Sunday, January 28, 2007
The Economist
Back in primary school, as kids, most of us dread the few weeks of classes that came after the final exams, for that was when our teachers would return to us the report cards that they have been so diligently filling up with stuff so shocking we wouldn't want our parents to even glimpse. In my report card, there was this little section that I had to fill after my parents were done nagging at me (or after they're done not nagging at me, because I got mostly good grades back then). It read Pilihan Kerjaya Pelajar - Student's Career Choice.
Ask a nine year-old what he wants to be when he grows up and you'd be hard pressed to find a would-be civil engineer, or stockbroker, or risk management consultant. We all wanted to be paleontologists or doctors (to which Chinese parents breathe a sigh of relief) or policemen. I wanted to be a cartoonist. That remained in my Pilihan Kerjaya Pelajar section (in secondary school, they gave us two extra slots per year; whoopee!) from when I was seven until I was seventeen.
Then I decided that law might be the right choice for me, because in urban Malaysia, if your passion isn't in science or math or something that makes money (i.e. anything with nothing to do with art), normally you'd get crushed by overbearing parents. Mine were nothing like that. I made the decision myself, and during my short stint in Brickfields College I found that I actually liked law.
Then I went down to Singapore and got back to Physics, Chemistry and Math. They had no Physics, Chemistry, Math and Literature classes, so I took up Economics instead, and found that I liked it even more than law.
So here I am, on the path to becoming an economist. How does one prepare himself for the volatile world of economics, when today's law becomes tomorrow's theory? By subscribing to:
Ask a nine year-old what he wants to be when he grows up and you'd be hard pressed to find a would-be civil engineer, or stockbroker, or risk management consultant. We all wanted to be paleontologists or doctors (to which Chinese parents breathe a sigh of relief) or policemen. I wanted to be a cartoonist. That remained in my Pilihan Kerjaya Pelajar section (in secondary school, they gave us two extra slots per year; whoopee!) from when I was seven until I was seventeen.
Then I decided that law might be the right choice for me, because in urban Malaysia, if your passion isn't in science or math or something that makes money (i.e. anything with nothing to do with art), normally you'd get crushed by overbearing parents. Mine were nothing like that. I made the decision myself, and during my short stint in Brickfields College I found that I actually liked law.
Then I went down to Singapore and got back to Physics, Chemistry and Math. They had no Physics, Chemistry, Math and Literature classes, so I took up Economics instead, and found that I liked it even more than law.
So here I am, on the path to becoming an economist. How does one prepare himself for the volatile world of economics, when today's law becomes tomorrow's theory? By subscribing to:
If you're wondering what she's holding,that's an energy-saving bulb.
Am I pretentious? Maybe. People give me the look when I tell them that I'm used to skipping articles in the newspaper and going straight to my magazine (a habit I picked up in Singapore, because at SGD1 a day, newspapers were too bloody expensive). Then I tell them that it's just TIME with fewer pictures and more words, and then they go "Ahhh..." in acknowledgment. Truth to be told, I (still) subscribe for the current events articles. Preparing myself for the world of economics my dimpled yellow ass; I rarely read the business ones, much less the jargon-filled economic indicators section at the end of each issue. But I plan to, of course. Someday.
In any case, The Economist's slightly zealous policies on certain issues notwithstanding, the quality of the articles are pretty good. And every once in a while, you get amazing ones like this:
Well, that wasn't actually a spectacularly written piece, but most of the article echoes the sentiments that I have towards the people upstairs. Today's post was just a means to goad you into reading (some of) my thoughts being penned down by a much defter hand than minde.
Maybe someday I'll write something about religion. That'll definitely bring in the controversy/readers (they're one and the same). Hell, I think I'll even begin planning rebuttals for any possible flame wars in the future...
In any case, The Economist's slightly zealous policies on certain issues notwithstanding, the quality of the articles are pretty good. And every once in a while, you get amazing ones like this:
Well, that wasn't actually a spectacularly written piece, but most of the article echoes the sentiments that I have towards the people upstairs. Today's post was just a means to goad you into reading (some of) my thoughts being penned down by a much defter hand than min
Maybe someday I'll write something about religion. That'll definitely bring in the controversy/readers (they're one and the same). Hell, I think I'll even begin planning rebuttals for any possible flame wars in the future...
