“If no one fought except on his own conviction, there would be no wars,” he said (Prince Andrew)

“And that would be splendid,” said Pierre.

Set in the early 19th century right before Russia engaged Napoleon, in battle, Pierre was challenging Prince Andrew’s decision to enter the war. In Pierre’s words:

“There is a war now against Napoleon. If it were a war for freedom I could understand it and should be the first to enter the army; but to help England and Austria against the greatest man in the world is not right.”

Prince Andrew responded as such in the first quote, a laconic reply that indicated his belief that hos own convictions were irrelevant when it came to war. That service to the country and probably the chance to gain promotion held more importance.

Ron Perlman and Nicolas Cage as Behman and Felson

Similarly in the “Season of the Witch’ that I watched recently. the Templar potentate was seen motivating his troops in several scenes. Choicy (and maybe, in a way, mendacious) words were applied, like: “Fight for our Saviour, crush the enemies of the Lord”. He was promulgating and insinuating foreign conviction into the Templar troops, providing words to palliate the discomfort of garish slaughter, to provide excuses for war.

In a war, it could be generalized that the combatants are of three different types of motivation:

1. Fighting out of personal conviction: Warriors that fight wars with the pure sake of liberating, bringing peace, and doing so based on their own ideals.

2. Fighting out of foreign conviction: Warriors that fight based on the misguided ideals of others. They are manipulated for the sake of battle and fight on although deep down the war’s goals clash against there own conviction.

3. Fighting involuntarily not for the sake of war, but for other personal gains: Warriors that enter battle for glory and gold, where the notion of self-sacrifice is a remote notion.

Three different mindsets that invoke subtly divergent reactions under a given circumstance.

It can be said that when combatants of the second type embrace third-party conviction whole-hearedly, they technically become similar to the combatants of the first style. However it is the process of becoming that differs these ‘type 1′ and ‘type 2 evolved into 1′ combatants. The former’s conviction is born out of one self, and any doubts, inner arguments and mental knots have been prioryly resolved; while the latter though possibly adopting the arguments of others, does not reach the extent of the former, and is thus more susceptible to persuasion and sway.

In war as it is in life, the next time we embark on a new series of actions we should better ask ourselves: am I doing this based on a personal volition to achieve a specific goal, or a goal tangential to my actions, or is the amorphous conviction motivating my actions implanted by others and not born from my own free will.

Got this about a month ago. Still untouched thanks to spm.
Book price = USD 17, Shipping fee = USD 28. 164%, but thanks to Ying Hang for helping anways.

Good thing is that at 17 USD for a 4-digit pages, hardcover book, its a good bargain. Bought it from an Amazon seller. =)

SPM is 4 days away, but I had this sudden compulsion to write this.

Written in the early 16th century, Machiavelli’s book on the principles a prince should have seemed typical on the surface, but its content was far from so.

Delving into topics such as channels of coming to power, virtues or ruler and issues like decisiveness, Machiavelli’s realist ideas seem like common sense in today’s world, but back then his thinking was seen as being rather radical.

Most of us will be quite familiar with The Prince. The book is introduced midway through our Sejarah syllabus during Form 5. The book is, however, labeled as necessitating the use of any methods including unscrupulous deception, unwarranted force, and war to achieve one’s political aspirations (translated). A representation which is largely fallacious.

Unscrupulous Deception
Frankly, I have no idea how they (the kementrian) came up with this. The book analyzes events that cause people to come to power. It offers few opinions on how to become a leader, except encouraging rulers to obtain power through real skill as it will simplify their rule.

Unwarranted force and war
This is even worse. There is only one section in the book that is related to arms. And it goes on to discuss the severe differences between using a proxy army and one risen from one’s civilians. How this could be transposed into blood lust and warmongery is simply beyond me.

What’s interesting about this book?
Machiavelli wrote this book in a period when the Church’s influence under Pope Alexander VI was extremely strong. His divergent views proved to be a major turning point of that period. He caused a stir when he claimed that virtues were relative to the situation, and that a ruler had to responsibility to resort to conventionally immoral actions to protect his rule. A claim that went against the church’s thinking at that time.

He also pointed out that “cruelty is required; (to be) compassionate is an illusion easily created with the examples of a few; leniency is to be avoided at all costs.”

And of course, his crowning words:

it is better to be impetuous than cautious, because fortune is a woman; and it is necessary, if one wants to hold her down, to beat her and strike her down.

A short read (it’s only about a 100 pages), but a really good one. Machiavelli borrows heavily from examples of the past, but his points remain highly lucid. Recommended any time.

Cyber communication and its impact on users and the community

David Yong Seng Chai

Communication is an element that has constantly evolved with mankind. From the crude body gestures of our forefathers, to the creation of languages and the subsequent invention of the telephone, humankind has been always seeking for better and more effective communication. With the advent of cyber communication, human interaction has entered a new paradigm. Our perspective of communication has been totally redefined. With the Internet, ‘any time, anywhere’ has become the new maxim. As Malaysia’s internet uptake rate surpasses the 60% threshold, it is high time we ruminate upon cyber communication’s impact upon its users and the community.

Cyber communication has inculcated greater freedom of speech and expression. Global happenings from government actions to news incidents are debated via cyber communication. Every user is given the opportunity to voice out his concern or thoughts. This appears in strong juxtaposition to the days where only the opinions of a select group were published in the mainstream media. Internet users today are able to express their personal viewpoint as long as they do not amount to slander or partisanism. As a result, online communication has moulded individuals with a strong sense of individualism and courage. Put under the public’s scrutiny, entities from governments to companies and organisations cannot but practice improved transparency and accountability.

Other than that, cyber communication has made possible the immediate dissemination of information. Major incidents such as an earthquake or an influenza outbreak are made known throughout the world quickly. Cyber users who are aware of such happenings can then take precautionary measures in advance. Besides that, key messages can be communicated directly to large groups. For example, United States President Barack Obama’s inauguration was viewed by millions of internet users. The message of hope and change that he exuded impacted countless lives.

The parameters of a community used to be limited by the contraptions of physical distance and time. But cyber communication has facilitated the mushrooming of communities without boundaries. A person from Malaysia and another from the United States can now easily participate together as a community. The erection of these communities can bring about either positive or adverse effects. It is a decision of a user to either involve himself in a community of learning, bringing benefits upon himself, or elect to join an illicit chorus of angry dissidents, venting his anger towards others. Cyber communication has weaved a fabric of virtual communities where its impact is profound but largely dependent on the actions of the user.

Being able to communicate with others at any time and any place is also tantamount to making yourself constantly available to others. Social scientists have discovered that this phenomenon is causing many to feel burdened. Cyber communication has lead to a deterioration of one’s personal space. There is no more time for one to enjoy his own company. Every day a huge deluge of cyber communication from emails to instant messages and video calls keep us constantly tapping away at our electronic devices. A study by the University of Pennsylvania has shown that an average office worker spends more than 2 hours a day replying to emails, with more of than 80% being non-job related. Cyber communication has tenaciously leeched itself upon its users, barging mercilessly into our lives.

Several high profile cases involving social networking websites have highlighted a serious side effect of online communication – the invasion of privacy. Cases of stolen identity and personal information have exposed the vulnerabilities of communicating freely on the internet. Much embarrassment and discomfort have been caused by accidentally revealing too much of oneself. Internet chat rooms have also proven to be filled with people of susceptible character hiding behind the facade of keyboard and mouse. In response to this many cyber users have become much more cautious and careful. Translated to real life situations, people have also begun to adopt a more suspicious attitude. Mutual trust and rapport is no longer built up so easily.

Governments throughout the world have become acutely aware of this potent communication tool. Some governments like Malaysia have embraced it whole-heartedly; setting up online complaints bureaus and moving services online. Others, like China, on the other hand have cracked down heavily on cyber dissidents in the sake of national security. On a final note, cyber communication has insinuated itself into the human populace. Transcending the borders of race and creed, it steadily influences each and every one of us, imbuing a more liberal but protectionist attitude. There is no doubt that for the generations to come, cyber communication will impact the rise or fall of humankind.

English paper is in 3 days time, good luck to all.

Someone celebrated a birthday rather recently.

And, oh, read the first letters of each sentence vertically downwards.

Guys, and girls,

If you have been taking note of Time Magazine’s back page, you should have noticed this essay writing competition from 2 weeks ago.

Judges
Judging panel includes: Zoher Abdoolcarim (Asia Editor, TIME, Hong Kong), Michael
Elliott (Deputy Managing Editor, TIME, United States), Nobuyuki Idei (CEO, Quantum
Leaps Corp., Japan), Kishore Mahbubani (Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy,
National University of Singapore), Lubna Olayan (Deputy Chairman and CEO, Olayan
Financing Co., Saudi Arabia), and Astrid Tuminez (Assistant Dean and Director, Lee Kuan
Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore). (Wah)

Its important to note here that this competition is looking for creative and innovative ideas, not those cliched points that we write during exams.

Submissions end on the 31st of August. Go give it a try! Hit up the full source here.

I will light another candle for you.

I hope it lasts.

We have book reviews, gadget reviews, and game reviews, but what about a bookstore review?

I will only cover the four main bookstores in Malaysia: Popular, MPH, Borders, and Kinokuniya.

To make things much simpler, I will go through them according to categories.

Surroundings and settings

MPH and Borders provide great seating opportunities, but Borders comes out. Popular, sadly, is rather sparse while Kinokuniya is abit packed and crowded, thus less space for comfortable browsing.

Pricing

Popular comes out tops in this aspect. Factor in member card discounts, promotions, low base pricing, and Popular’s books are a good 20 to 30% cheaper. MPH and Borders are equally placed, but Kinokuniya is real blood sucker. A RM 40 book on amazon (excluding shipping fees) cost me RM 80 when i ordered it from Kinokuniya.

Condition of Books

While Kinokuniya costs a bomb, all their books are wrapped and in a perfect condition. Swarms of workers fill the place, ever willing to unwrap the books immediately. MPH’s costlier books are wrapped too (though not all), but Borders and Popular have much space for improvement. Walk into their stores and you will find many sad cases of damaged book spines, folded book covers and various pre-sale defects.

Availability of books

Kinokuniya boasts of having the biggest bookstore in Malaysia, and naturally they come in tops in this category. Many titles are available and the ordering system is quick and does not require cumbersome deposits. (It “scammed” my feelings recently when a book that it claimed would arrive in 2 weeks took double the time.) Borders has a comprehensive ordering system too, although the waiting period is much longer. Meanwhile MPH’s book availability is acceptable, with an emphasized niche in external higher level reference books. Popular is downright suitable only for the hottest bestsellers, period.

Overall Verdict

Popular offers the best pricing although finding books you want will be quite a chore. Borders is a great place for grabbing a book and hogging the couch there the whole day. MPH comes out without much distinctive flair, while for those with  an addiction towards great customer service and paying more than you should, Kinokuniya beats them all.