HOW PRECISE?
If you think that our body acts in some kind of randomness, think again. I have recently experienced the power of biological clock. I flew to the US and China within 10 days, and that's what happened: I wake up every morning between 6:30 to 7am. Never once I wake up after 7am, even when I went to bed at 1am. Amazing ah?The brain does all the work, accustomed to the light and dark pattern of the day.
Next Day
I went to bed a little late (I think I fell asleep around 11pm instead of 10) and I got up around 5am to go to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Alas! The clock is tilted. I then work up at 8:30 instead of 7. But, it turns out that I felt more tired--would felt better if waking up at 7am. It has to do with the quality of sleep.
Sleep:More is Less?
Sometimes I do feel that in the morning sleeping 1 or 2 hours more could only make you more tired instead of regaining your energy. This implies that timing, or the time period is extremely important in sleeping, which is what traditional Chinese doctors are always saying. But I always feel that my best sleep time comes in the afternoon when I take a nap. But Chinese medicine tells us sleeping before and around midnight (and possibly around noon) is a golden treasure when your body is repairing your internal organs.So if you can still fall asleep early in the night, you should definitely do it.
Showing posts with label Thoughts and Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts and Life. Show all posts
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Why Do We Need to Plan and Organize in Life
I was born to be a spontaneous person. I have to admit that by now. I can plan; but I don't like to do it a lot of times. My happiest zone is to act completely spontaneously, and enjoy the unexpected life, places, and people, full of surprise. I think that is in my personality-born that way.
Even when I compose music I do not compose by writing notes on a score. I most of the time would prefer to improvise. As a result, I am not able to reproduce most of my compositions-luckily most of them are recorded computer music. So you can hear my mind at the time but I can't perform for you.
But why suddenly I am an advocate of organization and planning?
Well it's not I don't like them. Actually the reason I want them more in my life is because I felt I like them better and better now. First of all, being an adult means more responsibility and planning and organization is necessary for that. Second, I'm not an artist but a scholar. Third, I am not by myself so my other half would not tolerate my total spontaneous actions.
But recently I realized a more important reason--being in order is one of the biggest challenges in life, yet human beings need that for evolutionary reasons--humans developed for hundreds of thousands of years, becoming more and more intelligent, systematic, organizational, sophisticated, etc., only able to reach where we are today. Without these attributes, human beings could not, as of today, live a more than ever exciting life with numerous possibilities shining in the light of the future. Everyone knows it is easier to be chaotic yet being organized is the challenge. Science and technology are certainly the result of these attributes, and they are the driving force of our history. If we evolve in a different direction and listen only to our biological needs(food,survival,sex,etc), we would be like animals with lower intelligence (not that there is anything wrong with that). But being 98% champ ourselves, we do have biological needs, but sometimes it's better to resist them--such as having a big mac or beef cheese burger everyday-they may be delicious and you crave them, but in the end you know self-discipline is good for you.
Second, I find being organized actually has a lot of benefit for our mood, productivity, health, and physical well being overall. When I am very chaotic and spontaneous, I may sleep very irregularly, eat a lot of junk food, sit on the couch watching tv for long hours, not going out for a day, not interacting with other people--all of those made me feel miserable and my health deteriorating--that is when I often get a uneasy feeling of my heartbeat. But just for two weeks I switched my lifestyle--go to bed before 11pm and get up before 7am everyday, it completely changed. I felt much more energetic (even though I slept less but I actually am less sleepy during the day), eager to do things, being productive, wanting to interact with people--all of these things, including my diet habits become incredibly systematic and I couldn't feel better. Being unorganized can be happy at the moment but later I always come to regret it and it caused me more pain; being organized, it felt always so good. Well, it's just the matter of not to sink into that hell again-i have to regulate myself too.
Third, speaking from a physics point of view, spontaneously, the world is going more and more unsystematic, unorganized, and chaotic. This is the theory of entropy。 Without control, the tendency of the universe is to get more and more chaotic, and it requires energy to actually turn them into systematic.
German scientist Rudolf Clausius is credited with the first formulation of the second law, now known as the Clausius statement:
No process is possible whose sole result is the transfer of heat from a body of lower temperature to a body of higher temperature.
Spontaneously, heat cannot flow from cold regions to hot regions without external work being performed on the system, which is evident from ordinary experience of refrigeration, for example. In a refrigerator, heat flows from cold to hot, but only when forced by an external agent, a compressor.
Lord Kelvin expressed the second law in another form. The Kelvin statement expresses it as follows:
No process is possible in which the sole result is the absorption of heat from a reservoir and its complete conversion into work.
A change in the entropy (S) of a system is the infinitesimal transfer of heat (Q) to a closed system driving a reversible process, divided by the equilibrium temperature (T) of the system.
dS = \frac{\delta Q}{T} \!
Actually a long time ago when I was in high school, in a paper that we wrote for a science contest, called "Resolving Energy Crisis on Earth", I remember we stated at the out front of the paper, that the energy crisis on earth does not mean that the amount of energy on earth is getting reduced; rather, according to the law of energy conservation, the total amount of energy is constant, whereas there are less and less energy available for human use--to convert them into work, so to speak.The key here is that according to the second law of thermodynamics, as the entropy increases, more and more energy becomes obsolete and cannot be re-organized for use again.
Thus,to sum up, why not become more organized?
Even when I compose music I do not compose by writing notes on a score. I most of the time would prefer to improvise. As a result, I am not able to reproduce most of my compositions-luckily most of them are recorded computer music. So you can hear my mind at the time but I can't perform for you.
But why suddenly I am an advocate of organization and planning?
Well it's not I don't like them. Actually the reason I want them more in my life is because I felt I like them better and better now. First of all, being an adult means more responsibility and planning and organization is necessary for that. Second, I'm not an artist but a scholar. Third, I am not by myself so my other half would not tolerate my total spontaneous actions.
But recently I realized a more important reason--being in order is one of the biggest challenges in life, yet human beings need that for evolutionary reasons--humans developed for hundreds of thousands of years, becoming more and more intelligent, systematic, organizational, sophisticated, etc., only able to reach where we are today. Without these attributes, human beings could not, as of today, live a more than ever exciting life with numerous possibilities shining in the light of the future. Everyone knows it is easier to be chaotic yet being organized is the challenge. Science and technology are certainly the result of these attributes, and they are the driving force of our history. If we evolve in a different direction and listen only to our biological needs(food,survival,sex,etc), we would be like animals with lower intelligence (not that there is anything wrong with that). But being 98% champ ourselves, we do have biological needs, but sometimes it's better to resist them--such as having a big mac or beef cheese burger everyday-they may be delicious and you crave them, but in the end you know self-discipline is good for you.
Second, I find being organized actually has a lot of benefit for our mood, productivity, health, and physical well being overall. When I am very chaotic and spontaneous, I may sleep very irregularly, eat a lot of junk food, sit on the couch watching tv for long hours, not going out for a day, not interacting with other people--all of those made me feel miserable and my health deteriorating--that is when I often get a uneasy feeling of my heartbeat. But just for two weeks I switched my lifestyle--go to bed before 11pm and get up before 7am everyday, it completely changed. I felt much more energetic (even though I slept less but I actually am less sleepy during the day), eager to do things, being productive, wanting to interact with people--all of these things, including my diet habits become incredibly systematic and I couldn't feel better. Being unorganized can be happy at the moment but later I always come to regret it and it caused me more pain; being organized, it felt always so good. Well, it's just the matter of not to sink into that hell again-i have to regulate myself too.
Third, speaking from a physics point of view, spontaneously, the world is going more and more unsystematic, unorganized, and chaotic. This is the theory of entropy。 Without control, the tendency of the universe is to get more and more chaotic, and it requires energy to actually turn them into systematic.
German scientist Rudolf Clausius is credited with the first formulation of the second law, now known as the Clausius statement:
No process is possible whose sole result is the transfer of heat from a body of lower temperature to a body of higher temperature.
Spontaneously, heat cannot flow from cold regions to hot regions without external work being performed on the system, which is evident from ordinary experience of refrigeration, for example. In a refrigerator, heat flows from cold to hot, but only when forced by an external agent, a compressor.
Lord Kelvin expressed the second law in another form. The Kelvin statement expresses it as follows:
No process is possible in which the sole result is the absorption of heat from a reservoir and its complete conversion into work.
A change in the entropy (S) of a system is the infinitesimal transfer of heat (Q) to a closed system driving a reversible process, divided by the equilibrium temperature (T) of the system.
dS = \frac{\delta Q}{T} \!
Actually a long time ago when I was in high school, in a paper that we wrote for a science contest, called "Resolving Energy Crisis on Earth", I remember we stated at the out front of the paper, that the energy crisis on earth does not mean that the amount of energy on earth is getting reduced; rather, according to the law of energy conservation, the total amount of energy is constant, whereas there are less and less energy available for human use--to convert them into work, so to speak.The key here is that according to the second law of thermodynamics, as the entropy increases, more and more energy becomes obsolete and cannot be re-organized for use again.
Thus,to sum up, why not become more organized?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Public Argument in Beijing
People in China are somehow getting angrier and angrier at each other, especially around holiday time. I personally witnessed at least three public humiliating arguments between strangers in one day. Two happened at a shopping center right before the Chinese new year. Rules are observed and then derived by myself:
1. The two strangers, often involves one young and one old;
2. At least one female. This is crucial (often there are more than one female involved).
3. At least one has to be an out-of-towner. Two beijingers never argue like that in public.
4. Very little things can set off the fight. Like getting in the line before someone else while getting on a bus.
5. The first stage of the fight is simple arguments with elevated volume in voice;
6. The moment someone swears, uttering dirty words, the argument becomes a fight.
7. Everyone around enjoys watching.
1. The two strangers, often involves one young and one old;
2. At least one female. This is crucial (often there are more than one female involved).
3. At least one has to be an out-of-towner. Two beijingers never argue like that in public.
4. Very little things can set off the fight. Like getting in the line before someone else while getting on a bus.
5. The first stage of the fight is simple arguments with elevated volume in voice;
6. The moment someone swears, uttering dirty words, the argument becomes a fight.
7. Everyone around enjoys watching.
Chinese New Year in China: Soundscape
I have not spent Chinese new year in China since 2006, and it's thrilling to re-discover just how great it is this year in Beijing. The greatest thing, besides spending quality time with family, is the fireworks. I'm definitely in for a treat on this, A TREAT FOR SOUND. On the eve of Chinese new year, Feb.3, 2011, the fireworks all over the city started probably god know when in the morning, but really getting intense around after 4pm. The sound of fireworks is all over the city and is seriously NON-STOPPING until after midnight. This works like a symphony. Because there is never a moment of silence, but there is only ups and downs, highs and lows, you can kind of feel the melody there. When a big one comes up the sky near you, it's really exiting, almost making me crying (and making my aunt fell to the ground). After this you hear the rest of them from nearby or faraway. This is truly an exclusive opportunity to experience the sound of fireworks for hours and days, and anyone should not miss this if they have a chance to experience it.
10 Things I Hate About Beijing (2011)
Despite how much I love this city:
1. When you take the subway anywhere, you have to put all your bags through the x-ray security check machine.
2. Crazy drivers everywhere on the street.
3. People do not dare to make their voice heard in the situation they are being treated poorly.
4. Government employees (even those assuming low-level positions) do not give a damn to citizens asking for help.
5. People go super crazy (always) in the buffets of KTVs and elsewhere acting like free food is of the utmost importance and they have not had meals for days.
6.Sometimes people are more judgmental and have certain fixed ideas about how to live your life.
7.People are not as straightforward when they deal with you(sometimes I really like the way Americans do things in this respect)
8.The law is really not all that powerful in many aspects.
9.Kids are too burdened from school work.
10. Those long walks through the subway connection tunnels.
1. When you take the subway anywhere, you have to put all your bags through the x-ray security check machine.
2. Crazy drivers everywhere on the street.
3. People do not dare to make their voice heard in the situation they are being treated poorly.
4. Government employees (even those assuming low-level positions) do not give a damn to citizens asking for help.
5. People go super crazy (always) in the buffets of KTVs and elsewhere acting like free food is of the utmost importance and they have not had meals for days.
6.Sometimes people are more judgmental and have certain fixed ideas about how to live your life.
7.People are not as straightforward when they deal with you(sometimes I really like the way Americans do things in this respect)
8.The law is really not all that powerful in many aspects.
9.Kids are too burdened from school work.
10. Those long walks through the subway connection tunnels.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Time Management for Graduate Students
Why being a graduate student is so busy, that it is possibly even more busy than many others who have a job? Earn less but more busy? That is actually true. The key to this puzzle lies in the fact that a graduate students have to play so many different roles simultaneously. For instance, a graduate student has to take courses (often heavy-load seminars); teach courses; do research on their own; deal with other career-related activities; other activities. Thus, a graduate student in daytime is a student and a teacher (and a researcher). You think you can have your job done by 5 or 6pm, but hello, if your daytime is filled with going to classes and teaching classes, when do you want to do your homework and do your lesson plans and gradings? Night time is the only answer. Plus you have to research and write papers at night time too. Conclusion: there is no way that you can have a regular evening like normal "job" people do no matter how hard you work during day time. Thus, is time management for graduate students possible? (in order to have a regular "relaxing" period?)
After three years of being a grad student, I figured that out(not the solution but the dilemma). I used to blame my time management skills that I could not have regular night times doing whatever I want to do but have to work hard all the time. But now I know it's impossible. Regular people go to job to complete their task; but we go to classes (either take or give) only to be assigned our task; and that is not even the bigger part of the whole task (research!), so how can we not working after hours?
What should I do?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Shuo, Welcome to the 21st Century
I have been going through a transformation recently. Before 2006, I felt that I was the kind of person who prefers to dig up century old music and books, does not care about what's going on in the real world today. That's why I didn't care about economics or environmental science either. Now it's different.
The reason is complex. Partly I felt being more realistic and practical after being in the US for three years and seeing others going around searching for jobs, which is not the best time. Another reason is tied to my fundamental personal philosophy that makes sense for the change--not being afraid of doing what I want to do, because there is nothing I could lose. I also feel that personal interest and real-life situations, making a good living, are two different things, and one do not necessarily have to live in the bubbles of the dreams and not getting real. I heard that when I told someone once that I wanted to study astronomy physics because it was intriguing. Now i understand how that feels. To get real.
I have been speculating how music can be real: music is everywhere, but why do people say that it's hard for a musician to make a living? It is hard in many cases. I've searched online, library,to get to know music education, music therapy, music and technology, music industry...I want to bring more wonderful music to use to make life better.
DON'T EVER FEAR THAT YOU MIGHT GET LOST DOING WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. A simple idea is all it begins with. Simple Ideas matter. As long as you go for it, and do not afraid of lose. Because all success come after failure. And it takes time.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Emphemeral continued
Today we are at Cleveland Film Festival watching a French film >>un baiser, si vous plait?<< And together with the talk of Nokolaj and the Carpathian concert this week, I strongly felt the power of one word again: Ephemeral.
I have written in the previous entry that musical moments are ephemeral, and so are the wonderful moments in life. In this film, in the end, a good kiss is ephemeral although it is one of the best moments, however, if we make it last longer, there'll be other complications that make it less wonderful and soon reveal the hard side of life. Even if it worked, how do we know the good kiss is not going to be "ephemeral" eventually? There are many good moments in life and of most of them we simply cannot make an effort to let them last longer and have to let them go. While this appears to be such a shame and pain, it might be the best thing to do in the long run. Human beings are so fickle and yet are incapable of grabing the moments to make it forever. And considering how life is indeed so wonderful and yet ephemeral in the universe. This is the deepest paradox beyond the deepest sorrow of human being.
I have written in the previous entry that musical moments are ephemeral, and so are the wonderful moments in life. In this film, in the end, a good kiss is ephemeral although it is one of the best moments, however, if we make it last longer, there'll be other complications that make it less wonderful and soon reveal the hard side of life. Even if it worked, how do we know the good kiss is not going to be "ephemeral" eventually? There are many good moments in life and of most of them we simply cannot make an effort to let them last longer and have to let them go. While this appears to be such a shame and pain, it might be the best thing to do in the long run. Human beings are so fickle and yet are incapable of grabing the moments to make it forever. And considering how life is indeed so wonderful and yet ephemeral in the universe. This is the deepest paradox beyond the deepest sorrow of human being.
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