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Why Michelle Chong rocks
Jul. 3rd, 2009 | 01:25 pm
mood: 
cheerful
HAHAHAHA. I'm so glad she's one of the emcees for this year's NDP! :D Versatility at its best! Though it's really sad that some of these are facts (like the evil maid employers).
And something else I discovered!
The voice behind the MRT! :D
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Prelude to National Day Parade 09
May. 20th, 2009 | 08:57 pm
mood: cheerful
music: NDP Songs
Being involved in NDP09 this year as a writer and editor, I feel so much more connected with this year's parade as compared to previous years. I remember during last year's parade while people were looking up to the sky and taking photos of the Black Knights, I was busying inching my way through the crowd to Raffles MRT after a class gathering, thinking to myself, what's with National Day? I still recall it was one day after I had POPed from BSLC. Maybe it was due to the fact that I got selected for ASLC, that's why I was particularly grouchy that day. I only watched the re-telecast of NDP08 and even then, I thought to myself, "Bah, Beijing Olympics Opening rocks my socks!" (Since NDP came the day after Beijing Olympics Opening! In case you were wondering.)
Oh, and not to mention that I used to always discourage people from watching NDP live because I thought "TV can already what, go there so stuffy and hot somemore." OR "Marching contingents are freaking boring!" (This changed MAJORLY after entering the army, in fact I think the marching section trumphs some of the lame mass displays!) OR "What's the big deal about fireworks?". Either way, the conclusion was that the whole patriotism thing just didn't go well with me. NDP always seemed like some propaganda, communist like manifesto. Though surprisingly, my memory of my P5 NDP show at Padang was GREAT. Don't know when the cynicism crept in. Must be the stress from studying for A levels. Hmm.
Anyway, here's a promo for the National Day Parade 2009 website! Other than registering as a member and balloting for NDP tickets, please check out NDPeeps because it's a portal to all the user-empowered content about NDP! Go join the Facebook group, updates there go on everyday, and it even features I<3SG day! (Haha, I know you UK scholars a.k.a. smartie pants all went right? Can see more photos when you join!)
But something I really hope you would do is to go read the NDP09 EXCO Chairman's blog! I can vouch for the fact that the blog is 100% BG's own words, so there's no incriminating censorship board as some people claim. (My branch is in charge of the website, so we know!) I think reading it makes me understand why NDP is NDP, and I think I'm able to see BG's perspective much better on how he plans to go about doing this year's NDP. Particularly the first entry where he talks about the death of his friend, COL Bernard, I think that was very heartfelt and touching. To mention something so personal to the whole nation, I think that takes courage. Coupled with the fact that BG headed the SAF Banda Aceh rescue efforts in 2006, I really take my hat off to this guy man! So yup, I think BG's blog is the most interesting thing on the website! Go read it for yourself!
I still think it's funny and weird how I ended up being one of NDP09's writers. I had been studying the NDP website for 2 years, when I did my Project Work in Sec 3 (about how local TV affects your sense of national identity) and Sec 4 (about the Singapore Arts Scene). I recall myself heavily referencing the websites for design inspirations. And since then, every year, I've been visiting the NDP website just to check it out. I think it's weird that I'm now doing the writing for the website, when back then I was just browsing as a member of the public. Oh well, NDP's found its way to me.
CONCLUSION: GO visit the NDP09 website and join NDPeeps on Facebook! I think this year's NDP has really been a lot more engaging than previous years, so it'll definitely be a good chance to check out how the different committees get together to put up the parade!
On a sidenote, I did some research into NDP songs (since almost everyone I know seems super excited about what this year's NDP song is, the last time I heard it was going to be by local band Electrico!), and I decided that I was going to have a post that goes like,
43 YEARS OF NDP:
WHEN DID WE GET OUR SONGS RIGHT and WHEN DID WE NOT?
Haha, yah man, I think it's high time we review when did the musicians and singers get it right for the nation, and when did they flop miserably for NDP songs!
( Here goes! )
Here ends my review of all the NDP songs for these past few years! I sure hope this year's song is good! I have a feeling it'll probably only make it to being a good song, but then one that isn't memorable. Afterall, I would guess it's difficult for any song to top Home.
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30th Anniversary Hwa Chong Video
May. 11th, 2009 | 08:43 pm
mood: 
calm
music: Planetshakers - Jesus Reigns
I have recently re-stumbled upon the 30th Anniversary Hwa Chong Video, and many many memories came pouring back. Even though we frequently complain about how life as a student in Hwa Chong is excrutiatingly painful with numerous tutorials and assignments, but looking back, I really do miss those moments. Sitting in lectures trying my best to absorb complex numbers, scribbling like mad during Bio lectures with the occassional sarcastic remark from Mrs Foo, falling asleep during Majulah Singapura in standing position. It's funny but I really forgot how it was like to be a JC student until I rewatched this video.
I remember the first time I watched it was during Orientation. I wanted to skip the "School Documentary" screening and chill at the canteen (just as a bunch of us were going to), but somehow we ended up back in the school hall watching the documentary.
It was this video that defined the beginning of my life as a Hwa Chong JC student, because I always thought with the long heritage Chinese High has, JC side would totally pale in comparison, but this video proved me wrong. And in fact, looking back, I miss HCJC more than Chinese High, well, simply because the Chinese High that we once knew has already ceased to exist. (Security lockdowns, change of teachers, change in academic infrastructure, whether they're truly for the better or not, I believe time will bear testament to that.)
I don't ever think I'll come to terms with Hwa Chong being Hwa Chong Institution. I never came from High School Section, nor was I from College Section; I came from The Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College. I think watching this video made me realise that it was this kind of a Hwa Chong Spirit that made me love the school so much. Forget about what recent hype of school spirit that's been going on since I graduated: all the I LOVE/HEART HC shirts and what-nots; to me, I think that they're merely an outward superficial display. Back then, we didn't have, or rather, we didn't need any of these because we knew instinctively, or should I say, it was within us that Hwa Chong was our school, and regardless of what happened, we know that we wouldn't be who we are today had it not been for our teachers, our seniors and our friends. We thought less of ourselves, but rather, we thought about what we could do to excel and to prove to others that Hwa Chong was truly the best school that there was.
I don't think we were complacent in our work, simply because we knew we had a reputation to uphold. It was something subconscious within everyone I guess, knowing that excelling in our work was not merely something that would be good for ourselves, but that we would do the school and our families proud. Even for those of us who became these supercritical cynics that were seemingly apathetic, it was because we cared too much that we were always voicing out our discontentment so that the school could improve, only that we knew we couldn't do anything about it so we turned apathetic. Either way, what perfectly sensible and intelligent students think are good for the school don't mean anything to Board of Governors or Directors who would find it hard to accept that students of 13-18 had the mental capacity for positive change on such a scale. I guess their impressions of us would always stay at that when they themselves were 13-18, i.e. kampung kids. Bleargh. Guess they still need to accept theories that better nutrition nowadays leads to accelerated brain developments. Either way, that was then.
I don't know what students think about nowadays. Perhaps they view their current education in Hwa Chong akind to getting onboard a train to further their education and that's that, heading mindlessly for a degree (and hopefully a top 10% Hwa Chong Diploma). After their A levels, well, it's just getting off the train. How about a more precise one, a view of what's happening now: that Hwa Chong is a company with a CEO and students are just their products. Oh yes, students are simply products, vessels that can hold academic information, and at the end of it if you can't produce the information to Cambridge, then ta-ta, into the dustbin you go. Every Hwa Chong student perhaps would have felt like that since the merger, but honestly, what can we do? It simply furthers our motivation to work even harder in the neverending rat race. So don't blame your Hwa Chong friends if they mug too hard or don't have much of a life outside of academia, it's what they've been taught and conditioned to do by their CEO and his fellow school governors. A true-life dystopia eh?
I miss my teachers, because they were the ones that really made the school into the school; sans those who have been all accomodating to school administration, who simply care about their own livelihood and sacrifice their moral integrity to appear as these ideal law abiding teachers but totally at the expense of their students. Who needs a CCA teacher-in-charge if HE doesn't fight for the CCA? What's the point of putting him in-charge? Might as well call him the Hermes of the school administration (and for goodness sake, we don't even know whether it's really just HIM or the school administration) If it's any injustice I feel, it's for my juniors, it's for the students and it's for 28 generations of students who have painstakingly year after year been putting up a theatre performance at Victoria Theatre only to now face its potential demise all because of HIM. I abhor the sight of him, simply because if you think your life sucks, then so be it, you don't have to implicate students and the work that they do to make them think that their life should suck as badly as yours.
Huang Cheng gave me a purpose in Junior College. Had it not been for Huang Cheng, I probably wouldn't have missed Hwa Chong Junior College as much as I do now. It made me realise that there were still like minded people who didn't get tainted by cynicism, and people who still viewed school life more than mere academics. That's why I will press on even harder to make sure the very thing that gave me a purpose in my JC student life doesn't die off because of an individual. But that if she does die off, it is because society has triumphed in poisoning all young minds that academics are all there is to life.
For all the angst, I still miss Hwa Chong. It truly moulded me into who I am today. Even the negative experiences, because I now know I do not ever want to become like some of these people, or put myself into a situation like those I had faced. Teachers that taught me beyond the textbook, friends that have become close companions, if not for Hwa Chong, I never would have met them. Truly, although we might never relive them, they will always remain vivid and alive memories within us.
Hwa Chong, my alma mater. A place that taught me so much more about life.
I remember the first time I watched it was during Orientation. I wanted to skip the "School Documentary" screening and chill at the canteen (just as a bunch of us were going to), but somehow we ended up back in the school hall watching the documentary.
It was this video that defined the beginning of my life as a Hwa Chong JC student, because I always thought with the long heritage Chinese High has, JC side would totally pale in comparison, but this video proved me wrong. And in fact, looking back, I miss HCJC more than Chinese High, well, simply because the Chinese High that we once knew has already ceased to exist. (Security lockdowns, change of teachers, change in academic infrastructure, whether they're truly for the better or not, I believe time will bear testament to that.)
I don't ever think I'll come to terms with Hwa Chong being Hwa Chong Institution. I never came from High School Section, nor was I from College Section; I came from The Chinese High School and Hwa Chong Junior College. I think watching this video made me realise that it was this kind of a Hwa Chong Spirit that made me love the school so much. Forget about what recent hype of school spirit that's been going on since I graduated: all the I LOVE/HEART HC shirts and what-nots; to me, I think that they're merely an outward superficial display. Back then, we didn't have, or rather, we didn't need any of these because we knew instinctively, or should I say, it was within us that Hwa Chong was our school, and regardless of what happened, we know that we wouldn't be who we are today had it not been for our teachers, our seniors and our friends. We thought less of ourselves, but rather, we thought about what we could do to excel and to prove to others that Hwa Chong was truly the best school that there was.
I don't think we were complacent in our work, simply because we knew we had a reputation to uphold. It was something subconscious within everyone I guess, knowing that excelling in our work was not merely something that would be good for ourselves, but that we would do the school and our families proud. Even for those of us who became these supercritical cynics that were seemingly apathetic, it was because we cared too much that we were always voicing out our discontentment so that the school could improve, only that we knew we couldn't do anything about it so we turned apathetic. Either way, what perfectly sensible and intelligent students think are good for the school don't mean anything to Board of Governors or Directors who would find it hard to accept that students of 13-18 had the mental capacity for positive change on such a scale. I guess their impressions of us would always stay at that when they themselves were 13-18, i.e. kampung kids. Bleargh. Guess they still need to accept theories that better nutrition nowadays leads to accelerated brain developments. Either way, that was then.
I don't know what students think about nowadays. Perhaps they view their current education in Hwa Chong akind to getting onboard a train to further their education and that's that, heading mindlessly for a degree (and hopefully a top 10% Hwa Chong Diploma). After their A levels, well, it's just getting off the train. How about a more precise one, a view of what's happening now: that Hwa Chong is a company with a CEO and students are just their products. Oh yes, students are simply products, vessels that can hold academic information, and at the end of it if you can't produce the information to Cambridge, then ta-ta, into the dustbin you go. Every Hwa Chong student perhaps would have felt like that since the merger, but honestly, what can we do? It simply furthers our motivation to work even harder in the neverending rat race. So don't blame your Hwa Chong friends if they mug too hard or don't have much of a life outside of academia, it's what they've been taught and conditioned to do by their CEO and his fellow school governors. A true-life dystopia eh?
I miss my teachers, because they were the ones that really made the school into the school; sans those who have been all accomodating to school administration, who simply care about their own livelihood and sacrifice their moral integrity to appear as these ideal law abiding teachers but totally at the expense of their students. Who needs a CCA teacher-in-charge if HE doesn't fight for the CCA? What's the point of putting him in-charge? Might as well call him the Hermes of the school administration (and for goodness sake, we don't even know whether it's really just HIM or the school administration) If it's any injustice I feel, it's for my juniors, it's for the students and it's for 28 generations of students who have painstakingly year after year been putting up a theatre performance at Victoria Theatre only to now face its potential demise all because of HIM. I abhor the sight of him, simply because if you think your life sucks, then so be it, you don't have to implicate students and the work that they do to make them think that their life should suck as badly as yours.
Huang Cheng gave me a purpose in Junior College. Had it not been for Huang Cheng, I probably wouldn't have missed Hwa Chong Junior College as much as I do now. It made me realise that there were still like minded people who didn't get tainted by cynicism, and people who still viewed school life more than mere academics. That's why I will press on even harder to make sure the very thing that gave me a purpose in my JC student life doesn't die off because of an individual. But that if she does die off, it is because society has triumphed in poisoning all young minds that academics are all there is to life.
For all the angst, I still miss Hwa Chong. It truly moulded me into who I am today. Even the negative experiences, because I now know I do not ever want to become like some of these people, or put myself into a situation like those I had faced. Teachers that taught me beyond the textbook, friends that have become close companions, if not for Hwa Chong, I never would have met them. Truly, although we might never relive them, they will always remain vivid and alive memories within us.
Hwa Chong, my alma mater. A place that taught me so much more about life.
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Okuribito / Departures
Apr. 5th, 2009 | 09:19 pm
mood: calm
music: YUI - again / Joe Hisaishi - Okuribito OST
I've got a new favourite movie, and it's this year's Oscars for Best Foreign Film! Departures, also known in Japanese as Okuribito. I'm so glad an Asian film took home the Best Foreign Film for the Oscars this year, I think Asian films have a kind of sensitivity and perceptiveness to the environment that Western films have rarely achieved. A lot more thought seems to be put into Asian films, especially Japanese films, in which the angles, soundtrack and setting give the audience a lot more to ponder about than going through the motion of having mandatory angle changes because "the audience will fall asleep after 3 seconds if no new angle is adopted".
The movie essentially deals with the art of casketing (i.e. preparation of a body before its burial/cremation) and offers a view on the normalcy of death; that death is not something to be feared, but that it will and does happen eventually. I especially love how it offers the view that after a person dies, he/she is not simply a corpse, but that he/she was once a living person, and how through the process of casketing (within Japanese culture), their loved ones express their love towards the deceased. I think very often in our own culture, a corpse is simply like an item, we discount the fact that this person has once lived and has impacted the lives of people around them in some way or another.
Another plus point about this movie is its soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi (who also did Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea). Composed of mostly piano, cello instrumentations, it serves as an excellent soundtrack. It is impossible to divorce it from the film; the film would seem weird without its music.
I was particularly impressed with the director's sensitivity to the context of the shot by which it is taken, in regards to his choice of the insertion of silence for a scene. Sometimes, silence speaks a lot more than if the film was flooded with soundtrack, and Departures achieves this beautifully.
Acting wise, I was pleasantly surprised to see Ryoko Hirosue (who I've seen act in Japanese Dramas since young) and Masahiro Motoki (the previous face of GATSBY before Takuya Kimura took over) in it. As with the rest of the cast, the acting itself is sensitive, convincable and if not, just pure brilliant. I think roles that don't require extreme emotions are the toughest to act, because it's easy to peak your anger or sadness, but to sustain one that has numerous subliminal emotions and yet captivate the audience's attention, now that's excellent acting. They truly bring to life the whole story.
4.9/5 stars! (The -0.1 comes from the fact that there's this one scene which I felt didn't fit in well, which was a scene of Masahiro Motoki playing the cello against a background of scenic mountains) All in all still, I strongly recommend you go watch it! It's so good, I watched it twice in the cinema! It's heartfelt and very touching. Many people left the cinema with tears in their eyes, and I think, with a new profound perspective on death/life. :)
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Big Launch: The Edge 2.0
Mar. 14th, 2009 | 11:56 pm
mood: cheerful
music: Desperation Band - Overcome
In case you didn't know, I go for my church's youth service every Saturday, 5.30 pm at Yishun at this place called Fusion Youth Hub. Yup, we're really pioneering into a new phase after 7 years! (I can't believe we're already that old.) So I'm really hyped about all the new changes that are coming. Kudos to Shawn Soh for all the fantabulous designing. Must have really pulled his hair out doing all the designs! I have to say the new Edge cards are pure <3! Including the stickers! Going to stick them all over my office haha.
If you're at NUS, I would guess you've seen something or heard about our service at NUS. It's called The Edge UC (University Campus) which I definitely WILL GO to when I get out of NS! Haha! Yes, if you're studying at NUS, please pay a visit to Prince Georges Residences Function Room, every Thursday at 6.45 pm! Call me if you don't know how to get there! Great place to link up cross-faculty!
I like our new website a lot, so everyone has to go visit it! Yes, GO AND VISIT IT! It's at www.theedge.org.sg (or you can just click on the banner above to visit it). Very nice design. Utilising up-to-date Web 2.0 XHTML and CSS codes (which I desperately need to learn!) Haha, as you can see, I'm going mad over it, so you just have got to go visit it.
I'm so happy for the new changes! I believe as a youth ministry, we truly are moving in a new direction! It's not a mere relaunch of our service but a relaunch of our faith and a reconfirmation of 'why-we-do-the-things-we-do'! :D Hurray for a more dynamic The Edge!
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Slipping away from the world
Dec. 12th, 2008 | 11:50 pm
mood: 
melancholy
music: Otsuka Ai - 愛
Wow, it's really been such a long time since I blogged. Suddenly felt the impulse to do it again. As a form of reflection of where my life is currently at now? I guess everyone does that. Right now, I don't really know how to piece out the reality that's in front of me. The fact that I am unable to keep in contact with many of my friends due to NS has started to sink in. When I look at Facebook, I realise more often than not, to my horror, I haven't spoken to some people in ages! Neither have I met up with them!
Today at work, my friend Marcus told me something. "It only takes 1 week to get you replaced. 1 month to get you forgotten. The ones that'll always remember you are your family members." Perhaps there's some truth in that. I feel really sad I'm losing contact with many people. Juniors, seniors, peers. We're not only lacking in something common to talk about, but drifting further and further emotionally. It's saddening. Do we all truly treasure the people around us? Are we so busy we just can't be bothered anymore? I guess I tried keeping in contact with people, but some people just don't seem to want to keep in contact. :( Everyone's drifting apart and there just doesn't seem to be anything I can or we all can do about it.
Well, all I can say is I always have my family and friends constantly at the back of my mind. I always think of people and what we've all gone through. What they've done, how great everyone has been an impact on my mind. Doesn't matter whether they reciprocate though it'll be a nice gesture? I guess I'm truly sensing the helplessness of losing people that matter. I just don't think I'm able to do much about it if we've all gone emotionally distant.
I feel like cutting myself off from the world just for a while. Think about life again. Have a little solitude and some time to myself for the moment. Just need to rethink many things and relook at my perception on life.
Today at work, my friend Marcus told me something. "It only takes 1 week to get you replaced. 1 month to get you forgotten. The ones that'll always remember you are your family members." Perhaps there's some truth in that. I feel really sad I'm losing contact with many people. Juniors, seniors, peers. We're not only lacking in something common to talk about, but drifting further and further emotionally. It's saddening. Do we all truly treasure the people around us? Are we so busy we just can't be bothered anymore? I guess I tried keeping in contact with people, but some people just don't seem to want to keep in contact. :( Everyone's drifting apart and there just doesn't seem to be anything I can or we all can do about it.
Well, all I can say is I always have my family and friends constantly at the back of my mind. I always think of people and what we've all gone through. What they've done, how great everyone has been an impact on my mind. Doesn't matter whether they reciprocate though it'll be a nice gesture? I guess I'm truly sensing the helplessness of losing people that matter. I just don't think I'm able to do much about it if we've all gone emotionally distant.
I feel like cutting myself off from the world just for a while. Think about life again. Have a little solitude and some time to myself for the moment. Just need to rethink many things and relook at my perception on life.
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The Case for a Creator
Oct. 7th, 2008 | 07:27 pm
mood: calm
I tumbled on my friend's book in camp yesterday, and it was titled something like "The Case for a Creator". I read through some of it, about the whole issue of "irreducible complexities" (i.e. If a cell mechanism had only just one part of it taken out, the whole mechanism will cease to function. Hence, it cannot be 'reduced' further. The book talked about the flagellum in particular. It demonstrates that the mechanism is so delicate that it could not have been possible to occur by sheer probability) and "multiple universes" (i.e. There were perhaps many universes that had existed, but ours was that "one in a million" chance that successfully could maintain life. It is argued that this is highly unlikely to be true anyway.)
I was thinking behind all of these lies the main problem: probability. Is it possible mathematically for natural selection to have resulted in life, or even human life? Afterall, isn't math the "Mother of Science" for all its deductive processes? I've heard mathematicians (secular ones) say this is simply impossible. For natural selection, or to be more exact, forces of nature to have resulted in the ten million million atoms forming up an extremely complex mechanism like the cell which is capable of replicating its entire complex machinery within 3 hours is just not possible by pure randomness. Unless it was meant to be intentional. That means someone created them.
Thought #1: 1 / INFINITY = ERROR
Probability that ten million million atoms would randomly form a cell: 1/infinity
OR Probability that different chemical compounds would randomly come together to form a cell: 1/infinity
OR Probability that the exact right forces of nature come together to produce a cell: 1/infinity
Even if this was possible; so ok, we hit jackpot! And managed to be that one amidst the infinity, giving birth to the first form of life: a single-cell organism (prokaryote), possibly an amoeba or some single-cell bacteria.
Probability that the exact right forces of nature trigger this single-cell species to become more complex: 1/infinity
OR Probability that the exact right forces of nature trigger this single-cell species to more complex life forms: 1/infinity (By this, I mean anything that isn't a unicellular organism)
OR Probability that genetic mutation occurs to trigger a more complex life form: 1/infinity (Genetic mutations rarely occur anyway, lowering the probability even more)
OR Probability that complex life form formed is actually capable of life: 1/infinity (It would not be valid if any variations occur but the result is not anything capable of life)
Note: Genetic mutation has to occur in order for any form of natural selection to take place. If all the organisms are genetically the same, they'll be exactly the same. If environmental factors changed, all of them would be wiped out. Some variation in gene pool has to occur for natural selection to act against unfavourable variations.
Again, let's say we hit jackpot for a second time. However then, we would be risking this same old probability in those complex life forms to become even more complex life forms. And ultimately, to become us, humans. We would be getting a result like this:
Isn't then the probability of human existence simply impossible against a backdrop of pure chance and randomness in the universe? It is too small a probability for the exact right forces of nature to come together to have allowed for human existence, virtually zero. For all the complexity of our organs and body systems, it is just impossible that all of these came together due to pure chance and randomness. Human life is therefore, mathematically, a product of probability.
In fact, you could extend the same argument to the Earth. Why is it so that the Earth is positioned at such a precise location away from the sun that any nearer or further, life would cease to exist? Our probability for life becomes ever more minute with this premise.
After hearing out my first thought, you perhaps disagree. Perhaps I've made a mathematical mistake somewhere. Perhaps I've not established my premises correctly. How about my next thought?
Thought #2: "Rubbish In, Rubbish Out"
In philosophy, it is commonly said that "rubbish in, rubbish out'. If you input false premises, your conclusion would ultimately end up to be nonsensical. It is a method to test for the validity of the logic by which an argument is constructed.
Let's extend this to say, non-living things. If you put non-living things into a system, say for example, bricks and nails, to form a building. (In the same way you would insert premises into a system of logic) What you would get at the end of it would be a non-living thing, a building. We can establish therefore that "non-living things in, non-living things out".
Let's extend this further to life. Enzymes, cell components, hormones. By themselves, none of these are living entities. Yet when a combination of them come together, they produce life. Wait, isn't it "non-living things in, non-living things out"? Think of all these individual components as being similar to the bricks and nails mentioned earlier. Shouldn't putting them together form something also non-living?
But wait, just any cells? Only the correct combination and quantity of cells can give rise to life. On the other hand, cells themselves are made up of non-living material, so why are they alive too? Since 1+1=2, how can 1 non-living+1 non-living=2 living?
Again, we need the correct combination and quantity of chemicals here. It has to be precise, or else life would simply collapse. So what about the bodily systems? Let's take the blood circulation system for example. Let's liken this to a factory with pipes (i.e. blood vessels) carrying water (i.e. blood). Just because a system exists for the transportation of fluids, that does not mean that it is necessarily capable of supporting life.
Let's take another system: nerve/brain cells and transportation of electrical impulses. Let's liken this to wires (i.e. nerve/brain cells) carrying electricity (i.e. electrical impulses). Again, this demonstrates that just because electrical currents are transported does not necessarily make it living.
You could argue that I'm simply being nonsensical here. How can I liken bodily systems to mechanical and electrical systems and therefore prove life can't be possible? They're different intrinsically anyway, aren't they so? Yes, I agree on that. However, what I'm essentially arguing is the notion that just because a system exists doesn't necessarily mean it is capable of supporting life, or equates to life. Even if a system does exist that is capable of supporting life, it would have to get past the hurdle of having the right mix of chemicals that are dictated by genes, which are in turn influenced by mutations and natural selection. To have achieved this right mix would be impossible based solely on chance and randomness.
Conclusion
I think it is more reasonable to accept the conclusion that there is a God who created us. Am I simply being lazy and choosing an easier option out here? I don't think so. Chances that life, to be exact, human life, occurred through probability is just too minute. Even for something like the Big Bang to have occurred, that itself is also too small a probability to have happened. It is logical to therefore suggest the existence of a creator; that we were all made instead of being made via clashes of atoms and molecules in brownian motion. That life is an intentional process.
Do leave a comment and tell me what you think. I'm just penning down my thoughts after thinking about this question the whole day.
I was thinking behind all of these lies the main problem: probability. Is it possible mathematically for natural selection to have resulted in life, or even human life? Afterall, isn't math the "Mother of Science" for all its deductive processes? I've heard mathematicians (secular ones) say this is simply impossible. For natural selection, or to be more exact, forces of nature to have resulted in the ten million million atoms forming up an extremely complex mechanism like the cell which is capable of replicating its entire complex machinery within 3 hours is just not possible by pure randomness. Unless it was meant to be intentional. That means someone created them.
Thought #1: 1 / INFINITY = ERROR
Probability that ten million million atoms would randomly form a cell: 1/infinity
OR Probability that different chemical compounds would randomly come together to form a cell: 1/infinity
OR Probability that the exact right forces of nature come together to produce a cell: 1/infinity
Even if this was possible; so ok, we hit jackpot! And managed to be that one amidst the infinity, giving birth to the first form of life: a single-cell organism (prokaryote), possibly an amoeba or some single-cell bacteria.
Probability that the exact right forces of nature trigger this single-cell species to become more complex: 1/infinity
OR Probability that the exact right forces of nature trigger this single-cell species to more complex life forms: 1/infinity (By this, I mean anything that isn't a unicellular organism)
OR Probability that genetic mutation occurs to trigger a more complex life form: 1/infinity (Genetic mutations rarely occur anyway, lowering the probability even more)
OR Probability that complex life form formed is actually capable of life: 1/infinity (It would not be valid if any variations occur but the result is not anything capable of life)
Note: Genetic mutation has to occur in order for any form of natural selection to take place. If all the organisms are genetically the same, they'll be exactly the same. If environmental factors changed, all of them would be wiped out. Some variation in gene pool has to occur for natural selection to act against unfavourable variations.
Again, let's say we hit jackpot for a second time. However then, we would be risking this same old probability in those complex life forms to become even more complex life forms. And ultimately, to become us, humans. We would be getting a result like this:
(1/∞)∞ = ERROR
Isn't then the probability of human existence simply impossible against a backdrop of pure chance and randomness in the universe? It is too small a probability for the exact right forces of nature to come together to have allowed for human existence, virtually zero. For all the complexity of our organs and body systems, it is just impossible that all of these came together due to pure chance and randomness. Human life is therefore, mathematically, a product of probability.
In fact, you could extend the same argument to the Earth. Why is it so that the Earth is positioned at such a precise location away from the sun that any nearer or further, life would cease to exist? Our probability for life becomes ever more minute with this premise.
After hearing out my first thought, you perhaps disagree. Perhaps I've made a mathematical mistake somewhere. Perhaps I've not established my premises correctly. How about my next thought?
Thought #2: "Rubbish In, Rubbish Out"
In philosophy, it is commonly said that "rubbish in, rubbish out'. If you input false premises, your conclusion would ultimately end up to be nonsensical. It is a method to test for the validity of the logic by which an argument is constructed.
Let's extend this to say, non-living things. If you put non-living things into a system, say for example, bricks and nails, to form a building. (In the same way you would insert premises into a system of logic) What you would get at the end of it would be a non-living thing, a building. We can establish therefore that "non-living things in, non-living things out".
Let's extend this further to life. Enzymes, cell components, hormones. By themselves, none of these are living entities. Yet when a combination of them come together, they produce life. Wait, isn't it "non-living things in, non-living things out"? Think of all these individual components as being similar to the bricks and nails mentioned earlier. Shouldn't putting them together form something also non-living?
"You're not being fair here. A cell is a living entity, and putting many cells together can give rise to life."
But wait, just any cells? Only the correct combination and quantity of cells can give rise to life. On the other hand, cells themselves are made up of non-living material, so why are they alive too? Since 1+1=2, how can 1 non-living+1 non-living=2 living?
"Well, that's because they have different chemicals present in and passing through them. Anyway, life forms have different bodily systems to sustain life, so life is still possible even if their components are non-living individually."
Again, we need the correct combination and quantity of chemicals here. It has to be precise, or else life would simply collapse. So what about the bodily systems? Let's take the blood circulation system for example. Let's liken this to a factory with pipes (i.e. blood vessels) carrying water (i.e. blood). Just because a system exists for the transportation of fluids, that does not mean that it is necessarily capable of supporting life.
Let's take another system: nerve/brain cells and transportation of electrical impulses. Let's liken this to wires (i.e. nerve/brain cells) carrying electricity (i.e. electrical impulses). Again, this demonstrates that just because electrical currents are transported does not necessarily make it living.
You could argue that I'm simply being nonsensical here. How can I liken bodily systems to mechanical and electrical systems and therefore prove life can't be possible? They're different intrinsically anyway, aren't they so? Yes, I agree on that. However, what I'm essentially arguing is the notion that just because a system exists doesn't necessarily mean it is capable of supporting life, or equates to life. Even if a system does exist that is capable of supporting life, it would have to get past the hurdle of having the right mix of chemicals that are dictated by genes, which are in turn influenced by mutations and natural selection. To have achieved this right mix would be impossible based solely on chance and randomness.
Conclusion
I think it is more reasonable to accept the conclusion that there is a God who created us. Am I simply being lazy and choosing an easier option out here? I don't think so. Chances that life, to be exact, human life, occurred through probability is just too minute. Even for something like the Big Bang to have occurred, that itself is also too small a probability to have happened. It is logical to therefore suggest the existence of a creator; that we were all made instead of being made via clashes of atoms and molecules in brownian motion. That life is an intentional process.
Do leave a comment and tell me what you think. I'm just penning down my thoughts after thinking about this question the whole day.
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Children's Day Thought
Oct. 1st, 2008 | 06:13 pm
mood: 
nostalgic
I remembered when I was in kindergarden, I always wanted to have a Mcdonalds' Kids birthday party. Like it was the coolest thing ever, and if you invited your friends, it would be like a WOW thing to show off. It was really really cool because you had all these balloons and the meals were delivered up from the kitchen to the party room via an elevator (in the really OLD KAP). I loved Happy Meals because there were always all these cut-outs on the box and they also had these toys that came along with them. I also liked to hold onto the box because the handle was the Mcdonalds' M and I liked putting my fingers through them so that I could carry the meal home. In particular, I liked drinking milk out of the carton from the Happy Meal.
I wanted to grow up quickly as an adult. Be a pilot for Singapore Airlines so that I could fly aeroplanes. I remember my favourite aeroplane model used to be the Boeing 747. The best gift I had gotten was a booklet from Lufthansa airlines, and it had all these photos of different plane models in their fleet. Oh, and the package also had a small plane model. I remember placing them in my Power Ranger bag. On my first trip to Switzerland when I was 7, I would sit at the attic, read the booklet over and over and play with the Lufthansa airplane model I had.
I forgot how it felt like to be a kid, but I suddenly remembered again.
Happy Children's Day. :)
I wanted to grow up quickly as an adult. Be a pilot for Singapore Airlines so that I could fly aeroplanes. I remember my favourite aeroplane model used to be the Boeing 747. The best gift I had gotten was a booklet from Lufthansa airlines, and it had all these photos of different plane models in their fleet. Oh, and the package also had a small plane model. I remember placing them in my Power Ranger bag. On my first trip to Switzerland when I was 7, I would sit at the attic, read the booklet over and over and play with the Lufthansa airplane model I had.
I forgot how it felt like to be a kid, but I suddenly remembered again.
Happy Children's Day. :)
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Friends.
Sep. 7th, 2008 | 08:18 pm
mood: 
indescribable
music: Hillsong - This is Our God
Friends. How can you live life without them?
I was back at MAF yesterday, and I was so glad I was able to meet up with so many people! My classmates, CCA mates, juniors, teachers! All these people who have made such a significant impact in my life. As Zhengyou puts it, it's really been a very very long time since I've felt this happy. Not to mention the elation when I found out that people like Meng Tian haven't left yet so I still have time to bid farewell to them. :)
It's a process of growing up, I guess. Everyone will have to go through all these partings with their friends at this stage in their lives. When people are flying overseas, when people are entering university, when people are still struggling with NS (like me!). Everyone has got to move on in their lives. Sometimes, I really hope I could just hit the stop button on time itself, and let everything remain as it is.
Huang Cheng, Dance Night, SYF. Wouldn't it be great if time didn't move on? We'll all still keep in contact, and we wouldn't have to experience all the angst of people leaving and parting. I feel as though a part of me is ripped off at times like this.
But we'll all meet up again soon right? Maybe in another 5 years when everything's stabilised again. When people start flying back from overseas, when all the guys are finally out of army and hitting the books, and then we can meet up for lunches, dinners and movies like we used to? Yup, I sure look forward to that day. (And probably the day when we start inviting each other to each other's weddings! Haha!) Jia you, everyone. Keep hoping and looking forward to that day.
I was back at MAF yesterday, and I was so glad I was able to meet up with so many people! My classmates, CCA mates, juniors, teachers! All these people who have made such a significant impact in my life. As Zhengyou puts it, it's really been a very very long time since I've felt this happy. Not to mention the elation when I found out that people like Meng Tian haven't left yet so I still have time to bid farewell to them. :)
It's a process of growing up, I guess. Everyone will have to go through all these partings with their friends at this stage in their lives. When people are flying overseas, when people are entering university, when people are still struggling with NS (like me!). Everyone has got to move on in their lives. Sometimes, I really hope I could just hit the stop button on time itself, and let everything remain as it is.
Huang Cheng, Dance Night, SYF. Wouldn't it be great if time didn't move on? We'll all still keep in contact, and we wouldn't have to experience all the angst of people leaving and parting. I feel as though a part of me is ripped off at times like this.
But we'll all meet up again soon right? Maybe in another 5 years when everything's stabilised again. When people start flying back from overseas, when all the guys are finally out of army and hitting the books, and then we can meet up for lunches, dinners and movies like we used to? Yup, I sure look forward to that day. (And probably the day when we start inviting each other to each other's weddings! Haha!) Jia you, everyone. Keep hoping and looking forward to that day.
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NDP 2008 Theme Song
Aug. 10th, 2008 | 07:18 pm
mood: calm
music: 蔡淳佳 - 晴空万里
Surprisingly, I actually like this year's NDP song a lot! The chinese version though, because the english version has rather cheesy lyrics (though it's still a good NDP song, unlike 2006's "Reach out for the stars", which was a total disaster in my opinion). The NDP itself though is still pretty much the same as previous years, and it came sadly after the Beijing Olympics, which was AWESOME. Oh well, I guess there are limitations. 1 year compared to 4 years of preparation? I think the Beijing Olympics would end up looking like NDP if they only had 1 year, so can't really compare.
Anyway, here are the lyrics to the chinese version of the NDP song. I really like them, they're really meaningful. Thumbs up for the lyrics department! Kar Weng tells me the lyricist also pens songs for singers like Stefanie Sun, which is really awesome too! :)
晴空万里 by 蔡淳佳
什么是默契
我们同时仰望夜空的时序
同时被一颗星指引
无论哪里 它陪着我 第一时间回到熟悉
什么是勇气
手握着手笔形成世界新领域
就凭一颗心可以打造奇迹
再高的天也触手可及
＊ 晴空晴万里 满载真心
就算有风雨 我们的力量像恒星
齐心合力 微弱的光芒也能燎亮天际
＃ 晴空行万里 让梦探寻
明天的歌曲 来自每个人的声音
坚定不移 只要紧靠一起
什么是四季
常年彩虹 画出彩色的回忆
在这赤道旁的岛屿 小小面积
没有什么比家更美丽
用我们的勇气 照耀着天际
拥抱晴空万里
Download it here off the NDP 2008 website!
Anyway, here are the lyrics to the chinese version of the NDP song. I really like them, they're really meaningful. Thumbs up for the lyrics department! Kar Weng tells me the lyricist also pens songs for singers like Stefanie Sun, which is really awesome too! :)
晴空万里 by 蔡淳佳
什么是默契
我们同时仰望夜空的时序
同时被一颗星指引
无论哪里 它陪着我 第一时间回到熟悉
什么是勇气
手握着手笔形成世界新领域
就凭一颗心可以打造奇迹
再高的天也触手可及
＊ 晴空晴万里 满载真心
就算有风雨 我们的力量像恒星
齐心合力 微弱的光芒也能燎亮天际
＃ 晴空行万里 让梦探寻
明天的歌曲 来自每个人的声音
坚定不移 只要紧靠一起
什么是四季
常年彩虹 画出彩色的回忆
在这赤道旁的岛屿 小小面积
没有什么比家更美丽
用我们的勇气 照耀着天际
拥抱晴空万里
Download it here off the NDP 2008 website!
