Rules and Culture

http://cogitated.livejournal.com/26550.html


It is more likely that rules are defined by the few "in-power", rather than by the general mass.

In an organizational context, there isn't such thing called "unfathomable rules" as far as the rule-makers concern.

If some seemingly "unfathomable rules" were set by the previous rule-maker and were never ratified by the current one.

It could be due to one of the 3 possibilities:
1. He likes these rules too;
2. Too hard to change;
3. Too trivial to bother.

Random Thoughts (5)

“适当的爆发，会让你感觉到自己仍然存在。”
------郑钧

The Certainty Bias

Only in the absence of certainty can we have open-mindedness, mental flexibility and willingness to contemplate alternative ideas.

---Robert Burton

Random Thoughts (4)

Having a religion is like having a life jacket in the swimming pool. Whether it is a good or bad thing depends on whether you are a strong or weak swimmer. But bear in mind, "it is always the strong swimmer who drowns."

Departure and Enlightenment

At the age of 29, Siddhartha , Prince of Kapilavastu, escaped his palace to become a mendicant, leaving behind his royal life.
...
6 years later, Prince Siddhartha gained enlightenment under a pipal tree, and rose as the Buddha we know.

Sometimes, it just keeps you wondering why it has to be a pipal tree...

Speech by Adrian Tan to the NTU graduating class of 08′

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=ddzjspjb_74hnmchcf8&hl=en

Adrian is best known for his fiction novels The Teenage Textbook and The Teenage Workbook.

Here is his bio...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Tan

Random Thoughts (3)

Conversation is like chess play.

Random Thoughts (2)

You are never ready; you can only be more ready.

Class

"Class is an aura of confidence that is being sure without being cocky. Class has nothing to do with money. Class never runs scared. It is self-discipline and self-knowledge. It's the sure footed-ness that comes with having proved you can meet life."

--Ann Lander

RE: PM Dangles the Baby Carrot

http://stockscredits.blogspot.com/2008/08/pm-dangles-baby-carrot.html

In my humble opinion, the situation is rooted on the meritocracy in our education system. The problem is not a uniquely Singaporean one. You can find a trace of such meritocracy in almost every eastern Asian culture: China, Japan, Korea, etc—from the toddlers attending their ballet and piano lessons in diapers to the young champions glaciating in the Olympic arena to prove the genetic superiority of their nations. After all, to some people, “catching the golden snatch” is a matter of survival-of-the-fittest, not some kid’s play.

There is nothing wrong for a society to be meritocratic as a whole, and it is only fair that the talented and the diligent are awarded for their talents and diligence. But this is not the kind of ground-rule you want to set to your little ones, when they start forming their first perception on their lives and the world around them, because this will deplete them of their little naivety too early, too quick; and naivety— is arguably the most important ingredient for a life of joy. Without it, a life would be both unwaveringly purposeful and absolutely meaningless; both glamorously successful and bleakly joyless.

As ironic as it could get, the PM’s urge of forming families and bearing fruits, is not meant for the joy of a family life, it is meant to replenish the country’s HR pool so that there will be a less dependency on “imported head-counts”. Brilliant! What a prospectus! And its effect is compounded by some bonus “green grass” waving at us temptatingly. And like all other herd animals, we bite.

And of course, to be fair to those who “run the show”, they have been doing whatever they could think of on whatever problem they could see. You don’t often get the No.1 guy of the country to talk you into “going to bed early”. Truly amused and deeply appreciated. But even the fools can see that we are not getting anywhere near the so-called target. So isn’t this a sign that instead of trying to do one thing more that solves the problem, they should think of doing one thing less that causes it?

“So, how can we survive the competition, if we cannot provide a ‘high quality’ work force with the ‘right mentality’?” The answer is “we can’t.” So that question boils down to, “how much we are willing to sacrifice just to survive?” But, at the end of the day, you would want to be able to tell your children: they are created to this world because they are loved; they are not manufactured to this world because they are meant for some purpose.

Desire is the fuel of life

...
Jesse: ...and I just feel like I'm...
designed to be slightly dissatisfied with everything...
You know, I mean, like...
always trying to better my situation.
You know, I satisfy one desire, and it just...
agitates another, you know?
Then I think:to hell with everything, right?

I mean, desire is the fuel of life.
I mean, do you think it's true that if...
if we never wanted anything, we'd never be unhappy?

Celine: I don't know...

Jesse: Not wanting anything,isn't that...

Celine: a symptom of depression?
Jesse: Yeah, that is, right?
I mean, it's healthy to desire, right?
...
  ----------Before Sunset

Standard Causes of Misjudgement

Metaphysics

1. An individual has only one life, which is his/her current life;

Note: There is no Heaven, Hell or Samsara, etc. The game is over when you game-over.

2. Any other form of existence that is out of the boundary of, and can be associated with an individual's current life, either doesn't exist or cannot be comprehended by that individual, thus, is irrelevant to that individual;

Note: Our paradigms begin and end with our current life; it is pointless to look beyond that.

3. Immortality of consciousness can be achieved technologically.

Note: This can be understood as a "Heaven or Hell upon configuration" or a "Electronical Nivana"

Lili

Sometime she's my Susie, sometime she's my Charlie.

Random Thoughts (1)

To be or not to be, the meaninglessness of Samsara, or the nullness of Nirvana?

Trial and Commitment

The other day, I went to supermarket.


"Our new flavor, please give it a try." I was stopped by an ice cream promoter.
"What to lose, just a try." I thought to myself, and took over the small sampling cup.
.......

"Please also give this one a try, I bet you would love it too." Smiling, she presented me a second cup.
.......

"And, this, is our all time favorite. You won't want to miss it. .....!@#......$%^......&*+......"
Here we go, a third one......

.......

20 minutes later, I am 2 kilos heavier and 20 bucks poorer.


---"Sample as you like, but don't sample until you have no choice but to buy."---

Why blog?

To set up a beacon so like-minded bugs flock.

Knowing the Limit

On top of the cliff, a blindfolded man inches towards the edge...
With each step, he shouts, "Be bold!"
So...
"Be bold!"
"Be bold!"
...
"Be bold!"
"N....o....t........ t....o....o........ b....o....l....d........"

解 安禾

持忍安春秋， 泛舟退桑禾。

Conflicts

YMW: "Mr. Buffett, how do you resolve a conflict?"

Warren Buffett: "Don't get into one."

YMW: "What if you are already in a conflict?"

Warren Buffett: "Get out of it."

YMW: "What if you can not get out of it?"

Warren Buffett: "Well, if you can't, you have no control. Stop thinking about it."

Wise Man

Aesop: "Boy, it seems people in your days think I am a wise man. I don't understand why."

YMW: "It is because you are blind."

Aesop: "..."

YMW: "If you can't see, you must listen."

Organisation and Culture

Charlie Munger: "Boy, you're like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest."

YMW: "Not too bad. I still have two hands. I can use one of them to cover my ass."

Charlie Munger: "What you are going to do with your other hand, then?"

YMW: "Well, I point it to some other contestant, and shout, 'Look! He's not covering his ass!'."

怀旧

“那天到电影院看《变形金刚》，当看到影片中擎天柱首次亮相的场景：先是精彩震撼的汽车人变形，而后用深厚的嗓音说出‘我是擎天柱’时，唰的一下，我眼里全是泪水。”

------《调查显示80后青年进入加速怀旧时代》

Prologue

周慕容：我问你，从前有些人，心里有了秘密，而且不想被人知道，知道他们会怎么做？

阿炳：我怎么知道。

周：他们会跑到山上找一棵树，在树上挖一个洞，然后把秘密全说进去，再用泥把洞封上。那秘密会留在树里，没有人知道。

--------------花样年华