It is about physics, biology, technology, and critically it is about society
- John Connor, CEO, The Climate Institute (forward of "Moving Below Zero: Understanding Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage)
Today's story of climate change is a human
story. The imbalance we’ve created affects us all and the impacts of a
warming planet will be increasingly felt in all aspect of our lives.
Importantly, we are the only ones who can make a difference. The
solutions to climate change do exist – in policy, science, industry,
technology and communities around the country and the world. Finding
them will call on the best in all of us to meet the challenges we face
together, and dare us to take a different, but no less rewarding path.
http://www.climateinstitute.org.au/who-we-are.html
(accessed 4/29/2014)
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
It's all about winning
The news this morning featured a local high school debate. As it turns out, debate is not about making the best point of the most elegant argument anymore. Instead, it is about quantity of arguments: cramming as many arguments as possible into the allotted time by (1) speed reading to find facts quickly and (2) fast talking - really fast, like 350 words a minute.
The result: the average person can not figure out a thing they are saying.
The evolution of the speed reading/fast talking technique stems from the recognition that a debater is more likely to win if the opponent simply does not have enough time to rebut all his arguments. Apparently, the debaters run drills like putting a pencil between the teeth to learn to talk that way. One writer complained that a debater is literally foaming at his mouth talking this way. Eeeek.
Life has taught me that it is not about the number of arguments being made. In dealing with bosses, co-workers, clients, family, spouse, kids, what we need to do is to make that ONE argument that convinces the person we are talking to. It is not about presenting 100 arguments, including the one that makes sense to the person. They would have stopped listening long before they can be convinced. It is about listening and understanding enough to know which one argument to make and how to make it. Quantity is not relevant, quality is.
Sonia Sotomayer, in her book "My Beloved Life," recounted a speech she made in a speech competition (Chapter 13). It is a masterful little 5-7 minute speech. It made a single thought-provoking point, challenging us to treat each other like human beings and not statistics. That is quality speech!
Debates just don't seem relevant any more. Talking fast is not a useful skill in life, at least not in my professional and cultural circles. Getting the facts straight? Well, look at the political debates. The average audience does not care. There are enough context and caveats that the truth is useless to rebut wrong facts. Speed reading might be a helpful skill when a deadline is looming and there are a million reports to review. But a friend who speed reads ran out of interesting material to read quickly.
So why? All the speed reading and fast talking seem to be to win at one specific type of competition that is judged by a very strange group of people who can understand English at 350 words a minute. As an average person, maybe I can slow down the speech and try to understand the argument if the topic is of interest.
My five-year old wants to play a game with me but throws a fit every time he loses. Can we grow up enough to look beyond winning?
The result: the average person can not figure out a thing they are saying.
The evolution of the speed reading/fast talking technique stems from the recognition that a debater is more likely to win if the opponent simply does not have enough time to rebut all his arguments. Apparently, the debaters run drills like putting a pencil between the teeth to learn to talk that way. One writer complained that a debater is literally foaming at his mouth talking this way. Eeeek.
Life has taught me that it is not about the number of arguments being made. In dealing with bosses, co-workers, clients, family, spouse, kids, what we need to do is to make that ONE argument that convinces the person we are talking to. It is not about presenting 100 arguments, including the one that makes sense to the person. They would have stopped listening long before they can be convinced. It is about listening and understanding enough to know which one argument to make and how to make it. Quantity is not relevant, quality is.
Sonia Sotomayer, in her book "My Beloved Life," recounted a speech she made in a speech competition (Chapter 13). It is a masterful little 5-7 minute speech. It made a single thought-provoking point, challenging us to treat each other like human beings and not statistics. That is quality speech!
Debates just don't seem relevant any more. Talking fast is not a useful skill in life, at least not in my professional and cultural circles. Getting the facts straight? Well, look at the political debates. The average audience does not care. There are enough context and caveats that the truth is useless to rebut wrong facts. Speed reading might be a helpful skill when a deadline is looming and there are a million reports to review. But a friend who speed reads ran out of interesting material to read quickly.
So why? All the speed reading and fast talking seem to be to win at one specific type of competition that is judged by a very strange group of people who can understand English at 350 words a minute. As an average person, maybe I can slow down the speech and try to understand the argument if the topic is of interest.
My five-year old wants to play a game with me but throws a fit every time he loses. Can we grow up enough to look beyond winning?
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Toilet reading
Studies have shown a connection between toilet reading and hemorrhoids.
The theory, dating back to a 1974 study, is that prolonged toilet sitting during which the anus is relaxed, followed by repeated straining, irritates the tissues surrounding the rectum that help control bowel movements, called anal cushions. This can lead to hemorrhoids, or inflamed veins in this area.
The theory, dating back to a 1974 study, is that prolonged toilet sitting during which the anus is relaxed, followed by repeated straining, irritates the tissues surrounding the rectum that help control bowel movements, called anal cushions. This can lead to hemorrhoids, or inflamed veins in this area.
A study published in The Lancet
in 1989 reported that patients with hemorrhoids were more than twice
likely to read on the toilet. A study from 1995 in the journal Colon
& Rectum found that 40 percent of patients with benign anorectal
disease read on the toilet. And a 2009 study published in
Neurogastroenterology & Motility also found hemorrhoids sufferers
more likely to be toilet readers.
What's not clear, however, is whether prolonged toilet sitting causes hemorrhoids, or is the result of this. To me, reading (now on mobile device in addition to books or magazines) is a necessary condition to facilitate solid waste generation. The toilet has always been a private, quiet, and peaceful place to read. Growing up as a middle kid sharing a bedroom with other siblings, the toilet is the only place I can close the door and be alone, lost in a book. My parents used to say that I studied history on the toilet. 讀史書, is a pun because the middle word has the same pronunciation in Cantonese as poo. When I did not reduce my time spent in response to the teasing, mom got serious and told me about hemorrhoids resulting from too much toilet sitting.
Mom is a genius!
I am an individual - together we change the world
Each and every day, we made decisions as an individual.
- A driver slows and gawks at an accident on the other side of the freeway.
- A customer asks for a stack of plates to go with his Costco pizza.
- A couple decides to buy a house in Antioch despite a longer commute.
Decisions are made considering our circumstances, our feelings, and the effect on ourselves. We are not trained to think about the cumulative effect as many decisions are made under the same environment. We assumed the environment will stay constant as we change. Guess what? Our collective decisions change our environment!
- Drivers slow and gawk at an accident on the other side of the freeway - now we have a traffic jam on this side. Or worse, they are rear ended by others who were not expecting them to slow.
- Costco has instigated a 5-plate-per-pizza limit, or else they will have to raise the pizza price for everyone.
- Thousands of families made the same decision to buy their houses in Antioch. Highway 4 reaches capacity and the commute takes twice as long.
We, as a group, have changed what we thought to be constant. If the driver had known he would be rear-ended by slowing down, would he? If the customer knows the pizza price has to rise, would he ask for the extra plates when he can just pick up a bunch from Costco anyways? If the commuter knew the commute was 2 hours instead of one, would he buy the house farther away?
Once we make a decision, regret is pointless. So the question is, how come we don't think of our impact on the broader environment when we make a decision?
The simple answer may be that we are not trained to do so. As children, we a taught a curriculum. As adults, we work within a job description. Studies after studies have shown that exceptional people have a will (and the ability) to change their environment. Steve Jobs is famous for his "reality distortion field." But that vision sometimes motivates others to make that distorted version a reality after all.
It is not necessarily a good thing, however. Many teenagers believe that they can change the rules, only to get into trouble breaking the rules.
The majority of us muddle through life doing what we "are supposed to do." Like Elsa in Frozen, "be the good girl you always have to be." Is that satisfying?
Some of us are swept along by life and feel powerless to change. Some become bitter and hopeless...
Maybe I don't belong to the truly exceptional group. But I am also fortunate enough to have (or stupid enough to believe I have) some power to control my destiny, especially when I can work with a group of like-minded people. How do I transform my muddling self to something more?
- A driver slows and gawks at an accident on the other side of the freeway.
- A customer asks for a stack of plates to go with his Costco pizza.
- A couple decides to buy a house in Antioch despite a longer commute.
Decisions are made considering our circumstances, our feelings, and the effect on ourselves. We are not trained to think about the cumulative effect as many decisions are made under the same environment. We assumed the environment will stay constant as we change. Guess what? Our collective decisions change our environment!
- Drivers slow and gawk at an accident on the other side of the freeway - now we have a traffic jam on this side. Or worse, they are rear ended by others who were not expecting them to slow.
- Costco has instigated a 5-plate-per-pizza limit, or else they will have to raise the pizza price for everyone.
- Thousands of families made the same decision to buy their houses in Antioch. Highway 4 reaches capacity and the commute takes twice as long.
We, as a group, have changed what we thought to be constant. If the driver had known he would be rear-ended by slowing down, would he? If the customer knows the pizza price has to rise, would he ask for the extra plates when he can just pick up a bunch from Costco anyways? If the commuter knew the commute was 2 hours instead of one, would he buy the house farther away?
Once we make a decision, regret is pointless. So the question is, how come we don't think of our impact on the broader environment when we make a decision?
The simple answer may be that we are not trained to do so. As children, we a taught a curriculum. As adults, we work within a job description. Studies after studies have shown that exceptional people have a will (and the ability) to change their environment. Steve Jobs is famous for his "reality distortion field." But that vision sometimes motivates others to make that distorted version a reality after all.
It is not necessarily a good thing, however. Many teenagers believe that they can change the rules, only to get into trouble breaking the rules.
The majority of us muddle through life doing what we "are supposed to do." Like Elsa in Frozen, "be the good girl you always have to be." Is that satisfying?
Some of us are swept along by life and feel powerless to change. Some become bitter and hopeless...
Maybe I don't belong to the truly exceptional group. But I am also fortunate enough to have (or stupid enough to believe I have) some power to control my destiny, especially when I can work with a group of like-minded people. How do I transform my muddling self to something more?
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Flight 370, Korean Ferry, Statistics
Our hearts go out to families of victims of tragedies like the missing Malaysian flight or the Korean Ferry. Lives lost, prematurely. The anguish of families shown in the news. It's almost like we can relate and put ourselves in the shoes, and feel their pain.
Maybe we are just secretly relieved that it didn't happen to us. Afterall, what are the statistical odds that a ferry sinks, or a plane crashes?
Everyday, thousands of kids die because of a lack of basic necessities like food and clean water. We don't mourn them. They don't catch the newspaper's headlines. We don't relate to the anguish of those parents who have to watch their kids wither away starving or sick because there is no food or clean water. We don't? Or we can't? Or we don't want to? Maybe we are just secretly relieved that it didn't happen to us.
Unless we are more careful with our water resources, the day will come when clean water can no longer be considered a cheap commodity. Hopefully, I won't live to see that.
P.S. Today is Earth Day. A fitting time to do my tiny little share - made a donation to an organization called "DigDeepWater," whose noble mission is to "defend water access as a human right."
Maybe we are just secretly relieved that it didn't happen to us. Afterall, what are the statistical odds that a ferry sinks, or a plane crashes?
Everyday, thousands of kids die because of a lack of basic necessities like food and clean water. We don't mourn them. They don't catch the newspaper's headlines. We don't relate to the anguish of those parents who have to watch their kids wither away starving or sick because there is no food or clean water. We don't? Or we can't? Or we don't want to? Maybe we are just secretly relieved that it didn't happen to us.
Unless we are more careful with our water resources, the day will come when clean water can no longer be considered a cheap commodity. Hopefully, I won't live to see that.
P.S. Today is Earth Day. A fitting time to do my tiny little share - made a donation to an organization called "DigDeepWater," whose noble mission is to "defend water access as a human right."
Monday, April 21, 2014
Emotions
"I am the one who should die." A quote from a parent of a missing teenager still trapped in the Korean ferry brought tears to my eyes. I have always maintained that the range of emotions was the biggest surprise that comes with being a mom. It was almost like the amplifier was turned on and all of a sudden, happy moments become happier and sad moments become sadder. And then there is so much fear. I look at my child at night, and pray that nothing would happen to him. Thoughts drift in, "what might I do without this little brat", and get banished ruthlessly - that is what the left brain does.
There is a saying "it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." I am not so sure - maybe I am just not a romantic. Or maybe I am not strong enough. Till death do us part - hopefully it will be mine. After all, I choose a younger guy to be my hubby to work the statistics in my favor...
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Today's the day 4/10/2014
Today's the day when I start capturing my own thoughts in writing. Sometimes, the things that pop into my head seem more profound and worthy of a second thought, but there is seldom time to dwell on things like "the middle ground is a lonely place to be" or "yak shaving." Maybe in a few years, I will look back and have a few good laughs, remembering things that are otherwise lost in the files of the brain.
BTW, I was only partially yak shaving that day when I re-imaged my computer to re-install Aspen to test SimSinter, which is part of FOQUS...
BTW, I was only partially yak shaving that day when I re-imaged my computer to re-install Aspen to test SimSinter, which is part of FOQUS...
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