Newsletter (2017-2018) February 2018 Newsletter | Page 9

Here is a weird thought I came up with while
daydreaming. Is this life an illusion? You know
people taste food differently; some would say
the durian is sweet and attractive, whereas oth-
ers step away from it. How do you know you
are seeing the blue sky as I do? Previously, there
was a dress that caused people to argue about
its colour, whether it was gold and white or it
was blue and black. In other words, perception
shapes reality. So, if the brain is not trustworthy,
how do you tell that reality is real? The ancient
Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi once dreamt
about turning into a butterfly, and after that he
could not tell whether he was a man who dreamt
he was a butterfly, or a butterfly that dreamt it
was a man.
convenient, but it has also turned us into fools.
Calculations––take out your phone. Remind-
ers––take out your phone. Time check––take out
your phone. You can spend the whole day scroll-
ing Facebook and playing games.
I have been influenced, too. Before, it took an
hour for me to go to my secondary school, and
I did not have a smart phone until Form 3. All I
had to kill time were daydreams. Looking back,
I’m grateful for that time, despite the lack of
smartphone. Now instead, I stare at my phone
screen the entire time I spend on public tran-
sit from home to school. This is not good for
my eyes and mind. In recent years, I have told
myself to put my phone back in my pocket and
stare at trees instead. It works, because trees are
However, this is a somewhat unrealistic and boring, you daydream when you are bored, and
strange concern. Even I do not really take this daydreaming benefits you.
into account in my daily life. Nonetheless, this
inspiration helps me. If my brain perceives ob- I think of myself as a fairly creative person; some
jects, and perception forms reality, I can change of my inspirations from daydreaming even won
my way of thinking in order to shape my reali- me awards. There was an event held by my sec-
ty. The brain, ironically, unlike other parts of our ondary school that asked us to create a blueprint
body such as our limbs, is not totally under our of an innovative product, and raise funding
control. Perception of physical sensations like for it from real financiers. I drafted an electric
vision, hardness, heat and pain are very hard to blackboard and used PowerPoint to simulate
alter. For more abstract concepts, however, it’s the touch-screen function. It succeeded, and my
much easier. Like perceptions of an unfortunate teachers called me Steve Jobs, although I know
experience.
their praise was exaggerated. I am glad that the
boring trips without a mobile brought me so
I was bullied by my former best friends years much inspiration. Urbanites, place your phone
ago, and the experience deeply troubled me. on your desk, go for a little walk, and do some
They were strengthening the power of their daydreaming. Inspiration comes unexpected-
crew by spreading hateful comments about me. ly. If your mind is stuck right now, dream for a
Then one day while daydreaming, I became in- while––this is how I deal with my life.
spired that I should ignore and move on from
it. It is impossible to change the perception of
others, but it is possible to change my own per-
ceptions. I came to perceive this event as inevita-
ble; I could neither prevent the falling plate from
breaking nor mend it. Even if I mend this broken
friendship, it would just be a matter of time be-
The incredible Mike is an
fore we relapsed to an unfriendly state. So I let
Information and
it be, kept walking on my own path, and found
Communication
new friends. Daydreams do help––they are not
Technology student with
useless.
a second major in English
language. He is brilliant,
Sadly, however, people nowadays do not real-
handsome and tall.
ly daydream. With the developments in tech-
nology and social media, we do not usually get
bored; we hold a phone in our hands even when
sitting on the toilet. Everything has become so
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FEBRUARY 2018