Completed:
1. Jaina Proudmoore: Tides Of War by Christie Golden
2. World Of Warcraft: Rise Of The Horde by Christie Golden
3. Warcraft: The Last Guardian by Jeff Grubb
4. World Of Warcraft: Tides Of Darkness by Aaron S Rosenberg
5. World of Warcraft: War Crimes by Christie Golden
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Osar Wilde
Reading list from 300815-261215
1. Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein (1916) (Paused. Printer broke down, unable to cover remaining sections)
2. Guns, Germs, And Steel by Jared Diamond.
I ought to try to finish everything by the end of the year
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Rurouni Kenshin: The philosophy of Arai Shakku, creator of the Sakabato.
In my opinion, one of the main themes in Rurouni Kenshin revolves around the concept of moral dilemmas: The internal struggle one has to experience in carrying out his actions because of the tremendous influence his actions have on the lives of others (And many times in the chaos of a revolution in its era, tantamount to deciding between the lives and deaths of others). Even despite the eventual success in one's endeavours, a person with a conscience cannot live without the knowledge that his/her actions which had led to his/her success was taken at the cost of others who had opposing ideologies. In this article, I shall elaborate on the moral dilemma faced by the sword creator, Arai Shakku. More about Arai Shakku could be seen in episode 40 of the anime in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPvbPqCby_w
In the manga/anime Arai Shakku was a blacksmith and creator of weapons in the ranks of the Isshin Shishi and in the times of the Bakumatsu, was the mastermind behind the creation of many swords of his time. In his time he had forged many of the most unique, efficient and deadly weapons, earning himself fame and notoriety as their creator. Upon the completion of his last sword at the end of the revolution (which was ironically a reversed blade sword whose potential for murder is largely diminished) he carved upon the following words on the sword:
Each blade I have forged has slain me little by little.
Though my child may despise me,
It was for my grandchild's generation.
These few words have spoken volumes of the tremendous emotional turmoil Arai Shakku had to endure in carrying on his role as a blacksmith as well as his infallible resolve in doing what he believes is best for his people.
Interpretation:
Contrary to the public scrutiny and opinion of Arai Shakku as an eccentric man obsessed with the creation of better weapons of murder, Arai Shakku was a man keenly aware of consequences of his actions. The knowledge of the consequences would hurt him deeply, as if each weapon he forged had killed a part of him little by little.
He forged on despite the negative opinion that the public or even his own son possess with regards to his actions, for he believed that his actions would, in the hands of the revolutionaries, in turn bring about a better era for his people.
Despite drowning amidst the misconceptions of the public opinion, he set his sights on the betterment of his society that would only begin to surface some time into the future, and worked towards that future as he struggled with his conscience.
''Rurouni Kenshin'' or ''Samurai X'' stands as one of the best manga I have ever read. I believe it is a sentiment shared by many, seeing that is an extremely popular manga of its time. Like any masterful piece of literature, there is much to be uncovered and learnt. Rurouni Kenshin deserves to be dissected and scrutinised in many aspects. I shall attempt to uncover the underlying philosophy and hidden beauty of this manga and describe it to the best of my ability.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Reading List 300815
Completed:
1. 50 Quantum Physics Ideas you really need to know by Joanne Baker
2. Computing Machinery and Intelligence by A.M.. Turing (1950)
3. The Origins of Quantum Theory by Cathryn Carson
4. Wang Tiles for Image and Texture Generation by Michael F. Cohen, Jonathan Shade, Stefan Hiller, Oliver Deussen
5. Computing with Tiles by Rahul Gopinath, Yonglei Zheng, Madhura Vadvalkar and Junyuan Lin (2011)
6. Tiling Groups for Wang Tiles by Cristopher Moore, Ivan Rapaport and Eric Remila.
Reading list from 040615-300815
1. Jaina Proudmoore: Tides Of War by Christie Golden
2. World Of Warcraft: Rise Of The Horde by Christie Golden
3. Warcraft: The Last Guardian by Jeff Grubb
4. World Of Warcraft: Tides Of Darkness by Aaron S Rosenberg
5. World of Warcraft: War Crimes by Christie Golden
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Osar Wilde (Paused)
7. Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein (1916) (Paused)
8. Guns, Germs, And Steel by Jared Diamond.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Reading List 040615
It has been over a year since I updated my Blog! Time flies when you're busy in the military. However, having little time to myself made me treasure every little bit of it that is available to me.
I am determined to maintain my touch on academics in my absence from school. Although it's no simple task to achieve (Honestly speaking I think I've forgotten alot of the technical details related to Chemistry, Geography, Biology and Mathematics), I've found myself reading a lot more than I had ever done in my life and I've learnt quite a fair bit in the process, so I believe at least that makes up for it...
At least a little...
Without further ado, my reading list as of 040615! As I'm into research, many of them are research papers.
1. 50 Quantum Physics Ideas you really need to know by Joanne Baker
2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
3. Computing Machinery and Intelligence by A.M.. Turing (1950)
4. The Origins of Quantum Theory by Cathryn Carson
5. Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein (1916)
6. Wang Tiles for Image and Texture Generation by Michael F. Cohen, Jonathan Shade, Stefan Hiller, Oliver Deussen
7. Computing with Tiles by Rahul Gopinath, Yonglei Zheng, Madhura Vadvalkar and Junyuan Lin (2011)
8. Tiling Groups for Wang Tiles by Cristopher Moore, Ivan Rapaport and Eric Remila.
I am determined to maintain my touch on academics in my absence from school. Although it's no simple task to achieve (Honestly speaking I think I've forgotten alot of the technical details related to Chemistry, Geography, Biology and Mathematics), I've found myself reading a lot more than I had ever done in my life and I've learnt quite a fair bit in the process, so I believe at least that makes up for it...
At least a little...
Without further ado, my reading list as of 040615! As I'm into research, many of them are research papers.
1. 50 Quantum Physics Ideas you really need to know by Joanne Baker
2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
3. Computing Machinery and Intelligence by A.M.. Turing (1950)
4. The Origins of Quantum Theory by Cathryn Carson
5. Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein (1916)
6. Wang Tiles for Image and Texture Generation by Michael F. Cohen, Jonathan Shade, Stefan Hiller, Oliver Deussen
7. Computing with Tiles by Rahul Gopinath, Yonglei Zheng, Madhura Vadvalkar and Junyuan Lin (2011)
8. Tiling Groups for Wang Tiles by Cristopher Moore, Ivan Rapaport and Eric Remila.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Euler's Identity- Algebraic Proof
e^iπ + 1 = 0
Euler's Identity as seen above is often described as the most beautiful equation in the world, where the most fundamental constants of mathematics come together to produce a simple equation.
The term e refers to the base of the natural logarithm, ln, of value 2.71828....
π, 3.14159… is the ratio of the circumference of the circle to its diameter.
The term i refers to the imaginary number of the square root of -1.
The proof for the equation is easily presented through the use of an argand diagram http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_plane
The algebraic proof of the equation can also be achieved fairly easily with some prior knowledge on complex numbers, differentiation, Maclaurin's series and a little bit of algebraic manipulation.
Firstly, obtain the Maclaurin's series for ex. A Maclaurin's series is an expression of a function as a power series. It can be obtained by substituting the variable 'x' of each term of the function with 0, with the first term of the function as the function itself, and each subsequent term as a differentiated form of the previous term.
The Maclaurin's series for sinx and cosx should then be obtained. (Obtaining the first few terms for each series should suffice.)
Next, replace the 'x' term of the ex series with 'ix' and we will soon realise that the real part of the solution corresponds to the Maclaurin's series for cosx while the imaginary part of the solution corresponds to that of sinx. Thus, replace the series for the real and imaginary parts with cosx and sinx respectively.
Thereafter, we would obtain the equation e^ix = cosx + isinx
e^ix = cosx + isinx
By replacing x with π, we will obtain e^iπ = -1. Hence e^iπ+1=0
Sources:
Proof: The pleasures of Pi,e and other interesting numbers (By Yeo Adrian)
Photos are obtained from:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler's_identity (Equations)
2. http://www.seab.gov.sg/aLevel/2014Syllabus/ListMF15.pdf (Standard series)
 |
Euler's Identity as seen above is often described as the most beautiful equation in the world, where the most fundamental constants of mathematics come together to produce a simple equation.
The term e refers to the base of the natural logarithm, ln, of value 2.71828....
π, 3.14159… is the ratio of the circumference of the circle to its diameter.
The term i refers to the imaginary number of the square root of -1.
The proof for the equation is easily presented through the use of an argand diagram http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_plane
The algebraic proof of the equation can also be achieved fairly easily with some prior knowledge on complex numbers, differentiation, Maclaurin's series and a little bit of algebraic manipulation.
Firstly, obtain the Maclaurin's series for ex. A Maclaurin's series is an expression of a function as a power series. It can be obtained by substituting the variable 'x' of each term of the function with 0, with the first term of the function as the function itself, and each subsequent term as a differentiated form of the previous term.
The Maclaurin's series for sinx and cosx should then be obtained. (Obtaining the first few terms for each series should suffice.)
 |
| List of several Maclaurin's expansion for various common functions. |
Next, replace the 'x' term of the ex series with 'ix' and we will soon realise that the real part of the solution corresponds to the Maclaurin's series for cosx while the imaginary part of the solution corresponds to that of sinx. Thus, replace the series for the real and imaginary parts with cosx and sinx respectively.
Thereafter, we would obtain the equation e^ix = cosx + isinx
e^ix = cosx + isinx
By replacing x with π, we will obtain e^iπ = -1. Hence e^iπ+1=0
Sources:
Proof: The pleasures of Pi,e and other interesting numbers (By Yeo Adrian)
Photos are obtained from:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler's_identity (Equations)
2. http://www.seab.gov.sg/aLevel/2014Syllabus/ListMF15.pdf (Standard series)
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Woes (Part 2)
A little personal experience and views about things.
Singapore is not simply a competitive society. Such an assumption would only be made by mollycoddled individuals oblivious to the fact that it is human nature to be competitive. The strides taken in the path of economic development among our Asian counterparts were not a result of sloth but their ferocity in driving towards better economic conditions. It is safe to assume such spirit seen in a country would have manifested itself into the society and hearts of many individuals. (Or vice versa) The Western world had not been idle either. Perhaps a better way to describe my society would be one which is competitive yet fearful of failure and afraid of trying alternative approaches towards success.
Moving on to the topic of a society who is competitive while sensitive to failure, too often have I seen parents who enforces unnecessarily strict schedules on their children for their education. This is in fact the most deeply entrenched within the memories of my schooling years in my primary school. I could remember the frustrations expressed by the parents as they did their usual 'interrogation' on some of the kids following the release of the examination results only to find out their own children were not performing as well as the others. I have had many childhood friends who were deprived of a chance to play in the park simply for an extra hour or two of revision. However, although I do believe in nurturing other aspects of an individual (Which I would probably talk about someday because it's frustrating to see machines being produced in school), I have no qualms with taking education a little more seriously.
However, often my frustrations lie on the fact that my parents care too little with regards to my education. In my childhood days, while others had parents urging their children on to achieve in their examinations to enter top notch schools in the city despite their poor performance in the examinations, I was simply encouraged to enter the better of the ''neighbourhood schools'' within the region despite being in the top class in the school.
Irony at it's finest.
Not to mention, it frustrates me to no end that as my A levels approaches they have no clue with regards to my education: Not a single clue of my exam dates or the days which I have to attend classes. They could've at least known when my June holidays had started.
I apologise for this unnecessary post and the irrelevant content before expressing what I wish to say. Nevertheless, this is not an essay which we have to cut to the chase.
Nowadays I often find myself ranting about life more than I am writing about interesting facts of our world, the latter of which I personally enjoy doing so. However to live our insignificant lives as a useful human being is indeed an endeavour that contains just as much complexities as the world around us and is on its own a fulfilling topic to discuss. I will rant to allow myself some reprieve from my frustrations. However, I will also do so so that I am able to look back some day and perhaps find answers for my frustrations.
Singapore is not simply a competitive society. Such an assumption would only be made by mollycoddled individuals oblivious to the fact that it is human nature to be competitive. The strides taken in the path of economic development among our Asian counterparts were not a result of sloth but their ferocity in driving towards better economic conditions. It is safe to assume such spirit seen in a country would have manifested itself into the society and hearts of many individuals. (Or vice versa) The Western world had not been idle either. Perhaps a better way to describe my society would be one which is competitive yet fearful of failure and afraid of trying alternative approaches towards success.
Moving on to the topic of a society who is competitive while sensitive to failure, too often have I seen parents who enforces unnecessarily strict schedules on their children for their education. This is in fact the most deeply entrenched within the memories of my schooling years in my primary school. I could remember the frustrations expressed by the parents as they did their usual 'interrogation' on some of the kids following the release of the examination results only to find out their own children were not performing as well as the others. I have had many childhood friends who were deprived of a chance to play in the park simply for an extra hour or two of revision. However, although I do believe in nurturing other aspects of an individual (Which I would probably talk about someday because it's frustrating to see machines being produced in school), I have no qualms with taking education a little more seriously.
However, often my frustrations lie on the fact that my parents care too little with regards to my education. In my childhood days, while others had parents urging their children on to achieve in their examinations to enter top notch schools in the city despite their poor performance in the examinations, I was simply encouraged to enter the better of the ''neighbourhood schools'' within the region despite being in the top class in the school.
Irony at it's finest.
Not to mention, it frustrates me to no end that as my A levels approaches they have no clue with regards to my education: Not a single clue of my exam dates or the days which I have to attend classes. They could've at least known when my June holidays had started.
I apologise for this unnecessary post and the irrelevant content before expressing what I wish to say. Nevertheless, this is not an essay which we have to cut to the chase.
Nowadays I often find myself ranting about life more than I am writing about interesting facts of our world, the latter of which I personally enjoy doing so. However to live our insignificant lives as a useful human being is indeed an endeavour that contains just as much complexities as the world around us and is on its own a fulfilling topic to discuss. I will rant to allow myself some reprieve from my frustrations. However, I will also do so so that I am able to look back some day and perhaps find answers for my frustrations.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Assembling the puzzle of life (Part 1?)
There are so many ways to live a life. In this post, I would like to share a part of my revelations with regards to life. The points are numbered 1, 1.1 and 1.2 since I believe that the second and third point are simply derived from the first.
1. There are too many factors which contribute to a single outcome, many of which are beyond our control. Trying our best for something might not guarantee the expect outcome, (although we can actively increase our chances in achieving our goals). Therefore, do not despair in the face of defeat, accept the fact that we do not have the ability to control everything in life.
1.1) Since unexpected outcomes do happen in life, there is little need to gloat over achieving better than another individual. Obtaining better results than your rival in a single examination or project is certainly not a direct result of superior skills.
1.2) While unable to control every factor that would lead to success, we have the ability to control as many as possible to increase our probability of success which we should actively do so. While Heisenberg's uncertainty principle suggests that any measurement involves some degree of uncertainty, that never hinders scientists from obtain the most accurate results as possible in any experiments.
A brief summary of the points would simply be 'Do not be afraid of setbacks, try your best and be humble'. There are so many ways to live a life. I'm glad I've figured three of them out, not because I think they're the right way of doing things, but simply because it's my way of doings things.
1. There are too many factors which contribute to a single outcome, many of which are beyond our control. Trying our best for something might not guarantee the expect outcome, (although we can actively increase our chances in achieving our goals). Therefore, do not despair in the face of defeat, accept the fact that we do not have the ability to control everything in life.
1.1) Since unexpected outcomes do happen in life, there is little need to gloat over achieving better than another individual. Obtaining better results than your rival in a single examination or project is certainly not a direct result of superior skills.
1.2) While unable to control every factor that would lead to success, we have the ability to control as many as possible to increase our probability of success which we should actively do so. While Heisenberg's uncertainty principle suggests that any measurement involves some degree of uncertainty, that never hinders scientists from obtain the most accurate results as possible in any experiments.
A brief summary of the points would simply be 'Do not be afraid of setbacks, try your best and be humble'. There are so many ways to live a life. I'm glad I've figured three of them out, not because I think they're the right way of doing things, but simply because it's my way of doings things.
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