95% of people can guess someone’s sex just from smelling their breath.

Sun, 6 Sep 2009
2 min read
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This is from Learn Something Everyday, a new site I discovered from I forgot where.

Anyway, while the site is an interesting and innovative initiative, and the fact in itself is interesting too, my biggest grouse is – how do I verify the authenticity of what’s being said?

I tried searching for the information online but the quote always turns up on its own, without any sources or studies to back it up.

I’m probably not looking hard enough – the last time this happened was when I was working on my research paper and I found this quote about Alfian Sa’at’s One Fierce Hour and how the Straits Times lauded it as “truly a landmark for poetry [in Singapore]”.

Every source I found about the book had the same line, but I couldn’t find the exact article with those words. I remember searching for days on end and wondering if this was one of those things that become truth when you repeat it often enough.

(Who said that line about repeated lies becoming truths, anyway?)

Well, suffice to say, I managed to find the article on RedNano (proved to me that the damn site was good for something), and in case anyone is curious, it was Lee Tzu Pheng who said it in a book review.

So yes – I’m probably not looking hard enough, so if anyone can point me to the actual source where the information about being able to guess someone’s sex from smelling their breath can be found, I’d be very grateful.

Anyway, some tangential information on the Big Lie to sum up what I’ve been thinking about information and credible sources.

Things to do in Singapore!

Wed, 2 Sep 2009
2 min read
1 Comment

Most people assume there’s nothing to ‘do’ in Singapore, but in truth – there are many things to do, though the experience might not be as culturally rich as, say, a visit to the American Museum of Natural History (RAWR!) or a stroll through Central Park.

Well, perhaps it’s just the prejudice innured into us by politicians past and present, that we have never been good enough, aren’t and never will be good enough. But I think that one will always find things to do as long as one gets access to the information from the organisers themselves.

It’s not always easy, and I don’t have the perfect solution (though Facebook + Google Reader + Twitter + a whole host of other Web 2.0 apps, along with mailing lists help a lot in getting info), but as part of my belief that we need to share as much info as we can (perfect knowledge and all that jazz), I’ll do my bit to advertise about stuff that’s happening which is relatively affordable for anyone, from couples on dates to students.

So!

In the next few months or so, I’d ideally like to go for these two things (click on the links for more info):

  1. The Image of Our Landscape (Price: Free!).
  2. Baba Bling: The Peranakans and Their Jewellery (Concessions on Fri evenings.)

I know, I know – some of you might be thinking: ee yer, so [insert appropriate pejorative here].

But believe you me – it’s good for all of you to start going for these things. Without not being preachy enough, it is all too often that Singaporeans ironically end up becoming tourists/foreigners in their own land.