《无拘无束》

Here is one of my original Chinese song compositions titled 'Wu Ju Wu Shu', which literally means free and easy or unrestricted. This is the first time I wrote both the lyrics and tune for a Chinese song entirely, and sung it myself. Hope you will like it. Do check out my other songs on Youtube as well! :)

这是我独创的一首中文歌曲。若想看到我的其他作品请到Youtube观看。希望你们会喜欢与支持！:)

Music and lyrics written by Ong Wei Guang
Performed by Ong Wei Guang
The pictures used in the video are my personal pictures.
Copyright © Ong Wei Guang

In today's fast-paced and stressful society, we often wish that life could be less hectic. When was the last time you gazed at the clear blue sky, longing to be free like a bird? I hope this song can imbue in us a sense of optimism and provide us with temporary respite from our worries.

《无拘无束》

词曲：王伟光

演唱：王伟光

Verse 1: 每一天睁开双眼

温暖的阳光透过窗帘

清新的空气悦耳的音乐

我弹着吉他尽情歌唱

Chorus:

如果能够穿越时间

如果可以回到从前

相信一切都能改变

让未来变得更加美好

如果能够飞往天边

如果可以看到永远

抛开心中所有顾虑

每一天充满着无限希望

Oh...oh...yeah

Verse 2:

躺在草原上仰望着蓝天

多想和鸟儿飞向天边

自由自在无拘无束

伸出双手就能碰到天

(repeat chorus)

La la la... Oh...oh...yeah

如果能够飞往天边

如果可以看到永远

抛开心中所有顾虑

每一天充满着无限希望

《追梦》

I have finally decided to update my blog after so long. Haha. So what have I been up to during my blogging hiatus? Well, I picked up a new found hobby - song composing. Actually I tried composing my own songs way back in primary and secondary school but I didn't know how to play any musical instruments then and had no formal music training, so the songs which I wrote back then weren't nice and I gave up. I picked up the guitar after my A levels and after I was able to play and sing, I decided to give song composing another shot. So, here's one of my original chinese song compositions titled 'Zhui Meng', which translates into 'The Pursuit of Dreams'. Hope you will like it! :)

大家好，想和你们分享我和我的朋友的作品《追梦》。这是我第一次尝试写一首有rap的歌喔！ 希望你们会喜欢！:)

Title (English translation): The Pursuit of Dreams
Composer: Ong Wei Guang
Lyricists: Ong Wei Guang, Lim Wan Yi
Performed by: Yeo Kea Yee, Ong Wei Guang
Guitar played by: Ong Wei Guang
Video edited by: Ong Wei Guang
The pictures used in the video are my personal pictures.

Copyright © Ong Wei Guang

We all have dreams and aspirations, but many a times we do not pursue them because we are afraid of failure. More often than not, we regret things which we have not done rather than things which we tried but failed. There will definitely be trying times in life, but failure is just a test. No one can predict the future and there is no use harping on the past. We should instead focus on the present. I hope this song will inspire people to stop procrastinating and boldly pursue their dreams, because opportunities seldom come twice. :)

"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters." - Seneca

《追梦》

作曲：王伟光
作词：王伟光，林宛仪
演唱：杨嘉仪, 王伟光

（Verse 1）
Oh...oh...
世界分秒在改变
无人能预购明天
理想今天没兑现
昨天也已经走远

（Verse 2）
人生里挫折难免
不要让逃避出现
唤醒起勇气面对
失败只是种考验

（Pre-chorus 1）
未来的路也许遥远
遇到挫折笑脸面对
黑夜里星光闪闪
点亮了心中的梦想

（Chorus）
期待不一样的未来
不要一直徘徊
要追求梦想不要再等待
爱让生命更精彩
心田里有你在
所有的烦恼全都被抛开
抛开。。。抛开。。。
(Pre-chorus 2）
挥霍的光阴取不回
已没时间继续浪费
抱紧每个难逢机会
让生命绽放光和彩

(repeat chorus)

（Rap）
世界是我的舞台
每天上演自己的编排
我的宇宙由我主宰
梦想的未来都要勇敢去摘
让所有想象的阻碍
全从心中抛开抛开
鼓起勇气把梦想赢回来
1，2，3 Oh yeah

(repeat chorus and rap)

The Meaning of Prayer in Buddhism

The below article was written by Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda.

Nature is impartial; it cannot be flattered by prayers. It does not grant any special favours on request.

Man is not a fallen creature who begs for his needs as he awaits mercy. According to Buddhism, man is a potential master of himself. Only because of his deep ignorance does man fail to realize his full potential. Since the Buddha has shown this hidden power, man must cultivate his mind and try to develop it by realizing his innate ability.

Buddhism gives full responsibility and dignity to man. It makes man his own master. According to Buddhism, no higher being sits in judgment over his affairs and destiny. That is to say, our life, our society, our world, is what you and I want to make out of it, and not what some other unknown being wants it to be. Remember that nature is impartial; it cannot be flattered by prayers. Nature does not grant any special favours on request.

Thus in Buddhism, prayer is meditation which has self-change as its object. Prayer in meditation is the reconditioning of one's nature. It is the transforming of one's inner nature accomplished by the purification of the three faculties?thought, word, and deed. Through meditation, we can understand that 'we become what we think', in accordance with the discoveries of psychology. When we pray, we experience some relief in our minds; that is, the psychological effect that we have created through our faith and devotion. After reciting certain verses we also experience the same result. Religious names or symbols are important to the extent that they help to develop devotion and confidence.

The Buddha Himself has clearly expressed that neither the recital of holy scriptures, nor self-torture, nor sleeping on the ground, nor the repetition of prayers, penance, hymns, charms, mantras, incantations and invocations can bring the real happiness of Nibbana.

Regarding the use of prayers for attaining the final goal, the Buddha once made an analogy of a man who wants to cross a river. If he sits down and prays imploring that the far bank of the river will come to him and carry him across, then his prayer will not be answered. If he really wants to cross the river, he must makes some effort; he must find some logs and build a raft, or look for a bridge or construct a boat or perhaps swim. Somehow he must work to get across the river.

Likewise, if he wants to cross the river of Samsara, prayers alone are not enough. He must work hard by living a religious life, by controlling his passion, calming his mind, and by getting rid of all the impurities and defilements in his mind. Only then can he reach the final goal. Prayer alone will never take him to the final goal. If prayer is necessary, it should be to strengthen the mind and not to beg for gains. The following prayer of a well-known poet, teaches us how to pray, Buddhists will regard this as meditation to cultivate the mind:

"Let me not pray to be sheltered from danger, but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.

Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved, but for the patience to win my freedom.
Sadhu ...... Sadhu ....... Sadhu ......."

Clearing some misconceptions in Buddhism

In light of the recent brouhaha in Singapore over senior Pastor Rony Tan's insensitive comments about Buddhism which reflected gross ignorance and misconceptions, I felt that it is my duty to help clear misconceptions in Buddhism. Promoting inter-faith discussions is an integral aspect of a truly multi-religious society. True religious harmony cannot engender beneath the veneer of mere tolerance of religions other than one's own; having at least a basic understanding of other religions is a necessary ingredient.

Below is an article from Metta Lodge which I felt is suitable as a basic introduction to the fundamental concepts in Buddhism for non-Buddhists. I have also added a few other points in it:

Like in many religions, among Buddhists are many who are joss-stick Buddhists, coming to the centres only during festivals or when in need. Many who "inherit" their religion are merely paying lip service to it. The ones who discovered the religion by themselves and who studies it well are usually the more serious students of the Dhamma. (BTW many centres have already done away with joss-sticks as this has Nothing to do with the Buddha's teachings!).

To help you understand, the Buddhist world view can best be understood if we see it as being based upon five major teachings:

I. MUTABILITY or CHANGE

All objects, conditions and creations are in a continuous state of change. Nothing that came together because of causes and conditions is eternally fixed or unchanging. Birth, growth, decay and death are inevitable for all material objects, men, societies and states of mind. Herein lies the answer to the mystery of creation; new forms arise out of the old; each new condition is determined by that which preceded it. When asked "who created the world?" a Buddhist will have to ask back "which world are you referring to because before this world was another and before that another ad infinatum!". The present "Big Bang, Big Crunch and Big Bounce hypothesis" is very much in tune with what we are taught ie before this universe was another and that all universes come about and expand, then reaches a period where expansion equals contraction, and then contraction occurs till it all 'crunches' and from that a new universe re develops in an endless cycle. The Buddha on the night of his enlightenment could look back 91 such cycles and yet that was not the beginning as there were more!

II. CAUSE and EFFECT

This process of change, however, is not chaotic but rather is regulated by cause and effect. Cause and effect is impersonal, impartial and unchanging. We drop a glass cup and it breaks no matter who we are. Just as an apple falls to the ground from the tree even though it knows nothing about Newton's laws of motion, likewise even those who do not know about or accept Buddhism are still subjected to the laws of kamma for that is the verylaw of nature. Everything that comes to be, came about because of causes and conditions that are ceaselessly changing. At every moment in time, our response to the present conditions changes it again, and hence our path, our destinations and our lives are in our hands based on what we do at every moment. We create our kamma at every moment in time by changing it moment to moment. There is NO predestination or Fate for at every moment our destination or fate is adjusted, fine tuned by our acts in respond to the present. What we are now depends on our past and what do now will determine the future. This is why Buddhist mediation trains the mind to focus on the present.

III. SELFISHNESS and SUFFERING

Cause and effect includes not only the principles of physics and chemistry so familiar to the modern world; it also includes moral or psychological cause and effect known as kamma-vipaka, or more commonly, “kamma”

Kamma acts through time, and thus the full effects of one’s thoughts and deeds may not become manifest until some years later.

“Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, nor if we enter into the clefts of the mountains, is there known a spot in the whole world where a man might be freed from an evil deed.”

“Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, nor if we enter into the clefts of the mountains, is there known a spot in the whole world where death could not overcome a mortal.” (Dpd. 17-8)

One important aspect of kamma is that selfishness results in suffering for the selfish party in proportion to the amount of wrong that has been committed. Conversely, love, compassion and other virtuous states of mind create proportionate amounts of happiness and emotional well-being. Often this is stated as, “Desire is the cause of suffering”. And in this context the word which has been translated into English as “Suffering” is the Pali word Dukkha.

Dukkha is a term which includes all types of unpleasant experiences such as worry, fear, sorrow, dissatisfaction, disharmony, etc. When the mind is craving pleasures or is strongly motivated by greed, hatred or egotism it becomes predisposed to dukkha.

A paradox is noted in that happiness is best found by those who are not preoccupied with looking for it.

Thus we find in Buddhism no eternal punishment or eternal reward, but rather happiness and sorrow in proportion to one’s own thoughts and actions. Both Buddhists and non-Buddhists can be reborn in the heavens depending on their kamma. Buddha has never said that only those who accept his teachings will have higher rebirths. It all depends on one's kamma, which is determined by one's actions and thoughts. Nevertheless, the ultimate aim in Buddhism is to attain enlighenment, and not to merely reside in heavens because nothing is permanent.

IV. Nibbana

Since all which is born must die, since all conditioned phenomena must change, the only thing immortal, infinite, and unchanging is that which was never born and is not compounded.

This is Nibbana. Since it is neither matter nor energy, and since it does not exist within space and time, it is completely unrelated to anything with which we are familiar. Thus, it cannot be described, conceptualized nor understood by the normal human mind. It is known only by direct experience beyond sense perception and is the end of all dukkha.

When Nibbana is experienced, egotism has died, for Nibbana comes only with the abolition of all selfishness and craving.

Yet one does not vegetate but continues to act and work as long as the body remains alive. This is Buddhist salvation, and it is found by the training of one’s mind and a maturing of the personality. Since it can never be known or comprehended except by direct experience, one should not concern oneself with looking for Nibbana per se, but rather one should seek to abolish selfishness from his own personality, and this is a rewarding endeavour regardless of whether or not the highest goal is reached. Said the Buddha:

“Liberated, the wise are indifferent to the senses, and have no need to seek anything; passionless they are beyond pleasure and displeasure.”

V. Finally,

the above four premises can be verified by one’s own reasoning and experience with no dependence on external authority. Blind faith is certainly not encouraged and is in fact antithetical to Buddhism.

“Just as people test the purity of gold by burning it in fire, by cutting it, by examining it on a touchstone, so exactly should you, my disciples, accept my words after subjecting them to a critical test and not out of reverence to me.” - Lord Buddha

--
A flower falls,
even though we love it;
and a weed grows,
even though we do not love it.

Science As An Impetus For Change Towards A Better World

Science, being a body of knowledge that is based on empirical observation and logical deduction, has always prided itself as the light of reason which illuminates the darkness of ignorance shrouding the world. It is a catalyst of change and the impetus for technological advancement.

As the most important prerequisite for technological improvements, science undoubtedly has a far-reaching influence and plays an important role in society. Enhanced understanding of the various phenomena in nature has enabled us to create a multitude of devices and machines to improve our lives. Indeed, without science, technological marvels such as the now ubiquitous computers, mobile phones, air-conditioners and countless other devices which we have taken for granted would not have been possible, let alone construct skyscrapers and entire cities. Advances in medical science have also given us a plethora of medicine and vaccines in our battles against diseases and extending the average lifespan of humans. Yet in the same breath, science has also led to the invention of the machinery of modern warfare and weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. A scientifically-inspired technological society is thus not necessarily a better world.

Blindly supporting science without a moral compass would only lead to more problems. What is needed in the face of the mounting challenges in the 21st century is a science that is bold and creative, yet ethical, compassionate and inclusive. For too long we have narrowly focused on utilising science for the betterment of the human race alone, even to the extent of neglecting the environment we live in. We have exploited animals for research on human diseases, deforested vast swathes of land, polluted the environment and destroyed the natural habitats of countless creatures in our quest to gather ever more resources to feed our insatiable consumerism. Who are we to proclaim ourselves as masters of nature and that it is our right to exploit the environment and other sentient beings for our sole benefit? We have misused the name of science in our misguided pursuit of improving our quality of life. Such a cold and egocentric kind of science is untenable in the long run. It is time to rethink our place in the universe and treat all sentient beings as equals.

Nevertheless, in a world griped by numerous grave problems such as global warming, climate change, pandemics, wars, impending oil, food and water shortages, science remains our best hope of solving them. Green technology, a field which I am personally interested in, holds the promise of ameliorating environmental problems such as global warming and pollution. Clean, renewable alternative sources of energy such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power will not only help avert the impending energy crisis due to declining reserves of non-renewable fossil fuels, but also shift the balance of the control of energy resources away from the hands of a few countries to the rest of the world, paving the way towards a more level global playing field and peaceful world where wars would no longer have to be waged over oil.

More than merely being a driver of technological improvement, science is also a candle in the dark which shines the path towards a more enlightened future. Science serves as a bulwark against blind faith and dogmatic mysticism. Entrenched ways of thinking and an aversion to trying out new ideas are impediments to alleviating the problems we face. The essence of science lies in the openness to new ideas and willingness to modify or discard old theories and ways of thinking in favour of more productive ones which are consistent with empirical observation, coupled with a healthy dose of scepticism and relentless scrutiny. Adopting such an attitude in tackling the global problems looming before us would enable us to find efficacious solutions. To quote the late astronomer and populariser of science, Carl Sagan, “Science by itself cannot advocate courses of human action, but it can certainly illuminate the possible consequences of alternative courses of action.”

The onslaught of progress and wave of change is inevitable. Instead of trying to resist it, we should embrace science as an impetus for change. Science is like a double-edge sword; it has the potential to do much good and help us build a better world, but if misused, it can spawn more problems and lead to deleterious consequences. What is clear is that science alone will not be the answer to all our problems. Science has to be checked by ethics and an appropriate amount of regulation. Unbridled pursuit of science and technology is dangerous, but so too is an overdose of moralistic or religiously-guided regulation which would only stifle the progress of science as well as our chance of finding solutions to tackle the problems we all face.

Safeguarding Secularism in Singapore

With the increasing religiosity in our society, pockets of self-righteous religious zealots who seek to impose their beliefs on others have also engendered. This is a cause for concern, for it threatens one of the fundamental tenets on which our society is built upon – secularism. It is not a fluke that Singapore has managed to come thus far and maintain racial and religious harmony. Rather, our harmonious multiracial and multi-religious society, which is the envy of many countries, is due largely to the fact that we have ensured secularism to be the prevailing tenor of our society. It is with this conviction with which I disagree with NMP Dr Thio Li-ann’s parliamentary speech “A Recipe for Disharmony”, in which she mentioned that “…militant secularism is an illiberal and undemocratic vice in seeking to gag religious views in the public square and so to privilege its atheistic values, as in communist state.” That Dr Thio made the speech not long after the AWARE saga seemed to imply that she has directed much of the vitriol to those were against the old ‘new guard’ exco of AWARE, though she did not explicitly mention this in her speech.

For those who have not been following the news, the AWARE saga started in April this year when a group of Christians hailing from the same church took over leadership of AWARE (a secular voluntary welfare organisation) by getting fellow church members to sign up as new members and vote the former in through sheer numbers. It is no surprise that the use of such underhand tactics to gain leadership of a secular civil group in Singapore has resulted in a public backlash. The old ‘new guard’ of AWARE led by Ms Jocie Lau claimed to champion for mainstream values such as ‘anti-gay’ notions. Nevertheless, the fact that her team only comprised of people from her faith and church begs the question of their true agenda. If what they were really pushing for were mainstream values, should they not have found it prudent to include people of other faiths and free-thinkers as well? Surely there is no dearth of capable people from other faiths in Singapore? The reticence of Ms Lau and her team in announcing their goals and directions for AWARE after gaining leadership only served to add to the public unease. It was even more astounding that Ms Lau had the temerity to suggest that the press harboured hidden motives in its reporting of the story when she and her team resorted to stealthy tactics of gaining control in an organisation and then keeping mum about their motives. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, has mentioned the importance of having a ‘rainbow coalition’, which means including people from various faiths and races, in political and civil activist groups which claim to be secular. Doing so would be far more effective in allaying public unease about the ability of the organisation to ensure that a plurality of voices and opinions of those from other faiths and races would also be heard and considered in the decision-making process, as compared to mere rhetoric.

It would be naïve to believe that religious tensions in Singapore are completely non-existent. The public backlash following the AWARE saga has showed us how easy it is to stress the fabric of our society’s cohesiveness. We need to exercise caution when dealing with matters of religion in the public sphere. Religious leaders must also be prudent when addressing their followers and not misuse the pulpit like what Pastor Derek Hong, from the same church as Ms Lau and the rest of the old ‘new guard’ exco of AWARE, did when he called on his fellow church members to rally behind Ms Lau and her team. While I agree with Dr Thio that “religiously-informed views” can contribute positively to public debate, we must not condone any self-righteous mentality by any particular religious group. No religious group should unilaterally claim that it alone represents the mainstream and impose its ideology and beliefs on others. Only then can we ensure a pluralistic society where religious freedom is the order of the day; a society where no one would be coerced into subscribing to beliefs and convictions imposed by others. It is reassuring to know that the various religious leaders in Singapore have readily come forth to express their commitment in upholding secularism in our society after the AWARE saga.

Incidents such as the AWARE saga serve as a timely reminder for us that politics and religion should be segregated instead of being conflated. Parents, schools and religious leaders have to inculcate in their children the importance of having respect towards those from other faiths. Only when the various religious groups discard the notion that their religion is the one and only one ‘right’ religion, or to paraphrase Obama in his recent speech in Cairo that “the measure of one’s faith (is not) based on the rejection of other faiths”, can true respect for each other’s faiths engender. Otherwise, the religious harmony which we have will only be skin deep and go no further than mere religious tolerance, without much understanding of the other faiths; it would only exist as a façade under which mindsets harbouring religious superiority and self-righteousness would take hold, and this would be the real “recipe for disharmony”.

Speculations on First Contact

After watching the movie "The Day The Earth Stood Still", I could not help but keep revisiting the topic of alien encounters with the human race in the back of my mind. The topic of alien encounters is a very frequent one in science fiction and has been brought up countless times, both in novels and movies. However, I think novels tend to fare better than most Hollywood films in depicting the realism of possible alien encounters with mankind.

Most Hollywood films such as Starwars, Star Trek, Alien, Species and Predator tend to portray aliens as having humanoid bodies, having two arms, two legs, a head and body. The usual differences between humans aliens in such movies are the alien skin colour, number of limbs, eyes, etc. All these superficial differences reflect a lack of creativity. Even most other lifeforms on Earth such as insects and animals will look more different from humans than the aliens in the films. Or maybe the film producers want to cut costs by using human actors for the alien roles instead of creating robots or using computer animation.

The probability of any alien lifeforms resembling anything close to humans is extremely low, far lower than the probability of anyone striking the lottery consecutively for his/her entire life! Anyone who has read and understand the theory of evolution should come to this conclusion. Life on Earth is the way we know it because of eons of accumulated chance mutations which were then sieved out by natural selection so that only those best suited for the particular environment in the particular locales on Earth will thrive. The complex interplay of numerous factors in the evolutionary history of Earth is certainly not something that will likely be repeated elsewhere in the universe. As such, there is no reason to believe that life on another planet would take exactly the same evolutionary path of Earth life, even if the conditions are the same. Famed scientists Carl Sagan, Paul Davies and Richard Dawkins, as well as numerous others have written books on this topic and it is worth reading them.

The main problem why most people think aliens will look like humans or some other Earth-like creature might be due to our current narrow definition of life. Our definition of life is only based on Earth life, and is certainly not representative of life throughout the cosmos. Why must life be restricted to solid forms? It is physically sensible for alien life to manifest in other physical states such as liquid and gas. Or alien life may be non-coporeal and take on exotic forms such as being composed of pure energy or electromagnetic fields. Science fiction novels such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke, "Beyond Infinity" by Gregory Benford have postulated such possibilities. Another hot favourite is that many scientist think that water is necessary for life and thus they focus their search for alien life to worlds which contain water. Water is a good solvent for many inorganic substances and has high heat capacity which allows the stabilization of temperature within a relative small range, as well as other properties which make it suitable for Earth life. Water may be necessary for Earth life, but why must this criteria apply to aliens too? There are other solvents which can dissolve many substances as well. It is high time we re-look at our current definition of life and update it, before we miss recognizing alien life in future space exploration missions.

Another point to consider is that of collective consciousness. Aliens could also behave more like a hive than as separate individuals. As such, any attempt to communicate with them may prove even more difficult, due to the different ways of thinking. Imagine what would a person say to an ant or termite hive. I suppose the natural tendency for humans is to look for the leaders in the alien race, but a hive has no leaders; the queen ant or termite does not give instructions to the other ants, each individual ant merely carry out its own job. When each eat follows its own simple set of 'instinctive instructions', the self-organised collective behaviour of an entire ant colony can be markedly different from that of the individual ant itself. Clearly, a single ant or termite may not be as intelligent as a human (then again it depends on our definition of intelligence), but an entire ant or termite hive is far from stupid. Just look at the engineering marvels such as 5 meter tall termites hives which African mound termites are capable of building. Hives follow a bottoms-up approach, in contrast to our usual top-down approach.

As a class 0 civilization, chances are that a more advanced civilization will make contact with us rather than the other way round. Furthermore, we have only started exploring space in the last few decades, and the cosmos being such a unimaginably huge space, it will probably take us eons to find signs of alien life, if there is any. Given that the universe is around 17 billion years old, it is plausible that there are much older and advanced civilizations out there among the stars other than ours. And they would probably have reached class 3 or even 4 if they can reach us on Earth. From the history of mankind, every time a more advanced civilization makes contact with a less advanced one, it almost always resulted in a war of civilizations with the more advanced one triumphing. The same may or may not occur with our contact with extra-terrestrial intelligences. We do not know yet. Even if the aliens came here with no intention of harm, I think the result would still very much turn out to be a war, due to the territorial nature of humans, a behavioral relict of our evolutionary past. We would probably be the first to attack the aliens. This is where the film " The Day The Earth Stood Still" is probably right. Perhaps precisely because of this, the aliens have kept themselves invisible from us on purpose, assuming that they exist and are benevolent. This is just one of the many theories behind the Fermi Paradox.
(I will probably write an article on the Fermi Paradox in the future. I think I shall stop here for now, I could go on non-stop on the topic of aliens.)

Thoughts will soon be secrets no more

It was reported that researchers at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories have succeeded in processing and displaying images directly from the human brain. The team has only managed to reproduce only simple images from the brain but they believe that the technology could eventually be used to figure out dreams and other secrets inside people's minds. (http://www.physorg.com/news148193433.html)

It seems like we have opened yet another Pandora's Box. The potential of technology which allows others to read people’s minds is simply mind-boggling and its potential dangers are anyone's guess. It is only a matter of time when such mind-reading devices become as ubiquitous as mobile phones. There will undoubtedly be useful applications of such technology such as in solving crime cases and creating drawings and animations directly by visualizing them in the mind. However, in such a future, personal thoughts will no longer be private anymore as our very last sanctuary of privacy is encroached upon.

Already there are companies which sell commercial brain-computer interfaces (BCI) products such as headphones, based on electro-encephalogram (EEG) technology. Such devices allow the user to control the computer using their thoughts alone; they could control the cursor on the monitor screen, a computer game character or even a robot in the real world. Such technology will make it possible for people who have lost their limbs or wheelchair bound patients to be replaced with robotic prosthetic limbs which can be controlled by their mind. In fact, there have already been patients fitted with such BCI devices such as blind people who have partially regained their sight using electrodes implanted into their visual cortex and linked to an external camera. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-computer_interface) With the aid of BCI devices, doctors will be able to perform surgeries with better accuracy for longer hours with less physical fatigue from their hands, and astronauts can manipulate tools and conduct delicate experiments in space more efficiently using thought-controlled robotic arms instead of their bulky spacesuit gloves. BCI devices can also contribute a positive impact in the education arena and will enhance the learning experience for students. Uses of BCI in treatment of psychological disorders such as depression, phobias and attention-deficit disorder are also possible. Other applications include marketing uses, advertising, consumer electronics, and entertainment.

In the near future, it is highly possible that there will be groups, organizations or even governments willing to utilize such BCI devices to control others as well. Just as we can control computers and robots using our thoughts, the reverse could probably happen also. The prophetic vision of the future portrayed by the film The Matrix might not be too far-fetched after all. Initially there might be many people resisting the use of such devices for ethical or personal reasons, but the inadvertent tide of science and technology will nevertheless remain an unstoppable force. I foresee a future where even normal people would fit themselves with such BCI devices to enhance their physical and even mental abilities. This may sound repelling to some right now but it may be perfectly acceptable to people of the future. People of the past may never have thought that our generation would be so dependent on electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones, where people carry them along everywhere they go, so much so that some of these devices have become something of an extra limb or appendage to us. It is only a matter of time before mobile communications technology and even computers become available as chips which can be embedded in our brains. There will be no need to carry mobile phones or laptops then, and we will not even need to talk to communicate for our thoughts can be directly transmitted to each another. Perhaps, that is how we will achieve extra-sensory abilities such as telepathy in the future.

BCI technology, as with many other nascent technologies, is progressing at a rate too fast for comfort for many and has engendered numerous ethical issues and controversies. We live in an age of rapid technological advances and must to learn to live with the ever-changing technologies that arise continuously. Technology is a double-edged sword. Will we lose our sense of identity and become mindless cyborgs immersed in the virtual world controlled by others or computers or will we be able to utilize and maintain control over technology for the greater good of mankind in our quest to achieve utopia?

F1 - Frivolous Number 1?

With the recent hype surrounding the highly successful staging of the first ever Formula 1 night race in Singapore, it might seem a little inappropriate for me to label F1 races in general as frivolous. Nevertheless, the environmental impact of F1 races is understated and given insufficient attention in the media and I shall explain why I feel such races are frivolous.

Amid skyrocketing fuel costs and growing concerns about global warming everywhere in the world, the incongruity of wasting massive amounts of petrol on fuel-guzzling race cars for Formula 1 races is glaringly imprudent. It was reported in the Straits Times that a F1 team typically uses around 200,000 litres of petrol per season. Personally, I feel that this is a vast wastage of our rapidly declining reserves of oil. Instead of squandering away this important non-renewable resource on races for entertainment, we should save it for more worthy uses such as transportation, power generation and as raw materials for the petrochemical industry for the production of plastic materials.

F1 races are also widely known for its large numbers of affluent fans, many of them being millionaires and billionaires. It probably does not come as a surprise that the affluent would enjoy extravagant leisure activities like F1 races, for it is a reflection of their spending habits. However, for the majority of us, there is no compelling reason why we should support such a profligate sport.

While it is true from the economic viewpoint that staging F1 races is a boon to the host country in terms of global publicity of the city and increasing tourist arrivals and spending, we should not just be concerned about raking in revenues and relegate environmental concerns aside. As fellow inhabitants of Earth, it is time we exercise prudence in managing our resources and do away with unnecessary and prodigal entertainment activities such as F1 races which do more harm than good to our planet with their high carbon footprint, no matter how appealing or economically viable they may be. There are many other ways to generate revenue which are environmentally sustainable. One may argue that the F1 race has helped to portray Singapore as a more vibrant city, but is it the only way and at what cost? If Singapore is to showcase itself as an example of sustainable development and a green country, we must place more importance on adopting green policies and walking the talk. We have to decide what is it that we really want to portray ourselves as to the rest of the world.