Singapore's Education System = FAIL.. or not?

[DeathCubeK]

Oh well, people just couldn't keep an argument between me and Mr. MDC and all have to barge in and give their 2 cents. Sorry to those offended.

 

[blueprintstudios]

1) the gahmen may be monitoring this thread. anyone leaks SAF details unnecessarily may be dealt with.

2) Screw all of you guys. go open up your wallet, take out your pink I/C and sing Aerosmith - Pink. i wondered how this thread strayed from child prodigy to education system to military ?

 

[dodgethis]

Oh? Nothing was leaked. All the capabilities I mentioned are public domain and have been mentioned by the SAF themselves in press releases.

 

[Ized]

Ized - I know you're from MDC, it was mentioned by some other guy in a few posts back. I don't know why you need to keep bringing that up? Is it really something to be proud of?

Did I say I was proud of it? I wonder where did you infer that from.

Only reason why I brought it up is to clear stuff up - so that everyone'd understand the situation better as I explained about the survey bit.

At least they went through crap and will fight for us when war comes unlike you clerks or hq staff

And you said you knew? :lol:

Oh well, people just couldn't keep an argument between me and Mr. MDC and all have to barge in and give their 2 cents. Sorry to those offended.

Refer to 1st point above. I dont see any valid argument of yours besides making all kinds of personal assumptions about myself in MDC while I addressed my points with FACTS.

Which in any case, ironically you actually helped back up my original point, so well, thanks for the afterthought

 

[theunknown]

Now I cant wait to serve NS. WOOOHH!!!

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

hehe, if got war, the first batch to be finished off, can be rounded up in here!

Ok, back to child prodigy. Did someone mentioned hopefully wont end up like sufiah yusof? Heh, thats true somehow, limited marketability for boy prodigy turn gigolo i guess. Unless having certain ability and power over general men that can be last man standing!

 

[EzaRitualBella]

The father just wants the best for his kid.

And to the guy who said that Singapore trains its people to be what they want to become, you are totally right. Singapore is one country that teachers its people to conform to what society wants/expects etc while my friend who's been living in Texas since 11 says it's totally opposite there, people in US are taught to be non-conformist and think as an individual. Not saying it's the best way to do things, but it's just a fact. We are too small to survive as an individualistic society. Everything we do must contribute somehow to the greater economy.

well said!!!

 

[bobby]

Refer to 1st point above. I dont see any valid argument of yours besides making all kinds of personal assumptions about myself in MDC while I addressed my points with FACTS.

Which in any case, ironically you actually helped back up my original point, so well, thanks for the afterthought

Well then, I don't see any validity in arguing about something that has nothing to do with the original post whatsoever in the first place. And this is coming from the thread-starter, who is me.

Let me make this perfectly clear to all the little army boys here who have sidetracked from the main topic - whose minds are probably atrophying from their immense sense of deluded patriotism - that if I wanted to start a thread about the nuances of army life, the topic would have been titled "Singapore's Military Force - How I don't give a ***** and a Horse's Broken Shoe'. Since the topic isn't titled as such, I suggest you please stick to the point.

 

[visa]

That's a big problem, you know. We all know 2 + 2 = 4, but have you ever wondered why?

In a sense, mathematics itself is not logical because of the definite and unchangeable answers that we can get from mathematics.

To say mathematics is almost like ascertainable truth, I'd think that it's not fair to say so.

1: Why is 2 + 2 = 4?
2 + 2 = 4 is a general statement derived from inductive reasoning. We induce the universal from the particular.

All observed instances of 2x + 2x = 4x (where x could be anything from apples to zebras)
therefore 2 + 2 = 4.

Inductive reasoning can be falsified with severe skepticism- (this is known as the problem of induction, if you're interested) because you can argue that nothing can ever be certain. You can't prove that 2 + 2 = 4 for ALL cases because there exists a minute possibility that contrary evidence may some day be discovered. However this is not very practical- you could just as well argue that you can't prove unicorns don't exist for the same reason, or that you can't prove anything at all.

2: Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, and change through the use of abstraction and logical reasoning.
It's ridiculous and outright fallacious to claim that mathematics is "not logical" because its' answers are "definite and unchangeable". The foundation of a system of logic is that it must be consistent, valid and sound- and "definite and unchangeable" answers are the hallmarks of consistency! I would dare to go so far as to say that as there is nothing more consistent than the logical abstractions of mathematics, there is nothing more logical than mathematics.

3: Finally:
To say mathematics is almost like ascertainable truth, I'd think that it's not fair to say so.

Why is it not fair to say so? Can you name me a truth that is more certain than 2+2=4? You could argue that 2+2=4 is not absolutely certain- but that doesn't change the fact that it is relatively more certain than anything else known to man.

That said, I do agree completely with you that each individual is responsible for his/her own education.

 

[visa]

pure mathematics alone without any application is pretty much less 'world changing' then maths applied to other disciplines. If that happens they would be known as sociologist, physicist, psychologist, medical researchers and rather than a mathematician. That should answers bobby's question on why there might not be any local mathematicians who have change the world in one way or another.

Applications for pure mathematics are discovered all the time. Let me give you an analogy- The applied mathematician builds a more efficient oil lamp, while the pure mathematician discovers electricity. The applied mathematician revolutionizes the efficiency of the postal service, while the pure mathematician invents the internet. Both electricity and the internet, like pure mathematics, were initially considered to be cute and quirky little discoveries with little, if any, "world changing" potential. Think about it.

Also, differentiating pure and applied mathematics doesn't answer bobby's question at all- Singaporean mathematicians aren't necessarily predisposed to pure or applied mathematics, and even if they were it doesn't change the fact that they aren't making particularly big waves in either field. That said, how many prominent Singaporean sociologists, physicists, psychologists and medical researchers can you think of?

 

[visa]

Oh well, people just couldn't keep an argument between me and Mr. MDC and all have to barge in and give their 2 cents. Sorry to those offended.

public forum is for kaypohs like us to barge in!

always got PM to settle private arguments bro

 

[LadyInTears]

public forum is for kaypohs like us to barge in!

always got PM to settle private arguments bro

haha, i dont believe in using PMs to settle private arguments, i prefer to engage in friendly public banter, and its good its public, cos there is transparency. Most often then not, i believe that private PM arguments get really heated up.

i've had a few private issues with a few users, and most of the time they are filled with expletives and words a little boy like me should never know of

then again, isnt it better to read what others have to say, and broaden your POV?

 

[teleplayer2]

Well then, I don't see any validity in arguing about something that has nothing to do with the original post whatsoever in the first place. And this is coming from the thread-starter, who is me.

Let me make this perfectly clear to all the little army boys here who have sidetracked from the main topic - whose minds are probably atrophying from their immense sense of deluded patriotism - that if I wanted to start a thread about the nuances of army life, the topic would have been titled "Singapore's Military Force - How I don't give a ***** and a Horse's Broken Shoe'. Since the topic isn't titled as such, I suggest you please stick to the point.

Don't be jealous Levan we all know little albino boys like you can't serve our wonderful nation and didn't get a chance to play soldier.
If you're not satisfied this country and the way it's being run or it's education system. I'm sure you're more than welcomed to leave. I certainly don't think you will be missed either.

The moon would be a great place for you. Both also white.

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

Do we have any SOFTies who are very good in studies? got some scholarship from university here?

Yes your Naughty Moderator me lol.

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

Don't be jealous Levan we all know little albino boys like you can't serve our wonderful nation and didn't get a chance to play soldier.
If you're not satisfied this country and the way it's being run or it's education system. I'm sure you're more than welcomed to leave. I certainly don't think you will be missed either.

The moon would be a great place for you. Both also white.

Teleplayer2 be nice and you are going overboard here insulting a fellow Softy to this very extend.

I know Levan can be a pretty irritating guy many a times when he pen his words down at Soft – I myself encounter it….But – akin to any system of things or whatever you all wanna term it as here (The things you are all discussing) --- Rules are Rules and when you are here - you abide by it

hope you get it (this is a Warning to you)...be very careful with your words - think about what I am saying to you now - You can get yourself into very very serious trouble..

 

[blueprintstudios]

oh , bobby is levan ? I didn't know. no wonder the "Edited Post" seems too familiar. keep up the good job resisting long paragraphic/comprehensive debates. it's nice to see james emerging once again as the nicest person in singapore.eric rudimental being 2nd hahah

I feel this article/issue in general is not about the maths, the contributions to society, nor anything military. it's more about mr valentine cawley's issue against the way singapore education system handles his prodigious son's case and to have a chance of change done in singapore is to write into the papers and make a big hoohah out of it and hopefully more prodigy-gene-run families will join in. because he's been complaining about it for years and most typical singaporeans would have their itch scratched and submit into the "lanlan-suck-thumb" case closure.

no education system is perfect , and for SG , it's definitely not going to change much to specially tailor for a few prodigies because the ones who contribute to the growth of this country are your average joes who have a little bit more passion,drive,experience and wisdom.and the rest of the average joes who just wanna live life simple, they still contribute via their everyday taxes. for now all these money is going into building more ERPs.

 

[growlingsoulpup]

Don't be jealous Levan we all know little albino boys like you can't serve our wonderful nation and didn't get a chance to play soldier.
If you're not satisfied this country and the way it's being run or it's education system. I'm sure you're more than welcomed to leave. I certainly don't think you will be missed either.

The moon would be a great place for you. Both also white.

That is extremely, extremely offensive. I suggest you apologise.

 

[guitarsan]

Don't be jealous Levan we all know little albino boys like you can't serve our wonderful nation and didn't get a chance to play soldier.
If you're not satisfied this country and the way it's being run or it's education system. I'm sure you're more than welcomed to leave. I certainly don't think you will be missed either.

The moon would be a great place for you. Both also white.

You created a new account just to satisfy your little urge for retaliation? How mature. Whatever grudge you have with bobby, levan or whoever your nemesis is, can you go and settle it elsewhere?

 

[Mobius]

As my Maths prof, who is a Chinese National, once said " Singaporean students or asian students in general are textbook students, give them any question from the textbook, they can solve it, give them a real life situation, they don't know what to do!"

 

[faizal_rocks]

As my Maths prof, who is a Chinese National, once said " Singaporean students or asian students in general are textbook students, give them any question from the textbook, they can solve it, give them a real life situation, they don't know what to do!"

How true, reminds me of NS