Analysis of Weird People

In this post, I am going to present my views of why weird people (personality wise) are weird and how people generally treat them.

Think of Einstein, think of the typical mad scientist image, think of the various successful people who are weird. Think of the reasoning that if you blend into the crowd, how can you standout in your future? How can a normal person make a huge impact on everyone’s life?

When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way you will command the attention of the world.

   --  George Washington Carver (1864-1943)

Think now of Bugs Bunny, the Mask, The Pretender, Stephen Chow, Dicky Cheung, Animaniacs, and you can see that there are so many inspiration to be extraordinary.

Well, weird people may also be weird just to make people laugh. To not make people laughing at them, they laugh together too! Making a clown of themselves. Or they might know all the social norms and just decided not to follow them, but to break all of them in a skilful way so that life gets more interesting.

It is also a way to repel girls (mentioned previously) and to make oneself famous (or infamous) extremely fast.

Now whatever the reason is, the weird people are certainly not (not always at least) criminally inclined, crazy nor are they guaranteed to be a super genius. However, they are certainly human beings. Humans with feelings, perception, mental faculties, consciousness, and (for this case) a normal body.

Now let’s concentrate on other people’s responses to weird people. Generally, people who do not understand these weird people will be exactly predictable, as what these weird people want them to behave. For example, if they want, they can portray a super qualified image of them, “humbly” letting information of their past glory leak out so that they become the centre of attention and famous. Or they can move their hands during conversations with others, nodding their heads obsessively, bringing an overlarge accessory (like a 2 litre water bottle), just to freak people out from talking to them a second time. They can even say “You are pretty”, “Are you single?” etc… to a beautiful girl as first greetings. This guarantees no future with any self respecting girl.

So these people who only had to interact once or twice with the weird people are described above. And there are those who had to interact more and frequently with weird people, eg. neighbours, school/work colleague, relatives, normal friends and are not really close enough with these weird people. For these people, they had to develop a defence mechanism in dealing with the weird people (let’s just shorten it to weirdos).

Defence mechanism

1. Interact as little as possible. Making both sides very quiet and awkward silences happen a lot of the time. Practically ignore them. (But then we ignore most people most of the time, and we ignore the fact that we do)
2. Bully the weirdos, just because you can’t understand them, means you got to fear them. The only way to deal if this if you can’t run away is to establish superiority. Once you established superiority against these weirdos, you don’t have to care if they had superior intellect or anything else. Bullying here can extend to a wide range of things. Forgive me for not being politically correct, but it can range from a friendly nudging question like: “You plan to be single all your life?” (the common assumption that you had to be normal to get a girl/boyfriend) to denying work opportunity (discrimination has largely gone against women, races, the disabled, etc…, however, there are wide spread discrimination against weird peoples).
3. Tolerance, we should not discriminate against anyone. So what if they are weird? As long as they are human beings, (or living beings) we should treat them no different from others. This response can be from a religious group that the weirdo joins in, other weirdo themselves. It ranges from smiling at the weirdos, to becoming friends with them (because they can’t stand the rudeness of rejecting/ bullying or ignoring the weirdos), and giving them opportunities to integrate with the rest of the society. Generally, they are seeking to understand the weirdos and help the change weirdos in order to live a more normal or happier life.

Which one of the defence mechanism activates depends very much upon how annoying the weirdo is and how innately good the people who responded are.

And now for those who live their lives with the weirdos, roommates, family, close and best friends. These people know that behind the collection of unusual behaviour, the weirdos are just people. Humans with feelings, perception, mental faculties, consciousness, and (for this case) a normal body. These people treat the weirdos as what they are, best friends, family, close friends, etc… giving the sense of social fulfilment to the weirdos (even if some of the weirdos do not recognise it as social ignorance maybe part of their specialty). These people are the real angels of the weirdos’ life, accepting the weirdos for who they are. Helping them as the tolerant people are and gently steering the weirdos into a society that accepts them and where they can be happy.

However, that said, it is just the personality of the weirdos to seek out the crowd that recognises them as weird and thus they might purposely go to find and manipulate the first group of people a lot. They might also be unlucky enough if they were very annoying then and some of the first group of people became regulars in their life and starts to bully.

Whatever the way it is, the lack of a consistent and coherent fight against the discrimination against weird people may stem from the following reasons:

1. It is difficult to define weirdos, by definition (Ok I know it is contradictory to use these words…), weirdos can exist in every possible society just to break the norms and increase the diversity of the social situation.
2. If a society of weirdos form, it would not boast a long or consistent enough form to have a legal representation as any society that forms from the weirdos will turn the weirdos into beings that does accept the rules of the normal people who joins in societies and have lawyers etc…, in other words, the weirdos has to become normal to join in the weirdo club (weird huh?)
3. This group stagnates https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=211949258701&v=wall , maybe due to the low density of weirdos that makes the members there unable to ask their friends to join as the members are probably the only weird ones amongst their friends. Also some weirdos are not proud to be weird thanks to the tolerant group who tries to change them.

Well, anyway here’s my contribution to the lacking research and writing materials on behalf of these weirdos. Thank you if you feel weird after reading this.

Meditation Flash Mob in Trafalgar Square on my Birthday!

On my Birthday, the 2nd June, I happened to join in a cool Meditation Flash Mob in London. Spot me if you can!

At 2:12.

At 5:40.

Ok ok, I was 5 minutes late and did not bring my camera.... but the meditation was too short! Anyway, in the cold summer day and turning into night, I did took a long time to go back.

Back to the topic, I hope to bring this to Singapore! (And later on, if I stay in Malaysia for some time, to Malaysia!)

SP2171 and 72: Time travel, is it possible?

In the year 2009, three SPS (Special Programme in Science) students investigated the previous research of time travel and made a small discovery of their own. They found that time travel, allowed by the General Theory of Gravity (GR) because of curved spacetime, is self consistent in curved space time itself!

The tale of time travel may seem absurd and discarded by most as impossible due to the Grandfather Paradox (you can go back in time to prevent your own existence if time travel is possible). However, there are solid Physics behind time travel. It started when Willem Jacob van Stockum first showed that one solution of the GR equation by Einstein allows for time travel. The whole van Stockum Universe was just an infinitely long rotating cylinder whereby the spacetime outside is so curved that the light cones tipped and allows one to move back to where one started by travelling around the cylinder.



The vertical axis is time. An observer in any point in spacetime can only travel to the future of his or her light cone (as no one can travel faster than the speed of light), and thus when the light cones tipped sufficiently, one can travel around the cylinder back to the exact point in time and space where one started.

This provides a way to create a Closed Time-like Curve (CTC), a physicist way of saying time travel. With GR producing potential time travel paradoxes, there are four ways that the physics community are dealing with it.

1. The Radical Rewrite Conjecture: from multiverse to saying time can be rewritten, this is the radically rewriting the laws of physics and causality conjecture. (Science Fiction series Doctor Who falls under this category)
2. Self-Consistency Principle: the basic tenet is that whatever is recorded down in history cannot be changed. So if one travelled back in time, one would have already done it. It also means either restricted free will or no free will.
3. Chronology Protection Principle: all the ways of allowing time travel cannot yet work in our universe because of the impossible requirements like: infinitely long cylinder, negative energy etc... there maybe a deeper law, like quantum gravity that will protect causation and prevent all forms of time travel.
4. Boring Physics Conjecture: time travel has not been shown to be practical or possible yet with 100% certainty, so there are better things to worry about.

Obviously Science fiction writers has explored the first way, physicists like Novikov had proposed the self-consistency principle using wormhole as the time machine (in flat space-time background), while others likeStephen Hawking had proposed the Chronology Protection Principle and most of the rest of us chose to adopt the boring physics conjecture. However, until 2009, no one has yet tried to see if the self-consistency principle could work in fully curved spacetime itself.

There comes our three students, Han Weiding, Jani Hariom Kirit, and yours truly who investigated this case for the van Stockum Universe. What we had found was that there exist at least one self consistent path for a billiard ball inside the van Stockum Universe to go back in time and hit its past self so that the past self can go around the cylinder, back in time, to become the future self that did the hitting in the first place.

Therefore, we concluded that time travel is still possible under the self consistency principle and that GR has not contradicted itself.

This however does not tell us in absoluteness if time travel is possible or if it is, will it require the radical rewrite conjecture or self consistency principle. The search for an answer goes on.

Note: at the time of literature review and research, the three students were in their 2nd and 3rd semesters in NUS.

Pokemon Video Game United Kingdom National Championships

Ever since the introduction of Pokémon, and me getting to play with Pokémon Blue inside a PC (can’t save at that time, so each time I had to replay it from the beginning), I wanted to own and play a real Pokémon game on a video game handheld console itself, at least before I lost interest in it.

I thought I did at one time, even when I got good grades at SPM or STPM, I didn’t asked for it. Maybe I was a bit disappointed at the number of Pokémon you have to get to catch em’ all. The fourth Generation being introduced and having to have both Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advanced to get all Pokémon.

Then came Pokémon Black and White, still on Nintendo DS, and also the 4th Generation can be self-sustaining, independent of the third generation. And me being able to come to the United Kingdom, finding cheap offers on the game, and finally this pushes me to the decision: http://www.pokemonvgc.com/uk/event/124.

Pokémon video game National Championship right in the United Kingdom itself, at the time went I am in the UK, on a Saturday! Right when I know I can easily go there! Nice opportunity like this can’t be missed out. So on the first weekend in the UK, I brought Pokémon Black and Nintendo DSi to start training.

And in two weeks I had finished the game for the first time (you should at least finish the game twice to go through everything that is offline about the game), and just starting to seriously train up my skills in double battles for one more week.

A lot of the features of the game requires you to go on Wi-Fi connection. Or having at least another player with Pokémon Black or White. Then one can enter the Union Room (or use infra-red) to battle with each other, trade, or just having fun interacting with another player on your console!

With only three weeks of training, and still cannot win against all the trainers inside the game with perfect scores, I knew there was virtually no chance at all for me to win the Championships. But still look at the first two Prizes:

• 1st Place:

  • A National Championships 1st Place Medal
  • A Nintendo 3DS system
  • An invitation to compete at the Pokémon Video Game World
  • Championships in San Diego, California, U.S.A., on August 13th & 14th, 2011
  • Airfare and 6-day/5-night hotel accommodations for the winner (including parent or legal guardian for players under 18) to attend the Pokémon Video Game World Championships

• 2nd Place:

• A National Championships 2nd Place Medal
• A Nintendo 3DS system
• An invitation to compete at the Pokémon Video Game World
• Championships in San Diego, California, U.S.A., on August 13th & 14th, 2011
• Airfare and 6-day/5-night hotel accommodations for the winner (including parent or legal guardian for players under 18) to attend the Pokémon Video Game World Championships

At least there is some 1/256 chance of getting there (assuming random probabilities and 0.5 for each player to win).

Well, it is also a fact that half of the 512 (maximum) players will be knocked out on the first round, and I happened to be in the lower half.

And so, on the Friday, I went on a 11:30pm bus to Birmingham International Airport. Tried to sleep on the way there, in fact, I didn’t play the game on the way but really try to relax myself… Anyway, didn’t work.

So right on arrival on 2 a.m., I was getting a bit stretched out on the no. of hours I have woken. I trained up my top six Pokémon until 5.00 a.m. , bought breakfast and lunch to eat while in the queue, and off I went once the mini-train from Birmingham International Airport to the Birmingham International Interchange starts. The sky has brightened by then too.

I spend some time exploring the train station before going on to NEC. I was looking for a way out to the National Exhibition Centre Hall 8 where the Pokémon Championship is being held, it was opposite the NEC. But since it was 6a.m. then and the time for registration was

I went on to the NEC, right on a the first minute starting to walk this long corridor there, I realised, NEC=National Exhibition Centre. Haha, and I printed a map on how to walk from the Airport to the NEC! It was all inside and well connected, I don’t even have to go on a road! So on to a few walkways I saw this

And then this when I finally arrived!

Some even slept overnight there! Wow! The line was not that long when I arrived, but in a few minutes that I was there, it got twice as long! And of course I started playing with them! Trading, battling etc… It was heartening to see parents bringing their kids (from dunno where their home is) at so early in the morning and line up with them, buying breakfast for them etc…some family even has a lot of children as brothers!

We waited (and play while waiting) for about one hour and a half before the door opens and those aged 15 and below have their hand being marked by a colour sticker. Once inside, I knew immediately that even if I didn’t win anything, it has been a worthwhile trip from London. A very very worthwhile trip. Immediately the photo-taking and playing at various places takes place! Enjoy!

First thing that greeted me! Wow! Air balloon inflated btw.

The juniors and seniors are lining up to register! And some pretty staffs too there was!

This is where the real battle commends! With a four pin plug in the middle. 

The most famous Pokémon of all time!

The final battle of the day, the finals of the master division is to be held here!

While the younger kids compete, the older people are enjoying various other stuffs, including a knock-out friendly battle. The loser gets out for the next in line and the winner won three times in a row gives up his place for other players. Oh yes, don’t be surprised by the cool way they put the battle on the big screen! 

The three starting Pokémon in Unova region in Pokémon Black and White! I chose Snivy, the grass Pokémon in the middle!

The hall is very big! And for the right, I tried to battle a special download for the battle institute over at the event!

Here’s the place for trading card promotion/introduction to the kids and people who never played it before.

And now, to review just how long the line was:

Despite their saying the line will be closed once the cap for player is reached, I think they did not reject anyone. The registration is still on-going even after the first few battles started! It really is a very nice place to be!

Here’s the battle scene, where parents see as their children play in this great battle! For those who had won, they proceed on to the right, so there are marked sections showing which area are for the first battle, which are the second etc…

As the battle goes on, the parents and other players are relaxing in the hall.

 

And finally I was satisfied with the pre-competition playing, I lined up with the rest of the people in the Masters division. Well, there are a lot of cool people there too! See this:

From earrings to hoodies (Pikachu hoodie), this gal is full of Pokémon! She even treated us to a packet of rice (for small luncheon)!

A Snivy hoodie, and is that Misty? I traded friend code and done feeling check with her, and only now I realised there is some resemblance of her with Misty!

Team Rocket, Pikachu (seriously, she has red dots makeup on her face!), (unknown green guy), and bug catcher!

Ash’s cap!

I was doing the survey (a feature inside the Pokémon Black and White game that automatically collects survey results from the players around with who enables their C gear, or Wi-fi enabled and has done their internal survey) along the way all the time I was there. Here are some interesting results: (I’ll select them as I see which is most interesting, as there is a lot of them)

Which version do you play? Total number: 198 people. 

Black	White
99 (50%)	99 (50%)

Amazing!

What’s your starter Pokémon? 297 total

Tepig	Snivy	Oshawott
99	99	99

Even more amazing!

How long have you been playing (hours)? 231 total

100+	99 (43%)
90-100	5
80-90	22
70-80	18 (I’m here)
60-70	21
50-60	18
40-50	16
30-40	6
20-30	9
10-20	6
0-10	11

So there are some not so serious players in the competition too (those less than 50 hours or so…, ok maybe those less than 100 hours, including me…)

Are you male or female? 127 total

Male	Female
99	28

Wow, overly male dominated!

What kind of job do you have? 157 total

Student	99
Artist	15
Office Worker	12
Creator	12
Job-Hopper	8
Self-Employed	4
Public Official	4
Homemaker	3

So adults do play Pokémon too!

What kind of people do you like best? Total: 222 people.

Type of People	No. of people who likes them
Fun	99
Kind	99 (my answer)
Cool	24
Rich	0 (this is funny!)

What kind of movies do you like? Total: 210 people.

Comedy	99
Action	50
Sci-fi	28 (me here!)
Horror	22
Suspense	11
Romance	0 (Another amazing fact!)

Ok that’s all for surveys. Now I do think that the purpose of the survey is for people like me to put it in blogs! Haha.

Hmmmm… an observational fact is that whenever a category goes up to 99 people it stops there, so maybe the survey is flawed due to it not being able to record more than 99 people for any category!

Now for more pictures. After my defeat, I take the time to hang around and take pictures of these:

As Carmen commented: I love how they put details into these things!

Then there are three more surprises!

Snivy, Oshawott, and Tepig! All cheering for those who are still in the competition!

Then I had some trades and battles and wrote this:

At the time of writing, the semi-finals of the Masters Division of Pokémon Video Games United Kingdom National Championship is on-going.

At Birmingham, UK, the spirit and passion for Pokémon brings together many kind-hearted and nice young boys and girls from all over United Kingdom and perhaps even the world!(me for example)

What strikes me most is that the staffs here does their best to care for everyone, despite having kids as young as 6 years old in the competition, you cannot hear any sound of crying. What you have instead is trainers as old as 22 years talking to and interacting with trainers as young as 8 equally and having fun battling and trading Pokémon even through they didn’t know each other the minute before.

The spirit of fair play and accepting defeat is clear amongst all the participants too. A handshake is exchanged before and after a battle (which is a knock-out game, loser gets out). And even in the final moments of the competition, many trainers who are not in the top 4 stayed back to keep on watching the battles screened and learning the techniques that will help them become better trainers for next year!

Being here, just attending an official Pokémon event makes the 2.5 hour journey from London worth every pound. The atmosphere is so friendly and pleasant that one doesn’t mind losing in the championships. It is as they say in the Pokémon world, as long as the trainers care for the Pokémon, we all live in harmony and joy together.

As such, the idea of Pokémon has produced great success in not only to provide a lot of (almost) endless entertainment, and the challenge to catch em’ all, but it also promote a sense of sportsmanship, of universal friendship, and of kindness towards all, humans and Pokémon (I would interpret this as animals and plants in our real world) alike.

And now the finals is starting, I’m not going to miss out on this one!

So are all these people!

A few moments before the finals!

And the result is:

Congrats! But as far as we are concerned, they are both winners as the prize for both are virtually the same.

Before I left, I just wanted to take a thanking photo of those who had worked so hard in making this event a great success for everyone!

See ya next year! And it was time to go back, passing through nice things like this,

I managed to get back to London before the sky turns dark!

Nice sunset at sweet old London!