RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Platform (El Hoyo, Spanish, 2019) The recent shopping spree shown by the public before an imminent lockdown following the Covid-19 shows how self-centred and selfish our society is. Some people stock up toilet rolls by the trolleys full just because they do not have to worry whether there is money left to be used for other things. The last thing on their mind is the fear of creating panic buying or that his fellow human will be struggling to get his.  Some will blame the individual for such behaviour, whereas others will say that the system created such monsters. We should be the change that we want, it is easy to say. Unfortunately, we are worried about our survival that we care less for others. Perhaps, we should learn that the joy of being wealthy is not in spending capriciously but using it judiciously. The change in a broken system does not start from high above but from the people lower down the food chain. The ruling class do not see anything in the structure as...

Antifragile - Things that gain from disorder Author - Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2012) This is a thick book written by a mathematician, a hedge fund manager, a derivatives trader, a businessman and polyglot, Nassim Nicholas Taleb. He reads ten languages. People, like things around us, are of three kinds. They are either fragile which crumple or break with pressure, robust which can withstand stresses or the others which actually grow stronger with strains. These are the anti-fragile. The analogy of a fragile situation is like Damocles in the palace of Dionysius standing precariously under the sword held on by a strand of horsehair. A robust person is like the Phoenix who, despite defeats, come from the ashes to fight back. He can fight, but he is as durable as before, not stronger. The perfect example of an anti-fragility is Hydra, the mythical Greek creature who grew two heads every time one of its heads was cut. In other words, it grew with adversity. The author suggests ...

Ad Astra (To the stars; 2019) The people around us are the only ones we have got. Nothing more, nothing less. We should forget all our singlemindedness to look out for that special friendship or that unique utopia where we hope to find happiness. There is no one out there looking out for us or anyone calling out for us, dying to make contact. We are all alone perched in this cold place called Universe. Deal with it. We are stranded on this big (or rather small) blue marble floating in space with no intelligent life forms for light-years away. Rather than building a wall around us, between our family members, between nations and diversions that divide us, we should concentrate on building bridges.  This science-fiction adventure film is supposed to be set in the new future, but my guess is that it is not going to be that close. The movie is set at a time when space tourism is mainstream. Travelling to the Moon is akin to flying on a low-cost flight - passengers pay for their f...

100 humans (Netflix, 2020) This could be one of the series which one can  skim  as he undergoes house arrest during these trying times of combating Covid-19. Even though the show brags of trying to answer all of life's questions on humans and their behaviours through its social experiments, it is, by no means, cerebral.  The Guardian labels it as one of the most worthless reality-experiment-pseudoscience show in history. Perhaps, it is a bit unkind to label it such, but some of the experiments that the show do are quite outlandish and their conclusions simplistic.  Some of the life questions that the show asks include 'What makes Us Attractive', 'Best Age to be Alive', 'about the Battle of the Sexes', 'Biasness of Society', 'Happiness', 'Pain versus Pleasure' and 'Distrusting our Senses'. One of the bizarre assumptions here is that the ability of a male to dance is indicative of attractiveness, hence, potentiall...

FOR GENERAL INFORMATION • Farish A. Noor is Associate Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. Muslim missionary movement Tablighi Jama'at encourages followers to move out of their comfort zones - literally. It also emphasises social welfare. Appealing to the latter and engaging followers positively will get them to self-regulate their movements, and help to contain the virus pandemic. By now alarm has been raised about the numbers of people who have been infected with the coronavirus after attending a large gathering of the Tablighi Jama'at religious movement at the Sri Petaling mosque complex in Malaysia. The gathering, held on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur from Feb 27 to March 1, reportedly involved about 16,000 people from several countries who are devotees of the Tablighi Jama'at movement. The Ministry of Health is tracing the contacts of about 90 Singaporeans who attended the gathering after five wer...

Under the Knife - A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations (2018) Author: Arnold Van De Laar Most nations in the world are forever looking out to keep their brains within their boundaries. Brains, besides economics, are the main ingredients of nation-building. For this, it needs the services of the top five professional vocations - architects, accountants, engineers, maybe lawyers and doctors. Critical thinking and thinking outside the box are pre-requisites to unshackle the chains of poverty. Ironically, doctors are not expected to be too creative. They are merely expected to conform and follow the precedence as set by their seniors. No patients want to be treated by a 'cowboy'. New ventures can only be under the purview of peers of high standings. Misadventures stemming from unconventional, novel and experimental modalities will implore the wrath of the society, not praises for innovations. This book is a collection of about 28 kinds of surgeries and a littl...