, along with the courage to do so. Superheroes always face many challenges, challenges which seem almost impossible to overcome. Faced with such a mountain of a task, they still do not give up; they persevere, and most of the time, manage to reach what they are aiming for. All they need is the courage to target what is good, the greater good, and to, of course, try their best to achieve it. After all, a superhero wouldn’t be called one if they didn’t do good.
And yes, that does mean Edward and Jacob are superheroes.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
E-Learning 2 (25 - 26 May 2010) Task 2
Poem of choice:
Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Point of View:
This poem could have been written in the point of view of an observer of the America’s use of herbicides in the Vietnam War. This is quite clear as the protagonist in the poem knows a substantial amount of information about ‘agent orange’ which is the herbicide mainly used in the Vietnam War. This can be inferred from the persona’s knowledge that ‘agent orange’ had ‘execrable effects’. The fact that the persona says that ‘America did not foresee’ and that ‘agent orange’ caused ‘toll on the innocent and unborn’ which resulted in ‘illness, birth defects and premature’ death. This emphasizes that the Vietnam War was close to the persona and he/she probably had first-hand experience of it.
Situation and Setting:
The situation and setting in the poem is after ‘agent orange’ is used in the Vietnam War. This is evident as the persona speaks like the incident has already passed. This is also illuminated by the fact that the persona says things like ‘America did not foresee’ and ‘disregarding those who mourn’. These pieces of evidence all point to the fact that the observer is simply reflecting on the already-passed incident. It is also empahsized that the incident has already passed when the persona talks about ‘all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead’. After ‘agent orange’ has been used, the effects are extremely harsh and detrimental to the wellbeing of the Vietnamese people affected by it. Thus, it can be concluded that the persona is observing the after-effects of the use of ‘agent orange’ in the Vietnamese War.
Language/Diction:
The persona speaks about war in a very grim tone and tries to bring across the harsh consequences of war. This is very clear when the persona uses the word ‘potpourri’. Potpourri has multiple meanings, the first being ‘a collection of mixed dried flower petals’, the other being ‘a collection of miscellaneous and unrelated items’. The first meaning of the word could be an oxymoron when put together with the word ‘death’ as potpourri is something pleasant while death is not so ‘nice’. Thus, it could have been emphasizing that death is unpleasant, especially in war. The second meaning of the word can be interpreted to mean that there were many deaths in the war; deaths of soldiers, deaths of innocents, basically deaths of a lot of people. The title itself is also quite an oxymoron. The words ‘rainbow death’ are a very queer combination as rainbows are normally beautiful and are signs of hope while death is dismal and dark. The title is also a pun as the ‘rainbow’ in it refers to the different coloured herbicides used in the Vietnam War. All of this emphasizes that death is not pleasant.
Personal Response:
The main idea behind this poem is to convey the message that wars aren’t over when the battles are over. When the Vietnam War ended, the battles may have ceased, but the people were still greatly affected by the effects of the war. There were shortages of food, shelter and a lack of proper hygiene. Many children were left orphans by the destruction the war had caused and the many lives it had taken away. Thousands of people were also affected by the herbicide used in the war (like in this poem which talks about the horrible effects of ‘agent orange’). The poet effectively conveys the message about how horrifying war is and that we should not support it for the good of all. Disputes can always be settled through peaceful means; there is no need to go to war just to solve something. In conclusion, this poem is a powerful reminder to society that war is not the glorious event as portrayed by the government; rather it is a gruesome slug-out between countries and people and many lives are lost in the process.
Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Point of View:
This poem could have been written in the point of view of an observer of the America’s use of herbicides in the Vietnam War. This is quite clear as the protagonist in the poem knows a substantial amount of information about ‘agent orange’ which is the herbicide mainly used in the Vietnam War. This can be inferred from the persona’s knowledge that ‘agent orange’ had ‘execrable effects’. The fact that the persona says that ‘America did not foresee’ and that ‘agent orange’ caused ‘toll on the innocent and unborn’ which resulted in ‘illness, birth defects and premature’ death. This emphasizes that the Vietnam War was close to the persona and he/she probably had first-hand experience of it.
Situation and Setting:
The situation and setting in the poem is after ‘agent orange’ is used in the Vietnam War. This is evident as the persona speaks like the incident has already passed. This is also illuminated by the fact that the persona says things like ‘America did not foresee’ and ‘disregarding those who mourn’. These pieces of evidence all point to the fact that the observer is simply reflecting on the already-passed incident. It is also empahsized that the incident has already passed when the persona talks about ‘all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead’. After ‘agent orange’ has been used, the effects are extremely harsh and detrimental to the wellbeing of the Vietnamese people affected by it. Thus, it can be concluded that the persona is observing the after-effects of the use of ‘agent orange’ in the Vietnamese War.
Language/Diction:
The persona speaks about war in a very grim tone and tries to bring across the harsh consequences of war. This is very clear when the persona uses the word ‘potpourri’. Potpourri has multiple meanings, the first being ‘a collection of mixed dried flower petals’, the other being ‘a collection of miscellaneous and unrelated items’. The first meaning of the word could be an oxymoron when put together with the word ‘death’ as potpourri is something pleasant while death is not so ‘nice’. Thus, it could have been emphasizing that death is unpleasant, especially in war. The second meaning of the word can be interpreted to mean that there were many deaths in the war; deaths of soldiers, deaths of innocents, basically deaths of a lot of people. The title itself is also quite an oxymoron. The words ‘rainbow death’ are a very queer combination as rainbows are normally beautiful and are signs of hope while death is dismal and dark. The title is also a pun as the ‘rainbow’ in it refers to the different coloured herbicides used in the Vietnam War. All of this emphasizes that death is not pleasant.
Personal Response:
The main idea behind this poem is to convey the message that wars aren’t over when the battles are over. When the Vietnam War ended, the battles may have ceased, but the people were still greatly affected by the effects of the war. There were shortages of food, shelter and a lack of proper hygiene. Many children were left orphans by the destruction the war had caused and the many lives it had taken away. Thousands of people were also affected by the herbicide used in the war (like in this poem which talks about the horrible effects of ‘agent orange’). The poet effectively conveys the message about how horrifying war is and that we should not support it for the good of all. Disputes can always be settled through peaceful means; there is no need to go to war just to solve something. In conclusion, this poem is a powerful reminder to society that war is not the glorious event as portrayed by the government; rather it is a gruesome slug-out between countries and people and many lives are lost in the process.
E-Learning 2 (25 - 26 May 2010) Task 1
Poem of choice:
Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Hubert Wilson was a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. Along with about a dozen intelligence school grads, Hubert was trained for around 14 months at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, before being assigned to several locations in 1970. About half of the intelligence school grads ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The others were assigned to Shemya Island in Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron. Shemya Island turned out to be even more contaminated than Da Nang and this had consequences on Hubert’s life.
Approximately 15 years ago, Hubert started experiencing unexplained headaches and pains in his limbs. Four years ago, Hubert’s medical condition deteriorated and he started experiencing Parkinson-like symptoms such as shakiness when moving, horrific headaches and limb pains. No physician could diagnose his illness. Hubert’s educated guess was that the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during my year there as an intelligence analyst had caused all of these problems. Organo-phosphate toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure.
Although Hubert has mobility issues, his brain still functions (almost) as per normal. He decided to turn to writing just like his deceased father and the late singer /writer Johnny Cash.
Hubert’s short poem talks about a dangerous ingredient of warfare (chemical warfare that is) which was ‘agent orange’. This ‘agent orange’ is basically the codename for a herbicide developed by the United States which was used in the war against Vietnam. ‘Agent Orange’ was among a few other kinds of herbicides in the ‘Rainbow Herbicide’ herbicide program the United States had employed in the Vietnam War. (For your information, herbicides are sprayed on crops to, well, get rid of some kinds of weeds and encourage the growth of some kinds of plants)
Anyway, according to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to ‘agent orange’ during the Vietnam War. This resulted in more than 400 000 deaths and disabilities among the people, and also about 500 000 children born with birth defects (what a scary thought!).
From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was clearly the most commonly used of the ‘Rainbow Herbicides’ used by the United States in their herbicidal warfare program against Vietnam. Agent Orange was only one of the toxins produced by the United States during the program (there were also several others, like the colours of the rainbow!). These herbicides were extremely harmful and those exposed to large amounts of them developed several illnesses and disabilities over time.
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Hubert Wilson was a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. Along with about a dozen intelligence school grads, Hubert was trained for around 14 months at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, before being assigned to several locations in 1970. About half of the intelligence school grads ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The others were assigned to Shemya Island in Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron. Shemya Island turned out to be even more contaminated than Da Nang and this had consequences on Hubert’s life.
Approximately 15 years ago, Hubert started experiencing unexplained headaches and pains in his limbs. Four years ago, Hubert’s medical condition deteriorated and he started experiencing Parkinson-like symptoms such as shakiness when moving, horrific headaches and limb pains. No physician could diagnose his illness. Hubert’s educated guess was that the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during my year there as an intelligence analyst had caused all of these problems. Organo-phosphate toxins may not run their toxic course until 20 to 30 years after initial exposure.
Although Hubert has mobility issues, his brain still functions (almost) as per normal. He decided to turn to writing just like his deceased father and the late singer /writer Johnny Cash.
Hubert’s short poem talks about a dangerous ingredient of warfare (chemical warfare that is) which was ‘agent orange’. This ‘agent orange’ is basically the codename for a herbicide developed by the United States which was used in the war against Vietnam. ‘Agent Orange’ was among a few other kinds of herbicides in the ‘Rainbow Herbicide’ herbicide program the United States had employed in the Vietnam War. (For your information, herbicides are sprayed on crops to, well, get rid of some kinds of weeds and encourage the growth of some kinds of plants)
Anyway, according to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to ‘agent orange’ during the Vietnam War. This resulted in more than 400 000 deaths and disabilities among the people, and also about 500 000 children born with birth defects (what a scary thought!).
From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was clearly the most commonly used of the ‘Rainbow Herbicides’ used by the United States in their herbicidal warfare program against Vietnam. Agent Orange was only one of the toxins produced by the United States during the program (there were also several others, like the colours of the rainbow!). These herbicides were extremely harmful and those exposed to large amounts of them developed several illnesses and disabilities over time.
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
Monday, May 10, 2010
Of Fallacies And Failures
Hello guys (and girls, and aliens, and the non-applicable [Okay you know what, just forget this fallacious sentence]). Well, it has been a rather long time since I last posted because I don’t need any English ace this term. But the ace can be carried forward to next term where English ace is compulsory so I might as well just do this while watching live commentary of the Chelsea versus Manchester United match (go Chelsea!). As you might be able to foreshadow from the title and the previous sentence, this post will be about the ace system and the fallacies that follow (sorry for the excessive use of the word; my classmate has proven to be extremely influential). And no it won’t be about soccer.
Alright, time to get down to business. First, let’s have a little briefing about this ‘ace’ system. I have no idea if it’s supposed to be an acronym or whatever but it was implemented with good intentions. Good intentions. Not good consequences. As we all know (most of us, except probably those watching the match now [awesome it’s 2 – 0 now!] [I think that might be a fallacious statement]), intentions have little effect on what happens in the end. For example, I shall use the classic situation of a test. Let’s pretend you want to get a nice grade for that o-so-challenging math test. So what do you do? No, you don’t say that was a rhetorical question, you attempt to get good marks by mugging (not stealing). So you see, there’s the intention there. However, how I wished getting good grades were that simple. No, see, you still have to take the test! And what do you get for that test? Wow, a whopping 14 marks out of a possible 40+3 (5 for some random bonus question because your teacher is feeling kind). This happens ever-so-often, and the poor soul who tried hard for that 30 ends up with a horrendous mark that should have been given to some other person undeserving of that A1.
You might scream, “I thoroughly don’t deserve it!” but does it make any difference? No; it looks like your intention and the outcome just didn’t match. Oh well. Luckily that test situation was hypothetical, unless the person whom I was actually talking about knows I am writing about him (sigh yet another fallacious statement).
Anyway, I had better steer back to what this post was originally about. Sorry, not soccer. Anyway, to really get this post back on track, let’s go back to the idea of ace. Ace (or was it ACE, or A.C.E. or whatever) was supposed to encourage students to be independent learners and the whatnot schools aim to impart in students. The politically correct (but fallacious) answer is that, yes; most students do bother to try for that ace. Gosh I feel really thirsty now. I shall get a drink.
*2 minutes later* (Do pardon the overtly random behavior.)
Oh that was nice and refreshing. So as I was saying, the ‘politically correct’ answer would be yes, it has worked to some extent. What I think, on the other hand, is that this system has largely failed. Yeah you read right. Spectacularly failed. At this point, if you were a teacher, you would probably stop reading this blog post and get all angry and upset and remain biased towards me for the rest of my life. Well I hope you’re not for my own sake. Let me explain the (potentially fallacious) reasons behind my idea.
You see, after all this time, ace has turned into some sort of horrible thing for students. Seriously, who would want to do extra work for no benefits at all? You might say the benefit of increased knowledge but I extol; hardly any students unless they have too much free time on their hands does ace for nothing. The main motivation students had behind doing ace was that if they did ace, they would get better marks at the end of the year, not because of ‘increased knowledge’. The school might have tried to solve this problem by implementing a new system this year. Ace would no longer affect the end-of-year score of students; rather it would affect something known as their ‘scholastic score’. This was supposed to emphasize that ace was supposed to be to ‘deepen the knowledge’ of students, or self-learning. However, this will not work. In fact, this new system has only worsened the situation.
Students do not even have the correct mentality when it comes to ace, and I myself can say that I am no exception from the norm. We do it not to ‘widen our sea of knowledge’, but to get a better grade. By changing to this new system, students will develop their strong dislike of ace even more as ace no longer affects the end-of-year Mean Subject Grade (or MSG, another disliked acronym). Yet we still have to ace. Imagine doing something and reaping a pathetic reward. It’s like spending an hour at night doing this blog post and (probably) getting no ace for it because of the fallacious argument I am fighting for.
Also, students have to even opt for which subjects they are going to do ace for each term. This was supposed to help students plan out which subjects they were going to do ace for each term but this has also brilliantly failed. Sure, you might say that the school just wants students to ensure they get the maximum ace at the end of the year. However, by doing so, the freedom of choice of students is greatly restricted. Each term, you have to do ace for a subject, whether you have time for it or not. Unlike the previous system, which didn’t really care when you did your ace as long as you accumulated the required 10 ace per subject at the end of the year, this system forces you to do ace each term. Yes, this might be to reduce the amount of stress students feel at the end of the year when they have to do ace, study for the exams and anything else. The truth is, students enjoy freedom. Not just students, rather everyone would like to feel free. Come on, who wouldn’t? This system reduces our freedom of choice, restricts it, and I know I know and you know that you know that I know that we don’t like feeling restricted!
Ooh, that was a rather long post filled withfellat fallacious arguments. Anyway, it’s time for me to end it all off. Anyone care to voice (or rather, type) their thoughts on this issue? I think many of you might take that as a rhetorical question but I can’t be bothered to type any longer.
On a side note: Cool it’s 7 to nothing at Stamford Bridge in favour of Chelsea and the title is Chelsea’s for the season! Chelsea completely reduces Wigan to a pile of demoralized players with dreams crushed by their empowering EIGHT goals to their ZERO. The hopes the redder half of Manchester had of winning the title have been effectively obliterated!
Alright, time to get down to business. First, let’s have a little briefing about this ‘ace’ system. I have no idea if it’s supposed to be an acronym or whatever but it was implemented with good intentions. Good intentions. Not good consequences. As we all know (most of us, except probably those watching the match now [awesome it’s 2 – 0 now!] [I think that might be a fallacious statement]), intentions have little effect on what happens in the end. For example, I shall use the classic situation of a test. Let’s pretend you want to get a nice grade for that o-so-challenging math test. So what do you do? No, you don’t say that was a rhetorical question, you attempt to get good marks by mugging (not stealing). So you see, there’s the intention there. However, how I wished getting good grades were that simple. No, see, you still have to take the test! And what do you get for that test? Wow, a whopping 14 marks out of a possible 40+3 (5 for some random bonus question because your teacher is feeling kind). This happens ever-so-often, and the poor soul who tried hard for that 30 ends up with a horrendous mark that should have been given to some other person undeserving of that A1.
You might scream, “I thoroughly don’t deserve it!” but does it make any difference? No; it looks like your intention and the outcome just didn’t match. Oh well. Luckily that test situation was hypothetical, unless the person whom I was actually talking about knows I am writing about him (sigh yet another fallacious statement).
Anyway, I had better steer back to what this post was originally about. Sorry, not soccer. Anyway, to really get this post back on track, let’s go back to the idea of ace. Ace (or was it ACE, or A.C.E. or whatever) was supposed to encourage students to be independent learners and the whatnot schools aim to impart in students. The politically correct (but fallacious) answer is that, yes; most students do bother to try for that ace. Gosh I feel really thirsty now. I shall get a drink.
*2 minutes later* (Do pardon the overtly random behavior.)
Oh that was nice and refreshing. So as I was saying, the ‘politically correct’ answer would be yes, it has worked to some extent. What I think, on the other hand, is that this system has largely failed. Yeah you read right. Spectacularly failed. At this point, if you were a teacher, you would probably stop reading this blog post and get all angry and upset and remain biased towards me for the rest of my life. Well I hope you’re not for my own sake. Let me explain the (potentially fallacious) reasons behind my idea.
You see, after all this time, ace has turned into some sort of horrible thing for students. Seriously, who would want to do extra work for no benefits at all? You might say the benefit of increased knowledge but I extol; hardly any students unless they have too much free time on their hands does ace for nothing. The main motivation students had behind doing ace was that if they did ace, they would get better marks at the end of the year, not because of ‘increased knowledge’. The school might have tried to solve this problem by implementing a new system this year. Ace would no longer affect the end-of-year score of students; rather it would affect something known as their ‘scholastic score’. This was supposed to emphasize that ace was supposed to be to ‘deepen the knowledge’ of students, or self-learning. However, this will not work. In fact, this new system has only worsened the situation.
Students do not even have the correct mentality when it comes to ace, and I myself can say that I am no exception from the norm. We do it not to ‘widen our sea of knowledge’, but to get a better grade. By changing to this new system, students will develop their strong dislike of ace even more as ace no longer affects the end-of-year Mean Subject Grade (or MSG, another disliked acronym). Yet we still have to ace. Imagine doing something and reaping a pathetic reward. It’s like spending an hour at night doing this blog post and (probably) getting no ace for it because of the fallacious argument I am fighting for.
Also, students have to even opt for which subjects they are going to do ace for each term. This was supposed to help students plan out which subjects they were going to do ace for each term but this has also brilliantly failed. Sure, you might say that the school just wants students to ensure they get the maximum ace at the end of the year. However, by doing so, the freedom of choice of students is greatly restricted. Each term, you have to do ace for a subject, whether you have time for it or not. Unlike the previous system, which didn’t really care when you did your ace as long as you accumulated the required 10 ace per subject at the end of the year, this system forces you to do ace each term. Yes, this might be to reduce the amount of stress students feel at the end of the year when they have to do ace, study for the exams and anything else. The truth is, students enjoy freedom. Not just students, rather everyone would like to feel free. Come on, who wouldn’t? This system reduces our freedom of choice, restricts it, and I know I know and you know that you know that I know that we don’t like feeling restricted!
Ooh, that was a rather long post filled with
On a side note: Cool it’s 7 to nothing at Stamford Bridge in favour of Chelsea and the title is Chelsea’s for the season! Chelsea completely reduces Wigan to a pile of demoralized players with dreams crushed by their empowering EIGHT goals to their ZERO. The hopes the redder half of Manchester had of winning the title have been effectively obliterated!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Don't Worry, Be Happy
Recently, test results for most of the subjects except language arts (yes I know this is a language arts blog!) have been released. Feelings towards these results have been mixed from what I’ve gathered from my classmates; some have exceeded their expectations while others… let’s just say they didn’t do too well. I shall not be elaborating further on my results as they are private (actually they aren’t since most classmates know each other’s results but that’s beside the point since everyone including random people from other schools or countries might stumble upon this blog).
Anyway, as I said a few sentences earlier, different classmates have had different feelings towards their test results, with some even breaking down to the point of crying. Yes, I know it feels really horrible when you feel you have put in a lot of effort into the test but end up with lousy results. Yes, I know it feels great when you know you haven’t put in any effort at all into preparing for a test but still get awesome results. Both situations have happened to me before so don’t think you are alone in your suffering and rejoicing.
(Warning: despite the name of the blog post, the next few paragraphs might be a little harsh so don’t read it if you don’t want to)
I won’t be covering much about the ‘rejoicing because you have good results despite not putting in any effort' part, but I will still be writing a few lines about it. To all those people who don’t deserve that A1: You had better watch out, don’t be too complacent or happy; if you don’t study and put in any effort at all for your next test, I really hope you fail it badly and I really hope you get such low marks, you sit in a corner and sob until you can’t sob anymore, I really do hope you suffer. As a famous song by Maroon 5 goes, ‘every night you cry yourself to sleep, thinking why does this happen to me’, I wish you lot a very happy time crying yourself asleep many a night, except you already know the cause. Have you guys even thought about how someone feels because he has gotten bad results despite working so hard? You might come up with some lame excuse like, “I’m naturally talented” and all that rubbish but please just spare a thought for those of us who haven’t done as well despite working hard. It’s really unfair to those people who have seriously tried their best.
I know there are people try to tell you that it’s okay if you have tried your best but it is never, I repeat, never ever okay. Time to wake up. Time to get a life. In the real world, no one cares about how much effort you put in, how many hours of sleep you have sacrificed; all any normal, practical person would care about are the results. It doesn’t matter what kind of results they are, be it results for a test or results for a project; the method of thinking is always the same, the selfish mentality is always there. Yes, there are people who encourage you to try your best and comfort you when you don’t do well in something, especially something of great importance. However, sometimes your best just isn’t good enough. Some people are just not born to do something. No matter how much you try, if you are just not good at something, no amount of practice and help will save you from the horrible fate that is reality.
I say it again; all anyone cares about are the results. Think about it, what happens when your class gets their test results back? Does anyone ask you how much effort you have put into the test? No. Hardly anyone does. What is the first question they ask then? ‘Hey, how much did you get?’ is commonly the first sentence that comes out of students’ mouths when test papers are returned. I know it’s okay if the whole class does very well for a particular test, but this is hardly the case. There will always be a few people who haven’t gotten decent results. Some people who have done well are just really bad at hiding their emotions in front of people who haven’t done so well. You might pretend to be concerned if your good friend has got disappointing results while you have great marks, but many a time, you cannot hide your sense of pride and joy from that poor, sad soul. How would you feel if you were the one who got D7 for a test while everyone else got higher than B4? How would you feel if you had gotten this kind of useless results even though you had put in a lot of effort? How would you feel if people who did not even put in a single drop of sweat into studying for the test get higher than you, and not just by one or two marks, but by a whole 10 marks? You will just feel like breaking down, crying your heart out in front of the whole class, as if not a thing in the sorry world you live in mattered anymore. How much more insensitive could some people get?
I know of several friends who have tried really hard for the tests but have ended up with disappointing and unsatisfactory results. These poor souls have really tried their best but sometimes, your best just isn’t enough no matter how hard you try and how much effort others put in as compared to you.
Okay, after getting all of that over and done with, let’s move on to more light-hearted things (no I don’t mean taking a roller coaster ride at the fun fair). Here’s a song that a lot of people might know, especially people in the generations before mine (sorry but I’m not talking about your great-great-great-grand mother who migrated here years ago).
Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy now
Oo, oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Don't worry
Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Be happy
Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Don't worry, be happy
Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy
The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy
Look at me, I'm happy
Give you my phone number
When you worry, call me, I make you happy
Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got no gal to make you smile
But don't worry, be happy
'Cause when you worry, your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy now
Now there, is this song I wrote
I hope you learned it note for note
Like good little children
Don't worry, be happy
Listen to what I say
In your life expect some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy, be happy now
Now, there was a rumour circulating a few years ago that the singer/writer of this song committed suicide but that isn’t true, you can go look it up on Wikipedia. For your information, this was first sung by Bobby McFerrin (who still is alive and kicking today despite what you might have heard). Those people who came up with that dastardly rumour probably had too much time on their hands.
So, what does this song teach us (ignore that darn rumour, it isn’t true that he committed suicide; talk about ironic)? Well, simply, as the title of the song goes, ‘Don’t worry, be happy’. Or, using another famous source, ‘Why so serious?’. The meaning behind these two ‘famous’ phrases is the same, don’t worry too much about things, let’s put a smile on that face! Contrary to what I wrote earlier, sometimes it is indeed okay to have unsatisfactory results despite trying your best. Remember, SOMETIMES, not always, and the ratio to the number of times it is okay to the number of times it isn’t is different for everyone. It’s one of those half-full half-empty thingies. It depends on your perspective and your attitude; some people have a better tolerance of defeat and anguish than others.
Personally, I feel it’s all just down to luck. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t, it’s something like rolling a dice; the effort put in becomes sort of redundant. However, please don’t quote me when you have to explain why you aren’t studying for that big test.
References:
http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/mcferrin.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_McFerrin
http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/dontworr.htm
Anyway, as I said a few sentences earlier, different classmates have had different feelings towards their test results, with some even breaking down to the point of crying. Yes, I know it feels really horrible when you feel you have put in a lot of effort into the test but end up with lousy results. Yes, I know it feels great when you know you haven’t put in any effort at all into preparing for a test but still get awesome results. Both situations have happened to me before so don’t think you are alone in your suffering and rejoicing.
(Warning: despite the name of the blog post, the next few paragraphs might be a little harsh so don’t read it if you don’t want to)
I won’t be covering much about the ‘rejoicing because you have good results despite not putting in any effort' part, but I will still be writing a few lines about it. To all those people who don’t deserve that A1: You had better watch out, don’t be too complacent or happy; if you don’t study and put in any effort at all for your next test, I really hope you fail it badly and I really hope you get such low marks, you sit in a corner and sob until you can’t sob anymore, I really do hope you suffer. As a famous song by Maroon 5 goes, ‘every night you cry yourself to sleep, thinking why does this happen to me’, I wish you lot a very happy time crying yourself asleep many a night, except you already know the cause. Have you guys even thought about how someone feels because he has gotten bad results despite working so hard? You might come up with some lame excuse like, “I’m naturally talented” and all that rubbish but please just spare a thought for those of us who haven’t done as well despite working hard. It’s really unfair to those people who have seriously tried their best.
I know there are people try to tell you that it’s okay if you have tried your best but it is never, I repeat, never ever okay. Time to wake up. Time to get a life. In the real world, no one cares about how much effort you put in, how many hours of sleep you have sacrificed; all any normal, practical person would care about are the results. It doesn’t matter what kind of results they are, be it results for a test or results for a project; the method of thinking is always the same, the selfish mentality is always there. Yes, there are people who encourage you to try your best and comfort you when you don’t do well in something, especially something of great importance. However, sometimes your best just isn’t good enough. Some people are just not born to do something. No matter how much you try, if you are just not good at something, no amount of practice and help will save you from the horrible fate that is reality.
I say it again; all anyone cares about are the results. Think about it, what happens when your class gets their test results back? Does anyone ask you how much effort you have put into the test? No. Hardly anyone does. What is the first question they ask then? ‘Hey, how much did you get?’ is commonly the first sentence that comes out of students’ mouths when test papers are returned. I know it’s okay if the whole class does very well for a particular test, but this is hardly the case. There will always be a few people who haven’t gotten decent results. Some people who have done well are just really bad at hiding their emotions in front of people who haven’t done so well. You might pretend to be concerned if your good friend has got disappointing results while you have great marks, but many a time, you cannot hide your sense of pride and joy from that poor, sad soul. How would you feel if you were the one who got D7 for a test while everyone else got higher than B4? How would you feel if you had gotten this kind of useless results even though you had put in a lot of effort? How would you feel if people who did not even put in a single drop of sweat into studying for the test get higher than you, and not just by one or two marks, but by a whole 10 marks? You will just feel like breaking down, crying your heart out in front of the whole class, as if not a thing in the sorry world you live in mattered anymore. How much more insensitive could some people get?
I know of several friends who have tried really hard for the tests but have ended up with disappointing and unsatisfactory results. These poor souls have really tried their best but sometimes, your best just isn’t enough no matter how hard you try and how much effort others put in as compared to you.
Okay, after getting all of that over and done with, let’s move on to more light-hearted things (no I don’t mean taking a roller coaster ride at the fun fair). Here’s a song that a lot of people might know, especially people in the generations before mine (sorry but I’m not talking about your great-great-great-grand mother who migrated here years ago).
Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy now
Oo, oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Don't worry
Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Be happy
Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo
Don't worry, be happy
Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy
The landlord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy
Look at me, I'm happy
Give you my phone number
When you worry, call me, I make you happy
Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got no gal to make you smile
But don't worry, be happy
'Cause when you worry, your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy now
Now there, is this song I wrote
I hope you learned it note for note
Like good little children
Don't worry, be happy
Listen to what I say
In your life expect some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy, be happy now
Now, there was a rumour circulating a few years ago that the singer/writer of this song committed suicide but that isn’t true, you can go look it up on Wikipedia. For your information, this was first sung by Bobby McFerrin (who still is alive and kicking today despite what you might have heard). Those people who came up with that dastardly rumour probably had too much time on their hands.
So, what does this song teach us (ignore that darn rumour, it isn’t true that he committed suicide; talk about ironic)? Well, simply, as the title of the song goes, ‘Don’t worry, be happy’. Or, using another famous source, ‘Why so serious?’. The meaning behind these two ‘famous’ phrases is the same, don’t worry too much about things, let’s put a smile on that face! Contrary to what I wrote earlier, sometimes it is indeed okay to have unsatisfactory results despite trying your best. Remember, SOMETIMES, not always, and the ratio to the number of times it is okay to the number of times it isn’t is different for everyone. It’s one of those half-full half-empty thingies. It depends on your perspective and your attitude; some people have a better tolerance of defeat and anguish than others.
Personally, I feel it’s all just down to luck. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t, it’s something like rolling a dice; the effort put in becomes sort of redundant. However, please don’t quote me when you have to explain why you aren’t studying for that big test.
References:
http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/mcferrin.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_McFerrin
http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/dontworr.htm
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Criticism
Should we criticize people and or opinions they have? After much thought put to the matter and ‘tough deliberation’ (although it was only 10 minutes), I decided that the answer is both a yes and a no.
We should respect others peoples’ actions and opinions. You wouldn’t like someone coming up to you and slapping you just because they did not like the way you felt about something. However, if the thing that you did is indeed wrong, you should just accept the criticism, learn from your mistakes, and act differently in the future.
If you are the one who is criticizing another person, stop and think before you act. Is what the other person is doing that unacceptable and wrong that you have to tell that person off? Put yourself in that person’s shoes. Would you get angry if another person told you off for something that you did? Remember that you must put your perspective from the other person’s point of view, not your own. You would naturally say that it is right to criticize the other person as you are not the person that is being criticized.
You might not know it, but the person who is doing the thing that you think is wrong may have a good reason for doing it. For example, if you are in a car driving to a hospital to see your dying relative whom you are very close to and you are scolded (hopefully not in hokkien; get what I mean right?) by another driver for cutting into his way, how will you feel? If you are a normal person (which you should be unless you are not a normal person [wait that was kind of irrelevant]), you would most likely think that this person is being very unreasonable. You are rushing to see your dying relative and some overly-sensitive guy can’t even cut you some slack.
However, if you were the one who is criticizing the person who just cut into your way, you would probably feel that the person who cut into your way is being stubborn and rude. The driver who had his way cut into would feel like it is unfair; why should he get his way, how can he just cut in like that? I have already been in this lane for so long (this is usually the case every morning during peak period at the portion of road just before Bukit Timah Plaza).
This shows the different points of view that each driver has towards a certain situation. The driver who cut in would think that he should not be criticized as he was just trying to get to the hospital as fast as possible to be with your loved one during the person’s dying breath. On the other hand, the driver whose way had been cut into would very likely think that they were right to criticize the other driver as they had wrongfully had their way cut into.
This brings us back to the main point. If we criticize people, it should be because we care for them, not because we want to upset them. When you criticize a friend, you might think that it is for that person’s own good. The friend might take it differently. The friend might think that you don’t want to be his friend and just want to upset him.
If you really care for the person, criticize him out of the good of your heart. Whether he or she chooses to accept the criticism, it is his or her own choice, not for you to decide for him or her. If he or she gets angry over it, it shows that he or she is not really your friend as he does not accept criticism which is for his or her own good. As I have stated earlier in this post, whether we should criticize has both a yes and a no as an answer. After all, it is a philosophical question.
We should respect others peoples’ actions and opinions. You wouldn’t like someone coming up to you and slapping you just because they did not like the way you felt about something. However, if the thing that you did is indeed wrong, you should just accept the criticism, learn from your mistakes, and act differently in the future.
If you are the one who is criticizing another person, stop and think before you act. Is what the other person is doing that unacceptable and wrong that you have to tell that person off? Put yourself in that person’s shoes. Would you get angry if another person told you off for something that you did? Remember that you must put your perspective from the other person’s point of view, not your own. You would naturally say that it is right to criticize the other person as you are not the person that is being criticized.
You might not know it, but the person who is doing the thing that you think is wrong may have a good reason for doing it. For example, if you are in a car driving to a hospital to see your dying relative whom you are very close to and you are scolded (hopefully not in hokkien; get what I mean right?) by another driver for cutting into his way, how will you feel? If you are a normal person (which you should be unless you are not a normal person [wait that was kind of irrelevant]), you would most likely think that this person is being very unreasonable. You are rushing to see your dying relative and some overly-sensitive guy can’t even cut you some slack.
However, if you were the one who is criticizing the person who just cut into your way, you would probably feel that the person who cut into your way is being stubborn and rude. The driver who had his way cut into would feel like it is unfair; why should he get his way, how can he just cut in like that? I have already been in this lane for so long (this is usually the case every morning during peak period at the portion of road just before Bukit Timah Plaza).
This shows the different points of view that each driver has towards a certain situation. The driver who cut in would think that he should not be criticized as he was just trying to get to the hospital as fast as possible to be with your loved one during the person’s dying breath. On the other hand, the driver whose way had been cut into would very likely think that they were right to criticize the other driver as they had wrongfully had their way cut into.
This brings us back to the main point. If we criticize people, it should be because we care for them, not because we want to upset them. When you criticize a friend, you might think that it is for that person’s own good. The friend might take it differently. The friend might think that you don’t want to be his friend and just want to upset him.
If you really care for the person, criticize him out of the good of your heart. Whether he or she chooses to accept the criticism, it is his or her own choice, not for you to decide for him or her. If he or she gets angry over it, it shows that he or she is not really your friend as he does not accept criticism which is for his or her own good. As I have stated earlier in this post, whether we should criticize has both a yes and a no as an answer. After all, it is a philosophical question.
Chewing Gum
Mmmm… Chewing gum…
To most Singaporeans, chewing gum is sort of a ‘forbidden fruit’. Although it sounds quite unusual, there are quite a few Singaporeans who have yet to try chewing on this, well, chewing gum. To people who do not live in Singapore (or people who have just migrated to Singapore or tourists), this seems even stranger. Have you ever wondered why chewing gum is no where to be found in shops around Singapore?
The answer to that question is pretty straightforward. The sale of chewing gum is banned in Singapore.
Now do you know why you can’t find chewing gum being sold in Singapore? Wait, before I move on, please let me correct a common misconception that many people who live in Singapore have. Chewing gum is not really banned in Singapore; rather the SALE of chewing gum is banned in Singapore. That means you can safely consume the chewing gum you bought from Malaysia (yes, I know many of you do that). If you still don’t believe me, here is a quote from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA):
Sale or advertisement for sale of chewing gum prohibited
2. —(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the sale or advertisement for sale of any chewing gum is prohibited.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the sale or advertisement of any chewing gum in respect of which a product licence has been granted under the Medicines Act (Cap. 176).
(3) In this regulation, “chewing gum” means the substance usually known as chewing gum, bubble gum or dental chewing gum, or any like substance prepared from a gum base of vegetable or synthetic origin and intended for chewing.
I hope you believe me now but if you still don’t and think I invented that myself, the link to the page is at the bottom of the page (the second page of the pdf file). Anyway back to the topic. Recently, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, said in reply to a question asked by Ms Denise Phua of Jalan Besar GRC about when chewing gum could be re-introduced into Singapore, 'We remain concerned that lifting the ban on the sale of chewing gum could result in chewing gum litter resurfacing as a problem, and undermine our on-going efforts to curb littering,'. In short, that means the sale of chewing gum in Singapore won’t be happening anytime soon. However, selling chewing gum is still ‘legal’ under certain circumstances provided it is therapeutic.
Firstly, let’s see the reasoning behind why chewing gum was banned in the first place. Many years ago, in 1992, the sale and advertisement of chewing gum was banned in Singapore. This happened because there were many cases of people sticking chewing gum on public property like trains, buses and other stuff. Eventually, the government (and some people who were tired of picking gum of their shoes) got fed up of cleaning up after the inconsiderate litterbugs who were committing these acts. Their solution? Ban the sale of chewing gum in Singapore. That way, the amount of chewing gum circulating in Singapore would fall, and so would the cases of people leaving chewing gum everywhere.
Many people felt it was a rather unfair move; why should the entire community be punished because of the inconsiderate and selfish acts of a few people. I too feel that it is somewhat unfair as most of the people had done nothing wrong but were still punished for what a few thoughtless litterbugs did. However, it does make some sense. If the people cannot enjoy this privilege properly, the government has the right to remove it. This will ensure that Singapore stays clean like it should.
So, finally, in conclusion, chewing gum will remained banned in Singapore until the people have shown that they can be considerate citizens and not litter or damage public property. Oh well, back to chewing gum from Malaysia ;)
References:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_497870.html
http://www.newasia-singapore.com/faq/will_i_be_able_to_bring_chewing_gum_into_singapore?.html
http://www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/0CA18578-7610-4917-BB67-C7DF4B96504B/8726/Attach61_legislation_Sale_Prohibition_rules.pdf
To most Singaporeans, chewing gum is sort of a ‘forbidden fruit’. Although it sounds quite unusual, there are quite a few Singaporeans who have yet to try chewing on this, well, chewing gum. To people who do not live in Singapore (or people who have just migrated to Singapore or tourists), this seems even stranger. Have you ever wondered why chewing gum is no where to be found in shops around Singapore?
The answer to that question is pretty straightforward. The sale of chewing gum is banned in Singapore.
Now do you know why you can’t find chewing gum being sold in Singapore? Wait, before I move on, please let me correct a common misconception that many people who live in Singapore have. Chewing gum is not really banned in Singapore; rather the SALE of chewing gum is banned in Singapore. That means you can safely consume the chewing gum you bought from Malaysia (yes, I know many of you do that). If you still don’t believe me, here is a quote from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA):
Sale or advertisement for sale of chewing gum prohibited
2. —(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the sale or advertisement for sale of any chewing gum is prohibited.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the sale or advertisement of any chewing gum in respect of which a product licence has been granted under the Medicines Act (Cap. 176).
(3) In this regulation, “chewing gum” means the substance usually known as chewing gum, bubble gum or dental chewing gum, or any like substance prepared from a gum base of vegetable or synthetic origin and intended for chewing.
I hope you believe me now but if you still don’t and think I invented that myself, the link to the page is at the bottom of the page (the second page of the pdf file). Anyway back to the topic. Recently, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, said in reply to a question asked by Ms Denise Phua of Jalan Besar GRC about when chewing gum could be re-introduced into Singapore, 'We remain concerned that lifting the ban on the sale of chewing gum could result in chewing gum litter resurfacing as a problem, and undermine our on-going efforts to curb littering,'. In short, that means the sale of chewing gum in Singapore won’t be happening anytime soon. However, selling chewing gum is still ‘legal’ under certain circumstances provided it is therapeutic.
Firstly, let’s see the reasoning behind why chewing gum was banned in the first place. Many years ago, in 1992, the sale and advertisement of chewing gum was banned in Singapore. This happened because there were many cases of people sticking chewing gum on public property like trains, buses and other stuff. Eventually, the government (and some people who were tired of picking gum of their shoes) got fed up of cleaning up after the inconsiderate litterbugs who were committing these acts. Their solution? Ban the sale of chewing gum in Singapore. That way, the amount of chewing gum circulating in Singapore would fall, and so would the cases of people leaving chewing gum everywhere.
Many people felt it was a rather unfair move; why should the entire community be punished because of the inconsiderate and selfish acts of a few people. I too feel that it is somewhat unfair as most of the people had done nothing wrong but were still punished for what a few thoughtless litterbugs did. However, it does make some sense. If the people cannot enjoy this privilege properly, the government has the right to remove it. This will ensure that Singapore stays clean like it should.
So, finally, in conclusion, chewing gum will remained banned in Singapore until the people have shown that they can be considerate citizens and not litter or damage public property. Oh well, back to chewing gum from Malaysia ;)
References:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_497870.html
http://www.newasia-singapore.com/faq/will_i_be_able_to_bring_chewing_gum_into_singapore?.html
http://www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/0CA18578-7610-4917-BB67-C7DF4B96504B/8726/Attach61_legislation_Sale_Prohibition_rules.pdf
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Liar's Paradox
“I am lying”. This is a relatively common trick question. What is the answer to this question then? I’m sure several of you already know what the answer is but it is a little hard to explain. In this post, I will try to explain as clearly as possible. The answer is a bit hard to understand because it is just repeating almost the same thing just that it is worded differently so as to give it a different meaning.
Wow I think that sentence was rather long. Anyway, this is my explanation of the answer, put as simple as I can put it. If someone said, “I am lying.” it would not be correct because if you are lying, you are not telling the truth. A liar would not tell the truth. Therefore, ‘I am lying’ is the truth and by saying that it means that you are lying, which makes this a whole lot more confusing.
Let me try to explain this again if you did not get the first attempt at an explanation. If you say, “I am lying.” it is not exactly correct in terms of reasoning. When you say, “I am lying”, you can’t be lying because if you really were lying, you wouldn’t say that you were lying because if you are a liar, you would not be telling the truth. Understand?
If you did not get the first explanation, fear not, as I will be giving it another shot. If you said, “I am lying”, it would also not be right because if you were telling the truth, you would not say that you were lying and by saying that you are lying, it would mean that you are no longer telling the truth and that you are now lying instead of telling the truth because liars don’t tell the truth and you just said that you were lying which means that you are not telling the truth which means that you are lying.
Wow. That’s really complicated. More complicated then the first explanation I think. I hardly even understand what I am writing. Give me one more chance to explain, this time with help from the internet. If the phrase ‘I am lying’ is indeed true, it would be false because I said that I had told a lie when I did not. However, if I had said that I was lying when it was indeed false, I would be telling the truth when I said that I was lying because I did lie about lying.
So after all that, do you understand now? If you still do not, which I find very hard to believe after so many attempts to explain the answer to this age-old philosophical question, here is the ‘brilliant’ yet short answer t: If the statement ‘I am lying’ is true, it is false. When the statement ‘I am lying’ is false, it is true. So basically it will always be wrong no matter how you put it. That’s why it’s called a liar’s paradox. It doesn’t matter how you try to phrase it, your answer will never be correct in terms of reasoning. I think you have also learnt what a paradox is if you did not previously know what it was.
By now, you would most likely be able to understand the statement ‘I am lying.’. However, if you still can’t understand, too bad then, because I am not going to try to explain any more (sorry!).
Reference (an enormously long one just like some of the sentences in this post) note – it is one sentence, not a few:
http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=gCRrVOawWZUC&pg=PA116&lpg=PA116&dq=i+am+lying+true+or+false&source=bl&ots=nEFY5uLcw9&sig=8dzif7XuQsFY942BKn_hwpDJQ5o&hl=en&ei=2Q4ySsLsIqCQ6AOerdnLBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA116,M1
Wow I think that sentence was rather long. Anyway, this is my explanation of the answer, put as simple as I can put it. If someone said, “I am lying.” it would not be correct because if you are lying, you are not telling the truth. A liar would not tell the truth. Therefore, ‘I am lying’ is the truth and by saying that it means that you are lying, which makes this a whole lot more confusing.
Let me try to explain this again if you did not get the first attempt at an explanation. If you say, “I am lying.” it is not exactly correct in terms of reasoning. When you say, “I am lying”, you can’t be lying because if you really were lying, you wouldn’t say that you were lying because if you are a liar, you would not be telling the truth. Understand?
If you did not get the first explanation, fear not, as I will be giving it another shot. If you said, “I am lying”, it would also not be right because if you were telling the truth, you would not say that you were lying and by saying that you are lying, it would mean that you are no longer telling the truth and that you are now lying instead of telling the truth because liars don’t tell the truth and you just said that you were lying which means that you are not telling the truth which means that you are lying.
Wow. That’s really complicated. More complicated then the first explanation I think. I hardly even understand what I am writing. Give me one more chance to explain, this time with help from the internet. If the phrase ‘I am lying’ is indeed true, it would be false because I said that I had told a lie when I did not. However, if I had said that I was lying when it was indeed false, I would be telling the truth when I said that I was lying because I did lie about lying.
So after all that, do you understand now? If you still do not, which I find very hard to believe after so many attempts to explain the answer to this age-old philosophical question, here is the ‘brilliant’ yet short answer t: If the statement ‘I am lying’ is true, it is false. When the statement ‘I am lying’ is false, it is true. So basically it will always be wrong no matter how you put it. That’s why it’s called a liar’s paradox. It doesn’t matter how you try to phrase it, your answer will never be correct in terms of reasoning. I think you have also learnt what a paradox is if you did not previously know what it was.
By now, you would most likely be able to understand the statement ‘I am lying.’. However, if you still can’t understand, too bad then, because I am not going to try to explain any more (sorry!).
Reference (an enormously long one just like some of the sentences in this post) note – it is one sentence, not a few:
http://books.google.com.sg/books?id=gCRrVOawWZUC&pg=PA116&lpg=PA116&dq=i+am+lying+true+or+false&source=bl&ots=nEFY5uLcw9&sig=8dzif7XuQsFY942BKn_hwpDJQ5o&hl=en&ei=2Q4ySsLsIqCQ6AOerdnLBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA116,M1
The 'First' Post
Hello all, as promised 2 posts back, this will be my first ‘official’ blog posting for the year. Yup, it’s not going to be another compulsory e-learning post or stuff like that. This time, it’s really a blog post. I guess I haven’t introduced myself properly yet, so I’ll be doing a short introduction first. Yes, I know this will seem a little weird to those people who are probably reading this post (yes, I’m talking about you guys from school, my classmates).
Oh well, let’s get started then.
My name is Nicholas Tey from class 2P1 (2010). I think I remember from somewhere that I’m not supposed to state the school I’m from. Since I’m such a model student (sense the sarcasm!), and even though the previous sentence was a little sarcastic, I shall still adhere to the rules. I know some guy once said ‘rules are meant to be broken’ but I will not be breaking any rules in this post (at least I HOPE not).
Okay, that was a little strange I think I deviated from what I was supposed to actually write (Don’t tell me I have ADHD! I can’t possibly have that! Hey I’m feeling hungry…). Anyway, back to what I was initially planning to write. I enjoy playing soccer (AWESOME!), and reading too. Wait, aren’t soccer and reading very contrasting activities? Oh dear I think I really might have ADHD…
Argh, I’m totally failing at trying to write about that topic. So, moving on, I have decided to write about how I feel about certain issues (sorry this isn’t really very descriptive). To put it in a nicer and more complicated manner (I know you guys love complicated right?), this blog will have many posts on what I feel about some things, or simply, as the blog title (the words at the top of that tab in your web browser) suggests, I will be writing about the ‘world from my perspective’. Actually, it’s not really the ‘world’ since it’s so big and – and – ‘whatever’, I’m just writing about what I feel about some things, that’s all, not everything. So stay tuned (or browsing rather)!
Hmmm I think I just might have ADHD.
Oh well, let’s get started then.
My name is Nicholas Tey from class 2P1 (2010). I think I remember from somewhere that I’m not supposed to state the school I’m from. Since I’m such a model student (sense the sarcasm!), and even though the previous sentence was a little sarcastic, I shall still adhere to the rules. I know some guy once said ‘rules are meant to be broken’ but I will not be breaking any rules in this post (at least I HOPE not).
Okay, that was a little strange I think I deviated from what I was supposed to actually write (Don’t tell me I have ADHD! I can’t possibly have that! Hey I’m feeling hungry…). Anyway, back to what I was initially planning to write. I enjoy playing soccer (AWESOME!), and reading too. Wait, aren’t soccer and reading very contrasting activities? Oh dear I think I really might have ADHD…
Argh, I’m totally failing at trying to write about that topic. So, moving on, I have decided to write about how I feel about certain issues (sorry this isn’t really very descriptive). To put it in a nicer and more complicated manner (I know you guys love complicated right?), this blog will have many posts on what I feel about some things, or simply, as the blog title (the words at the top of that tab in your web browser) suggests, I will be writing about the ‘world from my perspective’. Actually, it’s not really the ‘world’ since it’s so big and – and – ‘whatever’, I’m just writing about what I feel about some things, that’s all, not everything. So stay tuned (or browsing rather)!
Hmmm I think I just might have ADHD.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
E-Learning Week 1 (Task B)
Hello again, as I stated in the previous post, my 2 top scores for the multiples intelligence test was spatial and intrapersonal. For Task B, I will be designing a civil rights movement poster for Maycomb and explaining who I would want to be friends with in the novel. For the ‘spatial’ portion of Task B, I have chosen question a. As for the intrapersonal portion of Task B, I have chosen question d.
Firstly, if I were to make friends with a character in the novel, I would like to be friends with Atticus Finch. This is because of several reasons. Atticus Finch has many good character traits. By becoming his friend, I hope that I will be able to learn some of these traits and practice them in my life.
Atticus Finch’s good points include honesty, courage (he is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in), humility (doesn’t show off his talents like shooting), unprejudiced (treats everyone with equal respect), calm and composed, selfless, knowledgeable, caring among other traits. He is also a kind-hearted and friendly person.
I will befriend Atticus if I get the chance as he is good-hearted and willing to help you if you are in need of any help. Also, Atticus is easy to approach so he will be quite easy to befriend. Atticus has many traits that are good so becoming his friend will make me a better person as I will most likely learn from him.
Secondly, here’s the poster I’ve designed using Photoshop:
This poster was created using Adobe Photoshop CS4 using the images at the bottom of the post (direct links removed again sorry). The red symbolizes the peoples’ passion for freedom while the fist represents the desire for equality. Tom Robinson’s photo at the trial is meant to invoke feelings of anger as he was not treated fairly.
Acknowledgements:
http://www.thegalerii.com/Historic%20Photos/MovieStills/to%20kill%20a%20mockingbird.jpg
http://www.dissident.info/images/FIST%20copy.gif
Firstly, if I were to make friends with a character in the novel, I would like to be friends with Atticus Finch. This is because of several reasons. Atticus Finch has many good character traits. By becoming his friend, I hope that I will be able to learn some of these traits and practice them in my life.
Atticus Finch’s good points include honesty, courage (he is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in), humility (doesn’t show off his talents like shooting), unprejudiced (treats everyone with equal respect), calm and composed, selfless, knowledgeable, caring among other traits. He is also a kind-hearted and friendly person.
I will befriend Atticus if I get the chance as he is good-hearted and willing to help you if you are in need of any help. Also, Atticus is easy to approach so he will be quite easy to befriend. Atticus has many traits that are good so becoming his friend will make me a better person as I will most likely learn from him.
Secondly, here’s the poster I’ve designed using Photoshop:
Acknowledgements:
http://www.thegalerii.com/Historic%20Photos/MovieStills/to%20kill%20a%20mockingbird.jpg
http://www.dissident.info/images/FIST%20copy.gif
E-Learning Week 1 (Task A)
Hello everyone, sorry for not posting anything since creating this blog a while back. As you can tell (if you are reading this before my extreme makeover), this blog is still very bare and boring; but do not worry, I will be using HTML and Javascript (CSS) to make it look a lot nicer with better fonts and other stuff. Also, I will start proper posts very soon (and I mean LIKE REALLY, REALLY soon). However, you will just have to settle for e-learning posts for now. Okay, after getting all of that cleared up, it’s time to get started on the ‘first’ post!
Alright, this post will be Task A of e-learning week 1. What’s Task A, you might ask. Well, I’m supposed to take a multiple intelligence test. Okay, I think that was rather unhelpful because you probably have no idea what a multiple intelligence test is. Fine, here is the link to it:
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm
It’s a bit long to copy so I do apologise since I’ve removed the direct link (sorry, but I think links look messy)!
After taking the multiple intelligences test, my top 2 ‘intelligences’ were spatial and kinaesthetic, followed closely by intrapersonal and logic and with musical and naturalistic coming in jointly last. Unfortunately, due to privacy issues, I shall not be posting the exact chart here. As you can see (actually you can’t see the chart but you understand what I mean right?), my top 2 ‘intelligences’ that can be used in Task B (which I will be posting later), are spatial and intrapersonal.
Firstly, here’s some background information on the multiple intelligences test. In 1983, Dr Howard Gardner, a professor of education at the prestigious Harvard University, suggested that the common way of testing intelligence (IQ), was too ‘limited’. He felt that there was a need to test a broader range of ‘intelligences’ in children and adults. Thus, he came up with 8 ‘main intelligences’ to test. These ‘intelligences’ are logical, kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, naturalistic, spatial and linguistic.
Now, what are some possible implications of this multiple intelligence test? This test is not fully reliable because once the person takes the test and gets his or her results, he or she will probably be thinking: yes, this does seem like me. Then, the person will unconsciously feel implied to follow the results of the test and do things based on the kind of ‘intelligence’ they had even though they were not going to follow the course of action of that particular intelligence (sorry I think this is a little confusing).
To put it simply, the person will tend to act like he or she does possess a strong sense of, let’s say for example naturalistic intelligence, when he or she encounters a particular situation even though he or she would take another course of action. Okay, sorry I think that was also rather confusing so I shall try to give an example. Let’s say that a person who is actually more of a person with a lot of logical intelligence gets the results of the test which say he or she has a lot of spatial intelligence. Then, the person is given a choice of joining either mathematics or drawing competition. The person will most likely feel implied to join the mathematics competition even though he or she is better at drawing simply because the multiple intelligence test showed that he or she is better at logical thinking.
I for one, feel that it can help us make important decisions in life (provided the test is an accurate measure of intelligence). When we are deciding what job to take up, or even which stream to go for in secondary 3, the results for the multiple intelligence test can be considered.
Finally, I think that’s about it for what I feel about the test.
Acknowledgements:
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm
Alright, this post will be Task A of e-learning week 1. What’s Task A, you might ask. Well, I’m supposed to take a multiple intelligence test. Okay, I think that was rather unhelpful because you probably have no idea what a multiple intelligence test is. Fine, here is the link to it:
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm
It’s a bit long to copy so I do apologise since I’ve removed the direct link (sorry, but I think links look messy)!
After taking the multiple intelligences test, my top 2 ‘intelligences’ were spatial and kinaesthetic, followed closely by intrapersonal and logic and with musical and naturalistic coming in jointly last. Unfortunately, due to privacy issues, I shall not be posting the exact chart here. As you can see (actually you can’t see the chart but you understand what I mean right?), my top 2 ‘intelligences’ that can be used in Task B (which I will be posting later), are spatial and intrapersonal.
Firstly, here’s some background information on the multiple intelligences test. In 1983, Dr Howard Gardner, a professor of education at the prestigious Harvard University, suggested that the common way of testing intelligence (IQ), was too ‘limited’. He felt that there was a need to test a broader range of ‘intelligences’ in children and adults. Thus, he came up with 8 ‘main intelligences’ to test. These ‘intelligences’ are logical, kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, naturalistic, spatial and linguistic.
Now, what are some possible implications of this multiple intelligence test? This test is not fully reliable because once the person takes the test and gets his or her results, he or she will probably be thinking: yes, this does seem like me. Then, the person will unconsciously feel implied to follow the results of the test and do things based on the kind of ‘intelligence’ they had even though they were not going to follow the course of action of that particular intelligence (sorry I think this is a little confusing).
To put it simply, the person will tend to act like he or she does possess a strong sense of, let’s say for example naturalistic intelligence, when he or she encounters a particular situation even though he or she would take another course of action. Okay, sorry I think that was also rather confusing so I shall try to give an example. Let’s say that a person who is actually more of a person with a lot of logical intelligence gets the results of the test which say he or she has a lot of spatial intelligence. Then, the person is given a choice of joining either mathematics or drawing competition. The person will most likely feel implied to join the mathematics competition even though he or she is better at drawing simply because the multiple intelligence test showed that he or she is better at logical thinking.
I for one, feel that it can help us make important decisions in life (provided the test is an accurate measure of intelligence). When we are deciding what job to take up, or even which stream to go for in secondary 3, the results for the multiple intelligence test can be considered.
Finally, I think that’s about it for what I feel about the test.
Acknowledgements:
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm
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