I take the opportunity of resurrecting this blogspot to share a personal encounter.
I was enjoying a little drink in a pub on Christmas eve when a guy came up to me with a cheeky look, and asked "Do you believe in Christmas?"
"Oh my God," I thought, "not the crap again."
It isn't my "intellectual" character to give a simple Yes or No answer for such questions. At the same time, I noted he isn't the type looking for an intelligent, rational, well-thought-out reply. So, the conversation wasn't long-lived. Still, I managed the situation well enough and told him that I celebrate all pagan festivals.
As expected, he didn't laugh. He ended up rambling something else.
I wasn't exactly joking though. I do celebrate all pagan festivals, like Christmas. But, I didn't say it twice.
Oh well, it's all relative.
Cheers, and Merry Christmas. Jingle bells, jingle bells, lah lah ...
CONNEXIONS ALWAYS, ALWAYS CONNEXIONS.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
When Scientists Meet Dinosaurs
Richard A. Muller, a 1982 MacArthur Fellow, is a physics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches a course called “Physics for Future Presidents”. Since 1972, he has been a Jason consultant on U.S. national security.
In a recent article commemorating the 25-year old discovery which led to the standard explanation that the extinction of the dinosaurs was due to a comet or asteroid ramming into the Earth, Muller wrote that science is driven by a sense of adventure, rather than curiosity (as many people would say).
If scientists were plain curious, without being adventurous, Muller argued, they would spend most of their time reading, just like what truly curious people would do. Curiosity is the impulse to learn something new, while being adventurous is the desire to be there first. In just a few books, a curious person can learn a thousand times as much as a top scientist could possibly discover in a lifetime of research.
Until today, we do not really know whether it was an asteriod or a comet that wiped out the giants. In fact, with every discovery comes many new questions to answer. There is a lot more that we don't know today than we didn't know 25 years ago. However, just like the legendary Sisyphus, Muller contended that scientists are better off.
In a recent article commemorating the 25-year old discovery which led to the standard explanation that the extinction of the dinosaurs was due to a comet or asteroid ramming into the Earth, Muller wrote that science is driven by a sense of adventure, rather than curiosity (as many people would say).
If scientists were plain curious, without being adventurous, Muller argued, they would spend most of their time reading, just like what truly curious people would do. Curiosity is the impulse to learn something new, while being adventurous is the desire to be there first. In just a few books, a curious person can learn a thousand times as much as a top scientist could possibly discover in a lifetime of research.
Until today, we do not really know whether it was an asteriod or a comet that wiped out the giants. In fact, with every discovery comes many new questions to answer. There is a lot more that we don't know today than we didn't know 25 years ago. However, just like the legendary Sisyphus, Muller contended that scientists are better off.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
creAtive maRkeTing
Creative Technology (website) is a Singapore-based electronics manufacturer of PC multimedia products and peripherals. It is famous for its Sound Blaster (website) and has been the market leader in PC sound cards for almost two decades, and that is as long as sound card is part of the standard PC configuration! Creative has always been a strong brand, and its sound cards are the world's best. And it is one of the few Singaporean firms to be listed in the United States.
Today, sound cards only makes up 25% of Creative's revenues. The company has since diversified into other products and services, including not very successful attempts on dot-com businesses. Its current product range includes the traditional sound cards and audio devices, HansVision Chinese software, and various trendy electronics gadgets, such as MP3 players and web-cams.
While based in Singapore, Creative has never advertised on TV for all its 23 years. But that is going to be changed, as its chairman Sim Wong Hoo announced a six-month campaign starting later this month to showcase a slew of its new products. The campaign is intended to run into the busy Christmas season. It seems likely that Creative is going to give shoppers some real creative shopping tips for the festive seasons.
Creative on Nasdaq: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=creaf
Creative on SGX: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CREA.SI
Today, sound cards only makes up 25% of Creative's revenues. The company has since diversified into other products and services, including not very successful attempts on dot-com businesses. Its current product range includes the traditional sound cards and audio devices, HansVision Chinese software, and various trendy electronics gadgets, such as MP3 players and web-cams.
While based in Singapore, Creative has never advertised on TV for all its 23 years. But that is going to be changed, as its chairman Sim Wong Hoo announced a six-month campaign starting later this month to showcase a slew of its new products. The campaign is intended to run into the busy Christmas season. It seems likely that Creative is going to give shoppers some real creative shopping tips for the festive seasons.
Creative on Nasdaq: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=creaf
Creative on SGX: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CREA.SI
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