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Showing posts from August, 2010

Between logic and unlogic - science and faith

Maybe this post can be used as a reflection of how you deal with logic and faith (unlogic). After that, let people know of what you think. Just see how you react to this post.If you're very religious people (almost fanatic) then I guess your reaction will be very different to those who think more logical in response to various occurrence in these universe or even to your daily life. Take an example on a plane crash. Logical approach would yield the answer that lead to "human error" or "engine failure" and then find ideas to fix it. Religious approach will yield the answer that lead to "God's will (fate)". Or... perhaps you are in between them which it called moderate. Can you compare or even combine the two of the flowchart above? If you can, then I will say you are being in best efforts. Why? Because... even sophisticated computer was run based on the combination of two signals namely positive and negative. What distinguishes human from robot is a

What a PhD mean for you

What is Ph.D.? Yes I know it is a prestigious academic degree. Only that? Hmm... I think NO . It's hard to describe it in words. You better focus on the illustration below: And... the things that made me fall silent is what was said by Matt, below: "If you zoom in on the boundary of human knowledge in the direction of genetics, there's something just outside humanity's reach. My wife and I chose to start funding these graduate students after we learned that our son has a rare, fatal genetic disorder. It may be too late for my son, but it's not too late for other children. Even one child suffering is one child too many. The only way to end this kind of suffering is science. And, the best way to do science is through graduate students." What a beautiful thought that touched my heart. Note: This work was originally from The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D. by Matt Might.

The way I see the independence of a country

Indonesia will celebrates 65th Independence Day on August 17, 2010. Various events like game competition, ceremonial, decorations, and excitement happening on all over the country to welcome this special day, making the atmosphere felt more patriotic. I do not know why current atmosphere triggers my thought to ponder a simple question like this: "What is the meaning of independence?" This question is in the context of a country. It is also possible to reflect the meaning of independence for a country out there, not only for Indonesia. In popular sense, the meaning of independence is being free from colonialism. That sense was popular at the time of World War I and II, but for present century I tend to use a different approach. So to ponder the question, I take an example of a smallest entity of a state, namely a family. A family (assuming a father as the head of a family) can be said to have been independent if : Independent to give love, peace, and harmony equitably to a

Night entertainment business during the fasting month

Starting on (Indonesia time) 7 August until 14 September 2010 the night entertainment venues (such as pubs, bars, cafes, discotheques, karaoke), massage parlors and whorehouses (brothel) must be closed temporarily almost in most regions in Indonesia. The reason of this closure is to respect and to provide serenity for the Muslims during the fasting month (Indonesian: Bulan puasa). Generally, each city government use the formula: From H-3 to H+3 . Means three days before the first day of fasting until three days after Eid ul-Fitr (Indonesian: Idul Fitri). This is approximately equal to one month plus one week for no activity of such companies. This maybe a consequence because Muslim is majority in this country. The circumstance is definitely different in the countries with majority non-Muslim. Last year in some cities like Jakarta, Manado and the cities in the province of Bali and Irian Jaya, the night entertainment venue were not closed totally but the city authority limiting their