Monthly Archives: January 2009

Daily Scribble

Fake proof personality test

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Have you take any personality test? Have you fake any personality test?

We have done many personality tests in school or at work. Those tests are a useful diagnosis tool to know our personality. Armed with the personality data, the school or company can predict our performance in different scenario or form teams members who works well with each other. Most of those tests, such as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or Enneatypes, rely on questionnaire to determine with personality type we belongs to. The questionnaire assume you will answer the questions honestly, choose the answer truly reflect your mind. However, we all know how easy to fake the answers. If you are interviewing for a marketing position and the HR give you a MBTI tests. It is very natural to steer your answers to end up being an extrovert, the character type that the HR is looking for.

Old fashion pen and paper personality tests are not very useful, because it is too easy to fake the answer. I have a great idea to create a form of personality test. Other than answering multiple choice questions, a person’s eating behavior can reveal a lot about his personality. Maybe I should devise a new personality test base on what happen on the dining table. Instead of handing out questionnaire to the interviewee, the HR can invite all the interviewees for dinner. Then they can analyze traits of personality type of the interviewees from video tapping the dinner. Actually in business world, many important decisions are made over dining table. If you want to forge a long term relationship with a new business partner, you will know the real him outside of the meeting room. If I create the dining behavior personality test, I can open a consulting firm and offer lucrative personality analysis service. When you dine out with someone, you probably already have a rough idea on what type the person is. My service will give you an objective 3rd party report to double check your intuition. Now, the only obstacle between me and my multimillion dollars personalty test business is my cliche personality test.

生活隨筆

明星夢

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今天看Soler樂隊與經理人合約官司的新聞﹐才明白我們不應笑後生仔女發明星夢。很多人小時候也會發明星夢﹐幻想將來長大後當歌星影星。可能我比較有自知之明﹐從小到大也沒有發過明星夢﹐一來我不靚仔二來我不懂唱歌﹐當明星大慨這輩子也無望了。反過來我會笑那些發明星夢的人不切實際﹐說做明星不過表面風光﹐除非成功上位當紅透全港的天皇天后﹐當個半紅不黑的明星仔很霉很慘。原來只是吃不到的酸萄萄﹐看了新聞才知明星仔也很能賺錢。

Soler樂隊在香港不算很受觀迎﹐除了出道早期有一兩首歌曲流行過外﹐現在已經消聲匿跡。在一般樂迷心中﹐他們早已是過氣組合﹐可以被歷史遺忘。他們與經理人因合作糾紛單方面解約﹐被經理人公官入稟法院追討提前解約的損失。法庭在今天審結案件﹐判三年經理人合約竟值五百萬之多﹗經理人公司估計三年損失五千萬收入﹐但樂隊在庭上還價也預計收入接近二千萬。新聞中還指出他們演出收費﹐高達每小時二萬元。

雖說Soler是二人組合﹐收入要兩人對分一半。但是工作三年收入千萬﹐簡直比中六合彩還要多錢。他們工作一小時所賺取的錢﹐已經高過一般打工仔一個月的人工了。原來當明星的回報這麼多﹐怪不得這麼多青年發明星夢。不要忘記且他們只是過氣三線歌手﹐可想言知其他更紅的歌手收入如何豐厚了。不過我們反過來應該問問自己﹐連當對社會毫無供獻的三線歌星的收入﹐也比醫生老師高出一大截的時候﹐這還是一個運作有效率的正常社會嗎﹖

宗教

基督教思想史第二部 – 第四章﹕普遍綜合的崩潰(上)

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黑格爾(Hegel)大慨是神學史上﹐最後一個整合不同神學派別的人。自黑格爾之後﹐雖然有很多人嘗試整合神學﹐但始終走不出黑格爾的框框。

黑格爾學派的分裂
黑格爾相信聖經記載的歷史可靠性﹐但他同時認為就算記載不盡真實﹐也無損聖經中耶穌生平的像徵意義。可是神學家David Friedirch Strauss﹐指出聖經的作者其實另有其人﹐並認為耶穌的誕生和復活並非歷史﹐只用來表達耶穌與神本質的像徵故事。黑格爾的學生Ferfinand Christan Baur﹐運用黑格爾的正反合去申論聖經自身的歷史。正是彼得受傳統猶太教影響的基督信仰﹐反是保羅受希臘哲學影響的基督信仰﹐合出來則成了約翰寫給外邦人的福音。Baur指出聖經自身也是歷史的產品﹐教會中不同觀點的結合孕育出聖經﹐從此改變我們與聖經的關係。黑格爾認為人有關神的認知是從神而來﹐Ludwig Feurebach則從人類學的角度﹐反過來說神是人類創造出來﹐投射人類自身無限可能性。

Schelling對黑格爾的批判
Friedrich Schelling是一個跨幾個世代的哲學家﹐他整合了Kant和Spinoza的哲學﹐為黑格爾哲學奠定基礎。可是他隨的思想時代變化成浪漫主義﹐其後更再轉化為存在主義﹐成為黑爾格的最大批判者。他是一個身份主義者﹐認為身份是主觀和客觀﹐物質和精神連的聯繫。精神存在於物質之中﹐而世界萬物也可以成就人。他認為世界不為人創造出來﹐讓人可以成聖﹐世界本身也有其神性。既然萬物也有神性﹐人當然也有神性。他把被啟蒙年代的道德主義淹蓋的恩寵重新發掘出來。耶穌的教導不只是道德和律法﹐還有可以感受人內在的那一份神性。他認為人可以透過藝術去認識神﹐聖神通過藝術來到人當中。他認為永生不是時空上的永遠存在﹐而是本質上參與神的永恆。他認為自由就是選擇的可能性﹐人選擇背棄原本的神性﹐於是人的墮落是一個無時無刻的狀況﹐而非一次遠古發生的事件。

宗教奮興派及其神學後果
十九世紀開始的復興運動﹐是針對啟蒙知識在終極關懷留下的空洞﹐主張以虔誠的精神來填滿。宗教改革時代的第一波敬虔運動﹐強調要向世界各國傳教﹐讓世人也能得到救贖。十九世紀的第二波敬虔運動﹐除了出口外還有內銷﹐要把福音傳給國內不信的人。他們認為幫助社會上不幸的人是教徒的責任﹐可是他們的責任只於對不幸的人的善行﹐並沒有改革社會制度的想法。復興運動主張回到傳統古典正統神學上﹐並沒有發展神的神學。他們不接受聖經的歷史批判﹐完全照字面意思去理解聖經。當然復興神學不能長久﹐因為歷史只能向前而不能向後。另一個對綜合神學的挑戰來自科學﹐牛頓的物理定律世界觀﹐把神除在自然之外﹐不能干預世界的運行。神創造了自然規律﹐但行神蹟則破壞自然規律﹐帶出神要破壞自己的創造才能救贖人的矛盾。進化論更是對宗教一大打擊。在科學的進迫面前﹐宗教只能節節敗退。只有在科學不能解釋的領域﹐宗教才能用神來填補空洞。田立克認為科學與宗教不是對立﹐根本是兩個不同次元的東西。宗教不應干預科學理論的發展﹐而應該集中在科學永不能觸及的宗教符號領域。用科學去背書神學更是一個大錯誤﹐因為科學發展會改變我們對事物的理解。若果神學是借用科學的基礎上﹐那科學改變了在上面的神學便會倒塔下來。田立克認為不論人做什麼事﹐也是見證神的創造。所以新的科學發現並不是與神對抗﹐而是讓人借著科學去見證神。

Daily Scribble

Obama is in, what’s next?

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Today I watched Obama’s inaugural on the news. Washington is very crowded. According to the news, there are two million people witness the ceremony. It is a historical moment to the Americans. Many people compare Obama to John F. Kennedy. When JFK was elected US president in 1961, he is the Catholic president. In 2008, Obama becomes the first black president. Both of them breaks White Ango-Saxon Protestant male’s monopoly claim to the presidency. We already got a Catholic, a black, what’s next? It is just a matter of time before will be a female president. Hilary Clinton almost become the first female president if she didn’t lose to Obama. After a female president, the next one on the line is probably a gay president. There are gay governor already. It may take sometime before the American consider voting for a gay president. By that time, probably computer is so advance that we have AI smarter than people. If the American willing to vote for a gay, they must as well vote for a robot. Having a robot president is more defining historical moment than having a black president. On a second thought, why don’t we call the robot president Skynet.

Daily Scribble

Box Kleenex is gone, what’s next?

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In a recession market, it is understandable for a company trying its best to cut its budget in order to stay afloat. However, cutting the supply of box Kleenex to the employees is way too cheap. Not only the box Kleenex won’t save the company much money, it also send the wrong signal to the employee. There is a fine line between financial conservative and simply stingy, cutting the box Kleenex definitely had crossed the line.

Now box Kleenex is gone, what’s next? I am pretty sure the company is seriously considering cutting the toilet paper. Maybe that’s why they send us to India, prepare us for a paperless toilet. Instead of having toilet paper in the toilet, they will put a small bucket in each stall like in the Indian office. After you done your business, you can fill up the bucket with water and then use it to clean your bottom. Then maybe they will cut the utensils in cafeteria. Why waste money on plastic forks or money to wash the metal forks. We can eat with our hands too! The only thing that you have to remember is the left hand is the toilet hand, the right hand is the eating hand. Don’t mix up!