Author: Warren Tang
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Philip Roth’s advice to (academic) writers
“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.” (1979)
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Should it have been called ‘Brexit’?
As someone who works with words and like words I am always scrutinising it wherever I look. So I was curious as to why the referendum in the United Kingdom for whether to stay in the European Union or not was christened as Brexit, a portmanteau for ‘British Exit’ even before the vote had gone…
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Extracurricular sports in Japanese schools still too much, doing damage to education/future
1. Did you know in Japan some students formally train everyday for a sport? And they do this for much of their junior and senior years (12-18 years of age). A 10,600 student survey revealed that 20 percent of students do not have a single day off training (they go to school even on weekends),…
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What is wrong with rationalism?
The assumptions. Rationalism assumes that reason gives us all knowledge. It overrides emotion and belief. It also override the senses as the path to truth. It is directly opposed to empiricism. Reason takes on a mysticism similar to that of the soul, whereby a body is unnecessary. So it is part of the mind-body problem…
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The “hidden” poverty in Japan and its effect on the future
A documentary on tonight’s NHK titled “The Hidden Poverty” said 1-in-6 children are under the living in poverty. Only until recently has the government began surveying this. What makes it hidden is that families are finding ways to make ends meet but at the expense of the children education. Some senior high school students are taking on…
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Why I am over buying interactive ebooks
There are some great books in interactive media format for iOS devices. Two that I regularly read for fun are The Philosophy Book and The DK Illustrated Bible – Story by Story (no, I am not Christian. I am still a devout Buddhist). They make reading on the iPad and iPhone fun. Or they did. …
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Don’t blame the computers for poor scores
Recent PISA score (shown in today’s newspaper) from the OECD has shown Japan has dropped from 4th to 8th in the ranking for Reading. A government official was quoted as saying the lower score was due to the change to an all-computerised testing system, and that students were confused as to how to answer questions.…
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Notes for setting up Periscope Producer on OBS
In order to start using OBS with your Periscope account you need to first activate Periscope Producer. Here are the steps. apply for Periscope Producer here after receiving your confirmation email force restart your Periscope go to Settings > Advanced Sources take note of your source connection information Start OBS and go to Settings >…
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How to take a screenshot on MacOS
To take a screenshot of the entire screen display press command+shift+3. To take a portion of the screen press command+shift+4 click and drag to the diagonal corner of the desired area. To take a screen of a particular window or menu press command+shift+4 press space bar place cursor over desired window click mouse button or touchpad
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Big data, Japan and education
I like data. And I like data when it is big. The Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture and Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan announced that it will promote the use of big data. According to a source quoted in an article in today’s Japan News only 6.8 percent of 1,100 companies surveyed said they utilise big…
ghoti 