The Challenge for Africa: Blog Post 1

The Challenge for Africa: Blog Post 1

When reading the beginning of The Challenge for Africa, chapter 2 in particular stood out to me. I liked Maathai's description of leadership as "an expression of a set of value; its presence, or the lack of it, determines the direction of a society, and affects not only the actions but the motivations and visions of the individuals and communities that make up that society". This description somewhat deviates, but in a more in-depth way, from the traditional definition that we've all come to know in which it is simply the ability of an individual or organisation to lead others, and was intriguing to me as it made me reflect on what set of values specifically our leaders encompass today.

Delving deeper into the chapter provided me with new insight on what events shaped Africa to what is has become today. Having spent little to no time studying Africa in-depth, I knew little of the politics/society surrounding Africa; I could only assume that much of the political/economic turmoil was due, like other developing countries, to an immense income inequality as a result of corruption and greed. However, after reading this I learnt that many of the factors that plague Africa today were actually brought about from external players. Firstly, the modern leadership dilemma in Africa was initially brought about from the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885, where the then-great European empires simply used Africa as a display of influence and power. Even after this era had passed, it seemed like Africa was never given a break as the Cold War proved another impediment to genuine autonomy. During the Cold War, the countries of Africa were once again broken up in their efforts to side with either the East or the West, the effects of which are still very obvious today.

Chapter 2 provided me with lots of new insight into how Africa has come to be. With so many foreign countries tapping into the African system (which some may argue as beneficial), it had significant negative effects in breaking countries apart and adding to both the economic and social tensions which are visible to all of us today. The last sentence of the chapter sums it up best, "The challenge continues for each new generation of Africans". It seems like, for now at least, current and future generations will have to battle the hardships that continue to plague from the past.

Anything Blog Post 2

What I learnt volunteering for Autism

When you think about Autism what's the first thing that comes to mind? Personally, I knew little about it and simply associated the term with a disability of some sort. Autism is commonly defined as a cognitive disorder that is characterised by difficulties in everyday interactions that are key to fitting into society, such as communicating and forming relationships. With this is mind, I did not know what to expect when I spent time taking care of a few Autistic children during a summer volunteer stint a few years ago. 

Prior to volunteering, there was some rudimentary training; I was told to treat the children with 'special care' as if they were different. This only contributed further to the image of a mentally disabled child. Little did I know how wrong I was. When I finally spent time with the children, I learnt that each had his/her own circle that required patience and time before being able to fully interact with them. It took time for them to accept me, but eventually I noticed a difference in their demeanour; it was as if they had accepted me into their circle of trust.

I developed a bond with many of the children and when one of the children signalled me over to play with him, I was astounded and humbled. It was playtime right after math class for the children when the boy named Ethan brought me to play with numbered blocks with him. I expected to pile the blocks up with him, but instead he ordered them in many different sequences ranging from multiples to ascending and descending orders. After showing him some number patterns of my own, I was awestruck as his became more and more sophisticated as well. Despite being uninterested in interacting with others, Ethan was able to replicate mathematical processes and this gave me new light on what these children were like.

From this experience I've learnt that Autistic children aren't incapable of interactions as many would think, they simple don't have an interest to pursue it. I realised that although Autism is classified as a disorder, it isn't necessarily a disability. Everyone is deficient in some ways and talented in others, just as these children are. When the likes of Einstein and Newton have been rumoured to have suffered from autism themselves, it makes me question how we have come to define Autism. Maybe it's just a relative term after all.

The Genius of Money: Part III - Interview Blog Post

An interview with Paul Mackay

In the interview with Paul Mackay, they discuss in detail about the perspectives on economics and money. This interview in particular stood out to me because it tied many economic theories together in real life situations. For example, Mackay describes how the approach to economic thinking in the past was producer oriented, but that it has transitioned to a more consumer oriented approach in the past century or so.

Apart from the analysis of economic theories, I found Mackay's description of investments interesting as well; He gave an interesting real-life example about how 'virtual value' is created and how it is detrimental to the economy. I enjoyed this part because it took another perspective of concepts we learn in Economics such as appreciation/depreciation and, in a very simplistic way, valuation. His description of "when value is not created out of human labour and human intelligence, then it is 'virtual value'... There is quite a lot of virtual value, for instance in the stock market. Prices go up and down, but the real value is not being expressed", presents a view that is often overlooked when analysing markets or goods but makes logical sense when given his examples.

The Genius of Money: Blog Post 2 - Chapter 10

Mercy in Mercantile Times

Gabriel Metsu: Usurer with a Tearful Woman

My key takeaway from this chapter is the portrayal of lending and money as necessary evils. At the time this painting was created, it was the beginning of major international trade between colonies which resulted in such a reliance on money; people gambled heavily on the growth of lending and borrowing to exploit the trading system and either amass great wealth, or total losses. Although doing so posed a great threat, it seemed to be one of the few ways for people to escape poverty during the day, hence explaining why people would take the risk. It's interesting to note how the painter portrays lenders to be evil and greedy, only caring about and profiting themselves at the expense of others; yet despite reasons for borrowing and lending being more diverse in todays society, people still take the gamble and the results can sometimes be the same as before, they can "make it or break it".

The Genius of Money: Blog Post 1 - Chapter 2

Coining a Myth

Titian: Danae and the Shower of Gold

My key takeaway from this chapter is how the two characters, namely Danae and the servant, react as polar opposites in response to a sudden abundance of wealth; Danae transforms it for the good, whilst the servant sweeps greedily to garner all that he can. Following this description, the author describes from personal experience how such reflections reside not only in him, but all of us as well. I agree with this because for the most part because I can see the conflict of such traits in most, if not all, of us. Knowing the struggle of finding a good-paying job to succeed in todays society, the greed and competitiveness in me to make the most money are stronger than ever before. On the other hand, there's also part of me that, given the luxury of an abundance of wealth, would like to give back to people more in need than I am. However, it's also important to note that with such a competitive market in todays economy we often hear the term "survival of the fittest"; as society becomes more and more demanding, we are sometimes forced to ignore the good and instead garner the greed to succeed.

Anything Blog Post 1

Competitive Swimming; the sport I know and love

Swimming is a low impact sport that is widely regarded as relaxing and healthy. But competitive swimming pushes those boundaries a bit, with the aim of breaking personal and game records in attempts to out-swim the opposition in separate stroke categories (namely Freestyle, Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Individual Medley). Like most of my friends and family, I never thought much of it apart from its health benefits; how wrong I turned out to be.

Competitive swimming has been a huge part of my life; since a young age and prior to college, I've spent about twenty hours a week in the pool. Although swimming is widely regarded by my peers as a solitary, repetitive and boring sport, and despite it taking a lot from me, (seeing my team more than my brother and my coach more than my parents), I've stuck with it regardless. From celebrating the triumphs to persevering through the failures, my team has played an integral role in my development and love for the sport. My team has been both my partners and my competitors, but through it all we've stuck together as a family.

As like any other sport, swimming has taught me so much more than merely staying fit. To begin with, I've learnt the importance of discipline and diligence in excelling at anything, not just a sport. With a relatively small build, I often lacked the confidence to perform my best, but I now know that what I lack in physical strength, I can compensate with mental resilience. Arguably the greatest aspect of competing in swimming (or any sport) is that I've learnt to respect the uniqueness of everyone in any community; I believe that we all benefit from each others' experiences. Whether it's the life lessons that it has taught me, or the feeling of freedom in the sequestered waters of an early morning pool, swimming has become part of my life that I will cherish and grow from.

Omnivore's Dilemma: Food Post 3

Omnivore's Dilemma: Food Blog 3

Transitioning from the natural corn to processed foods, the second part of chapter 5 in Omnivore's Dilemma describes how "people began processing food to keep nature from taking it back." This stood out to me because I never thought of nature taking food back, but simply took an 'expiration date' as the point after which a food begins to lose its taste and thus appeal or value. Reading Pollan's description made me think twice about how food 'expires'; After a long enough period of time where food is not consumed it decomposes, and in its natural environment is then reabsorbed by the earth as nutrients for soil. It makes sense that nature is, in a way, as if taking the food back and completing the cycle of life without putting anything to waste.

Pollan then goes on to describe how the term "food security" has changed as humans have evolved. Even today, when I think of the term "food security", I immediately picture a system of security or barriers to entry that protect crops from animals or hazards; this was in fact the meaning many years ago. However, today the term has adapted to how we view food in the modern day. As more and more foods are becoming processed and stray further away from the once natural product, what's important today is not necessarily the simple ingredient, but the recipe of combined ingredients. In that sense, the modern definition of "food security" is related to the protection of recipes instead of the actual product. In some bizarre way, "Recipes are not intellectual property; you can't patent a new cereal", therefore making them more valuable in a business sense today than the relatively low-cost ingredients that contribute to a processed food.

Looking back at these two aspects makes me think long and hard once again about the basics of human life. As humans we've evolved so much and adapted to maximise (most of the time at least) our use of resources. Yet despite the wonder of evolution, it makes me question whether 'artificial' is a term used just for foods, or for more aspects of life as well.