Thoughts & Words
On life, learning, and everything in between.
Is social media forcing human interaction to a higher level?
I’m one of the last people you’ll find on social media. Yeah, I have a Facebook account who doesn’t?, but I’m rarely on it. Like any new form of...
Helping employees find meaning in the job they have
Take a second to look at the new generation of workers. Those early-20 to late-30 year olds. How often do they change jobs? Extremely often. In fact,...
Keeping ShareThis & Digg Digg social counts after a WordPress Permalink change
I recently changed my theme. While changing, I figured that I would change my WordPress permalink structure as well. Apparently it’s good SEO to have...
What does “Working Smart” mean?
Don’t work hard, work smart. It’s an axiom that’s repeated everywhere. But most people don’t really believe it. Everybody hears it, yes. Everybody...
How to counter Evil Brainwashing
Did you know that a Brainwashing Manual exists? That’s right. It’s used by Scientology the cult-like religion that believes in aliens and that Tom...
Building trust with… myself
What happens when we meet someone else and introduce ourselves? How do you introduce yourself and what do you tell them? If you look closely enough,...
The most important thing you can buy with money
“Masa itu emas” It’s an old Malay expression, meaning “Time is Gold” or, more accurately, “Time is Money”. After all, money can buy you many things....
Is “impact” a better way to choose your work than “contribution”?
Imagine that you’re on your computer surfing the net. You check your email, then open up a website about your hobby, then you open Facebook. Oh look!...
Tell a Story in Circles
I came across an interesting article about speech geometry and how we should tell stories in circles link at bottom. It’s a very interesting read but...
The ‘Gamification’ of the Education System? Too late.
Gamification is a new trend that’s taking the marketing industry by storm. They suddenly realized at one point that gamers are addicted to their...
Do you buy a product? Or the story behind it?
I love stories. We all do. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to use them enough in our communication. I don’t just mean telling stories for fun. I mean...
How do lower entry barriers change the way we think?
Remember when flight tickets cost more than bus and train tickets? That was only about 10 years ago. But then something weird happened. Flights...
Are kings “trueborn”? Or are they made?
Imagine a country where a king ruled. Now imagine the king died. Who becomes the new king? The prince of course! But let me ask you this: Why does...
Are you pursuing happiness? Or just sugar?
We live for shots of pleasure. Shots that brighten our life compared to the dull, everyday, of happiness. Because happiness can be pretty boring,...
Can using time-consistent values solve your regret?
Have you ever bought something then later regretted buying it? Or said something that you reaalllllyyy wished you could take back? Of course you...
How do you learn to accept compliments? By using the “crossed-arms” effect
“Your work is really good!” “No, not really. It’s not that good. It’s just something I threw together quickly.” Why would you do that? Why would you...
Productivity is an addiction
Productivity is everything in today’s culture. That and positivity. If you can somehow do more and more and more while still being completely happy...
“Your reputation precedes you”: The importance of reputation
A reputation, an image, is something extremely hard to build. The reason is because you’re building trust. But there’s something slightly different...
Waterproof Phone! Here I come! Liquipel Malaysia
I’ve been going on and on for the past 6 months about getting a waterproof phone. I knew the tech was there. Liquipel showed it to us in January at...
Standards: We measure everything, because we don’t know what is worth measuring
The human brain was made for comparing. It wasn’t made to understand absolutes. Whenever we evaluate and judge something, it’s always by comparing it...
Anticipation
There is an oddness in our daily world. Anticipating something can give you as much happiness as actually getting it. Sometimes you’ll wait for weeks...
Adapting the Education System to an Information Rich Digital Age
Everyone agrees that our current education system is flawed. The surprising thing is that everyone says this no matter which country they’re from....
Site update
Alright! Site updated finally!!!. And a proper post coming tomorrow. Compare the before and after pictures: Before & after pictures of the site ...
Symbolism: Simplifying the layers
We are creatures of limited minds. We look on with envy at those people smarter than us, wondering how they understand things so well and so fast....
A Poem is a Sketch
I describe sometimes. But describing isn’t always good. Explaining doesn’t always convey meaning. They say that the best way to communicate is to fit...
The path to success is not by avoiding failure
There’s two layers of meaning to this. The first layer is clear enough. If you wish to get an A in your class, you cannot get that by avoiding...
Moving away from pain only gives you motivation until the pain is gone
We’re only human. We can’t always continuously motivate ourselves. Therefore, the source of your motivation has to be chosen carefully. It’s like...
Don’t force yourself into a corner. Don’t give yourself a reason to fail.
I know, I know. I’ve just posted about forcing myself into a corner to grow. But over the years, I’ve also managed to get a different perspective on...
Do I want choice? Or do I want what’s right?
Have you ever had a moment where you wanted to do something that you knew was wrong? Then you said to yourself, “I’m gonna do it anyway because it’s...
Can prophets deserve hellfire?
Prophet Ya’qoub a.s. also known as Jacob in christianity had 12 sons. 10 sons from one wife and 2 from another. Those 10 tried to kill their...
When fear stops you from living
You decide based on your emotions. Why? Because emotions tell you what’s important to you. You only feel strong emotions for something that you care...
The mistake you can learn from… and the mistake you can’t
We are so afraid of making mistakes! Let me first tell you about my experience in teaching classes, then explore how not making mistakes affects us...
The social magician
There are so many aspects of ourselves. The good parts and the bad. The successes and the failures. Here’s an interesting question: How do you make...
Why we love buying but hate being sold to
Did you know that making a decision yourself is more important than making a good decision? You would think that people want to make the best choice....
Who am I? Your multiple self
Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes. — Walt Whitman I spoke in my previous post about how I...
You control your future?
Mindset by Carol Dweck is a book that says we sometimes develop a fixed-ability mindset. A mindset where who we are can’t change. This mindset says...
What’s love? And what’s desire? Can they be the same?
We had a brilliant discussion, the 4 of us. Peppered with stories of fasting in restaurants and the Loch Ness monster and a little bit of icecream,...
I have read and agreed to the terms and conditions…
The world is fast-paced nowadays. There’s barely enough time to get everything done, much less enough time to double-check everything and make sure...
Is happiness a stupid goal?
The pursuit of happiness. Nowadays we’re all trying to get there, to that elusive place called “happiness”. It’s a dream we try to grasp and we do so...
You don’t “understand” until you’ve answered the question
In my science-related endeavours, there’s been one thing that has been absolutely true. I might think I understand, but I won’t, not really, not...
I wish I had worked harder?
I came across this amazing article. http://www.inspirationandchai.com/Regrets-of-the-Dying.html Perhaps you’ve had the fortune of reading it before...
The best decision is often the fastest one
Most people seem to fall into one of two extremes when it comes to making choices. The first group never thinks about them and just does whatever...
To find yourself, change everything else
We stagnate. We live in our tiny lives and can barely cope. We live from 9 to 5 and burn through weekends, and before we know it, another year has...
Good Defaults
The human mind is lazy. Most times we will simply go with the default option presented to us. This won’t be true if you’re a geek about that topic...
Gradual Backlash: The Society that Doesn’t Own Anything
When change comes too fast, the human instinct is to rebel. To fight back. To go against the change. The same thing happens on a much larger scale as...
Education isn’t the answer?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/opinion/07krugman.html?r=1 http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/education-is-not-the-magic-bullet/ I was...
Fancy language (A short rant)
Ok. So I surf the net and come across this comment on a post about “Assertiveness vs Aggressiveness in the workplace“. Take a moment and try to read...
It’s always my fault
It’s a way of thought It’s a lifestyle, it’s a philosophy, it’s a way of thought. I didn’t always have this mindset. I actually learned it through...
To change a culture: Deeper than intellect
I feel the urge to change my society. I feel the urge to change the muslim world. I feel the urge to change the world around me. I know many of you...
Satisficing: The 9 other ways
If there were 100 ways to do a thing; 90 ways would be wrong and only 1 way would be right. Guess what? There are 9 other ways left. These 9 other...
Why conflict is good.
I’m not entirely sure why people think conflict and wars are inherently bad. I agree that they’re not entirely pleasant most times, but it doesn’t...
Fear won’t stop you from smoking (or other bad habits)
It’s the funniest thing that campaigns to stop people smoking seem to be based around fear. They make tobacco companies put those weird pictures of...
What I’ve learnt today about myself
I love understanding people. I’ve had it in my head since early on that we’re all pretty much the same. I don’t believe that people are different. So...
I don't get it: Don't spend haram money on food
Today I was having an interesting discussion with a friend on studies and work and it kinda veered towards the money you earn. One of the things he...
Technique
Power, technique, strategy. Which one should come first? I’ve been taking up rock climbing recently. It’s only been twice but it’s really fun. Like...
Unfocused
Focus is a big thing for me. I’ve always felt a bit special because I could do things with full concentration. If I watch a movie I’ll probably be...
What I learned from debate
Debate is something that took over my life. I obsessed over it. I threw away weekends for it. When people invited me out, I’d say, “I can’t. I’ve got...
Emotional Time
I sat down the other day and tried to go through my life and my memories to see what brought me here today. It’s an interesting exercise. You should...
Whitespace
My little brother was born into a world where the internet already existed. A world where all the information in the world is available at your...
Capitalism
I was watching Prof David Harvey on hardtalk today. He was talking about how capitalism is not ideal for the masses. It was very interesting. He...
A good leader has to be a great follower
What makes a good leader? If you follow a person you can always find flaws and they can always fail you. Dr. Arif once said, “You have succeeded not...
This must be how a father feels…
Just over a week ago, the 9th IIUM Interschool Debating Championsip started. Nearly 80 schools from all over Malaysia, coming together to debate....
What I learned from Math
This will sound really geeky, but I love Math. And it really annoys me when I hear people and students say that math isn’t important because: - we...
What I learned from theatre
I was feeling bored at the time, with a light course load that semester. So I wandered around, appearing more in the faculties of economics and human...
Speaking in Public Doesn’t Need Perfection
My heart beats faster. I start to feel that slight churning in my stomach. I wonder if this is such a good idea? Walking in front of 100 people and...
Exposed on the Internet
When people talk about how technology is bad, they’re almost always talking about how there’s good-for-nothing information on the net, or how people...
Geeks, Rules and Human Interaction
The geek view As a self-styled geek, I understand the geek mentality. It’s actually very simple. Everything should make sense scientifically. Which...
Speaking Plain English vs. Using Jargon
What if people forgot about your words? I always heard people speak using big words. No, wait, that’s not true. I always heard about people who speak...
The Aspects of Happiness
To be happy is to be content with what you have. You don’t expect more. You don’t want more. So to know if you’re happy or not, you would first have...
The Smaller Home: Less is More
I was looking at house designs the other day I enjoy looking at beautiful designs when I had a sudden thought. “Why not make your house smaller...
Plans are NOT goals!
Have you ever asked someone what their life goals were? They answer the question relatively easily. But when you pay attention to what they’re...
Perfectionist paralysis (knowledge)
When you’re a perfectionist, you’ll meet problems. Simply because reality is NOT perfect, and never will be. It’s a problem because: 1. You waste...
Forcing myself into a corner to grow
Throughout high school I was pretty shy. And ‘pretty shy’ is a huge understatement. Of course, I wanted to change that. However, sometimes the...
I don't get it: du'a after prayers when others are waiting
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Information Diet
- Click to share on Twitter Opens in new window - Click to share on Facebook Opens in new window - Click to share on Google+ Opens in new window - ...
Life is not a TV series
When there are problems, life doesn’t stop. Things still happen. Life goes on. So it turns out that it’s not a good idea to stop everything else and...
Pushing past your comfort zone
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Samsung Series 7 Chronos 14” Laptop NP700Z3AH Launch in Malaysia
Dec 13 2011 Samsung Series 7 Chronos 14” Laptop NP700Z3AH Launch in Malaysia I was...
The Whole Eco-movement is So Misunderstood
Lutfi Torla.com Subscribe via RSS - Home - About this site - Debate 13Mar/101replies The Whole Eco-movement is So Misunderstood Everyone is...
To be myself, I had to change myself.
Nov 12 2011 To be myself, I had to change myself. Oh no. I’m doing it again. I’m all...
Windows 7 Upgrade Hack (Save 60%)
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