The Idiot’s Thoughts
馬鹿の感想

Today I suppose I'm officially halfway to my desired proficiency of the Japanese language. Besides for a few who know that I've been picking up smatterings of Japanese ever since I started learning Judo almost 9 years ago, I've finally reached a plateau where I can at least converse with as well as write down that smattering. I suppose this learning of Japanese was further spurred on by my watching of unsubtitled animations fresh out of Japanese media.

But with that being said, I'm not sure what the reaction of the people who know me would say. My close friends would know that I played Judo, but they more or less don't know that I had an interest in the language. I'm sure that mastering this language of our past conquerers would do me no harm. Another language is always welcomed in my books. With English, Chinese and now Japanese under my belt. I hope to also pick up Malay, French and German; all in which I have a smattering due to exposure with people who speak them. Perhaps I'm just some dude with a tiny bit of linguistic ability. Then again maybe it's just me. Thinking in another language is always fun. The grammar make up, words restrictions always make for an interesting experience overall while learning how to use it.

It's almost like returning to the time when I was but a baby and learning to speak Chinese and English. My parents told me that my first word was Chinese. *Whew* Haha, at least I'm not some banana from birth. But the experience everytime I learn how to speak abit more of a foreign language never fails to intrigue me. Where I will feel a warm tingling in my brain, slightly above my right eye, right in the smack of my right temple that slowly spreads through my head. After that pleasant fuzzy sensation, that small bit of language sticks with me forever. It's such a pleasant feeling, like I'm growing and expanding my soul piece by piece.

Scary as it may sound, I learnt programming in more or less the same way. But as of all languages, you need to know the logic behind HOW to use it in order to learn it. Eg, normal languages you need to know the grammar. But for programming, the grammar is universal. It is logic. Once you get your logic right, it's shamefully easy to pick up any language. As long as you got your basic logic on how to solve programming problems right, learning a language is like having a new set of lego toys with different shapes. To build a car for example, you need to know what a car looks like and how do you go about assembling your piece to get that shape. A new programming language would be like a new set of shapes available to you to build that car you wanted.

It's that simple, but sadly it's not how most people look at learning a language or programming language nowadays. People in Asia especially, are so concerned about grades, that they would rather "Fast-track" their "Learning" by simply copying and pasting other people's answers into their own without first seeking to understand WHY it is done in that manner. So when asked to replicate or innovate upon their "successes" Asians who grew up under this system of "education" are unable to be creative on their own and come up with ideas that build upon our existing knowledge.

Well, enough ranting for today. I suppose I got to get back to the work at hand. So many things to be done and so little time for relaxation. Haha, I suppose the time for rest has come and gone. Alauz Out!

Idiots of today, Geniuses of tomorrow
今日の馬鹿、明日の天才。