Jit Sharma – Page 8

Has Man lost sight of the purpose of Science?

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The study of Science in its disparate realms has indisputably percolated the history of Man. Science but its purpose has been forgotten. It is a sustained effort to ascertain and foster human knowledge and intellectual capacity through disciplined research as means to improve the human condition by forging a superior quality of life for more individuals. This mindset remains rampant these days since scientists globally press on with developments and findings to existing ubiquitous challenges including climate change and poverty. However, it is facile to be cognizant of why some folks may remonstrate that Man has steadily overlooked the intrinsic worth of Science. Instead, critics suggest the humankind has transgressed perimeters, exploiting Science to a degree where its significance is corrupted. This essay aims to communicate that Man has not been inordinately myopic. After all, the intention of Science has propagated till today. Science has also heralded in a 21st century which is radically superior relative to the prior eras, with sanguinity and the makings for substantial advancement.

Civilizations’ annals may appear to endorse Man’s appalling background of our application, or more accurately, the abuse of Science. For instance, the breakthrough in analyses of nuclear energy pledged plummeting dependence on gradually depleting fossil fuels and natural gases. On contrary, it precipitated the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki of which its implications of the calamities on the Japanese society still spawn vulnerability in this day and age. The misuse of nuclear energy ushered in a time period of reciprocally assured ruination during the Cold War years as well as predominantly during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Thus, cynics asserted that the human race has lost sight of the rationale of Science long ago. They contend that the purpose of Science was acutely exploited and wielded by those in clout for detrimental ends and egocentric pursuits as a substitute to its premeditated function in ameliorating quality of life.

In spite of an element of legitimacy in the detractors’ claims, they are but superficial and cursory evaluation. Beneath the exterior, there are plenty of world leaders and commoners alike who have stepped to the fore in rally critical of abuse of Science. This incited nuclear arms talks to preclude any additional demises from nuclear assaults between states. The signing of the primary internationally negotiated nuclear arms summit, the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, was ascribed to worldwide pressure and communities such as SANE. Therefore, whenever Science’s bona fide relevance seems to be undermined formerly, Man has arbitrated to suspend its misuse and circumvent further manipulation.

Moreover, a number of individuals may point to the example of South Korean scientist Hwang Woo Suk, vilified for his sham allegations that he had determined an innovation in stem cell examination. Instead of employing Science to factually develop and expand accessible details on the function of stem cells, Hwang belied information thereby contravening the exact tenet all scientists adhere to which is every hypothesis structured has to be validated by perceptible and tangible support.

Regrettably to express, several scientists increasingly pervert results, arguing that “trivial” margin of error will not yield disparities. Hence, Man has lost track of the objective purpose of Science in the rat race to emerge as pioneer, blinded to the system and regulations which lend scientific findings its cogency and ascendancy.

Science has been drawn upon for ethical and benign incentives, realizing its inherent merit and capacity. The case in point, Science in agriculture has considerably progressed in recent decades with the Green Revolution and new school practices of husbandry to meet the demands of the planet’s burgeoning population. The upsurge of automated farming by means of Science to discern precisely the pertinent environment sought for maximum crop growth has observed a contemporaneous rise in agrarian output in states as heterogeneous as Germany, Australia in addition to Africa. Therefore, Science has been channelled to increase the quality of life for Man in Third World and developed states similarly. The figure of campaigns against international food shortage and pro alleviating famine unmistakably attest we have not turned a blind eye to the indigent in industrializing states amidst growth.

Although Science has been manipulated and exploited by Man to serve cataclysmic mainspring sporadically, it remains a phenomenal reservoir of information for humanity. Man has harnessed Science to better understand the Earth as well as to improve our quality of life to an unparalleled height which was solely a vision of our forefathers. The movement for advancement and progress by means of Science is expected to continue unflaggingly in the foreseeable prospects thus Man is not sightless of the purpose of Science.

Scripture is sacred

Scripture is a sacred religious text. It usually refers to the Christian Bible, but it can refer to other religions’ texts as well. Here is a short list of other scriptures that you should know about.

Analects One of the “Four Books” used by the ancient Chinese for civil service study, it contains the sayings of Confucius. The philosopher Confucius did not write the scripture that make up the Analects; his disciples compiled them in the 5th or 4th century BC. Confucianism is more of a philosophical system than a religion, and Confucius thought of himself more as a teacher than as a spiritual leader. The Analects also contain some of the basic ideas found in Confucianism, such as benevolence and proper conduct.
Apocrypha Protestants and Jews assign lower authority to the Apocrypha because the scripture was written between 300 and 100 BC. But Catholics and Orthodox Christians consider the books that make up the Apocrypha to be “deuterocanonical,” meaning that they are just as important and divinely-inspired as other parts of the Old Testament. “Apocryphal” in general means “something outside an accepted canon,” and, in particular, in ancient Greek it meant “hidden things.” Scholars differ as to which books make up the Apocrypha, but Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus), and Baruch are almost always included.
Avesta (or Zend-Avesta) Sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism. It consists of five parts: Gathas (poems written by Zoroaster), Visparat (homages to spiritual leaders), Vendidad (legal and medical doctrine), Yashts (hymns to angels and heroes), and Khurda (lesser rituals and hymns). The Gathas may be as old as the 7th century BC, when Zoroaster is thought to have lived, but most of the Avesta was put together by the Sassanid Persian dynasty, between 200 and 640. Zoroastrianism centers on the eternal struggle between a good entity (Ahura Mazda, or Ormuzd) and its evil counterpart (Angra Mainyu, or Ahriman); the religion is still practiced by about 120,000 Parsees in Bombay and a few thousand adherents in Iran and Iraq.
Bhagavad-Gita Sanskrit for “The Song of God,” it is a poem found in Book Six of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Likely formalized in the 1st or 2nd century, the Bhagavad-Gita begins on the eve of a battle, when the prince Arjuna asks his charioteer Krishna about responsibility in dealing with the suffering that impending battle will cause. Krishna tells Arjuna that humans possess a divine self within a material form, and that Arjuna’s duty is to love God and do what is right without thinking of personal gain are some of the main tenets of Hinduism.
Dao de Jing (or Tao Te Ching or The Way and Its Power) The philosophical scripture behind Daoism, a religion-philosophy founded by the semi-legendary Laozi in the sixth century BC, though scholars now believe it was written about 200 years later, during the Warring States period of the late Zhou Dynasty. The Dao de Jing instructs adherents in restraint and passiveness, allowing the natural order of the universe to take precedent.
Hadith A hadith is a report of the words or actions of a Muslim religious figure, most frequently the Prophet Muhammad. Each consists of a matn, or text of the original oral law itself, as well as an isnad, or chain of authorities through which it has been passed by word of mouth through the generations. Collectively, the hadith point Muslims toward the Sunna, or practice of the Prophet, which together with the Qur’an forms the basis for shari’a , usually translated as Islamic law.
Book of Mormon Published in 1830 by the founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith. Mormons believe that the prophet Moroni revealed the location of the Book of Mormon to Smith, and then Smith translated it from a “reformed Egyptian” language. The Book of Mormon is inscribed on thin gold plates, and documents the history of a group of Hebrews who migrated to America around 600 BC. This group divided into two tribes: the Lamanites (ancestors of American Indians), and the highly civilized Nephites, a chosen people instructed by Jesus but killed by the Lamanites around 421.
Qur’an (or Koran) Arabic for “recitation,” it is the most sacred scripture of Islam. The Qur’an is subdivided into 114 chapters, called suras, which, with the exception of the first one, are arranged in descending order of length. According to Muslim belief, the angel Jibril [Gabriel] visited the prophet Muhammad in 610 and revealed the work to him. Various suras discuss absolute submission to Allah [God], happiness in Heaven versus torture in Hell, and the mercy, compassion, and justice of Allah. The third caliph, Uthman (644-656), formalized the text after many of his oral reciters were killed in battle.
Talmud Hebrew for “instruction,” the Talmud is a codification of Jewish oral and written law, based on the Torah. It consists of the Mishnah (the laws themselves), and the Gemara (scholarly commentary on the Mishnah). The Gemara developed in two Judaic centers: Palestine and Babylonia, so there are two Talmuds (Palestinian and Babylonian), the latter considered more authoritative by Orthodox Jews. Rabbis and lay scholars finished the Babylonian Talmud around 600.
Upanishads Also called Vedanta, or “last part of the Vedas,” the Upanishads were written in Sanskrit between 900 and 500 BC. Part poetry but mainly prose, the earlier Upanishads laid the foundation for the development of several key Hindu ideas, such as connecting the individual soul (atman) with the universal soul (Brahman). Spiritual release, or moksha, could be achieved through meditation and asceticism. The name “Upanishads” means “to sit down close,” as pupils did when a teacher recited them.
Vedas Consist strictly of four hymnbooks: the Rig (prayers in verse), Sama (musical melodies), Yajur (prose prayers), and Atharva (spells and incantations). Each Veda, though, also contains a Brahmana (interpretation), and the Vedas also incorporate treatises on meditation (Aranyakas) as well as the Upanishads. Written in an archaic form of Sanskrit by early Aryan invaders, possibly between 1500 and 1200 BC, the Vedas concentrate on sacrifices to deities, such as Indra (god of thunder), Varuna (cosmic order), and Agni (fire). The major gods Vishnu and Shiva appear as minor deities in the Vedas; their elevation, as well as the concept of karma, does not develop until the Upanishads.
Yijing (or I Ching or Book of Changes) The basis for ancient Chinese philosophy and religion, the Yijing was created between 1500 and 1000 BC, though legend has it that the dragon-emperor Fuxi derived its eight trigrams from a turtle shell. The trigrams consist of three either broken (yin) or unbroken (yang) lines, and by reading pairs of these trigrams randomly, one could learn about humans, the universe, and the meaning of life. Qin emperor Shi Huangdi burned most scholarly books, but the Yijing escaped because it was not seen as threatening.

Sculpture and sculptors

A sculpture is a testament to power of leaders. From the terracotta warriors in China to the marble sculptures in Europe, sculptures tell deep a story.

Michelangelo (1475 – 1564) A Florentine “Renaissance man” also known for architecture (the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica), painting (The Last Judgment and the Sistine Chapel ceiling), poetry, and military engineering. His sculpture masterpieces include David, a Pietà, Bacchus, and a number of pieces for the tomb of Pope Julius II (including Dying Slave and Moses). He preferred to work in Carraran marble.
Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917) A French sculptor known for stormy relationships with “the establishment” of the École des Beaux-Arts and his mistress, fellow artist Camille Claudel. His works include The Age of Bronze, Honoré de Balzac, The Burghers of Calais, and a massive pair of doors for the Museum of Decorative Arts (the Gates of Hell) inspired by Dante’s Inferno. His most famous sculpture is The Thinker.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 – 1680) A Roman who defined the Baroque movement in sculpture. Bernini is principally known for his freestanding works including David and The Ecstasy of St. Theresa. Bernini’s David differs from that of Michelangelo in that the hero is shown “in motion,” having twisted his body to sling the rock. Bernini is also known for his massive fountains in Rome including the Triton and the Fountain of the Four Rivers.
Donatello (1386 – 1466) A Florentine sculptor who helped define Renaissance sculpture as distinct from that of the Gothic period. He is known for St. Mark and St. George in the Or San Michele [OR SAHN mee-KAY-lay] (a Florentine church), the bald Zuccone (which means “pumpkin-head,” though it depicts the prophet Habbakuk), and the first equestrian statue to be cast since Roman times, the Gattamelata in Padua. He is also known for mastering the low relief form of schiacciato.
Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378 – 1455) A Florentine sculptor and goldsmith who taught both Donatello and Filippo Brunelleschi. He is best known for two pairs of bronze doors on the Florence Baptistery (associated with the Duomo, or Florentine Cathedral). He produced a single, low-relief panel to win a 1401 competition (defeating Brunelleschi) for the commission to design the 28 panels for the north doors. After that, he was given another commission to design ten panels for the east doors. This latter work, by far his most famous, was dubbed the “Gates of Paradise” by Michelangelo.
Gutzon Borglum (1867 – 1941) An American known for crafting Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He is also known for The Mares of Diomedes and an unfinished (and later replaced) tribute to Confederate heroes on Stone Mountain in Georgia.
Phidias (c. 480 BC – c. 430 BC) An Athenian considered the greatest of all Classical sculptors. He created the chryselephantine (gold and ivory) Statue of Zeus at Olympia (one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, now lost) and the statue of Athena in the Parthenon (now lost). He was supported by money from the Delian League (that is, the Athenian Empire) run by his friend Pericles; he was later ruined by charges of corruption generally considered to be part of a political campaign against Pericles.
Constantin Brancusi (1876 – 1957) A Romanian sculptor who was a major figure in Modernism. He is best known for The Kiss (not to be confused with the Rodin work or the Klimt painting), Sleeping Muse, and Bird in Space. He’s also the center of anecdote in which U.S. customs taxed his works as “industrial products” since they refused to recognize them as art.
Daniel Chester French (1850 – 1931) An American who created The Minute Man for Concord, Massachusetts and Standing Lincoln for the Nebraska state capitol, but who is best known for the seated statue in the Lincoln Memorial.
Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904) A French sculptor primarily known as the creator of Liberty Enlightening the World, better known as the Statue of Liberty. He also executed The Lion of Belfort and a statue of the Marquis de Lafayette in New York’s Union Square.

Math and its Founders

Math is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is certainly an important part of life. Did you know that it was an Indian mathematician that gave the world the concept of Zero?

The work of Isaac Newton (1643-1727, English) in pure math includes generalizing the binomial theorem to non-integer exponents, doing the first rigorous manipulation with power series, and creating “Newton’s method” for the finding roots. He is best known, however, for a lengthy feud between British and Continental mathematicians over whether he or Gottfried Leibniz invented calculus (whose differential aspect Newton called “the method of fluxions”). It is now generally accepted that they both did, independently.
Euclid (c. 300 BC, Alexandrian Greek) is principally known for the Elements, a textbook on geometry and number theory, that was used for over 2,000 years and which grounds essentially all of what is taught in modern high school geometry classes. Euclid is known for his five postulates that define Euclidean (i.e., “normal”) space, especially the fifth (the “parallel postulate”) which can be broken to create spherical and hyperbolic geometries. He also proved the infinitude of prime numbers.
Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855, German) is considered the “Prince of Mathematicians” for his extraordinary contributions to every major branch of math. His Disquisitiones Arithmeticae systematized number theory and stated the fundamental theorem of arithmetic. He also proved the fundamental theorem of algebra, the law of quadratic reciprocity, and the prime number theorem. Gauss may be most famous for the (possibly apocryphal) story of intuiting the formula for the summation of an arithmetic series when given the busywork task of adding the first 100 positive integers by his primary school teacher.
Archimedes (287-212 BC, Syracusan Greek) is best known for his “Eureka moment” of using density considerations to determine the purity of a gold crown; nonetheless, he was the preeminent mathematician of ancient Greece. He found the ratios between the surface areas and volumes of a sphere and a circumscribed cylinder, accurately estimated pi, and presaged the summation of infinite series with his “method of exhaustion.”
Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716, German) is known for his independent invention of calculus and the ensuing priority dispute with Isaac Newton. Most modern calculus notation, including the integral sign and the use of d to indicate a differential, originated with Leibniz. He also invented binary numbers and did fundamental work in establishing boolean algebra and symbolic logic.
Pierre de Fermat (1601-1665, French) is remembered for his contributions to number theory including his “little theorem” that ap will be divisible by p if p is prime. He also studied Fermat primes (those of the form 22n+1) and stated his “Last Theorem” that xn + yn = zn has no solutions if x, y, and z are positive integers and n is a positive integer greater than 2. He and Blaise Pascal founded probability theory. In addition, he discovered methods for finding the maxima and minima of functions and the areas under polynomials that anticipated calculus and inspired Isaac Newton.
Leonhard Euler (1707-1783, Swiss) is known for his prolific output and the fact that he continued to produce seminal results even after going blind. He invented graph theory with the Seven Bridges of Königsberg problem and introduced the modern notation for e, the square root of -1 (i), and trigonometric functions. Richard Feynman called his proof that eiπ = -1 the most beautiful equation in math because it linked four of math’s most important constants.
Kurt Gödel (1906-1978, Austrian) was a logician best known for his two incompleteness theorems proving that every formal system that was powerful enough to express ordinary arithmetic must necessarily contain statements that were true, but which could not be proved within the system itself.
Andrew Wiles (1953-present, British) is best known for proving the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture that all rational semi-stable elliptic curves are modular. This would normally be too abstruse to occur frequently in quiz bowl, but a corollary of that result established Fermat’s Last Theorem.
William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865, Irish) is known for extending the notion of complex numbers to four dimensions by inventing the quaternions, a non-commutative field with six square roots of -1: ±i, ±j, and ±k with the property that ij = k, jk = i, and ki = j.

Desert Potential

A desert is not something remembered. It is in-fact avoided. But they hold great amounts of minerals and oils. Deserts have been a big part of history and even war.

Antarctica (5.4 million sq. mi.) Because it is covered with (solid) water, it is somewhat surprising that Antarctica is considered a desert, but it is classified as such due to its lack of precipitation.
Sahara (Northern Africa; 3.5 million sq. mi.) The Sahara is the world’s second largest desert, but its the hottest. The Atlas Mountains (which bound the western Sahara on the north) and the Sahel, a savannah-like strip, borders it on the south. It is dominated by rocky regions (hamada), sand seas (ergs), and salt flats (shatt) and dry river valleys (wadi) that are subject to flash floods. Its most asked-about inhabitants are the Berbers and Tuaregs.
Atacama (Chile; 70,000 sq. mi.) The Atacama’s chief claim to fame is the rain shadow of the Andes which makes it the driest (hot) desert in the world. Its area was the primary bone of contention in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883, Chile defeats Peru and Bolivia) that sought to control its nitrate resources (which were necessary for the production of explosives).
Kalahari (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa; 360,000 sq. mi.) The Kalahari is a large region, not all of which is arid enough to qualify as a desert. It is known for its red sand, large game reserves (meerkats, gemsbok, springbok, steenbok), and mineral deposits (notably uranium). Most famous are its San Bushmen and their click language.
Mojave (U.S.; 25,000 sq. mi.) The Mojave is bounded by the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountain ranges along the San Andreas and Garlock Faults. It lies between the Great Basin and the Sonoran plains and it contains the lowest and driest point of North America, Death Valley. It is most strongly associated with the Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia).
Gobi (China and Mongolia; 500,000 sq. mi.) The Gobi, Asia’s second largest desert (after the Arabian Desert), is bounded on the north by the Altai Mountains. It is known for its role in the Silk Road trading route and the Nemegt Basin, where fossilized dinosaur eggs and human artifacts have been found.
Rub’ al-Khali (Arabian Peninsula; 250,000 sq. mi.) Its name means “Empty Quarter” in English and is considered the most inhospitable place on earth. It is known for the world’s largest oil field, the Ghawar, and for once being part of the frankincense trade.
Namib (Namibia and Angola; 30,000 sq. mi.) The Namib, a coastal desert, is known for its bizarre Welwitschia and medicinal Hoodia plants. It is thought to be the oldest desert in the world.
Painted Desert (Northern Arizona) shared by Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest National Parks, is known for its colorful, banded rock formations.
Negev Desert (Israel; 4,700 sq. mi.) The triangular Negev covers the southern half of Israel.
Taklamakan Desert (China; 105,000 sq. mi.) The Taklamakan is an extremely cold, sandy desert known for splitting the Silk Road into branches running north and south of it. It is bounded by the Kunlun, Pamir, and Tian Shan mountain ranges.
Great Sandy Desert (Western Australia; 140,000 sq. mi.) Part of the Western Desert, and the ninth largest in the world.

Can you identify what may be missing from the list above?

Young people today never had it so good. Is this true of Singapore?

There is a widely held view that Singapore’s youth has grown up in sheltered, comfortable environments and enjoy high standards of living – a far cry from the struggles and hardship that the older generations had to overcome.

The young never had it so good. There is a widely held view that Singapore’s youth has grown up in sheltered, comfortable environments and enjoy high standards of living – a far cry from the struggles and hardship that the older generations had to overcome. While this view is not an unreasonable one, we must also consider the fact that youths today face challenges in a world that is becoming increasingly uncertain. The prevailing set of challenges in the political, economic and social domains may be radically different from those in the past, but they are no less daunting and pernicious. It would be superfluous to agree that young people in Singapore lead easier lives than ever before.

Proponents of the view that young people have never had it so good until today point to the abundant education opportunities made available to youths today. It is undoubtedly true that compared to past generations, youth enjoy far greater access to learning in today’s day and age. In Singapore’s context, the government has gradually introduced a greater number of education bursaries and scholarships offered to students from less-privileged backgrounds to ensure that the education system remains a meritocratic one that rewards those who work hard, while not denying access to those who may not afford education. This is a vast improvement from the past where it was not uncommon for young people to skip school because of the need to stay at home to look after their siblings or to work in order to contribute to the monthly household income. In recent years, the government has created diverse education routes and pathways. The musically or artistically inclined can now choose to pursue their secondary education in the School of the Arts (SOTA), while budding athletes can opt to enrol in the Singapore Sports School. In this sense, today’s education landscape in Singapore has made life for young people much more accessible and empowering. If strictly measured by this yardstick, then we can say that young people never had it so good.

Apart from better education opportunities, young people in Singapore today enjoy higher standards of living compared to the generations that came before them. Rapid urbanisation and modernisation in the last few decades have witnessed attap-roof houses and family farms being replaced with high-rise flats, high-technology buildings and manicured streets lined with trees that are regularly pruned to prevent overgrowth. While communal public toilets, non-air-conditioned buses and potholes on muddy roads form a bulk of the memories of many older generations in Singapore, many Singaporean youth today cannot imagine sleeping without air-conditioning or deprived of the many creature comforts they have now. Many, as such, view the young people today as a mollycoddled bunch who are unable to survive physical hardship and discomfort. In addition to increased standards of living, the increase in spending on luxury and branded items amongst the young in Singapore today lead many to regard this as evidence that youth today have a much easier life as compared to before.

However, when one takes into account the circumstances and the new set of challenges that our young people have to face, the perspective that young people never had it so good before appears one-dimensional. In the economic sphere, the vicissitudes of what has been termed the ‘roller-coaster global economy’ has led to much fear and anxiety over jobs, inflation and economic uncertainty. The oldest millennials born in 1981 would have entered the workforce at a time when the global economy was suffering from an unprecedented collapse of the financial sector, and research by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis go as far as to suggest that these millennials might be unable to accumulate sufficient wealth for retirement. Younger millennials born in the 1990s and 2000s have to contend with economic uncertainties like the US-China trade war, the implications of climate change on supply chains, and rapid unprecedented rates of technological disruption to traditional industries. This is a vast contrast to the situation in Singapore’s early days of economic development in the 1960s and 1970s which saw the creation of large numbers of jobs in the rapidly growing manufacturing industry, and strong and sustained economic growth rates. Young people in Singapore today thus face greater pressure to remain competitive and employable, contrary to the perception that they lead smooth-sailing lives with their whole lives charted out for them. From an economic perspective, young people today never had it so good.

Additionally, while young people today are generally more educated than past generations, the overall increase in education standards means that there are greater expectations to do well academically and it is even more difficult for one to stand out amongst a sea of university students, especially when 4 in 10 Singaporean youth will eventually be degree holders. Moreover, the influx of foreign talents in recent years has raised the bar for many graduates, making it more competitive in getting jobs. As a result, young people, despite being given more education opportunities, now face greater difficulty in getting their desired jobs, and often have to make do with jobs that do not match their qualifications or aspirations. A recent research study conducted by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute suggest a pernicious, worrying underbelly of underemployed millennial graduates, some of whom are earning less than $2,000 a month from their full-time jobs despite their education qualifications. This suggests that young people in Singapore may not necessarily be better off compared to past generations when we take into consideration the increasingly competitive and uncertain job landscape in which they have to survive and thrive in today.

In our world which is increasingly fraught with fear, insecurity and uncertainty, the young are living in a Singapore that is beset with novel challenges that previous generations did not have to grapple with. As the famous historian R G Collingwood once said, “every new generation must rewrite history in its own way”. In this light, when assessing this or any generation, both the positive and the challenging aspects must be taken into account. Therefore, notwithstanding the better education or job opportunities available to this generation, it would be inaccurate to say that the young in Singapore never had it good if we understand also the myriad issues surrounding today’s generation.

Historical figures that have caused the most harm are the most influential. How far do you agree?

The undeniable truth is that the most influential individuals in history are those who have done the most good, and not the most harm. Historical figures like Mandela, Che Guevera and Einstein have imparted ideas and values that still continue to inspire people. Their influence cannot be measured against vile and vicious leaders.

Historical figures are those people who have left a significant mark on people and have influenced society or the world in one way or another. Many historical figures are remembered because of their heroic deeds and their name is taken with love and respect. While others are known for their atrocities and tyranny and sheer thought of these people brings feelings of disgust and anger. It would be myopic to say that historical figures that have caused the most harm are most influential. Those that have worked tirelessly to make a difference in this world are far more many than the few that have caused the most harm.

People who are of the view that we remember historical figures of the harm they cause, may often cite examples of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. These people plundered and caused destruction of life and land. So cruel were their actions that millions of people faced atrocities like genocide, ethnic cleansing, slavery, and arbitrary homicide. Their actions are still remembered by many people today and their name is spoken with utter disdain but it would be difficult to accept that they left a lasting influence of their ethos and pathos.

However, there are people in history who have done great deeds and have left a legacy. Though people may feel sad and grieve about people who have lost lives during the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein or Muamar Ghaddhafi, people cannot forget the historical heroes who worked for the greater good of the society and left a legacy for people which is still followed. The teachings of Mahatma Gandhi of truth and non-violence resonate with people even today. Similarly, the teachings of The Dalai Lama about patience, tolerance and forgiveness has immense influence on people. Thus, it can be said that historical figures that have done good leave a better and lasting influence on people than historical figures who have harmed the humanity.

Many historical figures like artists, philosophers and scientists have provided insights into the workings of the world. There are also those who have invented and discovered things that have impacted humans in great ways. For example, writers like Gabriel García Márquez has influenced writers and readers across the world. His influential works like One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera has inspired modern writers like Salman Rushdie to adopt Marquez’s style of writing and has used it in many of his novels. Words of William Shakespeare too hold significant power today. No English literature class is complete without studying his works. Art of Frida Kahlo, portrayed the struggle for self-determination in the lives of women still connects with many women and men today. Thus, people who have influenced society in a positive way by portraying their society in real form and trying to bring change have had a greater influence than people who have harmed the humanity.

There are those who argue that those who have caused the most harm leave a lasting influence. It is true in some sense because it helps people in avoiding the mistakes the historical figures made. For instance, some may assert that the memory of the Holocaust under Hitler’s reign will prevent humanity from repeating such an atrocity. However, this is not true because evil acts are a part of society if historical atrocities are a reminder that we should not commit these crimes then why do racial prejudice, islamophobia and sentiments like anti-Semitism still exist? People like Hitler have simply been replaced by men like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who once declared his intention to wipe Israel “off the world map”. In fact, majority of the middle east harbours the harshest anti-Semitic sentiments. The media channels in these countries also use provocative Nazi-like language that oppose Israel and the West. Therefore, it can be said that good historical figures leave a lasting impact on people and bring positive change, however, tyrannical historical figures do not leave any guidelines for people or do not inspire others to be less evil.

Technology has had a negative impact on people’s skills? Discuss.

Without a doubt, technology has majorly impacted skills of people in the world. While the progress of technology is important, people should be careful in not being overly-reliant on it.

Human beings have always discovered and invented devices and machines for their convenience. Today, technology has taken an important place in people’s life and has made their lives easier. However, with technology, there are also problems that have risen. Machines which were created for helping humans, have made humans lazy, unskilled and redundant. Today people are overly-reliant on technology. Though many skills have been replaced by technology, there are new skills which have gained prominence today. Hence, technology has a negative impact on people’s skills.

Automation has led people to lack many skills and has caused their role to minimise in many industries. In manufacturing, from making the dough for different cookies, to cutting them in different shapes and packing them, all tasks are now performed by machines and robots. In aviation, pilots use the auto-pilot function and use electronic interface to control the flight. The pilot’s role today is limited and skills required to become a pilot have reduced significantly. With so much being done by machines, it is a logical conclusion technology has a negative impact on people’s skills.

New and advanced technology has attracted people to games that involve virtual reality and advanced graphics. Unlike earlier times, where people, especially children took time to go out and play sports like cricket, badminton or swimming, children today are glued to their Playstation, X-box, computer screens and mobile games. In today’s times it is getting difficult to find young players who are genuinely interested in playing sports as opposed to just playing sports for fame and money. Technology has given rise to new forms of sports as e-sports but these sports are not considered as sports by many because, who play these sports do not have great skills and are of little value in the real world. While playing real sports like football and tennis may build character and give one confidence, electronic sports do not provide any such benefit. Therefore, technology has also had an impact in sports creating a negative impact on people’s skills.

Technology has also impacted people’s soft skills and communication skills. Smartphones have given people a platform to connect with people from across the world however, people have lost their ability to communicate with people with mindfully and articulately. This is evident from the chat language people use in their daily communication. For example, using just “gn” for good night, “tc” for take care and “gbu” for god bless you. Similarly, people’s friendships today are limited to the extent of liking and commenting on a picture. It can thus be said that the art of communication has been lost significantly in present times. Applications like Twitter, have given people a stage to put forth their view but it has also made them intolerant towards other people’s views. People today are quick in jumping to conclusions and make their judgements based on limited facts, which sometimes are even fake. It can be said that technology has made people lose their reasoning skills and degraded human relationships, in turn. Therefore, technology has also had a negative impact on people’s skills and the ability to communicate rationally.

Though supporters of technology often say that people have replaced older skills with newer skills. They argue that people today are more well-versed in technology-based applications. However, these skills are not as intricate and lack in finesse as well. In earlier times people used to create handicrafts and painting with hand but with technology all that has changed. Skills like stitching, embroidering, fact-checking and map reading are being forgotten in our technological driven world.

Without a doubt, technology has majorly impacted skills of people in the world. While the progress of technology is important, people should be careful in not being overly-reliant on it. Over-reliance on technology will only lead to deterioration of people’s skills be it in the field of labour, communication or social interaction. Technology has had a negative impact on the skills of people.

Does global warming pose a serious threat to ecological conservation?

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The connection between ecological conservation and the economy has been a subject of severe disputation for decades. Market analysts and policymaking committees of every vantage point seem to concur that a strong linkage prevails between environmental protection and the fiscal state; the controversy arises over the sign of the correlation coefficient. Conservationists contend that environmental protection facilitates economic growth and generate employment whereas detractors argue that environmental protection tends to be adverse towards economic development. In the latter case, environmental regulation stands accused of precipitating an extensive array of disadvantageous monetary consequences and resulting in a loss of global competitiveness. The conviction that ecological conservation gravely impairs the economy has become the centrepiece in the series of attempts of late to annul environmental legislation which aims to amend environmental quality. Concurrently, there is some significance in these animadversions of environmental policies. This essay intends to examine a diversity of claims concerning the economic costs as well as financial profits of ecological conservation. I champion for ecological conservation although it comes with several short-term sacrifices of economic returns. In the long run, the merits of ecological conservation should outweigh the fiscal loss.

Each claims that environmental regulatory expenditure does significant economic detriment rest upon the hypothesis that the costs are substantial. After all, relatively minuscule environmental funding would not give rise to association with negative implications. However, there are numerous possible interpretations of the term “large regulatory budget”, determined by the context. One definition of the term is compliance figure that is disproportionately astronomical to lead to retrenchment, plant closures, and enervate international competitiveness. This clarification involves hefty regulatory funding approximate to the economic influence of firms. Critics chronically assert that conservation expenditure is overly substantial in a macroeconomic gist, deviating considerable state fiscal resources from productive pursuits into abiding by ecological policies. On the contrary, evaluation of states’ estimated ecological investments amount to negligible single-digit totals respectively. Allocating two to three percent of gross domestic product on ecological conservation is implausible to give rise to any major detrimental economic implications.

Bearing in mind the dire conditions of the ecology, environmental expenditures aggregate to a trivial amount relative to similar national priorities such as health care, education and military defence. Developed countries budget an average of 25 percent of respective gross domestic product to protect individual health and the security of states, therefore it is pathetically meagre to invest only two to three percent in the health of the ecosystems upon which the economy really depends. Considers surface since certain benefits such as enhanced quality of life derived from conservation efforts are non-quantifiable whereas there are perceptible tangible economic costs.

Nevertheless, despite sizeable environmental protection costs, these regulations collectively yield significant counterbalancing advantages to a society. In addition, characterizing these admittedly substantial funding in definite values as a drain on the economy, siphoning off capital which could be consumed prolifically elsewhere, is off the mark. It is more accurate to infer these expenditures as outcome of citizens’ demands for ecological quality ameliorations. Apportioning resources to meet the market for environmental regulations should not be surmised as economic inefficiency. Hence, given that ecological conservation produces considerable offsetting benefits and is publicly appealed for, the state should revise its disapproving standpoint.

As ecological conservation entails enduring efforts and financing, transitory drawbacks are to be expected in the short run. When governmental bodies embark on protection schemes in the early stages, implementation of laws and measures such as sound development and consumption of water resources, agricultural restructuring, biodiversity conservation, as well as urban forestation and landscape upgrading will lead to layoffs and plant closures. Firms, primarily pollutive and energy-intensive money guzzlers, will be displaced to countries with less binding guidelines. Furthermore, the high preliminary capital elemental to reform pollutive practices will inflate cost of manufacture of exports hence enervating the competitiveness of local sectors in the global marketplace. For example, logging restrictions in Pacific Northwest region in the United States has irrefutably retrenched the masses in the indigenous timber industry. However, it would be ill-advised to forgo introducing ecological conservation programmes due to several intermediate challenges. Thus, ecological conservation should be pursued despite the primary economic deficit.

Therefore, traditional economics shows that ecological conservation does not prompt irrevocable pervasive detrimental fiscal effects in contrary to conventional wisdom. Nonetheless, detractors of ecological conservation raise moderately factual polemics. Pinpointing and deciphering these problem areas would be a laudable objective in ecological conservation hereafter. Administrations should repetitively scrutinize the marginal costs and benefits of ecological conservation course of actions as means to increase their net merits. There is undeniably leeway for development in ecological conservation but it is mercifully not the economic Frankenstein some would have us believe.

Efforts to save the environment are no more than empty promises. To what extent is this true?

As climate change begins to rear its ugly head, the call for environmental conservation has grown louder. If everyone consumed as many resources as Americans did, we could need 4.1 Earths to sustain the population of seven billion. Thus,environmentalists have been relentlessly campaigning for companies and countries to switch to green technology to satiate their energy or financial needs. However, some pessimists still concur that these efforts are futile, but I remain optimistic that humanity has realized the implications of global warming and is taking small steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Hence, one can contend that efforts to save the environment are certainly not merely empty promises.

Prima facie, it may seem obvious that the sheer number of international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are empty promises – as evident in the major fiasco of the Kyoto Protocol and Copenhagen Accord. However, while international cooperation may be hard, regional bodies have been taking steps to be environmentally friendly because regional cooperation is more effective due to the fewer number of countries involved in the treaty. This is best manifested in the European Union’s (EU’s) environmental policies. Having the world’s largest and wealthiest consumer base, the EU has rolled out regulations on efficiency of motor vehicles and their emissions. Carmakers seeking to enter the market must meet these regulations. Toyota and Ford are forced to develop new technology to meet these regulations. Additionally, these regulations are applied to vehicles from the same manufacturers sold in other countries for product consistency, thus reducing worldwide emissions. Hence, it is conclusive that although international cooperation may come off as an ’empty promise’, pragmatic regional bodies like the EU have found ways to seize their opportunity to salvage this planet.

Besides regional cooperation, small communities in countries have come together to make changes in their ways of living to protect the environment, rendering the phrase ’empty promises’ fallacious. Benjamin Franklin once said,’when the well is dry, we will know the worth of water’. This quote has resonated well with many rural communities in developing countries that rely on agriculture or fishing for a living. In Thailand, depleting fish stocks in the Mekong River have severely affected the livelihoods of numerous Thai fishermen, driving home Franklin’s point about scarcity, prompting them to stop taking the environment for granted. Together with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), 14 villagers in Northern Thailand participated in the Thai Boon programme by setting up conservation zones around Mekong. Fishermen of villages like Ban Muang Choom observed that fishes were able to spawn inside the conservation zone, aiding in the historic protection of the ecosystem, resulting in significantly increased fish yields for fishermen. The economic benefits were a great incentive for the fishermen in Thailand, hence delivering promising benefits to the environment. It would thus be highly skewed for one to assume that humanity is completely incapable of saving the environment because of how multi-faceted this issue is, because even small communities like those in Thailand are doing their part to protect and conserve the environment.

More importantly, it is imperative for us to understand that the quest for environmental conservation has become even more possible in the present epoch because of the rapid advancement of technology. This has allowed us to turn to other green methods of satisfying our energy needs. For instance, Norway is investing billions in developing carbon capture and storage technology. Southern cities in France like Bordeaux and Marseilles use nuclear energy to fuel 40% of their daily energy needs. In comparison, traditional fuel sources like oil and coal produce carbon dioxide when burnt, a greenhouse gas that would further exacerbate global warming. The concepts of geothermal and wind energy are also gaining traction globally. Thus, one can see the correlation between the rapid advancement of technology and its unprecedented positive impact on the environment. Hence, it would be ignorant of one to claim that all efforts to save the environment are just ideas with no concrete action because governments have been actively trying their best to exploit whatever resources at their disposal to ensure that at least some of these promises made translate into action and not just blame it on the complexity of this global issue.

On a less hopeful note, some detractors think otherwise. Playing the role of the devil’s advocate, they believe that while efforts to save the environment are not largely empty promises because of the aforementioned points, there are some instances in which we have to concede that these efforts are in fact empty promises. This is because governments have many trade-offs to make when pursuing environmental policies. These trade-offs often conflict with their economic policies, and hence regardless of the number of treaties that they sign, both the people and the government are innately profit-oriented and would disregard the environmental damages that they inflict. In March 2015, then US President Obama submitted an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution to the United Nations that would commit the US to reach a 26% to 28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. This led to the US Environmental Protection Agency passing the Clean Air Act. However, would factories actually be willing to cut emissions, by increasing their cost of production by employing green technology, albeit at the expense of their profits? The answer is a resounding no, because of the inherently selfish desires of people. Thus, insofar as the people are not willing to work with their governments to save the environment, any form of intervention by the government would be merely an empty promise. Nonetheless, as I have elucidated earlier, it would be unfair to generalize all efforts to save the environment as purely ‘talk with no action’ because we must concede that in this interconnected world of today, countries are starting to get less self-centred, albeit obvious exceptions from emerging countries like China, and are trying their best to contribute to environmental efforts. Though it would indubitably take time for environmental promises to be translated into action, I believe that humanity is on her way to a green planet ion the distant future.

To sum it all up, the threat that humanity is posing to the environment is certainly a worrying one. We are constantly plagued with a myriad of humanitarian problems, so it would be harsh for one to assume that all our environmental efforts are just empty promises because we are tirelessly trying to deliver some of these promises, in small ways. International and regional cooperation is a sine quo non to addressing our environmental woes. As long as we can cooperate in small ways, like Thailand and Europe, I remain optimistic that efforts to save the environment are largely not empty promises.