Monthly Archive

Due to technical difficulties here in China, I am unable to update this blog.  If you are interested in what’s going on in Nanjing, please visit nypsnanjing.blogspot.com

As result of man’s activity, acres of forest are cleared each day.  At the same time, some of our rivers are now so polluted that it is no longer safe to go near them. 

Make a study on how deforestation and/ or water pollution affects the life cycle of humans and animals.  It will be a bonus if you can present your findings based on specific examples. e.g. how deforestation affected the Orang Utans.

You can do this project individually or in pairs.  The grade of this project will NOT be included in your SA2 results. Nevertheless, the amount of effort you put in it will demonstrate to me how diligent you are as a pupil.

Also, in line with our effort to be environmentally friendly, you are encouraged to submit your project via email.

Be creative and have fun!

These new books are available in the school libary.

Sorry for the delay in updates. Here are some of the pictures I took during the programming lessons.

3D Robotics programming

Dear class,

Tip: The world is flat. Wait a minute…. that can’t be true. We ALL know that the Earth is round and it rotates on its axis, don’t we? However, several centuries ago EVERYONE knew the earth was flat. How could it be otherwise, they would ask? So, why did everybody change their mind? It is because all evidence now suggests that the Earth is indeed round.

There is a story of a man who went on a overseas trip and left his son at home. During his absence, his son was captured by bandits and his house was burnt to the ground. Upon the man’s return, he saw that his house had been reduced to ashes and he assumed that his son had died in the fire. He was very sad and locked himself up in a cottage for several days.

Then one day, his son managed to escape from the bandits. He stumbled to the doorsteps of his father’s cottage and banged on the door. He shouted loudly, “Father let me in!” But the man was certain that his son had died and he thought that it was the neighbour’s son playing a trick on him. He refused to open the door and shout angrily at the boy, telling him to go away.

The poor boy was by then very cold and very hungry. He decided to go into the village to get some food and shelter. On his way to the village, he met the bandits, who were out searching for him. In the end, the father and son did not see each other again.

What does this story have to do with Science? The moral of the story is, if we cling too tightly to something that we believe is absolutely true, we may missed out on the truth even if it comes knocking on your door. So, I would strongly recommend all of you preserve your sense of wonder and curiosity, just in case truth comes knocking on your door.

Let me share another story. Once, there was an illiterate man who was known to be very wise. Everyday, he would receive many visitors who came to his house to ask for his advice. It happened that his neighbour was a scholar, who had read many books, and he was very jealous of the attention the other man was getting. So one evening, the scholar confronted the illiterate man.

The scholar said, “I have read an entire library of books and nobody ever comes to me for advice. Yet, they queue up to hear you speak even though you cannot read and write. Are these people mad?” The wise man lifted his finger and pointed to the moon. Then, he spoke slowly, “The books that you have read is like the finger that points to the moon. The finger is not the moon and books do not guarantee you wisdom.”

The moral of the second story is, you can read all the books in the world but they will not make you wiser unless you start seeking your own meaning to knowledge you have acquired. Do not be afraid to have ideas that are different from those you read. You don’t have to agree with everything that the authors have written. Great discoveries can be made only after you start questioning why things are done in certain ways and not otherwise.

All the best for SA1!