On pondering the differences between Arts students and Engin students.

Which I've never really noticed so clearly till this academic year. Probably because there're a lot of Engin people among the archery juniors.

The difference becomes quite obvious whenever I talk to James, and we've had quite a few chats and misunderstandings and crossed wires while on the way home on bus 156. Haha.

Once, when James crashed my Physics module lecture, before the lecture began, we were sitting around outside the LT, and he brought up the subject of speed reading. And then he took out this book on speed reading and started talking to me about the techniques the book listed.

And was shocked when I told him that I understood all the principles of it and it was what I'd learnt on my own and what I'd been doing for at least the last four years! It's what almost every Arts student knows and takes for granted, I think. I mean, with the amount of reading that we have to do, you learn in due course. And I've been an Arts student ever since I was in Sec 3; I've had more time to learn than most people, who may have only been in Arts since JC or Uni itself.

And once, he asked if I do mindmaps for my readings, since there were a lot of them (he was referring to my 1-inch-thick SC3101 course pack at the time). To which I responded that I didn't; I just internalised the arguments while reading. (Not that mindmaps would be completely useless; they might actually be of help, it's just that the issues raised in our classes aren't really exhaustive, so a mindmap might be kinda difficult to do.)

And then he asked how I could remember everything if I didn't write it down.

Then it struck me that I don't... really *remember* everything per se. I mean.. how do I explain to someone, for whom memorising formulae is probably an essential part of his academic life, that in the social sciences, you can't just memorise?

But I tried anyway, and the only analogy that I could think of was a news story that you might discuss often with various groups of friends, and through that talking and exchange of ideas, you become familiar with all the arguments; so you see, we don't memorise. But we still remember. It's during our tutorials that all that talking takes place, where we become familiar with those ideas and arguments.

And the very idea that all that goes on during tutorials is talking seems quite alien to Engin students as well. Vincent seemed quite surprised that we didn't have "homework".

Well, not really. We sometimes have assignments, like an interview or something that we have to carry out for the next tutorial. But in the end, it all still comes down to talking about the results and why it is they might be that way. (And some of us make up those interviews about an hour before the tutorial, so once again, no "work" per se is done. Haha. :P)

Most of the time, the only "homework" there is, is a term paper or a group project which we're given the whole semester to complete.

So while Engin students "come into class, spend 40 minutes copying answers from transparencies, then if got anything to ask, stay behind, otherwise can leave", Arts students sit in tutorial for 2 hours, talk, discuss, share ideas, and if someone says something which you think is a good point, we write it down.

My training in the social sciences becomes especially salient when I sit in my Physics lecture, I think.

Half the time, I question "why?" in all the wrong places, when according to Vincent, I should "just accept that's the way it is".

"Electrons travelling from the cathode will hit the anode and cause the anode to glow." Okay, so? Why do I need to know this? What for?
--> No need to ask why. Just need to know that that's how it works.

Things like that. It seems that Arts students are just trained to make life difficult for ourselves and everyone around us. Haha. :P

And I kinda miss the time when I could just take everything for what it was. But that must've been a long time ago, I think, because I can't remember it now. Sigh. Oh well. :)