“This house believes that the onus of integration lies entirely on the international student.”

Posted on February 21, 2012 by visa

Just who is responsible for making integration happen?
Let’s call the international student X and Singaporean society Y (for convenience.)

Y would be justified in saying that it doesn’t owe X anything. Y would be content to be left well enough alone. X could be perceived by Y as an undesirable intruder, strange and foreign. Y could be perceived by X as a cold, hostile and unfriendly place (but relatively opportunity-laden, compared to home.) So integration doesn’t have to happen, and in fact, it won’t happen if X and Y continue with their (individualistically rational) train of thoughts.

But that’s sub-optimal. When everyone looks out for themselves, everyone gets defensive and nobody’s willing to give anybody else a chance, everyone is worse off. Whether we’re talking from a biological, intellectual or cultural perspective, diversity always enriches everybody involved. Integration is ideal for everybody, both X and Y. We learn more about each other, and more importantly, about ourselves.

Exclusion, containment, isolation- these are not sustainable policies, in any situation- whether we’re talking about raising children, international relations (consider the Cold War), or, in this case, immigration. We do it when we’re trying to minimise the spread of viruses, but it makes more sense to build robust immune systems. Conflict resolution is a superior strategy to conflict avoidance- because the world is getting smaller, and interactions are getting more numerous.

Integration is conflict resolution. And no conflict between two parties is resolved by just one of the two. It’s everybody’s business, and in everybody’s self-interest, to grow the fuck up and extend a hand to the other.

And it doesn’t matter if we have a series of negative experiences, and if we get exploited or taken advantage of from time to time- because the few instances of co-operation that do emerge become robust, and will then be mimicked, and we’ll all be better off for it.

TL:DR;

Grace, compassion and mercy aren’t just fancy-sounding moral ideals, they’re effective survival strategies in a world where fight-or-flight is no longer an option, and negotiation and compromise is the only way forward.

If we’re trying to pinpoint who to blame, we’re asking the wrong question. (But if we really had to go there- a systemic problem requires a systemic solution, so the villain is the system itself- and the onus is then on every single element of the system, simultaneously. So it’s all of us, together.)

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My bank balance from Oct 2010 to Feb 2011

Posted on February 20, 2012 by visa

The last time I talked about money was back in May 2011.

The story goes on, and here’s how it’s looked like since then:

Pretty good, huh! The sudden leaps without many plots represented BMT and my Signal Course. I spent most of my time staying in camp during those months- from July to December- and saved tonnes of cash on food, transport and other little expenses.

The number began below zero because I was in debt. Of course, I didn’t actually have a negative value in my bank balance- I paid off my debt slowly over time, and adjusted the numbers accordingly to account for it. (For the geeky, I had the graph to represent the sum of two columns- a balance column and a debt column which had a negative value.)

The later dips happened as I began to resume pre-stay-in life expenses. I’ve also invested in a Lumosity subscription (100++ dollars for 2 years), bought Foo Fighters tickets (100+ dollars), went clubbing (100+ dollars in one pointless, unfulfilling night), went out with the girlfriend who just returned from Europe (100+ dollars). I’ve still got my internet bill to pay (100+ dollars over a few months) and L’arc~en~Ciel tickets- (138 dollasrs) and other things… but all in all, while I’ve been spending more than I’d like over the past few months, the overall trend looks good to me.

Going to be a millionaire eventually. Just sayin’.
 

 

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Habits Through Connections

Posted on February 18, 2012 by visa

I have been paying lip service to this for the longest time but it’s finally about time- better late then never- that I get around to doing it. I’m talking about consolidating my passions, focusing warm sunshine into the laser beam of a heat-seeking missile. And I’m talking about creating habits, because first we create our habits, and then they create us.

So anyway, I’m writing this right after a pleasurable session of reading. (Specifically, I was reading More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics by Steven Landsburg, which is a great book that I’d recommend to absolutely everyone.) And I’m confirming a hypothesis here- which is that I always get around to writing a long quicker if I pursue it immediately after reading. Because reading crystallizes my thoughts, it puts me in a receptive mood for working with ideas. I won’t necessarily regurgitate whatever it is that I was reading- because I read in an engaging, critical manner (I’m not trying to praise myself here, this is just how I read) that gets me thinking and asking questions. I write much better when I’m in this zone, and for the most part I like to pretend that the zone is something mystical and serendipitous- but statistically speaking, getting into this zone is something that can be arranged.

I cannot guarantee that you will fall in love this year, for instance- but I can guarantee you that it becomes statistically more likely if you make a habit of meeting and interacting with new people, and statistically less likely if you’re sitting at home every day. Similarly, I greatly boost the my odds of writing something palatable if I simply read more books, and write immediately after my reading sessions. It’s all about the mental state. And this is consistent with a conversation I was having with my friend Xavier about how it’s difficult to do more or less of anything, but it’s easier to rearrange our existing activities in a more effective system. Sometimes I sit and beg for the words to come. Moments like now, they come in torrents, and I struggle to put them all down. It’s a sobering thought. I can enter this state of mind if I make the necessary preparations. It’s not that difficult.

So now that we’ve gotten the read book -> blog idea out of the way, I think it’s worth thinking about what other little associations I could create that would make a significant difference.

I want to be tracking my expenses every day. I spend more consciously when I have been tracking them, and I get a greater satisfaction out of my purchases that way. (It would not be accurate to say “I spend less when I have been tracking”, because even though it’s generally true, sometimes I do spend more despite tracking- because of things like the Foo Fighters and L’arc~en~ciel showing up in the same few months, and me paying for my web hosting and other things like that. Still, all else held constant, I spend less on stupid frivolous bullshit when I track my spending. I smoke less, I eat out less, I waste less time- all sorts of wonderful consequences. So I want to track my expenses every day. My notebook remains a great medium. All I need now is just an activity to link it to, to make it a habit. I think I shall make it a bed-time activity. I shall track my day before I go to bed.

I need a wake-up routine and a bed-time routine. Bookend your day, says Art Of Manliness. More on this later.

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How would you live?

Posted on February 15, 2012 by visa

I think a great question to ask is- what sort of life would you (or do you!) envision for yourself if money weren’t an issue? What kind of life would you design for yourself?

I don’t actually see myself living in incredible luxury with cars and a huge mansion. I see myself writing a lot. I see myself playing music. I see myself leading a significant tribe of people that matter to me, and together, we matter to the world. I see myself helping people think for themselves, helping them become self-sufficient. I see myself travelling a lot- not as a tourist, but as a pilgrim. I see myself building powerful social systems that transcend bullshit. I see myself happy, laughing, surrounded by friends and loved ones, respected and admired by adversaries for my elegance and my ceaseless offer of kinship. I see myself humbled by minds greater than my own, by processes greater than myself. I see myself shaping Singaporean culture- and global culture- for the better, boosting the signals that better our species. I see myself empowering others at multiple levels, across multiple scales. I see myself building a life that is greater than myself, that goes on beautifully without me.

It’s a trick question, really, because money was never the issue.

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Money

Posted on February 15, 2012 by visa

I don’t think we talk enough about money. It’s kind of a sensitive topic- it’s not nice to talk about how much we spend, how much we earn. We’re more than our bank balance, surely!

That said, there’s no escaping it in this day and age. Being a hunter-gatherer isn’t really an option any more. The marketplace is a very real element of the modern human condition.

I think it’s important to worry enough about money such that it doesn’t hold us hostage. My personal goal (for now) is to be financially independent, enough so that money doesn’t trouble me or limit me from living my dreams and fulfilling my potential. Money is merely a tool that’s meant to serve us, as a convenient substitute to bartering goods and services, nothing more. I think often, we forget the value of good ol’ bartering- that we mistake the map for the territory, and forget that what people want is wealth, not money- and we can create wealth for ourselves and each other, without actually having much (or any) money at all.

When I was a kid I used to save quite religiously. I think I saved up to a few hundred dollars in a bank account that my parents opened for me. I’m not sure what happened to that money- I think it’s still there, in a bank account that I’ve forgotten about, which I think my mum is taking care of. I’m personally choosing not to ask my parents about it, to operate under the assumption that I’m not getting a single cent out of them ever again. It’s simply a more fulfilling and antifragile way to live.

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Great Posts I’ve Read

Posted on February 15, 2012 by visa

The Disadvantage of an Elite Education by William Dersiewicz.

Welcome address to freshman at Boston Conservatory, by Karl Paulnack.

The World As I See It, by Albert Einstein

Talent, Focus and Endurance, by Haruki Murakami

It’s not about you, by David Brooks. The purpose in life is not to find yourself, but to lose yourself.

I am Nothing, by Paul Buchhiet

Six Mistakes Man Makes, Century after Century, by Seneca

Laziness and Timidity, by Friedrich Nietzsche

Countering Stress and Depression, by The Dalai Lama XIV

On life, by John Mayer

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When Thoughts Finally Become Actions

Posted on February 15, 2012 by visa

So today was a normal day. I got a couple more hours of sleep than I usually do (so I was only mildly delirious from sleep deprivation). As I was walking down the jetty at Tekong Ferry Terminal, I bumped into an equally sleepy friend. And he asked me, “Are you going to run later?” We have mass runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

I was tired, sleepy, lethargic. The idea of getting into a chair, slouching a corner and dozing off just seemed so tantalizing. And it’s what I had been doing for the past few weeks. I only went for one of Tekong’s morning runs since I got here.

But an interesting thing happened. When I got into my office, I found myself bursting to change into my running attire. Why? I don’t know. It wasn’t a long, drawn-out internal argument. I never win those battles. Rather, it felt like a tiny explosion that cascaded unremarkably through my nervous system. I entered the door, made a subconscious snap-decision that I was going to run. I was thinking about it as I was tying my laces. Why was I doing this, when I normally wouldn’t?

The answer was apparently so self-evident that it didn’t see a need to explain itself to me. But I kept at it, and slowly a picture began to emerge. Part of me was looking out for Tomorrow-Visa. Part of me was thinking about my push-ups routine and the date I had with my girlfriend the night before- about the importance and value of being spontaneous. And part of me was thinking about Baby Steps. But really, I wasn’t thinking at all. It all came together with amazing intensity and momentum- “Visa, don’t whine, don’t bitch, don’t even think. Put on your fucking shoes and get the fuck out of the door. Just get out. Show up. Go.”

And I did. And I ran. And was totally worth it. And I kept thinking-but-not-thinking as I was running. The thoughts just revealed themselves to me, without any real thinking being done. This was my reward, a break from the neurological rat-race. All the information, all the thinking, the years of frustration, the failures and the mediocrity- it seemed insurmountable because nothing seemed to be working. But turns out I was really just biding my time, gathering my resources, coiling my spring. And when the opportunity for decisive action arose, I found myself taking it, without even consulting me first. I had reached the critical mass. Something clicked. Something magical happen.

I’m not sure what I want to talk about, but I feel like I’ve bust a rut, burst into the sky. I’m sure it can happen for you too.

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An NCMP, the Education Minister, and the value of the GEP

Posted on February 15, 2012 by visa

I saw this on NCMP (and blogger, and entrepreneur, and generally awesome fella) Yee Jen Jong’s Facebook today:

Written answer to question on Gifted Education Programme (14/2/2012):

NCMP Mr Yee Jenn Jong: To ask the Minister for Education if he can provide the past 10 years’ data on (i) the number of students admitted into the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) at Primary 4; (ii) the annual budget for the GEP; and (iii) the performance of GEP students at the PSLE and A level examinations in terms of minimum, maximum and average scores.

Response from Minister for Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat:

About 500 students were admitted into the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) each year over the last 10 years.

Primary schools hosting the GEP are provided with additional teachers for the GEP classes they host over and above their usual complement of classes, and an annual programme grant of $53 per pupil.

Over 90% of GEP students score among the top 10% of PSLE candidates. About half of former GEP students scored 4As at the A levels.

So what’s that all about? Sometimes it seems like politicians deliberately write and say things in a way that obscures meaning, somewhat. Their intentions and perspectives are not very clear- I’d go so far as to say that their intentions are to minimise any interpretation of their intentions. I suspect this is a classic case of cover-backside. I don’t blame them. We’ve made them this way. I would be doing the same thing myself if I were a politician. (This is why I am not a politician, and can never be one. Unless they allow me to say things like cover-backside in Parliament.)

Anyway you guys already know my perspective on politics. Now let’s talk about the GEP. My response (modified from what I posted on Facebook) is as follows:

I was a GEP student.

Over 80% of GEP students, in my opinion, come from among the top 20% wealthiest/upper-class families in Singapore.

(Of course, I just made that up. It’s a guesstimate that follows the 80/20 principle, and my fallible memory. What I do know, though, is that only 18% of Singaporeans live in private housing, but they account for almost 40% of top 10% PSLE scores and more than 40% of IP school enrollment.)

These kids would have performed brilliantly even if the GEP never existed. Their parents are intelligent, educated, motivated, and feed them ideas from young about what it means to be effective and successful. Being successful academically is a part of their culture, it is expected of them. That’s the world they live in, GEP or no GEP.

Mind you, I don’t mean to imply that these guys (and girls) are miserable and academic drones. Many of them are self-motivated and well-adjusted. They have dreams and plans for their future. To paraphrase Exupery, they sail far not because they have been ordered to do so, but because they long for the endless immensity of the sea. If everybody could be like that, the world would be a beautiful place.

I remember looking at my girlfriend’s class list in RGS (or was it RJC by then?), and there were only one or two kids from HDB. What does that mean? I’m not very sure, lah. But I’m sure there’s something to it.

What I would REALLY like to see is a side-by-side comparison of social class/family wealth against academic performance. I expect that it would be very telling. Most top PSLE scorers live in private property. (Link above.) I think we really don’t acknowledge the influence of social class enough.

And of course, after all that is said and done- academic performance doesn’t count for very much, anyway. I’ve met absolute idiots in the GEP who are going to top universities around the world, and I’ve met veritable geniuses from neighbourhood schools and JCs.

Anyway, I think what Yee Jenn Jong is trying to do here is to weigh the cost and benefits- to evaluate the value of the GEP to society. To find out whether the juice is worth the squeeze, so as to speak.

Better metrics are crucial! Even if these blessed kids are in awesome places after university (whether or not that actually means anything any more) and contribute greatly to society, you can’t really prove that it was the GEP that specifically made the difference. I’d argue that they would have done it anyway even without the segregation.

We can’t find out the value of the GEP by comparing GEP kids with non-GEP kids. If you want to be logical, and intellectually honest: The only REAL way to see the inherent value of the GEP is to is to compare GEP kids with kids that qualify for the GEP but choose not to go. THOSE are the kids we need statistics on. If they’re doing just as well, if not better, then it’s clear that the GEP is worthless. (I doubt that’s the case, of course- because another great value is being surrounded with individuals who are driven, motivated, competent and effective. Peer pressure, essentially. I spent some time in La Selle recently, and I found myself itching to go home and pick up my guitar.)

Another awesome thing about the GEP, for me, was that our teachers respected us as individuals, encouraged us to think for ourselves, and dared us to believe that we could accomplish anything. That’s sugar-coating it a little- if you’re the cynical sort you could say that the system pressured us into thinking we were expected to accomplish great things, that we owed ourselves, our families and our nation a great debt because of the investments that were dumped upon our young, impressionable minds. These expectations did drive some of my peers crazy. Some of them developed emotional and psychological problems, possibly as a consequence of the madness. How much can you ask of a kid?

I don’t see why that has to be restricted to GEP kids alone; it’s not like encouragement and optimism is a limited resource. Every kid has infinite potential, just waiting to catch fire. If the GEP produces better students, I’m wagering that it’s because GEP teachers are allowed more freedom to motivate and inspire their kids to believe in themselves- or perhaps because those kids were born and raised to believe in themselves all along.

Also, I don’t know if this might interest you- but I’ve always anecdotally noticed that the greatest difference between GEP and non-GEP students- even before being streamed- was that GEP students read a lot more than anybody else. I’m talking about depth, not quantity or breadth. Show me a child that voluntarily reads voraciously on her own- engaged, intense reading, with a personal appetite for learning and understanding- and I’ll show you a child that’ll most probably qualify for the GEP. Again, I’m not saying that actually accounts for anything at all.

I will tidy up this article and add a summary later, I repeated myself a few times. Excuse the shoddiness, I’m in camp xD

 

 

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Loyalty to country vs. Loyalty to humanity

Posted on February 15, 2012 by visa

“No nation was ever so virtuous as each believes itself, and none was ever so wicked as each believes the other.” ~ Bertrand Russell

“Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.” ~Albert Einstein

Would you sacrifice yourself if it ensured the survival of your family?
Would you sacrifice your family if it ensured the survival of your nation?
Would you sacrifice your nation if it ensured the survival of your species?
Would you sacrifice your species if it ensured the survival of intelligent life everywhere else in the galaxy?

Suppose in every single one of those instances, you will be honoured and remembered- obviously with increasing consequence each time.

Obviously, nobody cares about intelligent life elsewhere yet, because we haven’t encountered it yet- we haven’t interacted with it, we haven’t built interplanetary relationships, exchanged art and culture, and perhaps bodily fluids.

There was a time where nobody cared about anybody apart from their own family, and then as we evolved, nobody cared about anybody outside of their own tribe. Then somewhere along came broader and grander ideas- monarchies, theocracies, nation-states, civilizations. I’m not completely sure about the specifics (and it’s something I plan to look up and get int0)- but basically we’ve progressed as a species to form larger and larger in-groups.

Wikipedia: History Of The World

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Principles of Creativity, Michalko

Posted on February 14, 2012 by visa

Everyone is born a creative, spontaneous thinker.

If students are told they’re creative, they become creative, and start working to acquire the skills needed to express that creative identity.

Conversely, students who accept that they’re not creative develop mental blocks that keep them “from trying or attempting anything new.”

All creative geniuses work passionately hard and produce incredible numbers of ideas, most of which are bad.

Creativity is paradoxical. Schools are places where students are supposed to acquire knowledge—but to create, a person must “forget the knowledge.” If you’re not able to leave what you think you know behind, you can’t approach problems with a fresh perspective.

Desire success but embrace failure.

Listen to experts but know how to disregard them.

-Michael Michalko

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