Good Writing

I have written a number of posts on good writing. This is yet another. The posts share a common thread that is writer's thought must be coherent. I will usually demand myself to write clearly - meaning, my readers can understand my writing in a single rapid reading.

Of course, having a good command of English will ease the process. So step one is to have clarity in what you want to say. I cannot help you here, but I could share with you some tools to help your ideas flow together logically. These tools are words and phrases which will help you connect your ideas that establish the relationships from one sentence to another. They are also known as transitional markers.

To show:
Addition
- again, also, and then, besides, equally important, finally, first/second/third/etc, further, furthermore, in additin, last, likewise, moreover, next, too

Cause and Effect
- accordingly, consequently, hence, in short, then, therefore, thus, truly

Comparision
- in a like manner, likewise, similarly

Concession
- after all, although this may be true, at the same time, even though, I admit, natually, of course

Contrast
- after all, although true, and yet, at the same time, but, for all that, however, in contrast, in spite of , nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, still yet

Time relationships
- after a short time, at length, immediately, later, temporarily, afterwards, at that time, lately, presently, thereafter, as long as, before, meanwhile, shortly, thereupon, as soon as, at last, earlier, at the same time, of late, in the meantime, since, soon, until, when, while

Wide Expanse, by Aileen Chua

A wide expanse, opens my mind to new possibilities.
A book in hand, opens the door to new knowledge.
A coffee in hand, preps the mind to welcome a new perspective.
A loved one besides, brings a familiar warmth that goads one forward.
A wide expanse, unlimited possibilities if we just embrace and explore.

Toastmaster:What would men be without women

Advanced Communication Series: The Entertaining Speaker
 
Project 3: Make Them Laugh
 
Executive Summary
 
Humor is an ideal way to attract and hold an audience’s attention. You can also use humor to build rapport, emphasize points, convey a sensitive point, or deal with unexpected incidents that occur during your talk. Humor includes some kind of unexpected twist that pleasantly surprises the audience. Practice delivering the material until you can do so smoothly, pausing before the punch line to create tension.
 
Objectives
-        Prepare a humorous speech drawn from your own experience.
-        Strengthen the speech by adopting and personalizing humorous material from outside sources.
-        Deliver the speech in a way that makes the humor effective.
 
Time: 5 to 7 minutes.
===============

What would men be without women?
 
Last week, my husband and I went hiking to the Treetop Walk at MacRitchie. For the benefit of the uninitiated, the TreeTop Walk is the first of its kind in Singapore, in Johor Bahru and also in Batam.  Once there, you be at the top of the world, a bird’s eye view of the surrounding.
 
Before we all get carried away, that’s the marketing part, which is to get you high, at the top of the world. Now, we need to be real, with our feet firmly on the ground.  In order to enjoy the beautiful scenery, one has to trek 4.5 km from the MacRitchie Resevoir Park to the entrance of the TreeTop Walk. 4.5 km equates to 1.5 to 2 hour walk. That’s not all. Unless you live in TreeTop Walk, you will need to walk back to civilization. So add another 4.5 km for a round trip. In total, it is a hike of 9 km or about 4 hours.
 
So yes, it was a beautiful place but also yes, we had a tiring time. No thanks to my impatient husband who insisted to go faster and faster and even faster. Did he not know the phrase “more haste less speed”?
 
“Why can’t you go faster” He would hurry me.
 
Puff, puff [pause] “I can’t… erh, because I am a woman?” I ventured a guess.
 
“See, I have always told you that men are better than women.” He continued as he took my panting silence as an admission that he was right.
 
I retaliated by giving him a hard cold stare that must have sent chill right down his spine.
 
For from my eyes, he must have seen the list of all the unfulfilled promises when he was then my boyfriend. Equal responsibilities in our household expenditure. Equal responsibilities in doing our housework. Equal responsibility in raising our children.
 
His definition of “Equal” in raising our baby, for example. Our bundle of joy, was his. He would carry, cuddle the baby. Our burden of joy, unfortunately was mine. I would cajole, cater to the every need of the baby.
 
There was a recent report on fewer women than men in senior leadership position. The data mentioned that there were 3 women for every 8 men at the top.
 
I salute the few women who have reached the pinnacle of their career. For it is really a mammoth task. For a woman never, ever, really leave the kitchen behind, for each step on the corporate ladder that she advances, her man is pulling her the other leg to remain in the kitchen. Just imagine balancing one leg on the kitchen ladder and the other on the corporate ladder. The higher she limps up the corporate ladder, the more precarious the balance is.
 
“Ah!!!!” My train of thought was broken by my husband’s loud scream.
 
Before I knew it, a bunch of monkeys snatched his red plastic bag containing some snacks and water for our trip.
 
“Oh mine. Who in the right frame of mind will bring a red plastic bag to attract monkeys?” I took the opportunity to rub salt on his predicament.
 
”What would men be without women?” I sighed.
 
“Scare, madam, mighty scare." My husband promptly replied.
 
Back to you Toastmaster of the Day.
***

Poem

Recently, I am reading poems. The lean ones which packed a punch. Enjoy!


Die-you can't do that to a cat.
Since what can a cat do
In an empty apartment?
Climb the walls?
Rub up against the furniture?
Nothing seems different here
But nothing is the same.
Nothing's been moved
But there's more space.
And at night-time no lamps are lit.
Wislawa Szymborska

Just for Fun

There are 2 schools of philosophies:

1. Deontic logic
2. Consequential logic

1st means that it is innate in you e.g. you should not kill another fellow human being. 2nd means that you have to evaluate the consequence - if you do not like the consequence, do not do it.

Consider 2 scenarios:

Scenario 1. A trolley holding 4 people in high speed. To save the 4 people, you can flip a switch to change the track of the trolley but then, there is another man on the other track.

Scenario 2. A trolley holding 4 people in high speed. To save the 4 people, you can choose to push one man to break the speed of the trolley.

Which one should you choose? (you have to choose one)

If you subscribe to deontic logic, you will choose scenario 1. To another who believes in consequential logic, it does not matter.

The analysis will become more complicated if say, your loved one(s) is in the trolley or the man that you are pushing is your significant half.

According to the Economist's Golden Rule (always think of the benefit of the society), you should not let your emotions get the better of you. But who are we kidding?

There was a Nobel prize winner who used the amnesia theory - if you can forget who you are, your decision will always be for the greater good :P

Math is about clarity in thinking

There was a period of time where I was confused if I had studied the right discipline. Afterall, I had done well enough to be able to choose the popular courses such as accountancy, engineering and such.

Misconception about Mathematicians

After some internal struggles, I decided to follow my heart and did Mathematics. I enjoyed my 4-year study which was such a joy. However, when I graduated, many people thought that mathematicians were just good with numbers. Some even erroneously thought that we could process the computation of more than 10 strings of numbers at a snap of the finger.

Logic thinking is the building block of Math

I was stunned for an explanation. Now, I would say that such misconception is an insult. Math is a study of logic. Logic thinking is the basic building block of math. The more than 10 strings of numbers add up as they follow a set of axioms that are consistent and true. Otherwise, the most powerful supercomputers will have runtime error.

So what is logic thinking? It means rigorous thinking. This statement is an example careless thinking "Life begins at conception because the fertilised egg contains all the information necessary to create an adult human being."

We can represent the 2nd segment "all information necessary to create an adult human being" as the "A" and "B" is "life". Mathematically, the statement above is saying A implies B.

So all genetic information on the fertilised egg fits snugly in a DVD. If I burn that info into a disk, is the disk alive?

Another statement "do no harm". Taken literally, this means "never take any action" because any action runs the risk of doing harm.

Yet another "all dogs have 4 legs. My cat has 4 legs. So my cat is a dog."

Math is all around you

So you see, many situations in life could be converted into a math question and be thought through with logic and rigor. That's why, I love math for its logical clarity, ironclad truth and elegance. That said, it's important to read beyond math. And let your mind run free.

Serenity

Lord of the far horizons.
Give us the eyes to see.
Tranquility descends.
Bring us the calm we seek.