Astro B.yond

List of Common Misconceptions

Read this and get educated:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions

Some of the most widespread misconceptions:

It is commonly claimed that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the Moon. This is false. None of the Apollo astronauts reported seeing any man-made object from the Moon. The misconception is believed to have been popularized by Richard Halliburton decades before the first moon landing.

Among Muslims, there are people who believed that Kaabah is visible from the Moon. If Great Wall of China is not visible, then Kaabah, which is much smaller, have no way of being visible. Please stop propagating this lunatic propaganda. Islam can stand on its own; it does not need twisted “facts” like this.

However, the Kaabah (along with many other buildings) might be visible from a space shuttle flying in low orbit.

Also, the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, has never heard azan on the moon, has never saw the line supposedly caused by Prophet Muhammad in the “moon cleaving” incident, has never been a Muslim, has never been hidden by Saudis, and has never been tortured by the Zionist intelligence agency because of his “Islamic belief”. These are all falsehood.

I saw Neil Armstrong in Discovery Channel a few days ago. He is not a Muslim and has never been one. Live with it. The whole story is a hoax spread by gullible Muslims to other gullible Muslims. Well, what can you say, the Muslims are not known for their critical thinking ability.

People do not use only ten percent of their brains. While it is true that a small minority of neurons in the brain are actively firing at any one time, the inactive neurons are important too.[57][58] This myth has been commonplace in American culture at least as far back as the start of the 20th Century, as was attributed to William James, who apparently used the expression metaphorically.[59] In the middle of the century, it was attributed to Albert Einstein[citation needed]. Some findings of brain science (such as the high ratio of glial cells to neurons) have been mistakenly read as providing support for the myth.[59]

Argggghhh…I feel like I want to rip my hair out every time I hear people saying that we only use “10% of our brain”. No dumbass, we use all 100%. That’s how efficient the human body is.

Usually this “fact” is repeated by people who want to sell their “mind-enhancing” products (like smart pills, raisins, kurma, smart water, etc). Gullible people are easily tricked: “kalau abang makan ubat ni, nanti kebolehan otak abang akan naik sehingga 70%, bukan 10% seperti orang biasa”. Fuck you.

Also, this “fact” is popular among motivational speakers and “mental” experts (not actual brain scientists, but people who teach mental math, silva method, new age, etc). In fact, this “fact” can be used as a test to check whether a person claiming to be an expert is actually an expert. Ask him how many % of the brain that we use? If he says 10%, then he is just another snake-oil motivational speaker. Walk away. Don’t waste your time and money listening to his drivel.

Although there are hair care products which are marketed as being able to repair split ends and damaged hair, there is no such cure. A good conditioner might prevent damage from occurring in the first place, but the only way to get rid of split ends after they appear is by a hair cut.[64][65][66]

Ladies, pay attention.

Sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children.[68] Double blind trials have shown no difference in behaviour between children given sugar full or sugar-free diets, even in studies specifically looking at children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or those considered “sensitive” to sugar. In fact, it was found that the difference in the children’s behaviour was all in the parents’ minds.[69]

Parents, pay attention. You should give a lot more weight to confirmed results of double blind experiments than to “old-folks wisdom” (kata orang-orang tua).

While the vitamin A in carrots does help to build healthy vision (among other things), it does not improve the eyesight of a person already in possession of healthy vision nor does it improve night vision. In fact, an excess of carrots can cause vitamin A toxicity and carotenemia in rare cases. This misconception arose from an RAF attempt to hide the discovery of radar from the Axis forces by claiming that their pilots had gained vastly improved night vision from being fed carrots, rather than from any technological advancement.

Again, parents, take note. Don’t stuff your kids with carrots, else he or she might end up having terrible eyesight.

Contrary to the common myth,[117] the Coriolis effect does not determine the direction that water rotates in a bathtub drain or a flushing toilet. The Coriolis force is relatively small; it appears over large scales (like weather systems), or in systems such as the Foucault pendulum in which the small influence is allowed to accumulate over time. In a bathtub or toilet, the flow of the water over the basin itself produces forces that dwarf the Coriolis force. In addition, most toilets inject water into the bowl at an angle, causing a spin too fast to be affected by the Coriolis effect.[118]

This is a valid misconception (true in theory, but the effect is negligible in practice). I’ve heard some friends pointed this out to me. This misconception is mild and not rage-inducing, unlike “we only use 10% of our brain” which really makes me want to punch a wall everytime I heard it being repeated.

There are many more in that Wiki link, I humbly suggest you read all of them.

Super Hard Logic Puzzle

If you managed to solve this, then you are very, very intelligent. I couldn’t get anywhere after two hours.

Click on the image to enlarge. Please be patient, this is a large file.

Pale Blue Dot

I will not be updating this weekend since I will be out of town. Apologies for those waiting for the second installment of my math article.

The reason I write this blog is not publicity, nor because I enjoy being interactive with people. I am too grown up for that. That’s why I never bothered having a Facebook account. The feeling of connectedness with people, the thrill of having an online persona, and the novelty of being part of a large social group — have lost their appeal on me many years ago. I took part in all the previous “internet phenomena”: from USENET mailing list to IRC chatroom to instant messaging to MMORPG to blogs to online community, that I think anything that might come in the future is just another form of diversion. Yes, Facebook is just another Internet diversion, just like USENET was in 1990 and IRC was in 2000. It’s nothing new.

Many people have tried to convince me (unsuccessfully) that Facebook is different. Facebook have all those bells and whistles thrown in that people who use Facebook swear that it’s different. Believe me, it’s not. It’s just another diversion, and people should grow the fuck up. Seriously, I don’t feel any attraction or need to get near Facebook despite my closest friends harping endlessly on how Facebook is revolutionary and Web 2.0 and addictive and it being the social network of the future. Leave me alone guys, I’m not interested in your shiny toy.

I write chiefly because I like to educate. I write not because I desire publicity, or because I want to “connect” to my readers, or because I feel happy when you leave comments, or because I feel thrilled about the number of readers who come to my website that I check my stats every hour. I might care about those things when I was 19 years old, but now, bleh.

Nowadays I use the Internet to educate and to get educated. My Internet time is perhaps 35% work, 50% education and 15% entertainment. I don’t have the luxury, nor the inclination, to look all day at LOLcat pictures and cute babies videos or viral marketing campaigns or all those “must see” internet memes. I’ve seen them thousands of times before. I spend many hours online everyday, so I might as well try to make them useful.

I spend a lot of time on ArXiv to download papers on current mathematical research. I read magazines and newspaper op-eds online. I frequent forums too, but only those forums whose participants are minimally intelligent, not forums populated by idiots and trolls (although I have a weak spot for /x/ and /sci/). I read significantly fewer blogs nowadays. I do not frequent friends’ blogs which has zero content other than babies pictures and recipes and daily bitching. I only visit blogs with long, well thought-out articles, as well as authoritative blogs on a particular topic (e.g. Rawles Survival Blog). I read less about politics (despite what people believe, you do not get more “politically aware” by reading partisan shills writing in defense of their beloved leader / party / ideology, and criticizing their opponents blindly), and more on issues like science, foreign affairs and the economy. I still spend a lot of times on Youtube, but I’ve become more selective: no more “must-see” viral videos or MV of the newest pop star or movie trailers. I look out for videos of interesting and intelligent people giving talks and lectures, and perhaps documentaries on topics I care about. I spend a disproportionate number of hours on Wikipedia that I should’ve been a volunteer Wikipedia editor.

Yes, my Internet habit is boring and might not be as “happening” as yours. I’ve given up being the master of the Internet universe many years ago. The Internet today is 99.99% rubbish. Do not waste your time dragging your feet on the Internet wasteland. Do something useful instead, and keep yourself educated at all times.

Talking about being educated, I’d like to share this video from one of my personal heroes, Carl Sagan. This is Sagan narrating the most famous paragraph from his book, Pale Blue Dot. The “Pale Blue Dot” speech should go down as humankind’s finest piece of scientific narration, given by one of the most intelligent men in the modern era.

If you enjoy this, you should look up Carl Sagan videos on Youtube, and also buy his books.

IQ

MARI PUKUL ORANG BODOH DAHULU

Hari ni saya nak tulis pasal IQ.

Di negara Malaysia yang anti-intelek ni, ramai orang mempunyai tanggapan entah apa-apa pasal IQ, selalunya diujarkan oleh orang-orang bodoh:

“Ko ni IQ tinggi, tapi tak tahu buat benda praktikal”

“Ko ni IQ tinggi, tapi yang lagi penting ialah EQ atau SQ” <— keh keh keh…ini selalunya diujarkan oleh mat dan minah motivasi

“Ko ni IQ tinggi, tapi dalam dunia sebenar / alam pekerjaan, IQ tak berguna sangat”

“Ko ni IQ tinggi, tapi tak pandai X” (gantikan X = politik, bercakap, memasak, memimpin, agama, atau apa sahaja yang anda sukai)

Begitu lah anti-intelek nya masyarakat kita sehinggakan orang yang bijak sedikit pun ingin direndah-rendahkan supaya sama taraf dengan masyarakat bawahan. Masyarakat kita umpama sekumpulan ketam di dalam baldi, kalau satu ketam nak memanjat keluar, yang lain akan tarik ketam itu ke bawah semula.

Masyarakat kita fikir, kalau orang yang bijak, ooh mesti dia tak pandai bergaul dengan orang dan mesti bersifat nerd. Kalau perempuan bijak, oooh mesti dia tak pandai buat kerja rumah dan mesti dia seorang isteri yang tidak respek kat suami. Kalau saintis bijak, ooh mesti dia ni sibuk dalam makmal je dan tak praktikal dalam dunia sebenar. Kalau ada orang yang rajin membaca, ooh orang ni mesti “book smart” dan tidak “street smart”. Kalau orang belajar tinggi, eleh belajar tinggi-tinggi sampai dapat gelaran doktor pun, nanti malaikat tanya soalan dalam kubur boleh jawab ke? (ini dialog sebenar yang saya pernah dengar diucapkan oleh seorang yang sudah tentu tahap pemikirannya setahap katak pisang).

Ini adalah penyakit yang saya panggil sindrom MASYARAKAT BANGANG. Maaf kerana bersifat elitis di sini, tapi masyarakat Malaysia kita penuh dengan orang bodoh. Sebab itulah skim cepat kaya, pakar motivasi rahsia tarikh lahir, ubat adi putra, cakra alam, rancangan MISTERI NUSANTARA, dan majalah MASTIKA amat laris di Malaysia. Kerana mereka memfokuskan kepada orang bodoh. Orang bijak tak ramai, sebab itulah majalah Far East Economic Review tidak laku di Malaysia berbanding majalah Mangga. Paling hebat pun baca Reader’s Digest sahaja (ok lah tu, simple books for people with average intelligence).

Ini adalah penyakit masyarakat kita, sama ada kita suka atau tidak. Saya tidak mahu berselindung di sebalik kata-kata sopan. Orang BODOH beleluasa di negara kita. Tapi ini tidak bermakna negara kita sahaja mempunyai masalah ini. Semua negara ada masalah ini, walaupun negara maju. Setiap negara ada macam-macam jenis pseudoscience dan “faith healer” dan pakar “metafizik” dan fenomena supernatural. Kalau anda berminat mengikuti perkembangan orang-orang bodoh sedunia dan kepercayaan karut mereka, sila ikuti blog James Randi:

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/swift-archives.html

Saya mengikuti blog ini sejak tahun 1999 lagi, ini antara blog terawal yang saya masih ikuti hingga sekarang. Dulu James Randi yang tulis sendiri, tapi sekarang ada sekumpulan panel yang menulis entri-entri blog itu.

James Randi ialah seorang bekas ahli silap mata professional, yang banyak menyelidik fenomena-fenomena karut yang berbentuk “paranormal” atau “supernatural”. Dia telah membocorkan rahsia Peter Popoff, yang kononnya boleh menyembuhkan orang menggunakan ilham dan doa sahaja, tak perlu ubat (ini dipanggil “faith healer”). Peter Popoff dahulu sangat popular kerana selalu membuat sesi penyembuhan di dewan-dewan besar dihadiri oleh ribuan manusia. Tapi selepas itu dia dibaraikan oleh James Randi:

Popoff’s earlier claims were debunked in 1983 when noted skeptic James Randi and his assistant, Steve Shaw, researched Popoff by attending shows across the country for months. They discovered that radio transmissions were being sent by Peter’s wife, Elizabeth Popoff, where she was reading information which she and her aides (Reeford Sherrill) had gathered from earlier conversations with members of the audience. Popoff would simply listen to these promptings with his in-ear receiver and repeat what he heard to the crowd. After tapes of these transmissions were played on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Popoff’s popularity and viewing audiences declined sharply, and his ministry declared bankruptcy later that year.[1] In September 1987, sixteen months after the Carson airing, Popoff declared bankruptcy with more than 790 creditors having claims against him.[4]

As Randi explained in The Faith Healers, he originally took his research to the United States Attorney’s office, but never heard back from them.[1] This led Randi’s friend Johnny Carson to invite Randi on the show to explain how Popoff operated. Popoff at first denied that he used the tactics Randi claimed, even asserting “NBC hired an actress to impersonate Mrs. Popoff on a ‘doctored’ videotape.”[1] However, as the media pressed with more questions, “on day three Reverend Popoff admitted the existence of the radio device, claiming, that ‘almost everybody’ knew about the ‘communicator.’ And, he added, ‘My wife occasionally gives me the name of a person who needs special prayers’.”[1] However, Randi appeared on CNN previous to this claiming Popoff used a transmitter, but Popoff said this was false and he got the information from God.[1]

Popoff’s shows also featured audience members who were brought on stage in wheelchairs and then rose dramatically to walk without support. Two in particular were celebrities Kyle Ellsworth and Petrina Dy. These were some of Popoff’s most incredible “healings”, but what believing audience members and television viewers did not know was that wheelchairs were used by Popoff to seat people who were already able to walk.[5]

(Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Popoff#Randi_controversy)

Kah kah kah…alangkah bahagianya jika “doktor-doktor” karut di Malaysia ni pun bankrap seperti Peter Popoff.

James Randi juga terkenal kerana yayasannya, James Randi Educational Foundation menawarkan hadiah US$1 juta untuk mana-mana pengamal ilmu supernatural yang boleh membuktikan “kuasa” mereka di dalam eksperimen makmal yang terkawal (double blind experiment). Setakat ini, beribu orang telah mencuba. Yang berjaya: 0 (kosong).

OK cukup pasal paranormal / pseudoscience. Ini topik panjang, nanti entri-entri depan saya akan cerita lebih lanjut. Kembali kepada isu IQ tadi.

IQ tinggi, walaupun tak ada kaitan secara langsung dengan kejayaan atau kekayaan, merupakan satu aset kepada masyarakat. Orang IQ tinggilah yang mencipta ubat dan vaksin. Orang IQ tinggilah yang merekacipta dan membina semua mesin, mikrocip, jentera, kenderaan, senjata moden, alat perubatan dan bahan-bahan kimia yang berguna untuk manusia. Orang IQ tinggilah yang mentadbir ekonomi dan kewangan negara. Walaupun ada orang IQ tinggi yang kurang berjaya dalam hidup (mungkin kerana “terlalu pandai” agaknya), kita tidak patut menganggap orang berIQ tinggi atau orang yang mempunyai high intelligence dengan bermacam-macam prasangka buruk. Ingatlah jika bukan kerana golongan mereka, mungkin sekarang anak-anak anda masih menderita penyakit smallpox.

Kesimpulannya, jangan jadi orang bodoh. Ramai orang tak sedar diri mereka bodoh (contoh: jika anda percaya kepada zodiac atau rahsia tarikh lahir atau numerology, anda ialah bodoh murakkab). Jika anda bodoh pun, hormatilah orang pandai dan janganlah bersifat anti-intelek.

Kekeke…setelah penat kupukul orang bodoh,

SEKARANG MARI PUKUL ORANG PANDAI PULA

Orang pandai ni penyakitnya lain pulak. Mereka terlalu fokus kepada bidang kepakaran sempit mereka sehinggakan mereka hilang fungsi dan peranan praktikal dalam masyarakat. Contoh, kalau pakar ekonomi, sibuk berseminar dan berdebat pasal Keynesian lah, Milton Friedman lah, Chicago School lah, Libertarian lah, Fiscal Policy lah sampai tak fikir langsung pasal isu ekonomi yang dirisaukan oleh masyarakat seperti harga barang keperluan yang tinggi, kuasa membeli yang rendah, dan keperitan peniaga kecil dan sederhana. Yang mereka kejar ialah prestij dan pangkat akademik dan penerbitan di jurnal antarabangsa, sehinggakan mereka langsung tidak memikirkan aplikasi atau sumbangan ilmu mereka kepada masyarakat secara langsung (selain daripada mengajar di universiti).

Orang pandai ni suka menganggap diri mereka elit, sehingga mereka anggap orang lain ini golongan picisan atau “the unwashed masses”. Amboi-amboi, mentang-mentanglah ko baca The Prophet tulisan Khalil Gibran, ko ingat ko pandai sangat? Mentang-mentang ko baca buku-buku falsafah yang tebalnya 800 mukasurat, ko ingat orang lain ni tak berguna? Mentang-mentang ko lepak Jalan Telawi sambil berdebat mengenai classical liberalism vs. anarcho-syndicalism, ko ingat ko layak memimpin kami yang tak sekolah tinggi ni? Ini adalah kecelaruan (delusion) yang banyak melanda golongan intelek, terutama intelek muda yang lebih sesuai saya panggil pseudo-intelek. Mereka lebih suka membuat mental masturbation daripada berfikir mengenai masalah dunia sebenar. To these people, I say: take your elitism, and stick it up your…

Golongan elit intelek ni menjengkelkan saya. Di Malaysia golongan ini ramai bersarang di Jalan Telawi. Dulu saya selalu lepak dengan mereka, tapi selepas kali ke-X saya dengar mereka bergebang pasal Foucault lah, Deleuze lah, Postmodern lah, Beat Generation lah, terus aku jadi meluat. Dah la fakta-fakta yang dikemukakan salah (diorang tak tahu ke aku boleh check kat Google?) lepas tu merapu bukan-bukan sampai berjam-jam. Last-last sekelumit faedah pun aku tak dapat, yang aku dapat ialah duit habis beli kopi Starbucks (orang elit kena lepak tempat elit…buwekkkk). Pikir-pikir balik, lagi baik aku lepak kat masjid atau kat majlis-majlis keramaian atau ceramah-ceramah umum, ada jugak manfaat bergaul dengan masyarakat. Kalau aku nak betul-betul intelek, aku carik buku kat perpustakaan, bukan mendengar korang meraban tak tentu hala kat Starbucks Jalan Telawi. Buat loya tekak aku je.

Tapi apa yang saya cakapkan di atas ialah anecdote peribadi dan bukannya generalization kepada semua golongan bijak pandai. Ada ramai orang bijak pandai yang saya hormati kerana keilmuwannya yang tinggi dan pada masa yang sama banyak berfikir mengenai isu-isu praktikal yang mempengaruhi masyarakat secara langsung. Antaranya:

Prof. Diraja Ungku Aziz — pakar ekonomi (mengkaji mengenai punca kemiskinan orang Melayu, dan mengasaskan Tabung Haji)

Prof. Shaharir — pakar matematik dan fizik kuantum (memperjuangkan isu PPSMI)

Prof. Jomo K. Sundram — pakar ekonomi (mengkaji mengenai kemiskinan Dunia Ketiga)

dan ramai lagi. Walaupun kesarjanaan mereka diiktiraf dunia, mereka tidak bersifat elitis malah rapat dengan masyarakat, bukannya setakat melepak di menara gading mereka sambil menghisap cigar dan membaca buku-buku tebal dan mengusap-usap uban di rambut mereka, sambil memandang jelik masyarakat marhaen yang tidak sepandai mereka.

LOL*

* you have to be around my age or older to get the joke.

Bird Puzzle

A new assistant accidentally left open the cages at the pet shop, and over 100 birds escaped. There were exactly 300 birds to begin with. The next morning, the local newspaper carried a report that gave the following figures:

“Of the birds that remained, a third were finches, a quarter were budgies, a fifth were canaries, a seventh were mynah birds, and a ninth were parrots.”

However, the reporter got one of the fractions wrong. How many parrots were left?

(credit: Keith Devlin, http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_12_09.html)

Matematik dan Hidup Saya (Bahagian 1)

Euclid (fl. 300 BC), the Father of Geometry

1. PENGENALAN

Artikel bersiri ini adalah sesuatu yang saya ingin tulis sejak lama dahulu. Ramai kenalan saya, sama ada kenalan peribadi, pelajar saya, profesor, guru, dan saudara-mara yang sering menyarankan saya agar membuat satu penulisan (dalam Bahasa Melayu) yang menyeluruh mengenai matematik dalam kehidupan saya.

Ini kerana mereka berharap saya dapat berkongsi rahsia untuk menjadi cemerlang dalam matematik. Menurut mereka juga, ini dapat membantu ramai ibubapa dan guru di Malaysia untuk berusaha meningkatkan pencapaian matematik di kalangan pelajar Malaysia.

Ramai orang mencadangkan pelbagai tajuk untuk ditulis: ada yang suruh saya menulis bagaimana untuk score dalam peperiksaan, ada yang suruh saya tulis bagaimana nak mendidik anak kecil untuk hebat matematik, ada yang suruh tulis bagaimana menghasilkan pelajar genius matematik yang layak ke universiti terkemuka dunia (rasanya saya layak bercakap topik ini di Malaysia – pelajar-pelajar saya telah ramai diiktiraf di pertandingan-pertandingan matematik antarabangsa dan telah memasuki universiti-universiti terulung dunia seperti MIT dan Stanford), ada yang suruh saya tulis mengenai pelbagai produk dan program pseudo-matematik atau “matematik sampah” yang banyak dihebahkan kepada ibubapa Melayu yang kurang pandai lantas mereka mempercayainya, dan bermacam-macam topik lagi yang mereka minta saya tulis dan kongsikan.

Baiklah, saya akan cuba memenuhi permintaan kalian – saya akan merekodkan pengalaman hidup saya dan hubungkaitnya dengan matematik.

2. PENAFIAN / DISCLAIMER

Apa jua saranan atau cadangan yang akan saya nukilkan adalah perkara-perkara yang saya sendiri pernah mengalami atau melihat keberkesanannya. Saya tidak dapat membuktikan keberkesanan cadangan-cadangan tersebut secara saintifik; jika anda berminat boleh merujuk kepada pakar pedagogi atau pakar bidang pendidikan. Oleh itu, saya tidak akan bertanggungjawab atas segala akibat (consequences) jika anda mengamalkan cadangan-cadangan saya.

Saya juga bukan merupakan seorang guru atau kakitangan kerajaan mahupun pensyarah universiti. Oleh yang demikian jika saya menulis mengenai sistem pendidikan di Malaysia, mungkin ada kesalahan fakta yang tidak disengajakan. Saya pohon maaf terdahulu jika berlaku sedemikian, dan harap anda dapat membetulkan kesilapan tersebut.

3. MENGENAI ARTIKEL

Apa yang bakal saya tulis ini adalah pengalaman peribadi saya yang didokong oleh rekod-rekod simpanan saya serta penyelidikan peribadi. Dalam menulis artikel ini, saya cuba untuk bersifat seobjektif yang mungkin dalam mengetengahkan fakta dan pengalaman dari perspektif saya. Sesuatu yang peribadi seperti ini tentunya tidak akan lari daripada bias dan “preconception”. Mungkin ada yang saya tulis bersifat kontroversi. Saya harap pembaca akan menerima penulisan ini dengan hati terbuka. Komen amat dialu-alukan.

Artikel ini akan disiarkan dalam bentuk bersiri dan akan dikemaskini setiap tiga hari sekali (bergantung kepada kesibukan). Saya akan mencuba untuk menulis satu-satu topik dengan mendalam, bukan sahaja dari aspek penceritaan tapi juga dari aspek sejarah dan konteks. Ini bertujuan untuk membetulkan banyak salah faham mengenai matematik yang wujud dalam masyarakat.

Saya berniat untuk membukukan penulisan ini pada suatu hari jika mendapat respons yang baik.

4. OBJEKTIF

Kenapa saya menulis artikel ini? Ada pelbagai jawapan kepada soalan tersebut, antaranya:

• Menonjolkan salahfaham masyarakat mengenai matematik (ramai orang fikir matematik ini mengira nombor sahaja).
• Mendedahkan pembaca kepada dunia matematik yang sebenar.
• Mendedahkan pembaca kepada suasana pengajian matematik di universiti, yang mungkin suatu pengalaman yang janggal pada kebanyakan pembaca.
• Memberi dorongan kepada pembaca sama ada guru, ibubapa atau pelajar untuk membudayakan kecemerlangan matematik.
• Memberi beberapa tips-tips yang boleh diikuti untuk cemerlang dalam subjek matematik.
• Berkongsi pengalaman saya belajar matematik daripada ibu bapa dan guru tadika sehinggalah ke pakar-pakar matematik dunia.
• Berkongsi pengalaman saya bertanding dalam pertandingan matematik peringkat dunia, serta pengalaman saya sebagai juri dan jurulatih pertandingan.

Bersambung…

AKAN DATANG: Apa itu matematik? Pengalaman awal saya dengan matematik.

Boss Babi

This is an actual shop in Yiwu, China. Photo taken by Iznan during a recent business trip.

(Credit: Iznan)

Batu Caves

Yesterday, I went to Batu Caves to see the Thaipusam celebration. This is the second time in my life I joined the actual Thaipusam celebration. The first time was in 1997.

For those of you who have never seen it before, Thaipusam celebration is quite a sight: men and women shaving their heads completely and anointing their heads with yellow powder (turmeric? henna?), peacock feathers and coconut shells everywhere, scores of tourists from around the world (white people are naturally attracted to this type of exotic celebration), veggie food stalls (I just learned that Ramly Burger also produces veggie burgers), colorful dresses (with bright pastel-colored tops mismatched with bright pastel-colored trousers / long skirts; you have to give it to the Indians for the their daring “color coordination”, hehe), holy men in their saffron colored robes, and of course who can forget the kavadi.

It is one thing to see kavadis in TV or newspapers but to see it in real life is a fascinating experience indeed. Amid shouts of “vel vel” from the devout, really strong (and stoned?) guys carry meticulously decorated portable altars on their shoulders, supported by metal rods which are pierced through their chests and backs. Some of the most spectecular kavadis have bells and chimes, which would jingle as the kavadi carriers dance and whirl to the tune of music from the accompanying percussionists. The carriers would then carry the kavadi all the way up to the cave (about 300 steps) and then back down to the congregation. I don’t know how they managed to do that, but they have my respect.

I usually do not bother going to Batu Caves, let alone during Thaipusam, but yesterday two friends were visiting from overseas, and they insisted I bring them to see the Thaipusam celebration. We arrived after lunch, so the congregation were less crowded (most of the events took place during the eve and the morning). My friends wanted to go upstairs to the entrance of the cave. I told them go ahead, I’ll wait for you down here. Takde kerja aku nak naik, buat tercabut lutut aku je. Baik aku duduk bawah minum air kelapa, keh keh keh.

Although the number of people present were estimated at about half a million, the whole affair was quite civil and orderly. People on the ground treated me with respect, and would bend over backwards to make non-Hindus and tourists feel at home. The presence of police, ambulance, bomba, RELA, and PBSM kept untoward incidents to a minimum, although I saw one men got carted off by uniformed policemen, presumably for disturbing the peace. Some shopowners thought I am an Indonesian tourist. Rather than letting them rip me off (which ought to happen to tourists), I told them I am from Taman Greenwood which is just 5 minutes from Batu Caves, and I am a good friend of ADUN Batu Caves. Lama pulak tak contact si Amir nih, mentang-mentang dah sebok jadi wakil rakyat. We used to hang out until very late in the morning discussing politics and religious issues. Nanti lah aku call tanya khabar si YB ni.

What I learn from my trip to Batu Caves:

1. Malaysian Indians are a peaceful bunch, who, like other people, desire equal rights and rights to self-determination. I know many Malay and Chinese who do not like the “kelings”, but that should be kept as a private matter, and should not matter an iota when it comes to policy or governance.

The common stereotype is that Malaysian Indians are loud and uncouth, but that should be seen in context; Malaysian Indians by and large grow up in unfavorable economic conditions, with limited help from the government or institutions claiming to represent Indian interests, and were kept down due to racism and to a certain extent, their social structure (*cough* kasta *cough*). Many Indians excel in professional fields like medicine and law, but in general the Indian community are left far behind in economic and human development. I see my fellow Indians as loyal Malaysians — most of them won’t survive one month in India — but here they have it worse than the Malays (who are protected by government) and the Chinese (who are rich).

Many people have warned me about Indians (don’t do business with them, don’t go to their areas at night, don’t trust them with anything), I see these “warnings” as mere racism, pure and simple. Although nothing bad can come with being cautious. I almost learned this the hard way one day when I was alone in Sentul at about 2am. Suddenly a group of Indian youths walked passed me, swaggering like gangsters, and a couple of them gave me the stink eye, and made comments about me to each other in Tamil. Fortunately, they just walked passed me and nothing bad happened.

I am not a racist; I do not say all Indian youths or all Sentul residences are gangsters. There are dangerous Chinese neighborhoods (e.g. Jinjang @ Xinjiang), and dangerous Malay neighborhoods (e.g. parts of Kg. Baru) as well. Common sense dictates that you should not be at dangerous places, especially at night, and definitely not alone.

Racists stereotypes are demeaning, and when one race is automatically demonized as potential troublemakers, then something is not right.

2. Almost all the Indians I saw at Batu Caves are those with dark completions. Where are the fair-skinned Indians? Are most of them Muslims and Christians? The reason I asked this is mere curiosity — I am interested to know the social dynamics of the Indian community in Malaysia.

My friend Shahabudeen Jalil, whose family hailed from Tamil Nadu, has schooled me on different types of Indians: mamak, lebai, khan, rowther, Aryans, Dravidians, etc. What I’d like to know why most devout Hindus (i.e. people who actually showed up at Batu Caves), are among the darker-skinned types.

3. Indians are still throwing their lot with the ruling party. In Batu Caves, I saw giant posters of the Prime Minister wearing garlands, shaking hands with Indian leaders (although I did not see Samy Vellu’s pictures, I wonder why). The short-lived HINDRAF phenomenon has lost steam completely; the splinter groups are actually pro-government. The Indians were angry with MIC and Samy Vellu in 2008 and voted opposition, but after a few years, the tide seems to be reversing. The Indian community in Malaysia, due to limited numbers and limited economic pull, inevitably come crawling back to the ruling party. In history, the Malaysian Indian community were never successful in pursuing sustained opposition to the government of the day. Some Indians became respectable opposition leaders and commanded a big number of followers, but these are more likely the exception than the norm.

Why is this state of affairs? I have no idea, I am no political analyst. But if I may venture a guess, I’d say it is because no opposition party is truly connected to the grassroot Indian community. PAS have fielded an Indian candidate in the last election, but their relationship to the grassroot Indian community is not there yet. DAP have several high-ranking Indians and claims to fight for a socialist ideal, which SHOULD appeal to the underprivileged grassroot Indians. However, in reality, Indians view DAP as just another Chinese party (like MCA), and the Kg. Buah Pala imbroglio certainly doesn’t help matters. Anwar parlayed his rhetorical skills to attract Indians to PKR (“anak india anak saya, anak cina anak saya, anak melayu anak saya”) and made alliances with HINDRAF, but PKR is a political newbie (relatively speaking) and their track record in improving the lives of Indians is at best questionable, at worst nonexistent. Ask the residence and temple committee at Batu Caves, what good have their PKR ADUN did for the area? There were other fringe parties like the old PRM (yang logonya kepala lembu — bukan pijak kepala lembu) and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), who are/were fighting for the socialist ethos of power to the underprivileged classes. These parties by right should appeal to the poor Indians, but these small parties have limited funding, thus limited following. Also, calling for class warfare has never been popular in Malaysia.