Quotes 2009

The deepest secret is that life is not a process of discovery, but a process of creation. You are not discovering yourself, but creating yourself anew. Seek, therefore, not to find out who you are; seek to determine who you want to be.

~Neale Donald Walsch

Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.

~Colin Powell

Strength and courage aren't always measured in medals and victories. They are measured in the struggles they overcome. The strongest people aren't always the people who win, but the people who don't give up when they lose.

~Ashley Hodgeson

Successful people aren't born that way. They become successful by establishing the habit of doing things unsuccessful people don't like to do. The successful people don't always like these things themselves; they just get on and do them.

~William M Thackeray

The tragedy of life is not found in failure but complacency. Not in you doing too much, but doing too little. Not in you living above your means, but below your capacity. It's not failure, but aiming too low, that is life's greatest tragedy.

~Benjamin E Mayes

In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope
In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort.
In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream.
And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.

~Michael Jackson

Men often become what they believe themselves to be.
If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it, even if I didn't have it in the beginning.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves.

~Helen Keller

What I do you cannot do; but what you do I cannot do. The needs are great and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things with great love. And together we can do something wonderful.

~Mother Teresa

Nothing good for this world is ever attained without sacrifice. Nothing great in life is ever achieved without hard work. Nothing that we give to others, out of the goodness of our heart, is ever given without giving away a small piece of ourselves.

~Jay Goldman

Give out today like you will not see the next second; take in today like you will live for another 100 years to see the consequence of what you took in. What you take in determines your destiny and what you give out determines your legacy.

~Leussa Adrienne

You have a brush in one hand and paint in the other. You just need to realize that you are the Artist of your own destiny. The outcome of such a realization will transform the road ahead of you into canvas, waiting only for you to start painting.

~Conroy Sewepagaham

VRK Leaner

The VARK Questionnaire Results

Your scores were:

• Visual: 6
• Aural: 3
• Read/Write: 5
• Kinesthetic: 6

You have a multimodal (VRK) learning preference.

Cool~ I can learn in any way. (Or i can't learn well in any way...)

Danish Saying

Life is not simply holding a good hand; life is playing a poor hand well.

Failing Forward

Got this from John C Maxwell's Failing Forward...

Failure is the price we pay to achieve success.

Hence, we should not be afraid of failures because that's the only way we can get to success.

A Lawyer and a Chinese

Just read it as a joke. No offence intended.

A lawyer and a Chinese are sitting next to each other on a long flight.
The lawyer thinks that all Chinese are so dumb that he could get over on them, easy.

So the lawyer asks if the Chinese would like to play a fun game. The Chinese is tired and just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and tries to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists and says that the game is a lot of fun. I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me only $5; you ask me one, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500, he says. This catches the Chinese's attention and to keep the lawyer quiet, he agrees to play the game.

The lawyer asks the first question. 'What's the distance from The Earth to the Moon?'
The Chinese doesn't say a word, reaches into his pocket, pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer.

Now, it's the Chinese's turn. He asks the lawyer, 'What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?' The lawyer uses his laptop and searches all references he could find on the Net. He sends e-mails to all the smart friends he knows, all to no avail. After one hour of searching he finally gives up. He wakes up the Chinese and hands him $500. The Chinese pockets the $500 and goes right back to sleep.

The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes the Chinese up and asks, 'Well, so what goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?' The Chinese reaches into his pocket, hands the lawyer $5 and goes back to sleep.

Advice from Mr Ng

Care to discipline, Discipline to Care

Khaw Boon Wan as rock star!

Now, this is refreshing. The Health Minister is now a rock star! Check this out... http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=105001829413&h=TqvRB&u=lsq-8&ref=nf
Can really see the effort the government is putting in for the campaign~

Toilet Break

I thought this was funny~ Check out the poster!

Taken from http://gangasudhan.com/blog/2009/02/exclusive-interview-with-mas-selamat.html


G (Interviewer): So it's been a whole year and the authorities in Singapore are still searching the boots of budget cars and the storage compartments of motorcycles, hoping to find you. What do you think?

MSK (Mas Selamat): Eh, betul ke [Note: is that correct]? Bike box also they search ah? I am not THAT good lah - how to hide inside such a small space.If I do, I just call my brudders activate 3 Bangla [Note: Bangladesh Nationals who are illegal immigrants], hide in 3 different cars of sama-sama [Note: same] brand and then tip off ICA. When they get the first Bangla, they will search high and low for the specific brand and let other types go without checking much.So I will hide in another type of car driven by one pakcik and makcik [Note: Uncle and Aunty] with groceries - simple. Maybe if I boring-boring, wear disguise also can jalan [Note: go] through lah!

G: Interesting tactic. So was that how you left Singapore?

MSK: Oi! Nice try.... Who say I already left? Singapore government ah? Not so safe if narrow down further right. That minister [Note: Wong Kan Seng] already tembah [Note: shoot] he narrow down to 2 possibilities, you still want me to reveal further? Cannot lah, must jagah [Note: protect] a bit. But can confirm that the minister was spot on with his predictions sial!

G: Ok, ok, just trying our luck there to help the Singapore authorities, sorry. Well, since they have narrowed it down to 2 possibilities - one of which is where you actually are - within a short span of just one year, how safe do you feel about your status?

MSK: Correct also lah. They quite fast bring down to just 2 possibilities - a bit scary. I think one more year, become one possibility already - confirm. Then must lebeh jagah diri [Note: extra protect] myself to not get caught. Hopefully they narrow down to the wrong one, then a bit safe. Otherwise Selamat must Jalan [Note: run] again, hahahaha.

G: You seem quite upbeat and confident that even if they narrow down to the one correct possibility of the 2, you can still evade arrest. Why is this so?

MSK: Ya lah, no problem. They already kalang-kabut [Note: confused] the other time, use all their manpower, dogs, army - still cannot find me. I think my tactics can tahan [Note: withstand] lah. I use toilet paper and extra clothing already can bypass everyone.

G: So what are your plans moving forward?

MSK: Good question man. My Toilet Break episode is still an icon and macam I am the most 'published' man in Singapore sial - heard my posters are still pasted at many locations. More like 'In Memory' lah - they want everyone to remember about my success ah? Sure as hell doesn't look like it is meant to alert anyone....One thing I learn from Singapore is to market knowledge and experience to other countries so I am now conducting workshops on 101 Ways To Escape With A Limp. Quite popular and a lot of people join in - criminal biasah [Note: normal], terrorists and even civil servant also. Maybe the civil servant want to jagah their rice bowl so want to learn where are the lubangs [Note: loopholes].My rates are reasonable for everyone but of course got a special discount if member of Terrorist Organisation lah - cannot forget my brudders and the past.

G: I see. Sounds like the whole episode has been a blessing in disguise for your 'career'.

MSK: Yah, definitely! Now, no need to worry about money matters already - set for life. Really, it is so good that I decided not to hantam [Note: hit] Singapore already lah. Don't think they will learn anything anyway - old people kena 'export', poor people asked to go [censored]-spider, you think they really care if people die? Like that, seriously no point attacking lah.Who knows, if business picks up, maybe I anonymously pledge some money for my own capture lah, hahahaha. That one will be kelakar [Note: funny] seh! Maybe I do for second year anniversary, so can keep my semangat [Note: spirit] going - good for business also.

G: Interesting ideas you have. But nevertheless, you are still on many a Wanted List around the region and maybe even Interpol will be looking for you. In any case, you can never go mainstream with your business development. Any thoughts on that?

MSK: True also. Too bad I cannot anyhow say 'sorry' like that minister... what's his name.... Wan Kosong? [Note: Wong Kan Seng] ... and continue with my own thing macam [Note: like] no problem. But I really like the PM style - diam-diam [Note: quiet] for dunno how long then come out and tembah [Note: shoot] one 'what to do'. Class lah, that one.As for my business, no problem lah. I am in niche market and with celebrity status, I just need to wait for people to come. Aiyah, even that minister [Note: Wong Kan Seng] don't have photo on his wiki page ok!Also, Osama is impressed with my strategies so maybe got one lubang [Note: opportunity] from his side as consultant coming up. Like that, can go Saudi or Afghanistan macam [Note: like] Foreign Talent seh. Not bad for a 'Mat' fella right?By the way, ask Jack Neo if he want to do movie on my escape lah - he can call it Toilet Sure Break or something. But must pay royalty one...

G: Hahaha, yet another enterprising idea. Too bad you can't join politics in Singapore. With your popularity, poster-reach and iconic reputation, you can be a great Minister of Home Affairs! What better person to take charge than the man who exposed all the frailties of the arrogant system?

MSK: Thanks for the compliment man! You like macam angkat [Note: curry favour] me because I agree to this interview sial... Anyway, politics maybe not for me. If got problem and I go into the toilet, dunno if anyone will trust me to return.

G: That's a good point Mas Selamat. Well, we're coming to the end of this chat and would like to pose you a final question. What do you think will happen if you do get arrested and brought back to Singapore?

MSK: Sure habis [Note: finish] one. They will lock me up and throw away the key sial. Not to mention throw one big, fat wayang to trumpet their success to the world - even if I were to be overseas and be caught by some other country's authorities and sent back.I expect they will put their best-of-the-best officers to 'look after' me and have dedicated officers to watch me round-the-clock. But one thing's for sure - they have to give me a Toilet Break...

G: Ahhh, I see. A man who can escape from a toilet, will always have an opportunity! Happy Anniversary, you 'Limping Terrorist'.

MSK: Thanks lah, nice to be remembered. Let my fans in Singapore know every time I go toilet and hear the tap running always remember that wonderful day lah. Brings a tear to my eye and a twitch to my limp...
Mas Selamat remains a fugitive and anyone who does not doubt the authenticity of this interview really needs to check themselves into IMH - good news, they now have a bigger budget!

Quote from George Akerlof

Meaningful quote for my future economist students...

I want you to also remember that the best predictor of how good an economist you are, or will be, is not some grade, but your commitment to the subject matter. There are billions of poor people out there. There are also some rich people who have economic and social problems so there is very good reason to make such a commitment.

Would Americans like to work as little as Europeans? What's stopping them?

Taken from http://economist.com/finance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3987228

MOST people greet the weekend with gratitude. But some economists view it with puzzlement. Why, they wonder, does the bulk of the population rest on the same two days each week? Why does everyone's week end at "the" weekend? From an economic point of view, it would surely be more efficient to stagger days of rest throughout the week. That way, expensive pieces of equipment would not lie idle for two days in seven, and infrastructure would be less congested the other five.

One person impressed by this logic was Josef Stalin, who rationalised the Soviet calendar in 1929. Workers were given every fifth day off, but their shifts were staggered, so that factories could run without interruption. The staggered week appealed rather less to the people who worked it, however. According to Witold Rybcynski's 1991 book about leisure, "Waiting for the Weekend", Stalin's four days on, one day off, was unpopular, even though it was less onerous than the six-day week that preceded it. Families and friends rarely had the same day off; administrative staff rarely worked at the same time. After less than three years, the staggered working week was abandoned.

Echoes of Stalin's discovery can be found in a recent paper* by Alberto Alesina and Edward Glaeser, both of Harvard, and Bruce Sacerdote, of Dartmouth College. The authors begin from the premise that Stalin unwittingly proved: people complement each other at work, and perhaps at play too. Couples want to go on holiday together; parents want time off when schools are out. As a result, the economists say, people do not make solipsistic decisions about how much labour to offer in the marketplace. Their choice depends on everyone else's. Knocking off early carries less of a stigma if others do the same. Jobless youth find unemployment more tolerable if their friends are also out of work. Conversely, an ambitious underling will want to put in at least as many hours as his boss, whatever time she clocks off.

Messrs Alesina, Glaeser and Sacerdote think this principle might help to explain why Europeans work so much less than Americans. The gap is quite striking. According to the Luxembourg Income Study, the typical American worker puts in 1,820 hours over the course of a year. Meanwhile, according to the OECD, his German and French counterparts clock up a mere 1,480 and 1,467 hours respectively. They put in five or six fewer weeks per year, and three fewer hours per working week.

Edward Prescott, a winner of the Nobel prize for economics, blames these transatlantic differences on tax. Europeans would like to work more, but are deterred by the high percentage of their extra earnings the state would confiscate. Olivier Blanchard, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, puts it down to transatlantic differences in taste. Europeans, he says, put a higher implicit price on their leisure. "There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that Europeans enjoy their leisure more than their American counterparts," he writes.

But why? Some speculate that Americans, being the cultural heirs of the industrious Puritan settlers, are still gripped by a Protestant work ethic. However, as recently as 1970, Europeans worked more each year than Americans. Why should their work ethic have lapsed since then?Rather than blaming culture or taxes, Messrs Alesina, Glaeser and Sacerdote instead credit trade unions. The strength of organised labour peaked in Europe in the 1970s, about the time that work hours started falling. After the first oil shock of 1973, the authors write, Germany's unions marched to the slogan "work less, work all", and the same mantra, in different languages, was recited across the continent. In France, the unions eventually won an agreement in 1981 to cut the working week to 39 hours. The government then took up their battle, culminating in the national 35-hour week implemented in 2000. Indeed, their cause has gone continent-wide. The European Union's working-time directive, first issued in 1993 and subject to fierce debate again this month in the European Parliament, insists that workers toil no more than 48 hours each week on average (see article).Let's all go home.

There is an obvious liberal objection to any regulation of work hours: workers should be free to sell as much or as little of their labour as they wish, and employers free to buy as much as is profitable. Union demands and working-time directives are unnecessary encumbrances, stopping workers and employers striking deals to their mutual advantage.

But Messrs Alesina, Glaeser and Sacerdote float an alternative possibility. Such regulations might solve a co-ordination problem, they suggest. If Europeans complement each other at work and rest, they may prefer to work shorter hours and fewer weeks provided others do the same. If so, the authors write, "national policies that enforce higher levels of relaxation can, at least in theory, increase welfare." Perhaps Americans would also like to work less, if their family, friends, or bosses worked less also. But in a competitive economy there is no way to co-ordinate their decisions. The individual American can act with others, but not too far ahead of them.

By recent evidence, however, Europe's unions got ahead of themselves. By demanding shorter working weeks with no loss of pay, they raised the cost of labour and undermined employment. In the past year or so, the French government has backed away from the 35-hour week, and German unions, most prominently at Siemens and DaimlerChrysler, have agreed to work longer for no more pay. The unions that once marched to the slogan "work less, work all", have now conceded the need to work more, if they are to work at all.

* "Work and leisure in the US and Europe". Prepared for the NBER Macroeconomic Annual, 2005

Random knowledge learnt

sometimes girls tend to tell guys their problems instead of other girls cos they know that the guy who like them will be more sympathetic to them as compared to other girl friends who may be too busy with their own work...

Ok point taken~ Din noe girl girl interaction can be so complicated too... (No offense intended)

Jokes about JC

Got this from my friend's blog...

Q: How many RJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: 4 whole faculties. One to design the new bulb, one to manufacture and test it out, one to write a proposal on it and one to market it.

Q: How many HCJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The whole school. To compete with RJC.

Q: How many VJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The whole school. One student to screw it in and the rest to cheer and wave flags and banners to give him/her support.

Q: How many NJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They can study without light.

Q: How many AJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: They're too busy trying to be one of the top 5 JCs.

Q: How many ACJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They'll rather use all their money to employ YJC to do it for them.

Q: How many YJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Only one teacher to tell them what a light bulb is in the first place and to demonstrate how to change the light bulb. (So how do you think they're able to change it for ACJC?)

Q: How many CJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: They'll prefer it to be darker.

Q: How many JJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Their physics is so bad that they made their macho male physics teacher cry.

Q: How many TPJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Would they even bother?

Q: How many SAJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They believe in praying for it to turn on by itself.

Q: How many NYJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They are still using oil lamps.

Q: How many SRJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Huh, what is litebarb?

Q: How many PJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Heck the light bulb; the principal would do something about the rightbarbs. Let's do 300 jumping jacks for not wearing the proper school attire.

Q: How many MJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They are too busy trying to get promoted.

Q: How many IJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They are Innovians. They'll find ways out of the dark.

Q: Who wrote all this?
A: A TJCian.

Q: How many TJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They think they are already very bright.

Bus 96 on the expressway

Ever imagined what it would be like if life decides to take an unexpected break from its monotonous routine?

I was on bus 96 yesterday when it decided to 'deviate' from its planned route and take an 'unexpected' detour along the expressway.

At first, I thought it was an unfortunate traffic accident. Later, after catching the news, I realized that it was a war relic- a Japanese bomb from WWII. In any case, the road leading from NUS to Clementi was sealed off. All traffic was directed onto the AYE. I wasn't paying attention to the route the bus was taking since I did not expect it to be any different from what it had taken for the past 4 years. However, 2 things caught my attention.

1) Instead of travelling straight, the bus took a left turn and I could immediately see the expressway.

2) (And the more hilarious, unnerving factor) The driver called his superior on the mobile phone and blabbered in Mandarin: "Ya! I'm on the expressway. Ya AYE~ How do I get to Clementi?" I had to control myself and not laugh hysterically out loud lest all the pessenger thought I went berserk. But oh my! It was so hilarious! ( Of course, at that time, it didn't occur to me that I was just miles away from a bomb site!)

I thought to myself: Oh great! I'm in a hurry to get home so that I can start studying for EC4333 Midterm Exam the next day and now I'm on a round-the-island tour that god knows when it will end. Hopefully at Clementi too.
However, a part of me was secretly enjoying the unexpected break from the monotony of school life. Never in my wildest dream had I expected 96 to take me on a ride along AYE. So I was secretly enjoying every moment of this chanced occurrence.

After a brief journey on the AYE, the bus exited the expressway and came back to the bus stop opposite New Town Secondary School. I thought to myself: Great, we are back to Clementi again! Just take the right turn in front and we'll be on the road all the way straight to Clementi.

However, there was no right turn! The road did not allow vehicles to take a right turn, so 96 took a left turn and headed in the direction of NUS!

"Oh no! I'm going back to NUS again?"

I'm starting to worry that this journey would never end.

However, the bus driver decided to have mercy on me and took a left turn along the highway to NUS onto -- guess what? -- AYE again! For the second time in the hour, I was on AYE again albeit on the other side of the expressway heading towards Jurong.

The bus took another 12 mins to navigate the expressway and all the major roads in Clementi before it finally arrived back what it started -- Clementi Interchange.

Great! Bus 96 had taken me on a tour of the major roads in Clementi and the AYE, no less!

It's this kind of unexpected encounters, I believe, that adds that element of excitement into our usually monotonous routine. Things often happen unexpectedly and adds joy and thrill to our life! =)

我是一隻小小鳥

A song I have always liked since young~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qKSZnIdo9I

PS If anyone knows how to make the video appear here, tell me.

Is race a factor in Obama's presidential election? An economic perspective

From an email by Dr Wong.
Quoted from

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/02/12_postracial.shtml

BERKELEY — Reinforcing the notion of a "post racial" nation, two University of California, Berkeley, researchers' analysis of voting patterns indicates that voters were not motivated by race in the 2008 U.S. election of Barack Obama, the country's first black president.

Enrico Moretti, a UC Berkeley professor of economics, and Alexandre Mas, an associate professor in the economic policy and analysis group at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, presented their research findings on race and the campaign for the Oval Office at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association in San Francisco in January. Their report, "Racial Bias in the 2008 Presidential Election," will be published in a forthcoming edition of the association's journal American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings.

"Our research doesn't support the idea that race is not an issue in other dimensions, or other elections," Moretti said. "But for the most important election of all - the presidential election - the race of the candidate didn't seem to play a role one way or the other."

Despite pre-election handwringing by reporters, pundits and others about whether white voters could or would cast their ballots to make an African American candidate the country's commander-in-chief, "the average guy in the street didn't really agree with that," said Moretti. "The winning performance of Obama wasn't associated with racial attitude in America."

He said that he and Mas were intrigued by the discussions around a color-coded map that ran on the front page of the New York Times the day after the election, that depicted states (many of them on the East and West coasts) that supported Obama in blue and states (many in the South and Midwest) that went for Republican Sen. John McCain in red.

"If you looked at the map, read the blogs and listened to the pundits, the states where Obama underperformed looked more stereotypically racially biased," said Moretti. "But it's not that simple. Do a little more analysis and control properly, and it turns out that's not the case."

Moretti and Mas analyzed voter support for Republican or Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and for the presidency in both 2004 and in 2008. Then, they compared the results with a National Science Foundation-financed, state-by-state General Social Survey of whites' attitudes in some 3,100 counties across the country toward laws against banning interracial marriage, and whether whites have a right to segregated neighborhoods or to not sell homes to blacks.

The Democratic vote share in the presidential election increased about 5percent between 2004 and 2008, although it was relatively smaller in Appalachia and in some Southern states, while the increased voter support for the Obama-Biden ticket was about 1 percent less than Democratic candidates for House seats.

But Moretti and Mas said the real racial bias would be evidenced by Democratic congressional candidates doing better than Obama in areas where voters are more racist, according to the General Social Survey. That didn't happen.

Overall, the researchers found little evidence of higher voter turnout rates among the white electorate in areas reporting higher racial bias. While there was a slight increase in Obama's relative decline in votes in states in the top one-third for racial bias, the difference was not statistically significant, they reported.

The overall voting picture showed that older voters - a block that tends to be less racially tolerant than younger voters - turned out in substantially lower numbers in 2008 than in '04. "It's kind of an optimistic finding," Moretti said. "It means that as time goes by, we probably will find less and less bias, as today's younger, less biased voters move into middle age and beyond."

A native of Italy, Moretti said he is curious about American media and politics and the historic 2008 presidential race, in particular. "What I found remarkable throughout the campaign was that although the media were very focused on trying to find a racial angle, the campaigns themselves and the American people weren't very focused on the racial aspect," he said.

Data about racial attitudes were found in the General Social Survey, which since 1972 has conducted scientific research on demographic behavior to monitor social change in the United States and compare it to other countries. The survey is funded by the Sociology Program of the National Science Foundation.

The highest scoring states in terms of racial bias were Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming. The lowest were Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Iowa, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Knowledge is painful

Some inspirations drawn from conversation with Prof Zhang Jie~

1)
Knowledge is painful -- both creating it and acquiring it.

Let's face it: most people dislike difficult stuffs, especially new things they do not understand. This is why studying, acquiring knowledge is so painful. It gets worse as you go up the education ladder.

Similarly, knowledge creation is painful. It is not uncommon to see a paper written 10 years ago published only now. That's why paper writing is not called 'search' but 'RE-search'. You have to write it, check through a few times and re-write it again. After that, when you send it for publication, they will check through and you may have to 're-search' and re-write a few more times before it is published. Knowledge creation is a long and painful process.

(Pretty logical explanation I would say, when we consider why many students hate studying. Of course, I don't deny that a rigid and competitive education system is partially at fault as well.)

2)
Those at the lower end of the knowledge chain gets paid more than those at the top of the knowledge chain.

This applies to every industry. Examples given are that of the dentist and the teacher.

The scientist creates the knowledge about extraction techniques and extraction equipments and passes it free of charge through journal articles. The dentist learns about it by reading the journal article online for free and acquire these new knowledge quickly. However, the scientist gets paid less than the dentist. The dentist is paid every time a patient visits and the dentist applies the new knowledge to extract the patient's tooth. However, the scientist is usually paid a smaller fixed salary. In fact, even though the scientist contributed to the knowledge creation process towards solving his own toothache problem, when he visits the dentist, he still has to pay!

The teacher in university teaches 4 modules or 500 students a year. In 10 years' time, he would have taught over 5000 students. However, the teacher's salary is a mere fraction of the earnings of these students. These students who can be working in any sector ranging from accounting to human resource management would be earning a higher income than the teacher because they are the ones providing the services directly to the consumers, even though they are applying knowledge acquired from the teacher!
(NOTE: TEACHER IS A NOBLE PROFESSION! =) )

(Since most of us would not be engaging in the knowledge creation process at the top, perhaps we can take some relief from this observation. Yes, we can still earn a decent living if not more. Poor teacher! =P )

Teach More, Learn More, less sleep and back and shoulder pain

Insightful article I obtained from my teacher's facebook entry...

Don't read if you are rushed for time...

There are two interesting reports about Singapore’s students in Singapore’s main newspaper, the Straits Times, on 5 January 2009. The first report focuses on the sleeping patterns of Singapore’s teenagers. The second report is about the effect of heavy school bags that Singapore students carry to school.

The first report says that four in five of Singapore’s teenagers are not getting enough sleep. The average teenager is supposed to get more than eight to nine hours of sleep. According to the report half of those studied actually had only five to six hours of sleep.

Although the report did mention that one of the reasons for the lack of sleep among teenagers is because they chat online, it is also disturbing to read that many of these teenagers who lack sleep are high-achievers in school who believe that they can do without the recommended amount of sleep.

According to Dr Lim Li Ling, director of the Singapore General Hospital’s Sleep Disorder Unit:

“Some proudly let me know that they sleep only four hours a night. It’s not something they should feel proud about. It affects their brain potential - how much they can learn and consolidate.”

A study in the United States has shown that teenagers who are top students do even better with sufficient sleep. The report also says that the heavy school load and co-curricular activities are additional reasons for the teenagers’ lack of sleep.

We can infer from this report that the examination-centered Singapore school curriculum is clearly an important reason for this sleep deprivation with its long term health consequences. One also wonders about the mental health of these students.

The second report focuses on a study by Singapore’s Republic Polytechnic on the effect of a heavy school bags on Singapore’s students. The study done by Dr Michael Koh and Mr Tarkeshwar Singh of the Republic Polytechnic. They found that Singapore’s students tend to take shorter, quicker steps to offset the typically heavy loads that they carry to school. According to the report the changes in gait will not reduce the problems these students will face with regards to their posture, or their joints and ligaments which can lead to back and shoulder pains.

Another doctor, Dr Kevin Lim, an orthopaedic consultant at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore, says that he treats up to five to ten children every week for such pains. The report says this is despite schools in Singapore now providing lockers for the students.

In case you are wondering why the locker solution has not worked, it is probably because parents and the schools themselves still insist that these students bring their text books and other accessories home so they can still use them for even more studying back home. One solution to this problem is to buy extra copies of text books; one set for home use and one set for the school. Quite a few parents have resorted to this which explains the perennial shortage of text books even before the new school calendar begins. But this applies only to those parents who can afford two sets of books!

The other reason is that for each subject there is usually a text book, activity or work book, plus the books for writing. Seldom is the student told which of these books are required for the next day of school. In fact, many teachers just insist that students bring all their books for the subjects. Multiply the number of books for each subject by the number of subjects each day (which is at least four each day). That will give you an idea of the load. Don’t forget also the stacks of printed notes and worksheets given to the students by the teachers. This is how Singapore students do well in examinations and TIMSS!

When schools in the neighboring countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and China seek the Singapore school model for themselves, I wonder how many of these schools go beyond Singapore school’s excellent examinations performance and TIMSS results when they choose the Singapore school model? What price are parents in these countries willing to pay for “educational” success with their children’s long term health? It is clear from these two reports that the Singapore education system breeds success at the expense of the students’ health. This is a natural effect of the schools’ heavy load and the pressure to excel in the high stakes examinations.

Lastly, one wonders about the state of the teachers in Singapore’s schools. With the teaching and preparation that they have to do to meet the targets set for the high stakes examinations , the large class sizes and the accompanying heavy marking load, we wonder about the state of physical and mental health these teachers are in. So much for the “Teach Less, Learn More” (TLLM) initiative of the Ministry of Education (MOE).

Job Credits

For the past decade, the government has emphasized creative thinking in schools, today it has walk the talk by introducing a new measure known as "Job Credits" in its latest budget to fight the recession.

Job Credits is set to become the new buzzword in economics in a few years' time. This innovative measure introduces a fresh approach to retaining jobs in an economy and is an out-of-the-box measure never before implemented by any country. The idea is that the government would hand out "credits" or rebates to companies and the size of the 'credit' would depend on the number of workers the firm employs. For each worker employed, the firm gets a 12% rebate on the wage of the worker. The credits would be handed out every 3 months or 4 times a year. This innovative approach contributes directly to the government's aim of protecting the jobs of Singaporeans.

I must say that this time round I am impressed by the quality of the solution conceived by the budget team. It's something that is simple, to the point and effective in achieving its objective.

An Economy of Faith and Trust

Got this from my lecturer.

Quoted from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/opinion/16brooks.html?_r=1&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&pagewanted=print.

Once there was just Newtonian physics and the world seemed neat and mechanical. Then quantum physics came along and revealed that deep down things are much weirder than they seem. Something similar is now happening with public policy.

Once, classical economics dominated policy thinking. The classical models presumed a certain sort of orderly human makeup. Inside each person, reason rides the passions the way a rider sits atop a horse. Sometimes people do stupid things, but generally the rider makes deliberative decisions, and the market rewards rational behavior.

Markets tend toward efficiency. People respond in pretty straightforward ways to incentives. The invisible hand forms a spontaneous, dynamic order. Economic behavior can be accurately predicted through elegant models.

This view explains a lot, but not the current financial crisis — how so many people could be so stupid, incompetent and self-destructive all at once. The crisis has delivered a blow to classical economics and taken a body of psychological work that was at the edge of public policy thought and brought it front and center.

In this new body of thought, you get a very different picture of human nature. Reason is not like a rider atop a horse. Instead, each person’s mind contains a panoply of instincts, strategies, intuitions, emotions, memories and habits, which vie for supremacy. An irregular, idiosyncratic and largely unconscious process determines which of these internal players gets to control behavior at any instant. Context — which stimulus triggers which response — matters a lot.

This mental chaos explains how people can respond so quickly and intuitively to so many different circumstances. But it also entails a decision-making process that is more complicated and messy than previously thought.

For example, we don’t perceive circumstances objectively. We pick out those bits of data that make us feel good because they confirm our prejudices. As Andrew Lo of M.I.T. has demonstrated, if stock traders make a series of apparently good picks, the dopamine released into their brains creates a stupor that causes them to underperceive danger ahead.

Biases abound. People who’ve been told to think of a high number will subsequently bid much more for an item than people who’ve been told to think of a low number. As Jonah Lehrer writes in his forthcoming book, “How We Decide,” there are certain circumstances (often when there are many options) in which gut instincts lead to the best decisions, while there are other circumstances (sometimes when there are a few options) when calm deliberation is best.

Most important, people seek relationships more than money. If behaving a certain way helps a stock trader or a regulator fit in with his crowd, he’s likely to keep doing it without too much rigorous self-examination.

A thousand mental shortcomings contributed to the financial meltdown. Republicans have tried to explain it by pointing to irresponsible policies at Fannie Mae. But that only explains a piece of what’s happening.

This crisis represents a flaw in the classical economic model and its belief in efficient markets. Republicans haven’t begun to grapple with the consequences.

For years, Republicans have been trying to create a large investor class with policies like private Social Security accounts, medical savings accounts and education vouchers. These policies were based on the belief that investors are careful, rational actors who make optimal decisions. There was little allowance made for the frailty of the decision-making process, let alone the mass delusions that led to the current crack-up.

Democrats also have an unfaced crisis. Democratic discussions of the stimulus package also rest on a mechanical, dehumanized view of the economy. You pump in a certain amount of money and “the economy” spits out a certain number of jobs. Democratic economists issue highly specific accounts of multiplier effects — whether a dollar of spending creates $1.20 or $1.40 of economic activity.

But an economy is a society of trust and faith. A recession is a mental event, and every recession has its own unique spirit. This recession was caused by deep imbalances and is propelled by a cascade of fundamental insecurities. You can pump hundreds of billions into the banks, but insecure bankers still won’t lend. You can run up gigantic deficits, hire road builders and reduce the unemployment rate from 8 percent to 7 percent, but insecure people will still not spend and invest.

The economic spirit of a people cannot be manipulated in as simple-minded a fashion as the Keynesian mechanists imagine. Right now political and economic confidence levels are running in opposite directions. Politically, we’re in a season of optimism, but despite a trillion spent and a trillion more about to be, the economic spirit cowers.

Mechanistic thinkers on the right and left pose as rigorous empiricists. But empiricism built on an inaccurate view of human nature is just a prison.

List of Anime to watch

Recommended by Wen Cen...

Full Metal Panic

Full Metal Panic Fumoffa

Full Metal Panic The Second Raid

Ruronin Kenshin

Flame of Recca

Okiku Furikabutte

El Hazard

Evangelion

Gintama

Office Politik

It is with sadness that i realize that office politics exists in every work environment. As long as you work in an office, you cannot escape from it.

Recently, I thought that I had found an ideal working environment where there is no office politics and colleagues help one another out. I was wrong. Every moment we are watched and observed by others in the office. Regardless of whether we like it or not, we are constantly being monitored by others. Consciously or sub-consciously, judgements are being passed.

When you think all went well and you have a rare harmonious working relationship with your colleague, your boss informs you that one of your colleagues has 'commented' that you are chatting with people more than you should; that you should probably work harder because everyone else is working hard.

It gets depressing. It is one fact of life that you thought you have heard about and accepted. Sadly, acceptance only comes about when you have experienced it yourself.

The need to portray that you are always working hard during office hours is ever present. The constant need to maintain a certain image is always there. The constant need to cover your back is always there. Now i understand why people say that you wear a mask to work every day. Everyone does... It's hard to forge close friendship in an office. That's why secondary school and junior college school days are memorable.

Uncle Sam is watching......

人生

Got this from My Paper...

生活中有问题是好事，因为不再有问题的人生，就是停滞不前的人生。

EASY AND DIFFICULT

Easy is to get a place is someone’s address book.
Difficult is to get a place in someone’s heart.

Easy is to judge the mistakes of others.
Difficult is to recognize our own mistakes.

Easy is to talk without thinking.
Difficult is to refrain the tongue.

Easy is to hurt someone who loves us.
Difficult is to heal the wound…

Easy is to forgive others.
Difficult is to ask for forgiveness.

Easy is to set rules.
Difficult is to follow them…

Easy is to dream every night.
Difficult is to fight for a dream…

Easy is to show victory.
Difficult is to assume defeat with dignity…

Easy is to admire a full moon.
Difficult to see the other side…

Easy is to stumble with a stone.
Difficult is to get up…

Easy is to enjoy life every day.
Difficult to give its real value…

Easy is to pray every night.
Difficult is to find God in small things…

Easy is to promise something to someone.
Difficult is to fulfill that promise…

Easy is to say we love.
Difficult is to show it every day…

Easy is to criticize others.
Difficult is to improve oneself…

Easy is to make mistakes.
Difficult is to learn from them…

Easy is to weep for a lost love.
Difficult is to take care of it so not to lose it.

Easy is to think about improving.
Difficult is to stop thinking it and put it into action…

Easy is to think bad of others.
Difficult is to give them the benefit of the doubt…

Easy is to receive.
Difficult is to give.

Easy to read this.
Difficult to follow.

Easy is keep the friendship with words.
Difficult is to keep it with meanings.

Bad Relief Teaching Experience

Someone asked why I had joined teaching. I did not join because I had some wonderful or memorable relief teaching experience. In fact, I had quite a negative experience while relief teaching.

I ORD-ed in March, so I wasn't able to get any long term relief teaching assignment. I got placed in the reserve list. Only if a teacher was on MC, would I get a call in the morning to go do relief teaching. It was that ad-hoc.

I got called up to do relief teaching at a neighbourhood secondary school in the west. The first class was a Normal (Academic) Sec 2 class. They were supposed to have Arts lesson, so I brought them to the Arts room. A guy and a girl started to quarrel. The guy called the girl a pig and the girl was unhappy. She went to the sink and filled a container with water. She went on to splash the water at the guy. But the water did not hit the guy; instead it landed on me who was trying to break up the fight. I remarked: "So you are happy now?" Then the two of them went back to their seats and the class was quiet for the next two period. Well~ At least they were quiet. Small sacrifice on my part -- my shirt was totally wet.

After that, I went to stand in for a Sec 3 Express class. They were very noisy and I had no way of making them silent. A girl came up to me and asked: "Teacher, can i stamp you?" She was holding a stamp in her hand. You know, the type that teachers used to stamp stars on our assignments when we were young. The ink stamp. Of course, I replied: "No, you can't." Then i went to do my rounds in the class to ask them to lower their volume. The girl followed behind and stamped me on my back.

"What are you doing!"

I was irritated.

"Stamping you lor!" she replied calmly.

I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.

Yup~ Just two of the more memorable traumatic experiences I had while relief teaching.