It seems that now the current rage in the news is about THAT interview with the Minister Mentor of Singapore the esteemed Mr. Lee. According to what I have read there is a difference in the sentiments of the pre and post-65ers about the way questions were asked to the MM, with some saying that the young were rude, and did not respect the MM enough.
Well I watched that interview myself, and while I think that the young participants certainly didn't mince their words, I think it made for healthy discourse! Since when was a political discussion not a fiery affair anyway? I think Singaporeans have become so accustomed to seeing walkovers that they forgot that political debates are meant, and should always, be heated. I mean, there are two opposing viewpoints for goodness sakes! Do you expect one side to just meekly roll over and die? The fact that the young didn't hold back is also good as we need people to ask the uncomfortable questions. If you aren't interested in asking the uncomfortable questions why bother to ask? I don't believe anyone likes listening to cliched answers.
However, I like to point out something to our generation. Stop harping on and on about political freedom and freedom of speech and the need for an opposition unless you know what that entails and you are willing to sacrifice coming out of your comfort zone for it. It is just like our generation to jump on the bandwagon to embrace the "hip westernised ideals" of free speech, political opposition and other democratic slogans without knowing exactly what they are. You think America is the ideal? I think you haven't seen just what American politics is all about. Its all about money. I think the voters there have seriously less voter influence than the big corporations, despite all their democratic institutions. Think about this. Who pays for the campaigns? Who do you think the president will please first? That big energy corporation or your animal rights movement?
I bet if you ask any spiky haired teenager about politics, he'll probably say PAP sucks without knowing why, and just how it does. While I acknowledge that the PAP is not perfect, no party is and the way I look at it Singapore is not ready for a two party system just yet. Everyone is still perfectly comfortable with the PAP doing everything for them, but instead of saying so they say they are "afraid" that something will happen if they vote for the opposition. Bullshit. The truth is people are afraid of change and what that may bring. This is why I feel Singapore is still not ready for a two-party system. If you think differently, let your vote reflect it, or better still, contest if you think you have what it itakes.
However, I found one point made by the MM mildly disturbing. He says that politics is not all about voting, and it should best be left to a few good and capable people. While I acknowledge that politics is not all about voting, I absolutely disagree that it should only be left in the hands of a few people. When you leave power in the hands of a few, it corrupts. One only needs to look as far as NKF to see just how it does. Absolute power corrupts in such a way that even checks and balances put in place will fail. This is why I still believe that voting is essential, and that if possible politics should be in the back of the mind of every citizen, with a real avenue for everyone to contribute rather than soak up everything like a sponge the way Singapore is run now. Don't tell me about the feedback unit and speaker's corner. I think we take the cake for the worst attempts at political discourse ever.
Government decides this and that. We just follow like mindless sheep. How safe is that for Singapore really? While I respect MM Lee for all he has done, he will not be the one leading Singapore the next 50 years. The political scene can only change and I can only wonder if Singapore is ready for that.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Thursday, April 13, 2006
To Redpony: To point one finger at others is to point four others at yourself.
In the papers a few days back I read about some guy in a "Maple Story" forum who said something about JC students being smarter than poly students and about how poly students were dumb because they couldn't make the cutoff for JCs. I think his name was "redpony" or something like that.
Before I continue I would like to stress that I do not agree with his view. I'm not trying to be politcally correct here. I seldom am because being politically correct is boring and I already do it on an unwilling basis in real life. Don't you just want to tell people how idiotic they are sometimes?
Anyway, I have good reasons for not agreeing with Mr. Redpony.
In Singapore, I think we've been brainwashed to think in a one tracked way. As in kid goes to good schools, then goes to good university, gets high paying job in some super firm, gets the chicks and fast cars, becomes a man in white, takes over the world. Ok, so maybe I exaggerated a little at the last part. A man in white only controls 697 metres square. (Figure increasing due to land reclamation)
In reality that doesn't happen. A thousand things can go one way or the other, and without considering all the possibilities, one would not be able to call another stupid without sounding retarded himself. Which was exactly what this brainwashed mule did.
The problem with just assuming that because I went to a JC I'm smarter than you is, how do you define smarter? Are you smarter just because you know what potassium permanganate is and he doesn't? No, you just know what potassium permanganate is.
Or is it because you can do math better than him? No, that just means that you are better at math than he is. And in a thousand other ways, I can show you that there is no real conclusive way to prove that you are smarter than another person just based on a series of tests that you can study for. It is, if I may say so, just pure regurgitation of useless information that I forget 2 months later. I went through that system too. Don't tell me I don't know what the O levels are like. I can even tell you what the A levels are like you "oh I am so smart" JC student.
I can honestly tell you that people in polytechnics aren't necessarily smarter or dumber. They just see things differently, or they don't like mugging. Obviously there will be the odd one out that makes me rethink whether they really are stupid, but for every one such poly guy there is also one such JC guy around. E.g. Redpony. Its never right to generalise, unless you're calling your boss an idiot. You're almost always right on that one.
Another problem with the whole smart concept? So what if you are smart? It doesn't mean that you'll succeed in life, especially since you don't know how to use your "smartness" in the right places. Flaming people on a "Maple Story" forum? Why don't you go figure out a way to get the next Nobel Prize instead, or start up the next BreadTalk or Creative? Or if you really can't do any of the above, become a man in white?
You may be smart, but that doesn't mean that 30 years down the road you won't be that pitiful old man sweeping the road, or in some jail somewhere. Smartness doesn't mean anything. Its what you do with it. If you don't succeed in life, how smart you are doesn't mean shit. You're a JC student. Don't you take General Paper? If you think in such simple and childish terms, you probably don't do well in GP. How's that for a smart JC student?
Before I continue I would like to stress that I do not agree with his view. I'm not trying to be politcally correct here. I seldom am because being politically correct is boring and I already do it on an unwilling basis in real life. Don't you just want to tell people how idiotic they are sometimes?
Anyway, I have good reasons for not agreeing with Mr. Redpony.
In Singapore, I think we've been brainwashed to think in a one tracked way. As in kid goes to good schools, then goes to good university, gets high paying job in some super firm, gets the chicks and fast cars, becomes a man in white, takes over the world. Ok, so maybe I exaggerated a little at the last part. A man in white only controls 697 metres square. (Figure increasing due to land reclamation)
In reality that doesn't happen. A thousand things can go one way or the other, and without considering all the possibilities, one would not be able to call another stupid without sounding retarded himself. Which was exactly what this brainwashed mule did.
The problem with just assuming that because I went to a JC I'm smarter than you is, how do you define smarter? Are you smarter just because you know what potassium permanganate is and he doesn't? No, you just know what potassium permanganate is.
Or is it because you can do math better than him? No, that just means that you are better at math than he is. And in a thousand other ways, I can show you that there is no real conclusive way to prove that you are smarter than another person just based on a series of tests that you can study for. It is, if I may say so, just pure regurgitation of useless information that I forget 2 months later. I went through that system too. Don't tell me I don't know what the O levels are like. I can even tell you what the A levels are like you "oh I am so smart" JC student.
I can honestly tell you that people in polytechnics aren't necessarily smarter or dumber. They just see things differently, or they don't like mugging. Obviously there will be the odd one out that makes me rethink whether they really are stupid, but for every one such poly guy there is also one such JC guy around. E.g. Redpony. Its never right to generalise, unless you're calling your boss an idiot. You're almost always right on that one.
Another problem with the whole smart concept? So what if you are smart? It doesn't mean that you'll succeed in life, especially since you don't know how to use your "smartness" in the right places. Flaming people on a "Maple Story" forum? Why don't you go figure out a way to get the next Nobel Prize instead, or start up the next BreadTalk or Creative? Or if you really can't do any of the above, become a man in white?
You may be smart, but that doesn't mean that 30 years down the road you won't be that pitiful old man sweeping the road, or in some jail somewhere. Smartness doesn't mean anything. Its what you do with it. If you don't succeed in life, how smart you are doesn't mean shit. You're a JC student. Don't you take General Paper? If you think in such simple and childish terms, you probably don't do well in GP. How's that for a smart JC student?
Technological dumbasses.
Ever seen two people in the same area talking to each other using their handphones? I thought the digital and technology revolution was a result of humans getting smarter and being able to invent new stuff to enhance their standards of living. This was the first time I actually saw an obvious example of technology making people stupider.
Hello? The person you're talking to is just 5 metres in front of you. Is there any need to use the handphone? Why don't you just cancel the call, save your money, then walk across and talk to the person?
You might be wondering how I knew these 2 idiots were talking to each other. Well here's how. In addition to using their handphones, these 2 idiots were making HAND-SIGNALS at each other. That's like really stupid. Ok, the logical reasoning part of my brain tells me that maybe they have a reason for doing so. However my common sense tells me that anything they want to explain to each other could be done much easier if they were face-to-face.
The only reason I can think of is that these 2 people probably don't want to be seen together. Granted they were both guys and in the aftermath of the movie "Brokeback Mountain" two guys talking to each other in close proximity could be misconstrued to mean that they were ass-loving cowboys. But this is Singapore for goodness sake. Even if that were true it would be ass-loving schoolboys. But that is just sick and I don't want to go there.
Or maybe they were conducting some shady business for rival companies. But using hand signals to tell the whole world that you're communicating isn't exactly a good way to do it. Neither is communicating in close proximity. If you didn't want to be seen together you've already failed. Its hard for me not to see both of you when you are just 5 metres apart, and using your hands to wave to each other.
Or maybe they are really rich and they want to show the world that they have money to burn. "I'm only 5 metres from my friend and I'm using a handphone!"
In that case they are dumber than I thought. Making their own lives difficult for themselves to show off in a way that only warped minds like mine would notice. I won't tell them I noticed though. Cannot give them the satisfaction in being stupid. They would only get worse. Other people might wish so but I'm too nice to want more stupid people in this world than there already are. I believe in intellectual empowerment.
Yeah right. Bullshit. I don't want more stupid people if only because they might block up the emergency door in the event of a fire.
Hello? The person you're talking to is just 5 metres in front of you. Is there any need to use the handphone? Why don't you just cancel the call, save your money, then walk across and talk to the person?
You might be wondering how I knew these 2 idiots were talking to each other. Well here's how. In addition to using their handphones, these 2 idiots were making HAND-SIGNALS at each other. That's like really stupid. Ok, the logical reasoning part of my brain tells me that maybe they have a reason for doing so. However my common sense tells me that anything they want to explain to each other could be done much easier if they were face-to-face.
The only reason I can think of is that these 2 people probably don't want to be seen together. Granted they were both guys and in the aftermath of the movie "Brokeback Mountain" two guys talking to each other in close proximity could be misconstrued to mean that they were ass-loving cowboys. But this is Singapore for goodness sake. Even if that were true it would be ass-loving schoolboys. But that is just sick and I don't want to go there.
Or maybe they were conducting some shady business for rival companies. But using hand signals to tell the whole world that you're communicating isn't exactly a good way to do it. Neither is communicating in close proximity. If you didn't want to be seen together you've already failed. Its hard for me not to see both of you when you are just 5 metres apart, and using your hands to wave to each other.
Or maybe they are really rich and they want to show the world that they have money to burn. "I'm only 5 metres from my friend and I'm using a handphone!"
In that case they are dumber than I thought. Making their own lives difficult for themselves to show off in a way that only warped minds like mine would notice. I won't tell them I noticed though. Cannot give them the satisfaction in being stupid. They would only get worse. Other people might wish so but I'm too nice to want more stupid people in this world than there already are. I believe in intellectual empowerment.
Yeah right. Bullshit. I don't want more stupid people if only because they might block up the emergency door in the event of a fire.
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