I am a few pages from finish reading a book called "Ancestor's Tale" by Richard Dawkins, 2004.
The first book I read from Dr. Dawkins was also his first: The Selfish Gene. I was 17, just got admission into the Zoology department of NTU, and I thought I fully understood the essence of Darwinism. That book blew my mind. Now I look back I realized how lucky I was to start my real scientific reading with this book, a book I basically "bumped into" when I wandered around in the library of Northwestern University in Evanston.
At the time I kind of assumed the author was either dead or very very old. After all, Darwin is dead for more than 100 years and you would assume a pop science book explaining an idea as old as evolution to be old too. At the time I didn't know there's still people studying the evolutionary theories, like I didn't think anyone in physics are still studying Newton's Law. Coming from a largely non-Christian country and an extremely atheist family, I didn't realize that there are much more educated people in the world who still believed in Creation.
The first Creationist I knew and the only one I know well (you'd wonder why) was a close friend of mine in junior high. We fought with each other physically in kindergarten, lost contact for six years in different classes in elementary school, and met again in junior high. She came from a Christian family and she was never very interested in science or biology, so I guess I never took her opinions too seriously on the matter of Darwin. You can't blame someone who doesn't believe in Darwin because they never had a chance to judge him with fairness. Even when I was having those heated debates with her, I didn't realize that her point of view is the religious point of view that is share by many, many others. At the time I just thought she was not informed. I suppose it is okay for people to be not informed at age 15 on stuff like this.
A few years later when I read the Selfish Gene, this friend of mine has become more and more devoted to the Church. After college she became some sort of a missionary and we eventually lost contact. Now I looked back, I wish I had made her read the book. It could have changed her decisions, which in my value system would be a good thing.
About two years after I read the Selfish Gene, I read a book translated as "The Great Extinction" in Chinese. The book tells a really fascinating tale of how the dinosaurs became extinct, with lots of interdisciplinatory information. Unfortunately, toward the end of the book, the author attacked Darwin,"Survival of the fittest is a tautology". I think that was a clever attack, since if you only take that phrase and define what fittest is, it does mean the one who survived and reproduced. The point is, Darwinism is not a phrase. Darwinism is a mechanism that could explain how the various species arose. Under the prerequisite of Darwinism, speciation simply could not be avoided (inevitable is different from being tautologic). The phrase survival of the fittest is just a way of describing things so that human being could grasp the idea without having to devote a year or two studying. The logic of Darwinism is so solid that it always surprised me when creationists tried to attack the idea from the logic angle. It's kind of like trying to defeat Andy Roddick in serving speed.
If you are a Creationist and you want to show us Darwinians that Darwinism is wrong, let me tell you how. Go and study the organisms, living or dead, and find a trait that absolutely could not have arisen from evolution in the Darwinian way. This has to be a trait that nobody on earth could think of a way for evolution to do it. Then we might consider another theory which is compatible with all the existent data and this new trait. Unfortunately, I'm afraid we Darwinians will never agree to a Creationist's point of view. That is a theory that could never be disproved and is therefore unscientific not worth wasting time thinking about unless the God in question agrees to show us how it was done.
Back to the books. After college I found the sequel to "the Selfish Gene", "The Extended Phenotype". This book is aimed at a somewhat more informed audience regarding evolutionary biology. Unfortunately I lent the book to somebody and I can't remember who it was.
The discovery of the Ancestor's Tale in a Berkeley book store was a pleasant surprise. I didn't know Dr. Dawkins was still around (I still don't know how old he is, but I used to think he is in the same generation as Huxley the novelist). This book starts at the present human race and traces back the phylogenetic tree. This book is meant for the general public; however, as a postdoc in molecular biology, I have to admit that many of the tales in this book still taught me important lessons in science. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of our race. This is a beautifully written book as the other two Dawkins books I have read. I wonder, why the Nobel prize in literature never goes to people who wrote such books? Why is scientific literature not considered real literature? Isn't it harder to make science interesting to the general public? Furthermore, isn't it more beneficial to the human race to write something like the Selfish Gene than a book of fiction?
After all, I just wanted to say: Dawkins's books changed my view of life, in a very good way.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Friday, December 10, 2004
Good Books Part II
Reefer Madness is composed of three major assays: one on the absurd laws against marijuana, one on the illegal immigrant workers in California, and one on the porn industry in the US. All three of them are very interesting and I highly reccommend them to any one who is interested in understanding the dark side of the mightiest nation, but I will focus on the one on immigrant workers because it made me cry in public (on the plane).
I understand the unfairness of people being punished more severely for possessing a minuscule amount of marijuana than commiting murder in some states. I understand the sentiment of people who needs pot to take the edge off their debilitating disease. If we are allowed to stay awake more than our body would normally do by drinking coffee, those people should be allowed to use marijuana to alleviated the physical pains. I can also understand how absurd the laws against pornography are in a country that appeared so liberal from the outside (like, have you seen Britney's leatherwear?). But I assume most of us agree that the majority of pot consumed are for recreation, and porn is always recreational. However, produce is not recreational. Proper housing and working conditions are not recreational.
The strawberry pickers in California have it as bad or even worse than the conttonfield slaves before the civil war. Well they have the freedom to leave the country and go home, as some cold-hearted people might argue, but what is freedom without some degree of financial freedom? What is freedom if you cannot afford medicine and education for your children? People who were born in the third world countries did not choose to be there. They didn't end up their because of anything they did (unless you believe in the Buddhist Reincarnation, but if you do you would have mercy on all things living any way). People like us never had a taste of real poverty only because we were lucky. The people who detest the illegal immigrants blame them for intruding "their country" should remember that immigration laws and country borders are set up by men; they were never "sacred".
Many, many workers in the Californian strawberry fields have no proper housing. Sure they have no protection from the union and they don't get minimum wage and they don't even know whether they still have a job every morning. Those facts are probably well-known so they don't seem as terrible as they should be to us. But no proper place to sleep is outrageous. Among them the ones who are better off may sleep on the floor in a garage or share a house with say, 30+ other workers, the luckless ones sleep outside. The description of one "campsite" the author visited brought me to tears. The young man lives among the woods, sleeping under a garbage bag propped with sticks. When it rains they simply get wet. These are people who work 12 hours a day bent in the strawberry fields. These are the people who work in such terrible conditions that they tend to have really bad backs in their twenties/thirties and have a life expectancy under 50 years. These are the people who provide us with the beautiful strawberries we enjoy, and they can't even afford a roof over them.
The worst part about the situation is that, even under such unfavorable conditions, they are still willing to leave their families (and beds, they did sleep in beds before they come here) for, say, 5 bucks an hour or less. I cannot imagine how bad things are in Mexico then. Maybe the US troops should go arrest the Mexican president or whatever the equivalent is for mistreating his people after they are done in Iraq.
I understand the unfairness of people being punished more severely for possessing a minuscule amount of marijuana than commiting murder in some states. I understand the sentiment of people who needs pot to take the edge off their debilitating disease. If we are allowed to stay awake more than our body would normally do by drinking coffee, those people should be allowed to use marijuana to alleviated the physical pains. I can also understand how absurd the laws against pornography are in a country that appeared so liberal from the outside (like, have you seen Britney's leatherwear?). But I assume most of us agree that the majority of pot consumed are for recreation, and porn is always recreational. However, produce is not recreational. Proper housing and working conditions are not recreational.
The strawberry pickers in California have it as bad or even worse than the conttonfield slaves before the civil war. Well they have the freedom to leave the country and go home, as some cold-hearted people might argue, but what is freedom without some degree of financial freedom? What is freedom if you cannot afford medicine and education for your children? People who were born in the third world countries did not choose to be there. They didn't end up their because of anything they did (unless you believe in the Buddhist Reincarnation, but if you do you would have mercy on all things living any way). People like us never had a taste of real poverty only because we were lucky. The people who detest the illegal immigrants blame them for intruding "their country" should remember that immigration laws and country borders are set up by men; they were never "sacred".
Many, many workers in the Californian strawberry fields have no proper housing. Sure they have no protection from the union and they don't get minimum wage and they don't even know whether they still have a job every morning. Those facts are probably well-known so they don't seem as terrible as they should be to us. But no proper place to sleep is outrageous. Among them the ones who are better off may sleep on the floor in a garage or share a house with say, 30+ other workers, the luckless ones sleep outside. The description of one "campsite" the author visited brought me to tears. The young man lives among the woods, sleeping under a garbage bag propped with sticks. When it rains they simply get wet. These are people who work 12 hours a day bent in the strawberry fields. These are the people who work in such terrible conditions that they tend to have really bad backs in their twenties/thirties and have a life expectancy under 50 years. These are the people who provide us with the beautiful strawberries we enjoy, and they can't even afford a roof over them.
The worst part about the situation is that, even under such unfavorable conditions, they are still willing to leave their families (and beds, they did sleep in beds before they come here) for, say, 5 bucks an hour or less. I cannot imagine how bad things are in Mexico then. Maybe the US troops should go arrest the Mexican president or whatever the equivalent is for mistreating his people after they are done in Iraq.
Good books
I recently read a book called "Reefer Madness". I could never remember the name of the author but he also wrote the famous "Fastfood Nation" which I have not read yet.
Here I just wanted to summarize a few facts that I found incredible or horrible from these books.
Although I have not been enlightened by the Fastfood Nation, I saw a short interview with the author in the Supersize Me DVD. One fact struck me so hard from that interview. A beef patty in a MacDonald hamburger could contain meat from over 1000 cows! The author talked about the potential of mass food poisoning, but I was thinking of the mad cow's disease. I used to be a big beef person until last summer, when I stopped touching any beef product for fear of mad cow disease. Granted there was only one cow found to be positive in the US, and that cow seemed to have originated from Canada. Granted my chances of dying from mad cow disease is probably lower than dying from a plane crash. I do not wish a death from mad cow's disease. Anything but neurodegenerative diseases please.
After talking to a few people who are intellectuals but are not in biological sciences I realized that many people have no idea what mad cow's disease really is. Cooking doesn't get rid of the prion, which is the causing agent for mad cow's. I don't know if autoclaving would work, but I'm sure no one would want to eat an autoclaved steak. You also have no idea of kowing whether you have it or not before the symptoms begin to show, and it could take a decade before they do. I could already have it now from my years of beef consumption.
I am not saying that everyone should be as paranoid as I am and stop eating beef. Most of my friends, scientists in biology who are fully aware of the danger, still enjoy beef. There is always some deadly threat out there as long as you are alive. However, a scientifically informed government should not allow a practice of food preparation that seems tailor-made for spreading mad cow's. If one of the 1000 cows used to make that whole shipment of burgers were sick, the tens of thousands of people who eat the burgers could get sick. If it were food poisoning, a small percentage of these people will die from it, whereas most people will be very sick for a number of days in the hospital. However, had it been mad-cow's, all of the people who contracted the disease (not all the people who ate the burgers), will die. There is no cure. There is not even a way to supress that disease yet.
I wonder what the government's action would be should there ever be a proven case of mad-cow outbreak. It would be a huge blow to the economy if everybody gets scared and stop eating beef, and ironically, because of that, lots of people will get scared that the government may not tell us the severity of the outbreak. If that happens, we wouldn't even know about it until years after the beef was consumed.
I do not have a solution to the problem. As usual, most of our current social problems come from over-population. I have already discussed the over-population problem in my essay on abortion. The only way out is for people to find other goals in life that means as much to them as making children. In Taiwan there is currently a concern of an aging population due to lowered reproduction. The government is trying everything to encourage people to have children. I think that is foolish. Let the population drop and you might have some economy problems for one generation, but that will pass and the result would be worth it. From my own experience living in Taiwan, the island was ~3X more crowded for individuals to be comfortable. I think encouraging reproduction is like, say, drinking poison to quench the thirst.
I didn't mean to devote so much room on a book I haven't even read. But now that I did, Reefer Madness would have to wait till the next post.
Here I just wanted to summarize a few facts that I found incredible or horrible from these books.
Although I have not been enlightened by the Fastfood Nation, I saw a short interview with the author in the Supersize Me DVD. One fact struck me so hard from that interview. A beef patty in a MacDonald hamburger could contain meat from over 1000 cows! The author talked about the potential of mass food poisoning, but I was thinking of the mad cow's disease. I used to be a big beef person until last summer, when I stopped touching any beef product for fear of mad cow disease. Granted there was only one cow found to be positive in the US, and that cow seemed to have originated from Canada. Granted my chances of dying from mad cow disease is probably lower than dying from a plane crash. I do not wish a death from mad cow's disease. Anything but neurodegenerative diseases please.
After talking to a few people who are intellectuals but are not in biological sciences I realized that many people have no idea what mad cow's disease really is. Cooking doesn't get rid of the prion, which is the causing agent for mad cow's. I don't know if autoclaving would work, but I'm sure no one would want to eat an autoclaved steak. You also have no idea of kowing whether you have it or not before the symptoms begin to show, and it could take a decade before they do. I could already have it now from my years of beef consumption.
I am not saying that everyone should be as paranoid as I am and stop eating beef. Most of my friends, scientists in biology who are fully aware of the danger, still enjoy beef. There is always some deadly threat out there as long as you are alive. However, a scientifically informed government should not allow a practice of food preparation that seems tailor-made for spreading mad cow's. If one of the 1000 cows used to make that whole shipment of burgers were sick, the tens of thousands of people who eat the burgers could get sick. If it were food poisoning, a small percentage of these people will die from it, whereas most people will be very sick for a number of days in the hospital. However, had it been mad-cow's, all of the people who contracted the disease (not all the people who ate the burgers), will die. There is no cure. There is not even a way to supress that disease yet.
I wonder what the government's action would be should there ever be a proven case of mad-cow outbreak. It would be a huge blow to the economy if everybody gets scared and stop eating beef, and ironically, because of that, lots of people will get scared that the government may not tell us the severity of the outbreak. If that happens, we wouldn't even know about it until years after the beef was consumed.
I do not have a solution to the problem. As usual, most of our current social problems come from over-population. I have already discussed the over-population problem in my essay on abortion. The only way out is for people to find other goals in life that means as much to them as making children. In Taiwan there is currently a concern of an aging population due to lowered reproduction. The government is trying everything to encourage people to have children. I think that is foolish. Let the population drop and you might have some economy problems for one generation, but that will pass and the result would be worth it. From my own experience living in Taiwan, the island was ~3X more crowded for individuals to be comfortable. I think encouraging reproduction is like, say, drinking poison to quench the thirst.
I didn't mean to devote so much room on a book I haven't even read. But now that I did, Reefer Madness would have to wait till the next post.
Monday, November 22, 2004
I am so glad
I am so glad that I am not in Taiwan now.
I cannot believe a person so smart could indulge himself to waste all his talents on nothing.
Yes, I am talking about President Chen. Newly re-elected this year, he spends all his time doing negative campaigning talking about stupid issues. Symbolism. Does he actually think that the fxxking symbols mattered? Does he think that he will be fxxking remembered as the wonderful president of tiny little Taiwan who heroically changed the national flag, the national sign, the national anthm and the name of the country?
No, Mr. President. You will only be remembered as the smart ass who fxxked up the economy of the Republic of China for your own pleasure. If you keep on doing this, you might even be remembered as the dumb ass who initiated a civil war in China. Keep up the good work! Unfortunately, you could only be the clown, never the great evil.
I cannot believe a person so smart could indulge himself to waste all his talents on nothing.
Yes, I am talking about President Chen. Newly re-elected this year, he spends all his time doing negative campaigning talking about stupid issues. Symbolism. Does he actually think that the fxxking symbols mattered? Does he think that he will be fxxking remembered as the wonderful president of tiny little Taiwan who heroically changed the national flag, the national sign, the national anthm and the name of the country?
No, Mr. President. You will only be remembered as the smart ass who fxxked up the economy of the Republic of China for your own pleasure. If you keep on doing this, you might even be remembered as the dumb ass who initiated a civil war in China. Keep up the good work! Unfortunately, you could only be the clown, never the great evil.
Monday, November 15, 2004
心魔
真正的敵人是我的心魔,
並不是心魔所選擇在夢中出現的形式。
已經久久不再夢見的人,
自從十月二日以後不時的在夢中現身,
我想, 也不能責難真正的他,
他不過是寫了一封禮貌的電郵給我而已,
令我夢魘不斷的,
是心魔, 並不能一股腦算在他的帳上。
心魔比真人更難打敗,
因為他們不會因為被你傷害了就夾著尾巴逃跑,
就像仙劍奇俠傳裡的林月如一樣,
真人林月如三兩下就喊痛認輸了,
夢魔月如卻是怎麼也打不死,
可是李逍傜若是打不死他, 就無法回到真實世界。
我要戰勝心魔。
並不是心魔所選擇在夢中出現的形式。
已經久久不再夢見的人,
自從十月二日以後不時的在夢中現身,
我想, 也不能責難真正的他,
他不過是寫了一封禮貌的電郵給我而已,
令我夢魘不斷的,
是心魔, 並不能一股腦算在他的帳上。
心魔比真人更難打敗,
因為他們不會因為被你傷害了就夾著尾巴逃跑,
就像仙劍奇俠傳裡的林月如一樣,
真人林月如三兩下就喊痛認輸了,
夢魔月如卻是怎麼也打不死,
可是李逍傜若是打不死他, 就無法回到真實世界。
我要戰勝心魔。
Monday, November 08, 2004
葬禮後的感想
今天去參加了老師秘書的葬禮。
她與卵巢癌奮鬥了十年, 五年前我剛剛加入這個實驗室時,
老師跟我說 She is a living miracle.
卵巢癌非常致命,
發現時往往已經轉移,病人沒有什麼機會。
她很了不起, 熬了十年。
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
儀式在鎮上的天主教堂舉行,
我以前從未參加過任何禮拜或是彌撒,
一切都顯得陌生而不真實, 好像在演一齣戲。
神父不斷的指揮大家站起來坐下有時也有人跪下,
然後念聖經唱歌跟著神父一起祈禱劃十字,
最後還有那個吃奇怪麵包的儀式
（我沒有吃 幸好他沒有說大家都一定要吃 我覺得他的手摸棺材摸書摸人很髒）
突然覺得這跟小時候開週會本質上好像。
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
神父說跟據他的宗教,
她去了天國,
以後天上還會相見。
我想未必吧,
她大概不會想再見到我了,
雖然相處多年還是有感情的,
但是這世上大部份的關係,
都是斷了也就算了的吧。
她與卵巢癌奮鬥了十年, 五年前我剛剛加入這個實驗室時,
老師跟我說 She is a living miracle.
卵巢癌非常致命,
發現時往往已經轉移,病人沒有什麼機會。
她很了不起, 熬了十年。
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
儀式在鎮上的天主教堂舉行,
我以前從未參加過任何禮拜或是彌撒,
一切都顯得陌生而不真實, 好像在演一齣戲。
神父不斷的指揮大家站起來坐下有時也有人跪下,
然後念聖經唱歌跟著神父一起祈禱劃十字,
最後還有那個吃奇怪麵包的儀式
（我沒有吃 幸好他沒有說大家都一定要吃 我覺得他的手摸棺材摸書摸人很髒）
突然覺得這跟小時候開週會本質上好像。
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
神父說跟據他的宗教,
她去了天國,
以後天上還會相見。
我想未必吧,
她大概不會想再見到我了,
雖然相處多年還是有感情的,
但是這世上大部份的關係,
都是斷了也就算了的吧。
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
ghosts
A sexy kitty,
A strange-looking guy with a shiny shirt,
A purple-haired doll,
A Japanese spider,
And Trinity with no Neo and no guns.
A strange-looking guy with a shiny shirt,
A purple-haired doll,
A Japanese spider,
And Trinity with no Neo and no guns.
Monday, October 25, 2004
蓮藕排骨湯
這次做得超成功,
紀錄一下。
豬肋骨一英磅剁塊
藕三節削皮切片
薑一大塊削皮切成四五塊,每塊約兩公分厚
蔥三支,去根及大部份綠葉, 切約五公分段
八朵香菇泡軟
煮一鍋水,水開後將排骨塊放入,待水再開後把水倒光,
加入冷水,米酒,少許鹽和少許胡椒,
加入蔥薑大火燒至水開
加入香菇和藕, 待水再開後關小火,
燉三小時以上。
紀錄一下。
豬肋骨一英磅剁塊
藕三節削皮切片
薑一大塊削皮切成四五塊,每塊約兩公分厚
蔥三支,去根及大部份綠葉, 切約五公分段
八朵香菇泡軟
煮一鍋水,水開後將排骨塊放入,待水再開後把水倒光,
加入冷水,米酒,少許鹽和少許胡椒,
加入蔥薑大火燒至水開
加入香菇和藕, 待水再開後關小火,
燉三小時以上。
hypothetical daughter
1. Don't believe in everything you see.
2. Chih-Hao and I went to a bioinformatics lab and did a in-depth genetic analysis. This is what our future daughter might look like, confidence level 95%.
3. This lab is located in a small booth in the video game section of the Jillian's on Long Island. 3000 points per analysis, (~ 4 USD).
2. Chih-Hao and I went to a bioinformatics lab and did a in-depth genetic analysis. This is what our future daughter might look like, confidence level 95%.
3. This lab is located in a small booth in the video game section of the Jillian's on Long Island. 3000 points per analysis, (~ 4 USD).
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
My religion
I like to say that I am an atheist; I like the sound of that word.
But I am not.
I am not really agnostic, either.
I believe there is a purpose to human life other than reproduction.
I believe there is a yet unscientific reason that some of us are lucky enough to live protected lives.
I believe there is/are higher sentient things that can more or less influence the outcome of our actions.
I believe there is an alternative yet logical method to science.
I believe a real religion has to be so simple and beautiful that when we hear of it,
we immeidiately become convinced by its inevitability.
like how I felt about Newton, Darwin and R. Dawkins.
I believe the purpose to our lives is to reduce the total amount of pain on earth.
Our postnatal experiences generally establish one fact in our brains: anything that may result in pain should be avoided.
We know by instinct that our own pains are bad,
and we learn later that other people's pains are bad too.
Pain is such a central theme of our lives,
shouldn't it be obvious what our purpose of being here ought to be?
My religion, is anti-painism.
But I am not.
I am not really agnostic, either.
I believe there is a purpose to human life other than reproduction.
I believe there is a yet unscientific reason that some of us are lucky enough to live protected lives.
I believe there is/are higher sentient things that can more or less influence the outcome of our actions.
I believe there is an alternative yet logical method to science.
I believe a real religion has to be so simple and beautiful that when we hear of it,
we immeidiately become convinced by its inevitability.
like how I felt about Newton, Darwin and R. Dawkins.
I believe the purpose to our lives is to reduce the total amount of pain on earth.
Our postnatal experiences generally establish one fact in our brains: anything that may result in pain should be avoided.
We know by instinct that our own pains are bad,
and we learn later that other people's pains are bad too.
Pain is such a central theme of our lives,
shouldn't it be obvious what our purpose of being here ought to be?
My religion, is anti-painism.
This news belongs to a joke board
敬禮高呼愛阿扁 國文加10分
【記者楊克華、徐慈憶／板橋報導】
國立華僑中學第一次段考，高一國文有七題和政治相關，試題並規定若學生以希特勒式敬禮，高呼「用珍奶，買軍火；愛台灣，挺阿扁」就送10分。
這個消息傳開後，華僑中學決定這七題不計分，命題老師記兩小過、教務主任記一小過，校長張銘華還保證爾後考題要複審，不會出現類似事件。張銘華說，出這張高一國文試題的命題老師，已經年逾50歲，在學校服務十幾年，平時上課認真，也很少談論政治事務。
華僑中學上個月11日舉辦第一次段考，高一國文35題考題當中七題與政治議題有關。當天下午，學生把考題帶回家，就有老師接到家長電話，認為國文科試題有嚴重的政治傾向；隔天又有一名男性家長打電話給教務主任李慕曾，質疑試題的客觀性。
校長張銘華表示，約有10名老師和「無數的」學生與家長向他反映此事，隨後學校老師即召開會議，決定這七題不計分。
有爭議的考題主要包括以當前台灣政治來解讀古語，要學生判斷正確與否。例如，孔子「知其不可為而為之」的救世精神，和公投議題相比——「台灣第一次，世界都在看的公投，已經否決了購買軍火一案，而今政府卻如火如荼地推動6108億的軍購案，我們可稱扁政府是『知其不可為而為之』？」
又如：「政府不知拚經濟，以照顧小老百姓的身衣口食，卻花大把鈔票去買毫無用處的老舊軍火，以抱美國老爸的LP，難道扁政府的大小官員都沒讀過論語？孔老夫子不是早就告訴我們『未能事人、焉能事鬼』嗎？（按：俗稱洋人為『鬼子』）」
還有，「韓愈不諳馬屁文化，而直言不諱，活該被貶，同學當引以為戒。當今是馬屁文化時代，試觀今日位居要津的高官權貴，何者不是箇中高手？是有出息的台灣囝仔必修的課程。要可愛的僑中小朋友，發揮台灣人固有的本土智慧，施展出語言魅力，好好的歌誦一下閱卷老師，讓老師甘心樂意把滿分12分都給。」
教育部長曾教導國人「換個角度看台灣」（把地圖轉90度），也成為命題內容。出題老師要求學生們「換個角度拗拗看」，思考如果作弊被逮，如何使作弊合理化來脫罪？如果謊言被戳破，又要用什麼言語，使說謊成為高尚的行為？試題中要求學生以最勁爆、最火辣、最另類的言語作答。
最具爭議的一題，就是要學生「起立、立正，右手向前伸直，與身體成直角，如希特勒式的敬禮」，高呼「用珍奶，買軍火；愛台灣，挺阿扁」，就可得到10分。
一名學生家長說，女兒班上有學生起立呼口號，後來也得10分；但這些有政治立場選擇的陷阱，他擔心孩子沒選對答案而被貼標籤。他雖然尊重老師有不同的政治想法，但實在不適宜出現在考試命題中，以免引起學生不安。
有些學生對考題爭議覺得無所謂，結果有個班級全班起立，但也有班級都沒人站起來。至於「拍馬屁」的非選擇題，學生說自己寫「老師好帥、好美」，或稱贊老師上課認真，自己獲益良多。反正就是拍馬屁，想到什麼寫什麼。
張銘華表示，三二○之後，國內政治情勢緊張，他在教師會議和各種行政會議上，一再要求老師，在政治、宗教事件要保持中立，沒想到發生這次考題「凸槌」，他認為老師命題並非不對，而是不妥。
張銘華說，命題老師已向他解釋，他只是單純想把時事和考題結合，沒想到引發軒然大波；這位老師相當後悔並感到抱歉，承諾以後改進。國文科召集老師談到這次事件，還難過得落淚。
教育部督學李宜堅昨天到校關切，學校考績委員會則緊急召開會議，決議把命題老師記兩小過；教務主任督導不周，記一小過。他並要求教師各科教學應該中立，往後各學科段考命題要交給學科主席，由學科主席請其他教師審題，若有爭議由該科教師們討論是否改題目。
李宜堅說，教育部會密切注意該老師的教學狀況，被記過的教師若要申訴，教育部也會妥適處理。
【2004/10/21 聯合報】
【記者楊克華、徐慈憶／板橋報導】
國立華僑中學第一次段考，高一國文有七題和政治相關，試題並規定若學生以希特勒式敬禮，高呼「用珍奶，買軍火；愛台灣，挺阿扁」就送10分。
這個消息傳開後，華僑中學決定這七題不計分，命題老師記兩小過、教務主任記一小過，校長張銘華還保證爾後考題要複審，不會出現類似事件。張銘華說，出這張高一國文試題的命題老師，已經年逾50歲，在學校服務十幾年，平時上課認真，也很少談論政治事務。
華僑中學上個月11日舉辦第一次段考，高一國文35題考題當中七題與政治議題有關。當天下午，學生把考題帶回家，就有老師接到家長電話，認為國文科試題有嚴重的政治傾向；隔天又有一名男性家長打電話給教務主任李慕曾，質疑試題的客觀性。
校長張銘華表示，約有10名老師和「無數的」學生與家長向他反映此事，隨後學校老師即召開會議，決定這七題不計分。
有爭議的考題主要包括以當前台灣政治來解讀古語，要學生判斷正確與否。例如，孔子「知其不可為而為之」的救世精神，和公投議題相比——「台灣第一次，世界都在看的公投，已經否決了購買軍火一案，而今政府卻如火如荼地推動6108億的軍購案，我們可稱扁政府是『知其不可為而為之』？」
又如：「政府不知拚經濟，以照顧小老百姓的身衣口食，卻花大把鈔票去買毫無用處的老舊軍火，以抱美國老爸的LP，難道扁政府的大小官員都沒讀過論語？孔老夫子不是早就告訴我們『未能事人、焉能事鬼』嗎？（按：俗稱洋人為『鬼子』）」
還有，「韓愈不諳馬屁文化，而直言不諱，活該被貶，同學當引以為戒。當今是馬屁文化時代，試觀今日位居要津的高官權貴，何者不是箇中高手？是有出息的台灣囝仔必修的課程。要可愛的僑中小朋友，發揮台灣人固有的本土智慧，施展出語言魅力，好好的歌誦一下閱卷老師，讓老師甘心樂意把滿分12分都給。」
教育部長曾教導國人「換個角度看台灣」（把地圖轉90度），也成為命題內容。出題老師要求學生們「換個角度拗拗看」，思考如果作弊被逮，如何使作弊合理化來脫罪？如果謊言被戳破，又要用什麼言語，使說謊成為高尚的行為？試題中要求學生以最勁爆、最火辣、最另類的言語作答。
最具爭議的一題，就是要學生「起立、立正，右手向前伸直，與身體成直角，如希特勒式的敬禮」，高呼「用珍奶，買軍火；愛台灣，挺阿扁」，就可得到10分。
一名學生家長說，女兒班上有學生起立呼口號，後來也得10分；但這些有政治立場選擇的陷阱，他擔心孩子沒選對答案而被貼標籤。他雖然尊重老師有不同的政治想法，但實在不適宜出現在考試命題中，以免引起學生不安。
有些學生對考題爭議覺得無所謂，結果有個班級全班起立，但也有班級都沒人站起來。至於「拍馬屁」的非選擇題，學生說自己寫「老師好帥、好美」，或稱贊老師上課認真，自己獲益良多。反正就是拍馬屁，想到什麼寫什麼。
張銘華表示，三二○之後，國內政治情勢緊張，他在教師會議和各種行政會議上，一再要求老師，在政治、宗教事件要保持中立，沒想到發生這次考題「凸槌」，他認為老師命題並非不對，而是不妥。
張銘華說，命題老師已向他解釋，他只是單純想把時事和考題結合，沒想到引發軒然大波；這位老師相當後悔並感到抱歉，承諾以後改進。國文科召集老師談到這次事件，還難過得落淚。
教育部督學李宜堅昨天到校關切，學校考績委員會則緊急召開會議，決議把命題老師記兩小過；教務主任督導不周，記一小過。他並要求教師各科教學應該中立，往後各學科段考命題要交給學科主席，由學科主席請其他教師審題，若有爭議由該科教師們討論是否改題目。
李宜堅說，教育部會密切注意該老師的教學狀況，被記過的教師若要申訴，教育部也會妥適處理。
【2004/10/21 聯合報】
Monday, October 18, 2004
Friday, October 15, 2004
無題
因為李商隱的關係，
無題都變成了豔情。
其實, 無題只是因為有了題目就不再含蓄渾厚而已。
有些題材不含蓄一些, 難免失於厚道。
前幾天讀周邦彥詞時看到兩句印象深刻,
“桃溪不作從容住 秋藕絕來無續處“
前句不大懂,後句觸目驚心：
清真詞向來沒有這樣尖刻的啊！
看了注釋才明白,
這不是責備舊情人,
卻是自悔。
當年沒有選擇與情人留在美麗的桃花源
以至於如今芳蹤難覓,無緣再見。
秋藕絕來無續處,
在讀詞人眼裡卻變成
你我已經恩斷義絕。
果然,
即便無題仍是有失厚道。
修行不夠。
無題都變成了豔情。
其實, 無題只是因為有了題目就不再含蓄渾厚而已。
有些題材不含蓄一些, 難免失於厚道。
前幾天讀周邦彥詞時看到兩句印象深刻,
“桃溪不作從容住 秋藕絕來無續處“
前句不大懂,後句觸目驚心：
清真詞向來沒有這樣尖刻的啊！
看了注釋才明白,
這不是責備舊情人,
卻是自悔。
當年沒有選擇與情人留在美麗的桃花源
以至於如今芳蹤難覓,無緣再見。
秋藕絕來無續處,
在讀詞人眼裡卻變成
你我已經恩斷義絕。
果然,
即便無題仍是有失厚道。
修行不夠。
給樹砂
說真的, 要求一個十九歲的女孩子保證永遠,
就算她保證了,
你也不能相信啊。
我十九歲的時候也想保證永遠,
也以為自己有本事維持生死不渝的戀情,
結果還不是那樣。
當然有很多是對方態度的問題,
可是保證永遠了就是沒有條件。
誰能真的保證永遠呢？
頂多只能要求保證不狠心而已。
就算她保證了,
你也不能相信啊。
我十九歲的時候也想保證永遠,
也以為自己有本事維持生死不渝的戀情,
結果還不是那樣。
當然有很多是對方態度的問題,
可是保證永遠了就是沒有條件。
誰能真的保證永遠呢？
頂多只能要求保證不狠心而已。
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Definition of Happiness
The world of the scientists is such an unreal world.
I just realized how much of my mood is dependent on the outcome of an experiment.
I could have a wonderful day composed of good sleep, good food, good exercise and good conversations, and have that day totally trashed by the absence of a florescent red band on a gel smaller than my palm.
At that moment of the day, all of my self confidence and all the meaning of my existence were represented by the correct spacing of that little red band under uv light: if it wasn't there, why have I woken up that day at all?
I remembered what a fellow graduate student told me years ago about his definition:
"Seeing colonies on the plate, that is relief;
Seeing the right bands in a gel, that is happiness."
How, I wonder, do the other scientists manage not to be depressed all the time?
I just realized how much of my mood is dependent on the outcome of an experiment.
I could have a wonderful day composed of good sleep, good food, good exercise and good conversations, and have that day totally trashed by the absence of a florescent red band on a gel smaller than my palm.
At that moment of the day, all of my self confidence and all the meaning of my existence were represented by the correct spacing of that little red band under uv light: if it wasn't there, why have I woken up that day at all?
I remembered what a fellow graduate student told me years ago about his definition:
"Seeing colonies on the plate, that is relief;
Seeing the right bands in a gel, that is happiness."
How, I wonder, do the other scientists manage not to be depressed all the time?
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
豔詞續
愛上納蘭性德, 是十五歲那年。
我是鄉下來的小土包子,
離我家最近的書店要騎單車二十幾三十分鐘,
裡頭賣的大多是字典自修漫畫。
到了台北啊,金石堂變成我的天堂。
納蘭性德是第一位神仙。
一開始迷上的是 “倚柳題箋 當花側帽“
這是最中國的帥哥神態了吧。
倒是從未疑惑過容若是怎樣的一個男子,
想必是某甲的才加上某乙的貌罷了。
後來經過一些感情上的波折,
再回去看容若詞,
喜歡的就是他的悼亡作品了。
“一行白雁遙天暮 數點黃花滿地秋“
“披酒莫驚春睡重 賭書消得潑茶香 當時只道是尋常“
“回首涼雲暮葉 黃昏無限思量“
如今心境又改,
重翻各家詞選最愛的已不是翩翩美少年納蘭容若,
而是辛棄疾,
那費盡了人間鐵鑄就的相思錯,
其實是稼軒幹的好事。
我是鄉下來的小土包子,
離我家最近的書店要騎單車二十幾三十分鐘,
裡頭賣的大多是字典自修漫畫。
到了台北啊,金石堂變成我的天堂。
納蘭性德是第一位神仙。
一開始迷上的是 “倚柳題箋 當花側帽“
這是最中國的帥哥神態了吧。
倒是從未疑惑過容若是怎樣的一個男子,
想必是某甲的才加上某乙的貌罷了。
後來經過一些感情上的波折,
再回去看容若詞,
喜歡的就是他的悼亡作品了。
“一行白雁遙天暮 數點黃花滿地秋“
“披酒莫驚春睡重 賭書消得潑茶香 當時只道是尋常“
“回首涼雲暮葉 黃昏無限思量“
如今心境又改,
重翻各家詞選最愛的已不是翩翩美少年納蘭容若,
而是辛棄疾,
那費盡了人間鐵鑄就的相思錯,
其實是稼軒幹的好事。
豔詞
昨晚三點半醒來,
再睡不著了。
想起這幾天一直想查查一句詞的出處:
“鑄就而今相思錯 料當初 費盡人間鐵“
我以為是納蘭性德的,
可是好些日子沒見那本詞選,不知扔哪去了。
在書櫃上看到一本周邦彥詞, 揀出來解渴。
清真詞太美, 總給我一種“從何想來“的驚豔感,
我一如往常的挑著極愛的幾句反覆念著,
“水眄蘭情 總平生希見“
“似牽衣待話 別情無極“
“當時相候赤欄橋 而今獨尋黃葉路“
“為伊才減江淹 情傷荀倩“
“弄粉調朱柔素手 問何時重握？“
周邦彥到底是什麼樣的人呢？
我突然發現我怎麼也想不出他是怎樣的人,
因為從沒有一個認識的男子 讓我覺得他有周邦彥的味道。
那樣注意細節色澤神情聲調,
那樣的多愁善感,
在年輕女孩子中還有,
男子中決無。
說到這裡, 我想我若是跟蘇姍討論這事, 她肯定會說他是同志,
我卻不這麼想。
所謂才情, 是要有其才也有其情吧。
如今有其才的多無其情,
現代社會哪有餘裕去把那些微妙的情感化為雋永的秀句呢？
又或者是才情兼具,
但沒有其“境“,
好像寶玉說薛寶琴不會是桃花詩作者一般：
“妹妹縱有此才,也不肯做的。不比顰兒曾經離喪…“
或許,
以周邦彥之才情,
若不生在北宋,
也寫不出 “并刀似水 吳鹽勝雪 纖指破新橙“了。
待續。
再睡不著了。
想起這幾天一直想查查一句詞的出處:
“鑄就而今相思錯 料當初 費盡人間鐵“
我以為是納蘭性德的,
可是好些日子沒見那本詞選,不知扔哪去了。
在書櫃上看到一本周邦彥詞, 揀出來解渴。
清真詞太美, 總給我一種“從何想來“的驚豔感,
我一如往常的挑著極愛的幾句反覆念著,
“水眄蘭情 總平生希見“
“似牽衣待話 別情無極“
“當時相候赤欄橋 而今獨尋黃葉路“
“為伊才減江淹 情傷荀倩“
“弄粉調朱柔素手 問何時重握？“
周邦彥到底是什麼樣的人呢？
我突然發現我怎麼也想不出他是怎樣的人,
因為從沒有一個認識的男子 讓我覺得他有周邦彥的味道。
那樣注意細節色澤神情聲調,
那樣的多愁善感,
在年輕女孩子中還有,
男子中決無。
說到這裡, 我想我若是跟蘇姍討論這事, 她肯定會說他是同志,
我卻不這麼想。
所謂才情, 是要有其才也有其情吧。
如今有其才的多無其情,
現代社會哪有餘裕去把那些微妙的情感化為雋永的秀句呢？
又或者是才情兼具,
但沒有其“境“,
好像寶玉說薛寶琴不會是桃花詩作者一般：
“妹妹縱有此才,也不肯做的。不比顰兒曾經離喪…“
或許,
以周邦彥之才情,
若不生在北宋,
也寫不出 “并刀似水 吳鹽勝雪 纖指破新橙“了。
待續。
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Memories of Yosemite
This was the only picture that turned out to be artistic from that trip, taken with my little camera that still used films.
Every time I see this picture, I recalled all the little things from that summer.
That afternoon planning in the Book Revue,
The coke cans we tried to hide from the omnipresent yet unseen black bears,
The patch of wooden floor in Mariposa Inn.
July 2003,
Half Dome reflected happiness.
Every time I see this picture, I recalled all the little things from that summer.
That afternoon planning in the Book Revue,
The coke cans we tried to hide from the omnipresent yet unseen black bears,
The patch of wooden floor in Mariposa Inn.
July 2003,
Half Dome reflected happiness.
Wisdom from my brother
A few years ago,
My brother asked me:
"Would you rather have a terrible toothache or would you rather be rejected in love?"
I replied,
"I'd rather deal with the toothache."
He said,
"You would have to work on that. You should always love yourself more."
I'm not sure this makes any sense at all.
�
My brother asked me:
"Would you rather have a terrible toothache or would you rather be rejected in love?"
I replied,
"I'd rather deal with the toothache."
He said,
"You would have to work on that. You should always love yourself more."
I'm not sure this makes any sense at all.
�
The second law of assholes
The entropy of the universe is always increasing.
Being an asshole is a high-entropy, low energy state.
When you run out of energy,
you tend to slide back into the asshole state.
Being an asshole is a high-entropy, low energy state.
When you run out of energy,
you tend to slide back into the asshole state.
Monday, October 11, 2004
夏沙
冷泉港實驗室排球聯盟,
去年季末冠軍賽,
這場我們贏了喔。
前年冠軍也是我們,
隊名叫 Attack of the Clones,
向星際大戰致敬,
去年叫 The Clones Reloaded
向駭客任務致敬,
今年叫 Return of the Clones,
向偉大的魔戒致敬,
卻不幸在冠軍賽敗給平均身高一米八的對手 (Last Minute)
只拿到亞軍。
去年季末冠軍賽,
這場我們贏了喔。
前年冠軍也是我們,
隊名叫 Attack of the Clones,
向星際大戰致敬,
去年叫 The Clones Reloaded
向駭客任務致敬,
今年叫 Return of the Clones,
向偉大的魔戒致敬,
卻不幸在冠軍賽敗給平均身高一米八的對手 (Last Minute)
只拿到亞軍。
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Shadow
The past is a Pandora's box.
It is not a specific person that could still threaten your current happiness,
but those old pains and strong emotions etched onto your soul.
If you have covered those carvings with moss and dust of age,
leave them that way.
Do not relive the pains from a different perspective.
It was enough living through them once.
It is not a specific person that could still threaten your current happiness,
but those old pains and strong emotions etched onto your soul.
If you have covered those carvings with moss and dust of age,
leave them that way.
Do not relive the pains from a different perspective.
It was enough living through them once.
On abortion
This is a follow-up to the post on the Debate.
It is funny to see two men debating about abortion since neither of them will ever, ever experience one. I cannot think of a good analogy. Well, suppose we someday invent a genetic therapy to straighten curly hair, and you see two people with naturally straight hair arguing about the ethics of such a practice. The curly hair people would probably say: "what right do you have over my hair?"
What right do those men have over my body?
Unfortunate for us women, we are the only sex that can be pregnant. More unfortunately, every contraceptive method out there is not perfect. Of course a few of us can always choose abstinence, which is 100% as long as you don't get raped, but for biological reasons this is not a practical way to prevent unintended pregancies in a large population.
So, in any society, unintended pregnancies are going to happen. Since we now know that both pregnancy and abortion are dangerous to the mother physically, but not to the father, and that being a good mother requires a lot of financial and psychological stability, many of these unintended pregnancies are going to be unwanted pregnancies.
What do we do with them?
Well, obviously, since we are not the one who is pregnant, we don't get to say what to do with them. It would be tremendously unfair for the poor women who are already in trouble to not have control over their bodies and their lives. Whatever they choose to do with themselves, they will live with it. It is none of our business.
If Bush has a daughter who is 14 and pregnant, will he let her have an abortion? Let's say that he doesn't, then is it fair for the poor 14 year old to be forced to have this kid because her father wouldn't let her choose? Is it fair for the poor baby to have a 14-year-old mother who is not up to the job?
Do you want to be that baby? Do you want to be born to a mother who is 14 and would rather not have you?
If I were to find myself pregnant now, there is a 70% chance that I will seek an abortion. I am almost thirty years old, but I don't think I am financially or psychologically ready to be a good mother. Having a baby right now would mean the end of my career. I cannot imagine how much resentment there would be toward this hypothtical baby. People can tell me that I would be commiting a murder and I would surely go to hell for this, but that is my body, my soul, my genes and my decision to make. My regrets and my pains too.
Some people would call me a selfish person for not having children. Selfish? Not having children is probably the most altruistic thing anybody can do to the human race right now, genetically speaking.
I read somewhere that if we wanted all the human beings on earth now to live like an American, we would need more than 4 Earths to support us. considering that and excluding the option of emigration to other planets, we would need a drastic reduction in population to make people live as comfortably as we do now in the US. How are we supposed to acheive this if we don't allow people who don't want children to have their way? By secretly irradiating male reproductive organs all over the world?
It is funny to see two men debating about abortion since neither of them will ever, ever experience one. I cannot think of a good analogy. Well, suppose we someday invent a genetic therapy to straighten curly hair, and you see two people with naturally straight hair arguing about the ethics of such a practice. The curly hair people would probably say: "what right do you have over my hair?"
What right do those men have over my body?
Unfortunate for us women, we are the only sex that can be pregnant. More unfortunately, every contraceptive method out there is not perfect. Of course a few of us can always choose abstinence, which is 100% as long as you don't get raped, but for biological reasons this is not a practical way to prevent unintended pregancies in a large population.
So, in any society, unintended pregnancies are going to happen. Since we now know that both pregnancy and abortion are dangerous to the mother physically, but not to the father, and that being a good mother requires a lot of financial and psychological stability, many of these unintended pregnancies are going to be unwanted pregnancies.
What do we do with them?
Well, obviously, since we are not the one who is pregnant, we don't get to say what to do with them. It would be tremendously unfair for the poor women who are already in trouble to not have control over their bodies and their lives. Whatever they choose to do with themselves, they will live with it. It is none of our business.
If Bush has a daughter who is 14 and pregnant, will he let her have an abortion? Let's say that he doesn't, then is it fair for the poor 14 year old to be forced to have this kid because her father wouldn't let her choose? Is it fair for the poor baby to have a 14-year-old mother who is not up to the job?
Do you want to be that baby? Do you want to be born to a mother who is 14 and would rather not have you?
If I were to find myself pregnant now, there is a 70% chance that I will seek an abortion. I am almost thirty years old, but I don't think I am financially or psychologically ready to be a good mother. Having a baby right now would mean the end of my career. I cannot imagine how much resentment there would be toward this hypothtical baby. People can tell me that I would be commiting a murder and I would surely go to hell for this, but that is my body, my soul, my genes and my decision to make. My regrets and my pains too.
Some people would call me a selfish person for not having children. Selfish? Not having children is probably the most altruistic thing anybody can do to the human race right now, genetically speaking.
I read somewhere that if we wanted all the human beings on earth now to live like an American, we would need more than 4 Earths to support us. considering that and excluding the option of emigration to other planets, we would need a drastic reduction in population to make people live as comfortably as we do now in the US. How are we supposed to acheive this if we don't allow people who don't want children to have their way? By secretly irradiating male reproductive organs all over the world?
水準
昨晚跟著優雅的朋友去聽了一場鋼琴獨奏會。那是傅聰, 聽說被譽為詮釋蕭邦的第一人,最偉大的華人音樂家之一。
我是個渾身無一根雅骨的人,原就只是去湊趣的。自己覺得很對不起傅老先生,害得他對牛彈琴。去以前只想著, 我努力不睡著就是了。
後來才知道,牛可不只我一頭, 而且有的是遠比睡牛糟的。
總的說來,聽眾水準太差。
許多人帶了孩子來聽。有的孩子真的很乖,可太多孩子明顯的坐不住。我前頭兩個十歲上下的男孩,父母也不知在哪兒, 開始演奏才三五分鐘就玩起來了。起始是靜靜的玩,最後竟明目張膽的發出打鼾的聲音。舞台前第二排有個也差不多十歲的小女孩,兩隻手放在第一排的椅背上假裝彈了一整曲,彈完之後兩條腿就蹺上了前頭椅背。還有帶更小的孩子來的。一個看來不過三歲的孩子大約是感冒了,從頭一陣一陣地咳到尾。抱著他的女人淨顧著拍他用衣物蒙著他,就沒想到乾脆帶他出去免的影響別人與演奏者。
這樣小的孩子帶他來做什麼? 為什麼不能找個babysitter看他一晚上? 我們是來聽音樂的還是來聽你孩子咳嗽的? 更別提傳染給別人的可能了。
還有一對情侶為了照相換到我們那樓的最前一排,用數位相機描了半天照了三張,每一張那相機都嗶了一聲,他大概以為別人都聽不到吧。
最可惡的是手機。坐我們旁邊一位老先生,手機響了先是找不到,找到了以後也沒關掉,於是過一分鐘又響了起來,他老先生仍是不會關,搞到帶位人員跑來罵人...... 除此之外其他手機至少響了兩次, 音量大到我很難相信傅大師聽不見。
讓我最傷心的是, 所有這些人都是東方面孔, 我想大概都是華人。
我們華夏文化難道真的沒有尊重他人的觀念嗎? 不尊重其他觀眾, 也不尊重年已七十,享譽國際的傅大師。
這樣的病怎麼治? 依我說, 以後音樂會開始之前兩邊埋伏下狙擊手,咳嗽超過三聲以及手機響了的人一律斃了, 喔,槍管要裝消音器。
我是個渾身無一根雅骨的人,原就只是去湊趣的。自己覺得很對不起傅老先生,害得他對牛彈琴。去以前只想著, 我努力不睡著就是了。
後來才知道,牛可不只我一頭, 而且有的是遠比睡牛糟的。
總的說來,聽眾水準太差。
許多人帶了孩子來聽。有的孩子真的很乖,可太多孩子明顯的坐不住。我前頭兩個十歲上下的男孩,父母也不知在哪兒, 開始演奏才三五分鐘就玩起來了。起始是靜靜的玩,最後竟明目張膽的發出打鼾的聲音。舞台前第二排有個也差不多十歲的小女孩,兩隻手放在第一排的椅背上假裝彈了一整曲,彈完之後兩條腿就蹺上了前頭椅背。還有帶更小的孩子來的。一個看來不過三歲的孩子大約是感冒了,從頭一陣一陣地咳到尾。抱著他的女人淨顧著拍他用衣物蒙著他,就沒想到乾脆帶他出去免的影響別人與演奏者。
這樣小的孩子帶他來做什麼? 為什麼不能找個babysitter看他一晚上? 我們是來聽音樂的還是來聽你孩子咳嗽的? 更別提傳染給別人的可能了。
還有一對情侶為了照相換到我們那樓的最前一排,用數位相機描了半天照了三張,每一張那相機都嗶了一聲,他大概以為別人都聽不到吧。
最可惡的是手機。坐我們旁邊一位老先生,手機響了先是找不到,找到了以後也沒關掉,於是過一分鐘又響了起來,他老先生仍是不會關,搞到帶位人員跑來罵人...... 除此之外其他手機至少響了兩次, 音量大到我很難相信傅大師聽不見。
讓我最傷心的是, 所有這些人都是東方面孔, 我想大概都是華人。
我們華夏文化難道真的沒有尊重他人的觀念嗎? 不尊重其他觀眾, 也不尊重年已七十,享譽國際的傅大師。
這樣的病怎麼治? 依我說, 以後音樂會開始之前兩邊埋伏下狙擊手,咳嗽超過三聲以及手機響了的人一律斃了, 喔,槍管要裝消音器。
Saturday, October 09, 2004
The Debate
I watched part of the Bush-Kerry debate last night during dinner. I had some restriction digests going on in the lab, and I had about an hour to cook and eat. My housemate upstairs had brought her TV down a couple of months ago, so I finally had the luxury of TV-watching at mealtimes.
It made me so mad.
That thing about stem cell research and abortion. When Bush could think of nothing else to say except repeating that human embryonic stem cell research required destroying life, I realized what sort of monsters we scientists are viewed as. By supporting human embryonic cell research, I am actually supporting the destruction of innocent lives! When I discussed this with my Irish colleague, her first reaction was, "what about sending troops off to get killed? Is that destruction of lives?"
But of course that is a different issue. Let's go back to stem cell research and abortion.
One truth about science is this, you cannot stop its development. Science and technology can be dangerous, but if you choose stop doing research because of the possible danger, you are giving up control of those tools. The US can make up laws to prohibit federal funding to go into human embryonic stem cell research and delay the science by, say, 20 years. That would not stop scientists in other countries or with other funding sources to explore the territory. Eventually, someone somewhere is going to come up with powerful and dangerous therapeutic tools from such research, and, I, for one, would much prefer that tool to be controlled by the US. Because regardless of its shortcomings, most of us foreigners in this country trust the US government more than any other government in the world to handle crises.
As to the ethical advantage of using adult stem cells over embryonic stem cells...... I could not make a fair comment. I recently attended a meeting in which new advances in stem cell research were presented. There appeared to be tremendous advances in the adult stem cell research; people were able to manipulate stem cells isolated from hair follicles into different tissues. All of this appeared promising enough, but does that mean practical therapies are on the way? As a scientist, I know that most of the things you try at the bench would not work. If one looks at the number of the drugs that showed promise versus the number of drugs that made it through clinical trials, you would see the same trend. Most of the things would not work; therefore, if you want to scientist to find a therapy to a disease fast, you have to let them have the tools. Tools including those frozen embryos in the fertility clinics that nobody wanted anyway. If we actually wanted to get into how this really offends some people for religious reasons, can I also mention that steakhouses probably offends some buddhists too? Are we going to ban steakhouses?
I have more to say about abortions; maybe next time.
It made me so mad.
That thing about stem cell research and abortion. When Bush could think of nothing else to say except repeating that human embryonic stem cell research required destroying life, I realized what sort of monsters we scientists are viewed as. By supporting human embryonic cell research, I am actually supporting the destruction of innocent lives! When I discussed this with my Irish colleague, her first reaction was, "what about sending troops off to get killed? Is that destruction of lives?"
But of course that is a different issue. Let's go back to stem cell research and abortion.
One truth about science is this, you cannot stop its development. Science and technology can be dangerous, but if you choose stop doing research because of the possible danger, you are giving up control of those tools. The US can make up laws to prohibit federal funding to go into human embryonic stem cell research and delay the science by, say, 20 years. That would not stop scientists in other countries or with other funding sources to explore the territory. Eventually, someone somewhere is going to come up with powerful and dangerous therapeutic tools from such research, and, I, for one, would much prefer that tool to be controlled by the US. Because regardless of its shortcomings, most of us foreigners in this country trust the US government more than any other government in the world to handle crises.
As to the ethical advantage of using adult stem cells over embryonic stem cells...... I could not make a fair comment. I recently attended a meeting in which new advances in stem cell research were presented. There appeared to be tremendous advances in the adult stem cell research; people were able to manipulate stem cells isolated from hair follicles into different tissues. All of this appeared promising enough, but does that mean practical therapies are on the way? As a scientist, I know that most of the things you try at the bench would not work. If one looks at the number of the drugs that showed promise versus the number of drugs that made it through clinical trials, you would see the same trend. Most of the things would not work; therefore, if you want to scientist to find a therapy to a disease fast, you have to let them have the tools. Tools including those frozen embryos in the fertility clinics that nobody wanted anyway. If we actually wanted to get into how this really offends some people for religious reasons, can I also mention that steakhouses probably offends some buddhists too? Are we going to ban steakhouses?
I have more to say about abortions; maybe next time.
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