“NO ONE should suffer and

live in pain like I did!”

Ricky Springer

May 2011

for curious artists

and scientists

Contents 5 The Meaning of Children

Interview with author Beverly Akerman

10 Racing For A Cause

Interview with Ricky Springer

21 Don't rely on just the average!

A discussion on statistics without too much maths

24 Beauty, Education and the Well-being of Children

A talk by professor Joe Winston

46 Graffiti love messages

Ah young love...

49 blinkBL-NK April 2011

Motion comics, origami and international history

5 10

21

24 46

49

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 3 _\

The suggested way to enjoy this magazine is

to have it as a PDF file on your desktop or

laptop computer, and then read it with a PDF

reader. I recommend using the Adobe Reader

to do so. Also, tea (to drink, not splash it on

your computer screen. Why would you do

that?!?).

If you read this magazine directly with a

browser, then clicking on any links in the

magazine will bring you to the link page. And

basically close the magazine. Which isn't fun

when you want to come back to the

magazine.

Speaking of links, they will be in blue and

underlined, like so (<-- don't click, that's not a

link!). In cases where the background colour

isn't cooperative, the links will be in a lighter

shade of blue, like so (you're not supposed to

see that clearly. Unless you're Superman. In

which case, OMG Krispy Kryptonite, I've got

Superman reading Singularity! *jumps

around room*).

If you're reading this on a mobile device or

tablet, let me know (yes, that's a real email

link) how I can make it better for you to enjoy

the magazine.

In miscellaneous information, the title text

"Singularity" is set in the font Perpetua. I

found out about the font when I read the

copyright page of a book. Yes, the physical

kind. And now, I'll leave you to your reading...

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 4 _\

From the editor So we happen to have a small theme for this issue. Children. We have an

interview with molecular genetics researcher turned author, Beverly

Akerman, with her book, The Meaning of Children.

Next, we have an interview with 9 year old Ricky Springer, who suffers from

Eosinophilic Colitis, and generally can't eat "normal" food. Are you ever

grateful that you can eat? Ricky is. Now he races in his go-kart (soon to be a

champ kart, which is safer) to increase awareness about Eosinophil

Associated Disorders.

I also attended a talk by professor Joe Winston, with the general focus on

the education of children. It was conducted at the Esplanade in Singapore,

and I'll show you some photos I took there.

Children are our future. What you do now, will be what they experience in

the future. Choose your actions accordingly.

In exciting magazine news, we have a Facebook page! I finally set it up on a

friend's suggestion. "Like" the page, share your comments and articles, and

talk with other Singularity readers.

Vincent Tan

Cover image used with permission

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 5 _\

The Meaning of Children

A book by Beverly Akerman

I got to know Beverly through Twitter. There

aren't many molecular genetics researchers who

sequenced their own DNA and wrote a book.

Read on to find out more.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 6 _\

Vincent: Before we talk about your book, The

Meaning of Children, tell us more about your work

in molecular genetics research.

Beverly: I did my McGill University MSc with Charles

Scriver at the Debelle Laboratory for Biochemical

Research, which is a department in The Montreal

Childrens’ Hospital. The title of my thesis was Alpha

Globin Genes in Quebec Populations. Adult

hemoglobin is made of two chains, so-called alpha

and beta (two of each, actually). Hereditary

anemias—like thalassemia and sickle cell anemia—

are caused by mutations (which can be point

mutations or deletions) in either gene. Because the

normal person actually has 4 copies of the alpha

gene (two from each parent), most alpha mutations

are due to deletions. So basically I used Southern

blotting to analyze how many alpha globin genes

there were in people from Quebec groups at varying

risk for hereditary anemia.

My thesis was deposited in 1987, before PCR

(polymerase chain reaction) technology became

widely used. My first job was in Nahum Sonenberg’s

lab in McGill’s biochemistry department. He focused

on translation initiation; that’s where I became really

proficient in DNA cloning and sequencing. From

there, I worked with Roy Gravel (who had just come

from University of Toronto to head up the MCH’s

Research Institute; ’90-’96). He worked on

gangliosidoses—I published work on Tay-Sachs

disease mutations in non-Jewish populations. And

from there, it was back to work with Charles and

also Dr. Eileen Treacy (’96-’99). I spent 10 months in

the lab of Andrea Leblanc at the Lady Davis

Institute—working on enzymes involved in

programmed cell death, called caspases. From

there, I headed off to the private sector, to a now-

merged biotech company called Ecopia. They were

looking for new antibiotics by scanning bacterial

genomes. After three years there, molecular biology

and I called it quits.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 7 _\

V: You sequenced your own DNA. What made you do

it? More importantly, how did you go about doing it?

Can everyone do it too?

B: I needed a control for a Tay-Sachs disease patient

whose DNA I was sequencing, so I used my own

(probably not a good idea but people do that all the

time, or at least did so back then). I don’t think you

could do this at home: for one thing, in those days, you

needed to use radioactive material. So ordering it and

using it safely meant doing it in a laboratory. And it was

only short segments of my DNA, not all of it. But it is a

true quirky fact that I’ve done it, so it amuses me to

include it as part of my biography.

[Ed: You can find out more about Tay-Sachs disease

here. It's a terrible and fatal disease. Fortunately, it's

also rare.]

V: Moving from molecular genetics to fiction writing

seems like a big jump. What's the story behind it?

B: Well, I think I had been moving beyond science for a

decade, but gradually. Then something really acute

happened: my father-in-law, Gerry Copeman, died of

lung cancer in 2003. Gerry and I didn’t get along that

well, though we’d made our peace. But when he died, I

was plunged into a sort of crisis: I understood—

emotionally, as opposed to rationally or intellectually—

that my time on this earth was finite, and that I’d better

use it doing something I’d always dreamed of doing—

which was writing fiction. So I quit working in science

and started writing. I have a wonderfully supportive

family.

“My time on this earth was finite, and

that I’d better use it doing something

I’d always dreamed of doing”

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 8 _\

V: The short stories in your book all revolve around

children. What's the significance?

B: I didn’t start out to write stories on any particular theme,

beyond that they were about issues that I was interested in,

felt strongly about, was moved by. Then, after four or five

years, I had written all these stories and I had to find a way

to unite them, to put them into a package in some way that

made sense other than that they were written by me. I

ended up with a book that has three parts—Beginning

(which features first-person point of view stories of

children), Middle (stories of people in the child-bearing

years), and End (which features older people, or stories that

take the long view of life).

I’ve also been thinking a lot lately of where my two careers

intersect. In biology and genetics, evolution by natural

selection is as close to written in stone as any concept. But

the point of evolution—and selective advantage via sexual

reproduction—is to produce a ‘better’ next generation, one

more suited to the prevailing circumstances. In other words,

it’s about doing your best for your offspring, albeit in an

unconscious or extra-conscious way. So children are very

central to all of this, or offspring, anyway. I also had three

children with my husband while I was doing all that lab

work. I’ve been intrigued to experience all those parental

feelings on a personal level.

V: Of all the 14 short stories, which one did you find the

hardest to write? Why is that?

B: The hardest ones are the ones that aren’t published yet.

Probably because I have yet to get them right!

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 9 _\

V: If you had to write a children's book, instead of a book revolving around

children, what is the first idea and storyline you think of?

B: I’d love to write more funny stuff, so I’d want to write something about

misunderstandings or kids getting into mischief. Science mischief, maybe, I hadn’t

thought of that before, so thanks for this. I feel that I may have written too many sad

or dark stories. Maybe I just had to get them out of my system, though.

V: Where can we get more information about you and your book?

B: You can read about my triumphs and tribulations by finding me on Facebook,

‘liking’ my book’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/TheMeaningofChildren),

or at my blog http://beverlyakermanmscwriter.blogspot.com/.

[Ed: You can also follow Beverly on Twitter. Also, The Meaning of Children appears to

be available only in Canadian bookstores (but there's shipping from Amazon.ca).

Hmm... pity.]

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 10 _\

Racing For A Cause:

An interview with [_ Ricky Springer _\

We first connected on Twitter. I am amazed at how a 9 year old

boy is racing go-karts to increase awareness about Eosinophil

Associated Disorders.

Ricky Springer, this 9 year old boy, generally cannot eat normal

food.

Find out more in the interview on the next page.

All images used with permission.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 11 _\

Vincent: Can you tell us about Eosinophil associated disorders? (this is answered by Julie Springer, Ricky's mom)

Julie: Eosinophil Associated Disorders are a group of illnesses that are rapidly emerging as a healthcare problem worldwide. Many

patients suffering from these disorders go undiagnosed for years due to the lack of information or awareness of these disease s.

Eosinophil Associated Disorders occur when high numbers of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, accumulate in body tissue s

causing inflammation and damage. They are classified by the body tissue where the eosinophils accumulate. These disorders can

only be diagnosed by tissue biopsies and are chronic diseases requiring long term treatment, with no known cure.

Most common, Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) occurs when the eosinophils mass in the esophagus and cause inflammation and

damage, affecting the ability to eat. It is estimated that more than 1 in 2000 people live with EoE.

Other classifications include:

Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis (EGE) and Eosinophilic Gastritis (EG), affecting the stomach and/or small intestine

Eosinophilic Colitis (EC), affecting the large intestine

Hypereosinophilic Syndrome (HES), affecting the organs in the body (heart, lungs, gut, skin)

Churg-Strauss Syndrome (CSS), affecting the small to medium blood vessels (vascultitis)

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 12 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 13 _\

Vincent: What is a typical day for you like?

Ricky: I am lucky that I don't live in pain anymore and I can eat

a variety of foods now. Traveling is difficult for me. Anywhere

we go we have to bring food with us because I can't eat at any

fast food restaurants. When traveling overnight, where we stay

depends on if there is an Outback Steakhouse. That is the only

restaurant where I can get a full meal and not get sick. Another

major issue we have is the water. My body reacts to both

spring and well water. We recently took a trip to Los Angeles,

CA and we couldn't even find water in the airport or on the

plane that I could drink.

Still, I am very grateful that I can EAT! For over 2 years I wasn't

able to eat any food and received all of my nutrition from a

special elemental formula. It has taken years of food trials to

get to where I am now and have the variety of foods I do have. I

still have to drink the elemental formula each day to

supplement my diet, but I no longer need to rely on it for my

sole nutrition.

V: How did you get into go-kart racing?

R: My parents took me to a NASCAR truck race in Atlanta when

I was 5 and I fell in love with racing. I got my first chance to

drive a go-kart when I was 5 and from then on I was hooked! I

kept asking my dad if I could race go-karts and when I was six

he finally said yes and bought me my first go-kart. For the last

three years I have raced go-karts. This season I will begin

racing another type of kart, called a Champ Kart. It is safer

than the go-karts I have been racing because it has a roll cage

and seat belts. I am very excited to move into this new class of

racing.

“I am very grateful that I can EAT!”

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 14 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 15 _\

V: What made you decide to use racing as a platform to

increase awareness about Eosinophilic Disorders?

R: I was born with Eosinophilic Colitis and started showing signs

at 4 days old that something was wrong with my digestive

system. My parents took me to 14 pediatricians, 2 GIs and 2

Allergists and no one could figure out what was wrong with me.

Some of those doctors actually told my mom that there was

nothing wrong. But my mom didn't give up. She spent months

doing research on the Internet and found an organization called

APFED (American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders) They

helped her find a doctor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio

who was willing to test me to see if I had an Eosinophilic

Disorder. After 21 months of living in pain and suffering I was

finally diagnosed correctly. Within a few days of removing all

food from my diet, I was totally pain free and happy.

After I was finally diagnosed my mom started volunteering for

APFED. Over the years I have heard her on the phone with so

many parents who were going through the same thing we went

through. In my second year of racing go-karts, I decided to put

Racing for a Cause (RFAC) and APFED on my kart. It started out

that I would ask family and friends to make a donation to APFED

every time I would win a race and create some awareness of the

diseases at my local track. From there it has grown into an

international campaign. I never thought it would be this big, but

I am so excited about it. Since I started RFAC, we have educated

well over 2.7 million people about these diseases and raised over

$4000.00 to support APFED in the education of the general

public and medical community about Eosinophilic Disorders.

I plan on hosting the RFAC campaign until every person knows

what an eosinophil associated disorder is and every doctor

knows how to recognize the symptoms and treat these diseases.

If that takes forever, then I will do this forever!

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 16 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 17 _\

V: What are you currently working on for Racing For A Cause?

R: We have a LOT of exciting things planned for the 2011

Season. We are currently working on having the Racing for a

Cause logo on the hood of Jeremy Clements No 51 car in

NASCAR Nationwide Series car at the race on September 3rd in

Atlanta. Jeremy Clements is a member of the RFAC Team. That

has always been my dream...to see the RFAC logo on a hood of a

car in the NASCAR series. We will be able to reach SO many

people, not only at the track, but through the TV coverage as

well!!!

We are also working on adding race car drivers to the RFAC

Team. We currently have 13 drivers and two race teams,

representing 3 countries, all who race with the RFAC logo on

their cars or karts and help create awareness of eosinophilic

disorders. I hope to have at least 25 members on the Team by

the end of 2011.

I am also working on ways to raise enough money to fund the

new eLearning Center that APFED is putting together. The

eLearning Center will make information available to patients and

their families living with these diseases, as well as help to

educate doctors. I have always wanted to find a way to educate

doctors, so that others don't have to suffer like I did, where their

doctors can't determine what is wrong. This eLearning Center

will make that possible.

[Ed: You can find out more about Jeremy Clements here.]

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 18 _\

V: Any last comments?

R: I have one passionate goal with the RFAC Campaign... That

NO ONE should suffer and live in pain like I did! I hope that

people will take the time to learn more about Eosinophilic

Disorders. So many people, adults and kids, live with these

diseases and are misdiagnosed, still suffering. By learning more,

they may be able to share that knowledge with someone who is

suffering and help them to find the right treatment. They can

learn more about eosinophil associated disorders on the RFAC

website at www.racingforacause.com or by visiting APFED at

www.apfed.org.

[Ed: You can also find Ricky on Facebook, on Twitter, and also at

www.springerracing.com]

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 19 _\

I was walking home in the evening with a slight

drizzle. In front of me was a young couple with

their son. The little boy pointed at the sky and

cried, "Rainbow!". I looked up and saw the multi-

coloured arc too.

Moving quickly to a spot where I could get a

better view, I took out my iPhone and snapped

this. Interestingly, a young man, after

overhearing the little boy, also took out his

(proper) camera and took photos.

Sometimes, it takes a child to point out the

beauty that's right in front of us...

If you look closely, there's a second rainbow to

the left.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 21 _\

Don't rely on just the average!

You may encounter many statistical reports in your life. Population

demographics, the size of a family, the number of road accidents and so

on. With a large amount of data presented to you, a convenient way of

summarising that information is to give you important measurements.

The average is a typical measurement.

You should beware of any hidden information if the average is the only

measurement given to you. Click on the picture on the left to see a

video where I explain a simple example to illustrate this (or click here).

Some numbers to take note are the average, the median, the mode, the

sample size (if it's too small, it might not be accurate enough), the

maximum and minimum (so you know the range of the data). For

example, you might be depressed to know the average height was 190

cm (slightly less than 6 feet 3 inches). Until you know the minimum

height in the sample was 185 cm. And the fact that all the samples were

of basketball players.

The average is a convenient way of distilling statistical information, but

it may also hide a lot of the nuances if you're not careful.

Numbers are simply numbers, and it's up to you to make sense of them.

Don't simply accept the meaning given to you. Someone once said,

"Nothing has meaning, except the meaning you give it."

Click the picture above for a YouTube video

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 22 _\

Random picture: Abandoned barriers

Be part of a tribe This magazine exists because of you. If

you find anything interesting, give me a

holler and I'll take a look. Or share on the

magazine's Facebook page here.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 24 _\

There was a talk on the concept of beauty with regards to

children. It was presented by professor Joe Winston, and held at

the library@esplanade.

Here's the description of the talk:

“So why is beauty so ignored as an educational concept? How

could schools help children flourish spiritually and emotionally as

well as cognitively if teachers were to give beauty the attention it

deserves?”

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 25 _\

The talk was held in a glass-encased room,

which looked like a space usually used for

dance practices and performances. Here's

me from outside the glass room because

it's already full.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 26 _\

Here's a quote from Joe:

“Philosophers may argue and disagree

about the meaning of beauty. But ordinary

people know what they mean when they

call something beautiful.”

He also mentioned a person called Platinus (I can't be sure of the spelling).

That person said:

“Our soul is part of the Divine. And our

deepest desire is to reunite with the

Divine.”

Without going into comparative theology or whether the central focus of

religions (that is, God(s)) exist(s), the Divine can be generally regarded as the

Ultimate/Universal Consciousness where souls or human consciousness

originate. This is hard to state without inadvertently stepping on your toes, so

please keep an open mind for now.

Let's call it a theory. So the theory goes that there's this giant ball of

consciousness. When a human is born, a tiny bit of this consciousness forms

with the body. Or vice versa, a teeny bit of this consciousness forms a human

body around it. I'm not sure on the process (depending on the belief system

you take on). The giant ball of consciousness is beautiful, and in our quest to

rejoin the consciousness, we naturally look for beauty.

This isn't part of the talk, but here's my interpretation. Buddhists believe in

the reincarnation of souls. I interpret this reincarnation as the cyclic joining

and then detaching from the Universal Consciousness. You stop the cycle

when you attain Nirvana. For Christians, the reuniting with the Divine can be

thought of as returning to Heaven. I don't know enough about other religions

to make an observation, but religion has always been an easy topic to get

defensive about, so I ask that you keep an open mind on this. Challenge a

man's beliefs, and you challenge his very existence.

I believe Joe mentioned a book by Elaine Scarry, On Beauty and Being Just

(Amazon link). In the book, Elaine mentioned Immanuel Kant (a Prussian

philosopher born in the 18th century). Now Immanuel made a distinction for

males and females.

Sublime is male and beauty is female.

My notes start getting a little blurry here...

For discipline is sublime, and compassion is beauty.

I'm not sure if I got that correct. Hey, I was juggling between listening to the

talk, looking at the slides, taking notes on my iPhone and taking photos with

the iPhone where appropriate. Cut me a little slack...

You can read more about Immanuel's thoughts on the sublime and beauty

here.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 27 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 28 _\

Joe then mentioned 2 children's books: The Secret Garden and The Selfish

Giant (Amazon links). The general theme was:

Adults make the problems. Children solve

them.

Now those 2 statements are too sweeping of a generalisation for me to

swallow. But I can understand where they come from.

There was a TED (ted.com) talk where an economist was comparing the

world's problems (I can't remember the title nor the name of the economist.

Sorry...). In summary, the economist said that it's monetarily prohibitive to

solve global climate problems now, therefore it's better to focus on treating

malaria instead. That's because treating malaria saves lives, many of them

being children. And when those children grow up, they might find a cheaper

solution to solving global climate problems together with the advent of better

technology. So solving one problem helps solve another problem.

The point being, our children is our future.

Joe also mentioned the Foucault Pendulum. I will admit to you now that

though I've heard the name "Foucault" mentioned before, I've never thought

it's spelt that way. I thought it's "Fukow". Oh French and their silent O's and

L's and T's...

As you view the pendulum swinging back and forth, you will notice that the

line the bob traces on the ground tilts slightly. The pendulum isn't moving (at

least the tilting part isn't due to the pendulum). The Earth is. It's proof that the

Earth actually rotates.

Joe brought up the pendulum because the search for beauty isn't restricted to

the "conventional" artists.

The search for beauty grips us deeply.

That's how scientists are born.

He related the story of a teacher showing her students a bottle of water. She

placed a hat over the opening, and then squeezed the bottle. Water flowed

out of the bottle and the hat promptly became wet.

Then the teacher showed her students another bottle, this time empty. She

asked them what would happen. They said nothing would happen. She

squeezed the empty bottle. Imagine the children's surprise when the hat flew

up as the air whooshed out of the bottle! The children then had fun playing

with whooshing the hat up.

That's how you teach children that air takes up space.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 29 _\

I managed to find a seat!

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 30 _\

Continuing in the same vein as the hat experiment, Joe talked about how

education shouldn't be the "This is our objective. This is what we're going to

learn." approach. Rote learning of theories and applications has robbed us of

the surprise and sense of wonder in discovery and learning.

It turns out that there's quite a number of teachers in the audience. In the Q&A

session, the questions generally revolved around Singapore's rigid method of

teaching. Joe said good teachers inherently know the best way of teaching, but

are restrained by unyielding school policies and systems. Joe himself said he

had to fill out a form on how he planned his curriculum, with strict instructions

on filling the individual sections. You still need to plan the learning curriculum,

but a form unnecessarily restricts the different ways of doing it.

I leave you with a few questions and quotes to think about.

Can schools aspire to be beautiful?

Can teachers aspire to be beautiful?

Can the curriculum aspire to be beautiful?

Beauty is charm.

Beauty is something we love by instinct.

Beauty is uncertain.

Beauty is to be noticed...

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 31 _\

After the talk by Professor Joe Winston, I left the library,

and had time to look around. I found these interesting.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 32 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 33 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 34 _\

It turns out they were "wind walls".

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 35 _\

I also found coloured ones.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 36 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 37 _\

I wandered out to the Esplanade

main hall. On the way, I looked up

and saw this. This is known as an

oculus (which is Latin for "eye").

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 38 _\

It turns out there's a huge exhibit in

the middle of the entrance hall.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 39 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 40 _\

I surmised that it's an art

piece of Buddhist nature.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 41 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 42 _\

Then I left the Esplanade itself and went outside. The

Esplanade has been called a "durian" due to the spiked

exterior of the dome. The durian is a tropical fruit that

has a spiked husk.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 43 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 44 _\

You can see the Marina Bay Sands in the background.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 45 _\

A Project Polymath Junto

A junto is a group of people joined by a common purpose. Project Polymath is an interdisciplinary

university, and they've offered a way for like-minded polymaths to connect with each other.

If you're interested, check out their web page here:

http://www.projectpolymath.org/junto.shtml

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 46 _\

I'm stuck in the moment with you. And it feel [sic] just so right.

You're like a drug for the heart. I'll only keep coming back for

more and more of your love. You're an addiction no one can

stop me from [indecipherable]

I love you dear.

Graffiti love messages

*pixelated to protect

the innocent...

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 47 _\

That's succinct... This was spray-painted on the floor.

Drive safe. Subscribe!

http://polymathprogrammer.com/singularity/

Racing for a cause

wherever go-karts are

found.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 49 _\

blinkBL-NK April 2011

(website)

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 50 _\

This isn't really magazine news,

but I made a little progress in my

entrepreneurial efforts. So I

bought myself a hot chocolate

to celebrate. Sort of. The only

drinks I would order on the

Brewerkz menu were hot

chocolate and tea. The rest were

beer and wine, and I don't drink

alcohol...

As for the main courses, let's

just say that as a bootstrapping

entrepreneur, it would be

unwise to order food here...

This time, I was early at the

event. So I chose a table

strategically positioned (or so I

thought) for photo-taking.

Also, this cup of hot chocolate

would be my only companion at

the table. I'm not joking... More

details after you read about the

event.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 51 _\

This was the best shot I had of

Michael Lim, the first speaker. He's

the founder of the Singapore

Visual Effects and Animation

Group. It turns out that there was

an official event photographer, and

she happened to set up shop

directly between me and where

the speakers would stand. *sigh*

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 52 _\

Motion comics are basically normal comics but with animation typically in

the comic panel. For example, a close-up of a person's face and the eyes are

twitching in fear. Or water running from a tap.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 53 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 54 _\

Michael said that the current motion

comics are still fairly primitive. They're like

sophisticated PDFs.

In the consumer world, it's best realised as

existing graphic novels on the iPad.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 55 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 56 _\

On the lower left corner is a graphic novel, Gone Case,

written by a friend Dave Chua.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 57 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 58 _\

An Animatic is a flowing (?) storyboard used in pre-production in films & commercials. Sorry for the blurry words...

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 59 _\

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 60 _\

Michael also mentioned a Finnish project called Dr Professor's Thesis of Evil. It's slightly different from a motion comic in that it's completely

written from the ground up to take advantage of the animation portion. The creators call it a motion novel.

In the Q&A, someone asked what's the difference between a motion comic and animation. A motion comic incorporates animation, but not too

much, otherwise it becomes a video game.

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Next up was Ben Ball, who would be

talking about origami.

On the table in front of him, were

some of his origami creations. One of

them was a lizard.

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Digression:

So 2-colourability means you need at most 2 colours to colour

the regions. A simple example is the fan.

If you fold the paper in

alternating directions

along the colour borders,

you get a simple fan. Of

course, adding more folds

creates a more pleasing

look. Note that the faces

with the same colour will

all face the same direction

in this case.

I want to let you know there's actually a 4-colourability

problem. It's about colouring planar maps. It's long been

observed that for colouring geographical maps, only at most 4

colours were needed. However, no one could prove it

(mathematically).

It was finally proved in 1976. A computer was used to help

exhaust all the possibilities, proving that only at most 4 colours

were needed. Hmm... a computer program was written to help

prove a maths theorem. Interesting.

Why is this important?

Well, you can now rest assured that only 4 colours are needed

for colouring maps. Therefore you can choose 4 colours that

are pleasing to the eye, yet provide enough contrast to

distinguish boundary areas.

I studied graph theory in university, ok? My professor told me

about 4-colourability problem and the story of its solution. It

made the night lesson a bit more bearable... Alright, moving

on...

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Ben then proceeded to skip several slides with mathematical equations on them,

much to the joy of the audience and to my chagrin. I'm a mathematician! I might not

understand the equations, but it might be interesting to look at them.

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I think the event organisers set up this

lighting station. This means the speakers

were kind of stuck near the lights.

Like I said before, I don't have a good view

of the speakers for photo taking.

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That's the Singapore Merlion.

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That's the katakana for Ancient Dragon (エンシェント ドラゴン)

It goes like eh-n-shi(e)-n-to do-ra-go-ng.

I wrote about how you can read some Japanese based on just your knowledge of katakana. Read the

September 2010 and October 2010 issues for more details.

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This dragon origami apparently took 3 months to fold.

The paper used was 3 metres by 3 metres.

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Some last words about origami:

Origami pieces with 2 colours on them make use of the other side of the paper. That is, the main colour is on one

side, and the secondary colour is on the other side. It takes some planning to work the other side of the paper into

your folding.

To make what is known as flaps (such as wings, legs and other protruding items), you make "circles". Basically you

make a series of folds such that the creases are adjacent to each other and they share one point (the centre of the

circle). Imagine an umbrella. Open the umbrella and you see the "creases" (the spines that support the water-

resistant material). Close the umbrella, and you get a "protruding item".

"Rivers" are the gaps in between the circles.

Rectangular pieces of paper allow greater choices of creations. But there's the symmetry of the square as a limit as

well.

There's a software that helps you plan your origami creation: TreeMaker.

If you're mathematically inclined, you might find the Huzita–Hatori axioms interesting.

You can contact Ben Ball on his email address: ben (dot) t (dot) ball (at) gmail (dot) com

Replace the (dot) and (at) with the appropriate symbols (I'm preventing spam).

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 79 _\

“Don't Know Much About History. Why academic History needs a rethink.”

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The last speaker was Ross Dillon,

who just arrived in Singapore to

teach international history (at an

undisclosed junior college).

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“We're

geographically

bound, so history

gets involved in

culture.”

Or was it the other way? I can't

remember...

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History is a record of

human experience.

History is a series of

stories, dictated by

national historians.

This reminds me of a saying. History is

written by winners. Specifically, winners

of war.

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That's Eric Donald Hirsch, Jr.

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A clear shot!!! I mean, uh, I can see Ross

clearly now...

“History is about questions,

not facts.”

If we're teaching history

based on facts, it makes

sense to just put them on

the Internet instead of a

book because of the storage

capacity.

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Historical Preenactment Society

“Because the best history has yet to happen”

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Some last words about Ross' talk:

“When you start learning everyone's history, you start

to lose the details.”

In the Q&A session, someone asked how should junior colleges deal with the fact that students and

teachers needed to cram a lot of history into just 2 years.

Ross' answer? Get rid of the exam.

On a somewhat related note, John D. Cook wrote a blog post quoting Patrick Allitt:

History is strange, it’s alien, and it won’t give us what we would like to have. If you hear a historical story

and at the end you feel thoroughly satisfied by it and find that it perfectly coincides with your political

inclinations, it probably means that you’re actually listening to ideology or mythology. History won’t oblige

us, and much of its challenge and interest comes from its immovable differentness from us and our own

world.

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 88 _\

Isaac Souweine, one of the event

organisers, quizzing the audience

about the talks. There are prizes,

you see...

One of the Brewerkz staff holding

up a beer keg (empty?) as the

grand prize.

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So here's an interesting observation: Humans are afraid of

being alone.

I wasn't kidding about the hot chocolate being my only

companion. My table was the only table with just 1 person.

There was a friend who sat down briefly. Then he went to

look for a better position. He didn't invite me along. Ok, I can

take a hint... (downgrade to "acquaintance" in progress...).

There was another man who sat down, but he joined another

table in less than 5 minutes.

Now I was a little tired and not in the mood to get too

friendly. So I decided to just watch and study human

behaviour. I noticed that people would rather join another

group of people (possibly strangers), even peripherally, if only

they won't have to sit alone at a table. Perhaps they were

really friendly and I misjudged them.

I noticed that some tables just got bigger and bigger, with

people pulling chairs from my table. I also noticed me feeling

weird for being alone at a table. Calming myself, I took it as a

lesson in training to be comfortable in feeling uncomfortable,

in feeling different, in possibly feeling embarrassed in sitting

alone at a table. It turned out ok.

Let's just say I drained my iPhone's full battery in that one

evening on writing notes, taking photos and doing Facebook/

Twitter updates...

As an aside, here's an interesting article by Joel Spolsky who

talked about having lunch (with other people).

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 90 _\

Question of the month:

Should we pursue a

broad-based education?

Why?

Singularity • May 2011 [_ 91 _\

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