By Catherine Lilin“For the harmony of the world is made manifest in Form and Number, and the heart and soul and all the poetry of Natural Philosophy are embodied in the concept of mathematical beauty” -(On Growth and Form, D’Arcy W. Thompson).
These words are printed largely on one of the walls of The Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei; words that through an artist blooms into an extraordinary exhibition. This artist is known as Kawaguchi Yoichiro, and Zero Gravity Paradise is the name of this exhibition. Having heard nothing about the artist prior to this exhibition, I was left in awe by his works. While it is Kawaguchi’s first exhibition in Taiwan, his name is not an unfamiliar one in the art industry; he is an artist, an educator, and a great innovator in the development of computer art. Kawaguchi grew up in the southern island of Japan, at a small age he was surrounded by nature and witnessed the growth of nature at close distance. This evoked his fascination with the biological aspects of life. Later on in university, he studied information and computer graphics. His interests then started to shift into bionic life forms. His childhood fascination, along with his new interests in computer graphics, made him question whether it was possible to represent digitally the growth of bionic life on its own. With inspiration from D’Arcy W. Thompson’s words, “the heart and soul and all the poetry of Natural Philosophy are embodied in the concept of mathematical beauty,” he was determined to create a series of artworks that represented the growth of life through technology. This exhibition is Kawaguchi fulfilling this determination. To represent the growth of life that is sensational and uncertain through mathematical techniques that are rational and logical is a very bold and hard task. Without the introductory words of this exhibition, I could not understand the concept when I walk into the exhibition space. Kawaguchi’s works included physically present, still sculptures as well as moving images through flat TV screens. Yet the exhibition did not only show the final results of artworks but also his creative process. Included are his first draft sketches and 3D computer graphic images of these sketches. None of the artworks clearly depicted a certain “thing” but rather lump of shapes mashed together. Most were curled up and long, which in a way all looked like some sort of living creature. Some sculptures extended and wiggled through like caterpillars, some looking like the shell of a snail with little hairs attached, and some simply just a blob of “things” that had eyes on them. As for moving images, some looked like the surface of mercury or boiling water in high-saturated colors, some with different shapes sticking together continuously to become a bigger lump of that shape. All in all, it was not exactly a pleasingly aesthetic view, but a disturbing one. Nevertheless, I believe art to be more than simply beauty, thus my level of fascination was in no sense diminished. My confusion on the other hand was rather intensified as a contradiction, but also a pleasurable sense: escaping from the normality of the world but still feeling very much a part of reality. The walls of each exhibition room were black but the colors of each artwork were very vibrant; neon yellow, bold red, magenta, blue. Some colors were so strong that as a viewer I felt defensive, as if the colors were splashing towards me ready to attack, when in truth they were nothing more than still objects. The artworks are simply not what one sees in daily life. They are very peculiar in shape, movement, and color, yet each of them shows movement and growth just like any living organism that was interestingly created through numbers, and shown through TV screens (a product that is a normal in daily life). Personally I feel that it is precisely this clash of irregularity with rationality that creates an atmosphere both absurdly surreal yet unexpectedly real. This image above is one of my favorites of Kawaguchi’s work. The artwork is named Cytolon and is in the form of moving computer graphics with a duration of 2 minutes 29 seconds. During this time, the image shifts its cover from red to green and restarts the process. A melted deformed shape in the movement of “boiling” liquid fills the rectangular frame of the screen. I found myself standing in front it for a full 2 minutes 29 seconds. With no comprehensible reason, my vision was drawn to the shifts and changes of the deformed abnormality before my eyes. According to Kawaguchi, Cytolon represents the biochemical nature of human blood vessels and cells. The shift in color represents the density difference from blood to water. The boiling movement shows the blood flow between vessels. The vision may be hard to comprehend, but after understanding the meaning, Kawaguchi himself seeks to show reality and specifically growth in organisms and bionic life. Zero Gravity Paradise is not an exhibition that will be well-received by everyone, as most of Kawaguchi’s artworks are too uncanny for the public to comprehend. If one is looking for a relaxed and aesthetically pleasing artistic experience, than Zero Gravity is certainly not a good choice. But for anyone who seeks visual shock and free interpretation of a bewildering experience, than Zero Gravity Paradise is definitely worth seeing.
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by Savannah LagmayEven though it’s just dead skin cells, having curly hair feels all the more alive, with a mind of its own. On the day you have to sit in and study it’s a horse’s mane, but when you have a date it has already decided otherwise. Feeling prepared to enter a new country, I brought my hair products that would last three months. I even got a haircut. “I should be OK at most.” Wrong. I could hide in a bush at night and no one would find me. No exaggeration. And as I reach the end of my study abroad, on some days I could still hide in a bush. Here’s my hair journey in the past semester.
Finding hair products It took me a few weeks into my semester at Taida to find organic oil. Coupled with getting acclimated to Taiwan and my own laziness to use google, it took me a few weeks to find what I was looking for. With skepticism, I made a post on Facebook asking if anyone had any tips on how to manage curly hair in an Asian Country. Two people suggested flaxseed oil. For whatever reason, it was hard to find. It might be called Yàmá zǐ yóu. Then by chance, I stumbled upon an organic market near Taipower Station. Twisting it This is a daunting two-day process: on the first day, I wash it, condition, part my hair in two ways, cover my hands in flaxseed oil, then braid it. This takes up to one hour, not to mention rebraiding any strand too big (the smaller the better, but also more time). I tie it back or in a bun. Air-drying takes the entire day. I do the same back in the States, but less often. The second day, I unbraid it, letting my curls flow. When I’m tired or in a rush to class, I’ll throw a glob of conditioner/product, having my hair out, anticipating the bigger mess later. Wearing a hat Once I was caught in Shida Night Market in the rain, biking back to Gongguan. Taipei is a rainy city, a twenty-four hour sprinkler. No, noooooo. While I always had an umbrella or poncho in hand, some days I was empty handed. I haven’t mastered the art of holding an umbrella and biking at the same time as many Taida students have. I could have waited under a cafe, but at the time I had this sense of urgency to bike back to Shuiyuan. Repeating that hour long process? I would really rather not. So feeling frustrated, I threw all of my hair into a hat I brought. It worked out pretty well and has been my everyday look ever since. Since I can’t cut my hair, it’s nice to imagine another reality with shorter hair. Not sure if it’s rude to wear a hat in class. Acceptance I give up. While I always have an umbrella or poncho in hand, some days I’m empty handed. Other times, the humidity wins. In retrospect, it was because I felt that I stood out so much as a foreigner, I wanted at least an inkling to fit in–which mean straighter, or more controlled hair. But I soon threw up my hands: there was a lot more than just my hair standing out. As cliche as it sounds, you shouldn’t care what people think. But also Taiwan isn’t as much of a conformist society as I had expected anyway. In fact, more often I hear people point at my hair and say “Hěn piàoliang“ which means very beautiful. by Jed PierreThe 21st century has been the age of heroes and villains, Gods and demigods, even mutants and magicians. We don’t see any of these on our daily commute to work or class, but they’re also more than just our vivid imagination. Due to the film adaptations of two of the most famous comic creators in the world, Marvel Comics and DC Comics, superheroes have been brought to life.
Marvel Comics and DC Comics are two American comic book publishers. Marvel Comics, originally founded in 1939, is responsible for the creation of famous comic characters like Iron Man, Spiderman, The X-Men, The Avengers, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, and many others. DC Comics, founded in 1934, is responsible for famous comics such as Superman, Batman, Justice League,The Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and the list continues. During the 20th century these two companies competed against each other for comic supremacy and their rivalry has resurged in recent times, despite the decline in the popularity of comic books. This new rivalry has taken the form of film adaptations, and they’ve been extremely successful over the last ten years. Comic movies have been around since the 60s, with films like Batman (1966), and have became more common in the 90s with other comics also being adapted into movies. Most of these movies were created by comic publishers licensing their characters out to film producers to allow the use of their characters. However, as of 2008, Marvel Comics made a bold move which revolutionized the comic movie industry. They established the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a new movie universe in which their comic characters would co-exist. The first movie in this new format was Iron Man (2008), followed my Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011) and Captain America (2011). These movies all received a lukewarm critical reception, but they were still relatively successful due to their novelty. In hindsight, these movies were seen as experiments which helped Marvel develop a successful movie formula which has been implemented ever since their box office blockbuster, The Avengers (2012). This movie was the turning point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was the first time that heroes joined forces in one movie and the reception was truly exceptional. It became the fastest comic movie to gross 1 billion US dollars. DC Comics, on the other hand, entered the cinematic world earlier. In 2005 they produced they own comic film Batman Begins (2005) and followed it shortly with two remarkable sequels: The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). This trilogy cumulatively grossed 2.5 billion US dollars and to this day is considered one of the greatest trilogies of all time. Despite all this success, DC decided to combat the Marvel Cinematic Universe by creating a new universe, the DC Extended Universe, established in 2013. Just like Marvel, it was also a cinematic universe where heroes would coexist and ignore all previous movies (including the Batman trilogy). This universe commenced with Man of Steel (2013) and set the tone for the following movies, Batman v Superman (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016). Both companies began with trilogies. DC’s was more successful but Marvel’s original vision of the cinematic universe is what has propelled everything from the beginning. Since 2012, Marvel have continuously produced action-packed movies with enough humour and surprises to win over any audience. They’ve also succeeded with their small budget movies like Ant Man (2015) and Doctor Strange (2016), thanks to their proven formula. DC’s path thus far has been different. Rather than start with smaller movies to develop a successful movie style, they began by placing their best characters together in their early movies hoping for success. Batman v Superman (2016), which features DC’s three greatest heroes, didn’t live up to expectations, since it tried to fit in three origin stories, a convincing plot, as well as paths for future films. DC’s style is also darker-themed and less humorous, thus alienating some of its audience. So far Marvel has released one movie this year, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and it further emphasized that Marvel has mastered their style. With less popular characters, Marvel was still able to produce a humorous and memorable movie experience. DC also just recently released Wonder Woman, an origin story of one of DC’s main characters, Wonder Woman. The movie has been hailed as one of DC’s best movies to date, but with such a low standard, does being the best really mean anything? In my opinion, they’re on the right track by experimenting with an origin story and hoping to find a method for success, but it’s not yet there. As good as this movie was, it’s still less entertaining than Marvel’s first movie this year. In a boxing match between the two companies, DC would be the angry boxer who starts with heavy jabs before even getting warmed up. Marvel would be the relaxed boxer throwing light jabs followed by a heavy jab when the moment is right. Both companies have their style and only the future will tell which method is the most successful. With movies like Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok, Spiderman: Homecoming and DC’s Justice League to be released later this year, it’s safe to say there’s much to look forward to. At the end of this round, which boxer will be in the lead? By Kaiya BrownWith bloodshot eyes, the woman glared at her pitiful reflection. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she gripped tighter to the offending item in her right hand.
This isn’t me, this isn’t me, this isn’t me… She almost didn’t recognize herself since she had changed quite a bit in the last few months. Her appearance, her demeanor… “Why do you have that?” The woman looked at her reflection to find another woman standing behind her right shoulder. The first one stood, silent. “Lia?” the second woman tried again. “Why do you have that wig?” Lia tried to give a deep sigh, as if she was in control, but it came out shaky due to her tears. The wig remained in her tight grasp, hair strands from the cap falling onto the bathroom floor. The second woman tried giving Lia a comforting look, but it came off as one of pity. Her sea foam eyes peered into Lia’s brown ones, trying to reach an understanding. But I’m not you. I can’t be… “You were finally conquering your fear,” the second woman began, placing a hand on Lia’s shoulder. “You weren’t lonely for once.” “Isabella, I…” The words were caught in Lia’s throat. She couldn’t even begin to explain why she had the wig. She looked at Isabella’s reflection, marveling over her stark contrasts. Light eyes and hair glowed against dark skin and she was impossibly beautiful, something Lia could never accomplish. Isabella was a caring woman, yes, but still… …we’re too different. Lia’s heart could never let her feel to the same extent as Isabella but it still felt things, many emotions she wished she didn’t. She looked over her own appearance once more, noticing that her once brown bob were now brown spirals and curls, mirroring Isabella’s blond ringlets. However, even though her demeanor was closer to Isabella’s, Lia couldn’t help but notice that her appearance was closer to someone else. “It’s unbecoming to cry in the rain like this.” It was years ago when Lia stood alone in the pouring rain and that phrase was uttered to her. She couldn’t forget the way those chocolate eyes bore into her own, revealing Elizabeth to her for the first time. ‘Though you known me for years,’ Elizabeth always told her, ‘I’ve known you for longer.’ At the time, it was a comforting gesture from Elizabeth, protecting Lia from the rain, and from that point on, Lia had misunderstood Elizabeth’s character. From that fateful meeting, Lia and Elizabeth stood side by side, Elizabeth vowing to keep Lia safe. Aren’t we? “What type of drink are you?” Lia had glanced up from her laptop as she and Elizabeth sat together in that coffee shop. Lia, of course, thought the question was odd, especially coming from Elizabeth until she realized she read it off of the napkin dispenser on their table. Elizabeth then immediately mocked it, stating that it was silly for the coffee shop to have ridiculous ‘conversation starters’ on the dispensers but that didn’t stop Lia from thinking about it later on that night. But at times, we’re too similar… Lia couldn’t pinpoint what drink she would be. Perhaps water, she thought, since she lacked any distinct qualities, but then she gave up that thought instantly. Raindrops drummed against her as she stood in intense silence. It reminded Lia of the day she met Elizabeth. If she recalled correctly, those same strawberry red lips still curved upwards in victory, as if Elizabeth just saved Lia from herself. Suddenly, the rain stopped from overhead, causing Lia to glance up to the woman holding an umbrella over her. Lia had mistakenly believed that if Elizabeth was a drink, she would be milk. Appearance-wise, perhaps she would have been correct. To Lia, Elizabeth’s hair was a rich dark chocolate, her eyes a milk chocolate, rosy lips and cheeks like strawberry milk, and her skin was a milky white. Lia had always thought that through her tough shell that she displayed, deep down Elizabeth was sweet. Lia was always envious of Elizabeth for many reasons. Everything Elizabeth was rivaled Lia. Elizabeth was confident where Lia was shy, Elizabeth was practical while Lia was idealistic. Elizabeth was gorgeous where Lia was, well, wasn’t. Elizabeth looked at the world differently than Lia, finding it easier to cut away all emotion rather than subjecting herself to all the issues emotions bring on. Lia always struggled with this, as her own emotions always overpowered her logic, and that’s what she envied the most. “Do you want to go back to that?” Lia’s mouth hung open slightly, pondering the question that Isabella posed. Lia knew that Isabella specifically meant did she want to go back to Elizabeth, back to the way things were before, before she met Isabella. As much as she wanted to tell her no, Lia didn’t know what the answer was. So much had changed when she met Isabella and so much of her changed afterwards. …it is almost unbearable. Soaked to the bone, Lia stood alone once more. The pouring rain became her favorite place to cry because no one could see her tears. However, her eyes still grew red, mirroring the withdrawal she was feeling. She left home less often, seen less people, heard less voices. Elizabeth would smile, stating that the world was safer this way but as Lia grew more lonely, she grew more wary of Elizabeth’s intentions. “You are a strange child,” Elizabeth would hiss anytime Lia questioned her. “You think they want anything to do with you?” Lia was silent as always, biting her tongue lest she said something she would regret. “I’m trying to protect you,” Elizabeth then continued. “Your fragile heart can’t take what they would say to you, let alone what they don’t…” “But Elizabeth, I–” “You what?” Elizabeth interrupted, venom dripping from her words. Lia faltered for a moment before telling her it was nothing. Elizabeth beamed, her warm smile making Lia momentarily forget that it wasn’t nothing that bothered her. She was growing tired, tired of the hiding and walls Elizabeth built around them. Lia felt so distant from people and Elizabeth prefered it that way. “Your hair seems softer than before,” Elizabeth commented, patting Lia’s head, “and darker…” Like yours, Lia immediately thought but instead feeling happy, she felt dreadful. She felt utterly alone. I’m not you… Like that fateful day, the rain stopped from overhead. However, instead of ruby red lips smirking in triumph, Lia was greeted by concerned teal irises, yet they felt warmer than the brightest sun. “Why are you afraid of feeling?” Lia tensed. She had changed out of soaked clothes and sat alone on her couch with a cup of tea in hand. “It’s safer this way,” she mumbled in response. Isabella cocked her head. “Who told you that?” Lia didn’t respond. Isabella then sat next to her, “There’s nothing wrong with caring about things…” “I care too much,” Lia said, trying to hide behind her cup to no avail. Isabella gave a small smile. “And there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. “In fact, that’s what makes life worth living. When you care about others and they care about you too…that’s the life you want to live, right?” Lia said nothing, though her heart cried out its answer. “I can help you,” Isabella continued, “I know you have a warm heart…perhaps you have been hiding it for too long.” Suddenly, the word Lia only reserved for Elizabeth came to mind, Isabella’s kind words reminding her of the way Elizabeth was long ago. …I know I’m not… Elizabeth’s frown deepened when she and Lia met again. “You cut your hair,” she stated, her disdain evident to Lia. “I did.” Elizabeth said nothing for a moment. “Why?” “I thought it was good idea,” Lia replied with a shrug. Elizabeth eyed her new hairstyle. “Really now…” She then said, not even attempting to hide her scowl. “That’s not like you…” “How so?” “You don’t normally think,” Elizabeth explained, “for yourself, that is. Are you trying to be like her?” Lia suddenly became self-conscious, “Like who?” “Like Isabella,” Elizabeth replied in a bored tone of voice. “You think you can be happy wearing your heart out on your sleeve? Open to anyone ready to stab it? Is that what you want?” “I…” “You stick out like a sore thumb,” Elizabeth continued, interrupting Lia. “People are surely going to talk…” “But Elizabeth…” Elizabeth then let out a sigh, not letting Lia complete her thought. “I’ll get you a wig. You can wear it over that ridiculous hairstyle. Then after your hair grows out, we can put back in that beautiful bob of yours.” Lia didn’t object, she couldn’t. Even when the foreign object was placed in her hand, she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of the wig. It didn’t help that, ever since that conversation with Elizabeth, she felt them, they watched her every move. She heard them too, the murmurings that always sounded vaguely about her. They reminded Lia of her. “It’s probably nothing,” Isabella then said, “I think your hair is cute! It doesn’t matter what they think,” but Lia couldn’t help but feel out of place. Unlike before, she was surrounded by people, but yet, how is it that she feel lonelier now? …But yet, it’s you I see in the mirror. For second, she was her. The wig was a long, dark brown, stopping beneath her shoulder blade, just like hers. Yet, it felt wrong. ‘This isn’t me’ chanted through Lia’s thoughts as she glared at the abomination that was her reflection. She ripped off the wig, white hot tears running down her cheeks. It was almost comforting… “Lia…why would you…” “I don’t know!” she finally screamed, shouting at the image behind her. Isabella stood still for a moment before she frowned for the first time at Lia. “How much of yourself do you have to give up just to be like her?” “I’m not you!” Lia snapped, her hands shaking. “I can’t be…I can’t smile all the time, I can’t…let myself feel everything like you…” “Yet you can feel sorry for yourself,” Isabella countered. “You rather live behind a mask. Or rather,” looking down at the item in Lia’s hand, “a wig.” Lia said nothing at first as she tried to even out her breathing. “I’m not you,” she repeated quietly, as if to convince herself. “You’re more like me than you are her,” Isabella then said. Then her face softened as she took a step toward her, “Lia…” “I can’t be you…” Lia looked back at her reflection, bleary-eyed from her tears. …almost addicting… “Then what do you want?” Lia froze at the sharp voice, suddenly piercing her consciousness. Then she stood upright, looking her reflection in the eyes. “To be numb,” she replied. “To be cold and unfeeling…like you.” Those familiar red lips curved upwards before taking a step towards Lia. A set of slender, white fingers then laced themselves around her throat. Lia’s eyes shifted their attention to the figure standing behind her. Then Lia noticed that, though she questioned if at first it was the lighting, the warm, milk-white skin seemed like it had spoiled. Chocolate eyes darken to charcoal and Lia suddenly felt cold. The warmth was gone. “I own you,” was then uttered through those poison lips, leaving a bitter taste in Lia’s mouth. It reminded her of the taste of black coffee, devoid of any sweetness. Lia hated it. “Don’t you forget that.” …to be controlled by fear. Lia slowly nodded, relinquishing all her power. She was wrong in her decision but she couldn’t bring herself to fight back. A word that she had once reserved for Elizabeth now belonged to Isabella. A new word took its place. Then Lia thought back to that day in the coffee shop and the question that was posed that day. Bitter, like coffee. Sweet, like milk. What was she then? She wasn’t Elizabeth and she can’t be Isabella. She wasn’t completely logical but she can’t be completely emotional. Lia was stuck between two ideals that she could never achieve. Not quite coffee, not quite milk… By Ingrid ChuI am a person who gets up at six o’clock every morning but is still tardy for morning classes. Hence I try to sneak into the classroom, or else I might be glared at by the professor. Whenever there is an appointment, I tend to arrive from five minutes to half an hour late and need to apologize for my tardiness constantly. Most of the time, I find it hard to hand in assignments on time, not because that I do not care about them, but because I just don’t have enough time to work on them. Eventually I hand them in with bad quality, and my scores are low.
Unpunctuality has plagued us throughout our lives. Are you also a late person like I am, and feel frustrated or guilty whenever you are late? Have you wondered what is wrong with you? Are you looking for ways to improve yourself? Well, researchers have found several possible answers for us. Maybe it means you are a creative person! A theory proposed by cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman divided humans into two categories: Type A and Type B. Type A people refers to those who are more competitive, outgoing, ambitious, or aggressive, while Type B people are those with more relaxed personalities, being more optimistic, creative, and having more imagination. Type B people are more unpunctual, according to research carried out by Jeff Conte and Jerald Greenberg of San Diego State University. Their research revealed that these two types of people measure time in a different way. Participants were made to guess how long they thought a minute was. The results turned out to be that Type A calculated a minute as lasting 58 seconds, while Type B thought it lasted 77 seconds. This indicates that unpunctuality results from underestimating the duration of tasks. This type of people may naively assume that they can accomplish three essays in one night. So, you like multitasking? In other research, Professor Conte also found out that people who prefer multitasking were more often late in their tasks. This is because there are too many things going on in their mind, causing distraction. Therefore, they could pay less attention to what they are currently engaged in. Research done by David Sanbonmatsu and David Strayer from the University of Utah has also indicated that multitaskers, in fact, are the ones who are the least productive. They discovered that people who score high on tests tend not to multitask and focus on one thing at a time. They are the ones who use time effectively. So should we listen to music when we are doing homework again? You simply tend to bite off your nose to spite your face. Tardiness has been regarded a rude act. Yet Diana DeLonzor, the author of Never Be Late Again, has found that “the vast majority of late people really dislike being late.” Chronic tardiness is the result of one’s psychological health and the state of their brain. Those who are equipped with low self-esteem or are in a low mood have less motivation for tasks. It’s hard for them to feel concentrated or motivated to engage in difficult jobs, for they will feel weary merely by thinking about them. How to overcome chronic lateness? Though the reasons for lateness vary from person to person, it is a vital issue as has large impact on productivity. Researchers have provided the following methods to help us: 1. Picture a task before doing it Try to break down a task into very detailed components to help yourself accurately estimate its duration. 2. Try to plan fewer things Remember that multitaskers could be least capable of multitasking. Focusing on certain jobs achieves better performance 3. Try to trace down how long certain tasks take you You can build this into your planning. You may also be quite shocked that certain tasks are taking you so long. 4. Always add 15 minutes on to how long it normally takes you and plan accordingly 5. Remind yourself about how tardiness has cost you lost opportunities in the past 6. Get rid of your mobile phone, Facebook, or any other factor that may distract you References: http://www.mirror.co.uk/science/people-always-late–might-10157838 http://www.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=5081088 http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/researchers-tell-the-reason-why-some-people-are-always-late.html http://uk.businessinsider.com/monotasking-better-than-multitasking-2017-3 by Grace HsuThe fact that medical students need to study tons of books is a worldwide phenomenon and Taiwan is no exception. However, medical students here have long used a system that allows them to survive so much studying: the common notes system. Before I go into detail of exactly how the common notes system works, picture this: the final exam is a week away and you haven’t even opened your textbook. That’s when you find a group of friends who are in the same situation and each of them reads and organizes notes for one chapter. Soon you have thorough notes for the whole book while only reading a portion of the material. And best of all, you pass the exam. Well, basically that’s how things work here in the medical department.
There are three roles in the system—the chairperson, the examiners, and the writers. Before the start of the semester, the chairperson will distribute the content of the whole semester to everyone in class. Unlike the aforementioned example, the load isn’t assigned according to chapters of textbooks but is instead distributed by lecture. In other words, you need to attend class at an allotted time with your partner. The two of you will be responsible for taking notes of what the professor says and read reference books or listen to lecture recordings if necessary. After each class, the note-writers will organize the content of the lecture and type it in a fixed format by the Friday of that week. The notes will then be sent to an examiner and he or she will read them through to check for mistakes. By the end of the week, the well organized and reviewed notes will be printed out for over a hundred students. This system has been carried out for decades, which brings out a tricky part of the common notes. Considering the fact that the content of what medical students need to learn varies slightly from one year to the next, most professors deliver a similar lecture each year and only modify their course a bit. As a result, common notes written in previous years hold true for at least 80% of the content. Therefore, the note-writers actually revise notes instead of writing them from scratch. Occasionally, note-writers will encounter a big problem when a new teacher does something totally different. That means that they don’t have any reference notes from previous years. But the good news is that these issues occur rather rarely. To ensure everyone carefully finishes their work, every writer and examiner needs to sign his or her name on the notes they are responsible for. This way, when others read their notes they know who to turn to when they find a mistake. Also, others can tell whether you spent effort writing your notes and this affects how they feel about you. Those who organize notes sloppily will leave a bad impression on the class, or worse, on the whole department. With the common notes system, medical students save lots and lots of time. However, because the notes are extremely well written (often even better than textbooks or lecture slides) many students find it unnecessary to attend classes since the notes cover everything. Some professors dislike the idea since students no longer need to pay attention in class or even to attend lectures at all. Also, they point out that these notes deprive the opportunity for self-learning. In addition, they find it unfair for the students from different departments who take the course as well. However, still some professors find it a praiseworthy system, for there is much more beyond books and studying for students to explore and learn. They state that as long as the students still learn the materials it doesn’t really matter what they read. By relying on the common notes system, students can have more time to take part in extracurricular activities and learn materials beyond textbooks. As for students, using the common notes as a means to pass exams has been integrated into our medical education process. Whether the professors like it or not, it has been an ongoing system that, I believe, will continue to thrive in the future. |
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May 2024
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