Education is Cool

Socialism (beyond the point where it rights historical wrongs) is the great leveller - downwards.

In contrast, I've always believed that education is the great leveller - upwards. One of the saving features of Soviet-era socialism was that it educated its citizens.

Hats off to Michelle Obama for putting this into words. Mrs Obama visited a girls school in London this week and said this:

If you want to know the reason why I am standing here, it's because of education. I never cut class. I loved getting A's, I liked being smart. ... I thought being smart is cooler than anything in the world.

Judging by the news reports, the girls at the multicultural school were inspired by that, especially in the days before their GSC Exams.

Smart behaviour should be seen as cool. Self-destructive behaviour should be seen as something for losers. These are lessons that teenagers need to be taught. As a teenager, I too tended to glorify negative behaviour to an extent, although I thankfully didn't go overboard and ruin my life.

It's great to have positive examples like the Obamas in this world. Youngsters need to see for themselves that working hard to build up one's education and communication skills is something to be admired and emulated, because honest success is not nerdy but cool.

Excerpt from Wodehouse's "The Small Bachelor"

It'll soon become obvious why I'm posting this excerpt from P.G. Wodehouse's novel.

"Ouch!" cried Mrs Waddington.

She had not intended to express any verbal comment on the incident, for those who creep at night through other people's kitchens must be silent and wary: but the sudden agony was so keen that she could not refrain from comment. And to her horror she found that her cry had been heard. There came through the darkness a curious noise like the drawing of a cork, and then somebody spoke.

'Who are you?' said an unpleasant, guttural voice.

Mrs Waddington stopped, paralysed. She would not, in the circumstances, have heard with any real pleasure the most musical of speech: but a soft, sympathetic utterance would undoubtedly have afflicted her with a shade less of anguish and alarm. This voice was the voice of one without human pity: a grating, malevolent voice; a voice that set Mrs Waddington thinking quiveringly in headlines:

SOCIETY LEADER FOUND SLAIN IN KITCHEN

'Who are you?'

BODY DISMEMBERED BENEATH SINK

'Who are you?'

SEVERED HEAD LEADS TRACKERS TO DEATH-SPOT

'Who are you?'

Mrs Waddington gulped.

'I am Mrs Sigsbee H. Waddington,' she faltered. And it would have amazed Sigsbee H., had he heard her, to discover that it was possible for her to speak with such a winning meekness.

'Who are you?'

'Mrs Sigsbee H. Waddington, of East Seventy-Ninth Street and Hempstead, Long Island. I must apologize for the apparent strangeness of my conduct in...'

'Who are you?'

Annoyance began to compete with Mrs Waddington's terror. Deaf persons had always irritated her, for like so many women of an impatient and masterful turn of mind, she was of the opinion that they could hear perfectly well if they took the trouble. She raised her voice and answered with a certain stiffness.

'I have already informed you that I am Mrs Sigsbee H. Waddington...'

'Have a nut,' said the voice, changing the subject.

Mrs Waddington's teeth came together in a sharp click. All the other emotions which had been afflicting her passed abruptly away, to be succeeded by a cold fury. Few things are more mortifying to a proud woman than the discovery that she had been wasting her time being respectful to a parrot: and only her inability to locate the bird in the surrounding blackness prevented a rather unpleasant brawl. Had she been able to come to grips with it, Mrs Waddington at that moment would undoubtedly have done the parrot no good whatsoever.

It's interesting that I came upon this passage just days after the news item about the parrot that saved a little girl's life. Knowing what we now know about the intelligence of parrots, perhaps Wodehouse's avian character was having a good laugh all the time.

Truth is stranger than fiction.

The Intelligence of Parrots

When I was at school, we were taught that parrots had no real intelligence. One could not carry on an intelligent conversation with a parrot because the birds only repeated sounds without understanding their meaning.

However, later research seems to show that parrots are in fact highly intelligent creatures that understand what they're saying.

The recent case where a parrot repeatedly cried, "Mama, baby!" to draw the attention of a babysitter to a choking child is just the latest evidence that parrots do not just "parrot" what they have heard. They probably understand the meaning of the words, too.

It takes significant intelligence to recognise that a child is in distress, to understand that an adult human must be alerted to save the child, and a particular combination of words is the most appropriate to describe the situation. Also, it speaks highly of the emotional quality of empathy, to want to save a fellow living being. It makes us pause to think about what it means to be human.

Earth Hour Observed (2009)

Just like last year, we observed Earth Hour again, this time on Saturday night (28 March, 2009). We switched off all lights and shut down the computers, then took an hour-long walk from 2030 to 2130.

Again, like last year, we noticed that many houses along the streets we saw did not turn off their lights, so it wasn't a total success.

My question remains - how much does this really do for the environment? At what point does tokenism translate to tangible impact?

Stratfor CEO George Friedman Seems Eerily Prescient

I've been reading a most fascinating book, "The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century" by George Friedman, the CEO of Stratfor (which stands for Strategic Forecasting).

Among other predictions that Friedman makes based on geopolitical considerations is a rather dramatic one about war between the United States and a Japanese-Turkish alliance in about 2050. According to him, the war will begin with a Japanese Pearl Harbour-style attack on US Battlestar satellites. The attack will be launched from Japan's lunar base, Friedman adds.

Today, I read this news item in the papers. Japan plans to sends a robot explorer to the moon by 2020, and a human astronaut by 2030.

It's 2009, and Japan has seemingly begun its baby steps towards war with the US. It was an eerie feeling to read today's newspaper, knowing what I know of Friedman's prediction.

How Can We Trust Science?

I'm all for the rationalist approach to life. I would like to have science rule my actions and my thinking. But in practice, science often leaves me feeling cheated.

Last year, a glass of red wine a day was good for me. It was rich in antioxidants, which helped to fight cancer.

This year, even two small glasses of red wine a day can cause ... cancer.

Thinking scientifically therefore, the act of pouring wine into smaller glasses seems to be what introduces carcinogens into the system.

Come back, religion and superstition, all is forgiven!

Unit Pricing Cuts Both Ways

I wrote glowingly of Woolworths's Unit Pricing scheme just days ago, and today I was pleased to see that ALDI's also has it. As an exercise, I decided to compare the unit prices of items on my grocery list, and this is the result:

Item                        ALDI's                Woolworths
----                        ------                ----------
Light milk                  $1.40/litre           $2.63/litre
Wholemeal bread             $0.28/100g            $0.59/100g
Free range eggs             $0.69/100g            $0.72/100g
Low fat yoghurt             $0.47/100g            $0.59/100g
Honey (squeezable pack)     $0.60/100g            $1.00/100g
Cranberry juice             $2.79/litre           $3.86/litre
Carrots                     $1.25/kg              $1.29/kg
Beans                       $7.00/kg              $2.98/kg
Cashews                     $1.74/100g            $1.86/100g
Kitchen towels              $0.75/roll            $0.95/roll
Vit B (Benifex/Berocca)     $0.35/unit            $0.50/unit
--- added 25/01/2009 ---
Pesto                       $1.53/100g            $2.16/100g
Toilet tissue               $0.50/roll (6 pack)   $0.41/roll (9 pack)
Green seedless grapes       $2.00/kg              $3.86/kg
Garlic                      $3.38/kg              $10.98/kg
Frozen stir-fry veges       $5.78/kg              $6.24/kg

I always knew that Woolworths was more expensive than ALDI's, but this was a real eye-opener. ALDI's has fewer brands, but they're cheaper than even the most inexpensive brands at Woolworths. Green beans are probably the only exception. It'd be very hard for me to justify a trip to Woolworths when ALDI's is open. Sorry, Woolworths.

I'll add to this list as I compare more items.