"Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd." - Edith Sitwell

***

So far a few people (one from SMU, strangely enough) have discovered my dirty little secret. I wonder how many more will (wah, die liao).

***

The things you learn (on nature vs nurture, and Larry Summers):

"Moreover, the well-documented phenomenon of phenotypic plasticity suggests that even when there are genetically-based differences among organisms, appropriate changes in the environment can balance things out, or at least improve the response (in this case, math abilities) for most people.

The problem with the comments that have circulated lately is that they assume much more than it has actually been shown to be the case, and discourage any kind of environmental intervention. As an example, remember that we know of genetic diseases (such as phenylketonuria) that can be completely offset by a simple change in diet (in that case, no eating of the amino acid phenylalanine), i.e. by a change in the environment."

Fascinating. The things you learn from experts in the field.


The things you learn:

"I think that cleaning one's ears is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world!... the ear is sometimes supplied by the vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) haha (besides the great auricular nerve and CN V and VII, too) - the same nerve which sends parasympathetic nerves to your lungs and stomach etc - that is, your involuntary nervous system - so cleaning your ears induces a feeling of well-being and aids your digestion too (I'm not kidding)!!! :) The things one learns in medical school..."

***

Insecurity as a national trait

"A old joke in Singapore tells of how Singaporeans (particularly men) in general, have four fears. In Hokkien, (one of Singapore’s main Chinese dialects) these are “Kiasu”, Kiasi”, “Kia-bor”, and “Kia cheng hu”, which translate into “fear of losing”, “fear of death”, “fear of wife” and “fear of government” respectively.

But of these four fears, it is “Kiasi-ism” and its consequent “Kiasu-ism”, that has shaped Singapore today. We shall examine how this insecurity has played, and continues to play in the city state’s national character.

... the first opposition member of parliament in 13 years had been elected.

This was ‘softness’, in the eyes of the conservative PAP government- signs that this new generation was taking Singapore’s prosperity for granted.

... The anachronistic arrests of alleged Marxists in 1987 was played up to great effect; it seemed that the motherland was still under threat from internal enemies even in at a time when Glastnost in the Soviet Union and economic liberalization in China was discrediting Marxism-Leninism everywhere. Finally, in 1988, the government came up with the Five Shared Values that Singaporeans were supposed to share, namely;

Nation before community and society before self
Family as the basic unit of society
Community support and respect for the individual
Consensus, not conflict
Racial and religious harmony

If nothing else, this could be interpreted as a declaration of offensive intent against other values that were supposed to weaken the Singaporean will to survive. For what a tragedy it would be were Singaporeans to assume that additional help for the poor was a non-antagonistic value that would not compromise our economic competitiveness!

... While the fundamental goals of National Education are laudable, its dogmatic conclusions and an emphasis on making these pre-concluded messages more ‘appealing’ as opposed to leading youths to think for themselves about Singapore’s real problems may have served to undermine the very cause it seeks to promote. Many youths, particularly the more academically able, are inclined to see the whole package as mere propaganda. And rather than refute certain claims made by the government, they would rather throw out the baby with the bathwater... The government’s current efforts to get youths to be more involved with public affairs is perceived as an exercise in hot air simply because suggestions on reform are often dismissed as being too “sensitive”. Hence not a single legal gay rights group exists; Muslims continue to be excluded from certain vocations in the armed forces for their implicitly questionable loyalties; never mind the repeal of laws in Singapore that would have thrown a putative local Michael Moore in jail for making a Fahrenheit 9/11. Instead, we are treated to a moralising sideshow on the consequences of having a casino in Singapore.

This situation is a pity because a significant number of the best and brightest young Singaporeans have concluded that they are no longer comfortable with living in a country that seems to be irrationally paranoid. Others, having concluded that any argument put forward for the country’s insecurity must be a lie concocted by a sinister PAP government, seem to be willing to introduce loony public policy should they be placed in positions of responsibility. The author has personally listened, with some dismay, to seriously posited arguments put forth by otherwise highly intelligent peers, about the viability of replacing our entire armed forces with a few dozen nuclear tipped missiles- never mind that such a plan would never be endorsed by our military partners, let alone any of our neighbours."

Originally posted on the Young Republic mailing list.

***

Randy from This Is True on Political Correctness:

"Last week I had a story about how hundreds of celebrities were on the defense witness list for the Michael Jackson trial. The tag: "...Stevie Wonder is particularly upset at being named. 'Yeah I was there,' he admits. 'But I didn't see anything!'"

Yes, provocative. I got two types of responses to it. Peter in Japan: "Stevie Wonder, whether you like his music or not (I happen not to), is not deserving of such a comment. It is a poor, reused, overused punch line. It does not stand up to your usual standards of wittiness, and more importantly, it does not stand up to your usual standards of decency and fairness. You have poke and jabbed many deserving victims of their own stupidity, but Stevie Wonder is being made fun of because of his fame and his disability."

The other side is represented by Glenn in Alabama: "I'm sure you'll get some negative comments about this; my sister is blind and my parents said early on that they wouldn't treat her any differently. As a result, she told Helen Keller jokes, and we saw that moving the furniture was indeed a punishment (she'd come running up the hall and flip over the couch which wasn't there before -- even after being told not to run, and that the couch had been moved). When I met my [now] bride, I made some offhanded comment that made her think I was absolutely horrible towards my sister. Thankfully, she met the family anyway. Now, she makes as many jokes as the rest of us. It amazes me how many people talk louder to a blind person, or talk to you instead of them. So many people see any disability and think the person is incapacitated -- they rush to do everything for them (almost to the point of blowing their nose!) So, keep your skin thick."

Yes, I have several blind friends, and a lot of blind readers. (How many of my blind readers wrote to complain? You guessed it: none.) Blind people are fully capable of writing to complain if they're offended, and don't need patronizing sighted folks to "watch out" for them when it comes to jokes. If you really can't handle that I treat everyone the same (which many would define as "fair"), then you're not reading the right publication.

I ran the above in the Premium edition on Monday. Premium reader Jennifer in California replies: "I appreciate the comments made by Glenn in Alabama and by you concerning blind people and blindness-related jokes. Few 'sightlings' are capable of seeing the humor in blindness, and it was refreshing to read your jokes and comments. Thank you for pointing out, by the way, that we blind folk are perfectly capable of writing and complaining ourselves if we're offended.""

Many people just take things too seriously.

***

Serial meal thief sentenced to 90 days - "Elias I. Elias had his restaurant routine perfected: Order dinner and drinks, eat and enjoy, then fake chest pains when the bill arrived in order to skip out on paying it. The 13th time Elias did that since 2003, the restaurateur in Calais didn't buy it. When he called for an ambulance, he also called the police."

How can I avoid a holiday hangover? - "Take your vitamins. This is recommended mostly by guys selling vitamins. The experts are pretty scornful. Then again, it's not like anybody really has a better idea."

Institute for High Energy Physics - Interestingly, the URL is http://www.ihep.su/ - .su is the country code for the Soviet Union.