Stupid news articles

[tiktok]

Unlike the article x9200 posted, the 3 links I posted are actually scientific papers with results of experiments on human cells and mice.

In the third one they took 1212 people who are already receiving CBD which is FDA approved for treating seizures. It was found that hepatitis C replication is reduced by 86% in that group.

[NYY1]

Part of the reason why you're not crazy competitive is probably because you grew up in an environment that allowed you to grow and learn at your own pace. This is what is lacking in Singapore. We teach our kids to be unhappy and never satisfied from young.

IMO, there's nothing wrong with competition. Sports, Arts, etc all have (very) competitive aspects to them, and no one complains. Some will say these are voluntary activities and no one is forcing you to partake in them whereas one must go to school. I think the difference or problem is when the child has too much of his/her identity based on where he/she goes to school, class ranking, what awards won, etc. In all of these, you need to separate whether the kid actually likes doing the activity or they just like the praise/status/ego of winning. The latter is a recipe to eventually run into a brick wall and be very unhappy.

The streaming or placement systems here are going to produce some of what we see. However, IMO there is still an opportunity for kids here to go at their own pace, but one needs to tune out some of the buzz around them and be willing to let certain school postings pass by (perhaps don't even try from them). Many kids would probably be better off in a less competitive school, but most people won't take that option (although some do and many just don't care that much about the posting results). Definitely takes a strong mind.

In the end, the kids need to find some activities that give them purpose or joy on something other than exams and understand that they may not always get what they want. The former may be more prevalent elsewhere, but the pitfalls also exist elsewhere, so it is all what one makes of it.

It is true that the Western systems tend to provide the average student with a more relaxed environment and multiple pathways to progress or succeed (or different points in time at which one can excel). However, I think globally there are more and more people "investing" in education earlier and earlier, so even in those systems the kids on the right side of the distribution are getting squeezed. Everyone is trying to pile into the same universities, and this is bringing forward the stress points there as well.

[malcontent]

My wife rightly said — if “every school is a good school” then no need to have PSLE anymore, every student can just be assigned random schools near their homes. Problem solved.

[malcontent]

Unlike the article x9200 posted, the 3 links I posted are actually scientific papers with results of experiments on human cells and mice.

In the third one they took 1212 people who are already receiving CBD which is FDA approved for treating seizures. It was found that hepatitis C replication is reduced by 86% in that group.

Nobody has talked about it, but I think it could be effective in treating one common ailment here: kiasuism

[NYY1]

My wife rightly said — if “every school is a good school” then no need to have PSLE anymore, every student can just be assigned random schools near their homes. Problem solved.

Don't take this the wrong way, but it's not surprising to hear you lament some of the things about the school system or the behaviour/attitude your kid has (edit: focus only on branding for uni, non-stop studies, etc). Sounds like she's been in an echo chamber of school superiority all of her life.

Edit: this isn't a statement that one shouldn't try for certain things in education/life nor is it saying all things are the same. Instead, there are many kids here that have been fortunate to attend prestigious schools all of their life (P1 - JC2), and a lot of the parents know the kids are lucky. They try to impart some sense of awareness and gratitude in the child, rather than the need to mock anything below them.

Believe it or not, by the end of 12 years many kids do better, both academically and non-academically, in an environment where they aren't under the gun to produce and compare results day after day. IMO, results are only one part of the schooling process.

[jalanjalan]

Back to the cannabis discussion, and Singapore's barbaric outdated laws, here are some studies showing the effectiveness of CBD (a cannabis derivative that will get you hanged here) at inhibiting COVID and other viral infections.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7987002/

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi6110

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_look ... es=116-118

If you have a short attention span like me, here's a video summary: https://youtu.be/Bz4fn2QFO_A

But, doctors can apply to the HSA if they find cannabinoid pharmaceuticals are necessary for their patients, and some do get approved. And if I remember correctly, a team from NUS is working on a synthetic version to be used for medical purposes.
That is nothing to do with recreational use.

[jalanjalan]

Nobody has talked about it, but I think it could be effective in treating one common ailment here: kiasuism

Only cure for kiasuness is getting what you want then realising it wasn't worth the trouble.

[malcontent]

Nobody has talked about it, but I think it could be effective in treating one common ailment here: kiasuism

Only cure for kiasuness is getting what you want then realising it wasn't worth the trouble.

For true kiasu types, the greater the trouble, the greater the sense of accomplishment… even if it wasn’t something they wanted at all! It’s truly an affliction of the mind, which could be moderated with some mind altering substances

[malcontent]

My wife rightly said — if “every school is a good school” then no need to have PSLE anymore, every student can just be assigned random schools near their homes. Problem solved.

Don't take this the wrong way, but it's not surprising to hear you lament some of the things about the school system or the behaviour/attitude your kid has (edit: focus only on branding for uni, non-stop studies, etc). Sounds like she's been in an echo chamber of school superiority all of her life.

Edit: this isn't a statement that one shouldn't try for certain things in education/life nor is it saying all things are the same. Instead, there are many kids here that have been fortunate to attend prestigious schools all of their life (P1 - JC2), and a lot of the parents know the kids are lucky. They try to impart some sense of awareness and gratitude in the child, rather than the need to mock anything below them.

Believe it or not, by the end of 12 years many kids do better, both academically and non-academically, in an environment where they aren't under the gun to produce and compare results day after day. IMO, results are only one part of the schooling process.

My daughter started out at SMPS which is not prestigious at all - only slightly above average. We never pushed her, she always did decently well and was always self-motivated.

When she finished primary, I wanted her to continue at SMSS which is a stones throw from our home. She wanted nothing to do with it. Her classmates who scored above 250 on PSLE like her were all going to better schools and all gunning for IP. TBH, my wife and I didn’t even know what IP was at the time, or whether it was something she should pursue.

I know there is this belief that parents play such a big role in all this, but we have been trying to get her to ease up, and study less! Our daughter picked the secondary school she wanted on her own without any influence from us. Her first and second choice was the same school, but first choice IP and second choice non-IP. She got non-IP and then appealed to the school to get IP (she was right at the COP) and she managed to get it after an interview. Now she tells me she kind of regrets it because she could have gotten into Raffles had she not been in IP. I keep telling her, it doesn’t matter, but does she listen? Absolutely not. It’s peer pressure… and the system promotes it.

[x9200]

Unlike the article x9200 posted..

You would need to make an effort of reading through it, finding what papers they refer to and read them as well. Whether CBD or THC or any other specific components is also superficial as they all come together and if marijuana is allowed they will be sold/available together.

[x9200]

Nobody has talked about it, but I think it could be effective in treating one common ailment here: kiasuism

Only cure for kiasuness is getting what you want then realising it wasn't worth the trouble.

The problem is, it is worth the trouble, because this is how the whole system works. You jump the queue nobody says a bad word.

Talking of which, I witnessed such nice, heart warming example 2 months ago in Changi airport, where two guys tried to jump the pre-emigration security check queue. The police officer stopped them and made a display case, shaming them (in loud and clear words) in front of the hall full of waiting people. Perhaps something starts to change.

[tiktok]

Unlike the article x9200 posted..

You would need to make an effort of reading through it, finding what papers they refer to and read them as well. Whether CBD or THC or any other specific components is also superficial as they all come together and if marijuana is allowed they will be sold/available together.

That's asking a bit much. Thats why I posted a video summary to make the information easy to find. The only point I was making is CBD alone has medical benefits. This is just one of the many reasons why Singapore's cannabis laws are misguided.

[smoulder]

Back to the cannabis discussion, and Singapore's barbaric outdated laws, here are some studies showing the effectiveness of CBD (a cannabis derivative that will get you hanged here) at inhibiting COVID and other viral infections.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7987002/

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi6110

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_look ... es=116-118

If you have a short attention span like me, here's a video summary: https://youtu.be/Bz4fn2QFO_A

But, doctors can apply to the HSA if they find cannabinoid pharmaceuticals are necessary for their patients, and some do get approved. And if I remember correctly, a team from NUS is working on a synthetic version to be used for medical purposes.
That is nothing to do with recreational use.

Comparing some pot head smoking weed for a high with a bunch of other pot heads vs a controlled drug that has gone through multiple tests before being released in the market and even then is only prescribed by a doctor who has gone through years of training and has several years of experience...... Lol

[x9200]

Unlike the article x9200 posted..

You would need to make an effort of reading through it, finding what papers they refer to and read them as well. Whether CBD or THC or any other specific components is also superficial as they all come together and if marijuana is allowed they will be sold/available together.

That's asking a bit much. Thats why I posted a video summary to make the information easy to find. The only point I was making is CBD alone has medical benefits. This is just one of the many reasons why Singapore's cannabis laws are misguided.

I don't know if they are misguided. I think they just try to make a case addressing some common arguments.
Ultimately, I really think it makes very limited sense to focus on specific components proving them harmless or effective in curing some diseases. This is IMO about the whole social (and other) impact of introducing new recreational drug. I can imagine this may include:
- abusing it including but not limited to DUI
- being perceived as some drug policy relaxation so sort of encouraging people to take other drugs
- more smokers what would be inevitable
- more difficult to control as compared for example to ethanol.
....
This list can go on and on.
I believe Singapore is different than many other societies so not necessarily opening it to the new recreational drug would have similar impact to other countries where it was introduces.
Is controlling the market of alcoholic beverages in Singapore necessary? What would happen if beer and vodka are a quarter their current price?

[tiktok]

- if something has medical benefits, governments are not acting in people's interest by banning it
- by all means regulate cannabis as strictly as alcohol and tobacco, but stop the killing

But yes, Singapore is different to other societies and I doubt sense will prevail.