Best of both worlds

 

Holistic learning: The education system should strive for a good blend and balance of both the arts and the sciences. – 123rf.com

Two relatively recent movies, UFO (2020) and Arrival (2018), have got me wondering – if we do encounter aliens, who would become the hero or protagonist?

In UFO, it was a mathematician who deciphered the alien telecommunication signal and uncovered government attempts to keep the public ignorant.

In Arrival, it was a linguist who managed to learn the alien’s language and establish communication.

This got me thinking about the importance of both sciences (as represented by mathematics) and the arts (as represented by linguistics), although the latter is frequently given short shrift in our Malaysian education system.

In our current education system, the emphasis is on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Non-STEM disciplines like social sciences, humanities, languages and fine arts are often perceived as less important, prestigious or “glamorous”.

The nationwide matriculation college system was specifically established to promote STEM disciplines. The naming of our public universities, such as Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, pays tribute to the sciences.

While our education system does make it compulsory for everyone to take Bahasa Melayu and History in secondary school, General Studies for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia, and several General Subjects in colleges or universities, many students take these subjects without much enthusiasm – just to pass them and “get it over with”.

Globally, North American, European and East Asian countries are currently powerhouses in science and technology.

The arts, however, are traditionally held in very high regard in China and Europe, and have arguably set the foundation for their subsequent progress and development.

In ancient China, steeped in Confucianism, government officials are required to excel in the “Six Arts” of etiquette, music, archery, chariot riding, calligraphy and literature, and mathematics.

Similarly, in medieval Europe, the aristocratic class was schooled in horsemanship, fencing, good manners, music, painting, mathematics, languages, literature and history.

In both settings, the emphasis was on a holistic education with art subjects given prominence. Thus, mastery of the arts was the mark of a learned Confucian scholar and an aristocratic European gentleman.

Back to these two movies – they provoke our thoughts and make us reflect on our assumptions. This contrasts with most movies, which tend to numb our brains, requiring us to suspend logic and cast aside our intellect to enjoy them.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Marvel and Star Wars movies for their great entertainment value – provided one does not overthink and assume that aliens generally speak English and are humanoid in appearance.

The storyline of Arrival is particularly captivating for me as it revolves around the real-life Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in anthropology, stunningly transformed from a dry textbook theory into a Hollywood movie.

In a nutshell, this hypothesis states that one’s world view and reality are shaped by one’s language. In other words, an English speaker will view and experience the world in a different light from a Malay, Chinese or Tamil speaker. For dramatic effect, the movie takes this hypothesis to the extreme when the protagonist learns the alien’s language. But of course, we don’t need an alien encounter to reflect on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Language is used to communicate and describe both the physical and social worlds, and it undoubtedly influences our thinking and perceptions.

Learners of Chinese are drilled to always “write inside the box” and place great emphasis on conformity. Learners of English are drilled in past, present and perfect tenses, and they generally place a high value on timeliness. Speakers of multiple languages are thus able to access multiple perspectives and world views – a boon for a multiethnic society like Malaysia. The current phenomenon of artificial intelligence and machine learning has introduced an interesting new perspective: what world views, if any, do computer algorithms occupy, and are we able to access them?UFO and Arrival showcase the value of the film industry in engaging the public with academia.

In these movies, academic theories and mathematics are presented to a wide audience and applied in a realistic, albeit fictionalised, manner. In the process, these movies stimulate interest in learning and the pursuit of knowledge, both in the sciences and the arts.It is worth revisiting the earlier issue of the preference for the sciences in our Malaysian education system. Movies are a product of both the sciences and the arts.

The computer-generated imagery, sound engineering and cinematography are undoubtedly science-based. The storyline, music, acting and directing are undoubtedly arts-based.

A good blend and balance of all these elements create a good movie.

Our Malaysian education system should learn from the film industry. There should not be a lopsided focus on the sciences at the expense of the arts; rather, a good blend and balance of both should be what we strive for because only then can great education be produced.

Dr Wong Teik Aun, a principal lecturer at the Centre of Australian Degree Programmes at INTI International College Penang, enjoys writing on subjects close to his heart and has published On the Beaten Track Nepal: The Himalayas, Symphony and Synchrony: An Orchestra of Ideas and Tales of Animal Lovers. He has also contributed numerous academic articles to internationally ranked journals. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.

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Reading opens up minds

BACK in my first year when I was asked to read cases by my professor, my immediate reaction was to ask how many pages were there to read.

My professor replied: “There’s no harm reading more.”

I also remember attending a scholarship interview where I was asked to give an account of the books I had read.

Proudly I answered: “I did not read any books besides the academic textbooks.”

It is really depressing and shameful that I took pride of my disinterest towards the habit of reading.

This may appear unusual for a law student like me to recount such a disinterest but I am afraid to say that many of my fellow Malaysian friends share such a disinterest, too.

Many students read for the sake of passing their examinations. Many spend time on computer games and working adults may find it tiring to read outside working hours.

As for myself, I turned impatient, disappointed, annoyed and even regretted choosing law as I later found out that I had to read hundreds of pages of cases every week (putting aside the textbooks, commentaries and other journal articles).

Over the years while in law school, I cultivated the habit of reading.

It was hard at the beginning when I had to flip through the dictionary to check the meaning of the words I did not understand, that I lost patience reading the countless pages of books and needless to say I shed many tears in my struggle to finish my law studies.

However, one thing I can assure you is that the sufferings bore fruit. Indeed, they were rewarding. I am no longer sheltered and ignorant.

My general knowledge and vocabulary have increased and with it, my ability to communicate. With the increased knowledge, I can voice an opinion if needed.

The habit of reading opened up my mind that I am now able to see things more objectively than before.

The treasure of knowledge also taught me to keep an open mind and not to accept another’s views blindly.

Reading news and non-fiction illuminates the world for us and reading fiction gives us what non-fiction cannot.

Through reading we travel and through books we find treasures. In those wanderings we find humanity, through the characters we find knowledge.

As how human beings need to be fed, knowledge serves as nourishment for our minds.

Reading opens up the door of knowledge, an important treasure for our country to achieve the 2020 Vision.
So, I urge all of you to cultivate the habit of reading, for yourselves and our country.

JUNE LOH Kulim, Kedah

What Great Entrepreneurs Have In Common?

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By Drew Hansen Prime Movers

Image via Wikipedia What does it take to be a great artist?

Richard Russo evokes this question near the end of his 2007 novel, Bridge of Sighs. In it, he chronicles Lou Lynch, Jr. (Lucy) and his friend Bobby Marconi, who grew up together in a small town in upstate New York. The two friends couldn’t be more different. In sixty years, Lucy has never left his hometown, but Bobby on the other hand, leaves as soon as he graduates high school, fleeing Thomaston never to return. He eventually becomes a world-famous artist and lives the rest of his life in Venice. After Bobby passes away, a reporter interviews Lucy to learn more about his friend’s childhood.

On Saturdays, the two friends took turns surfing in the back of Lou Sr.’s milk truck. The thrill came when the truck, turning unexpectedly, caused one or the other to lose his balance and crash into the side.  Unlike Lucy, who braced himself before turns, Bobby let go and even shut his eyes. In Lucy’s words, “Bobby wanted what was coming down the road to be a surprise, even if it meant he got hurt.”

In my previous post, I explained that entrepreneurs are similar to artists because they’re outsiders. In my opinion, Bobby’s behavior represents a willingness to be vulnerable, another trait that entrepreneurs and artists have in common.



Anthony Tjan, founder of the VC firm Cue Ball, calls vulnerability the defining trait of great entrepreneurs. He describes it this way:

Active vulnerability comes from engaging in a contemplated risk that considers and hopes for the payoff, financial or otherwise, that will be worth the effort. Active vulnerability is in essence proactive and informed risk-taking.

I describe entrepreneurial vulnerability differently.

An entrepreneur’s work, like that of an artist, is a form of self-expression. When painting, an artist injects her canvas with her beliefs and values — knowingly or unknowingly — and the completed painting becomes an extension of herself. Likewise, when an entrepreneur founds a company, she imbues it with her opinion of how the world ought to be. It, too, springs from her deepest yearnings, making it unique and personal. There is no guarantee that the audience or market will accept her work. Vulnerability, then, is the willingness to reveal one’s true self and risk misunderstanding, ridicule, and even rejection.

At the core of human experience is a longing to be accepted. Some people, to satisfy this innate desire, conform to the norms around them, but in the process, compromise a part of themselves. Other people, the misfits, resist the temptation to fit in and remain true to themselves. As exhausting and demoralizing as it can be, the misfits’ willingness to defy norms gives life its nuance and beauty.

Dan Pallotta explains where this strength comes from:

To embrace the misfit in oneself is to be vulnerable. It is to forsake the easy acceptance that comes with fitting in and to instead be fortified by a kind of love, really. A love of life, a love of wonder, and, ultimately, a sustaining love for oneself. Far from egoism, that love for oneself is a measure of one’s love for others, for humanity. And it is only from love that great ideas can be born.

The greatest artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders don’t seek acceptance. Instead, their love and compassion fuel a yearning to make a ding in the universe and persevere despite rejection.

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