sifiliA

Night

David — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:44:04 +0000

Feet pounding against the bare road, pounding imprints into the earth, physical jolts of pain, wiping away the emotional undercurrents
melding into the darkness, waffling past houses, streetlights, humanity, seeking solace in the bloody mess beneath
Exhilaration, emotions, shortness of breath, wiping away, cleansing.
Veins protruding, toes bleeding, yet as the pounding stops, the physical recedes, and what remains, is an emotional void,a mess of blisters

Nah, I am joking. =) Accidentally spilled hot water. Haha.

TEDxNTU

David — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:07:38 +0000

People fail to enjoy momentary pleasures, such as eating their favourite food or sleeping an extra hour, in the pursuit of a “better future”. Do you think this is a right way to pursue happiness?

Not necessarily. Happiness that we receive in the short run is subject to the law of diminishing returns. As we consume more and more momentary pleasures, the marginal benefit (happiness) of doing so decreases. A parallel example would be that we enjoy more happiness from eating a snack once in a while than eating one additional snack after having ate five snacks in a row.

On the flip side, if we impose draconian controls on our consumption of momentary pleasures, we will find that in the end we will be devoid of happiness as potential benefits from consumption are not materialized.

Therefore as the time costs of momentary pleasures are fixed, as long as we are able to strike a balance between consuming too many and too few momentary pleasures, we will able to strike the optimum balance between short term and long term happiness.

If you are asked to send a ‘joke’ to a prisoner, that will be read to him just before his execution, what would it be?

“One day char siew pao and mantou went to the cinema. Char siew pao cried, but mantao didnt. Why?

Because mantao had no ‘fillings’.

After that char siew pao and kaya pao went to the cinema too. Char siew pao again cried, but kaya pao laughed. Why?

Because kaya pao has different ‘fillings’.

Finally, char siew pao decided to go the the cinema with big pao. Char siew pao cried, but big pao wept endlessly. Why?

Because big pao had big feelings.”

One may point out that the joke neither contains a specific meaning nor appeals to the context of which it is being told. But the joke aptly demonstrates that the creation of happiness need not be bounded by rational considerations, and that in the instant before divorce between man and life, the ‘absurd walls’ of life become all more apparent; thus human life’s meaninglessness is laid bare, and death is but just a simple step into the absurd.

Why do you feel happy when your favourite team wins a game/series?

The happiness comes from a visceral feeling of pride and exuberance in regards to what the team has done. A feeling of belonging towards the team is felt, and one will attempt to identify oneself with the team.

Supporting a team is like playing the lottery without having to pay anything! If the team wins, one feels much happier, if the team loses, any sadness is momentary and fleeting. It’s a win-no lose situation.

I got selected, but now the school doesnt allow me to go. =(

Debt

David — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:38:56 +0000

Holiday reading.

On Trade Barriers and Protectionism

David — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:11:49 +0000

Trade barriers are government-induced restrictions on international trade that come in the form of tariffs, embargoes, or local subsidies.

One of the major culprits of the recessions of the 1930s and the World War II is none other than the trade barriers that countries enacted among each other. Douglas A. Irwin succinctly describes the situation of the 30s as:

“The proliferation of higher tariffs, import quotas, and foreign exchange controls all contributed to the collapse of international trade. These import restrictions, combined with preferential trade blocs, destroyed the open, non-discriminatory world trading system. Once imposed, the trade barriers took root and proved difficult to remove, stifling world trade and hindering economic recovery for years to come.”

Entering the 21st century, we have seen the mutual reduction of trade barriers in most countries thanks to the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and WTO. In a nutshell, the gradual removal of trade barriers has been viewed as largely beneficial, and has been accredited as being a major factor in promoting global economic growth.

Trade barriers represent a vibrant interplay among countries. Countries are fully aware that unilateral approach towards barriers will not positively impact their exports, while flooding the local economy with imported goods, resulting in a current account imbalance. Therefore, reductions in trade barriers are carried out through international commitments to multilaterally abolish protectionism or through regional trading agreements.

Similarly, the issue of protectionism applies to interactions of us as individuals in society. A society filled with highly kiasu (protectionists) individuals is headed towards a situation of unhealthy competition. Imagine a school where students are unwilling to share information or knowledge among one another out of fear of losing out; there would be no much point in communal education then. In a same fashion to the situation of countries previously mentioned, students that share information do not lose out – one doesn’t become stupid by sharing knowledge, but comparatively speaking, these students become comparatively less knowledgeable than their peers. It follows that there exists an incentive for students to keep their erudition under wraps.

The extent to which students will keep up this form of ‘protectionism’ depends on their character that acts as to multiply or deflate the incentive to ‘protect’. A student with a competitive edge would find the incentive to shroud his/her talents in secrecy very tempting, whereas a laid back student would barely feel such a need.

So how do students respond to these barriers? An informal mechanism based on mutual openness and trust is initiated among willing participants. Students congregate into groups that they are willing to trust, and the sharing of information then occurs. Individuals that break the compact of trust (by withholding of say, tips for an important exam) are subsequently ostracised and expulsed from the group. Again, this is a reflection of the dynamics between countries.

Thus, there’s a lesson or two that we as individuals can learn from countries: protectionism presents a lose-lose situation to society. However, a unilateral reduction of barriers is not a winning one too.

Chatbox

David — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:42:28 +0000

Apparently ShoutMix decided to suspend its free-service. A quick search revealed that quite a few chat sites had also went under.

Decided to cbox. Will miss those old posts involving fake identities (ie Carmen posting as Justin) zum beispiel.

Anyways, I know I havent posting anything in ages, so, just a few quick photos:

Siew > Caryne > Steph > Jyen > Ihsan

Axiata

spacebar

David — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:48:28 +0000

First, it was that laptop.
Then, it was school results.
Now, this.

Numbed to the core, to the extent where i do not react anymore. Yes, it happened. Yes, it’s done. No more knee-jerk responses. No more bleary tears.

What could I have done? What am I to do, appreciate the past?

Am I but not a rag doll? -

Of Heels

David — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 08:27:06 +0000

High heels. The bane of feet?

Ricardian Equivalence states that when the Government increases its spending, the people will reduce their consumption in preparation for higher taxes in the future. Therefore, any increase in G will be matched by an equal or similar reduction in C, resulting in government spending being unable to improve aggregate demand.

The basis of such a theory lies upon the belief that all humans are bound by strict rationality. In the above case, rationality dictates that the increase in current government spending will necessitate an increase in future tax receipts to pay off the deficit. Such rationality demonstrates human ability to make allowances for temporary changes.

Applying the same case of rationality to high heels, rational human beings will realise that the height of those high hell wearers are merely temporary, and there will a mental deduction of the height in accordance to their perceived normal heel height, thus resulting in no gain in the height impression of the wearer.

Therefore, in order to gain a distinct illusion of height gain, one will have to wear heels that are taller than common social norms. And as this becomes a prevailing mindset, there will be continued upward pressure to wear even taller heels until the limits of the human body are tested.

However, for those who eschew the wearing of heels, imperfect information will result in them being subjected to the identical mental reduction of height as others, therefore leading them to appear even shorter than they are in reality.

Does the utility of wearing heels outweigh the costs? Probably not. There is without doubt a gain in absolute height, but any gain in height impression (the main point of wearing heels), is suspect. One can contend that an absolute height gain proffers a feeling of command or authority. However contrasted against the costs (to health, zum Beispiel), it is dubious whehter the utility gained even approaches the costs incurred.

Prom was, erm, interesting.

Moroseness. A bitter cup of moroseness.

Update 18 May: Ricardian Equivalence: through (bond sales) … (Any form of government spending, be it funded through tax increments or bond sales)

Ahh the joy of miss-usage of theory as anecdotes.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

David — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 07:34:47 +0000

Guess I wont be updating here anytime soon. Laptop got stolen white on Rapid.

4 month old laptop. Wtf.

Feels like a stupid bad dream.

Serdang National Open Tournament 2011

David — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:37:50 +0000

1st round: THW fight for your (university students) right to PARTAYYY!
Room: 3 Position: CO Ranking: 2nd. Case: (Opening) literally partying. (Closing): Right for political involvement.

2nd round: THW grant citizenship to environmental refugees.
Room: 6 Position: OO Ranking: 1st. Case: Clashes on temporary asylum vs citizenship, characterization of ‘environmental’ refugees.

3rd round: THW regulate religious schools in the United Kingdom.
Room: 3 Position: CG Ranking: ._. Case: Institutionalised religion studies leads to improvement of interfaith relationships. Our extension did not appear to contain enough new matter, my whip speech was a plain rehash with insufficent perspective changes.

4th round: THW call it a draw when both parties can’t climax.
Room: 4 Position: OO Ranking: 3rd zz. Case: OG set up a case set in Kashmir. Had prepared (initially) for either annulment of marriage due to non-presence of consummation (LOL) or external mediation as a channel to solve conflicts. Had almost zero information of Khasmir’s status quo (fail), and thus our arguments were mostly too generic.

5th round: Thw remove the financial blockade on donations to ‘Wikileaks’.
Room: 6 Position: OG. Ranking: Zzz. Case: Rights, Check and balance, a link of responsibility that goes both ways. Characterization of WL as being merely a disseminator of information.
Got knifed by bad and biased adjudication. End of case.

Frankly, I did quite badly.

Rubicon

David — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:09:14 +0000

Rubicon: The stream that Julius Ceaser fatefully crosses before becoming the 2nd Roman General to enter the lands of Italy with the aim of occupying Rome by force.

Anyways,

Half term and a week into IB. Been trying out new stuff: aquathlon, public speaking, debate, et cetera. Been realising how much more I have to work on.

Been moving away from things that I am familiar with: science, research projects, olympiads. Been having to learn new things from scratch.

Been eating quite some dust so far.

No other better time to take some risks and try some new stuff though.

Frankly,

Not to an extent of ‘crossing the rubicon’, but certain things in life hang in a balance, I wonder which way it will tip.

That song’s lyrics. =/