Curiosity Feeds A Child

Today I overheard, or rather, eavesdrop a conversation between a senior consultant to her junior staff. It started off with food, weather, common family issues and children. Then she talked about her experience bringing up her children; their antics when they were young.

Have you ever wondered, how the aborigines reached the Australian continent, all the way from Africa?

What interests me was how parents; in the midst of juggling family and career, often forget to encourage and satisfy their children's incessant questions. Children are creatures who are full of wonder and curiosity. She shared; once her young daughters have asked their father about why humans have different colors and features. Their father who is a practicing surgeon, obviously tired after a hectic OT schedule; had brushed off their question; "Why do you ask such a stupid question?" They went to their mother; obviously not happy about it. Then she gave them an easy answer (like I too, always did); "You see that trees have different features and colors. Flowers too. That's why humans are also different." You see, that answer should satisfy an average child curiosity. Secretly, she felt proud because she had given them an early exposure on biodiversity. However, they asked her again, "Then how come people from the same continent or temperate has similar features and color? For example, why all asians have similar features? The tree and flower in Asia have different color?" That was a tough one. Their mother said "I don't know. Maybe we can find out about it." So, the following week all of them read up about human evolution, anthropology and modern human migration hence understood why the different color.

The highest point of Mount Everest or Chomolungma; 8840m  above sea level.

Once they asked her about what granite is and how it differs from limestone? I would have asked my children to look up on the net themselves. But she took the tasks finding out the fact with them. Indirectly, today I learned about rocks from her. Granite is a type of plutonic igneus rock formed from underneath the earth, as a result of constant pressure and heat. While limestone is formed from the bones of dead mollusks and marine creatures. Then they asked her, if Ipoh  produced a lot of limestone, does that mean that Ipoh was once covered by sea? I mean, wow...To think of it that way. I also learned today that the tip of Mount Everest; which is the highest point of earth, is covered by limestone. It means, a billion years ago, the whole earth was once covered by sea. I know that fact. But to hear it from this perspective sounds, wow!!


I never have thought rocks study could be so interesting. So now I know where that Dragonglass Obsidian came from. All this while I thought it was a mythical rock created from the imagination of George R.R. Martin in his masterpiece A Game of Thrones he he.. Do you know there's a section in Kinokuniya which advertises and sells many types of exquisite rocks and ancient fossils? I also learned about it today.

My favorite character in AGOT. But he died prematurely :(
Note the spiky throne and the mighty sword; Ice. Both are made of obsidian which are sharper than steel.

Well, when I was in standard three, I have written a few unpublished books and short stories with own illustration. (I sold them off later in need of cash.) I used to read encyclopedia and literature books during my pastime. But I was nothing compared to these children.


I'm impressed of how genius her children are. And I am more impressed with this mother who has put a lot of efforts to together learn new facts with them.

This kind of active thinking are not taught in school. In fact, her children are not popular among their teachers. They are labelled as noisy, even rude, for asking too many question. Well, I shall let my teacher friends comment on that.

Indeed, we need to fulfill our children curiosity and cultivate it in the ones who lacks curiosity. But how to cultivate active thinking in the children when their minds are filled with garbage? Do you know what that garbage is? It is cartoons from TV program, computer games, games from gadgets, internets.


She added; it is not how many As your children score. But how much good values, perseverance and self respect your children have. They will turn out fine if they have all that. How to ensure that? "If something is good for you, do it. Even though other people is not doing it. Do it, no matter how hard. If something is bad for you, don't do it. No matter how fashionable it is, no matter how easy to do it." Instill it in yourself. Then, instill it in your children.

Cerita cuti sekolah

Tiap kali cuti sekolah, perkara yang membuatkan aku fobia ialah bila kena bertugas di Paediatric ICU, atau nama lainnya Unit Rawatan Rapi Kanak-kanak. Sebabnya masa cuti sekolah admission ke ICU sini memang menjadi-jadi. Semacam ada jemputan karnival kanak-kanak pula di sini. Kalau yang masuk tu regular customer macam child with chronic lung or heart disease boleh dimaafkan lagi. Tapi kebanyakannya yang masuk adalah pesakit baru yang dulunya sihat walafiat tapi menemui kemalangan di rumah atau di jalanraya semasa ibubapa berlumba-lumba balik kampung.


Ini realiti yang agak pahit untuk aku telan. Kebanyakan kemalangan terjadi di rumah, di mana ibu bapa kandung sendiri yang jaga. Macam mana tu??
Aku dengan rasa tebal muka terpaksa tabik spring pada guru-guru dan penjaga taska kerana walaupun mereka menjaga lebih ramai kanak-kanak, namun peratusan yang tercedera semasa dalam jagaan mereka amatlah rendah. Ini fakta benar.


Ada yang near drowning masa terjun senyap-senyap di swimming pool rumah sendiri (mak sibuk baca majalah, maid sibuk bergossip), ada yang melecur teruk sebab tergolek dalam kuali minyak panas masa mak sibuk memasak (tak cukup bahan masakan agaknya).


Tapi dalam banyak-banyak kes, paling aku tak boleh lupa ialah peristiwa dua orang kanak-kanak yang terkena renjatan letrik dalam 3-4 tahun lepas. Aku namakan dia Suresh dan Sonia. Mereka yang berumur 10 dan 9 tahun itu berkawan rapat dan sering bermain bersama-sama. Banyak versi cerita kejadian kebakaran tersebut. Yelah, bila orang ramai jumpa, budak-budak tu tengah menggelupur separuh hangus, macam mana nak cerita ye dak.


Ada yang kata semasa Suresh cuba mendapatkan layang-layang yang tersangkut kat pencawang utama kabel elektrik; dia direnjat elektrik, Sonia yang berada berhampiran menunggang basikal pun turut direnjat sama. Cerita versi lain pulak, kata ada 3 melayu dewasa (drug addict ke apa) nak curi kabel kat pencawang, pastu disuruhnya Suresh yang sedang bermain berdekatan tolong ambilkan. Sebabnya ada 3 lelaki dewasa lain turut terbakar akibat renjatan pada masa yang sama. Apa terjadi sebenarnya, hanya Tuhan yang tahu. Pendek kata, budak-budak lurus bendul Suresh dan Sonia telah berada di tempat yang salah pada masa yang salah.


Suresh masuk Paeds ICU dengan 90% burn, on life support machine. Ikutkan macam 100% sebab takde tempat yang tak terbakar pun. Kalau semua kuku dia dah hitam hangus, korang bayangkan kulit dia macam mana pula. Pendek kata dia terbakar teruk sampai satu bilik berbau asap. Sonia pulak cuma 25% burn sahaja, tapi melibatkan dada dan kedua-dua belah tangan. Dia yang agak stabil ditempatkan di Burn Unit, tanpa perlu life support.


Setelah lebih seminggu di hospital, peluang Sonia untuk sembuh dan pulang ke rumah amatlah cerah. Namun keadaan Suresh pula semakin teruk; lukanya semakin busuk. Dia sendiri tak pernah bergerak waimma mengerlip kelopak mata sekali pun. Rupanya memang persis mayat bernyawa. Ibu dia sendiri tak pernah melawat gara-gara pertama kali tengok sahaja dia sudah pengsan. Hanya bapa dan saudara-mara lain sahaja yang berani masuk ke biliknya. Staf ICU dan doktor yang menjaga dia terpaksa bernafas melalui mulut akibat tidak tahan bau bilik Suresh. Keadaan dia waktu itu amatlah meruntun hati sesiapa saja yang melihat dia. Dalam hati tak putus-putus kami berdoa agar dia pergi segera dengan tenang.


Satu malam, tiba2 kami dikejutkan dengan panggilan daripada Burn Unit mengatakan Sonia tak sedarkan diri secara tiba2. Mungkin disebabkan nosocomial sepsis, mungkin juga fatal arrhythmia disebabkan myocardial injury (sering dikaitkan dengan electrical shock). Usaha menyelamatkan dia tak berhasil, Sonia meninggal dunia 2 jam kemudiannya.


Nun di ICU kami dikejutkan pula dengan berita lebih menggemparkan. Suresh tiba-tiba bangun dari katil, duduk dan cuba berdiri, hampir jatuh dari katil. Bayangkan orang yang menyerupai mayat rentung, semenjak masuk tidak bergerak, heavily sedated on life support machine tiba2 duduk dan hampir terjun dari katil. Memang misi-misi yang mengawasi dia terperanjat besar malah bertempiaran lari keluar dari bilik ketakutan. Peristiwa itu terjadi serentak semasa Sonia sedang bergelut dengan nyawa di Burn Unit seberang sana. Namun beberapa jam selepas itu, Suresh juga menemui ajalnya.


Keesokan hari, bila ICU Consultant diberitahu mengenai kejadian malam tadi,  berleter panjang dia pada misi yang cabut lari itu. "Kamu ni, tak saintifik langsung. Ada pulak kamu cabut lari, nasib baik budak tu tak jatuh katil. Jangan percaya benda tahyul macam tu!" Doktor yang on call kelmarinnya hanya berdiam diri. Mungkin kerana lega tak dimarah sama kerana pada waktu kejadian dia sibuk menyelamatkan Sonia di unit sana. Mungkin juga lega tak dihantui drama seram di ICU sini.


Aku sendiri tak dapat menerangkan hal sebenar yang terjadi. Telepati sesama kawan rapat mungkin menjangkaui masa dan tempat.

Semoga kamu tenang di syurga sana Suresh dan Sonia. Teruskan bermain layang-layang berdua dengan aman.

Berkenaan Tuhan dan Evolusi Manusia. Serius sikit.

Tulisan aku hari ini adalah berkisar mengenai ketuhanan. Tiba2 aje kan. Sebabnya aku perasan semakin ramai melayu yang lahir muslim kini mengaku dirinya atheist. Ada juga yang masih dalam mode denial, lalu mengaku agnostic. Agnostic theist atau agnostic atheist? Wallahu a'lam. Mungkin kerana tak nampak jalan, mungkin juga suka sindrom atas pagar; now you're muslim, now you're not. Ala2 Chipsmore gitu.


Macam2 hujah mereka. Ada yang kata, kalau Tuhan wujud, kenapa dia tak menunjukkan diriNya? Puak2 melayu muslim pun menjawab macam2 juga. Ada yang kata Allah (swt) tu Maha Mulia, Maha Grand. Jadi tak sesuai la Dia nak menunjukkan diri pada hambaNya yang hina. Ada juga yang kata, cukuplah Allah (swt) menghantar pesuruhNya; iaitu rasul2 terdahulu dan juga Muhammad (s.a.w) untuk menjadi contoh hamba yang taat.


Aku yang tak berapa pandai ni kata walaupun kita tak nampak Tuhan, tapi kewujudan ciptaan Tuhan ni dah cukup untuk membuktikan kewujudanNya. Contohnya; kau beli kereta. Vios kononnya. Pernah kah kau terfikir yang Vios ni wujud dengan sendirinya? Yang tiba2 je Vios tu boleh muncul tercongok dalam showroom? Kalau ada yang fikir macam tu, meh sini aku nak bagi satu lempangan padu. Perlukah kau tengok pekerja2 kilang Toyota sendiri, atau nak lebih yakin, jumpa sendiri Kiichiro Toyoda San; baru lah kau percaya yang Vios ni ada inventor dia? Sedangkan kereta yang kompleks strukturnya ada orang yang buat, takkanlah manusia, atau binatang, atau tumbuh2an yang berjuta2 kali lebih kompleks boleh wujud dengan sendirinya?


Pendek kata, kalau tiba2 aku terdengar deruman enjin kereta kat luar tingkap, aku tak perlu nak check apa benda yang keluarkan bunyi sebegitu. Tau dah, itu deruman enjin kereta.
Kalau aku nampak matahari, bulan bintang, tak perlu aku kena nampak Pencipta dia untuk percaya. Tau dah, ada Tuhan yang mencipta.


Cuba kau amik pasir sebaldi, pastu kau bubuhla arang ke, batu kapur ke, baja nitrogen (sebagai asas formasi DNA; carbon, nitrogen, phosphate). Lepas sebulan kau rasa ada apa2 binatang tak yang keluar kat situ? Kalau pasir tu ada telur cacing atau benih pokok, mungkin benda2 tu keluar. Kalau pasir tu takde sumber hidupan, sampai kau tua bongkok, takkan ada apa2 yang keluar kat situ. Senang cerita, manusia tak mampu nak cipta hatta amoeba, protozoa yang simple tu sekalipun.


Satu lagi. Tentang evolusi manusia dan teori Charles Darwin. Bila Melayu Atheist keluarkan statement "Kalau dah manusia berasal daripada beruk, terima je lah. Kan saintis cakap macam tu!" Punyelah melayu muslim marah. Tak perlu kita meloncat. Darwinism theory berpendapat yang semua hidupan di muka bumi berasal daripada satu induk (common ancestor). Ikan, pokok, mamalia semua dari induk yang sama, dan semua hidupan wujud dengan sendiri secara semula jadi. Well, namanya pun teori. Pasti lah ada penemuan baru, teori baru kemudiannya. Sama lah macam Dalton's Atomic Theory. Sekarang dah pun disangkal dengan teori atom moden. Darwinism theory sesetengahnya masih releven iaitu tentang "Natural Selection", seperti juga teori Dalton itu yang tetap disebut dalam sejarah atom.


Aku bukanlah saintis, atau orang yang rajin nak citing scientific articles beribu2 tu. The latest paleoanthropology updates about human evolution is mostly about mDNA nowadays. Mitochondrial DNA. mDNA yang kau warisi berasal daripada ibu kau sahaja, without recombination (patutlah syurga dibawah redha ibu). Mitochondria adalah pusat janakuasa tenaga yang supply ATP which is the energy currency in the body. Bayangkan kalau kau takde mitochondria. Serupa mati jawabnya.


Berbalik kepada mDNA tadi. Oleh kerana mDNA berasal daripada ibu, jadi saintis mengesan mDNA  manusia moden secara random dan memadankan ia dengan fosil2 manusia purba yang dijumpai (dengan segala susah payahnya sebab degradation of fossil's DNA). Hasilnya mereka dapati yang mDNA manusia yang sepadan telah dikesan berhenti setakat Homo sapiens sapiens (iaitu modern human anatomically). The mDNA sepadan yang dikesan tu berhenti pada Mitochondrial Eve yang hidup pada 200,000 tahun lalu dan berasal dari South Africa.


Kesimpulan aku, kalaulah kita berasal daripada Hominidae species yang lain (homo erectus, neanderthals etc), pastilah mDNA kita akan dikesan di merata2 dunia 2 juta tahun yang lalu. Modern human berasal dari satu tempat iaitu Afrika Selatan, menunjukkan yang ibu kita seorang sahaja, ibu yang sama. Ada teori lain yang menyangkal teori asal Mitochondrial Eve tetapi semua masih dalam kajian. Walaupun begitu, Mitochondrial Eve itu sememangnya nyata dan terbukti.


Kau boleh memilih utk tunggu hasil kajian selanjutnya untuk percaya yang kita berasal dari Adam dan Hawa. Tapi kitab terakhir dah pun menyatakannya. Dan aku percaya kitab terakhir itu sepenuhnya.

It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They all float, each in an orbit. (36:40)

Ayat ini turun pada Rasul (saw) yang ummiy (illiterate) beratus tahun sebelum saintis moden berjaya membuktikan tentang bima sakti dan peredaran bintang2. 


Apa pun, kalau ada yang masih nak menyangkal kewujudan Allah (swt) dengan membombard tulisan aku yang tak berapa scientific ni, aku rasa sukati korang lah. Aku dengan agama aku, dan kau dengan agama (atau tiada agama) kau. 




You shall have your religion and I shall have mine. (109:6)

Neighbour aku Amy yang hari2 sembah kat tokong depan rumah dia pun tak pernah ganggu aku dan vice versa. 

Tertipu

Hari ni entah kali ke berapa ratus aku balik lambat. Extended OT time due to overlisting. Fenomena biasa kalau kerja kat OT. Kalau jadi kat gomen memang akan jadi sumber perang dingin (yang kadang-kadang boleh jadi hangat). Tapi kalau di praktis swasta, ko senyap je la buat kerja sambil makan hati. Heh!


Tadi bila start lap AP resection pukul 2 petang, kawan aku kata kena tipu dah kau ni. Hmmm... Bila pikir balik hasil penipuan ni, sekurang-kurangnya ada juga orang yang dapat diselamatkan (atau dipanjangkan nyawa; omputeh cakap 'survival rate has been increased'), insyaAllah. Jadi lapang la balik hati aku yang tadinya berkobar-kobar nak marah.


Kira tertipu jugak ke macam ni. Ikhlas kan je hati, kurang-kurang jadi pahala kan?

Misunderstood

"Kalau berjalan, mata pandang bawah. Jangan pandang atau bercakap dengan budak laki2. Kalau perlu cakap, panggil dia 'Pakcik". Jangan nak ber'abang-abang'." That was what I was told during the so called 'Orientation Week" when I joined my secondary boarding school. I and the rest of the class followed this religiously which I think in retrospective if they wanted to transform us into a bunch of terrorist army it would be a very easy job. So fearful of us towards our seniors that we just embraced whatever they say like a plant in dire need of sunshine. The funny thing was we had nobody to call Pakcik since we rarely talk to the boys that we ended up practicing it on the poor canteen workers, the gardener or the janitor. They were so furious (some of them were barely in their twenties, mind you!) that they called us "Makcik" in retaliation! Frankly, I think all that were bunch of rubbish because in real world we are not segregated. The way they taught us had made us think that celibacy is THE way of life.


We were segregated in school; male and female that we didn't even talk to our own classmate. Those who talk were made to feel bad. The worst are those who had a fling with the opposite sex. When I say fling, it just meant harmless hello and some letters being exchanged. No physical contact whatsoever was involved. Still, they were treated like an outcast. Imagine if some of them were caught dating outside the school, even lepers sufferers would have received a better treatment than them. Honestly.


As we grew up and became slightly more mature, signs of rebellion started to surface. For girls, it will be something like; listening to some rock music, keeping rock stars poster. Or even adopting unusual fashion habits; like wearing your skirt slightly higher than it should be with ankle-length sock so when we walk, there would be high chance that part of the ankle will be exposed. For guys, I think the usual would be keeping their hair longer than it should, even donning some unual fashion habits, smoking or truanting. Small rebellion. Small maybe, insignificant to others. But still, it was a rebellion. A subtle reminder to our soul that nobody can control us.


Segregation is bad. It made us curious, even prejudice and eventually we ended up fighting with the other party. One example; I knew a girl who had a chair thrown at her combined with abusive words (she was called a 'whore'!!) by a male classmate simply because she made a funny remark about a him. Some volatile response towards a harmless observation! Even I had my share of bad experience; thanks to my male classmates. They called me names and I didn't even know what I did wrong to deserve something like that. The more I ignored them, the severe the verbal abuse. I think somehow it affected me as an adult. It contributed to a bitter, blunt and sarcastic side of me. But the bright side is; I'm a stronger and more resilient person now. Also thanks to them.


Anyway, as my batch became seniors I heard they became more tolerant, more flexible ( I wasn't there to witness the change, as I went to another boarding school). Nobody in my batch had become a terrorist and nobody had comitted suicide so far. As for me, it took a very very long time to forgive a few of my male classmates. Maybe they were plain ignorant. Or maybe we were all misunderstood.

TO SIR WITH NO LOVE

Everyone has their favourite teacher. Mine were many; from primary school till postgraduate. My favorite was Ms Tan Moon Geok in primary 2 who instilled my sense of worth and self respect. However the teacher that I couldn't stand the most was Cikgu Tanzizi. He was the disciplinary teacher and also taught us Science & PE during standard 4. I don't remember the lesson but I still remember his constant bully.

Terima kasih sebab tag gambar aku. Dalam ni takde gambar Cikgu Tanzizi. He he

It started from a harmless tease but gradually became personal. He would loudly made nasty comments about my face, my school uniform and my tudung (I was the first among the very few who wore tudung in my school, back in 1983). He would punish and humiliate me for small mistakes while the class crook escaped scotfree (I was the head of class then). He made me stand on a chair for one whole period because my parents had refused to sign a consent form for a certain vaccination. He even subtracted a mark from my exam paper when my answer was actually the right one but awarded free marks for the rest of the class just to prove his authority. But the one I remembered most was 'the electrical current'. One day during a free period he suddenly became interested to teach Jawi (after he found out that I didn't bring the book). Unfortunately more than half of classroom also didn't bring the book. So he made us line up with our fingers pinching the ear of the person next to us. And he stood in the front pinching a student's ear, the first in the line. He bellowed "karan!!" and started to twist the ear and we supposed to twist the next person's ear too. So the 'electrical current' flowed from student number 1 to student number 25. Of course it was hilarious because it involved the whole class, not just me. Lucky me.

But one day, he came to the clinic where I did part time locum last month for consultation and to take medication for his heart problem. He didn't recognize me but of course I knew him. He was still looking good, still very articulate, totally unlike my imagination of him would become; haggard, frail looking and begging for my forgiveness! In my mind all I thought was it's payback time! In my head I was planning; should I swap his medication with something else? Give him poison instead? Should I tell him straight ; "You big bully! See what happened to you now!"

My husband's story has another twist. The most hated secondary school teacher who used to bully him had the cheek to borrow money from him when they accidentally met years later. And he tried to borrow money from his other former students too. Of course my hubby politely refused him.

But what did I do to Cikgu Tanzizi in the end? Nothing. Didn't want to embarrass him. Didn't have the heart to actually harm him. But didn't want him to feel proud of me either. Maybe deep inside I've already forgiven him. But not yet ready to forget.