Economics. It is exactly what the title describes it to be. Fellow students, who abhor this subject, may disagree with me for a few reasons. For one, this whole subject is filled with curves and figure and more than half of the content in essays are left to describing the graphs. Personally, I had grievances once i discovered that mathematics was infused into the explanation of economics. I detest it. Why can't we leave words to give us the logical flow in the discussions. Yet, we must remember that mathematics is merely a tool. As much as mathematics does not fully explain physics, the same applies to economics. Mathematics is an imperative as it is universally recognised as concrete truth since no one can fight with statistics. Anyways, if economics was a whole lot of mathematical jargon, it would indeed become a dismal science.
Ceteris paribus- leaving everything else constant. Assumptions renders this subject inapplicable to reality or so critics claim. I could and i did write a full essay on this (not trying to sound big ;)) but I shan't copy and paste it here haha. But Alfred Marshall did explain along these lines that assumptions are precisely what makes economics worthwhile studying. Assumption may break down reality to be so unreal but it helps in identifying variables that influence reality. Economics is an instrument in acquiring the knowledge of how society works. For instance, we know demand and supply. We make use of this economic tool to discern which variables affect the demand and supply and ultimately, the quantity transacted and price of the good. It is not the full knowledge of how society works. Alright, enough of all these rebuttals, let's look at the plus points of economics.
Economics is beautiful. It goes beyond understanding the allocation of resources to feed the unlimited wants of society (the definition of economics). After reading the end of poverty, i received a glimpse of how the understanding of economics of society can give one the ability to have a bigger impact on the lower statras of society. For example, you can be a volunteer and go to Ethiopia to build homes for those in need. But if you don't understand the mechanism of the society, your efforts may just go to waste. The Africans may live in the home but may not know how to maintain it etc. So how does economics understand the society when it is simply based on the economy alone? That question in itself is wrong as economics draws in all factors that affect the living of mankind- whether it be cultural, geographical, technological, all these play a part in moving the economy. Economics covers so so many topics and it interlinks them to have people become aware of their influences on Man's material needs. In knowing economics, we know that the certain efforts like building that home is short-term. Hence, work needs to be set aside towards teaching the people how to build the homes. (This example does not fully illustrate economics in action though) This may be confused with human geography but human geography is essentially grafted into economics like all other subjects since they influence the economy.
I shall end this post on economics. But this does not end the numerous ways in which economics is beneficial to mankind.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Inferiority
The difference to greatness is in accomplishment. People tend to have similar ideas, desires, wishes but the line which differentiates these people is accomplishment. Imagine all those famous inventors, take the household name- Thomas Edison. This man was responsible for the existence of lightbulbs, the telegram (if i'm not mistaken) and other products of his genius. Now who wouldn't think of the lightbulb? Maybe not the exact lightbulb itself but the thought of having light generated by electricity is highly plausible. Leaders start out with an objective in mind and stick to it through thick and thin. (Sometimes, it may end up as ridiculous as the communist leaders, but still... John Maynard Keynes praised them for their "determination")
I wonder whether there truly is inferiority in failing to keep to your original goals or accomplish them for the matter. This leads to the question - Does failure denote inferiority? Although there is the common saying "failure is the mother of success", there are limits to how many failures the soul can permit. The sight of failure burns guilt and disappointment in some, uplifts some, is brushed aside by some or runs doubts through minds. You chance upon failure sometimes when what you do is just not enough. Once again is inferiority denoted by failure? I do not know the full answer but this i know- failure to recover from failure is the worst kind of failure.
Now another question on my mind is... when is it right to invest? How do you know the marginal benefit outweighs the marginal cost. There are people who receive ideas but who do not set aside the time to implement it. Are making the right measure of opportunity costs? Will you be able to receive your maximum utility by doing this? How do you know that it will reap you the rewards that you deserve from your efforts? All this is so arbitrary!
i guess at the end of the day, we simply have to judge for ourselves. And maybe that's why failure is needed, to shape our judgement and wisdom in making decisions.
I wonder whether there truly is inferiority in failing to keep to your original goals or accomplish them for the matter. This leads to the question - Does failure denote inferiority? Although there is the common saying "failure is the mother of success", there are limits to how many failures the soul can permit. The sight of failure burns guilt and disappointment in some, uplifts some, is brushed aside by some or runs doubts through minds. You chance upon failure sometimes when what you do is just not enough. Once again is inferiority denoted by failure? I do not know the full answer but this i know- failure to recover from failure is the worst kind of failure.
Now another question on my mind is... when is it right to invest? How do you know the marginal benefit outweighs the marginal cost. There are people who receive ideas but who do not set aside the time to implement it. Are making the right measure of opportunity costs? Will you be able to receive your maximum utility by doing this? How do you know that it will reap you the rewards that you deserve from your efforts? All this is so arbitrary!
i guess at the end of the day, we simply have to judge for ourselves. And maybe that's why failure is needed, to shape our judgement and wisdom in making decisions.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
A new beginning
A friend of mine told me that he intended to have his humanities research project based on how large scale events contribute to the growth of Singapore. The word growth was an understatement. What is happening is total evolution, the changing of the whole landscape of this tiny country. The entire scene of Singapore is currently going through a massive upheaval and there is so so so much to expect in the future. 2 years back, we auctioned the two plots of land- sentosa and marina bay in anticipation of two humongous integrated resorts to emerge in a few years' down the road. The IMF and world bank summit in 2006, 117th IOC session in 2005, the grand prix's in town this year. What more can we expect?
The Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The wait for that moment of truth was worth it.
It was held in the padang. Roads were temporarily closed and if you spun around 360 degrees, you would realise that before you stood the old supreme court building flanked on both sides by two skylines (city districts). The varying architecture gave a telling tale of the transformation of this land with the exception of one obstinate victorian styled building sitting there immovable. A series of performances from various schools and local celebrities built up to the real deal- the announcement of the YOG results. This was followed by a video showcasing Singapore's widespread publicity, the tireless efforts of the MCYS and all the events that led to this day struck me hard. At that instant, it shook me and i began to realise the insurmountable effort of the government towards moving Singapore beyond what we currently are. There used to be a saying that Singapore is a disneyland with a death penalty. We are indeed a disneyland but we will never ever come close to the death penalty. With everything that is going to happen, we are definitely far from death. Well, the moment soon arrived. Tension and anxiety sealed our lips for that short instance as the IOC chairman, Jacques Rogge, announced our country's name to host the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Everyone immediately erupted into euphoria and 7000 strong crowd roared with pride. A magnificent sight and emotion to behold... even Parliamentary Secretary of the MCYS Teo Ser Luck had difficulty withholding the tears all welled up in his eyes. Few other moments can repeat or capture that spontaneous response. And now we shall continue to count down. But this time, to the event itself. In Singapore. Singapore still has a long way to go. And this simple statement gives hope to every Singaporean.
The Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The wait for that moment of truth was worth it.
It was held in the padang. Roads were temporarily closed and if you spun around 360 degrees, you would realise that before you stood the old supreme court building flanked on both sides by two skylines (city districts). The varying architecture gave a telling tale of the transformation of this land with the exception of one obstinate victorian styled building sitting there immovable. A series of performances from various schools and local celebrities built up to the real deal- the announcement of the YOG results. This was followed by a video showcasing Singapore's widespread publicity, the tireless efforts of the MCYS and all the events that led to this day struck me hard. At that instant, it shook me and i began to realise the insurmountable effort of the government towards moving Singapore beyond what we currently are. There used to be a saying that Singapore is a disneyland with a death penalty. We are indeed a disneyland but we will never ever come close to the death penalty. With everything that is going to happen, we are definitely far from death. Well, the moment soon arrived. Tension and anxiety sealed our lips for that short instance as the IOC chairman, Jacques Rogge, announced our country's name to host the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Everyone immediately erupted into euphoria and 7000 strong crowd roared with pride. A magnificent sight and emotion to behold... even Parliamentary Secretary of the MCYS Teo Ser Luck had difficulty withholding the tears all welled up in his eyes. Few other moments can repeat or capture that spontaneous response. And now we shall continue to count down. But this time, to the event itself. In Singapore. Singapore still has a long way to go. And this simple statement gives hope to every Singaporean.
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