Don’t stop believing
To all the PMR students out there.
If you’re still cramming for your Math paper on Monday, and you’re not sure if you’ve done enough, or if you’re not sure if anything you do will EVER be enough…
Here’s a video, which I hope can encourage you.
As the song goes, just “roll the dice!” But don’t do it too many times 🙂
All the best!
P.S. See, my doppelganger theory is correct!
The truth will set you free
Once upon a time, there was a boy with a problem.
"Help, I am trapped."
He tried and he struggled day and night, but to no avail.
"I'm so trapped in my dungeon of uncountable problems. Who can help me?"
Then came along someone, who knew someone who knows some things.
"Let me introduce someone to you. He can free your mind."
And, with a few quick strokes of a marker pen…
"What? Is that all there is to it?"
That’s right. All you had to do, was to heed the writing on the wall.
If you need me again, just give me a call.
Yet another interesting day
Once upon a time, during a particular math lesson…
"Hmmm, this is an interesting question."
"What's so interesting?"
"Really that interesting meh..."
"Betul lah. It's very interesting!"
"Izzit? Ok lah. I go there now!"
Where is he going?
Nobody really knows. But I think he’s going to look for an interesting solution. Ask him where!
You’ve been tagged!
If you see this sticker on your front door…
… then you’ve been tagged. If you do not forward this knowledge to 10 friends within the next 10 hours, you will get 10 days of extremely bad luck that defies mathematical odds. To get the formula that will reverse the odds, dial the number you see on the sticker.
Every sticker is painstakingly cut with scissors, and hand delivered to your door by the man in the sticker himself. He is not employing foreign workers to spam your neighbourhood. He is doing it on his own legs. He plans to substitute his half marathon training with “sticker runs”. If you get the sticker, then you are one of the chosen few.
If you see a guy in running shorts, wearing Brooks Beast shoes, with a utility belt around his waist, putting stickers on doors… honk to show your support.
Doppelganger
Here’s an extension of the multiple worlds theory. Given an infinite amount of possibilities…
If there are many worlds exactly like the one you’re living in, then there are many people exactly like you in those separate worlds. That exact same person is called your doppelganger.
There is this theory about doppelgangers. They don’t have to exist in separate worlds!
It is said that for every human being, there are 7 exact replicas of that person. They are scattered at separate places, living separate lives, working at separate jobs, having separate families, but yet coexisting in the same world. Therefore, you have 6 doppelgangers, and I have 6 doppelgangers. We will never get to meet our own doppelgangers because of sheer improbability.
Think about it. The world population is 6.9 billion people today. It is projected to hit 7 billion by 2011. The chances of finding 100 people out of 7 billion is 0.0000 0143. How much more improbable will it be to find 7!
Here are a few samples of possible doppelgangers. Some may be true, some may be a hoax (e.g., they are actually twins). Just take a look.
Well, it’s hard to tell the difference, isn’t it? In mathematics, we call it a perfect reflection.
Imagine if you were Obama and you found your doppelganger! What would you do? Saddam Hussein had his own team of look-alikes when he was in hiding. Maybe Saddam Hussein really found his doppelgangers?
Oooh… who is this? I don’t know. But two of them is surely better than one! Ask Taylor Swift.
This is James Blunt. The other guy is Jamal Tumpul.
One is Orlando Bloom. The other is John Master not yet Bloom.
This one, I think the doppelganger fail lah. Looks like an imp from a different world. But then again, according to the multiple worlds theory…
This one really looks the same.
Here’s another fact (or, believed fact) of doppelgangers. Since they are exact replicas, a doppelganger has the same characteristics, same strengths, and same talents as the other doppelgangers. Therefore, if one of them is a singer or actor, the other replicas are probably talents in show biz as well. It’s just that not all 7 of them are discovered, or had the same opportunities as the other doppelgangers.
For example…
Katy Perry and Zoey Deschanel! One is a singer, the other is an actress. Could this could be the closest proof of the doppelganger theory?
What will you do, if you find your doppelganger?
Infinity you’s, infinity me’s!
Have you heard about the multiple worlds theory? Before we get to it, let’s start with infinity.
Infinity is a concept of something  so big, it cannot be described by a number. It’s like, the number bigger than the biggest number in the whole wide world. For example:
- 9 is bigger than 1.
- 99 is bigger than 9.
- 999 is bigger than 99.
- Therefore the biggest number is 999,999,999…
But for every “biggest” number, there is always a number bigger than the “biggest” number. If you can ever find the biggest number of all, then you have found infinity.
Another word that can capture the idea of infinity is, unlimited.
Enjoy the symbol of infinity for a while. Now, I'm about to pusing your kepala.
Now, the universe is always expanding, right? It’s always growing bigger and bigger. That’s why we say the universe is unlimited. There is no end to the universe. The size of the universe is infinite. It’s like so big, you cannot even imagine it, or put a number to quantify it.
In an infinite universe, there are infinite possibilities. Out of an infinite number of possibilities, it is possible to find another planet that has life, right? It’s like, if you can find 999,999,999 planets, I’m sure more than one of it has life. Agree?
Therefore, if many planets have life, then it is possible to find many planets exactly like ours. Right?
So, if there are many planets exactly like ours, then there are many planets that have exactly the same amount of population, exactly the same countries, exactly the same trees, exactly the same mountains, exactly the same people, exactly the same rocks put at the exact same places. Can you imagine that?
Now, if you can accept that, I’m sure you can find another human being that looks exactly like you, talks exactly like you, behaves exactly like you, thinks exactly like you, and is 100% like you, in one of those worlds. Agree?
“Come on, what are the odds of that?” You may retort. But think about it. What if you have an infinite amount of chances to find it? If try infinity times, in an infinite universe, I’m sure you can find at least two. Or, you may find much more than two. In fact, you must be willing to accept that there may be 999,999,999 of you.
Well, that’s an interesting theory, at the very least.
If you still don’t understand, or want to talk more, look me up for further explanations. Click on Contact to find out how.
Let’s part for now on a light-hearted note. Enjoy this music video. Made by 8 similar people, found from 8 similar worlds in an infinite universe.
Who am I?
Actually, if you think about it, this is one of the most confusing questions in the world. The answer varies according to the context in which the question is asked. You can answer this question in a myriad of ways, and yet all of them are equally true.
If you are a believer in mathematics, then everything can be seen in absolution. If truth is absolute, then there is only one truth. Everything else is false. There is no such thing as in between. It’s either you are right, or you are wrong. That is why maths papers are very easy to mark 🙂
Let’s try to apply the principle of absolute truth in answering a very simple question. “Who are you?”
I’m sure you can come up with at least 10 answers in a minute. “I am Joshua. I am the son of Hooi Meng Sooi. I am a teacher. I am the founding president of Team Miracle Mile. I am a human being. I am a Chinese male. I am a Malaysian. I am a Christian. I am Mei Yee’s husband. I am a Penangite. I am, etc etc…”
Each answer has meaning only to a certain group of people. If you are dealing with an international body, your citizenship is who you are. If you are going for an interview, your job is who you are. If you are working in an organization, your rank is who you are. If you are found unconscious in a ditch with no ID, then your race, age and gender is who you are.
Back to the principle of absolute truth. One is true, all others are false. For truth to be true, there cannot be more than one.
So…
- If there are multiple true answers about who you are, then there is no one, true answer.
- If there is no one, true answer, then there is no truth in the answer.
- If there is no truth in the answer, then who are you?
* * * * * * * * * *
Anyway, this is who I am…
By that piece of paper, you can tell a lot about me. What degree I graduated with, where I got the degree from, what I officially know in my brain, what I am certified to do as a vocation, and how old I am.
The rock star of mathematics
By that picture alone, you can tell a lot more! It says something about my personality, what I dare to do, and what I can do. Given the opportunity, I can turn your math score from zero to hero.
Joshua’s mathematics can be trusted. And you can trust him too!
Minorities stick together
Consider the following scenario.
How many ways can you arrange the shoes, so that the black shoes must always be together?
Before we tackle this problem, let’s simplify it a little. Let’s imagine they are all in a straight line. B = black shoes, T = tri-coloured shoes. Let’s try to see all the possibilities.
B B T T T T =  5  x  4  x  3  x  2  x  1  x  2  =  240
Therefore, the total number of possibilities are 240.
Now, back to the scenario.
If we arrange the shoes in a circle, will the answer be the same?
SPM and PMR, panic attack class
Tick, tock, tick, tock…
Are you having a panic attack?
"Gasp, so few days left before SPM!"
Don’t worry. What you need during these last days is a rock-solid tutor to steady your nerves. An expert in last minute study himself, Joshua Hooi knows exactly what you must do.
“Why you scared, last time I also like that,” says Joshua Hooi, recalling his own schooling days. “In the end, still get A1!”
Waste no more time. Come alone, or get a group to come with you. Click on Services to see how he can help you. Click on Terms to find out what his conditions are. Click on Contact to get his 24-hour hotline.
He will turn your fear into joy.
Joshua's math-ology 