Quotes:

No school ever had the slogan 'The Worst is Yet to Be', yet it is as true and as unfalsifiable as 'The Best is Yet to Be'... 'The Best is Yet to Be' is a triumph of optimism over pessimism. It has no rational basis.

[On a confused enquiry] I'm concerned. I'm paid to be concerned... Students are not meant to graduate confused.

In doing questionnaire studies, you always need to make allowances for those who either wilfully, or because they were half asleep, or drunk, or tired, or gave it to their maid to fill in... There's always noise in the data.

[On abuse] Their boss is always picking on them, so they whack the wife, the wife whacks the kid, the kid kicks the cat. Something like that.

[On infanticide resulting from post-natal depression] I don't know, but I would like to know if it makes the mother feel worse. As a biologist I think it will make her feel better. As a social scientist I think it will make the mother feel worse.

[On the mid-semester break] Next week is your break so-called 'week'

[On mass consciousness] The revolution never happened. Some say that, in some places, it did. I wouldn't want to live in Cuba or North Korea though.

In Singapore, power is concentrated. Can I say [this]? I'm a foreigner. What can they do to me?

What does Marx think about political emancipation? It's like a quiz show. 'Contestant! What does Marx think of political emancipation?'

[On Marx] Even though he goes in a huge round, talking crap and confusing all of his readers...

Bring out your readings. So even if you didn't do your reading you can pretend to underline.

[On Marx] For crap like this... 20% of the material matters. 80% is crap. Just read the first paragraph, the last paragraph... read the first sentence, the last sentence.

In the Philippines, they have these prayer rallies. These are not attended by the middle class. The pastor will ask: 'Who doesn't have a job?' A thousand people will raise their hands. The pastor will say: 'Tomorrow you will get a job'. The next day 2 of them get a job, and they go 'Hallelujah!' Two out of a thousand.

For Durkheim, the Totemic Principle underlied the distinction between Sacred and Profane (underlay)

[On the end of lecture buzzer] Oh goodness. That's so harsh. It's like I've done something wrong, isn't it?

[On linear regression] Our task is to find the green line. If you don't know what you are doing, then I don't know what to say.

At the end of the task book (textbook)

point five t (two)

the colour that corresponds to (column)

in other whirl (words)

[On the meaninglessness of the slope coefficient when regressing onto a binary variable] D equals to 1 for a male and D equals to 0 for a female... You talk about changing the feminits, the masculinits... It has no meaning. (gender)

[On taking my non-hair tie rubber bands every week] You are my rubber band commander.

I want to use this new miracle example (numerical)

Today is an exceptionally hot day. The girls' skirts are getting higher and higher. [Other student: Maybe it's because the skirts are high] It's mating season.

It's very simple. I expect you to know it. It's not simple. It's simple because I expect you to know it.

[On the mid-semester break] I don't know why, but some chap decided to put a week from Sunday to Thursday. You get a break, but you don't get a break from me.

[Flashes slide on 'How to Study'] First, you ask yourself how you learn best. Don't copy please! I'm not going to test you on this! [Ed: NUS students...]

[On reading the textbook/notes before the lecture] Or do you prefer the excitement, not finding out beforehand? *laughs from audience* It's not a joke! I'm like that.

[To the end of lecture buzzer] Shut up.

loin x (ln)

If we don't server'sify (specify)

That's why copyright is very important (property rights are)

the street line (straight)

any vinegar (villager)