Why are Asians so good at mathematics? An analytical report

Before anyone says anything about stereotypes and predjudice - just stop.  Let's face it - by the average guy's standards, Asians are better at maths. And although this is not always the case, we cannot deny the fact that we've all been trumped by an Asian in a maths test sometime in our life. Before I continue analyzing possible reasons for this strange phenomena, take a look at the following comparison:

      

 It is clearly evident that the average Asian is better able to manage complex mathematics sums than non-Asians.  Of course, this cannot simply be assumed by looking at the above example, but I base my opinion on facts as many studies have been done on the matter (including one by the BBC). After much consideration, I have outlined the following as the most likely reasons for this strange phenomenon (call it "x"...)

1) Societal Pressures -
    In most Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan, there is immense societal pressure on students
    to perform well. Many generations of hard working people have created an "acceptable standard" at
    which students are expected to perform. The educational systems in these countries supports these ideals
    and pushes students hard (often too hard to allow decent freedom in one's life). The time that a child
    spends at school varies, but can often be from ten to twelve hours a day. In addition, weekends are not
    resting periods - most Asian schools require pupils to attend school six days a week. Scary stuff. In a
    nutshell, the standard of Asian schools is far higher than Western countries, and in addition the
    expectations that parents place on students is remarkably high.

2) Population -
    Currently China has a population of 1,325,639,982 people, South Korea is sitting at roughly 48,607,000.
    In today's world, one must either sink or swim. Students must work as hard as they possibly can in order
    to ensure that they have a job and can feed themselves. This of course, is no different to any other
    country - except that the huge populations in these countries results in students pushing themselves even
    harder than they would have otherwise. This reason should really be reffered to as "competition" as that
    is the fundamental idea here.

In conclusion: adaptation -
Due to the above two reasons, the Asian community is pressured into being clever. Now I know this sounds wrong, but get what I am saying here. Many years of dedication and hard work, and a good mental attitude can result in people's thought being "moulded" into an ideal way. I believe this is exactly what is happening here - they are just so damn clever! I would like to say that no-one should feel offended by this post, I have been talking about the Asian community as a seperate unit to everyone else. This was only to make things easier - in reality it does not matter where you are from or what skin colour you have because we are all different in our own ways, and should feel united because of that.                                                       

Infected Mushroom - Legend Of The Black Shawarma

The newly released album by Infected Mushroom is very much the same as most of their other albums. It comes with more of the same utterly mind blowing and amazingly put together sounds that creates a symphony of music that would be expected to come from out of space.
Although the album was originally meant to be a concept album of the duo's (Amit "Duvdev" Duvdevani, Eisen) favourite places to eat, hence the name Legend Of The Black Shawarma, after the success of the first songs they wrote, they decided to make it a full album.
The name is taken from a Middle Eastern wrap/sandwich; and was inspired by Shawarma Hazan, a restaurant where Amit and Eisen used to eat often.
The dj's heavy beats, and serious guitar riffs make the album more of a listening pleasure than something to be played at a club. In songs like "Smashing the Opponent" featuring Korn's,Jonathan Davis, the heavy synths and great guitar riffs make for a great listen. As well as "Herbet the Pervert" where most of the song is dominated by great metal guitar solo's.
So if you liked any of their previous music, you will probably really enjoy their new album.

Go out and buy it now!

The Most (in)Famous Hackers of All Time

Hackers can be thought of as people who use technology to empose on others' privacy or steal potentially valuable information from them. The term "hacking" is not merely a twenty first century concept. It has been around since the very first hacker, John Draper, "hacked" telephone calls way back in 1971 using a whistle from a cereal box. Nowadays, technology has progressed, and so too has the number of hackers around the world. Over time, many of them have caught the attention of the public, as well as the police. The purpose of the following article is not to promote bad morals, but forgive me for feeling a hint of admiration for these hacking legends.

                                                 
                                                  Jonathan James - AKA c0mrade
One of the greatest hackers of all time - he is famous for being the youngest hacker ever to go to prison (caught at the age of fifteen).Frankly, the man is a legend. Not only did he successfully hack one of the most secure government gencies in USA - the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (Ironically, the DTRA are responsible for much of the nation's security matters), but he also single handedly attacked NASA. James hacked one of the DTRA servers by means of a backdoor he scripted. He then used this security infiltration to acquire valuable information such as account passwords and software. His attack on NASA forced them to shutdown their systems and ultimately cost them over $41,000. In response to his attack, James said that the software he stole was merely done in an attempt to aid his programming studies. The result? Six months house arrest with probation.

                                              Kevin Mitnick - The LegendMitnick is famous for being the most wanted hacker of all time. His long list of offenses started at an early age when he hacked the LA bus punchcard system, effectively allowing him free bus rides to practically anywhere. This feat was not as complex as it sounds, but nonetheless very impressive. Mitnick also hacked phonecalls (much the same as John Draper and Apple founder, Stephen wozniac), and the Digital Equipment Corporation - which led to his conviction. However, the police would not have found Mitnick, if it were not for the help of Tsutomu Shimomura (a fellow hacker). Mitnick had attempted to hack Shimomura's computer but had fortunately been "out-hacked" by Shimormura. His location was discovered and reported to officials, as this was Shimormura's personal score that needed settling.

Robert Tappan Morris - Less is More
Although Morris is not as well known as hackers like Jonathan James or Kevin Mitnick, he made a huge impact on the need for online and offline computer security. Robert Morris created the first worm - known as the Morris worm. The worm was a big threat to the online community and caused an estimated 6000 machines to be infected beyond repair. The effects of the worm may have been severe, but Morris claims it was in order to see how many people were connected to the internet, and not done for harmful purposes. Morris had to pay a big price for his mistake - a fine for more than $10 000, 400 hours community service, and three years' probation.

                                                   

Although these hackers are legends in the hacking community, and they have much skill, we should remember to not encourage this sort of behaviour in our own circles. On the other hand, however, it may not be wise to chastise people like Morris if you believe he has caused the online security threats we have today. If he had not created the worm, somebody else certainly would have, and that should not be overlooked. That sort of thing is simply human nature.

Windows 6.5! The new OS for smartphones?

The new OS developed by none other than Microsoft seems to be taking the Smart phone world by a small drizzle. After the dismal experiences of using previous Windows Mobile operating systems, it seems that Microsoft have finally learnt how to put together a properly working Mobile OS.
A few companies have decided to launch their phones with the new OS. Namely AT&T with their HTC Pure, and the HTC Tilt 2.

The main focus of Microsoft has been to make the experience of using their OS more enjoyable. By redoing the entire Home screen, and making all of the menus more 'touch friendly'. The OS is also slightly faster, and allows for easy integration of the up and coming Windows Marketplace, which is set to take on the App Store.

This is the old home screen compared with the new one.
  Although Microsoft have released Windows 7 for PC, they are lagging a bit behind in the Mobile market. However 6.5 is a big step in the right direction from 6.1.
Many people would caution at getting the new OS, and to rather wait for the release of Windows 7 Mobile next year, however if you are one of those people that want to try anything new, and don't mind a few bugs. Go for it! Well done Microsoft, hopefully this will make the market a bit more competitive for iPhone and Android.

District 9 - Poor or Impressive?

District 9 is a South African Science-fiction film created in 2009. It is directed by South African Neill Blomkamp, and produced by New Zealander Peter Jackson (Lord of The Rings). The film follows the life of protagonist, Wikus van de Merwe who is the field officer of MNU (Multinational United). Wikus' job is to relocate arthropod-like aliens that have been living in a slum called District 9.

The aliens arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa 20 years prior, famished and malnutritioned. MNU helped the aliens (Derogatorily named "prawns") by allowing them to live in district 9 and by allowing them equal rights to humans. MNU take matters into their own hands as conflicts between prawns and humans become substantial after many years. They begin relocating the prawns in District 9 into a new area just outside Johannesburg called District 10. While trying to relocate a prawn named Christopher Johnson, Wikus unknowingly ingests alien fluid. The alien fluid begins mutating Wikus into a prawn, and he is taken to MNU, but escapes after having undergone much experimentation. He pleads with Christopher the prawn to cure him, and he is given hope. Wikus and Christopher then venture into MNU to retrieve the fluid - which is the last remaining fluid available to fuel Christopher's space ship. Christopher makes a deal with Wikus that he will use the fluid to return to his home planet, only to return three years later to cure Wikus.

At first Wikus is enraged at the news, and turns on Christopher. Later, however, he learns to let go as the forces of the infamous Nigerians as well as the MNU are after him and Christopher. The plot plays on the theme of xenophobia, and is historically linked to the event of Apartheid (which occurred in South Africa as an act of racism).  Effectively, the humans show contempt toward the aliens - even though the laws protected them, they were still vulnerable to human superiority.

Poor or Impressive?
District 9 has awoken the originality within me that I thought had disappeared a long time ago. As a South African, I feel proud to review a film so controversial and original that I would never have thought about it myself. The film evokes heart felt emotions toward the end, even tough it is not intended to be a movie as such. In addition to this, District 9 was also funny as it displayed typical South African habits and personalities. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I truly believe it to be the "movie of the year."

Viva Wikus!

Half life 2 Episode 3

For all those people who played Half life 1 or Half life 2 would have noticed that they were market changing games. Meaning that Half life 1 was the first game that was a first person shooter to be well received by consumers. When Half life 2 was released there was complete amazement and shock at how deep and interesting the storyline was. The graphics on both those games were completely unheard of at the time and even for a few years afterward.
Half life 2 episode 1 and 2 were released about a year apart. Valve used the Source engine for all of the games.
Although nothing much has been said about Half life 2 Episode 3, there are some things that valve have said to confirm that it is in existence and are working on it.
For instance, When Valve was questioned about Half Life 2 Episode 3 they did not deny that they were working on it.
Also Valve have recently stated that they will be learning Sign Language. They said that they would use this to explain why Dog and Alex can sign to each other and can "talk" to each other while no one else can understand what they are saying. This sounds like a interesting twist to the story.
I am very excited to see this latest installment for myself, and I hope that Valve will release early 2010. If it is anywhere near as awesome as any of the previous episodes I will definitely say well done to Valve.
Here is some concept art of how Half lIfe 2 Episode 3 will look.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

You might have heard of the game released by Ubisoft. You might've not. I certainly had not until I overheard some of people talking about it. I quickly joined in the conversation and what they told me quickly intrigued me. I decided that I had to play it.

The first thing to note about the game, is the beginning. It starts off with a cut scene of two people pointing guns at each other. Those people you find out later in the game are in fact two brothers. The two brothers are Ray and Thomas McCall

The game is based in America during the American Civil War. The two brothers start off on a mission to find out if their home has been destroyed. From finding their partly destroyed house they set on a mission to run away from the army ( after they deserted to go home), and kill the people who caused their mother to die.

They run to Mexico with their little brother, William, tagging along. William is a reverend at the time, and believes that his duty is to turn his brothers away from their evil deeds "towards the light".

After getting kicked out of a town for killing the sheriff, the three brothers spot a beautiful woman, Marisa, who is been harassed by some cowboys. The brothers rescue her only to find out that she is married to Juan 'Juarez' Mendoza. Juarez then tells them about the mythical Lost Treasure of Cortez. They agree to help him out for a share of the treasure.

Call of Juarez is a typical gangster cowboy game, except that you can choose between either of the two brothers (Ray and Thomas) to play with. Each are better with a certain weapon, and only Ray can wield double pistols, except when both brothers work together to eliminate a room full of people. The storyline, although short (took me about 7 hours to complete) is very gripping. It consists of many gunfights, horse races, fighting against natives, and puzzle solving. From the moment I started playing the game I knew that I would get addicted. Also, unlike most other games where you have a chance to free roam and explore the countryside, this game is actually fun with realistic side challenges that only add to the plot.

Need to know:

Graphics - are reasonably good, although some of the cut scenes look a bit rough overall the graphics are good.

Multiplayer - The multiplayer is fun, it consists of mostly team based modes.

Keys - Not complicated at all, the main thing that you use when playing is your mouse.

Original - Yes, although it is quite similar to most gun games, except for the fact that it auto aims slightly. This is not a bad thing, as the guns don't do much damage.

Similar to - Gun

Overall game play - The game is extremely fun, although lacking somewhat in AI. The graphics could have been a bit better, but overall the game was extremely fun.

Gamespot rating : 7.5

IGN rating: 7.7

My rating: 79%

My Opinion on the Barter System

Before EFT, Paypal, and cash, the barter system served as the only method of trade. Markets were dependent on buyers and sellers coming together to establish a price and quantity of a good. Much the same as the markets that exist today, however it is also much different. The "price" referred to in today's economy is quite different from that of bartering. With money, a definite value is known. With bartering however, things become complicated as there is no set value on a certain good and thus it can make trade very difficult or unfair. Below are some of the pro's and con's of Bartering in Today's Society... These are the result of a class debate, however the verdict is yet to be reached; so your conclusion would be much appreciated.

Pros of the barter system:

• People who are willing to work may "barter" their labour in exchange for goods; encouraging hard work and healthy competition.
• In addition, it would also be more fair to the people as those who are willing to work will get rewarded and those lacking the effort will in turn lack the reward. Poetic justice, I say.
• In an ideal system, everyone wins. "one man's treasure is another man's trash" is a good way of describing this point: if a good is of no worth to you, it can always be traded to a consumer in need of that good. This again kicks out unfairness.
• As one man values his goods differently to another, poverty would be harder to establish as he may be "poor" and still significantly value his commodities.
  
• As a child, you would learn the real value of your goods and be less inclined to waste as there is no change in return for your good.
• The fact of there being no change also makes trade much simpler, as even a toddler won't exchange his lollipop for your rock (Shame on you).
• Credit card fraud would not be possible as physical goods cannot be streamed virtually in the way that real money can.

Cons of the barter system:

• Although it is mentioned that bartering can cause overall fairness in an economy, the exact opposite is also true. If a man is in desperate need of water and he only owns a car, he cannot exchange half his car for another man's water. He may be forced to wait for alternate suppliers.
• Similarly, it can make life very complicated because an equilibrium price can be difficult to establish. This is because there is simply no value with which to compare goods.
  
• Lack of a generally accepted equilibrium price would ultimately result in time wasted negotiating.
• In a modern economy, one cannot rely purely on what is present in his pocket. Savings and loans are required in any major economy, and would be nearly impossible in a barter system.
• Tangible goods may be lost due to natural disasters out of the owner's control.
• It would be difficult receiving wages/salaries as one may not have the capacity either at home, or even on his way home, to carry the payment. Whereas, the space physical money takes up is negligible.
• In my opinion, technology would be harder and more time consuming to develop, as developers and engineers would require some type of standard payment in order to make for quick and mass purchases.
• As mentioned in the comment - children of the like may be trading at an early age and being unwise and uneducated, would result in bad decisions and people taking advantage of one another.
• People of high stature may not like the idea of others being considered as well off as they are.
  

The conclusion? Simply put, there is no possibility of returning to a barter system.
As technology develops, more people's needs are satisfied, more
problems solved, and an overall increase in the standard of living takes place.
The barter system would not accommodate people's needs and wants in this society,
it is not an option. However, it can be argued that the progressive change from
the old system to the current system may have been premature. Not only has
Technology increased exponentially, but also people's perceptions have become very
shallow and their lives materialistic.

Prototype - Edible Mince review

Prototype is a fast paced RPG (role play game) developed by Radical Entertainment, set in Manhattan. The protagonist of the story is named Alex Mercer, who is a shape shifter and along with these powers, he also possesses the ability to "consume" enemies. This is done to gain health or the enemy's memories. These memories are stored in what's known as the web of intrigue - a place to visit memories that have been acquired. Each memory places another puzzle piece in place, ultimately revealing the story line little at a time.

Alex is after the military people who are responsible for both the viral outbreak in Manhattan, and for his own Special abilities. In addition, he must also destroy certain "infected" along the way. Think of him as the chosen one. Although the plot is very in depth, it is not hard to follow and is certainly very clever (and 'gripping'). I love This game :]


Need to know:
Graphics - great. with the exception of Alex shapeshifting or consuming others.
Multiplayer - No multiplayer
Keys - complicated key combinations, but with little effort can be easily grasped.
Original - Yes, although the general idea of people being infected and overwhelmed with viruses is used. Still great though.
Similar to - Assassin's Creed
Overall game play - Extremely fun, certainly one of the best Single player games I have ever played. Keep you entertained for hours.

Gamespot Rating: 8.5
IGN Rating: 7.5
My rating: 85%