Thursday, September 30, 2010
I've come to realise that stress is ever-present in this world that we live in. there is truly no way to escape it, unless you escape life itself.
and yet not all stress is an evil. in fact, the pressure that accompanies is said to be able to mould and build you, trimming away the flaws and refining the raw jewels embedded deep within the person.
hardships come and go, that is for sure. what is uncertain however is the manner in which the said person emerges from his/her suffering. does he come out of it "harder, better, faster, stronger" (to quote kanye west's stronger)? or does he crumble under the heat of it all?
I know what the "model answer" is. I've seen enough motivational posters, heard enough advice and gone through enough flames (admittedly it's not a lot but it's adequate) to know it's the pressurising moments that truly make or break a man. it's heat and pressure after all that makes carbon become a diamond (according to a particular motivational poster I saw way back in 2002).
Everyone tells me I should be strong and persevere, for pushing through the hardships is like a tree that bears with the pruning of the wise gardener, having its unwanted and unnecessary bits are trimmed off to allow greater and more fruitful growth to occur. Everyone says it's painful at first but it's entirely necessary to improve.
No one said it would be this difficult. No one said it would be incredibly easy to give up and let one's knees buckle beneath the imposing weight of pressures and expectations.
No one told me,
but I know.
sometimes I think it's simply to early to have my knees ruined.
whimsical nonsense @ 11:33 PM
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
I thought the hiatus should be broken. When I think about the primary reason for keeping this blog alive, a prolonged hiatus becomes extremely contradictory.
On a random note, I learnt a new phrase today.
"RETROACTIVE CLAIRVOYANCE"
I found out about it on wikipedia. (type "retroactive clairvoyance" and you'll be redirected to "postdiction", but the former sounds nicer! as if it's a deep concept)
Is the presence of retroactive clairvoyance dangerous? This benefit of hindsight, is it truly a benefit as the saying so explicitly states? to quote wikipedia, however dangerous that might be, retroactive clairvoyance is an "effect of hindsight bias".
hindsight bias.
I don't think it was meant to be thought of in this manner, but I do think it's a somewhat inevitable occurrence. precisely because we reflect on the past through our eyes, personal bias would come into the picture. everything we recall is skewered with our personal opinions, judgements (informed or otherwise).
as it happens ever so often, I have lost the train of my thought. just to clarify before I move on to another random note, I believe hindsight bias refers more to the collective recollection and analysis of past events rather than personal reflections on individual experiences.
now here's that random note I wanted to move on to. never underestimate the power of music, especially the influence it wields over the mood/atmosphere.
it is possible, perhaps even probable, that I am speaking to myself on this blog but I suppose it doesn't matter much when I remind myself of the primary reason for keeping this blog alive. I may not be able to give more than what has been given prior to the hiatus, but I shall try to be a little less superficial, if only to work my brain more to prevent brain rot.
whimsical nonsense @ 11:16 PM
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profile
Samuel Chan
7 January 1991
affliations
shuqun primary school
Henry Park Primary School
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)
acdb8 / bb12thcoy / acspb / ac cross country
