Reflective Reflections

It is amazing how many of the recent books I read have vindicated much of my own thinking and opinions. For instance, I would like to think that Confucius (of the late Zhou dynasty) started a school philosophising on statecraft which had a string of disciples like Mencius. His ideology was then picked up during the Han dynasty, kick-starting the imperial examination system, further expanded in the Song dynasty.

The Europeans and later the Americans independently devised standardised testing or they could have privy to information about examinations from China and adapted or diffused further the idea of testing.

I am all for examinations and tests provided they constitute one component of a whole assessment package. Because here we have only the British GCE system and it is a strait jacket one off one time examination (unless we re-take over a period of time), it is a be-all-and-end-all for our future and career in most cases.

An examination measures writing, answering , factual knowledge and memorising skills in the space of a few hours. How far can it test anything within the time limit set is questionable. It is more a factual regurgitation, perhaps some thinking through for a practical application. Again time is the essence.

Moreover we teach the sciences and the mathematics. We have humanities and the social sciences usually as an option and of course languages.

The sciences and mathematics are abstract and taught in isolation, on a topic by topic basis. If there were more practical applications demonstrated (because most of us will not be using much of mathematics like calculus unless in academia or engineering or physics save for the basic four operations or statistical analyses and we only apply very basic science principles in daily use) , a unifying theme or an overview to show the integrative aspects (if any) and more biographical and historical snapshots of science and scientists, students can perhaps appreciate interconnected learning more (who does not enjoy listening to stories told).

Fortunately humanities like literature and philosophy and social sciences are practical subjects, showing the whole range of human history, human thinking, human cultural and individual idosyncrasies. Philosophy's logic and natural origins must surely be important teaching tools but perhaps not ontological arguments particularly if that person is an atheist or agnostic?

Languages must be the most crucial and defining aspects of learning as they are the means with which we communicate. A second or third language further opens our eyes to a range of different thinking and vocabulary. We must remember some languages do not possess the lexicon for certin words available in other languages. We then appreciate the limits of languages to truthfully and wholly transmit what we feel, think and see. Remember our hackneyed phrase "which words cannot describe".

In fact our whole learning system should be a learn-and-play mode, more so in the formative years of pre-primary and primary education (children are highly curious and have keen acuity at this age) leading to more depth and practicalities in the secondary and post-secondary years, with critical thinking, evaluation and practicalities being some criteria of measure.

Learning is made more relevant with one's own integration of concepts, one's observations, one's experiences (this is an important aspect) and finally one's putting together of all information for a personalised understanding and application.

What's more, some people learn much better on their own. In a group setting, they are under a variety of selective pressures to perform, to conform or to just follow without much questioning in the context of a social surrounds made up of diverse and different personalities. People affect and influence one another in many ways. The stronger or more vocal though not neccesarily always correct or wiser seems to have an upper hand.

I remember a pianist who could play beautiful pieces while practising on her own but fumble in a public performance recital. A case of crowd jitters , typical of any debutante actor, actress or performing artist. Even a public examination. Same principles. Same fears.

Nobody wants to look stupid and even if everyone else may be thinking something is stupid, nobody says anything for fear of reprisals or because of being in an inferior and lowly position. After all these teachings were from a higher-up superior being.

Look I am trying to start a leather/leatherette umbrella manufacture but it doesn't seem that we have the technology to do this. If we have waxed paper parasols in Egypt or even leather hides as shelters or clothes in prehistoric times, this comes as a true surprise to me. Given rudimentary tools, the Egytians could build the pyramids. So how is it we can't do some of these "basics" here and now in our technological age? Even fishing traps in the 12th century AD were more advanced than the ones we have now.

My notions of the FANE and NWO theories hold up in the light of my reading about how money as currency had surfaced during the Chinese "inventiveness" phase. This period isn't just confined to the Ming dynasty when navigational exploration must have both reached its zenith and nadir. It is sad that Admiral Zheng He (that admirable and brave Muslim Chinese eunuch) lost out in the battle to other opposing members, possibly some fellow eunuchs in the imperial court, and the Mings then shut its doors on naval expeditions.

See how some conniving, evil and stupid eunuchs, the espionage and bitching sorts for sure (don't we see some of these wimps in our everyday life as well - I personally met quite a few)turned a country into decadence and absolence in a space of a few centuries. One bad decision is all it takes.

Surely the Europeans and then the Americans must again have independently or privily devised money as currency as a result.

The invention of writing did not start off as writing per se. See how it has evolved over time. This is also a distinguishing trait of humans that we could keep records, involving ponderance over some current or past events and even write about the future.

From all of the above, I must say that civilisation started in several hot spots around the world and the early Chinese and Mesopotamian/Egyptian cultures must surely count as among the most inventive and innovative pioneers.

Some people are losing out in life not because they are any less able but because of a variety of other reasons. It could be policy road-blocks, an already entrenched low standard of practice catering to the mass market (look at how our food courts are thriving despite the really bland taste of the food as compared to some really genuine home recipe food of some hawker centres) , monetary barriers of entry, people acting on emotions , perception , someone's recommendation or marketing ploys.

I had a woman once who kept mouthing about my resilience. I don't need her praise of my resilience but I do need help to live and move on. To her statement of enterprises needing start-up costs, I say start-up costs can be both tangible and intangible. By forgoing an income whilst waiting out for a business to kick or jump start, it is already a start-up and opportunity cost. This could perhaps be a real business concept which is currently not taught in our MBA courses.