Finished
Some admin stuff first, parents i found my SIM card (did you ever doubt that i couldn't?), summer might be staying at Adela's place (*%$@! regents, its partially our fault for being a big group), shifting will be troublesome but not impossible. Clearly im too lazy to send them an email, but well i know they check this regularly... And apparantly the spy network is in operation. TK regularly reports back his grades and scores, and i suspect talk about us too.
Played MJ on friday despite saying i won't. lol, have no self control. Consideing once more this weekend cos of memorial day. Will see... The Calvin Lin 3-speed bike has 2 settins, 0 and 3. Need to stop swaying so intensely between extremes. Slow and steady wins the race, as past experience has shown. Need to get back a spring back into my step.
Yea boon, i know what you mean. Its sad that having now understood (much better) the working of olympiad-math kindof questions, i need to give it up to work towards uni math. Its just like in JC, when buzzer round was no longer an option, and problem solving was the way to go. That y, with my REU in summer (taking discrete maths) and a course in aut (Grad com sci- discrete maths) leading up to Putnam, that shall be the extent that i take this to. Not to say that i wont participate/contribute, but it shall take a backseat in my life. Its time to move on. Find another interest.
The rest is in relation to Lip Jin's post (you can use the link by the side) about the current debate on some piano prodigy, whether he should be exempted from NS. Here are some of my thoughts on the issue.
Well, for obvious reasons, my POV is from academic talent. I feel there aian't much distinction, piano prodigy or math genius, it is only after years of training that you know whether efforts paid off. Its not something you can know by age 18. Of course, there are the anomalies, but doesn't look like sg has enough manpower to play this probability game. Potentially, the only difference is that for maths, you can diversify to other areas like com sci, phy, econs, etc. In fact, this argument also extends to several of out sportsmen, like the sailing team...
Though complete exemption from NS would be almost an impossibility, it is necessary to provide the environment to groom talent. The budding, productive, formative years are extermely important, and the 2 yr hiatus in training is potentially disasterous. Even for the majority, you can feel a marked decrease in brainpower and talent having gone through those 2 years. There is an argument that such talents could be 'diverted' to where they are useful. This is certainly not the first time its being brought up, but nothing has been done. I ended up in signals slacking, kiat's an ammo spec, julius a clerk, on and on the list goes (hei, thats the best eg i can come up with k)
Yet in such a case, its impossible to strike a happy medium. Such extensive time and effort has to be expanded that asking them to serve NS before 25, and even perhaps 30, would be equally disruptive. It might alleviate the prob, since for academics and sports, your prime is supposedly 18-25. I say that we should let them go, what is 1 person?
Certainly, people aruge that once we start making an exception, the slippery slope of where do we stop arises. Can we say to set a numerical or ability limit? Just as Loke Cheng Kim Foundation can only send 2 applicants overseas (and they din even bother to send me a rejection letter), we cannot afford to send alot of people away. Yet i say, lets look towards our Chao Keng PES C personal. I have frens that are certified deaf, allegic to sun, dust, grass, have rheumatism, split disk, etc. We lose more manpower to such acts of dishonesty than we would possibly to sending talent overseas. Seems to me we should crack down on such people first before saying that every singaporean is essential for our defence. Someone said that the difference is that the govt cannot be overtly seen to favor the elite. But these are elite not because they are born into it, but because they put in the personal effort and time to reach where they are. Lets remove the White Horse companies in BMT and subsequent benefits given to those people with a certain surname. Its more meaningless and pointless, serving only to bootlick and curry favor.
A problem is that there is no direct corelation between letting someone go off n study (music, math, athletics) Certainly initial interest is required to provide the motivation for success. Yet, we do not have the foresight to see if they would still have this interest in the future. Make the provision, spend the effort, only to have them realize that they rather do something else ... This is a personal worry too, since i know that interests can be fickle, can be molded, can be ignored (to great personal cost though). The probability game that we play moves from being a gene pool to being able to develop and produce a talent. There is no guarantees in either, and definately analomies in both. Yet, it is the only one we can play. If singapore hopes to produce any world class talent, sacrifices have to be made.
On the other hand, there are several benefits of NS (oh, amazing rite?) I grew up alot in NS, which has somewhat to do with my age, but also the environment that i was in. NS, too, had obstacles of its own to overcome, which i wont normally face. And to truly succeed, you need to have the tenacity to overcome obstacles. Theres a brilllant kid in my class, but the comment from another fren is that 'Dunno whether he will succeed. He has yet to face any major obstacle, which ay be his undoing.' Yes, interestingly enough, failure is a prerequisite for success. I also credit NS with firming my belief that almost anything can be accomplished, within limits. For one, i managed to lose quite a bit of weight during BMT, was quite surprised and happy, but been putting it back on ever since lol. And also, managed to get my 2.4 timing down to like 10 mins +, compared to like 17 (?) mins in sec 1 lol. Of course, some BMT frens have put back on their weight, and some others believe that weight loss is almost impossible. But to me, its def achievable. Its just a matter of whether you want it, a tradeoff between your pirorities. Of course, asking me to be a world class athlete is almost out of the picture, but you my drift.
Let me just conclude this train of thought with a comment i place on LJ's blog:
Dream not in fantasy but in reality. Fight for what you believe in, Seek out solutions and not problems. Dream, and one day it will come true. The road may be long and bumpy, but each pothole just makes the ride more exciting, each bump an obstacle to overcome. But as long as you're fueled by your believe and passion, you will get there. One day.Until then ...
Played MJ on friday despite saying i won't. lol, have no self control. Consideing once more this weekend cos of memorial day. Will see... The Calvin Lin 3-speed bike has 2 settins, 0 and 3. Need to stop swaying so intensely between extremes. Slow and steady wins the race, as past experience has shown. Need to get back a spring back into my step.
Yea boon, i know what you mean. Its sad that having now understood (much better) the working of olympiad-math kindof questions, i need to give it up to work towards uni math. Its just like in JC, when buzzer round was no longer an option, and problem solving was the way to go. That y, with my REU in summer (taking discrete maths) and a course in aut (Grad com sci- discrete maths) leading up to Putnam, that shall be the extent that i take this to. Not to say that i wont participate/contribute, but it shall take a backseat in my life. Its time to move on. Find another interest.
The rest is in relation to Lip Jin's post (you can use the link by the side) about the current debate on some piano prodigy, whether he should be exempted from NS. Here are some of my thoughts on the issue.
Well, for obvious reasons, my POV is from academic talent. I feel there aian't much distinction, piano prodigy or math genius, it is only after years of training that you know whether efforts paid off. Its not something you can know by age 18. Of course, there are the anomalies, but doesn't look like sg has enough manpower to play this probability game. Potentially, the only difference is that for maths, you can diversify to other areas like com sci, phy, econs, etc. In fact, this argument also extends to several of out sportsmen, like the sailing team...
Though complete exemption from NS would be almost an impossibility, it is necessary to provide the environment to groom talent. The budding, productive, formative years are extermely important, and the 2 yr hiatus in training is potentially disasterous. Even for the majority, you can feel a marked decrease in brainpower and talent having gone through those 2 years. There is an argument that such talents could be 'diverted' to where they are useful. This is certainly not the first time its being brought up, but nothing has been done. I ended up in signals slacking, kiat's an ammo spec, julius a clerk, on and on the list goes (hei, thats the best eg i can come up with k)
Yet in such a case, its impossible to strike a happy medium. Such extensive time and effort has to be expanded that asking them to serve NS before 25, and even perhaps 30, would be equally disruptive. It might alleviate the prob, since for academics and sports, your prime is supposedly 18-25. I say that we should let them go, what is 1 person?
Certainly, people aruge that once we start making an exception, the slippery slope of where do we stop arises. Can we say to set a numerical or ability limit? Just as Loke Cheng Kim Foundation can only send 2 applicants overseas (and they din even bother to send me a rejection letter), we cannot afford to send alot of people away. Yet i say, lets look towards our Chao Keng PES C personal. I have frens that are certified deaf, allegic to sun, dust, grass, have rheumatism, split disk, etc. We lose more manpower to such acts of dishonesty than we would possibly to sending talent overseas. Seems to me we should crack down on such people first before saying that every singaporean is essential for our defence. Someone said that the difference is that the govt cannot be overtly seen to favor the elite. But these are elite not because they are born into it, but because they put in the personal effort and time to reach where they are. Lets remove the White Horse companies in BMT and subsequent benefits given to those people with a certain surname. Its more meaningless and pointless, serving only to bootlick and curry favor.
A problem is that there is no direct corelation between letting someone go off n study (music, math, athletics) Certainly initial interest is required to provide the motivation for success. Yet, we do not have the foresight to see if they would still have this interest in the future. Make the provision, spend the effort, only to have them realize that they rather do something else ... This is a personal worry too, since i know that interests can be fickle, can be molded, can be ignored (to great personal cost though). The probability game that we play moves from being a gene pool to being able to develop and produce a talent. There is no guarantees in either, and definately analomies in both. Yet, it is the only one we can play. If singapore hopes to produce any world class talent, sacrifices have to be made.
On the other hand, there are several benefits of NS (oh, amazing rite?) I grew up alot in NS, which has somewhat to do with my age, but also the environment that i was in. NS, too, had obstacles of its own to overcome, which i wont normally face. And to truly succeed, you need to have the tenacity to overcome obstacles. Theres a brilllant kid in my class, but the comment from another fren is that 'Dunno whether he will succeed. He has yet to face any major obstacle, which ay be his undoing.' Yes, interestingly enough, failure is a prerequisite for success. I also credit NS with firming my belief that almost anything can be accomplished, within limits. For one, i managed to lose quite a bit of weight during BMT, was quite surprised and happy, but been putting it back on ever since lol. And also, managed to get my 2.4 timing down to like 10 mins +, compared to like 17 (?) mins in sec 1 lol. Of course, some BMT frens have put back on their weight, and some others believe that weight loss is almost impossible. But to me, its def achievable. Its just a matter of whether you want it, a tradeoff between your pirorities. Of course, asking me to be a world class athlete is almost out of the picture, but you my drift.
Let me just conclude this train of thought with a comment i place on LJ's blog:
Dream not in fantasy but in reality. Fight for what you believe in, Seek out solutions and not problems. Dream, and one day it will come true. The road may be long and bumpy, but each pothole just makes the ride more exciting, each bump an obstacle to overcome. But as long as you're fueled by your believe and passion, you will get there. One day.Until then ...
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