(A weak attempt in response to a particular entry)
Feels like I've finally surfaced after being in the water for a long time. Actually not really so, but bulk of the work has already been completed.
Makes me wonder why I faithfully adhered to the schedule when I've much leeway to procrastinate and leave it to maybe the last few weeks to clear up everything.
Not trying to boast or anything, but I wonder why I was willing to sacrifice my weekends on dull and mundane stuff. Why I took the effort to attempt optional stuff. When the optional stuff is not needed, it feels like a waste of precious time. I guess most of us want to spend our effort in doing things that can beget direct rewards and benefits.
'Homework don't need to hand up one, just for self practice.'
'Then do for what?!'
'Tutorial no participation points.'
'Then don't need to attend already. Got solutions uploaded anyway.'
'You know this lecture got webcast?'
'Oh ok, that means you won't see me here at this time anymore.'
'This topic not covered in exams...'
'Ok SKIP!!'
Study smart, not hard...
...since when have we adopted such a mentality?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
人间有奇迹？
The past few weeks have been so dull that I don't know what to blog about. But since I don't usually blog about my own activities or outings, this is just an excuse haha...
Let's talk about 人间有奇迹, I mean 魔幻视界 haha. Have been following this series so far but sad to say that I still prefer 一切完美, which has more touching themes. I also find some episodes a little boring, and most magic performed in the show didn't arouse my interest. Probably because it's a drama, which can be edited easily, the magic doesn't seem very real and convincing, although the scenes were shown in one continuous take. Ok I know the focus of the drama is not about the magic, but well...
The central theme of the drama can be summarized into one phrase that we never fail to hear in each episode. But I feel that the phrase was over-iterated, to the extent that it has lost the impact, at least on me. Anyway right from the start I don't believe in miracles. That's why I was slightly pleased when the 人间没奇迹 thingy appeared. Let's be realistic everyone.
Rather than 奇迹, I prefer believing in 运气. Miracle is defined as "an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause". Hmm, I won't count on this. At least luck has a proven and known chance of happening, though the probability might be low. When the secrets behind miracles are discovered, it would then be deemed as rare occurrence or coincidence eventually.
If one day I were to strike Toto 1st prize (provided I even start buying in the first place), I would attribute it to luck instead of calling it a miracle. After all the point of Toto is to award prize money to winners. What's a miracle when the outcome is already confirmed and definite? It only depends on luck whether the winner could be yourself.
人间有好运！Doesn't sound very right to me haha. 好运 sounds very personalized whereas 奇迹 sounds like it could benefit the masses. Moreover we all know that luck is always present, though it might not fall upon us. However we don't know whether miracles do really exist or not. Would you rather believe on something that exists, or something whose existence we don't even know?
To avoid sensitive issues regarding you-know-what, I think end my point here haha.
Let's talk about 人间有奇迹, I mean 魔幻视界 haha. Have been following this series so far but sad to say that I still prefer 一切完美, which has more touching themes. I also find some episodes a little boring, and most magic performed in the show didn't arouse my interest. Probably because it's a drama, which can be edited easily, the magic doesn't seem very real and convincing, although the scenes were shown in one continuous take. Ok I know the focus of the drama is not about the magic, but well...
The central theme of the drama can be summarized into one phrase that we never fail to hear in each episode. But I feel that the phrase was over-iterated, to the extent that it has lost the impact, at least on me. Anyway right from the start I don't believe in miracles. That's why I was slightly pleased when the 人间没奇迹 thingy appeared. Let's be realistic everyone.
Rather than 奇迹, I prefer believing in 运气. Miracle is defined as "an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause". Hmm, I won't count on this. At least luck has a proven and known chance of happening, though the probability might be low. When the secrets behind miracles are discovered, it would then be deemed as rare occurrence or coincidence eventually.
If one day I were to strike Toto 1st prize (provided I even start buying in the first place), I would attribute it to luck instead of calling it a miracle. After all the point of Toto is to award prize money to winners. What's a miracle when the outcome is already confirmed and definite? It only depends on luck whether the winner could be yourself.
人间有好运！Doesn't sound very right to me haha. 好运 sounds very personalized whereas 奇迹 sounds like it could benefit the masses. Moreover we all know that luck is always present, though it might not fall upon us. However we don't know whether miracles do really exist or not. Would you rather believe on something that exists, or something whose existence we don't even know?
To avoid sensitive issues regarding you-know-what, I think end my point here haha.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Seeking dx/dt = 0
Still can't believe the mid term break has just ended like that. I remember how relieved I was after pulling through the busy final week of the 1st half semester. There were so many plans laid out in my mind for the following week - "I shall do this and this...", "I will start this and there should be time for this too...". So many hopes and plans for that short duration.
It started off quite well though, as I managed to complete a few assignments on CNY eve, a day which one normally wouldn't have the mood to do any homework at all. So proud of myself haha. Was thinking that if I were to continue at this pace, I'll be left with plenty of time for the weekend before school starts.
Even went as far as bringing my notes along when visiting relatives. Better to make good use of the time rather than to sit around waiting for the 'mandatory period' to pass. My plan looked pretty good so far.
There were days where I stayed home almost all day, giving me lots of room to clear off my workload, and hoping to proceed to the 'extras' (reading supplementary materials, etc).
Within a blink of eye, the other weekend had come. Why was I still struggling to clear my primary workload? I had started working on it on the eve, and tried to utilize time during visiting. What happened?
Nevertheless I continued. Until the final night of the break, I still had some unfinished work, which was pushed to Monday night. Was I really that busy? Was the workload really that unmanageable?
Looking back at each and every day I spent, it appeared quite alright as I did complete some work during the free time in between. So what went wrong?
Then I realised something: I was steady but SLOW. In other words, I was inefficient. I took a longer time to complete a work than what is normally required. Was surprised at how terribly inefficient I was.
Often, I spend a considerable amount of time pondering over what I did. I would try to double-check if it's indeed correct, or try to convince myself even though I don't really understand. This is more time consuming than expected.
'The more time you spend, the better the work produced.' I wonder if this is true. So what if I spend so much time trying to make sure something is perfect (or at least close)? Will this extra time spent be better utilized on other tasks to achieve a reasonable standard?
Let's say you're given 1 hour to finish 2 questions. Would you spend 45 min trying to perfect the 1st and the remaining 15 min to give a half-hearted answer for the 2nd? Or split the time equally and attempt to answer both to a reasonable standard?
Sometimes, spending more time on things doesn't pay off. The result you get upon spending 3 hours may not be any much different from the result after 2 hours. Most of the time, spending extra time is just for the sake of self-satisfaction. We would feel uneasy if something is missing, or not up to our expected standard. We may feel satisfied with our perfect work, but then start crying when we realise that there is no time left for subsequent tasks.
To comfort myself, I could say that I'm more conscientious and willing to put in effort. But to put it crudely, I spend lots of unnecessary time trying to create an insignificant difference, resulting in inefficiency.
Time is limited. It passes and never returns. Thus sacrificing time for ineffective work is usually a bad move. That's why there is this concept termed 'optimization', which teaches us to make use of minimum time to produce maximum work.
And here I am wasting precious time typing this entry...
Whether something is worth the extra effort, it's up to us to decide. But the speed of passing time is not up to us to control. Between spending time and getting best possible result - which consideration should take priority? The answer is obvious.
It started off quite well though, as I managed to complete a few assignments on CNY eve, a day which one normally wouldn't have the mood to do any homework at all. So proud of myself haha. Was thinking that if I were to continue at this pace, I'll be left with plenty of time for the weekend before school starts.
Even went as far as bringing my notes along when visiting relatives. Better to make good use of the time rather than to sit around waiting for the 'mandatory period' to pass. My plan looked pretty good so far.
There were days where I stayed home almost all day, giving me lots of room to clear off my workload, and hoping to proceed to the 'extras' (reading supplementary materials, etc).
Within a blink of eye, the other weekend had come. Why was I still struggling to clear my primary workload? I had started working on it on the eve, and tried to utilize time during visiting. What happened?
Nevertheless I continued. Until the final night of the break, I still had some unfinished work, which was pushed to Monday night. Was I really that busy? Was the workload really that unmanageable?
Looking back at each and every day I spent, it appeared quite alright as I did complete some work during the free time in between. So what went wrong?
Then I realised something: I was steady but SLOW. In other words, I was inefficient. I took a longer time to complete a work than what is normally required. Was surprised at how terribly inefficient I was.
Often, I spend a considerable amount of time pondering over what I did. I would try to double-check if it's indeed correct, or try to convince myself even though I don't really understand. This is more time consuming than expected.
'The more time you spend, the better the work produced.' I wonder if this is true. So what if I spend so much time trying to make sure something is perfect (or at least close)? Will this extra time spent be better utilized on other tasks to achieve a reasonable standard?
Let's say you're given 1 hour to finish 2 questions. Would you spend 45 min trying to perfect the 1st and the remaining 15 min to give a half-hearted answer for the 2nd? Or split the time equally and attempt to answer both to a reasonable standard?
Sometimes, spending more time on things doesn't pay off. The result you get upon spending 3 hours may not be any much different from the result after 2 hours. Most of the time, spending extra time is just for the sake of self-satisfaction. We would feel uneasy if something is missing, or not up to our expected standard. We may feel satisfied with our perfect work, but then start crying when we realise that there is no time left for subsequent tasks.
To comfort myself, I could say that I'm more conscientious and willing to put in effort. But to put it crudely, I spend lots of unnecessary time trying to create an insignificant difference, resulting in inefficiency.
Time is limited. It passes and never returns. Thus sacrificing time for ineffective work is usually a bad move. That's why there is this concept termed 'optimization', which teaches us to make use of minimum time to produce maximum work.
And here I am wasting precious time typing this entry...
Whether something is worth the extra effort, it's up to us to decide. But the speed of passing time is not up to us to control. Between spending time and getting best possible result - which consideration should take priority? The answer is obvious.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
See and Whine
For obvious reasons, I neglected my blog for almost 2 weeks. We all know what takes priority for a student.
Very relieved that the CNY break cum recess week is here. An early pit-stop would mean that I'll have to endure more for the next subsequent 8 weeks. High chance that school work might accumulate to even more than what I had experienced for the past week. No thanks to the disappointing email which came few days ago.
Enough about school, let's talk about CNY.
Since n years ago, I've heard people, especially youngsters, complaining about how the CNY atmosphere isn't as lively and bustling as in the past, which makes them look forward less to the festive season. As for me, whether the atmosphere has dwindled or not doesn't matter that much and I still very look forward to CNY, for various reasons:
- Compared to my childhood days, I'm not as excited when receiving hongbao anymore, but receiving some cash still has the value of being looked forward to. The total amount received is not much though, but it still gives me a little more spending power. Despite inflation throughout the years, the amount in each packet never changes. I wonder if 10 years down the road people will still give the same amount. Can tradition be ever adjusted to suit the economy?
- Food!!! Eating good food makes me happy haha. Although people rarely visit my house, my mum still buys snacks and cookies every year. The guys in my home will then quickly finish them up hehe. Unfortunately most snacks my mum bought aren't that fantastic (some even tasted like plastic/rubber), so I normally eat a lot at my relatives' house haha, where the quality is much better. My mum doesn't buy bak kwa, so I've to eat them elsewhere. Therefore, the first thing I do upon entering my relatives' house is to scavenge the table for goodies haha.
- Anyone noticed these few years there is always a four-day long holiday? As long as chu yi falls on a Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Thursday there will be an extra long holiday. So the chances are actually quite high eh. Sadly this year's potential has been wasted, thanks to the flexibility in adjusting the term calendar. For dating NUS students, won't it be a double whammy? Hahaha...
I wonder what I can eat tomorrow...yum ^_^
To end off, enjoy your 'see and whine' holidays everyone!
Very relieved that the CNY break cum recess week is here. An early pit-stop would mean that I'll have to endure more for the next subsequent 8 weeks. High chance that school work might accumulate to even more than what I had experienced for the past week. No thanks to the disappointing email which came few days ago.
Enough about school, let's talk about CNY.
Since n years ago, I've heard people, especially youngsters, complaining about how the CNY atmosphere isn't as lively and bustling as in the past, which makes them look forward less to the festive season. As for me, whether the atmosphere has dwindled or not doesn't matter that much and I still very look forward to CNY, for various reasons:
- Compared to my childhood days, I'm not as excited when receiving hongbao anymore, but receiving some cash still has the value of being looked forward to. The total amount received is not much though, but it still gives me a little more spending power. Despite inflation throughout the years, the amount in each packet never changes. I wonder if 10 years down the road people will still give the same amount. Can tradition be ever adjusted to suit the economy?
- Food!!! Eating good food makes me happy haha. Although people rarely visit my house, my mum still buys snacks and cookies every year. The guys in my home will then quickly finish them up hehe. Unfortunately most snacks my mum bought aren't that fantastic (some even tasted like plastic/rubber), so I normally eat a lot at my relatives' house haha, where the quality is much better. My mum doesn't buy bak kwa, so I've to eat them elsewhere. Therefore, the first thing I do upon entering my relatives' house is to scavenge the table for goodies haha.
- Anyone noticed these few years there is always a four-day long holiday? As long as chu yi falls on a Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Thursday there will be an extra long holiday. So the chances are actually quite high eh. Sadly this year's potential has been wasted, thanks to the flexibility in adjusting the term calendar. For dating NUS students, won't it be a double whammy? Hahaha...
I wonder what I can eat tomorrow...yum ^_^
To end off, enjoy your 'see and whine' holidays everyone!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Kang Xi
Upon being heavily exposed to maths and science related work all these years, I've already lost the ability to appreciate and understand literature.
This realization came when a literature text was given as homework for my Japanese module. Reading and knowing what is happening in the story is not a problem. However after the reading the last line, I was stunned - 'Huh? It ended? What is the story trying to say?'. Then I went to read the questions which followed, and sadly I couldn't answer most of them at the first glance. 'What did that person do wrong? Was he even wrong at all?' I was bewildered by the question which asked to list the bad things that the characters had done. And there was this question about the moral of the story. There were 5 points but I could only fill up one point at most.
Of course I tried to force myself to answer all the questions, based on my own interpretations which I had convinced myself over a long period of time. Well, there was no right or wrong answers after all but I was quite surprised that I had to spend such a long time to answer those seemingly simple questions.
There was another time when I didn't even realise that the story I was reading is from a romance novel... The interaction between the personage didn't appear very romantic to me...
Despite the difficulty in grasping the hidden meaning at first, the inference is actually pretty clear. I could understand it right away when the teacher explained. But why couldn't I figure it out by myself? It should be my own problem then.
Not sure if this is necessarily a bad thing, but I think I'm more suited to objective texts like news articles. There is also a kind of article where the author will describe an anecdote and attempt to link it to some philosophy. Yea, I'm bad at reading that as well, as I don't see the link most of the time.
'If you can see it, you can. If you can't, you can't no matter how much you try.'
Looks like I'll be facing a huge challenge in my Japanese module.
This realization came when a literature text was given as homework for my Japanese module. Reading and knowing what is happening in the story is not a problem. However after the reading the last line, I was stunned - 'Huh? It ended? What is the story trying to say?'. Then I went to read the questions which followed, and sadly I couldn't answer most of them at the first glance. 'What did that person do wrong? Was he even wrong at all?' I was bewildered by the question which asked to list the bad things that the characters had done. And there was this question about the moral of the story. There were 5 points but I could only fill up one point at most.
Of course I tried to force myself to answer all the questions, based on my own interpretations which I had convinced myself over a long period of time. Well, there was no right or wrong answers after all but I was quite surprised that I had to spend such a long time to answer those seemingly simple questions.
There was another time when I didn't even realise that the story I was reading is from a romance novel... The interaction between the personage didn't appear very romantic to me...
Despite the difficulty in grasping the hidden meaning at first, the inference is actually pretty clear. I could understand it right away when the teacher explained. But why couldn't I figure it out by myself? It should be my own problem then.
Not sure if this is necessarily a bad thing, but I think I'm more suited to objective texts like news articles. There is also a kind of article where the author will describe an anecdote and attempt to link it to some philosophy. Yea, I'm bad at reading that as well, as I don't see the link most of the time.
'If you can see it, you can. If you can't, you can't no matter how much you try.'
Looks like I'll be facing a huge challenge in my Japanese module.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
It has come!
Yep, the Singapore version of Just for Laughs Gags. We used to watch it often on TV Mobile, and laugh at foreigners being teased. How about watching our fellow Sgeans being teased?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnoeXIeMpu0
Embedding disabled
Considering how Sgeans hate being made a fool of in the public, I believe the production team has met with several difficulties dealing with the unsporting attitude of the people teased. Comparatively, the foreigner 'victims' shown in the episode appear to be more accepting towards the joke.
Somehow it becomes unsettling (as well as annoying) to see the frowning and anger expressions by Sgeans. Because it seems to signal an incoming complaint bomb... (via online forums, newspapers, Stomp, etc)
Compared to the original version, the jokes were rather mild - probably to avoid being scolded by the victim as much as possible. Can't imagine how badly the production team will be bashed if the more 'thrilling' ones were carried out.
Previously there were some reports of jokes being played on local artistes, which failed pretty badly. The artistes felt that their trust was betrayed, and the silly unproductive joke deprived them of their precious time.
After all it's natural for people to enjoy looking at people being teased but not themselves being teased.
Makes me want to watch 'Gotcha', hosted by Moe Alkaff many years ago, to know why it used to be so popular then.
As for this one? Somehow it doesn't have sufficient pulling factor to make me want to watch further...
Anyway to those interested, the show is currently airing on Channel 5 every Tuesday 9pm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnoeXIeMpu0
Embedding disabled
Considering how Sgeans hate being made a fool of in the public, I believe the production team has met with several difficulties dealing with the unsporting attitude of the people teased. Comparatively, the foreigner 'victims' shown in the episode appear to be more accepting towards the joke.
Somehow it becomes unsettling (as well as annoying) to see the frowning and anger expressions by Sgeans. Because it seems to signal an incoming complaint bomb... (via online forums, newspapers, Stomp, etc)
Compared to the original version, the jokes were rather mild - probably to avoid being scolded by the victim as much as possible. Can't imagine how badly the production team will be bashed if the more 'thrilling' ones were carried out.
Previously there were some reports of jokes being played on local artistes, which failed pretty badly. The artistes felt that their trust was betrayed, and the silly unproductive joke deprived them of their precious time.
After all it's natural for people to enjoy looking at people being teased but not themselves being teased.
Makes me want to watch 'Gotcha', hosted by Moe Alkaff many years ago, to know why it used to be so popular then.
As for this one? Somehow it doesn't have sufficient pulling factor to make me want to watch further...
Anyway to those interested, the show is currently airing on Channel 5 every Tuesday 9pm.
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