iThink...thereFore, iAm

Just as how self-depreciation is recognizably bad, and sometimes annoying to those around you, the sense that one’s perspective is always right, always true, always complete is equally frustrating. Society today has encouraged us to be, in short, “jerks”, who are aloof about everyone else’s opinions or feelings.

Imagine then, a discourse between you and someone who doesn’t quite agree with you. Instead of opening up the proverbial case of evidence and studying the clues on the table, one perspective is aggressively enforced and insisted on; it is unpleasant to say the least, even more so if said aggressor were to enforce an opinion (and it is his opinion) that should you not agree with him, you must belong to a species of inferior intellect. In short, “you are stupid”.

Would it be that we learned how to approach things with an open mind - there is right and wrong, accurate and inaccurate. But not all problems are to be solved; and with that in mind we would do well to remember that opinions are not truth, experiences are rarely complete, and perspectives are always biased.

- Jayell Nomen, A Story Untold

Busker along the streets in central London singing “Streets of London” - I find it ironic!

Have a sudden inexplicable urge to learn sign language, jeet kun do, and start hip hop (again?).

Sometimes you give up things for the greater purpose, for a better good.

In my time in Imperial so far, i’ve had the priviledge of having a supervisor (albeit a secondary one) that is eager to go through each of my works with me. From data summary to poster making, he takes the time to sit down with each of the students he supervises and walks them through the parts to be corrected and the rationale behind it. I once offered for him to just leave comments on the document and i’ll get it done, without him having to spend so much time personally, but he replied “if i go through it properly with you then you’ll know what i’m thinking about it, and we can work it out together without having to do it so many times.”

Patience, and diligence.

It reminded me of a teacher not so long ago (hurhur) who took the time to take care of us, not just academically, but as individuals. As of now i’m not so sure if some of the things he did were calculated and intentional as they were subtle beyond imagination, but knowing him i find it hard to believe it was anything but. Even if it was, then that would mean it would have come naturally, which is even more commendable than the former option. It’s been over ten years, closer to fifteen, and still I remember his remarks of “being a man is not a thing of the brawn, the balls, or the brain, but of the heart” and how “I will address you as gentlemen because that is what i believe you will be, instead of boys”. He commanded respect, and on all fronts he earned it, much like my supervisor now.

This is not the first mention of him on my blog, and I think it will not be the last. But all the same, thank you Mr (or has your title changed since?) Alistair Chew, for teaching the class of 3.7 and 4.7 in the years 1998 and 1999, in ACS (I). You are part of the reason i still respect my school, and part of the reason why i still remember it and its Founders’ Day, along with your unmistakable shirt and tie combination and your perfectly illegible signature which we often joked about to you and you good-naturedly laughed along with us. You were a teacher back then, a gentleman once we knew you, a model thereafter, and now you are a friend - God bless you. :)

Sometimes we are unaware of the hidden costs we incur on other people. Sometimes they won’t tell either.