...so far.
Haha.
I still like my work despite frustrating moments now and then. I kind of like it that I still don't execute my work that perfectly, coz that means there's still room for improvement! -.- Hahaha. I'm abit nutty. Maybe just excuses for myself. Anyway, I think I need to work on reminding myself everyday that I should observe the rest more and reflect on my own standards every single moment i'm executing my duties; I feel that there's just much more to learn when I watch the more 'senior' colleagues doing the same things that I should do. And I definitely need to learn to be more patient too, and listen more! Fortunately, I have very patient and nice colleagues who take care of each other and take care of me too! =)
Anyway, work aside, I feel fortunate to have a lovely boyfriend always supportive of what I do, and showering me with loads of unconditional love! =) It feels nice to have a partner you can strive and work hard together with towards the same goal, though you're working on very different things. And I feel happy to spend my happy and precious moments with someone whom understands me, and would allow me to be my crazy, nutty self, although he sometimes winces a little at my craziness. Hahaha!
Friends around me are lovely too, caring for me whenever I'm not well =) And whenever I'm well, they entertain me and listen to my silly rantings. And also go shopping with me, and erm, not good, but splurge together with me. Hahaha! And I love just sitting around somewhere random over dinner or drinks, and talking endlessly about anything!
My family, I know loves me, just in a more subtle way. Mummy takes care of me like I'm still her baby, really. Haha. Daddy's there, but doesn't probe too much. He always nags me when I sleep late though, and would randomly ask me to cross the road carefully -.- Hahaa and then he would ask about my important events but forgets them the next day, and ask again and again. Zzz... Haha. Gorgor's really lovely, and the one I go to before I tell Mum & Dad anything important, coz he's the one less prone to disagree. Haha. He's forever busy with work, but still asks about me whenever he can get a 'moment' with me. And he's always generous with giving the family stuff =) Totally a big brother!
You know life is good, when on a random day you think about your life, you think you can smile and be thankful about it! Little bumps and squabbles day-to-day doesn't count; at least they don't make up enough for me to erase the thankfulness I feel! =)
Haha. Random nonsense thoughts on a senseless idle day cheer me up sometimes! =P
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, March 05, 2011
知足常乐
There are just so many things in life we do everyday that we take for granted; we wake up grumpily, get ready for work/school sleepily, squeeze in that darned train or bus grouchily, go about work/lessons maybe wholeheartedly or maybe in a daze, go out and meet some friends/loved ones/family, exercise or go clubbing, go home, finish up work, fb/iphone, sleep. Repeat.
Maybe things are good just the way they are. Maybe some things could be better.
What if one day you wake up without having to get ready for work or school? You could just sleep for as long as you want. You don't have to squeeze in that darned train or bus. You don't have to make your boss smile or sleep with your eyes open in seminars. You get to stay at home all day and do nothing. You can just idle your whole day away. Read or watch shows or fb or iphone. Eat. Bathe. Stone. Sleep. Repeat. With the exception - you are immobile and can't get out of your house.
What are you going to do with the whole day at home? Watch more shows? Eat more? Sleep more? Stone somemore... and then? Repeat.
Wait.
Repeat what?
I am so oddly glad and deliriously grateful to be working, and not having to spend my whole life idling around at home.
May Monday be here soon! =D
Maybe things are good just the way they are. Maybe some things could be better.
What if one day you wake up without having to get ready for work or school? You could just sleep for as long as you want. You don't have to squeeze in that darned train or bus. You don't have to make your boss smile or sleep with your eyes open in seminars. You get to stay at home all day and do nothing. You can just idle your whole day away. Read or watch shows or fb or iphone. Eat. Bathe. Stone. Sleep. Repeat. With the exception - you are immobile and can't get out of your house.
What are you going to do with the whole day at home? Watch more shows? Eat more? Sleep more? Stone somemore... and then? Repeat.
Wait.
Repeat what?
I am so oddly glad and deliriously grateful to be working, and not having to spend my whole life idling around at home.
May Monday be here soon! =D
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Men, Women, and Hair
"Women like to have perfect hair with nothing out of place. But men prefer something that is not so perfect. They want women to have hair that they can touch."
- Yoshio Nakahara
Hahaha! How interesting.
- Yoshio Nakahara
Hahaha! How interesting.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Guide books
Guide books can be kind of nice to read when they are read leisurely, and not as textbooks. They are really helpful and informative! =)
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
PHS - Post Hols Syndrome!
Finally going back to work tomorrow after one week!
Basically I only had 2 days left in Singapore to rot after coming back from Malaysia. I spent one day doing chores, going shopping, going bai nian, and watching PPS. Then I thought I would be better off spending the next day at home so I don't spend money. I ended up watching PPS and online shopping. What a fulfilling holiday I had huh. Haha. And I am actually tired of nuaing. I didn't do anything the whole day, but I'm feeling lethargic already. Vs. Actually spending some time bonding with my cousins at Malaysia and feeling tired after spending hours travelling around in a tightly packed car, but still not mind sleeping at 3am.
I say, I dread setting the alarm clock again after 1 week of ditching it... But I secretly don't mind getting back to work again! Haha is it normal to not like nuaing too much? =/
Friday, January 28, 2011
The New Year
How fast! The new year barely started when I last blogged, and now it's almost end of the first month of the new year already!
For me, the new year kicked start with some changes in work, and I'm glad to say that it's been going well so far. Well, at least I've adapted better to the changes by now =) Heh. Happy happy. I had one of my happiest cup of bubble tea today - Green Apple Green Tea with Aloe Vera & Jelly! =) =)
So much for being busy at the start of the year. Been so busy that I kind of just realised I haven't really met up with much friends this month at all, and CNY's coming already! Bleah. Feel kind of out of touch with everybody... Especially since I haven't peeked at Facebook/blogs often enough =X Can we meet up soon after CNY so I can kaypoh again? Hahaha.
On the bright side, one week of hols are coming! But strangely, coz of the one week of hols I just had a month ago, I'm not that excited about the upcoming one. Lol. Maybe it's coz it's only like 2-3 days more than others, despite it being unofficially one week long -.-''' Hahaha!
Oh well. February's sure gonna be a happening month ahead! Enjoy, everybody!
Happy CNY! :)
For me, the new year kicked start with some changes in work, and I'm glad to say that it's been going well so far. Well, at least I've adapted better to the changes by now =) Heh. Happy happy. I had one of my happiest cup of bubble tea today - Green Apple Green Tea with Aloe Vera & Jelly! =) =)
So much for being busy at the start of the year. Been so busy that I kind of just realised I haven't really met up with much friends this month at all, and CNY's coming already! Bleah. Feel kind of out of touch with everybody... Especially since I haven't peeked at Facebook/blogs often enough =X Can we meet up soon after CNY so I can kaypoh again? Hahaha.
On the bright side, one week of hols are coming! But strangely, coz of the one week of hols I just had a month ago, I'm not that excited about the upcoming one. Lol. Maybe it's coz it's only like 2-3 days more than others, despite it being unofficially one week long -.-''' Hahaha!
Oh well. February's sure gonna be a happening month ahead! Enjoy, everybody!
Happy CNY! :)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Who are the people in your family?
- "Daddy, Mummy, Gorgor, Me, Fireman Sam, and Bob the Builder. 6 people!"
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Random yaking
Just got back from Aiyah! chalet (with dear's friends) in the afternoon.. heh. Get-togethers like that are indeed a nice way to end/start the year! =)
Feeling so lethargic now. Barely slept for less than 3 hours the first night, coz for some strange reason, I've come to realize that for not the first time already, too much Coke actually keeps me very awake! Yea, I know Coke is supposed to be caffeinated, but I am kind of okay with falling asleep after drinking most coffee, and Coke is supposed to be less caffeinated than coffee yea? -.-'' I guess I'm just weird..or perhaps I got desensitized to coffee already. Haha.
Anyway, I suppose most people here know about my history of super kuazhang alcohol allergy. But what you've been missing is that, I've been training to get myself desensitized to some alcohol too! =P Hahaaha. You see, on certain occasions/celebrations, my colleagues and I would go for happy hour kind of thing after work. So after abandoning alcohol for a couple of years, I decided to try drinking again just to see what it would be like. So I downed 1 bottle of I-forgot-what, and got a little flushed and a little 'high' (note: not drunk, just 'high' and giggly. haha). It was manageable though, and after I got home, I itched for about 1.5 weeks.
Yay! It's an improvement from itching for 2 weeks afew years back ok! Hahaha. So subsequently, I just drank a bottle each time we go for happy hour and itch for 1 week or so (No, we are not a party crowd, nor am I becoming a drunkard, it's only about twice or thrice so far I think).
So, funnily speaking, at the end-of-year xmas event, my company was creative enough to come up with cute and fun certs for each of us, to recognize our funny little 'oddities'/'strengths'/etc... like there was Martha Stewart award for the one that bakes really well, and the Mirror Mirror on the Wall award for the one that keeps looking into the mirror, and well... they not surprisingly gave me an award "in recognition of her(my) alcohol intolerance and her bravery to overcome it".
ANYWAY. The purpose I mentioned this was because of the chalet. I was so hyper and sleepy all at the same time on the second day though I was really tired and starting to feel dizzy. So to wash off the Coke, I started to kope dear's beer everytime he drinks. So I started to get flushed again by about 10pm last night. And stopped. Managed to fall asleep by 1+am, and slept quite well throughout the night. Yay!! Happiness.
So when I woke up today morning, I lived up to the name of the award my company gave me! - "Red Lobster award". Hahahaa!
But good news is, the itch is like 70% gone by now already...which is only like less than 24hours! So wheeeee~ Hahaha. Maybe next time I should try to consume alcohol after I get caffeine overdosed. Tsk tsk tsk. That sounds like 2 awfully unhealthy junk one after another. Haha.
Anyway, I don't know why I'm talking about all this.
I meant to talk about my 1-week of hols just flew by, starting, lasting, and ending on a very nice note, and that tmr's gonna be a fresh beginning for me at work! =)
Haha. I'm still happy but exhausted from chalet, disappointed that my 1-wk hols is ending so super fast, and excited about work tmr! What a draining mix of feelings~ Haha.
I hope tmr and the coming year works out well for me, coz it really means much to me that this works out fine!
Tingting jiayou!! =)
Zzz...yes I will sleep early tonight...
Feeling so lethargic now. Barely slept for less than 3 hours the first night, coz for some strange reason, I've come to realize that for not the first time already, too much Coke actually keeps me very awake! Yea, I know Coke is supposed to be caffeinated, but I am kind of okay with falling asleep after drinking most coffee, and Coke is supposed to be less caffeinated than coffee yea? -.-'' I guess I'm just weird..or perhaps I got desensitized to coffee already. Haha.
Anyway, I suppose most people here know about my history of super kuazhang alcohol allergy. But what you've been missing is that, I've been training to get myself desensitized to some alcohol too! =P Hahaaha. You see, on certain occasions/celebrations, my colleagues and I would go for happy hour kind of thing after work. So after abandoning alcohol for a couple of years, I decided to try drinking again just to see what it would be like. So I downed 1 bottle of I-forgot-what, and got a little flushed and a little 'high' (note: not drunk, just 'high' and giggly. haha). It was manageable though, and after I got home, I itched for about 1.5 weeks.
Yay! It's an improvement from itching for 2 weeks afew years back ok! Hahaha. So subsequently, I just drank a bottle each time we go for happy hour and itch for 1 week or so (No, we are not a party crowd, nor am I becoming a drunkard, it's only about twice or thrice so far I think).
So, funnily speaking, at the end-of-year xmas event, my company was creative enough to come up with cute and fun certs for each of us, to recognize our funny little 'oddities'/'strengths'/etc... like there was Martha Stewart award for the one that bakes really well, and the Mirror Mirror on the Wall award for the one that keeps looking into the mirror, and well... they not surprisingly gave me an award "in recognition of her(my) alcohol intolerance and her bravery to overcome it".
ANYWAY. The purpose I mentioned this was because of the chalet. I was so hyper and sleepy all at the same time on the second day though I was really tired and starting to feel dizzy. So to wash off the Coke, I started to kope dear's beer everytime he drinks. So I started to get flushed again by about 10pm last night. And stopped. Managed to fall asleep by 1+am, and slept quite well throughout the night. Yay!! Happiness.
So when I woke up today morning, I lived up to the name of the award my company gave me! - "Red Lobster award". Hahahaa!
But good news is, the itch is like 70% gone by now already...which is only like less than 24hours! So wheeeee~ Hahaha. Maybe next time I should try to consume alcohol after I get caffeine overdosed. Tsk tsk tsk. That sounds like 2 awfully unhealthy junk one after another. Haha.
Anyway, I don't know why I'm talking about all this.
I meant to talk about my 1-week of hols just flew by, starting, lasting, and ending on a very nice note, and that tmr's gonna be a fresh beginning for me at work! =)
Haha. I'm still happy but exhausted from chalet, disappointed that my 1-wk hols is ending so super fast, and excited about work tmr! What a draining mix of feelings~ Haha.
I hope tmr and the coming year works out well for me, coz it really means much to me that this works out fine!
Tingting jiayou!! =)
Zzz...yes I will sleep early tonight...
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New 2011!! =)
I am supposed to be packing for that chalet happening in a few hours, but I'm still doing a thousand and one other things... Like being here, after leaving it to collect dust forever!
So I should review my resolutions before the year ends...
Resolutions in 2010
1. Get a job that I like asap!
Yay, I did get a job before I graduated!
Well, if you ask me whether I like my job or not, one thing I would daresay is that, many of us probably realise by now that this is a very grey-area question.
I would say that I'm doing what I've been dreaming of doing for the past few years of my life, but it is no doubt challenging, not to mention my benefits package is not comparable at all to the rest of my peers. It is of course, also rather different from what many of my peers are doing right now. This was something I struggled to accept in my first few months of the job. It seemed that everyone's doing something more relevant to the skills taught at school and receiving better benefits for that. Sometimes I even fear that I might lose these skills if I stop using them at work.
But after awhile, I've come to accept my job and enjoy it better, instead of comparing it to others'. Everybody, I believe, faces a different set of challenges at their job. When I have a very bad day at work, I tend to augment my negativity, like Is this really meant for me? When the very good days come, everything's so sweet and rewarding I feel like I could just stay floating forever! (manic-depressive episodes huh? =P) I've come to accept all these as part of work life now. This job may or may not be meant for me in the long run, but at least it hasn't boiled down to intolerable; my happy days still triumph far more over the bad! =) I know what I'm doing makes a difference, and a very good difference that takes time to materialize; a very good difference that might last forever if it turns out well.
I'm sure everybody's job has a good end-product, and is value-added in some sense, whether we see it directly or not. Perhaps one of the job-fit criteria could be whether we want/need to see this result. Or perhaps we should just learn to accept that we may not see results directly at times. To me, job fit takes time to realize and I should no longer rush to decide whether I fit in. To assess job fit, respect your job for what you do and what it results in. For now, I've at least come to terms with that.
Now, I'll need to learn more from what I'm doing, progress in value-addedness before deciding whether I need a change. I'm not really in a hurry for change, coz I believe every job has it's takeaway, whether in a technical expertise sense, a cultural sense, learning to deal with people, or simply integrating with the society. All these are things that I see room for progress in if I stay in the current company, and so I'm not giving up my 'dream' job yet for a change or for better benefits! =)
(I'm lacking relationships with colleagues and pay package in my review, coz there's no super major problem with these for me so far)
1a. Do my best, learn as much, and make my part-time job a very meaningful experience!
Ok, this feels so long ago. Yes, I've definitely learnt much and never regretted taking up the part-time job. Though, yes, I really felt like dying juggling FYP, studies, and work all at the same time O_O
2. Start a regular fixed saving plan after getting a full-time job!
Ok, this is something I hoped to avoid. Haha. I just recently started portioning out what I earn to what to spend and what to save. But it hasn't been really steady yet, coz it's too hard to be a girl. Hahaha. I'm not throwing out some lousy excuse ok. There's really a hundred and one things girls have to spend their money on every month. Sigh.
Fineee, I just need to manage my expenses better this year, period!
3. Better better time management
I think I did managed to accomplish better time management while I was studying and working part-time. Though it of coz came with sacrifices like less time for play. But I think lesser time to complete your tasks, in some sense, forces you to portion your time better for these tasks, and sticking better to your personal deadlines.
Hmm I'm not so sure though whether I compromised the quality of my work though. Haha, though eventually the results were satisfactory la.
And I'm rather relieved that now that I'm working full-time, I've less 'homework' to bring back, and more than enough time to manage. Haha. Which basically means, the amount of time I have is so much more than compared to when I was in school. Which brings me to a funny conclusion that maybe I should pick up something else so I have less free time.
Hahaha. Man is never satisfied with the status quo huh. When I was too busy, I wished for more free time. Now I'm so free, I wish for more work/less free time. I think I'm too used to working my brain for at least 16 hours a day, now I feel like my brain is rusting for at least 12 hours a day. Hahaha.
I'll have to see that I reach a satisfactory equilibrium this year I guess.
4. Get an international qualification for my langauge(s)
Oh my. This is one major let down to myself! I haven't been trying to do anything to accomplish this at all! =X
One thing of coz is the financial cost this may bring about, and another thing is I don't seem to be that actively interested anymore =X Sadly, I'm still passively interested when I see/hear things that I've learnt, but I don't seek out more new grammar/vocab etc.. as actively as before anymore. Which means my acquisition has probably decayed.
Oh my. I don't know what I want to do about this now. Haha.
5. Be a better better girlfriend!
Ok I don't really know about this! Haha.
I guess I spend more time with dear now, coz we both have more free time. But I think I still need to learn to listen more at times =)
6. Maintain the grades and get that honors.
This resolution feels so prehistoric already! Haha.
Yay. I did that somehow though some of my modules were like crap. Saving grace once again is...LANGUAGE!! Hahaha. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a psych major or language major.
Ok, I think I still prefer being psych major. If only there was a language minor! Hmmm.
7. Exercise more regularly!
Oh crap. This resolution totally failed! I'm so super fat nowww!!!
Haha, super need to work on this next year =/ Tingting stop being a bad and lazy girl!! =(
***
Alright, end of review, brings me to realize it has been an overall, good year after all! =) Many many changes, many many happening things, but Tingting pulled through the year... Yay!! Growing up can be all sucky but fun at the same time =)
Resolutions for 2011, are of coz something I shouldn't be aching my brains about on the last day of 2010 =P Hahaha.
Hope everyone's had a good 2010, and have a even better 2011 ahead!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! =D
So I should review my resolutions before the year ends...
Resolutions in 2010
1. Get a job that I like asap!
Yay, I did get a job before I graduated!
Well, if you ask me whether I like my job or not, one thing I would daresay is that, many of us probably realise by now that this is a very grey-area question.
I would say that I'm doing what I've been dreaming of doing for the past few years of my life, but it is no doubt challenging, not to mention my benefits package is not comparable at all to the rest of my peers. It is of course, also rather different from what many of my peers are doing right now. This was something I struggled to accept in my first few months of the job. It seemed that everyone's doing something more relevant to the skills taught at school and receiving better benefits for that. Sometimes I even fear that I might lose these skills if I stop using them at work.
But after awhile, I've come to accept my job and enjoy it better, instead of comparing it to others'. Everybody, I believe, faces a different set of challenges at their job. When I have a very bad day at work, I tend to augment my negativity, like Is this really meant for me? When the very good days come, everything's so sweet and rewarding I feel like I could just stay floating forever! (manic-depressive episodes huh? =P) I've come to accept all these as part of work life now. This job may or may not be meant for me in the long run, but at least it hasn't boiled down to intolerable; my happy days still triumph far more over the bad! =) I know what I'm doing makes a difference, and a very good difference that takes time to materialize; a very good difference that might last forever if it turns out well.
I'm sure everybody's job has a good end-product, and is value-added in some sense, whether we see it directly or not. Perhaps one of the job-fit criteria could be whether we want/need to see this result. Or perhaps we should just learn to accept that we may not see results directly at times. To me, job fit takes time to realize and I should no longer rush to decide whether I fit in. To assess job fit, respect your job for what you do and what it results in. For now, I've at least come to terms with that.
Now, I'll need to learn more from what I'm doing, progress in value-addedness before deciding whether I need a change. I'm not really in a hurry for change, coz I believe every job has it's takeaway, whether in a technical expertise sense, a cultural sense, learning to deal with people, or simply integrating with the society. All these are things that I see room for progress in if I stay in the current company, and so I'm not giving up my 'dream' job yet for a change or for better benefits! =)
(I'm lacking relationships with colleagues and pay package in my review, coz there's no super major problem with these for me so far)
1a. Do my best, learn as much, and make my part-time job a very meaningful experience!
Ok, this feels so long ago. Yes, I've definitely learnt much and never regretted taking up the part-time job. Though, yes, I really felt like dying juggling FYP, studies, and work all at the same time O_O
2. Start a regular fixed saving plan after getting a full-time job!
Ok, this is something I hoped to avoid. Haha. I just recently started portioning out what I earn to what to spend and what to save. But it hasn't been really steady yet, coz it's too hard to be a girl. Hahaha. I'm not throwing out some lousy excuse ok. There's really a hundred and one things girls have to spend their money on every month. Sigh.
Fineee, I just need to manage my expenses better this year, period!
3. Better better time management
I think I did managed to accomplish better time management while I was studying and working part-time. Though it of coz came with sacrifices like less time for play. But I think lesser time to complete your tasks, in some sense, forces you to portion your time better for these tasks, and sticking better to your personal deadlines.
Hmm I'm not so sure though whether I compromised the quality of my work though. Haha, though eventually the results were satisfactory la.
And I'm rather relieved that now that I'm working full-time, I've less 'homework' to bring back, and more than enough time to manage. Haha. Which basically means, the amount of time I have is so much more than compared to when I was in school. Which brings me to a funny conclusion that maybe I should pick up something else so I have less free time.
Hahaha. Man is never satisfied with the status quo huh. When I was too busy, I wished for more free time. Now I'm so free, I wish for more work/less free time. I think I'm too used to working my brain for at least 16 hours a day, now I feel like my brain is rusting for at least 12 hours a day. Hahaha.
I'll have to see that I reach a satisfactory equilibrium this year I guess.
4. Get an international qualification for my langauge(s)
Oh my. This is one major let down to myself! I haven't been trying to do anything to accomplish this at all! =X
One thing of coz is the financial cost this may bring about, and another thing is I don't seem to be that actively interested anymore =X Sadly, I'm still passively interested when I see/hear things that I've learnt, but I don't seek out more new grammar/vocab etc.. as actively as before anymore. Which means my acquisition has probably decayed.
Oh my. I don't know what I want to do about this now. Haha.
5. Be a better better girlfriend!
Ok I don't really know about this! Haha.
I guess I spend more time with dear now, coz we both have more free time. But I think I still need to learn to listen more at times =)
6. Maintain the grades and get that honors.
This resolution feels so prehistoric already! Haha.
Yay. I did that somehow though some of my modules were like crap. Saving grace once again is...LANGUAGE!! Hahaha. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a psych major or language major.
Ok, I think I still prefer being psych major. If only there was a language minor! Hmmm.
7. Exercise more regularly!
Oh crap. This resolution totally failed! I'm so super fat nowww!!!
Haha, super need to work on this next year =/ Tingting stop being a bad and lazy girl!! =(
***
Alright, end of review, brings me to realize it has been an overall, good year after all! =) Many many changes, many many happening things, but Tingting pulled through the year... Yay!! Growing up can be all sucky but fun at the same time =)
Resolutions for 2011, are of coz something I shouldn't be aching my brains about on the last day of 2010 =P Hahaha.
Hope everyone's had a good 2010, and have a even better 2011 ahead!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! =D
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Making things hard to read 'can boost learning'
Difficult-to-read fonts make for better learning, according to scientists.
The finding is about to be published in the international journal Cognition.
Researchers at Princeton University employed volunteers to learn made-up information about different types of aliens - and found that those reading harder fonts recalled more when tested 15 minutes later.
They argue that schools could boost results by simply changing the font used in their basic teaching materials.
Hard to digest
The 28 volunteers in the Princeton study were given 90 seconds to try to memorise a list of seven features for three different species of alien.
The idea was to re-create the kind of learning in a biology class. Aliens were chosen to be sure that none of the volunteers' prior knowledge interfered with the results.
One group was given the lists in 16-point Arial pure black font, which is generally regarded to be easy and clear to read.
The other had the same information presented in either 12-point Comic Sans MS 75% greyscale font or 12-point Bodoni MT 75% greyscale.
The volunteers were distracted for 15 minutes, and then tested on how much they could remember.
Researchers found that, on average, those given the harder-to-read fonts actually recalled 14% more.
They believe that presenting information in a way that is hard to digest means a person has to concentrate more, and this leads to "deeper processing" and then "better retrieval" afterwards.
It is an example of the positive effects of what scientists call "disfluency".
"Disfluency is just a subjective feeling of difficulty associated with any mental task," explained psychology Prof Daniel Oppenheimer, one of the co-authors of the study.
"So if something is hard to see or hear, it feels disfluent... We'd found that disfluency led people to think harder about things.
"When we found that in the lab, we were very excited, because it has obvious implications for the classroom."
Schools could boost results by simply changing the font used Difficult-to-read fonts make for better learning, according to scientists.
At school
Keen to see if their findings actually worked in practice, the Princeton University team then tested their results on 222 students aged between 15 and 18 at a secondary school in Chesterland, Ohio.
Teachers were asked to send all supplementary learning materials to the researchers, who then changed the texts to the harder-to-read fonts Haettenschweiler, Monotype Corsiva, and Comic Sans Italicised.
Students were split randomly into two groups - with some of them receiving the amended versions, and the others the original, unchanged documents.
Teachers were not told about the hypothesis so as to avoid influencing the results.
Students given the harder-to-read materials scored higher in their classroom assessments than those in the control group. This was the case across a range of subjects - from English, to Physics to History.
The lead author of the study Connor Diemand-Yauman told the BBC that psychology is revealing all sorts of "counter-intuitive" results in the field of education.
"Everyday psychologists are showing that seemingly insignificant factors can have big effects on how we process and retain information.
"We're living in a recession. Now, more than ever, we must spend wisely on cost-effective teaching strategies."
Prof Oppenheimer also argues that their study has big implications for schools: "We all want to improve education. Most attempts involve curriculum reform which is both costly and time consuming.
"The fact that we can improve learning... with an intervention that costs no money and takes basically no effort to implement means that we can potentially improve education quickly and cheaply."
Limits
The researchers caution that their research was done with paid volunteers - who might be more willing to put in that extra bit of effort - and with students at a high-performing school.
And Dylan Wiliam, Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at the Institute of Education in London, told the BBC "the effects they represent are quite small".
"What really matters most when reading is mindfulness... it's not printing things badly that's needed, but more thoughtful reading".
For some types of learning "we need to slow the mind down," but according to Prof Wiliam this can be achieved very simply by getting students to read in groups, or just by following text with a finger.
The researchers stress that there are limits to how hard the font should be to read - following a roughly "U-shaped curve" after which the problems start to outweigh the benefits.
So what is that limit? "I wish I could tell you the answer" Prof Oppenheimer told the BBC.
"Obviously, if you can't read it at all, you can't learn it. At some point you may get so annoyed that you give up without trying! Different people probably have different thresholds.
"So, for the time being, its probably best to use small changes... rather than try to push the boundaries - at least until we know more."
By Cordelia Hebblethwaite BBC News
(Taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11573666)
***
See? Maybe if I had known this many years earlier or MOE/NTU had reprinted our textbooks in Comic Sans, my PSLE marks would jump by 30, my L1R5 would go down by 5, I would have gotten an A for my 'A' Level Physics, and then graduated with a First Class Honors in Psychology!
Ha. Wake up wake up! Too old for lofty dreams! =p
Besides, I never ever use Comic Sans for anything, and change any Comic Sans I see to other decent readable fonts. (Says a lot about how boring people never strike it big, haha.)
But anyway, it's still an interesting finding! Once again reminds me of how limitless psychology and their research studies really can be! =) I often grumble a whole lot about doing research, but I actually love to see them being put into literal and practical uses like this. Haha. Maybe I'm just not the one to make these things happen...
Still... Kudos to all researchers dedicated to making things happen! ;)
*P/S. This was written in Comic Sans so everybody remembers this finding better and put it into good use!! =p
The finding is about to be published in the international journal Cognition.
Researchers at Princeton University employed volunteers to learn made-up information about different types of aliens - and found that those reading harder fonts recalled more when tested 15 minutes later.
They argue that schools could boost results by simply changing the font used in their basic teaching materials.
Hard to digest
The 28 volunteers in the Princeton study were given 90 seconds to try to memorise a list of seven features for three different species of alien.
The idea was to re-create the kind of learning in a biology class. Aliens were chosen to be sure that none of the volunteers' prior knowledge interfered with the results.
One group was given the lists in 16-point Arial pure black font, which is generally regarded to be easy and clear to read.
The other had the same information presented in either 12-point Comic Sans MS 75% greyscale font or 12-point Bodoni MT 75% greyscale.
The volunteers were distracted for 15 minutes, and then tested on how much they could remember.
Researchers found that, on average, those given the harder-to-read fonts actually recalled 14% more.
They believe that presenting information in a way that is hard to digest means a person has to concentrate more, and this leads to "deeper processing" and then "better retrieval" afterwards.
It is an example of the positive effects of what scientists call "disfluency".
"Disfluency is just a subjective feeling of difficulty associated with any mental task," explained psychology Prof Daniel Oppenheimer, one of the co-authors of the study.
"So if something is hard to see or hear, it feels disfluent... We'd found that disfluency led people to think harder about things.
"When we found that in the lab, we were very excited, because it has obvious implications for the classroom."
Schools could boost results by simply changing the font used Difficult-to-read fonts make for better learning, according to scientists.
At school
Keen to see if their findings actually worked in practice, the Princeton University team then tested their results on 222 students aged between 15 and 18 at a secondary school in Chesterland, Ohio.
Teachers were asked to send all supplementary learning materials to the researchers, who then changed the texts to the harder-to-read fonts Haettenschweiler, Monotype Corsiva, and Comic Sans Italicised.
Students were split randomly into two groups - with some of them receiving the amended versions, and the others the original, unchanged documents.
Teachers were not told about the hypothesis so as to avoid influencing the results.
Students given the harder-to-read materials scored higher in their classroom assessments than those in the control group. This was the case across a range of subjects - from English, to Physics to History.
The lead author of the study Connor Diemand-Yauman told the BBC that psychology is revealing all sorts of "counter-intuitive" results in the field of education.
"Everyday psychologists are showing that seemingly insignificant factors can have big effects on how we process and retain information.
"We're living in a recession. Now, more than ever, we must spend wisely on cost-effective teaching strategies."
Prof Oppenheimer also argues that their study has big implications for schools: "We all want to improve education. Most attempts involve curriculum reform which is both costly and time consuming.
"The fact that we can improve learning... with an intervention that costs no money and takes basically no effort to implement means that we can potentially improve education quickly and cheaply."
Limits
The researchers caution that their research was done with paid volunteers - who might be more willing to put in that extra bit of effort - and with students at a high-performing school.
And Dylan Wiliam, Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at the Institute of Education in London, told the BBC "the effects they represent are quite small".
"What really matters most when reading is mindfulness... it's not printing things badly that's needed, but more thoughtful reading".
For some types of learning "we need to slow the mind down," but according to Prof Wiliam this can be achieved very simply by getting students to read in groups, or just by following text with a finger.
The researchers stress that there are limits to how hard the font should be to read - following a roughly "U-shaped curve" after which the problems start to outweigh the benefits.
So what is that limit? "I wish I could tell you the answer" Prof Oppenheimer told the BBC.
"Obviously, if you can't read it at all, you can't learn it. At some point you may get so annoyed that you give up without trying! Different people probably have different thresholds.
"So, for the time being, its probably best to use small changes... rather than try to push the boundaries - at least until we know more."
By Cordelia Hebblethwaite BBC News
(Taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11573666)
***
See? Maybe if I had known this many years earlier or MOE/NTU had reprinted our textbooks in Comic Sans, my PSLE marks would jump by 30, my L1R5 would go down by 5, I would have gotten an A for my 'A' Level Physics, and then graduated with a First Class Honors in Psychology!
Ha. Wake up wake up! Too old for lofty dreams! =p
Besides, I never ever use Comic Sans for anything, and change any Comic Sans I see to other decent readable fonts. (Says a lot about how boring people never strike it big, haha.)
But anyway, it's still an interesting finding! Once again reminds me of how limitless psychology and their research studies really can be! =) I often grumble a whole lot about doing research, but I actually love to see them being put into literal and practical uses like this. Haha. Maybe I'm just not the one to make these things happen...
Still... Kudos to all researchers dedicated to making things happen! ;)
*P/S. This was written in Comic Sans so everybody remembers this finding better and put it into good use!! =p
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
It feels weird to be studying again!
This is the one last thing I allow myself to do before I stop my procrastination.
Now you truly understand why I say I only blog when I'm mugging!
Now you truly understand why I say I only blog when I'm mugging!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
I'm trying to keep this space updated, though I don't know with what. Haha. Considering how infrequent I turn on my computer nowadays, it's good enough that I'm here every 2-3 weeks! :p
Life's the same~ I spend most nights either watching tv/videos or reading my book. I seem to have this fascination about stories that are set in the old English/Victorian times (I'm not sure of the correct term for it actually). Haha. Like I quite like to read stuff about the Kings and their Queen and mistresses (English equivalent of concubines, haha). Somehow they always have very complicated and interesting, twisty stories behind the scandals, and then it kind of keeps me interested in eventually whether the Queen or the mistress triumphs. Wahaha. I think I sound sadistic. Actually, it's not just English royal families, I also like reading about Chinese Kings and concubines! Tsk tsk. Seriously, men of that era are so evolutionarily driven- the one with the male heir is most often the one with the last laugh. Hai! Why are men like that ne? Hahah.
Anyway, I tried baking my first banana cake (bread), and it failed very miserably!! Hahaha. Think the ingredients a bit haywire, I would still love to try again though! :)
Exciting weekend coming up, finally a friend's getting married! Haha. I remember we were still chatting about the issue of marriage and he was mentioning proposal and all that last year, now he's getting married!!! Woohoooo. So exciting!! Hahaha.
What else?
Oh, the family photos we took at the studio are out already. We went to collect samples yesterday, to decide which are the ones to make into the proper portrait. Haha. Brother says he'll scan them if he feels like it on Friday. So maybe I'll upload them too when I feel like it. Lol.
Alright, I shall go back to stoning at the tv. Adios!! :)
Life's the same~ I spend most nights either watching tv/videos or reading my book. I seem to have this fascination about stories that are set in the old English/Victorian times (I'm not sure of the correct term for it actually). Haha. Like I quite like to read stuff about the Kings and their Queen and mistresses (English equivalent of concubines, haha). Somehow they always have very complicated and interesting, twisty stories behind the scandals, and then it kind of keeps me interested in eventually whether the Queen or the mistress triumphs. Wahaha. I think I sound sadistic. Actually, it's not just English royal families, I also like reading about Chinese Kings and concubines! Tsk tsk. Seriously, men of that era are so evolutionarily driven- the one with the male heir is most often the one with the last laugh. Hai! Why are men like that ne? Hahah.
Anyway, I tried baking my first banana cake (bread), and it failed very miserably!! Hahaha. Think the ingredients a bit haywire, I would still love to try again though! :)
Exciting weekend coming up, finally a friend's getting married! Haha. I remember we were still chatting about the issue of marriage and he was mentioning proposal and all that last year, now he's getting married!!! Woohoooo. So exciting!! Hahaha.
What else?
Oh, the family photos we took at the studio are out already. We went to collect samples yesterday, to decide which are the ones to make into the proper portrait. Haha. Brother says he'll scan them if he feels like it on Friday. So maybe I'll upload them too when I feel like it. Lol.
Alright, I shall go back to stoning at the tv. Adios!! :)
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Half of September
Thinking back, I actually mostly blogged when I got bored of typing reports/studying.
Sigh. I'm lazy even to upload photos now! Haha. Let's see what I've been doing for the month:
1) Celebrate Teacher's day! For the first time, I'm on the receiving end! :)
2) Celebrate Hatch day! Colleagues got a cake for me and B's belated bday! Nice deco on the white board. Haha. Rose from a very sweet kid&mummy :) :)
3) Celebrate Hatch day again! Lovely went to fetch me after work! :) Went to eat, had a lovely time chatting, and got very lovely and awesome creative presents!
4) Celebrate Hatch day somemore! Met mabbie the next day and went for tepanyaki :) and uh, the usual "window-shopping" at Watsons/NTUC.
5) Dans gathering! - All 6 were present and we went for dim sum! Lalala~ Was nice to catch up again, the first time after everybody officially grad! :)
6) Went for some massage coz had promo coupon =D
7) Celebrated one of the kid's birthday! Another kid came back to visit coz he was leaving the country for good. Much stuff happened, both happy and sad, and I think that was my most emotional day at work thus far.
8) Met manics =D had a good dinner/dessert and catching up. Got more niceee presents! :)
9) Went for Tampopo with colleagues!
10) Went for family grad photoshoot @ Serangoon Broadway! :D FINALLY. Haven't got the photos though. Don't know how it turned out. Mummy was gorgeous though :)
11) Celebrated lovely grandma's birthday! Lovely turned up after work again with a surprise! :)
12) Happy 33rd Monthniversary!! Watched Grown Ups and it was good and funny! :)
Ta-dah! Pictures only speak a thousand more than words, when you're hardworking enough to upload them. I think it's easier for lazy people like me to type. Haha.
Alright, midnight. So that was my first half of September thus far! :)
Sigh. I'm lazy even to upload photos now! Haha. Let's see what I've been doing for the month:
1) Celebrate Teacher's day! For the first time, I'm on the receiving end! :)
2) Celebrate Hatch day! Colleagues got a cake for me and B's belated bday! Nice deco on the white board. Haha. Rose from a very sweet kid&mummy :) :)
3) Celebrate Hatch day again! Lovely went to fetch me after work! :) Went to eat, had a lovely time chatting, and got very lovely and awesome creative presents!
4) Celebrate Hatch day somemore! Met mabbie the next day and went for tepanyaki :) and uh, the usual "window-shopping" at Watsons/NTUC.
5) Dans gathering! - All 6 were present and we went for dim sum! Lalala~ Was nice to catch up again, the first time after everybody officially grad! :)
6) Went for some massage coz had promo coupon =D
7) Celebrated one of the kid's birthday! Another kid came back to visit coz he was leaving the country for good. Much stuff happened, both happy and sad, and I think that was my most emotional day at work thus far.
8) Met manics =D had a good dinner/dessert and catching up. Got more niceee presents! :)
9) Went for Tampopo with colleagues!
10) Went for family grad photoshoot @ Serangoon Broadway! :D FINALLY. Haven't got the photos though. Don't know how it turned out. Mummy was gorgeous though :)
11) Celebrated lovely grandma's birthday! Lovely turned up after work again with a surprise! :)
12) Happy 33rd Monthniversary!! Watched Grown Ups and it was good and funny! :)
Ta-dah! Pictures only speak a thousand more than words, when you're hardworking enough to upload them. I think it's easier for lazy people like me to type. Haha.
Alright, midnight. So that was my first half of September thus far! :)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Idle or Ideal?
Work life is strange. At least, to me...presently.
I don't despise it, and frankly speaking, I quite like it. Compared to the past 10+ years of studying life, it's routinely peaceful and predictable.
Waking up every morning, going to work, knocking off and either hanging out with my colleagues for a bit or wait for Lovely to knock off, or knocking off early and heading home, going out with friends or Lovely sometimes after work, reaching home and turning into dust infront of tudou or tv, or at times, reading any book I can lay my hands on/make me tear myself away from tudou, sleep. Rewind, and repeat.
Not having to bring any work home to do relieves me, and yet makes me feel strange after having to pia even after reaching home for the past 10+ years. It feels so nice though to go out every weekend or spend time with somebody who matters to you, without thinking about that pile of work or reports waiting for you at home.
I would say, to me, the only more visible aspect of work life that is saliently more sian than school life, would be counting down. I/We spent the large part of our school life counting down; counting down to that end of the period, counting down to that recess, counting down to that dismissal/end of the day, counting down to that deadline, counting down to that weekend, counting down to that term break, counting down to that end of exams, counting down to that end of semester, counting down to that end of school life eternally.
But when all that counting down is over, and work life comes in, I find nothing much to count down to anymore other than weekends or public holidays, which is really no biggie. Well, especially when I usually knock off after 2pm on Saturdays, with half the day gone, nuaing around abit more, comes the next day, and blahblah, Monday is here again. And we march into work, crying "It's MONDAYYYYYYY" again :/ Public holidays feels abit better, coz you feel abit more 赚到 than usual; like it's not the usual weekend. But then, it's usually short, and leaves you with withdrawal symptoms after that, like when's the next public holiday!!?
Perhaps I need that extra oomph or push to go do something else with my free hours. But again, it feels like pushing myself back into that whirlwind of busy-ness and unhealthy rapid ageing again for nothing. How ironic.
I wonder what I would answer when somebody ask me "How's life?" :
- "Good, idle!"
- "Good, ideal!"
I don't despise it, and frankly speaking, I quite like it. Compared to the past 10+ years of studying life, it's routinely peaceful and predictable.
Waking up every morning, going to work, knocking off and either hanging out with my colleagues for a bit or wait for Lovely to knock off, or knocking off early and heading home, going out with friends or Lovely sometimes after work, reaching home and turning into dust infront of tudou or tv, or at times, reading any book I can lay my hands on/make me tear myself away from tudou, sleep. Rewind, and repeat.
Not having to bring any work home to do relieves me, and yet makes me feel strange after having to pia even after reaching home for the past 10+ years. It feels so nice though to go out every weekend or spend time with somebody who matters to you, without thinking about that pile of work or reports waiting for you at home.
I would say, to me, the only more visible aspect of work life that is saliently more sian than school life, would be counting down. I/We spent the large part of our school life counting down; counting down to that end of the period, counting down to that recess, counting down to that dismissal/end of the day, counting down to that deadline, counting down to that weekend, counting down to that term break, counting down to that end of exams, counting down to that end of semester, counting down to that end of school life eternally.
But when all that counting down is over, and work life comes in, I find nothing much to count down to anymore other than weekends or public holidays, which is really no biggie. Well, especially when I usually knock off after 2pm on Saturdays, with half the day gone, nuaing around abit more, comes the next day, and blahblah, Monday is here again. And we march into work, crying "It's MONDAYYYYYYY" again :/ Public holidays feels abit better, coz you feel abit more 赚到 than usual; like it's not the usual weekend. But then, it's usually short, and leaves you with withdrawal symptoms after that, like when's the next public holiday!!?
Perhaps I need that extra oomph or push to go do something else with my free hours. But again, it feels like pushing myself back into that whirlwind of busy-ness and unhealthy rapid ageing again for nothing. How ironic.
I wonder what I would answer when somebody ask me "How's life?" :
- "Good, idle!"
- "Good, ideal!"
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sally The Camel
There's this song I keep hearing recently, but incompletely. Like, due to some reason, I always hear only half the song, then it stopped. It goes...
Sally the camel has FIVE humps.
Sally the camel has FIVE humps.
Sally the camel has FIVE humps.
So, ride Sally, ride.
Sally the camel has FOUR humps.
Sally the camel has FOUR humps.
Sally the camel has FOUR humps.
So, ride Sally, ride.
etc...
Until it becomes NO humps.
I thought it was quite a silly and meaningless song. Coz I've never heard of a camel with as many as FIVE humps anyway, and why would the number of humps keep decreasing? So what happens when it has no more humps?
Anyway, after a few days, I finally heard the full version of the song today! I was so amused by the ending that I burst out laughing. Haha.
Here goes!-Find out what happened to Sally the camel!!
Hahahaha!! SO kuakuakua~ right!
Sally the camel has FIVE humps.
Sally the camel has FIVE humps.
Sally the camel has FIVE humps.
So, ride Sally, ride.
Sally the camel has FOUR humps.
Sally the camel has FOUR humps.
Sally the camel has FOUR humps.
So, ride Sally, ride.
etc...
Until it becomes NO humps.
I thought it was quite a silly and meaningless song. Coz I've never heard of a camel with as many as FIVE humps anyway, and why would the number of humps keep decreasing? So what happens when it has no more humps?
Anyway, after a few days, I finally heard the full version of the song today! I was so amused by the ending that I burst out laughing. Haha.
Here goes!-Find out what happened to Sally the camel!!
Hahahaha!! SO kuakuakua~ right!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Antibiotics?
Doctor: "I'll give you antibiotic eyedrops."
- "So I have to finish using the whole bottle?"
- "So I have to finish using the whole bottle?"
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Would you fancy one too?
Can you guess what are all these?
Answer @ www.crazycoffins.co.uk
I'm not sure if I would really fancy one of these for myself. It's pretty, but i'm turning into ashes and dust anyway, so I probably won't get to live in such a pretty piece of artwork :( Well, I may consider if they make urns. Haha. But come to think of it, I wouldn't want my loved ones to spend such money on me after I'm gone.
Hmmm.
Oh well. It's still quite a thoughtful business for these entrepreneurs to think up of! I guess it does help the loved ones in their greiving, coz helplessness is often a salient feeling and this would probably let them feel they can do one last thing for the departed? Hmmm.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Work
If you're wondering about my hectic work life I blogged about when I just started now, it's in control now :) I'm knocking off mostly by 4pm for now. Haha.
Anyway, I may not know if this is what I want in the long run, but it's what I want to do for now. After more than a month of work life, I feel more humbled than before. I used to think about getting a promotion as fast as possible, but now I realise there's just so much more for me to learn.
A friend once told me that somebody commented to him/her that fresh grads keep eyeing opportunities for advancements when they're searching for a job, but they don't put enough consideration into what they can value-add to the company. It's very true in Singapore, and admitedly, I guess I used to be one of those fresh grads. For now, I would still like advancement of course, but I now know my limits and won't expect one before I'm deemed fit for it :)
It's a big world out there, with so much more to see and experience for yourself! There's so much more to feel and be touched. I would like to stay put at where I am to experience and learn what I'm going through now and learn from my fellow experienced colleagues, and be humbled with all these first.
I have no sky-high salary, but I know that every one of the clients I am serving is thankful and appreciative for what we provide for them. I have not many days off from work, but the tiny smiles and endless peals of laughter keeps me going for now. I have no eye-boggling bonus and welfare packages, but my heart is warmed everyday. I know what I am doing now has a life-altering effect in the clients I serve, and this makes me both proud and humbled at the same time.
Job satisfaction can alter this much your attitude toward the benefits you are receiving compared to your peers. Don't let yourself be shaken by comparing with your peers what you're receiving. Ask yourself what you wanted at the beginning, and whether you have/am on the path to achieving your goal.
Grass is greener on the other side? There's just a thin line between being unambitious, and being rationale, giving oneself and one's job the due respect and time before starting to compare :)
If you think you're having a much harder time or working much harder than others, why fret? You're young and you've just taken off. It's the best time to strive harder! If you can take the extreme hardship now, there's nothing that can overwhelm you in your many more years to come!
That is of course, given you're not working under super disastrous and horrible circumstances. Haha.
Alright, shall stop my out-of-nowhere prep talk. I'm off for a jog! :)
Anyway, I may not know if this is what I want in the long run, but it's what I want to do for now. After more than a month of work life, I feel more humbled than before. I used to think about getting a promotion as fast as possible, but now I realise there's just so much more for me to learn.
A friend once told me that somebody commented to him/her that fresh grads keep eyeing opportunities for advancements when they're searching for a job, but they don't put enough consideration into what they can value-add to the company. It's very true in Singapore, and admitedly, I guess I used to be one of those fresh grads. For now, I would still like advancement of course, but I now know my limits and won't expect one before I'm deemed fit for it :)
It's a big world out there, with so much more to see and experience for yourself! There's so much more to feel and be touched. I would like to stay put at where I am to experience and learn what I'm going through now and learn from my fellow experienced colleagues, and be humbled with all these first.
I have no sky-high salary, but I know that every one of the clients I am serving is thankful and appreciative for what we provide for them. I have not many days off from work, but the tiny smiles and endless peals of laughter keeps me going for now. I have no eye-boggling bonus and welfare packages, but my heart is warmed everyday. I know what I am doing now has a life-altering effect in the clients I serve, and this makes me both proud and humbled at the same time.
Job satisfaction can alter this much your attitude toward the benefits you are receiving compared to your peers. Don't let yourself be shaken by comparing with your peers what you're receiving. Ask yourself what you wanted at the beginning, and whether you have/am on the path to achieving your goal.
Grass is greener on the other side? There's just a thin line between being unambitious, and being rationale, giving oneself and one's job the due respect and time before starting to compare :)
If you think you're having a much harder time or working much harder than others, why fret? You're young and you've just taken off. It's the best time to strive harder! If you can take the extreme hardship now, there's nothing that can overwhelm you in your many more years to come!
That is of course, given you're not working under super disastrous and horrible circumstances. Haha.
Alright, shall stop my out-of-nowhere prep talk. I'm off for a jog! :)
Friday, June 25, 2010
Bejeweled! research
This came out some time ago already, but I believe there are people who missed it anyway... So here goes!
NTU Study Reveals Bejeweled May Boost Cognitive Skills
(http://news.scoopasia.com/index.php/news/ntu_study_reveals_bejeweled_may_boost_cognitive_skills/)
Playing Bejeweled 2 for Ten Hours in a Week May Lead to Improved Visual Cognition
Singapore, 9 June 2010 -- The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore today released results of a ten-month study on PopCap’s Bejeweled 2, showing its subjects’ improved response time and attention to details after playing the video game for ten hours in one week. The participants were randomly selected and monitored by a group of four psychology major students from NTU’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
According to Dr. Michael Donald Patterson, Assistant Professor from NTU’s Division of Psychology, playing some computer games may actually lead to positive benefits. “Since people in Singapore of all ages spend significant hours playing these games, it is important to understand their effects, specifically on cognition,” he said. “We chose Bejeweled 2 because the game makes high demands on visual perception, attention, and planning. We examined whether increased skills acquired through playing the game are transferrable to non-gaming, real-life situations. The results of this initial study indicate that improved performance in everyday life is possible,” he added.
Bejeweled 2 is a sequel to Bejeweled – recently awarded by Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer’s Edition as the Most Popular Puzzle Game Series of the Century – developed and published by PopCap Games. Bejeweled 2 was chosen for the study as it is a free web-based game, which is popular amongst Singaporeans regardless of gender and age. In addition, the game is easily accessible due to its availability on multiple gaming platforms – including Play Station, Xbox, and Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. The game features a range of secret game-play modes that can be accessed upon completion of any of four modes – the Classic, Puzzle, Endless and Action modes. The Action mode was chosen because it restricts players to a limited time to complete each game level – requiring players to react quickly to create as many cascades as possible in order to advance to the next level of the game. The progressive increase in difficulty is one factor which may inspire game players to improve their play continuously.
Over the course of ten months, students were randomly recruited to participate – declaring that they had never played Bejeweled and did not play action video games on a regular basis. This study was to examine whether playing 10 hours of Bejeweled 2 in a week would result in superior cognitive abilities, including selective attention, executive planning, and visual spatial resolution – compared to playing Pet Society, which is a neutral social networking game hosted by Facebook. Participants were asked to take the same set of cognitive tests before and after the 10-hour game playing session. Results showed that those who played Bejeweled 2 improved in their cognitive tests performance compared to the control group. These Bejeweled players were able to ignore irrelevant distracters that clutter their visual environment better than their Pet Society player counterparts – translating into improved visual attention and spatial acuity.
The objective of the Bejeweled game series is to swap one gem with an adjacent one to form a chain of three or more, requiring the player to identify the correct gem to move from the rest (visual selective attention), especially when all the gems are closely packed (crowding effect). The study incorporated the Flanker Test and the Crowding Test as the most relevant as they highlight the general phenomenon of identifying a target object in a complex setting when distracting objects are present in the immediate vicinity.
“Selective visual attention is one of the most commonly used skills applied to daily tasks, like driving and shopping. Furthermore, being able to focus and avoid distractions is also advantageous in day-to-day life. Therefore, we believe it is important to study whether the benefits derived from playing video games may, in fact, apply to real-life situations. The result from the students’ final year project is an intriguing start to research into this cognitive behaviour,” Dr. Patterson concluded.
A similar outcome from a study on Bejeweled and Peggle – other PopCap Games’ franchises – was recently announced by East Carolina University in the United States; establishing a clear link between regular exposure to video games and the resulting positive effects on cognition.
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Alternatively, you may see it in the chinese news and look at P's funny hair! :p
<br/><a href="http://video.xin.msn.com/?mkt=en-sg&vid=&from=&fg=sharenoembed" target="_new" title="南大调查显示：一周十小时 电脑游戏提高辨识能力">Video: 南大调查显示：一周十小时 电脑游戏提高辨识能力</a>
Haha. Our lovely little 默默耕耘 de division becomes famous! :)
Hurray! I play Bejeweled, and not Pet Society! Hahaha.
NTU Study Reveals Bejeweled May Boost Cognitive Skills
(http://news.scoopasia.com/index.php/news/ntu_study_reveals_bejeweled_may_boost_cognitive_skills/)
Playing Bejeweled 2 for Ten Hours in a Week May Lead to Improved Visual Cognition
Singapore, 9 June 2010 -- The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore today released results of a ten-month study on PopCap’s Bejeweled 2, showing its subjects’ improved response time and attention to details after playing the video game for ten hours in one week. The participants were randomly selected and monitored by a group of four psychology major students from NTU’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
According to Dr. Michael Donald Patterson, Assistant Professor from NTU’s Division of Psychology, playing some computer games may actually lead to positive benefits. “Since people in Singapore of all ages spend significant hours playing these games, it is important to understand their effects, specifically on cognition,” he said. “We chose Bejeweled 2 because the game makes high demands on visual perception, attention, and planning. We examined whether increased skills acquired through playing the game are transferrable to non-gaming, real-life situations. The results of this initial study indicate that improved performance in everyday life is possible,” he added.
Bejeweled 2 is a sequel to Bejeweled – recently awarded by Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer’s Edition as the Most Popular Puzzle Game Series of the Century – developed and published by PopCap Games. Bejeweled 2 was chosen for the study as it is a free web-based game, which is popular amongst Singaporeans regardless of gender and age. In addition, the game is easily accessible due to its availability on multiple gaming platforms – including Play Station, Xbox, and Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. The game features a range of secret game-play modes that can be accessed upon completion of any of four modes – the Classic, Puzzle, Endless and Action modes. The Action mode was chosen because it restricts players to a limited time to complete each game level – requiring players to react quickly to create as many cascades as possible in order to advance to the next level of the game. The progressive increase in difficulty is one factor which may inspire game players to improve their play continuously.
Over the course of ten months, students were randomly recruited to participate – declaring that they had never played Bejeweled and did not play action video games on a regular basis. This study was to examine whether playing 10 hours of Bejeweled 2 in a week would result in superior cognitive abilities, including selective attention, executive planning, and visual spatial resolution – compared to playing Pet Society, which is a neutral social networking game hosted by Facebook. Participants were asked to take the same set of cognitive tests before and after the 10-hour game playing session. Results showed that those who played Bejeweled 2 improved in their cognitive tests performance compared to the control group. These Bejeweled players were able to ignore irrelevant distracters that clutter their visual environment better than their Pet Society player counterparts – translating into improved visual attention and spatial acuity.
The objective of the Bejeweled game series is to swap one gem with an adjacent one to form a chain of three or more, requiring the player to identify the correct gem to move from the rest (visual selective attention), especially when all the gems are closely packed (crowding effect). The study incorporated the Flanker Test and the Crowding Test as the most relevant as they highlight the general phenomenon of identifying a target object in a complex setting when distracting objects are present in the immediate vicinity.
“Selective visual attention is one of the most commonly used skills applied to daily tasks, like driving and shopping. Furthermore, being able to focus and avoid distractions is also advantageous in day-to-day life. Therefore, we believe it is important to study whether the benefits derived from playing video games may, in fact, apply to real-life situations. The result from the students’ final year project is an intriguing start to research into this cognitive behaviour,” Dr. Patterson concluded.
A similar outcome from a study on Bejeweled and Peggle – other PopCap Games’ franchises – was recently announced by East Carolina University in the United States; establishing a clear link between regular exposure to video games and the resulting positive effects on cognition.
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Alternatively, you may see it in the chinese news and look at P's funny hair! :p
Haha. Our lovely little 默默耕耘 de division becomes famous! :)
Hurray! I play Bejeweled, and not Pet Society! Hahaha.
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