"Everybody likes a kidder, but nobody lends him money." - Arthur Miller

***

Quotes:

We looked at an 'A' essay from last year. There was no argument. It was just presenting facts. [Me: So if you provide an argument maybe you get {an} A+] Maybe he'll fail you.

The thing about feminism is once you pick it up, you see it everywhere. Everything becomes a feminist text.

[On anticipation of reading midterm submissions] I gotta say, I'm pretty excited.

[On a fundie] He's a crackpot... He's in my tutorial. Every week I have to try very hard not to bang my head against the wall.

That's what he says. All the major religious traditions... are 'culturally mitigated phenomenal reproductions of a single, noumenal, transcendental reality' *makes extravagant gesture* So you'll have to read up on your Kant to find out what he means. I'm serious.

Everyone is right. The relativist view... Is God a Unity? Yes. Is God a Trinity? YES. That sort of view seems incoherent, but people do defend it.

[On 'noumenal reality'] This is the briefest introduction to Kant you will ever get... He says it exists. Which is a weird thing to say since we can't say anything about it, but forget about that.

[On papers on Evil and Hell] I'll take a really slow stroll back to my office after class. If you haven't handed in your paper for some purpose... I'll take this indirect route back to my office. Any papers that land in my mailbox after that - I'll have to come up with a punishment that's appropriate to my just - not exactly loving - nature. (reason)

Being arrogant, egotistical, elitist, arbitrary, insensitive or oppressive. Let's call this being a 'jerk'.

[On a non-jerk exclusivist] You don't shove it in people's faces, you don't go 'nyeh nyeh nyeh. I've got the right religion and you don't'.

[On those who change their beliefs immediately] I wouldn't call people like this a jerk. Maybe a bit milktoasty... This is nice... Maybe they're a bit [of a] doxastic weenie, but they're not jerks.

You know right, I can get revision by reading your blog.

[Instructor on missing faces in class: A number of people are going to the zoo today]... Oh, the zoo... I thought 'Zouk'

There was this photographer who went to interview a lot of the perpetuators (perpetrators)

It's in'air'vee'ter'berl (inevitable)

[On Angkor Wat] I don't want to pick on her. *** was saying someone told her there there was an easier way down. She thought there was a lift.

You see the glossy areas on the breasts of the Apsara dancers. For hundreds of years people have been groping their breasts.

My friend wants to do marketing because she says that's where you meet all the guys... I asked XXX and she said she knows 2 people who have gotten attached through Marketing... The engin guys... They're very nice, but they're not very -

[On Asian Prince] My grandparents pray to him.

Some air'm'pie'rical data (empirical)

high yee tee (Haiti)

[On relative claims] You could be mean and say they're just nonsense. You could be nice and say they're like poetry. But if you think poetry is nonsense that's not such a [nice thing to say]

[On John Hick's New Age religion] What he noticed of all these religious traditions was that they had a genuine transformational effect on individuals... Soteriological effect... Does it make them nicer people. It's supposed to be evidence that they're getting in touch with the real.

Isn't religion itself a very subjective things? (thing)

[On Tertullian] The absurdity of it is not something that counts in its favor... Like Santa Claus. I know that there was a time when I believed that Santa Claus existed. I don't remember reasoning my way out of the belief. I just found it absurd after a while.

Does anyone have more information? Anyone read the lecture notes?... Such wonderful lecture notes. You don't have to go to the web. This proves that nobody is reading the lecture notes.

You're very bo liao, always go around quoting people... I'm not really an avid fan of your blog, so I don't really care. [Me: Maybe one day you'll see your words there.] [Student 2: Maybe tonight.]... You're so gonna get it from me, Gabriel.

[On an anmeter] When I put it on my fingers, it doesn't move. When I put it on my lips, it moves a bit. Later during the break if you want to play with this, you can. You can try sticking it in various parts of your body.

[On electricity flowing through the fingers, bypassing the body past the palm] Any of you have taken ***'s class?... *** claims he had a friend who used to demonstrate in class by sticking his 2 fingers in [the electric socket]... He did it in China. What's the voltage? 220. He's still here. But we don't know whether it did something to his brain, or what.

[On sticking your fingers into a power socket] Last time I stuck 2 pieces of wire in... The whole thing exploded, in less than 1 second... [Student 2: *disagrees*] That was not your finger. Don't try to mislead the Arts students.

Guys look so good in shirts. [Me: What do girls look good in?] Nothing.

I'll marry the person who buys me a Steinway.

Hello. We're the Bugis group so we're gonna present on Bugis.

[On technical problems during a presentation] This is where the other partner distracts us.

Gin talked about more micro issues (Jeanne)

*** and I have take you through (taken)

We managed to survive 45, survey 45 foreigners.

[On challenging the stereotype of maids] There're a lot of Filipino activities that go on behind closed doors. Okay that sounds wrong.

[Exchange student: Do people dress up here?] It's like selling pumpkins in a supermarket. Small ones.

I'd never seen handbells before... I wanted to tell you because it was unique. Then you laughed at me. [Student 2: That's coz you're weird...] First you say I'm bad tempered. Then you say I'm weird.

Just now I was with *** and the lift door opened and there was a couple inside in a passionate embrace. [Student 2: Kiss or embrace?] Both. [Student 2: Now you know how I feel when *** starts poking you]
Someone: How come I never encountered these things before I graduated??
I took the lift quite often.

[To a female student drinking Pepsi: I'm surprised. I thought you'd be drinking Diet Coke.] I don't diet.

I ran out of clothes. Now I'm wearing this metrosexual top... Just now during Econs lecture this guy came up to me and said - 'I like what I see'. Shit.

[To a female student threatening him with a watergun] You dare ah? You're wearing white ah, and I'm kind of wondering what do you wear under. (what you're wearing underneath)

What is Airbus?... Is this your thesis? [Me: No, my thesis is not a Powerpoint presentation.]

[Me giving directions: Do you know what Science looks like?] [Student: No] It's where all the weird people are.

[On buying us cookies] I went to get the cookies... I went to ask them if they were transfar-free. I asked *** but she could not guarantee it... It doesn't matter. I won't be eating it, you will. *tosses cookies* (them)

Hertz is actually a unit. Not just a car rental company.

[On a forum question] I had actually posted the answer but people didn't notice and were still debating here and there.

The easy option, maybe it's not the politically correct thing to say... Is to take the Life Science modules to satisfy your Science requirement. The Life Sciences are young sciences... They're very descriptive. When Physics started it was also like this... Kepler's Law. He summarised the facts... That's why in Junior College the Biology textbooks are so thick. The Physics textbooks are much thinner... Everything is a separate fact [in Biology]. In Physics there are some laws... In Biology there's Evolution and Natural Selection [only, but it's still mostly facts]... In my estimate it will take a century for the Life Sciences to reach the level... You build the complexity from the simplicity. I'm advertising my other 2 modules... We have come a long way in building up our knowledge into a few natural principles... The Physical Sciences are not the best. The Physical Sciences are the oldest. People have been doing these things for centuries. Chemistry is a bit behind. The Life Sciences are going there... The next thing will be the Social Sciences. I'm saying things that will make some people unhappy... That'll take another 200 years [for the Social Sciences].

I listen to Class 95 in the morning. 2 dumb guys. Flying Dutchman and that other guy. But compared to all the other junk out there, it's no worse.

[Female student:] I don't make friends with lesbians. [Me: Why?] Because they might like me.

[Me: Are you auditioning?] Yeah. Gosh. I've never played a girl before... I played all the guy parts... I was from ***. [Me: And then...?] My hair grew out.

[On NUS CCTVs] It's like TV mobile. It's everywhere.

They're Catholic. They don't hump. They just have children by binary fission.

She's so innocent. I can't imagine her having a boyfriend. [Me: She does.] I can't imagine her having sex.