Why Blog And For Whom?

Some of my friends and my family feel that I have done something in my life which can still be of benefit to others. Twelve years ago my wife and I started writing our memoirs meant for our immediate family only. This decision still stands. Now I have been persuaded to share some of what I have written on my thoughts and experiences with others.

What Science can do for us.

When we were young we learned, promoted, taught and applied science for our own development and that of our fellow men and Singapore. In the process we touched the lives of many people and vice versa. We have plenty materials in the form of printed matters, scientific publications, reports, magazines, newspaper cuttings, published speeches, keynote addresses, photographs etc on some of the work we did. The interesting part is not the compilation of our publications or the collection of photographs but the discovery of what motivated us to do what we did. How did we overcome the many uncertainties and obstacles we met on the way? In this process we got to know ourselves better; our values, our philosophy, our culture and even our character. In short we learned what is important to us and to others too. These are abstracts which are difficult to define but important to know so that we can conduct ourselves better to achieve the peace we want with others and our surroundings. We learned the science of human nature (the nature of Man) which we were never taught when we were learning the hard sciences (the nature of Matter) like Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics and their applications. We tried to integrate the two sciences to lead our lives. It has been satisfying.

We have gone through the changes of a science student, teacher, research worker, manager/administrator and beneficiary of science. Every metamorphosis change creates uncertainties and can cause crisis of varying degree to different people. To many they like to know how to handle their middle age crisis where their families’ interests also come in. To some a change of research topic or job can cause them a lot of disruption and discomfort. To others even holding on to their job becomes a bore and a chore. How I wished that I could have someone with experience to tell me what to do, to expect or not to expect when I was going through these changes. At least I am comforted to know that I am not alone in my “sufferings”. Others too faced similar problems. They survived with their “never say die” attitude strengthened. We should be able to do no less. I found this often works for me too. It is for these reasons, and these reasons alone that I was persuaded to contribute to this blog.

The subject I will deal with in this blog will essentially be on S & T and how its learning and application can affect our lives as we and others have experienced it. It is not easy to write articles to cater for such a wide range of audience from students to practitioners and all those affected by the ever changing scientific environment we are in. I am now in my golden years (80 years) and I have no “koh yeok” ( Chinese medicinal plaster that is supposed to relief most pains) to sell. So please read my articles for what they are worth.