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reposted awesome writing from someone else

The Disadvantages of an Elite Education

One of the few articles that I have read that really made me think and rethink and rethink. I think there’s a lot of truth in this article, please see for yourself! Along with David Orr’s “What is education for” this is quickly become my second education-guiding read.

The Disadvantages of an Elite Education

By William Deresiewicz

It didn’t dawn on me that there might be a few holes in my education until I was about 35. I’d just bought a house, the pipes needed fixing, and the plumber was standing in my kitchen. There he was, a short, beefy guy with a goatee and a Red Sox cap and a thick Boston accent, and I suddenly learned that I didn’t have the slightest idea what to say to someone like him. So alien was his experience to me, so unguessable his values, so mysterious his very language, that I couldn’t succeed in engaging him in a few minutes of small talk before he got down to work. Fourteen years of higher education and a handful of Ivy League degrees, and there I was, stiff and stupid, struck dumb by my own dumbness. “Ivy retardation,” a friend of mine calls this. I could carry on conversations with people from other countries, in other languages, but I couldn’t talk to the man who was standing in my own house.

For the rest, please go to http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/

Summer goals 2010

Vancouver’s legendary beautiful summer is finally here. No more bipolar weather craziness! Hipp Hipp Hurra (as I learnt in Norway)!

This year, I fully intend on working hard and probably achieving the goals I set out. Especially since I’m only going to narrow down my goals so they ARE achievable (for once :P)

So here it goes…

1. Bike from home to UBC (or at least a similar distance) – I’m seriously going to start biking this summer and my ultimate goal is to bike the 17.6 km (according to http://www.cyclevancouver.ubc.ca/cv.aspx). Hey, you’ve gotta start small sometime!

2. Get a job. I don’t care what kind, I’m interested in everything from event coordination, research assistants, to working at a vegetarian restaurant. Keeping my fingers crossed for my interview yesterday!

3. Find an internship for September in a developing country (for the lack of a better word). Potential is high in Indonesia right now! Will know outcome soon.

4. Continue my food experiment and document it at least once a week. The problem I usually have is I forget (or lack motivation) to write things down!

5. Start a composter and few pots of edible plants on my balcony. Actually I’m thinking of volunteering at the local community garden…I need to go ask.

6. Read! Currently: Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel. I’ve been wanting to read this since last May. Other books lined up: The Wisdom of Whores, The Big Necessity, Dead Aid.

7. Finish my economics video/prezi project. More details to come. It’s going to be awesome.

8. Enjoy Vancouver and time with good friends. Seeing that I’m probably going to fly off in September and that my parents are in Hong Kong, I might not be returning to this beautiful place for a while.

Eight’s a good number :) I’m going to stop here. I guess this is stuff in additional to what I normally have (e.g. Dollar Project), so awesomeness for the summer! Other stuff that I’m pondering if I should take on: getting more serious about digital photography, making my own website (or at least a much nicer version of my blog), writing for a project some friends and I started before called We Think We Think (http://thinkwethink.blogspot.com/), really try learning meditation (I found a cool website (http://www.peacerevolution2010.org/)…etc.

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Food experiment: no knead bread!

mmmmmmmmmmm…..I’m soo full and happy with home made bread with margarine! (actually margarine isn’t very good for you…I’m just eating what is leftover, please support well produced butter!)

Sorry I haven’t been able to keep updated on this experiment. But! I have kept my promise, for the whole semester, I have tried my best to not buy anything I can make. I’ve rarely eaten at restaurants or take out food (unless I was invited by a friend). I’ve bought the most basic ingredients I can find (meaning instead of pasta sauce, I buy tomatoes or canned tomatoes). And no matter how busy, I try to make food (sometimes that means when I’m busy lunch becomes lots of apples :P). I actually have taken photos of a lot of the stuff I did, I just haven’t written it up yet….but…

I was so excited today because it’s the first time I tried making bread! I’ve been wanting to since the start of this experiment, but I couldn’t find the time and energy to try. Since school is finished (and I’ve graduated!), I have some more time.

I followed this recipe: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2009/01/no-knead-ciabatta-bread-you-can-believe.html

(food wishes is my favourite recipe learning place on the internet…chef John is sooo funny :P)

starts out looking really strange..I thought I didn’t have enough water

After leaving it for 18 hours!

and then for 2 more hours…it’s such a slimy blob at this point…

and then oven magic makes the whole room smell like heaven

The bread turned out so nicely…fluffy middle, crispy crust, and an amazing aroma. I will most definitely make this as often as possible from now on (especially since for some reason I bought a 5 kg bag of whole wheat flour…)

Things to change next time:

1) use cornmeal to sprinkle on the bottom. I didn’t have cornmeal and the bottom turned out a little bit burnt

2) separate the dough into at least 3. It was way too big.

It’s crazy to see how flour, yeast, salt, and water…only 4 ingredients can make such a tasty treat!

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thoughts

Mixed Feelings: The Olympics

I was going to write my feelings about the Olympics before it started, but then I decided I would wait until the end so I would be better informed.

Here it is.

As many of my friends knew or sensed, I am not a big fan of the Olympics. Neither was I of the summer one in Beijing. Many asked why, and for the first time in my life, I truly felt it was hard to express my opinions. Trust me, I am not a stranger with talking about my strange views; what else would you expect from someone who is an animal rights believer, a non-believer of marriage, a radical (or so some of my friends say) environmentalist, and a staunch feminist? But of all those issues, I have never been dismissed in conversations as with the Olympics. The moment I merely hint that I’m not a fan, almost every single person would first give me a strange look and then steer the topic away. I did not even have to tell why I was not supportive, my reasons were already stereotyped and stamped on my forehead.

No, I’m not anti-sport.
No, I’m not (trying to be) a party pooper.
No, I’m not against welcoming the world to beautiful Vancouver.

I am, however, concerned about…

The overspending of government budget. We are now 6 billion (the budget only promised 2 billion) in debt because of one big party. Let’s not forget we are still in a recession.

The unwillingness of the government and organizers to listen to the voices of those marginalized. Promises were made, not kept.

The willingness of the government to spend money on silencing people rather than solving the actual problems. Isn’t it almost inhumane to spend so much on security while ignoring the poorest postal code in Canada (the downtown east side)? Is that the example we set for the world and is supposed to be proud of?

The way the world stops being concerned about news when the Olympics are in session. Winning medals are important, so are all the conflicts and poverty. I’m so glad I don’t have a TV, at least I can choose what I watch online.

How the nationalism brought about by sport does not seem to be the most friendly kind. I question if putting countries into categories of winning and losing actually promote international friendship. (Although my bias is that I don’t even really believe in having nationalism at all. I, for the life of me, cannot see why people believe their love for humanity should stop at arbitrary state lines drawn on a map)

Disrespect for the fact that we all live on unceded First Nations land.

When the Olympics went to Beijing, people around the world protested. In the West, protesters were seen as heroes who stood up against a giant dictatorship. This Olympics, anybody who has a different opinion is seen as a traitor to national pride. Food for thought?

I have changed a bit now that the Olympics are drawing to a close. I see how the city has come alive with an energy I have never felt before. I see how the world has literally focused their attention on Vancouver and Canada. I see how it is a common history that Canadians and Vancouverites share.

But I still question, was it worth the sacrifice we had to give?

Happy Birthday to Me :)

Dear myself,

You turned 22 today. Do you still remember what you wrote last year when you turned 21? You were grateful that you had family and friends who loved you because you liked thinking.

I’m still grateful for that (if not more than last year).

This year, I am grateful for friends and family who accepted or re-accepted me into their life (again). As much as I love traveling and continuously finding new ways to live (or more pessimistically, escaping my present life), I form very strong attachments to people I bond with. It is probably your greatest gift to me when you welcome me with open arms and refuse to say good bye – only see you again.

Thank you for each and every one of your birthday wishes, it has been, truly, one of the greatest gifts I have ever received.

Thank  you.

Tiff

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Food experiment: Chapati

Here’s my first attempt: chapati!

I loved these so much in Tanzania that I requested to have them for breakfast everyday.

The recipe I followed didn’t turn out exactly as I had them in East Africa, but it’s close enough that I’m really, really happy. I made around 8 of them (they’re really filling) and put them in the fridge so I can just take them out and put them in the pan for an easy meal. I even took a leftover one, added some corn and cheese and made a sort of pizza :P

Forming the dough took a bit more effor than I expected, but it wasn’t hard at all :)

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Uncategorized

Proposed Experiment

Proposed experiment:
Not buy food that I can make

I guess as an attempt get my life back into a little bit of a routine (or as some say, re-entry shock), I am formally proposing this experiment. Why?

Well, 1) I study food systems, and to say the truth, supermarkets and their “illusion of a million products which are actually all made from the same things” mentality disgust me right now (especially after living for a while where all the food was pretty much harvested within walkable distance). So this is my way of exploring an alternative and saying “screw you” to over-processed/over-packaged food.

2) I really love playing around in the kitchen (mm…don’t take that the wrong way). I love trying out new recipes (but only for myself, since 90% of the time, I’m the only one who thinks the food tastes great. I have an amazing ability to like everything I make :P). I don’t think it would be so hard to make most of what I enjoy buying from the supermarket.

3) I did a similar thing last year where I didn’t eat any kinds of pre-made candy/junk food. I had to make all my chocolate cakes, chocolate truffles (oh dear goodness…), and whatever candy I was craving at the moment (which was usually just chocolate :P). I even stopped eating ice cream for a long time!

4) I want to see how much I can push the limits of making my own food. Some ideas right now include making my own cheese (well just the simple ones, nothing like what I did for a few days in the Swiss Alps), my own chapatis (I’ve been wanting to try ever since I got back), my own bread, ugali (? not sure if I can get the suitable maize flour?), Chinese salted duck eggs etc etc.

So here’s the deal.

1) I will try to use the most basic ingredients. i.e. I will use flour, and not grind my own from wheat. I, after all, can’t devote my life to this.

2) I promise (promise promise promise) I will update once a week about a new thing I tried on the weekend. It could be a dish, or a night’s dinner I threw together with leftover ingredients, or just a recipe I’m researching. (I’m a student, and life is extremely busy right now). So watch for updates :)

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economics thinking

student directed seminar weekly reflections: week 1

  • Our economic models (or any kind of models for that matter) are based on the perceptions of the world, therefore they can never be complete. The models also have to change with time and conditions, or else they become a generalization because of blind belief, not true evidence/data input.
  • The problem comes when proponents of a certain model (whether Keynes or free market) take those models made for a specific instance to be an economic “law” (where in the world did that kind of language come from anyways? How can anybody who has no set of complete data prove that something is a law? The scientific methods are much stricter than what the economists use (in part because most scientific experiments can be repeated while changing only one variable), I don’t even understand why economics is a science in the first place).
  • Proposal of using the online world to try out new economic policies and methods. I think it’s an interesting idea, but I am worried about the issue of unequal representation. Obviously, the online world only attracts certain demographics (young, have leisure time to spend online, relatively affluent), how can these tested models account for those who are excluded (and probably more marginalized?). What would be the result if this kind of model were applied to a developing country where the mentality may be totally different?
  • Survival of the fittest: evolution has no specific endpoint; animals do not evolve to become better in general, they evolve to become better suited to a certain environment. Once that environment changes, whatever was best before is not ‘best’ anymore. Is this the same with economic models? Maybe there is ONE economic model which is best suited to a certain circumstance. But I would really disagree that “natural” economic forces will choose the best path for us.
  • Can economics be non-judgemental? Can there be no value based assumptions behind an economic recommendation? My professors from food and resource economics classes always say that it is the job of economists to remain impartial and present all the policy recommendations only according to economic measurements of efficiency, income distribution etc. It is the job of the politicians to make value judgments on which economic policy to choose to implement. But I don’t think economists can be as apolitical as that (I’ve been obsessed with the notion of whether ‘apolitical’ even exists or not). Any kind of measurement criteria on its own is a value judgment. Plus, whatever model you base you calculations on also has a huge baggage of assumptions. How can we be completely impartial? Is that even a good goal? Should we just accept that we can’t and be more aware of it so we don’t fall into the apolitical trap?
  • Food as a commodity? I agree with the idea that food is not a normal commodity. Historically, food has always had two functions. First to satisfy the cultivator’s hunger (and socio-cultural needs) and then as a commodity to be traded, but only in times of surplus. The problem of food economics currently, as I see it, is that we’ve often forgotten that the most important function of food is to feed yourself! Now it is more important to earn money from your food to go buy more food. That just sounds too bizarre to me. What about those who do not grow their own food, you say. Well, support policies that ensure those grow the food will always be able to have surplus to provide to the economy!
  • * Plus, I have a huge thing about how economics usually just defines food as simply food. Wrong! Food has many categories. There are better foods (for you, for the environment, for the animals) and bad foods. You can’t put them into the same category for analysis and policies because they ARE DIFFERENT THINGS!!
  • What really propped Germany back up after the world war? Was it simply the welfare state and free market or aid money? I think it links to an essay I wrote a while ago about how “the west” used mercantilism to give themselves a head start in their economy (while they demand developing countries to completely open their borders now!)
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writing

Essay: lawn people

Book Review:

Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are

Tiffany Tong

December 10, 2008

The author, Paul Robbins, starts the book off with a strange observation about himself when he moved into a new home with a lawn: “I was becoming a … ‘lawn person.’” (Robbins 2007, xii) The rising population of a lawn person, someone whose life is influenced or dictated by the lawn, is arguably a very American middle class phenomenon (Thompson 2008). This book seeks to unravel the complex relationships behind humans, lawns, and the larger political economy to seek an answer to this persuasive trend. In this book, Robbins tries to apply “political ecology to the fresh topic of the suburban middle classes (Ginn 2007).”

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writing

Essay: Corporate Social Responsibility

A New Turn for Corporate Social Responsibility

Tiffany Tong

March 5th, 2008

Introduction

The nature of corporations is to maximize the bottom line regardless of social and environmental consequences, because in an extremely competitive global market, failure to do so will result in forced exit from the market. Therefore, traditionally, the enforcement of rules has been viewed as the only way to protect society and the environment; voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been viewed as mere lip service that produces no results. However, in this paper, I will explore a new turn in the development of CSR, with a particular focus on a United Nations initiative named the Global Compact. I will argue that to effectively engage corporations to produce positive results, norm setting initiatives are necessary in addition to rule enforcement. Corporate Social Responsibility will not work unless we have both binding international agreements to enforce punishment of negative actions by corporations and positive incentives for innovation.

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