What one would most give to another.

I asked a class of students, once, what they would most like to give to another. The answers were many and various - indeed, some were sweet and thoughtful, even surprising. However, it is to the answer of the Russian student to whom I have referred before (she of the brand buying obsession), that I shall turn.

The Russian girl, who so loves branded goods, didn't wait to answer the question in writing: she shouted it out across the classroom, seemingly unaware of how people would respond to her stance.

"Give?", she began, scornfully, "Never! I never like to give...only to take, take, take. Especially from men. I take and receive presents from them, only - but I never give." (She paused here in consideration of her own words). "I think a lot of girls do like this."

Even though I had come to expect something empty-headed from her, her words perturbed me. They were spoken with such passion, that they gave me the creeps. Here, for sure, was one who liked to use others.

I wonder at people like her. How common are they? Is this a typical way of thinking and viewing the world, among some nationalities, today? Is it all about "me, me, me!"? I rather hope not. I hope that my Russian student is an aberration and that she is wrong in her opinion that "a lot of girls do like this".

However, if she is right, then men would be wise not to place much faith in the women they meet, nowadays. The Russian student's attitude leads directly to a breakdown in the relationship between the sexes - for what faith can the man have in the woman if her sole interest is the material goods he can give her? That would be a relationship based on the transfer of goods and not a relationship based on love or any emotion of either substance or endurance.

In a way, I shudder at the thought of a world filled with people like this Russian girl: a more soul-less, empty, life-destroying world would be hard to imagine. Here is a girl who gives nothing to others, who seeks to take as much as she can and who wishes to milk the men she meets for all the material goods she can get from them. I see for her either a lonely future (as people realize what she is and stay well away) or a whorish one - for such is her core attitude.

Attitudes like this Russian girl's are the inevitable end product of a materialist society. If life is measured by the goods one accumulates, then it makes sense to be a taker and not a giver. He or she who takes, will achieve a relative accumulation of material goods, over one who is generous and gives as much as they receive. It seems that she has imbibed too well, the material philosophy of our age.

To me, this girl represents an Archtype of all that is undesirable in the modern age. She brings emotional poverty and material greed together in one unending quest for branded goods at the expense of any man she meets. She sees life and human relationships as a means to rob another of their wealth and find gratification in the piling up of branded symbols of the age.

The most urgent question posed by her most ugly of ugly attitudes is this: how common are people like her? Is it right for modern man to be on guard against such exploitative personalities? (Of course, there could be cases of men like this, too).

As a final comment, I would like to note that, unlike every other student in the room, she never wore the same clothes in the several months that I taught her. Every day was a fashion parade with her - with each outfit carefully thought out, sometimes in the most elaborate manner. Truly, someone, somewhere was spending an awful lot of money in keeping this particular Material Girl, materially happy. It was quite unnerving, in a way, especially since she was in a classroom with others who almost always wore the same clothes and could barely afford their school fees. The contrast could not have been more discomfiting. She never seemed to notice, however.

What did the other students think of her? Well, sometimes they smiled or laughed at her expense. Perhaps there is hope for this world, after all...

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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The Education of a Nation.

Every little thing about a school is a messenger. The messages that each aspect carries is that of the priorities and nature of the nation in which the school stands. Overseas readers might be surprised at the messages that Singaporean schools embody.

Firstly, I would like you to think on this question: what is a wall in a classroom? What should such a wall be used for? Well, one wall of a classroom will have a blackboard or whiteboard on it. Other walls might have windows. At least one wall may have a noticeboard. But what should you do with spare space that has no other function than to hold up the roof? I invite you to consider the wildest ideas that might come to mind. Have a guess what a wall might be used for, in Singapore.

Recently, I came upon a wall in a classroom that had been rather interestingly decorated. It had been converted into a mural. This mural was at the back of the classroom and was rather large. It would be seen everytime any student entered the classroom. It would be seen throughout the day, by the teacher, who would be constantly reminded of it. What do you think the mural was about? Have a think.

The mural was about money. This school had put a permanent shrine to money up on the wall of a secondary school classroom. It was a secondary one classroom and so this would be the first year of senior school, for all those impressionable kids who would sit in front of this altar to money behind them.

The mural consisted of two children in a playground on a "see-saw". They were a boy and a girl. Interestingly, the see-saw was perfectly level. It was neither up nor down. The left hand side of the see-saw was marked: "Debit", the right hand side of the see-saw was marked, "Credit". Floating in the air above the boy to the left were the words: "Assets, Expenses, Drawings". Floating above the girl to the right, were the words: "Liabilities, Revenue, Capital". The playground was a representation of the world of finance.

Now, the school could have instructed anything in the world to be painted on that wall. Anything from human history, art, science, nature or culture could have been placed on that wall for the kids to consider, all year long. Yet, what they chose to put there was a shrine to money.

We all know that money is important in the adult world - but is it the most important thing in the world? Is it the sole thing that should be chosen to put on the wall of a school classroom? Is it right and proper that children should be inculcated with an obsession with and veneration for money at such a vulnerable age? What kind of children are they likely to become, if they are not so subtly brainwashed in this manner, to think highly and often of money? Are they going to be shallow people or deep ones? Will they live meaningful lives or trivial ones? Will they make a contribution to society or take something out of it? Will they be happy or sad? Will they live well, or poorly? Will they know the importance of love, friendship, honesty, integrity, goodness and truth? Or will they think that these stand in the way of Money?

I think the answer to all of these questions will be negative, where the children who lived all year long in the shadow of Money are concerned. The influence on their outlook and values can only be narrowing in scope.

We are repeatedly told, in Singapore, that state education is not just about education per se, but about "national education" - by which it means conforming to the requirements of the society and adopting its mindset. One of those requirements, from this example, appears to be to set Money up as one's God and to submit one's life and will to its pursuit.

Any society that makes Money its sole aim is a society that cannot be stable, permanent or fruitful. For Money, alone, does not confer any quality on its people, apart from greed. A society that aims to be rich in non-monetary terms (that is, in all the terms that make life worth living and enjoyable), needs to instil in its children a love not of money, but of life, itself, in all its variety and splendour. A society should aim to cultivate the depth of its people (in the sense of inner richness) - and not just the size of their avarice. Any society that aims to enrich itself in this more meaningful way, will become a society respected through the ages (just think of the Ancient Greeks of Athens). Any society that aims, instead, for Money, alone, as its aim, will be forgotten and reviled, as soon as the last skyscraper falls (which they will, of course, in time). So, which is Singapore: a society to be respected through the ages - or one to be forgotten, in time, as no more than a shallow hiatus in a deeper nothingness?

That mural, perhaps, provides us the answer.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and five months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and ten months, and Tiarnan, twenty-seven months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind)

The Great ComfortDelGro Taxi Rip-off

Singaporeans, although they don't necessarily know it, already receive one of the worst taxi services in the world. Taxi drivers use every ploy in the book and some that aren't (ie. read "unethical") to increase their income at the expense of the Singaporean public. Yet, the situation is just about to get a lot worse.

ComfortDelGro, the largest taxi fleet in Singapore, comprising Comfort, CityCab and Yellow-top taxis, making up fully 65 per cent of all Singaporean taxis, with 15,000 of Singapore's 23,000 cabs, is going to DOUBLE taxi fares from Monday.

There have been hints, in recent days, of a "30 cent rise" in flag down rate. The fact that they would dribble out the news with that parsimonious description of the true state of affairs, is rather insulting to Singaporeans who may, now, be unable to afford a cab at all.

The flag down rate is indeed rising from $2.50 to $2.80. More significant, however, is that the rate of charge, for time and distance is DOUBLING to 20 cents per unit, from the present 10 cents. This means that taxis will now cost twice as much as before, on a per distance, per time basis. Yet, that is just the beginning of the price rises.

During the peak period - when people are most likely to be travelling, which is Monday to Friday, 7 am to 9.30 am and Monday to Saturday, 5 pm to 8 pm, there will be a 35% premium charge on the metered fare. Currently, the peak surcharge is a flat $2 no matter what the distance or time of journey.

The City Area Surcharge, for pick ups in the City area will TRIPLE to $3 and will be payable for a greater part of the day (Monday to Saturday, 5pm to Midnight). Currently, it is $1 payable Monday to Thursday, 5pm to 8 pm and Friday to Saturday, 5 pm to 11.30 pm.

The late night surcharge will be 50% of the metered fare, added on, from midnight to 5.59 am. Currently, there are staggered rates from 11.30 pm to 5.59 am.

The only improvement, from the point of view of the passenger, is that booking fees will be reduced to $3.50 prime time, Monday to Friday, 7 am to 9.30 am and 5pm to 11 pm. Currently they are $4. Off peak booking fees will remain at $2.50.

So what do all these changes mean to how much it will now cost to take a cab in Singapore?

Well, let us do an analysis.

For someone taking a cab home after work, at say, 7 pm, from the City area, for a journey which presently costs, say $12, what will the new cost be? Well, under the old regime, the flag down portion of that $12 is $2.50. The City Surcharge is $1. The peak charge is $2. The rest, $7.50 is the metered portion based on time and distance.

Under the new regime, the flag down would be $2.80. The metered portion would be charged at DOUBLE the rate, making it 2 times $7.50 = $15. The City area surcharge would be $3. This makes a total of $20.80. On top of this there will be a 35% peak period premium, giving a total for the fare of an astonishing $28.08!

They spoke of a "30 cents rise"...but what actually are ComfortDelGro doing? New prices on a typical sample journey are 234 % of present prices. This now makes taxi taking an unaffordable service for most Singaporeans. Almost no-one is going to agree to pay almost 30 dollars for a journey that until now has been 12 dollars, or so, on a regular basis. That is just for short trips. Long trips such as runs to the airport will now cost perhaps 50 or 60 dollars, compared to just over 20 dollars, presently, for many Singaporeans.

Singaporeans are being cheated on every front by the public taxi service. They are driven by poorly trained, ignorant, dishonest drivers who don't know where they are going and try to cheat the passenger every way they can - and now they will be gouged, by truly ugly fares everytime they board a cab.

It is, I feel, a time for Singaporeans to show what they think of these new fare rises: by never taking a cab from ComfortDelGro again. Should other cab services raise their fares in a similar way, they too can be avoided. If no-one agrees to these fares by taking cabs anymore, then they will have to reduce the fares to what they were before - or something similar.

Why is ComfortDelGro doing this? Well, it says it is an answer to the problem of unavailability of cabs, when people need them. I find that ludicrous. Why were cabs unavailable? Because the cab drivers were acting in unison, to cheat the customers, by "hiding" and refusing to pick up passengers unless they called them out, and paid call out charges. The drivers were only unavailable because they were busy cheating the consumer. Now, ComfortDelGro has had the inspired idea of rewarding these dishonest drivers by making the practice of gouging the customer official and ensuring that ALL taxi journeys are a complete rip-off. Thirty dollars for a modest trip out of town, for a country in which salaries are modest by Western standards (really, really modest, if the truth be known, for most Singaporeans), is far, far too much. Taxis, henceforth, will be for tourists only - who really don't have a choice and don't know any better.

The real answer to the issue of vanishing taxis and the inability to get one unless a call-out is made is much simpler than across the board, greedy fare rises. The real answer is to penalize any driver who behaved like that. There should have been high fines and perhaps custodial sentences for repeat offenders. That is what works in Singapore to bring behaviour into line - and that is what should have been done for taxi drivers. Their behaviour should have been made illegal, with stiff penalties.

Another alternative would have been to abolish the call-out charge altogether - and made it illegal not to take a call-out booking. That would have worked equally well.

In Singapore, taxi drivers will never do the right thing, in terms of service. They will always do what makes them the most money, even if that action is a dishonest one - or an illegal one (if no-one is looking). The notion of giving good customer service has not entered the consciousness of this particular workforce - nor, it seems, has it entered the minds of the ComfortDelGro executives who have just decided to multiply the price of a typical taxi journey by 2 and a third times.

Decisions like ComfortDelGro's affect the quality of life of everyone who lives and works in Singapore. Such decisions should be made with much more care. They say they are looking after the interests and livelihoods of taxi drivers. Well, what about everyone else's interests and livelihoods? My experiences with Singaporean taxi drivers have been very mixed. Some of the poorer experiences have led me to the opinion that drivers do not deserve special consideration. Many of them have behaved extremely dishonestly towards me. They need to be regulated - not rewarded with higher fares.

From Monday, the viable transport options of millions of Singaporeans will be reduced by one modality. For from Monday, millions of Singaoreans will no longer be able to afford one of the most convenient forms of transport previously available: the taxi cab.

The only hopeful possibility is if people stop taking cabs. If no-one takes cabs anymore, then prices will have to return to previous levels. I, for one, will do my utmost to find any other mode of transport than a taxi cab, in future. Quite frankly, with the levels of DISservice, presently common, and the new price rises - they don't deserve my custom - or yours, for that matter.

Note: Source of data on the new taxi fare structure: today's Today newspaper, page 3.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)