GRE Vocabulary

It took me almost two years (June 2007 - March 2009) to go through all the GRE vocabulary in the Red Bible (a GRE vocab book that every test-taker in China uses). Now the mission is finally accomplished. Up to now I have learned the some 7,000 selected words in that book around eight times each. What I need to do in the future is to review and review and review. Try to keep a good memory until the day of exam.

Free Music from Google (A Public Good)

Google is now planning to offer legal free music downloads, this time only China. One may wonder whether Google will expand this service to the world. It is legal and free at the same time! Why not allowing all to enjoy such great benefit? Google has already changed the way people search, read, and probably even think. Why not the way to get music?

Quotes from the Conscience of a Liberal

Here are some quotes I made from Paul Krugman's Conscience of a Liberal. The reason why it is such a short list is not because of the book is lack of insights (in fact it is full of them), but I usually do not have a marker with me when I read (I usually carry a book with me everywhere).

If technology and globalization are the driving forces behind rising inequality, then Europe should be experiencing the same rise in inequality as the United States. (p. 140)

Republicans cut taxes on the rich and try to shrink government benefits and undermine the welfare state. Democrats raise taxes on the rich while trying to expand government benefits and strengthen the welfare state. (p. 158)

The rest of the reason why the American system works as well as it does is that the great majority of Americans who do have private health insurance get it through their employers. This is partly the result of history – during World War II companies weren’t allowed to raise wages to compete for workers, so many offered health benefits instead. (p. 224)

I believe in a relatively equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law. That makes me a liberal, and I’m proud of it. (p. 267)

You’re a liberal, whether you know it or not, if you believe that the United States should have universal health care. You’re a progressive if you participate in the effort to bring universal health care into being. (p. 268)

Krugman, Paul. The Conscience of a Liberal. London: Penguin Books. 2009.

A Leap for Liberals

The State of New York will raise taxes amounting to $4 billion annually from millionaires in the coming three years, as New York Times reports.

'Blog-post'?

I've just discovered that 'spot' in 'Blogspot' is an anagram of 'post', as in a blog post. Did the founders of this service notice that?

South Park: The Economy's Only Son

This is the first time I truly understand the essence of a South Park episode. Here for the full video.

Why I am not going on an exchange program

As people have been asking me this these days, and sometimes it is difficult for me to recall all the reasons I thought up last semester, I now jot them down here.

1. I want to minor mathematics, which is crucial for my further studies. If I'm going on an exchange, this plan will conflict with #2.
2. I definitely do not want to delay my graduation; I don't want to be too old when I can finally commence my career. If I'm going on an exchange, this plan will conflict with #1.
3. I still have chance to receive overseas education in the future.
4. I do not want to again spend weeks adapting to a new environment while alternatively I can use this period to concentrate on my pursuit.
5. I hate to move around with my bulky luggage.
6. I currently have a girlfriend here. (Ignore this if you are not her. By the time I made the decision upon exchange, I had not even met her yet.)

Why the prices of textbooks in U. S. are so much higher than in Hong Kong?

Yesterday Elvira raised this question to me. In Hong Kong, we are blessed to have those international version textbooks costing around 300 Hong Kong Dollars each, substantially lower than the same textbooks sold in U. S. Exchange students from the States here are often surprised at the price difference.

As I googled on the topic, a paper written by Cabolis, Clerides, Ioannou, and Senft bumped into me. According to their research based on comparative data from book markets in U.S., Britain, and Canada, the price differences do not result from cost differences, but different market demands.

Textbooks are adopted by professors but paid for by students. This gives rise to an agency problem: one individual (professor) is acting on behalf of another (the student) without bearing any cost relating to his action. If one is willing to accept that professors in the US care less about how much students pay than professors elsewhere, then agency might explain observed price differentials.

Actually I have even encountered professors in my university saying that, only if you are rich enough to comfortably afford the textbook, there is no need to buy it.

Besides, copyright enforcement is also pointed out to be a possible explanation. I am not familiar with the situation in the three concerned countries in the research, but in Hong Kong, it is very common for college students to use photo-copied textbooks.

Although the data cited in the paper does not support the hypothesis of secondhand market playing a significant role, it could be an explanation to the difference between Hong Kong and U. S. According to the articles I read on the topic, secondhand markets for textbooks are very popular and common in the States; however, in Hong Kong, as I experienced, very few students would sell their textbooks after use (which may be a little more common, though, among the mainland China student community in Hong Kong universities). When buying a new textbook, if the student has the expectation of recovering part of the price paid after the use of a semester, he or she probably would care less about the price, thus pulling a higher markup in price.

Of course the tuition difference also explains. A typical three year college education (in the British system, equivalent to a four-year undergraduate education in U. S.) in Hong Kong would roughly cost only that of one year in America. When paying some twenty thousand U. S. Dollars for their annual education cost, a few hundred dollars for textbooks would be marginal towards American students.

Mathematics and Economics

Having written Statistics and Economics a few days ago, I never intend to make this a series of Whatever and Economics articles. However it just happened that today I made a comparison again between economics and another subject.

I used to think that in mathematics, unlike economics, there are some facts that need not be substantiated by assumption, e.g. one plus one always equals two; while in economics, no basic fact exists. Even the very fundamental descriptions are essentially assumptions. When we say that, by receiving more dollars, Tom would buy extra ice creams, we have to assume ice cream is a normal good, i.e. the increase in income raises the consumption of ice cream for Tom. (He can actually choose to consume less if the substitution effect prevails, basing on some assumption.) Actually most economic questions require models on much more complicated and specific assumptions than this example.

Nevertheless, as I was trying to explain my opinion upon religious beliefs to a friend today, I used the example of one plus one equals two, and immediately I found that this is so not a fact. Instead, it is an assumption, one that is so widely used and applicable when explaining most, if not all, questions that require an answer to 1 + 1, that in most cases no alternative assumptions would be needed. That is to say, the behavior of consuming ice creams could be so possibly divergent when different individuals are faced with an increase in income or consumption budget, but possibly no phenomenon requires an answer to one plus one, other than two, to be sufficiently explained.

Therefore it seems that both mathematics and economics are based on assumptions that are unnecessary to be true, and probably the same to any theoretical studies.

Photo by UniqueO Mania♥

My Major: E.....xamination!

Basically, I have got six mid-terms this semester, alongside my eight grand finals (so called because the mid-terms already collectively resemble a set of finals) coming in May. This morning I have just done with Linear Algebra and there are another two coming up on this Saturday. I don't know why as an economics major I face so many exams. By now I've not yet heard of anyone (other than my economics fellow students) having as many of them as I do.

Statistics and Economics

I am taking a statistics course this semester. In today's class, we encountered some typical sample inference question like this:

Direct Mailing Company sells computers and computer parts by mail. The company claims that at least 90% of all orders are mailed within 72 hours after they are received. A recently taken sample of 150 orders showed that 129 of them were mailed within 72 hours. Do you think the company’s claim is true? Use the 2.5% significance level.

The method to solve such problems is not difficult, by setting a hypothesis test. The conclusion would look something like “we cannot say that the company’s claim is false”. Ambiguous, isn’t it? The problem is neither can we assure that the company’s claim is true. Actually even the company themselves do not know for sure the integrity of their statement, without incurring ridiculously large costs. It is all theoretical, only depending on what model you believe would be suitable to the particular situation.

In a recent blog post by Greg Mankiw, Are fiscal multipliers now big or small, he pointed out Richard Clarida's and Christy Romer's different conclusions about the current fiscal multiplier in the economy, also citing his own argument previously made. He immediately admits,

that all of these arguments--Clarida's, Romer's, and mine--are essentially theoretical. I don't know of much empirical work on state-dependent fiscal multipliers to establish convincingly which side of this debate is correct.

Again it is a question of what kind of model and intuition are being applied, or chosen, in constituting the argument. We cannot say which hypothesis is correct and which is not.

This is some similarity I found in these two subjects. Not a big statistics fan myself, I still look for the virtues that interest me in this subject. The characteristic stated above is definitely not exclusive for statistics and economics. It is shared by all academic realms which try to make use of speculative methods to explain events in the real world.

p.s.: I came across an interesting quotation today on the newly-acquired mathematical economics textbook:

If you want literal realism, look at the world around you;

if you want understanding, look at the theories.

- R. Dorfman (1964)

Writing story that matters: themes, techniques and voice

These were some notes (not complete) I took down when listening to a lecture given by Susanne Gervey, a writer.

Kids read different from adults: They read and re-read and re-read.

Write very purposely. Write stories for youngsters to engage in when they choose.

“I’ve read Butterflies every year from 14. And it’s different every year.”

Mistake of many writers: TELL young people what to do.

The cave: when Susanne’s son went to survival camps (17yr old)

Why boys seek packs (of kids)? What is this pack capacity of violence? – pack behavior <> leadership, true values

Write with sole & heart.

Boy/Girls: same journey of self-discovery but different ways to explore it.

Writing a short story:

• Theme: something you care about and you are familiar with
• Characters: Never more than a few when dealing with a story of a few hundred words. The characters have to change at the end of the story.
• Opening: Start with immediate emotional engagement
• Ending: Don’t look for a trick, but find a satisfactory answer to the question raised in the story
• Descriptions are there for a purpose. Do not use verbose descriptions that serve nothing.

Telling a story:

• Love your story.
• Believe in it and have courage.
• Don’t think about the audience.

Trimming down the story (for length requirement):

• Cut the plot

Change of name of this blog

The name of this blog will change to Hanrizon, which is (apparently) a blend of my name Han and the word horizon. I would like to thank Bernice, my schoolmate and good friend, for making this suggestion, and all others who helped me come to this decision. The address (URL) of this blog will also be changed to hanrizon.blogspot.com accordingly.

Benefits of the piano

There are two sets of piano on the first floor of our hall residence for students to practice (and enjoy life). Of course for pianists this would be a generous offer and valuable service. But for me, who failed three attempts to learn musical instruments before eventually admitting my lack-of-gift in instrumental music, the pianos seem useless.

 

Yesterday I resumed my GRE vocabulary learning plan and began to learn a brand new word list for the first time in months. Instead of studying in my room as usual, I chose an empty common room on the first floor next to a room where a piano lies. Vocabulary learning is boring and grinding in nature. However, yesterday I had all the work done with efficiency and relaxation. Very few words took me a second time to remember.

 

During the hours I spent learning vocabulary in that room, there was a student playing piano next door. She was practicing Pachelbel’s Canon and Gigue in D, one of my favorite classical music pieces. Although she was still not skilled in this particular piece, the elegant music did spice up my tough hours. After I finished my work, I decide that I should say thank-you to her and give her some compliment. When I was about to knock at the door, I noticed how enchanted she was into her music. I silently slipped away.

 

The pianos are not totally useless to me after all. There are positive externalities in making this piano a common resource.

 

By the way, should you be the girl who was playing piano that day (February 1, 2009), I sent you my appreciation, and please leave your contacts if you are glad to do so.

Photo by regolare

Human Evolution and Aesthetics

I once came across a report stating that research had shown the process of evolution for human beings had been increasing substantially in recent centuries. I believe that is because, basically revolution is through thousands of years of natural selection, and the choices given in this selection process have been significantly enhanced by the widespread communication between families, populations, and even races – an anthropoid may only choose its mate within a few miles from its habitat while nowadays people may happen to find their spouses on another continent. Individuals are better matched in a sense that the husband and wife are on the same or seemingly matchable level of education, social status, healthiness, appearance, etc.; therefore those who are disadvantaged are not very likely to find someone considerably better than them overall, thus less chances for their children’s (if any) survival; to the contrary, successful people may expect their descendents to abound. Given that the major characteristics of a person is 50% decided by their genes, and the way they are raised and educated also indisputably influence their lives, successful people tend to have children that flourish and vice versa. With the communication and cooperation between distant countries increasing, the evolution process will match up with it in an exponential manner.

 

Looking for one’s other half is not only rational thinking involving CV (and bank account) reviews; it also utilizes the most basic instincts every one of us possesses. For instance, the reason why men admire women with bigger breasts and hips is these features imply a better chance for the children’s survival and healthiness. Breasts are used to feed the baby, and the bigger the pelvis the longer the fetus can safely develop in the maternal body and the bigger the fetus’ head can be. These instincts in distinguishing a potential good mother are developed throughout history. Some, like the two mentioned above, are easy to reason out, while some are not.

 

Since childhood parents have been telling us to stand and sit straight with chest out. Many of us may find difficulty now and then in keeping such a position, and it was not all our fault. Apes, including humans, are born with the four physiological curves on our backbones, namely, the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and pelvic curves. The thoracic curve, concave forward and the longest amongst the four, is what makes it very difficult for us to be straight (I mean your spine, not your sexual preference). One may argue that it is reasonless for people to believe being straight in backbone is good-looking and attractive, as the thoracic curve is a feature we are born with and good for our physiological functioning. Well yes, it is good for our body as it reduces the pressure suffered by our vertebrae usually when we jump downward or run vigorously, so why people regard someone with spine not as bent (for this thoracic curve) attractive? Does the theory that people’s instincts regarding a good spouse are always for the better development of the child fail here? Not really. Even though it is obvious the advantage of the thoracic curve, there are disadvantages. The more bent the curve is, the shorter the height of the person. In the primitive world, being a shorty means inability to notice an approaching predator as soon as others, although such advantages are not as apparent in today’s society but they still exist. In addition to that, after comparison between the thoracic curves on humans and other apes, it is fairly easy to see that less curved vertebral column indicates better adaptation to the life on the ground (as opposed to on the tree), since tree life involves more jumping and falling that requires better flexibility. To further the argument, only by life on the ground can apes expand their population to the greater world outside the woods.

 

These are the morale behind chest-out-is-good I have found so far.

Photo by bluenot3

Official Google Reader Blog: Share anything. Anytime. Anywhere.

Official Google Reader Blog: Share anything. Anytime. Anywhere.

This is just the coolest thing I've ever wanted about Google Reader! Now I no longer need to share stuff from a web page first to Facebook and then re-share it at Reader through subscriptions. And now I can eventually share anything I like, no matter with or without a feed, straight through Reader!

The Day Is Done

Upon requests, I recorded this poetry by H. W. Longfellow. I went through it just once so this might not be the perfect. It was a little bit noisy outside - There seemed to be some gathering going on on the 1st floor. Although I shut up all windows and doors, you can still hear some background noise. Click the button below to access my recording.

Traditional Chinese vs. Simplified Chinese

This argument has been on ever since Simplified Chinese came into existence: Between Traditional and Simplified Chinese, which is better? This argument is especially distinct when there are still regions like Taiwan and Hong Kong where Traditional Chinese is the official script. I have once asked a Hong Kong college student, why people in Hong Kong are still using Traditional Chinese? Don’t they think it’s bothersome to write a character for 10 seconds when it can be just 3 seconds and its meaning is still not at all made ambiguous? The answer was: I want to know too.

There are people in Hong Kong questioning the necessity of keeping Traditional Chinese as of the use of daily life. And I think the situation in Taiwan is similar. So what’s the obstacle of the transformation?

Let’s first come to see what some Mainlanders think. Once I was chatting with a couple of my friends about the two Chinese scripts, and one said, only Traditional Chinese is the real Chinese, it’s much better than the Simplified. I did not question him any further. Such thought is quite common in some Mainlanders’ minds, especially those who love traditional Chinese culture so much, and who practice Chinese calligraphy. I have been practicing calligraphy for more than ten years, I know what’s in their mind so well.

Every experienced calligrapher, or those who are into the art of calligraphy, witnesses the beauty of a regular script character being written with a brush pen. Few of these works, although there are some these days, are in Simplified Chinese. And when people comparing the two, they think the traditional one possesses more artistic value because the combination of Simplified Chinese with brush pen calligraphy does not look “right” to their sense of calligraphy.

In the long history of Chinese civilization, the language, in either its oral form or its script, has evolved to a great extend as well. Several thousand years ago, our forbearers carved simple notations on bones and turtle shells. This kind of notation evolved to be the most primitive script in the civilization – it is called the bones and shells script. In the multi-thousand year history, our scripture has changed to metal script, seal script, official script, cursive script, regular script, and running script. What we refer to as “Traditional Chinese” in modern times emerged only in late Han Dynasty, and there were quite a handful of scriptures used as standard before regular script. Our forefathers may as well argued that the official script was the “real” Chinese scripture while the regular script was too simple to be applied in formal writing.

Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty made the seal scripture of the State of Qin the only official scripture in China. This action left profound influence to China. All following rulers of this nation followed him to unify the scripture, and even the oral language since the wide spread of Putonghua. Without the unification of the language, there would not have been this convenience of communication, thus the prosperity of China, the most powerful country in the world for a thousand years.

The ancient Chinese people have given the answer to the reform and evolution to our language. If any of us is to stubbornly follow the legacy of our ancestors, he should support the use of Simplified Chinese. I am not saying we should abandon Traditional Chinese completely – even the most primitive form of Chinese characters has been preserved until now. And there’s always the need of various forms of Chinese characters in the field of art, especially calligraphy. I am a calligraphy lover myself. When practicing calligraphy, particularly when imitating the classics, I would never hesitate to choose Traditional Chinese. Through the many years of practicing, I can easily recognize and write many Traditional Chinese characters. But still, I think the promotion of the use of Simplified Chinese is a must. By using Simplified Chinese, we are sure to shorten our time when writing and make our life more efficient. This is inevitable. This is what the history would be written.

Han

2008/1/15

Subway Line 5

Today I went to the Zoo with Brinley. When going back home, I deliberately took Line 5, as I had not tried it yet although I had already been back to Beijing for 2 weeks. I expected nothing other than what Line 13 had, but it surprised me. It’s much like what we have in Hong Kong – automatic doors separating the train and the platform, signal lights that show the station where the train is, elevators for passengers with bulky items; even the different kinds of notice boards were really similar. No wonder it was said that the Line 4 was co-constructed by MTR Corporation. Still there had been even more than what they have in Hong Kong, marked are: LCD screens that shows what the current/next station is, signal lights beside every automatic doors that shows the doors are to be opened. I spared some attention to the English translation of on-board broadcasting and notice boards, and they were fine as far as I know. Overall, Subway Line 5 impressed me.

The Broken DVD

Mother told me that the DVD of “The Pursuit of Happyness” is broken. I recalled about one year ago I watched it through and found no glitch of any kind. But my parents insisted that it would stop unexpectedly while playing. I tried and found they are right. The disc is broken for some undiscovered reason; I succeed in watching it through with no defect but now it’s broken.

It may have already been a year since I recommended this video to them, but they didn’t watch it until not long ago. Sometimes, you have to grasp hard one thing to make sure that you have it. If you hold for too long, it would be no longer reachable. I think.