Sunday 22 April 2012

The assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar (13 July 100 - 15 March 44 BCE), Roman statesman, general and author, famous for the conquest of Gaul (modern France and Belgium) and his subsequent coup d'état. He changed the Roman republic into a monarchy and a truly Mediterranean empire.

Many Roman senators refused to resign themselves to the new, controlled oligarchy. Many were brave enough to risk their lives and joined the conspiracy led by Gaius Cassius and Decimus and Marcus Junius Brutus. They decided to kill the dictator when the Senate was supposed to meet on 15 March 44 BCE.


On that day, Caesar was ill and he decided to stay at home on the Forum Romanum with his wife Calpurnia, who was discomforted because of some nightmares. Brutus' brother Decimus, however, convinced Caesar 'not to disappoint the waiting senators'. On his way to Pompey's theater, where the Senate convened, Caesar was given a note telling him about the plot but he didn't read it at that time, instead, to read them after the meeting.


This segment tell us what is the situation during Caesar assassination;
As he sat down on his raised cushion and had received the senators who had gathered about him to pay their respects, a senator named Lucius Tillius Cimber came forward to make a request. He told Caesar that his brother was in jail and when the dictator started to reply that clemency was his usual policy, Tillius unexpectedly caught Caesar's toga. 'Be careful, there's no need to use force!', Caesar grumbled and ordered his guard to take away the man. However, before the guard could interfere, another senator, Publius Servilius Casca Longus, stabbed the dictator just below the throat. Then his victim understood what was happening, and he caught Casca's arm and run through it with the only weapon he could find, his pen. As Caesar tried to leap on his feet, he was kicked and stopped by another wound. He saw that he was surrounded by men with daggers and knew that he would not survive. He wrapped his head in his robe and covered the lower part of his body with a part of his toga, and was stabbed with twenty three wounds, not uttering a word.
It was hours after his death before three common slaves put his corpse on a litter and carried him to his home on the Forum Romanum.

The mastermind behind the plot;

  1. Gaius Cassius;
    1. Roman Senator, a leader of the plot to kill Julius Caesar and the brother in-law of Brutus.
  2. Decimus Junius Brutus
    1. best known for introducing gladiatorial games to Rome in 264 BC
  3. Marcus Junius Brutus
    1. Vettius declared that Brutus and several other men were part of a complot to kill Pompey. Gaius Julius Caesar, an ally of Pompey, did his best to get rid of the accusations. because he had an affair with Brutus' mother, and he did not want to bring the young man into troubles.
    2. Brutus had shown that he had, 'the courage of a man and the brains of child'. He had acted out of idealism.
  4. 60 others senates

Analogy: -metaphor
              - simile
              - parable/ allegory
              - satire/ parody
Analogy
~ is a tool of thinking that uses stories, situations, or objects to help us visualize a particular experience or                                         concept.
Metaphor
~ use to describe a subject as exactly the same to the object by drawing the parallel in the properties between the subject and the object.
Simile
~figure of speech that draws similarity between two different things but otherwise not the same between one another.

Irony/ inconsistency
~ inconsistency between what might be expected to happen and what actually happens especially when this differences seems absurd or laughable
example of Irony:
  * the biggest cat in the world is named Tiny
  * what I do know is the amount of things that I do not know.

Paradox:
~ a statement or situation that is true but seems to defy logic or intuition

Differences between Irony and Paradox

Irony:
  ~ in irony the truth about both contradicting situations are debatable. We could never be sure which one is true and which one is wrong

Paradox:
   ~ In paradox, the truth is stated directly. In both contradicting situations one is true while the other is false.
   e.g: this sentence is grammatically error.

Parable:
   ~ the symbolic expression of a deeper meaning through a story or scene acted out by human, animal or mythical characters.
   e.g: batu belah batu bertangkup, cinderella, arnab dan kura-kura, etc. This story have their own moral values behind the story.


Monday 16 April 2012

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

Induction and deduction are pervasive elements in critical thinking. Induction is usually described as moving from the specific to the general, while deduction begins with the general and ends with the specific. These two methods of reasoning have a very different "feel" to them when you're conducting research. Inductive reasoning, by its very nature, is more open-ended and exploratory, especially at the beginning. Deductive reasoning is more narrow in nature and is concerned with testing or confirming hypotheses. Even though a particular study may look like it's purely deductive, most social research involves both inductive and deductive reasoning processes at some time in the project. In fact, we could combine the two styles of thinking into a single circular one that continually cycles from theories down to observations and back up again to theories.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING
Deductive reasoning arrives at a specific conclusion based on generalizations.

Deductive reasoning typically moves from general truths to specific conclusions. It opens with an expansive explanation and continues with predictions for specific observations supporting it. Deductive reasoning is narrow in nature and is concerned with testing or confirming a hypothesis. It is dependent on its premises. For example, a false premise can lead to a false result, and inconclusive premises will also yield an inconclusive conclusion. Deductive reasoning leads to a confirmation (or not) of our original theories. It guarantees the correctness of a conclusion. Logic is the authority in the deductive method. 

"If-then-but-therefore" deductive reasoning is how deductive thinkers can test alternate hypotheses. Making deductions is important when we cannot directly observe a cause, and can only observe its consequences.

Examples of Deductive Reasoning
The major premise;
Most of Malaysians transformed to a monster behind a vehicle steering wheels. 
The minor premise; 
I am a Malaysian too
The conclusion;
Since Most of Malaysians "transformed to a monster" behind a vehicle steering wheels and the fact that I am a Malaysian too, therefore, I Should "transform to a monster" and drive recklessly too. If you can't beat them, join them.
INDUCTIVE REASONING
Inductive reasoning takes events and makes generalizations

Inductive reasoning is essentially the opposite of deductive reasoning. It involves trying to create general principles by starting with many specific instances.
Inductive reasoning moves from specific details and observations to the more general underlying principles or process that explains them. It is open-ended and exploratory, especially at the beginning. The premises of an inductive argument are believed to support the conclusion, but do not ensure it. Thus, the conclusion of an induction is regarded as a hypothesis. In the Inductive method, also called the scientific method, observation of nature is the authority.

Examples of Inductive Reasoning
The major premise;
Everyone will die, eventually.
The minor premise;
God make decision who should live and who shouldn't.
I am one of  God's many servants
The conclusion (argument);So, why should I drive carefully? I might drive carefully but the others? Furthermore, it really doesn't matter if I drive carefully or not since my fate and the other drivers are decided, upon a long time ago. "Alaa.. on drive slow also can die one, Better drive fast fast maa. Accident - accident lah."

Saturday 7 April 2012

Men And Women Are Merely Players

 Men And Women Are Merely Players
Robert Greene has written an interesting expository article on how people are being dishonest in obtaining power entitled ‘Men and Women are Merely Players’. According to him, we human beings are merely puppets. We are given different roles and we play them thinking that this is our decision. We think that we are independent, but the truth is we are acting according to scripted roles. However, if we are contented with the roles, we are going to be manipulated by the mastermind, who will always be looking for the chance to spread his wings in order to fulfill what he wants especially the power of life.
a)    All humankind is lying regarding to get hold of power. Usually, they are being dishonest because of the wants to persuade and influence public to believe in them, in order to achieve their common goals.
b)    All humankinds play their own roles as the greatest actor in order to fulfill their own need without anyone realizing it as long as they can satisfy their own desire and get their targeted point.
c)    The author warn us not to be fooled by people who really good in acting because we can’t predict their action. They have their own agenda which is will make them look good without having to think whether it will harm others or not.
d)    Certain people who are not taking any roles or the naïve one have to be aware with the “players” as this category of people are usually easy to become the victims in this field.
e)    Don’t judge a book by its cover as people are not easily show the real them. They would rather use a good camouflage and hide the real them in order to get their target and satisfy themselves.


The real identity of Jack The Ripper

My first thought was, "What? It happened in 1888, how in the world can I deduced the real identity of that physcopath serial killer? With so many theories written on the net.". Guess I had to put on my detective hat on. That is, if I had any. 

Lets kick off my investigation. It happened in 1888, in a place called Whitechapel, London. The first murder was around 3.40am on August 31st 1888, a body of a woman was discovered by Charles Cross, her throat had been cut so savagely that her head had almost been severed from her body. The woman was Mary Ann Nicholls, a forty - three - year - old prostitute had been disembowelled. This marks the begining of Jack The Ripper reign of terror.

The second victim, Annie Chapman (sometimes known as "Dark Annie"), mutilated body was discovered by John Davis, a market porter at 5.30am on 8th September 1888. A deep cut had slashed across her throat; her intestines had been tugged out and laid across her shoulder. Missing from the body were the uterus and part of the bladder. The contents of her pocket were found lying in a neat pile near to the body. The brass rings that she had been wearing at the time of her murder, had evidently been torn from her fingers and were never discovered. And, just a few feet away from the body, there lay a folded and wet leather apron. After the second murder, the intensification of police activity causing crime rate to drop. Even there were newspaper reports that "a dreadful quiet has descended onto the East End of London" but boy oh boy how the so called "beast of Whitechapel" proved how wrong are they

The third victim, Elizabeth Stride (sometimes known as “Long Liz Stride”), was found at around 1am on 30th September 1888 by hawker Louis Diemshutz or rather, his pony did. While walking back after hawking cheap jewellery, his pony suddenly reared in alarm. While investigating the cause of his pony to be distressed, he found a body of a woman and alerted the police. But the fact there were no mutilations to the body led the police to conclude that the murderer had been interrupted as he went about his bloody business. Is it possible that, as he stooped over his victim, the cart entering the yard had disturbed him, causing him to move back quickly into the shadows? Perhaps it was this sudden movement that had startled the pony?

The fourth victim, Catharine Eddowes, who had just being released from Bishopgate police station. The body, found by PC Watkins, had been ripped open, like a pig in the market.” If the killer had been denied his satisfaction of mutilating the body of Elizabeth Stride, his appetite had been more than sated on the unfortunate Catherine Eddowes. Her body lay on its back, head turned toward the left shoulder. The throat had been cut back to the spine; the lobe of the right ear was cut through; a V had been cut into her cheeks and eyelids; the tip of the nose was detached; her abdomen had been laid open; the intestines tugged out and laid over her shoulder, while missing from the body were the uterus and left kidney.

The final victim, twenty five year old Mary Kelly, who was murdered in her rented room on November, 1888 by Thomas Bowyer. She lay upon her bed, her head turned to the left. The whole of the surfaces of the abdomen and thighs had been removed and the abdominal cavity emptied. The breasts had been cut off, the arms mutilated by several jagged wounds and the face hacked beyond recognition. The uterus and the kidneys, together with one breast, were found beneath her head. The other breast lay by her right foot. The liver had been placed between her legs, and the spleen by the
left side of the body.

The Ripper’s reign of terror would end as suddenly and mysteriously as it had begun. As he left the bloody scene in that tiny room that morning, the Whitechapel Murderer may have performed his swansong, but the legend of Jack the Ripper was only just beginning.
Kelly is generally considered to be the Ripper's final victim, and it is assumed that the crimes ended because of the culprit's death, imprisonment, institutionalisation, or emigration. The Whitechapel murders file does, however, detail another four murders that happened after the canonical five: those of Rose Mylett, Alice McKenzie, the Pinchin Street torso and Frances Coles.
From what we have read, I can safely say that the murderer is;
  1. very skillful with knife,
  2. had some knowledge about the anatomy of animal or human,
  3. hated women, for whatever reason,  especially prostitutes ,
  4. psychopath.
Lets study the information gathered;
  1. Prior to killing his second victim, the other prostitutes had nicknamed the killer as "Leather Apron" and whom, they were claiming had been making violent threats toward them, including that he was going to “rip them up”.
  2. An eye witness, Joseph Lawende together with his other 2 friends, gave the police a detailed description of this mystery man and maintain that the woman whom he saw was definitely Catharine Eddowes.
  3. "The beast of Whitechapel" also left behind a tantalizing clue, PC Alfred Long discovered a section of Catherine Eddowes apron. There were bloody finger marks on it and it was evident that the blade of a bloodied knife had been wiped clean upon it. This clue, tells us exactly where the murderer was heading, and confirms the theory that he was an East - Ender living in the area. Instead of escaping to the relative safety that he might find West of the district, went straight into the area where the activity was directed toward his apprehension. He could have only escaped if, as he went through the neighbourhood, he fitted in. In other words he was not thought suspicious, or out of place, by those who may have seen him.
  4. The doorway where the clue was found also contained a much more famous and, subsequently promoted, none clue. For, scrawled in chalk on the wall above the apron, was the message “The Juwes are the men That Will be blamed for nothing” (although several observers remembered slightly different wording to the Graffito). Sadly, Sir Charles Warren, the metropolitan police commissioner, fearful of a resurgence of the anti - Semitism that had swept the neighbourhood in the wake of the “Leather Apron” scare, ordered that the message be rubbed out, and it was duly erased at 5.30am before a photograph could be taken of it.
There are countless other suspects but these 5 caught my intension.

Joseph Barnett

Only associated with Mary Kelly.

James Kelly

He was a diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenic. He had shown himself capable of murder with a knife. His reasons for murdering his wife were his belief that she was a prostitute and had infected him with VD. Having been disavowed of this idea in Broadmoor he would almost certainly have realised that the real source of his infection was the prostitutes of Whitechapel and Spitalfields with whom he had consorted. He may well have resolved to take his revenge on them for destroying his life.
Jill The Ripper

Plausibble but not entirely proven or convincing.
Jacob Levy

Could, one of the eye witness, the butcher Joseph Levy have in fact recognized his neighbour the butcher Jacob Levy as the man he had seen in the company of a woman who he may have presumed to be a prostitute?

James Maybrick

His name only alighted after his diary was found and made public but the authenticity of his diary is yet to be proven.

My pick will be, James Kelly.

He is well verse with knife because he work as an upholsterer, hatred towards prostitutes due to the VD that he infected with which he thought is from his wife. Because of he think that his wife is a prostitute, he killed her by stabbing in the neck. By looking to all his victims which is all of them are prostitutes, that's already give me a good evidence that he is Jack the Ripper. Besides that, this also can be prove when he write a journal that reveal of his strong disapproval of the immorality of prostitutes. Other than that,  the timeline of his disappearance after escaped from Broadmoor Asylum where he copy and make the key by himself, it does suit the timeline of the murders.


Well, I think James Kelly is Jack the Ripper, but different to my dad. He don't think that James Kelly is Jack the Ripper because of his own reasons that.......

Jack the ripper cannot be James Kelly due to the fact that he is well known by the inhibitants at Whitechapel. He killed his wife doesn't he? Jack The Ripper leaves a clue after his 3rd murder which pointed that he or she went back to East-end instead of to the relative safety of West-end. This shows that whoever the killer is someone who is a low profiler, well known, distinguish. By saying so, most probably Jack The Ripper is actually Jill The Ripper..... ( this is my dad's points..well, he always have his own points which is always contrast with my points )


How about you people??
Who is the real Jack the Ripper??? Emmmmm...... 











Friday 6 April 2012

Male plastic surgery

And who says that only women are fussy with their looks? Welcome to the new era of human kind. Nowadays, male plastic surgery procedures are gaining in popularity and social acceptance as never before. Statistics show that male cosmetic surgery procedures have increased by as much as 10% per year over the last decade. Below are the top procedures preferred by men up to 2010.

A growing number of male baby boomers age 40 to 58 are turning to plastic surgery to keep themselves looking younger. Doctors say America's youth-oriented culture is behind the trend, but so is men's increasing comfort with admitting they care about their looks - as evidenced by the popularity of shows like "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

While women still account for most cosmetic procedures but men are making up more of the total. This most probably because of the stigma of plastic surgery has largely faded, and that has encouraged more men and women to consider the investment to improve their appearance.

There are two primary reasons men visit a plastic surgeon. They want to look younger to remain competitive in the work force. And those who are divorced and dating again want to project an image of vitality to lure potential mates.

Doctors said women tend to start visiting plastic surgeons in their late 30s and early 40s to freshen their look with youth enhancers like Botox shots. Men typically pay their first visit in their mid-40s. "Women spend more money on their looks when they are younger, "said Sinha "Men spend on money on other stuff when they are younger" - including cars and high-tech items.


Liposuction tops the list of most popular procedures for both men and women, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Men tend to rid themselves of love handles and sagging abdomens, doctors said, while women reduce flabby thighs and hips.


Explaination to some of the procedures preferred by men:

Liposuction For Men 
Usually when you hear about liposuction you think about women sculpturing their bodies to refine their appearance and restore their self-esteem. But men are now realizing the benefits of liposuction for restoring their appearance, look younger, and have an edge on competition in the business world.
Double eyelid surgery / Asian eyelid surgery  
Asian eyelid surgery, also referred to as blepharoplasty, is a procedure that is widespread for men and women of Asian origin. Particularly common in China and Korea, the procedure involves minor surgery to create a permanent crease in the eyelid. This has the effect of pulling the upper eyelid higher so that the eyes are …

Male Nose Jobs 
Generally, there are two reasons that men have a nose job performed. Nose jobs are known in the world of plastic surgery as “Rhinoplasty.” The most common reason for a male nose job is the existence of some kind of structural problem with the nose that is affecting breathing.

Male breast reduction surgery for Gynocomastia 
Male breast reduction surgery is an outpatient plastic surgery procedure that is intended to remove a condition called “Gynecomastia”. Gynecomastia is defined as the presence of excess breast tissue in men.

Source can be found at here and here

The Steve Jobs Nobody Knew

The Steve Jobs Nobody Knew
This excerpt is written to show the other side, the dark side of Steve Jobs, which public might not know except for others who ever cross path with him. He, together with his colleagues / friends revolutionized personal computer, invented a lot of cool gadgets. Yet, in pursuit of his dreams, he dismissed the importance of having a good rapport with his friends, colleagues and most importantly, his family, be it with his legal wife or his girlfriend who borne his daughter out of wed lock.
a. Steve jobs is The who’s who in the computer inventing world but unknown to outsiders, has an abrasive personality who will stop at nothing to get the job done. In his way, of cause.
b. He loves to talk about death
c. Although he invented a lot of great gadgets, the greatest invention of all is, “himself”.
d. He treated everybody badly as his co-founded company ascended even to his own daughter.
e. He doesn’t believe in the phrase that customer is always right. He believes that customer should accept what is thrown at them, especially by him.