Tag: t_critiq
critical thinking
[17]top secondary school→limited advtg@uni level
I attended a top high school in Beijing. This school’s academic standard was much higher than the average school. See https://tanbintpy.wordpress.com/2016/07/03/toxic-fellow-parents-fixation-on-top-schools/. Therefore, the above-average students in a top school felt so high up there. In terms of the standardized test scores, they might be the top 1%. Same thing in Singapore.
However, they often fail to *maintain* the lead at the uni level. Many students from the average high schools catch up. Some of the top achievers in uni indeed come from top high schools, but
* other top achievers come from average schools.
* many fellow graduates from top high schools aren’t so outstanding (like me)
As I said in https://btv-open.dreamhosters.com/2016/08/16/roller-coaster-academic-competition/, these late bloomers pump up their effort and prove that their abilities aren’t that much lower than the early bloomers.
My colleague Damien said he became motivated to study only in the uni. That’s a huge contrast to my own learning journey, where my effort level and learning was greatest at high school level (mostly in Beijing), not university level.
Another reason is the nation-wide standardized tests. No such thing in uni, so your lead is significantly reduced.
After graduating from uni, the relative positions change even more radically…
buy`wellness: how effective@@ #gym
There are many “research” or marketing that link fancy new products to wellness. You would think the wealthy would live healthier lives? Alas, the correlation is very low. Below are some of the wellness “products” ☆★
- $$$★★★ more free time .. you can “buy” it via commute and lower-pay jobs
- ★★ less driving, more walking, cycling
- ☆ simple, low-cost workout equipment similar to what I have bought and haven’t discarded.
- $$★ nearby gym/pool/basketball Court/// as provided by an office or condo
- $★★ yoga (and other) classes
- $☆ fancy fruits
- pre-washed raw veg
In my opinion most of the cost-effective items are low-cost.
I consciously reject most of the supplements, fancy expensive food.
— gym .. I once paid USD 95/M. S$130/M gym fee is tolerable to me, but most of us use the gym only once a week. Let’s assume 8 times/M. How about $16/visit flat rate?
I would feel I could save the money by working out at home. Jolt: but can you do that consistently? Paying the monthly fee motivates me to go there regularly.
weight-loss supplements: questionable
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/metabolism/art-20046508 claims
— “As you get older, the amount of muscle tends to decrease and fat accounts for more of your weight, slowing down calorie burning.”
Strength training exercises at least twice a week. Strength training is important because it helps counteract muscle loss associated with aging. And since muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does, even at rest, muscle mass is a key factor in weight loss.
— “Aerobic exercise is the most efficient way to burn calories and includes activities such as walking, bicycling and swimming. As a general goal, include at least 30 minutes of physical activity in your daily routine.”
— “Don’t look to dietary supplements for help in burning calories or weight loss.” Manufacturer may cite clinical trials and claim “98%” effective, but the statistics are often weak and flawed. They may use the most obese individuals whose weight fluctuate a lot. They probably never use randomized control trials.
##[16] breakdown@time-sink after UChicago
Below there is a sharp question I asked myself in 2016. On a similar note, in q3sg, I spend average 5 hours a week on tech learning. Now it’s below 1hr. Also, my academic coaching is much less than before. My wife stays home to take care of chores … where did my 40h extra spare time go? My 2021 answer:
- ▼15 hr blogging (including on MRT) emailing on tcost, parenting, wellness, gz,
- 5: more workout hours than before, including with-meimei
- .. try to maintain if not increase
- 3: food shopping and preparation
- 3-6: piano … Good new energy sink
- .. try to maintain
- 3: talking to boy outside academic coaching
- 5 hr/week family outing, easily 6 hours each time. Happy family hours?
- 1: dhost set-up
- ▼ 5->8-10: personal investment including burn rate control/comparison, FSM, US^SG analysis, blogging
- ▼ 2: meet-up or call with friends and fellow parents. Note the follow-up emails are more efficient more productive
- .. would die down after the holiday seasons,
Can find a lot of raw data in the weekly ROTI blogposts, but it would take lots of time.
— burn or rot: .. The apparent shift of focus from learning, academic coaching … —> family leisure, wellness … is natural, commonplace, logical for my age, but not completely good and ideal. I want more burn i.e. materialistic roti + self-discipline. I hit internal resistance but I will work on them.
The sharp question below is somewhat idealistic and naive. My MSFM study hours (also my self-study in quant domains) is hardly productive in terms of materialistic ROTI. It is more productive than other efforts only in terms of a tangible achievement.
What about my real role models (very few beside my dad… Steve of Macq)? I think they too waste a lot of personal time, so in terms of time utilization, who am I to blame my son?
- most role models esp. the alpha males, don’t invest a lot of their extra spare time in wellness.
- most role models don’t learn a new skill like music
- most role models don’t learn technology (coding drill etc) years before job hunting
- some of my role models invest in their spare time, but few more money than index investors
- I tend to have role models who are curious intellectuals. These role models spend (up to) dozens of hour a week in their spare time reading, writing, discussing by mail and phone,,, but do they generate any ROTI more than mine?
— Q: Officially, MSFM took up about 20-30 hours a week in my last quarter. After graduation, where have those 30 hours gone? Here’s my 2016 answer:
5 : renzi + swim
2 : analyze and discuss boy renzi situation
3 : yoga + exercise
1 : 1-2 hour/week addition on personal investment
1 : bx analysis
2 : c++, algo, math
3 : more time in office, since I was taking leaves to attend lectures.
1 : meeting with friends
2 : pingpong trips to office (each time about 4 hours)
Still 10 hours unaccounted for. I think this is to be expected.
avocado≠animal fat; dried fruits≠table sugar
Misleading myth: “nutrition-wise, dried or preserved fruits is mostly sugar, therefore similar to table sugar”, as some people say.
— By their logic, WHOLE fruits are also “nutritionally equivalent” to table sugar but that’s mostly likely wrong, based on an oversimplified theory of nutrition.
The proponent is basically ignoring all the “unknown” stuff in fruits that’s Not in table sugar. Unknown stuff like water, and /roughage/.
Perhaps due to those unknown stuff, no one would overeat whole fruits (except durians). Table sugar is often over-consumed 🙁
— By their logic, rice/bread/noodles is also “nutritionally equivalent” to table sugar? highly doubtful.
grain crops are the first plants our ancestors grew. Grains have been the 主食 for thousands of years.
==== an equally important myth : “Peanuts and other nuts are 80% fat, and nutritionally similar to animal fat”
I believe the most harmful fats are all subsets of animal fat
— By their logic, fish belly oil is also “nutritionally equivalent” to 猪油, but fish is the best source of animal protein and animal fat.
— by their logic avocado and olive oil are also “nutritionally equivalent” to the most common animal fat like 猪油
— By their logic, raw vegetable has close to nothing “nutritionally”, in terms of protein, fat or /carbohydrate/.
From personal experience, I do know the eating a ton of raw veg can still leaves me hungry , but /hedonic/ or homeostatic hunger?
I tend to assume my hunger is due to the (low amount of) macro-nutrients but now I believe hunger is more complex
##what U r good@: U may perceive as important2everyone
— eg: (OC) effectiveness through leadership vs individual effectiveness
- “You can’t remain a hands-on non-lead developer past 40..”
- “communication skill is more important than technical.”
- “If you don’t deliver what the boss wants, then your hard work won’t be recognized” — is propagated by those who has that talent, like my ex-classmate lsagain.
— financial planning
- eg : burn rate and non-work income — am good at these two fronts, so I consider them important to everyone. I still believe most people at my age struggle
I think ffree is indeed valuable to everyone, but my approach of ffree involves tough sacrifices like creature comfort, FOMO, and credit risk.
- retirement planning — those who can claim how important it is for everyone
- contingency reserve — those who has it claim how important it is for everyone. When disasters strike, this reserve is indeed important for everyone, but the unprepared still survive.
— wellness:
- eg: yoga — The practitioners believe from young kids to older adults, daily yoga practice is often required…
- eg: BMI green zone — since I found a winning formula, I now advocate various fasting schemes
- eg: daily exercise — some 4% of the population can work out 4 times a week and then believe it is important for everyone. Jenny Lu (MS) .. dev-till-70: 7external inputs
- eg: longevity lifestyle — those who are able to follow such a (strict) lifestyle often advocate the importance of longevity, but for some people, the prospect of dying at 66 is not so regretable.
- eg: healthy cooking — those who can cook claim we are what we eat…
— economy
- eg: those countries able to “get into” life science claim that this industry is vitally important.
- eg: those countries able to secure a strategic position in energy sector claim that energy security is about our survival.
- eg: those countries able to maintain a strategic role in upstream digital transformation or knwoledge economy claim that it is the future.
— Other examples:
- The citizens of China … boast of the advantages of “大国“.
- eg: harmonious family, family activities — those who can achieve it often claim how important it is.
- eg: “A happy child makes a hapy family”
- eg: “train your kids from very young age to be independent”
- eg: weekly 2-partner private time, common interest within a spouse… —
- eg: “Every adult should learnt to drive, learn to cook”
- eg: humor, joking is so very important…
boy’s indifference: inefficiency→no-time2play #paradox
dabao is not bothered with the fact that he has close to no time for play because he spends all his time on homework and tuition
I feel he has little desire to get more free time.
Contrary to what we adults believe, the pain of heavy homework+tuition is not an unberable pain to him!
Perhaps he doesn’t really know what he wants to do with his spare time or how to convert spare time to enjoyment, so he doesn’t bother to create spare time.
Playtime is frequently ineffective as a motivator to him. An aimless boy?
self-dependent@studies, long-term vision,,, unrealistic
I have heard the conventional and expert advice for years — make school-age children self-dependent on academics and beyond.
Now I think it may fail miserably for a few percent of the kids. My son could be one of them.
I (grandpa too) feel he is years younger than other 11-year olds, in terms of academic motivation and self-discipline. Such academic motivation requires a form of long-term vision. Some young kids lack any long-term vision. They can’t see beyond the next week. Grandpa now advocates
- use outside tuitions
- parents to baby-sit him for his studies
The P6 increased workload demands significant effort ,,, usually an effort from the pupil, but in our case, an effort from parents and tutor, since dabao can’t find the /energy/ from within.
4weight-loss myths #daily weighing
— based on https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-weight-loss-tips-to-ignore
- myth: everyone need to eat breakfast, everyday even if not hungry? Inconsistent skipping is safe for many
- myth: No point weighing yourself everyday? Frequently weighing yourself can provide accountability and confirm that your weight is trending in the right direction.
- myth: avoid fast weight loss? Well, losing weight fast seems to be beneficial for long-term weight loss
- myth: avoid all fats equally? For many individuals, natural fats are often less fattening and more healthy than meat fats.