K's Learning Diary

What is the difference between Absorption and Adsorption? Watch this to find out.

It's here once again, another new year starts here. Happy Chinese New Year to all that celebrates! When you mention Chinese, it takes only about 3 seconds before your brain reminds you of food. Food is a big part of he Chinese culture. And over 5000 years, this civilization has certainly came up with quite a few recipes. From street food to technically challenging dishes that are fit for emperors, there is a very rich variety indeed. It is therefore quite an interesting idea to try and preserve this very unique cultural heritage and archive all these recipes in a museum so that our future generations can continue to promote these distinct cooking styles and taste the same dishes that we enjoy in restaurants today. It would definitely be an interesting museum to visit (if organized properly). Imagine spending all day exploring different dishes from different dynasties that you have not heard about before, and perhaps get to try them in a nearby restaurant. I don't know if t

It was close to midnight when I heard this talk. I was already in bed, just looking for that last inspiration before I fall asleep. By the time the talk finished I realized that I had two lines of tears down my face. How weird, I didn't think my eyes could do that. My subconscious deep within must have worked out what later became apparent (without me realizing): the implications of this invention is going to be HUGE, for millions of lives around the world. One simple talk, and the realization that the stories of those lives will no longer be the same - was it tears of joy for those fellow human beings I wonder. The talk was interesting. a) I didn't know that needle and syringe was invented more than 160 years ago (and it hasn't changed since then? something is not right here!). b) I didn't know that it was a Scotsman that invented it. c) I never considered that there could be better/painless ways of doing vaccinations. What is profound about this technology is

Imagine if treatments can be tested on a miniature version of you before you take them (and I don't mean testing on your children! before some of you go off and do crazy things!).  This technology is really beautiful, a fine example of the innovative sparks that are possible when Biology meets Engineering. Quite simply, the chip creates an environment that your cells would to happy to live in. Once they have settled into their new home, we can then start introducing them to new neighbors such as bacteria, viruses, drugs...you get the picture. This then tell us how your cells respond to potential treatments. It's moments like this that can really make you feel that technology really is advancing. Keep them coming!

I am starting to think that I can spend all day reporting those seemingly crazy magic stunts. Those are too cool to miss. I promise they will make your mind scream "HOW??!!".  Enjoy Here is an interview with Dynamo . It confirms the theory that "certain personality types" are more likely to be drawn towards magic than others, as they have a greater urge to impress people. Is this what it takes to incubate a successful magician? Would they still have the same driving force to keep practicing day and night if they were popular kids? It just shows that if you can turn a difficult situation in your life into a driving force to move forward and keep going, before you know it, even walking on water is not IMPOSSIBLE. Amazon.com Widgets

This is not a post about daring to dream or think of the absurd in order to drive innovative breakthroughs. This really is simply admiring what would be described as "impossible" in the usual sense. These are taking illusions to another level. Go on BBC iplayer and search Dynamo if you want to see the whole video. But what really bothers me out of all the tricks is this one - the I am going to put your mobile phone into a glass bottle trick. This time I really have no idea. Enjoy

I listened to this presentation twice, double checking whether or not there is a lesson worth taking away here. The idea is certainly interesting, suggesting why besides the usual best practices in running businesses, some companies are more successful than others. Why, How, What - were the 3 levels of questions that the presenter asked. Everyone knows what their jobs are and what the company does (I hope!), some will know how things are done and how decisions are made, but how many people know why the company does what it does? Why is Intel making chips? Why is IBM investing in artificial intelligence that can play chess? Why is the BBC presenting news and also making documentaries and soaps? Why? Surely there are other quicker and more profitable ways of making money if profit is all that matters. As the presenter puts it, profit is the result , not the purpose . " People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it ." This is certainly a refreshing way

This is an interesting BBC article suggesting that films and games adapted from books can help to encourage children (and I think for adults also) to read the original books - even if the books are challenging to read for their age group.  This is certainly the way that I prefer to do it - watch the films first, then the books. With good stories, often the film has to cut back on a lot of the details, leaving viewers wanting more. The books help to fill these details and let the reader relive the story, and more closely savor the experience. Doing it the other way round however, then the viewer is often disappointed as the films often comes out different to the world they have imagined whilst  reading the books.  Another problem with books is that often it's difficult to tell beforehand which books are worthwhile reading. Some stories can start-off very interesting, but fail to live up to expectation as the storyline continues. I like to be surprised with a good story

This title caught my attention.  It got my attention because it seems to defy conventional wisdom. You often hear the importance of being extrovert, but promoting introversion? that's something new. We as human beings grow-up to be individuals, each with our own ideas, our own perceptions of the world, and our unique personalities. The world is more interesting this way. Sparks of ingenuity and creativity are created as these individuals with different personalities interact with the world and people around them. It's a blessing that each of us has our own unique qualities, our unique contributions to this world.  This short video was great. It should be a reminder to us that it is more important to support our children to develop their unique personality strengths as individuals, other than forcing them to become who they are not. There are important lessons in learning how to team-work, but the emphasis would be for each person to figure out their unique ways of do

Useful fact of the day:  A calorie (cal) is the approximate amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. Up to now, I actually don't have any sense of scale when it comes to calories. How much food gives you how much energy? I tend to just focus more on the amount of proteins, and how much vegetables I eat. So this video turned out to be rather educational. Now we know roughly how much 200 Cal is.

Do you know what Curly Fu and Peanut are? According to online reports, these are the nicknames given to Sherlock Holmes and Watson in China. I was taken aback when I read this. Sometimes, our Chinese friends can really make me go "huh??" (with a puzzled expression). It just goes to show how the market can be vastly different across cultures and regions around the world. If the BBC had marketed the Sherlock Holmes series as "Peanuts," it would have conveyed an entirely different meaning altogether. However, in China, the witty wordplay involving the characters' names' pronunciations has gone viral, and so has the show itself.   It's wonderful to witness this cultural exchange taking place. A decade ago, BBC dramas would only be known to those living in the UK. Fast forward to 2014, and you have Chinese audiences staying up through the night to watch new BBC TV releases. Through Sherlock Holmes, the world feels a little more connected. I wonder how lo