scone

Oh well, I'm kinda sick of staring at my calculus, so here're the details for next Friday's post-exam outing:

Time: When the Medicine guys finish their exam

Venue: I was kind of hoping to go Daily Scoop again, but Xi Wern said he went there before, and he says it's alright only. So um, just decide among yourselves.

People: Daryl, Denise, Kevin, Me, Neha, Xi Wern, Marc, Nick and Aaron are confirmed. But really really, the three most important people who must go are: Christine, Plock and Lifeng, because well, Neha misses you three. Weiliang says he might go after lunch with his Anatomy group. So I guess we can all have lunch at some nice place (why not Rocky's?) and then wait for the rest who want to chill with their Medicine gang first, then go for ice-cream?

Alright. This outing wouldn't have been possible without Neha, so you all can thank her next Friday.

Posted by yyknosekai at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

Alright, lunch today with Daryl, Nick, Aaron, Xi Wern and Lifeng was quite fun. Macdonalds, thankfully, was quite empty. Laughed quite a lot. Talked a lot of nonsense. Plus Sam Wei Yuan and what not.

But the most important thing was: Hey, Nick was actually reading up on TOE - The Theory of Everything!

Alright, I'm no expert on it, and well, my module on it was just... three lectures' worth of information, but yeah, it's pretty interesting but a whole lot of darn math is needed to just plough through Stephen's papers.

So for the benefit of Nick, here's what to read up on if you want to understand it a little better:

(1) Don't delve right into Stephen's world, you'll end up being confused. I'd rather you start with basic Quantum Mechanics, since that's what Hawking used. Then maybe you'll understand Hawking radiation more, the making of anti-particle and particle pairs.

(2) As for negative energy, don't worry. Just read up on Paul Dirac and how he solved the time dependent Schroedinger's equation and married relativity with Quantum Mechanics. Don't do the math, just get the idea. He predicted the existence of the positron!

(3) Well, I'm no expert on relativity, going to do a course on it next semester, but hey, you can handle Special Relativity, I'm sure about it. The best way to start is to go Wikipedia, and get to know what it's all about. I recommend touching on the equations themselves - then you'll realise what a genius Einstein really was in using Lorentz's equations to formulate his theory. Focus on the Lorentz's transformations. They're a beauty.

(4) Basically nothing can travel beyond the speed of light. Well, that's Einstein's postulate. You can read up on the Big Bang, and how some people (in particular, this young dashing British Physicist!) thought that the speed of light was very different ages ago! Cool stuff. But no one has verified it anyway, but it does explain loads.

(5) This however, makes the EPR paradox very weird, because it suggests instantaneous , faster-than-light motion and correspondence of information, which is beyond human logic. Alright, it stands for the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox. It's really really easy to read Nick, just like, a few pages long, with hardly any equations. That's the beauty of Einstein's papers.

(6) Do go take a look at Niels Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation, and well, I think the evolution of modern day Quantum Mechanics has been quite interesting. Go read about how he argues with Einstein to his death, and how even when Schrodinger was sick, he still pestered him at his bed! Haha, funny guy. But yeah, he was the one who brought Mendeleyev's periodic table to its modern day form man! Pro guy he is.

(7) Well... Basically, Stephen Hawking really came way after Einstein, Niels Bohr, de Broglie, Werner Heisenburg or even Schrodinger. Really. Stephen's still alive! And well, deal with his predecessors first, they're essential. And oh yeah, I recommend Richard Feynman, he's a pro Quantum guy! I'll tell you more after exams, I'm quite excited about his Feynman diagrams.

(8) Heck, I'll lend you all my reference texts. It's really interesting lah! Sigh, no one appreciates it here.

Alright. And no, I won't blog about Daryl here, it's too rude. Haha. And sigh, it's a class blog, so I won't wax lyrical anymore about Science here. Heh.

Posted by yyknosekai at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Of late, increments and decrements of joy have been coming in packets. Which have result in Quantum Leaps no doubt. Quantum Leaps of suicide maybe.

With the advent of the first paper, I feel a little happier though.

Perhaps the festive joy is much too delocalised around me, I can't seem to feel it yet.

So close, yet so far. Maybe that's why Paul Dirac said: You see one, you see all!

Posted by yyknosekai at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

Just something I found when I should have been studying instead.

Posted by D at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

Hi guys. I'm tired of talking myself through my stack of notes, so I decided to ramble here:

(1) I just realised my spectacles is weird! Along the vertical axis, its thinner at the edges and thicker at the edges! And along the horizontal, its thicker at the edges and thinner at the centre! Wow. That means, I'm... astigmatic. Dang.

(2) So I tried to take off my specs, and I tried looking at my window frames, which had vertical and horizontal bars... and WOAH! I can't focus on both of them at once. How sad.

(3) But I'm overall myopic, because I'm using a darn diverging lens, which means that my eyes have a lens that is terribly good at refracting light. That means, I've been mugging/reading/watching tv/staring at my wallpaper/looking at someone in the eye too much, so that my ciliary muscles, in their utmost relaxed mode, can't lengthen my lens anymore. Hurhur. But that doesn't affect my near point!

(4) But then er... my near point is now lesser than 25 cm. That kinda sucks. That means in ten years time, or maybe twenty, I'll be hyperopic.

(5) So much for Singaporeans not being far-sighted, I think I might need to use a magnifying glass to read my Time magazines soon.

Posted by yyknosekai at 8:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

I’m growing up. You don’t realize change until it’s over. It creeps up behind you and takes you unawares. And today I’ve come to the astonishing and discomfiting conclusion that I’ve grown up. Not that I’m exactly more mature. I don’t think I am. But that somehow, in the past few months, I’ve lost the last remnants of my childhood.
Sigh. I really really don’t know how that happened. Those days when I was small and carefree are so distant and hazy. I really can’t possibly imagine myself like that anymore=( And all those precious memories of the past… I think I’ve almost lost them all! You know Bastian from the Neverending Story? (I remember loving that show when I was a kid.. though I don’t remember much about it now…) He loses his memories and in doing so, becomes a new person. Maybe that’s why we lose our memories (just occurred to me..)? Cuz if your memories constitutes who you are, you can’t change and at the same time still be the same person with the same memories…
=( I was actually feeling very poignant/piquant/sentimental (I can’t find the right word), but I don’t think I did a good job in conveying my sense of loss.. haha. Aiyahhh. I don’t wanna grow up. Ok. Maybe I wouldn’t mind being grown up (I don’t know), but I certainly don’t take much pleasure in growing up. Actually, right… I think growing up is more of losing something than gaining something (just occurred to me also). Like the for the mosquitoes (darn you mosquito! Haha), it loses its larval organs and sheds its exoskeleton before as it undergoes metamorphosis, right? Yeah and the tadpole with its tail, etc. But the thing is, when you gain something slowly, when you finally have it, you feel as if it had always been there. But if you lose something slowly and then look back at the times when you had it, you realize your loss. Haha am I being incoherent?
Sigh (good sigh) it’s a lazy Sat afternoon and I like lazy Sat afternoons=) I think I’m pretty random. But since I’m on the topic of memories and stuff, I was in the toilet the other day (in camp), and I smelt my friend cooking noodles in the toilet (don’t ask) and I suddenly thought of those days of holidays with my parents where we would always bring instant noodles along with us and cook them for breakfast cuz we were lazy. Haha. I don’t know.. is it just me who finds smells so evocative? There’s a word for it I think.. Redolent, yes that’s it. Apparently someone must have coined that word cuz he feels the way I do. Haha. One day I think I’ll set up a perfume shop and bottle up memories.
Ok. I think I’m going to lie in bed now and read. Or watch the Nightmare Before Christmas! Haha I finally bought the DVD although it’s not the special edition one (you can’t get it in Singapore)… Tim Burton’s brillant. If you haven’t watched this, go to youtube and search for Tim Burton and watch ‘Vincent’. Haha. Then you’ll agree that he’s brillant. I tried to contact him to persuade him to do a remake of The Neverending Story (haha I just read the book which is so-so but very Tim Burton-ish) but apparently he’s uncontactable. Oh well.Anyway, do you guys want to meet up for Christmas for a dinner or something? When will the overseas ppl be in Singapore? Come back alright? Haha. Ok, ok. I think this has been a very long post (I’m making up for you, Daryl!) and so I should end soon. Well, to all those taking exams all the best! The Best is Yet to Be! Haha.

Posted by Nick at 2:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

Another week has passed and the exams are drawing nearer.... but the good news is.... the holidays are getting nearer too! Wheeeeee! One month of happiness and freedom! Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy it...haha!

And yeah, for those guys in NS who went in in january, its less than a year till ORD! Wheeeeee! For those who went in in april, well uve got a little longer but yeah... 1.3yrs left! Then its freedom for you all too! Until uni starts that is...haha!

And my first driving lesson is this coming tuesday! Wheeee! Hopefully i will be able to drive by early next yr.... Oh and to wei ming, have a safe time in brunei! Hope u enjoy urself (as much as u can)!

Posted by Anonymous at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

Okay once again this comes a little late...but its not my fault! I just go home! So anyway...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LI FENG!

Wanted to use Webdings font but realised no one would understand it...anyway... Its november already! And the exams r drawing near! Can anyone clarify if the CA is worth 10% or 20%? Some ppl say its 10% and others say 20%.... im hoping its 10% though...

Posted by Anonymous at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

Regarding Multiply.

I'm really bored of blogging on my own blog, so I decided to come to this blog instead. So um, I was recently wondering, what exactly is that multiply thingy. I mean, what stuff can u put on it. I know you can upload photos, and videos. But what else can it do? Like, maybe for example, calculus? And stuff? You know, cos it's all mulitply... Guess it can't do the rest of the other major mathematical operators then..

Hmm, how about calendars? Does it have a calendar function, or an address book... or maybe a solar powered flashlight. Nah, don't think it has a flashlight in there. But I always wanted an address book function. That way we can all update scone zone, and find out where Jishan is. So that I can send a postcard to her from the sheares bridge saying "Wish you were here." I always wanted to send a postcard overseas. But to date I still haven't figured out how the overseas mailing system works, the pricing and all.. I've an urge to send a letter, so maybe if someone gets a letter some day soon saying "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" and all.. don't be too surprised. Uh, wait.. I mean, please be surprised.. at least pretend to be... or something.

Anyway back to the multiply thingy. There must be other functions... I know! It can double as tissue! I'm sure it has a tissue function somewhere. I mean.. tissues are multiply, or at least two-ply.. I've seen a few four-ply ones around too. Except those 1-ply ones of course, those don't count. Cheap lousy quality tissue.. pfft. I pfffft in your face. Um, not yours of course, I was talking to the uh.. single ply tissues... Yeah, tissues are good (the multi-ply ones). They're so good, even medfac students study about them! Mmmhmmm Doctors and Tissues go together like.. Hearts and Lungs? Skulls and brains? Subscapularis and Infraspinatus? Probably just like Walls and Lizards, or Locks and Kees Keys.

So yeah, tissues are good, nonsense is bad, Ben Hooi is funny and I am.... out of here.

Posted by Ronwashere at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments