Passions

Ay le mao it's been over a month since I last blogged so here we go. Something on my mind that I've thought for the past year or so and I think it's about time to set it in pixels. Not stone, cause well, it's been a long time since most people used stones to read (unless you're an African kid in a poorly funded Islamic school where they send the kids to beg for their meals) and you're also likely reading this on a computer. Unless someone copied my blog posts and carved them on a piece of stone, which is a very queer thing to do indeed.

I think there's been a very severe lack in passions. I mean something that people are very passionate about. Like say little Timmy is very passionate about cars. He's fascinated by them. And he grows up, and he becomes a car designer. Or a fuel chemist, seeking to produce more environmentally friendly fuels. You feel me? Something that a kid is so fascinated about that it drives them mad. They want to know all there is to know about it. They want to be involved in that field one day. That's the kind of passion I'm talking about. A passion is so much more than just a hobby. And sadly, I think in general, most Singaporeans have a lack of this. Well, I do know one guy who is though. My classmate, let's call him SJ, who is very fascinated by mechas (I know this cause he did a presentation and I totally did not know that Japan actually built a functioning mecha until he presented), which is primarily the reason why he chose the course I take. But most of the other guys, I'm not quite sure what their motivations are in choosing what they chose. Shit, I know a guy who is taking my course but isn't actually very interested/good in mathematics. Not quite so sure why he is here, learning something he doesn't care about.

I know what my passions are. Or at least where they lie. I'm interested in space. But more so than that. I am an explorer. Unfortunately, trapped in between two eras of exploration. Too late for the seas, too early for the stars, as they say. Nonetheless, I am aware that without advancements in our knowledge of the stars or the necessary mechanical instruments, we would not be able to achieve interstellar travel. Which is also why I am fascinated by things like engines and propulsion. Did you know that an engine is actually only about 20% efficient? Of the entire available energy from the consumption of the fuel, most of it is actually turned into waste heat. 80%. 80% of energy obtained from fuel burned in an internal combustion engine is actually unusable. That's just crazy. But earlier steam based designs were even more inefficient and so to think that we could one day make an engine even more efficient is nuts.

The one group of people I can say for certain in Singapore who are truly chasing their passions and rather flamboyantly I might add, are the cosplayers. They wouldn't be doing it if they weren't passionate about cosplaying. But apart from that, I don't think many Singaporeans are passionate about very many things. Due in part I believe, that many Singaporean parents are rather uninvolved in their kid's upbringing and don't expose them to many things to develop their passions. Well that's all I have on this. Until next time, ciao.