Reading List 130416

Completed:
1. Guns, Germs, And Steel by Jared Diamond.

Reading list from 261215-130416
1. The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond.
2. . Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein (1916) (Paused. Printer broke down, unable to cover remaining sections)

Realism, Honesty and what it shaped me into

I believe that life is about improvement. Consequently, I believe in the values of realism and honesty. I emphasise the value of realism for I believe in representing a situation as it is. Objectively speaking, a complete picture of the situation enables one to assess the circumstances with the most accuracy and take the most appropriate action to approach one’s goal. Furthermore, acknowledging the existence of one’s weaknesses is the first step towards eliminating it. Realism is critical to the betterment of the system. 

Honesty is a facet of moral character that connotes truthfulness and integrity. Realism cannot exist without truthfulness, neither can actions taken for the betterment of society be executed without integrity from those working towards the noble goal. I believe that in a project when my responsibility constitutes an element of a bigger system, the most logical and effective way to play my part in the system is to fulfil my responsibility in that particular element and, first and foremost, to act within my jurisdiction. A right-hand should not function as the brain nor should the brain function as the right-hand. Accomplishing the objectives within one’s domain will best achieve the team objective. It aligns with my belief in improvement when we work for the right cause.  

These values have influenced the way I approach a problem and handle my relationships, defining my individuality as well as the perception that others have of me. I have become trustworthy. As a subordinate, I am an individual whom others can rely on to accomplish the tasks within my area of expertise and responsibility. I am also one for them to turn to for constructive advice or opinion. As a leader I have become an individual whom others can place their faith in the fact that I would consider all elements to a problem before deciding on a conclusion, taking the most appropriate course of action to meet the ultimate objective.    

My actions in accordance to my values have placed me in conflicts with others to become valuable life lessons with an equally important role in defining the person that I am today. I am continuously learning to become more tactful in my manner of speech such that my constructive criticisms can be delivered in an acceptable manner to others. After all, I provide my criticisms with the intention to improve things to the benefit of everyone around me.       

Reading List 261215

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

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. 

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.

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.

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 e^x. 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 e^x 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)