When I’m writing this blog, I can always type, read, and re-read, make some corrections until I’m satisfied with my writing and finally publish this blog. However, when I make a presentation, no matter what I have prepared what I want to say, there are always words that doesn’t come out as well as other words spoken that are actually wasn’t prepared. Furthermore, even though I went through a few presentation, I cannot present it exactly the same way. There is always some variation, it could be due to different environment, timing, audiences or setting. Conducting a presentation is always a challenging tasks !

3 – 6 May 2011: iPad 2
I’ve been spending my time lately with new toy, iPad2 which just launch recently. What a good excuse not to write my blog. Apart from that my work, both at home & work has piled up. Well, I must put the priority to them first, I’m sure I can catch up with this blog especially with my new iPad.

We always know when people buying a lottery, the probability to win it is very small, typically it will be less than 1/1 millionth. However, we always see or hear that people queue to buy a lottery that promises winning a few million bucks. I guess it’s because of the excitement feeling that they only spend a little money to get a large sum of money. It is also a big hope to strike a lottery so that they can spend it for whatever they want. If they lose, they kept saying that, it’s only a small amount of money as compare to the expected gain. Their dreams to win a lottery never fade.

12 Apr 2011: Probability (II)

Now let’s take a look on different probability scenario. Suppose you take a train, and at particular station they train stops for a while due to some incident in front. You do not know how long does it takes to resume the operation. You have a choice whether to stay on the train or to get out of the train to take other mode of transport. In this case, would you think you will take the chances as if you are buying a lottery? Stay on the train since the minimal disruption could be solved within 10 minutes, while taking a bus could take 30 minutes. If this is your first experiences, I guess the chances is 50/50. However, if you have been experiences for a few times, I believe it would create some sorts of excitement or rather annoyance. Because it could be a minor stop or a long one. The most interesting part, you cannot predict the probability as in comparison when you buy a lottery.

13 Apr 2011; Probability (III)

There is another interesting view of probability. Suppose you have been detected with a cancer with stadium 4 and the doctor told you that you only have a few more months to live. In this case, the probability to survive is very low. You face the reality and decide to enjoy your life as much as you can before you leave this world. For example, going for a holiday, spending good time with your loved ones and friends, splurging on items that you normally don’t buy. After a few months having a good life, a miracle happens, the doctor tell you that your cancer had actually disappear. Would you consider your decision to enjoy your life as if buying a lottery since the probability calculated is very low ?

14 Apr 2011: Probability (IV)

These days, you aren’t interested to hear that if you buy product A, you will be eligible to enter the lucky draw that can win a car. You know that the probability is very low since there are many people will join the lucky draw. How about buying a product with a sure-win lucky draw. irregardless what you buy, you will win something in the lucky draw. You will feel that you will never lose. The only difference is whether you win car or just a pencil. It depends on your luck. Of course for marketing reason, the chances to get a car is 1/1 millionth and the chances to get a pen is the remaining.

15 Apr 2011: Probability (V)

Take a last look on probability for this week. Supposed you take part in a game where the chances of winning is 80%. Knowing that you chances to win is very high, then you start taking it easy rather than playing hard on the game. As a result you lose the game. Would you blame it because of the 20% chance of losing the game or because you are not serious when playing the game? I would say, when you start being complacent, your probability of winning has change from 80/20 to maybe 40/60. You may argue, even you play seriously, there is still 20% chances of losing it. After all, probability is uncertain, it could never be 100% correct !

My laptop will be replaced with a new one today.  What makes so exciting is actually the laptop will be lighter and of course it will updated with new software. I don’t know how much excitement would last ? Having a new item can bring hope that it will work faster and better. But if we have adjust with that condition for a while, maybe we won’t feel it faster anymore once there is another new computer with a better speed or because the new software demands a higher requirement and thus it slows the performance. In the end, it’s like a mouse and cat game, it never ends. It’s always one chasing the other.

5th April 2011: Being Bored

Sometime ago, I was bored listening to my iPod . Even though I tried to shuffle the songs within an album, but somehow if it is just 12 songs in an album so it’s very predictable. So I decided to shuffle the whole collection which consists of different genre (classical, religious, pop, jazz and musical). Somehow it’s strange to listen it but at the same time it creates a new experience. The first song may start at a moderate beat, followed by a fast beat and then slow down. The only problem that I have it the recording quality is different from one album to another album. Some albums are in high quality but others aren’t. Hence it’s difficult to listen especially for classical music where the soft music are played.

6th April 2011: Classical Music

Unlike pop music, listening classical music have to be in orderly manner, for example Beethoven Moonlight Piano Sonata which contains 3 parts. How would you feel, if you start listening the third movement, then first movement and the last the second movement ? At first maybe it’s strange but after a while maybe you get used to it. Definitely it is not difficult to recognize those movements. Now, imagine listening Bach Goldberg Variation in random mode. Wouldn’t it be very interesting especially if you have to recognize which variation that it is currently playing? Give it a try !

7th April 2011: Big Dream

Some people have a big dream but many of them are just dreaming without trying to achieve it. One way to achieve a big dream is actually very easy, i.e. to start it step by step, a baby step and slowly built it. In fact some people do not have a big dream when they started their work.  Once they achieve a success one after another, they keep working on it until it grows beyond their imagination.

One example that came to my mind is actually this journal. Initially it never came to my mind about writing a book. But if I work harder on writing this journal and if I receive a lot of good feedback from readers, I’m sure I can collate my daily journal, polish it especially on the interesting topics and publish it as a book. Someday my dream becomes a reality.

8th April 2011: Holiday

When people talk holiday, they always thinking about traveling to a new place, trying new experiences such as food and activities beyond their day-to-day life. Though I do not disagree that traveling is one of the best holiday’s activities. However, I must say, holiday can be just being at home doing special activities, or something that we seldom have much time to do for example reading a book or go for swimming. Holiday should refresh our mind from the hustle and bustle of our ordinary lives. If we come back from traveling and getting stressed due to lots of money spent during the trip, would that refreshes our mind or just creating another stress in our life? Have a great holiday ahead ! Weekend is coming.

Last Saturday was an earth hour day, where participating cities had decided to switch off unnecessary lights for one hour from 8:30 – 9:30pm. I was at home at hour. I was tempted to switch all  lights while watching TV. However, I realized it was too dark to watch TV that it causes my eyes strained. Hence, I decided to keep minimum lights without straining my eyes. After all, if I want to participate the earth hour, I would switch off all lights and just sitting at the balcony. I wonder if I can survive for one hour.

29 Mar 11: Save the World

Most of us are familiar these days that we need to save for future. It can be either use less electricity, recycle the product or use a recycle product, do not use disposable product that cannot be recycled and many others. There are also indirect ways that we can save i.e. eat less especially less meat, oil and salt. It is not just for our good health but also to keep our body weight stable without starving.

30 Mar 11: e-Book

Tablet is becoming a common gadget these days. It is getting slimmer and more powerful. One of the application that many people use it is e-book. Instead of bringing a few books which are heavy and cumbersome, now everything is stored electronically. Reading e-book would be no problem. How about using e-book scores for playing a piano. This might a good opportunity though it can be quite small. However, the difficult part is to flip the pages especially the e-book is good for only showing 1 page, the normal book shows 2 pages at a time. In addition, the notes could be very small to read.

31 Mar 11: Two is Better Than One

There is a saying goes like this: Two is better than one and Three is better than two. Well, if we are referring that three people put their brains and effort to solve a problem, then certainly we will expect a better and faster resolution than one person. However, if we are referring that having two cars is better than having one car. I must say that it would be a waste. Of course one can say that the first car will be used for work and the other one for weekend. When we have two or more, our attention will be divided too. Hence, we might just concentrate one and neglect the others. If we just have one, we would treat it and keep it as a precious one. Therefore, having one would be just enough for us, it’s not too much and not too less.

1 Apr 11: April Fool’s Day

I don’t know how this tradition happen but I don’t like the idea of fooling people especially about serious matter such as life-and-death situation. Fooling on a simple matter may be fun for some, though if you are the one to be fooled you might not agree with it. After all, the golden rule says that One should not treat others in ways that one would not be like to be treated. Why not change the April Fool’s Day with April Truth’s Day, where you should tell the truth to others. The truth may hurt but the truth is always true, no matter what.

Another topic that was discussed in Predictably Irrational is Procrastination. We procrastinate not just on big tasks but also on small tasks such as housework or housekeeping exercise. When we have something new such as laptop, we like it so much because it works faster than our previous laptop as well as cool features introduced. However, as we move forward, we start installing various programs and personal files, our hard disk becomes cluttered and difficult to manage. The laptop becomes slow again. Then we start wondering, should we buy a new laptop ?

22 March 11: The Upside of Irrationality

I have finished reading the sequel to Predictably Irrational i.e. The Upside of Irrationality. I must admit, as I read the second book, my expectation is quite high. However, I find it the second book, especially the second part, is less interesting compare to the first book (again I use his relativity theory). Of course there are interesting ideas presented however some of the topics are inconclusive. Indeed the study of human behaviour is very complicated. There is no right or wrong answer. I must also say that there are more than one correct answer. Our thoughts also can change from one side to another side depending on the circumstances. Sometimes, we can be very rational but other times irrational.

23 March 11: Adaptation

Among the topics discussed in the second book, I like the topic about adaptation very much. Everyday in our daily life, we are constantly keep adapting to a new situation. No matter good things comes or bad things happens, we must face. There is no way to run from it. However, how good we adjust is the one that we must question ourselves. Some people adapt faster than others. It can be due to previous similar experiences or they have seen/heard from either real/fiction stories. That’s why we must study or read every day in our life so that as we acquire new knowledge, we are capable to adjust to the new environment faster.

24 March 11: Creativity

Where do you think the creativity comes from? I believe creativity comes as part of the adjustment process within a constraints. If we don’t have big constraints on certain things that we want to do, we normally take the easy approach. We take a normal route that everyone else is taking or inherit from previous generation. However, if we are told that we cannot use the old method, we need to save or simply the resources are not available anymore. Therefore we must find a new way and thus it spurs creativity. There are plenty of examples such as how Apple products were developed. You will notice that the number of components are getting less and/or the size is getting slimmer than its competitors’ product.

25 March 11: The Wrong Side of Adaptation

I pointed out in the earlier writings that creativity can come from adaptation process within a constraints. However, the adaptation process can go wrong too. People who cannot adjust quickly to the new environment may end up on the wrong side. They feel very stressed, depressed and soon withdraw from the society. In this case, they should look for help either from friends or professionals. Before this happens, they should think positive and enlarge the circle of friends. Life and be part of it !

The news throughout last weekend was revolving around the recent tsunami & earthquake in Japan. In one part of the newspaper section, the journalist made a comparison about this earthquake with other earthquakes that had happened around the world. This is give a better idea especially for those people have been experienced an earthquake before. In terms of the scale, the news reported that this is one the highest as compare to New Zealand or Tahiti.

15 March 2011: Happiness

I watched television showing how the victims of Japanese earthquake & tsunami started to rebuild their life after the disaster. Some mentioned that they are luckier because their house are not badly affected. They have at least a home to stay rather than others whose home was destroyed. It is quite uplifting to hear that. I do hope even those whose the house have been destroyed should feel grateful because they are still alive. After all, we should treasure our life because it is only one & one only. There is no way to compare it.

16 March 2011: Solution (Part 1)

When you’ve been asked to propose a solution to a problem, don’t just give one solution instead give two or three solutions. Also do not offer more than three solutions because it will cause confusion. You may propose two solutions when the attributes are easily compared. For example: Product A is having a higher price (attribute X) but has more features (attributes Y). Product B is very cheap and definitely has less features. As you might guess, people normally have a budget to begin with. Hence, price is the attribute that people would put more weight as compare to features. Thus it would be easier to choose it.

17 March 2011: Solution (Part 2)

If you happen to offer solutions where the attribute is difficult to be quantitatively measured then offer three solutions. For example, start with offering Product A which has higher quality (attribute X) but has less functions (attribute Y) and Product B which has lower quality (attribute X) but has more functions (attribute Y). The price for both Product A & B are the same. To help in deciding, then offer Product C which depending on your preference, it can be either:

(a) slightly less quality & less functions with Product A,

(b) slightly more quality & less functions with Product A,

(c) slightly less quality & less functions with Product B,

(d) slightly less quality & less functions with Product B.

If you offer option (a), then people will likely go chose Product A,

for option (b), Product C,

for option (c), Product B, and

for option (d), Product C.

That should be a simple way to choose.

17 March 2011:

I hope this would be the last example for the impact on the truth of relativity for now. It is a very human nature when we’ve been asked to throw away our old item,s we still make a comparison so that maybe some can be salvaged. For example, when I want to throw my old books, I’m still checking why throw this book and not that book. In this case, I used a comparison for the worst/the most undesirable item. I will keep the book if it is in good condition and recently published. Definitely I will throw those books who have been in the stored in the storeroom and collected dust for some years.

Last week, I have just finished reading ‘Predictably Irrational’ by Dan Ariely. It’s one of the book that interest me. It kept me thinking of how people rationalize their thinking process. This week, I’d like to share my thoughts and comments based on the first chapter, ‘The Truth of Relativity’. It is a simple premise that we never realize it. It will be clearer once the examples are described in the book.

8 March 2011: Don’t Get Cranky When You Buy Slightly Overpriced Product

We always want to ensure that when we buy something using our money cheaply. When buy the products, we always try to compare between one shop and the other shop. Sometimes, we buy item on impulsive on a particular store. We think that it is cheaper. However, the next when we look at the advertisement from other shop, we realize that same item costs slightly less, e.g. by a few cents/dollars. Of course you can go back to return it to the store and ask for the refund provided the store does have the policy for refund or can pay the same price. Before you do that, you must remember whether the cost of returning back is a worthwhile. It may cost you more than what you will get. Secondly, you may never realize how much time & money will be spent to get into the other store. Why do you need to be cranky if you just pay slightly more ? Why makes our lives miserable when we just lose a penny?

9 March 2011: iPhone4 & iPad2

As you are aware, iPad2 will be released soon. The newspaper always mentioned that market for tablet is very competitive and it may get saturated in the next five years. Hence, the sooner the new models comes up, it would be difficult for the competitor to catch up. I would say, another reason Apple launched iPad2 is that it allows people to make easy comparison when they want the tablet. If there is no iPad models available for comparison, then people will compare it with other products. Once people look into other product, they may be influenced by other factors. At the end, they may not buy iPad. Similarly, you will be wondering why iPhone 3GS are still available in the market. It is there so that people can rationalize themselves to make a good decision. At least they are happy that they decided correctly.

10 March 2011: Going Out with Friends

Once you read the example given by Dan Ariely about going out with friends, you may realize why your best friend always get a better attention from other people than you. If this happens, my advice is to find another friends that have personality traits like you but slightly less. Thus if three of you are going out together, at least you won’t feel bad at all. If your other friend realizes it too, then he may bring another friend with similar reasoning. As the crowd is getting bigger, I believe the group will dissolves or only one will get the full attention and the rest none.

11 /3 / 11: Secret of happiness

Just to reiterate Dan’s point about relativity. To be happy, we shouldn’t compare our lives with others, whether they have this or that. We should just look at ourselves. As long as our basic necessities are covered, we should think of how to help others especially the poor and helpless one. You will feel much better when you can share things with others, either your money or time. By comparing with others, we will feel that we are so poor because there is always a sky above the sky. Look down and see how fortunate you are. Be happy!