My thoughts on self-conceitedness

I wrote about self-conceit and how it hinders our learning process in my taiji blog. While this thought came out from pushing hands practice and in the context of taiji, I think it is also applicable in all the things that we do.

So while it is good to have confidence in ourselves, don't overdo it. A person can never be perfect, he will have his weaknesses, and remaining humble is one way to recognise our own weaknesses so that we can continue to work on them to make ourselves better.

The yin-yang continuum

People like to think of the world in terms of black and white. We think in terms of absolutes, in binary terms, in terms of "yes" and "no". We like to reduce things to such simple terms because it make it easier to understand.

Yet nature rarely follows this simple concept of black and white. Even the concept of yin and yang is not about two absolutes; while yin and yang represents two extremes, they also evolve into each other in a continuum that covers everything in between. A look at the taiji circle makes it very clear that yin and yang is not just about two absolutes, but rather a whole spectrum covering the two extremes.

It is just like the seasons cycling through each other. We don't have hot summer days which suddenly turn into snowy winter ones. The days gradually get cooler, turning into autumn, and then winter, which then slowly get warmer, bringing about spring, and the back to summer. There is a spectrum of seasonal types between the two extreme ends of hot summer and cold winter.

Even our traditional concepts of binary sex/gender is challenged by the existence of the intersexed and the transgender. People are not just male or female, masculine or feminine. There is a whole spectrum in between.

Light and dark may look like two extremes, but there are many shades of darkness as we all know. And while we talk about the seven colours of the rainbow, these are not discrete colours; they are seven distinct colour groups that blended into each other across a spectrum.

We like to classify people into simple terms like tall and short. Yet there is no such thing as all tall people are 190cm and all short people are 150cm. People come in all heights spread across a continuum, and tall/short is a relative concept. Just like dawn is brighter than night, but noon is brighter than dawn. But does that mean dawn is not bright? No, because dawn is still brighter than night.

So while we like to think in simple terms, while we like to classify things into broad groups, we need to remember that the real world is not simple as we would like it to be.

Article on territorial disputes in Asia

This is an article on territorial disputes in Asia. It provides a summary of 5 main disputes, but I would not say it is written from a neutral party's (somehow, the views seem biased against Japan in the 3 disputes written concerning Japan) viewpoint. Still, it does provide a quick background read for those interested to know what these are about. Using this background, I would advise the interested reader to then continue looking for articles to pursue a deeper understanding of the issues involved.

枫雨

枫叶渐红时变秋、
雨点唤醒大地春。

枫雨 is the name I use for my calligraphy pieces. This is a short phrase using the two characters.

Continuing on, I will add on the following two phrases to make it into a poem.

春秋万载年又年、
阴阳相济无始终。

Maybe I should write a calligraphy piece on this some day.

Planes (film)

Don't bother watching this movie if you have watched "Cars" or "Cars 2" before. The story is more or less the same, the difference is only between racing on the road and racing in the air.

It makes one wonder if the next show to come out will be one on racing at sea. That should complete the cycle.

It is using a single plot and making money 3 times from it.

But of course, if you have kids and they are excited by the cool planes flying around, guess that could be a reason to watch it. Still, I would recommend to save the money and get the DVD instead. Better yet, rent the DVD, it's not worth paying to watch this at a cinema and no need to fork out extra cash to keep the DVD after watching.

Coming of age

People used to come of age at a much younger age. Typically, in past ages, a girl is deemed a woman at about 12 (usually when her period starts), and a boy is deemed a man at about 15. Back then, adulthood is recognised together with physical maturity. But does it mean adults back then lack mental/emotional maturity? I do not think so. I think they were deemed adults in all sense of the word.

Then why is it that reaching adulthood in modern days now take so much more time? Nowadays, depending on the country, people are recognised as adults from ages usually ranging between 18 and 21 (there are more extreme cases too). So are our 12 to 15 year olds still kids? Why are they growing up slower?

Is it about the skills they need to survive in a modern age? Back in the past, when life was simpler, a person probably needed education before they could survive in society. Learn a trade (which was probably your parents') and earn a living with that trade. Make the simple things you needed to survive, and trade or pay for these rest.

Nowadays, as we make more and more things, as we specialise more and more, there are many more "trades" that we can use to survive in this world. But to learn these "trades" now, you needed more specific knowledge over a broader base (like a deeper understanding of a wide range of knowledge from maths, physics, chemistry, geography, etc.) Learning all these takes time. And coupled with this is that most people nowadays, given the wider options available on how to make a living, may want to choose to do something other that what their parents did. To give them the ability to choose, we have to provide them with knowledge over a wider range of subjects, some of which they will eventually use to learn their "trades".

But does more time in school, learning these subjects, mean that they are still kids? Does it mean they lack mental and emotional maturity to be adults? Or can they actually develop that maturity, if only we let them? If only we don't shelter them?

Maybe primary/elementary school should be a place to introduce the various "trades" available, for people to start thinking about what they want to do. And from 13 years of age, they start learning that specific "trade" (probably by starting to acquire more specific knowledge in related/supporting subjects before moving on to learn the "trade" proper.) By 15, we can consider them adults and those who have already learnt something to survive in society can start working life, while those that need more time to learn their "trades" can start an apprenticeship, commencing on adult life too.

Maybe it is time to stop sheltering our children and start educating them to fend for themselves at an earlier age.

After all, how many of us actually use all those subjects that we learnt in school in our daily lives? Learning early European history doesn't help the mechanical engineer become better at his job. I am sure the local baker doesn't think about calculus when he is making bread. The bus driver probably has no use for the periodic table when driving around.

Just a spin-off thought that came into my mind as I was walking around today...

What is essential is invisible to the eye

On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. ("One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.") [From "The Little Prince"]

How true...

We look with our eyes, but we need to see with our hearts. For everything that we see with our eyes is but its external appearance. That's the limitation of seeing with your eyes. But when you see with your heart, you will be able to beyond what your eyes can see.

But we keep forgetting this, and keep seeing with our eyes, letting appearances deceive us.

When was the last time you saw with your heart?

Know what you want

Do you know what you want?

Know what you want, only then will you know what you need and how to get there. Only then will you know where you are going, and why.

Desire breeds necessity, and necessity brings about action.

Have a vision, then work out a strategy to achieve it. Then work out the details of implementing that strategy, that's the plan. And all this while, the vision provides purpose.

Know what you want. It is the first step in getting there.

That Girl In Pinafore 我的朋友, 我的同学, 我爱过的一切 (movie)

It is not often that I watch a movie and come back straight away wanting to write about it. But today, after watching "That Girl In Pinafore" (Chinese title "我的朋友, 我的同学, 我爱过的一切"), that was just how I felt.

I didn't really want to watch the movie while it was airing in the theatres, but since my friend is the assistant director, and I have been hearing good reviews, I thought, why not? So I went alone to the cinema on a Wednesday night, walked into a theatre that was filled to the brim (even though the movie has already been showing for more than a month) and totally enjoyed the movie.

The song selection was great; they brought back lots of memories. These were popular songs back in my school days; the movie setting was around the time when I was schooling. The various scenes brought back fond memories. And even brought tears to my eyes. The first part of the show was more on songs and was really enjoyable. The second part was more on a love story, which kind of detracted a bit from the song focus of the show, but it was a love story that kind of fit into the period in which the movie is set in. Especially if you had been in school during that period (1990s in Singapore). All the more you will be able to find a sense of affinity to the characters and their stories.

I also like the way some parts were left unsaid. By leaving things unsaid, things are left to the viewer's imagination, for him to drawn on his own experiences and memories. This brings the viewer closer to the characters on screen, striking chords in his heart.

This is a show that needs to be watched on the big screen. Even if you have a great sound system at home, you can't watch this on a TV. A TV is not big enough to bring out the impact of the show, you need a big screen for that.

Go catch it on a big screen!

Accepting yourself

Watching the shows about people who are different from the rest (here and here) has set me thinking about why is it that society is so harsh on those who are different. Why is society so unaccepting of those who are different?

But I think the same shows taught me that in order for others to accept you, the most important thing is for you to be able to accept yourself for who you are. Only when you can look yourself in the mirror and not feel ashamed, can you then be able to face up to the rest of the world and ask to be accepted.

After all, if you yourself cannot accept you, why should the rest of society?

Turn The Ship Around (book review)

I have been recently reading this book in an effort to get ideas on how to improve the workplace. The book has an idea called "leader-leader", instead of the traditional "leader-follower" model. It is about the author (David Marquet) and his experience in turning around his submarine from one in which morale was low and people just following orders and avoiding mistakes, into a unit in which people take initiative and strive for excellence.

The book is structured much like a workbook, with exercises to help your organisation as well. Simple activities like writing ideas on cards and pasting these for all to see are things that we all know; what this book provides are the questions to ask your people so that they can think about what to write on those cards. Without giving away too much, I think this is a book that can make a difference; at least, I see how it can help me at my workplace. In fact, it is similar in idea to what I want to achieve, just that I had difficulty trying to find a way to implement it. This book gives me ideas on how to implement my own ideas on leadership and ownership, on how to achieve excellence.

Definitely a good read for anyone who wants to make their workplace a better place!

IS (drama)

This is a TV drama about intersexuals, people who are born with characteristics of both sexes. The drama is based on a manga series with the same name. It is another TV drama about a not-so-common disorder; the other drama being "Watashi ga watashi de aru tame ni 私が私であるために" which I have recently wrote about and deals with gender identity disorder (GID).

Again, the drama (this time, 10 full episodes instead of the TV short-story dealing with GID) deals with the issue of discrimination against those who suffer from a medical disorder, in this case, intersexuality. It is about how people try to fit in; one is either male or female, there is no room for those in between. To be accepted by society, one must conform to society's expectations of being either sex. This is like saying that you must be either left or right-handed; if you are ambidextrous, you are a freak. Just because someone is born different doesn't mean he or she deserves to be treated like a freak. Similar to those with GID, intersexuals are human beings too. They have red blood, breath air, and experience similar feelings like the rest of us. So why can't we accept them for who they are? Why must we force them to conform to our accepted norms?

After all, norms are what we perceive to be the common baseline. Yet, what if the common baseline is not so common after all?

Official site

Deng Xiaoping's 24-character policy

“冷静观察、稳住阵脚、沉着应付、韬光养晦、绝不当头、有所作为”
Is this still relevant today? Or has China reached a stage that it is focusing on the last 4 characters, becoming a nation that can act and make a difference?

Watashi ga watashi de aru tame ni 私が私であるために (drama)

This is a TV short-story that aired in Japan quite some time ago, back in 2006. I think I watched it in Japan while on a short vacation. It is about people with gender identity disorder (GID), or what is usually known as transsexuality. It is the story about a person's struggle to fit into society, to be accepted by those around her. While in the story, she (the leading actress is a transsexual in real life) was able to be accepted by her family, not many transsexuals can be said to be so lucky in real life.

We are all human beings, just because one's gender doesn't fit his or her physical sex doesn't make one less human. The person still has a heart, still breathes air, still has parents, has likes and dislikes, and loves. So why do we discriminate against these people just because they are not as common as the rest? After all, we are all different in our small little ways. There are people who are left-handed, people who are colour-blind, people who are flat-footed, yet they don't face the same discrimination compared to those suffering from GID. Will we be able to become more accepting as a society? Or will we continue to discriminate against those who are different?

Official page

Time of Eve

This is a movie that explores some of the things that I recently wrote about, the difference between man and machines. Thought-provoking if you really think about it, but then, you probably will only think about this if you have been seeded the idea somewhere else.