Gosh, he's really good. He did it again, elicited a response from me...

Page 20:

"For practice, look at a head of clover in the lawn. You will see that each head is a cluster of many small flowers, each with its own banner, wings, and keel. As the flowers mature, each one forms a tiny pea-like pod. I'll bet you never noticed that before (yeh!)!"

Since young, it has been my dream to be able to identify plants.

Being in the Plant Systematics Laboratory, it's common to hear the people rattling off plant names and it's very fascinating to me.

It's something I hope to learn too.

Picked up a book off the shelf of the library - "Botany in a Day - The Patterns Method of Plant Identification" by Thomas J. Elpel.

It's a fascinating read. I love how casual and friendly he sounds. Check this out from page 19:

"So how do you distinguish the poisonous members of the family (Parsley Family)? Don't rush it. You might think that learning plants is just a matter of filling up the disk space in your head with data (uh-huh), but there is more to it than that (oh!). No matter what you study, whether it is plant identification, art or math, you learn by connecting neurons in the brain to build a neural network for processing the information (ah). Getting started is the most dangerous, because all the plants tend to look alike - kind of green mostly (exactly!). Just practice pointing out compound umbels everywhere you go, stating with the dill or fennel in the garden. The more you practice these family patterns, the more you will learn to see just how unique and different each plant is (ah, I see. Sure mate, I'll try that out)."

Can you hear me talking as I read that passage? The words in italics are my conversations! Notice how he manages to write and elicit a response from me! Amazing teacher!

The Effort of Thinking

As a University student, let me bravely confront "the effort of thinking". I think Philosophy requires a lot of thinking. Sometimes my mind goes haywire the moment I am confronted with some sort of question. Many times I religiously avoid IQ test, because I do not like the mental gymnastics required to solve problems.

But, research is about thinking.

Don't be afraid of thinking.

I'm back to my thinking through writing blog to encourage myself to think again. And I think I have misplaced my thinking through writing book, which perhaps would be good exercise for me.

I must give thanks for this ability to think and be faithful with it!

*The "isness" of things is well worth studying, but it is the "whyness" of things which makes life interesting!* (William Beebe)

I saw this in one of the old thesis at the library of the RMBR. :)

I think it's beautiful to start your thesis with a quote. How true. I may know your name, but why your parents gave it to you is more interesting. I may know this and that but why is it this and that makes it interesting. Don't be afraid to think. Take time to think. :)

自从之从进如大学后，我使用华语的机会很少。大多数的朋友都利用英语沟通。本来想读一些华文课程，但胆量不够大。＊叹气＊ 现在有了MAC，在电脑写华语字似乎容易多了。有空时不如来这儿和自己聊聊几句吧。：）

Nobel laureate got D in Chemistry class

I have stopped reading the newspaper for a few weeks now, quite regretfully. I wish I could start again, but I seem to have started enjoying the freedom of not being drawn to a stack of papers. But I am being disconnected from the world.

A newspaper article from The Straits Times May 10 2008 from Science section captivated me and I have kept the article with me till now.

Why?

"Would people have said I'd achieve anything? Probably not. Singapore has to take a few chances on young people who may not fit the cookie-cutter mould. 

For those who want to achieve something unique, you need to be in the right place at the right time and your eyes have to be wide open."

This speaks a lot to me, because I'm very far from the cookie-cutter mould.

I guess that's why God speaks so much to me. Because He uses people who are so unusable to the world. :) The moment I think I'm usable, I lose my usefulness. Humility's the key!! :)

 

I really really love dedication pages! Just last week I saw a dedication that goes: For Elsie, "Botanist by Marriage" and my heart just melted. That's love - loving what the person one loves loves. :)

Today, as I flip "Fundamentals of Plant Systematics" by Albert E. Radford, I see some very heartening words again.

"Systematics, as a natural science, is a continuing quest for truth and understanding as well as the never-ending pursuit of reality, organized and simplified.

James Bruce, a British diplomat, once stated that "to most people nothing is more troublesome than the effort of thinking." This text is dedicated to those students willing to make that troublesome effort."

Didn't your heart just melted? It is so true for me. Thinking takes up a lot of effort. I am often lazy to do it. But the rewards one would reap from thinking are plentiful and I hope to think more. :)

Strangely this book though Prof. recommended it, only has one edition till this day (from 1986). Is it because Systematics really is a dying trade?