and you also mentioned something like you know exercising or even drawing so how much is it or where do I have to start getting this resources so there are many nuances and things that you have to think about even before starting the hobby and I think the best part of reading is uh we already start perhaps being literate at the age of maybe three to four and I think you know the first things that we we do before even getting a phone or uh to even get entertainment as well is reading or even listening to music as well and reading is something that is really simple it's uh I guess intuitive for most people in singapore as well mainly because uh we are exposed to that at the at an early age and you mentioned something about how you know


I guess exercising or certain you know fun activities actually help you before you sleep or help to make sleep easier for example exercising or even colouring before you sleep a lot of times I think what uh we want to talk about here is how reading can help uh improve your sleep as well and I think there are there are quite a bit of studies here that actually uh support that decision so for example most of the time uh people do have bedtime rituals so rather than just falling asleep some people colour at the same time uh people read as well and according to some statistics as well from uh mayo clinic reading a real book actually helps to relax you more than zooming out in front of the screen or even sitting out of the bed and the best part your book can follow you to the bed as well can you colour in bed yes you can to a certain extent but you know keep tidying up is something that I I really don't want to do or is a last thing on my mind when I'm actually on my bed right and I hope it is for you as well so screens like you know e-readers and tablets might keep you awake longer but the same time you know reading near a book or reading with the kid actually helps build that mental capacity for the child as well but at the same time it's a lot easier for you to switch off and I guess in in the sense relaxed with a book in your hand and I think that is one of the key pastimes and also why you know reading before uh you know going to bed is something pretty interesting as well uh at the same time like what I mentioned reading can actually help complement certain activities as well like you mentioned exercising reading could take place as a routine together with the exercise or you know you could also read about exercises or even reading about how to keep fit uh with a good nutrition plan and all these knowledge gaps I think could be complemented with this hobby as well


at the same time although you do you do mentioned that you know exercise helps to keep the body I guess fit and healthy there are certain studies as well for to help show and prove that reading actually help fight uh alzheimer 's disease as well


and I think uh reading book puts your brain to work and at the same time if you read the right topics perhaps it could be an area of interest like you know reading puzzles or even uh books about I guess fitness in that sense you are two point five times less likely to even develop alzheimer's disease as well


so since the people suggest that exercising the brain uh may actually help uh you know, the body overall I think reading is still a more or less a pretty good pastime and if possible I think it's one of the best one so far as well


dyslexia right yup dyslexia


right, right so I do agree with you that perhaps reading may not be something that's uh I guess applicable or as wonderful for other people but at the same time I think reading is by far still one of one uh one of the greatest pastimes out there as well and beyond that I think what I want to drive at is reading can actually be complementary to other types of hobbies uh or pastimes for other people as well and not only that I think hobbies or even pastimes are there for us to relax and but on top of that uh reading actually helps make you a lot more empathetic as well because getting lost in a good read actually makes it easier for you to relate to others at the same time I think it creates uh it helps the readers understand what others are thinking and those I guess understanding other people's mental state is still a crucial skill that enables uh I guess complex social relationship uh relationships to take place at the same time it helps build the back end of the society as well


so I think there there must be certain reasons of why schools adults or even I guess educators themselves encourage reading uh at an early age and I hope at this point although there might be other hobbies out there what I hope is to make reading something more of a staple or something primary which is uh what I guess most people should do at this point to be able to build on their character but at the same time gain that uh knowledge


uh while relaxing at the same time and I think in terms of the hobbies that can do that not a lot not a lot of hobbies out there I think would justify you know the position of reading and I think to conclude my point reading helps to make you empathetic at the same time it does have benefits uh to help relax certain elements as well but at the same time reading is something complementary that uh could


tie in really well with other hobbies and pastimes as well, so I do encourage you to read as well <P2>donovan</P2> so if you if you do have a past time I I guess in this point do consider taking up reading


part three debate topic three


okay so I will begin so let me assess the view of pop music today and why it is frivolous right and I do agree to some certain extent that pop music today is frivolous mainly why I think it's because, pop music fuels the mainstream market and in order to fuel the mainstream market a lot of times this song get watered down and because of that it becomes cheap and easy to fuel the music business because what they appeal to is a lowest common denominator of many music lovers like you and I


and on on top of that the idea here for pop music is to reach a wider audience thus they call it popular music right and I think in order to do that a lot of times , the creativity of music has been dimmered down into even the simplest uh forms of I guess uh you know relations to perhaps love


uh community sex for example and which is why I feel strongly that the pop music these days or the trends for the pop music these days does not really bring out that community or even that creativity level as well and while do why I do say that uh there are studies out there who proved


uh to be true because in scotland as well they did, publish uh one of the largest studies out there in twenty o eight that involved about thirty six thousand people and I think what they did was they asked each participant to rank their favourite genre of music and from there they discovered that the common characteristics are from all genres of listeners right


was that they listened because it was creative however there were the only one group of listeners that showed a genuine significant lack of creativity and those are actually pop music lovers


so I I think I do agree that uh certain artists out there do put out good music I mean I myself I I I do agree that ed sheeran plays or or really produces good music as well but at the same time I think uh what I what my stand here is to talk about how you know pop music or people who like


pop music don't necessarily equate to useless people or stupid people it's just that I guess pop music don't train us as much, to expect you know more artistic or or for us to live creative lives in a way music is supposed to nourish our minds right and I think a lot of times


in when you have a mega industry that is driven by money cost or even you know business ideologies certain parts of music could be dumbed down in a sense, or certain parts of music could uh you know translate into, dollar making value or even money making senses as well so certain lyrics could be written mainly because they want to target a mass market


and certain tunes I guess are more or less you know created so that it's a lot catchier for people to even join in so a lot of times I guess when the artist is actually putting together or even producing music most of the times I guess uh


it all boils down to whether or not the song is made to sell and I think the idea of uh making pop song that's made to sell, it's really proven as well in terms of the pop variations and even the volumes of songs across decades as well so unsurprisingly I think they found that a lot of this new music


I guess uh that's being produced at this point has become more or less uh monochromatic in a way because it's less diverse in term in terms of the pitch content or even the melodic variations more or less I think pop songs have gotten much louder in the sense


but at the same time uh you know it has already been dumbed down in that sense because you only have raps you only have, I guess ballads love songs and a lot of time this a lot of times this music isn't even music anymore and it has become more of a platform to sell certain genres of music


and although I do agree that there are certain genuine uh music experiences as well for people like us these days chances are a lot of times we can't really, relate to the music that we have or listen to uh mainly because I think right now with the mainstream music the portrayals are more or less unrealistic because there's a lack of representation for all groups of people for example the LGBTQ community for example people


I guess who have you know gone through certain traumatic experiences in their life as well or even asians per se and I think there's lack of representation as well in the whole music industry it's something that helps , you know make music known uh I guess


non uh negotiable in that sense where music cannot be something that uh relates to all parties these days and if it does relate it relates to us only for a certain level of you know agreement which is for example you know love


marriage sex for example and stuff like that I think it's not really useful or adds value to us compared to even classical music back in the days yup so what are your thoughts on that


okay so while I do agree that certain music or even you know certain songs uh do define the decade as well so perhaps for example michael jackson defined a certain decade or even whitney houston I think songs these days uh do not define the decade as


represented by the older artists in that sense as well because pop culture today brings a bit of negative influence but at the same time although it brings negative influence the channels to, even access to such music has widened by quite a bit you have you know YouTube Spotify a lot of this uh streaming music streaming channels out there but at the same time the younger audiences actually have access to this explicit content in that sense and why I think pop music today is frivolous is because


there are certain nuances of negative influence such as racism you know drugs, sex, or even I guess, singing about rape per se is something that I guess we wouldn't want in the society and for people who are generally younger and for them to be able to access this at the tap of their finger is something that is definitely not right at this point mainly because you know this access to technology


does not allow us to create certain level of censorship for music today so as such what I was hoping for is for music to be better to provide you know, better nuances or even thoughts although currently the only reason why they're actually moving towards that direction is because they need to be mainstream and in order to become mainstream I guess certain topics and trends are some things some things that they write on and if you do not maybe go


towards the trends or sing something else chances are it may not uh directly equate to more listeners or even loyal fans and that actually equate to lesser revenue, for the music industry or even their company in the long run so music these these days have a lot of nuances tied back to even just the song itself


from the choice of lyrics from the choice of music uh the notes that they use even the way they even portray the music video has more or less I guess have been impacted, by certain parts of uh the business as a whole uh and to be able to build up to that money making machine or to generate that level of revenue a lot of good things about music have been lost in that sense the the main reason I guess uh for this is really the creation of additional subcultures in that sense because of the internet


and uh for that reason it on its own I think pop music today uh deems to be frivolous in my point of view


okay right and I do agree with you that perhaps beyond just the marketing or the business of music itself the music industry uh revolves around the listeners, and for listeners at different decades and of different eras I think if we want to care about our culture and if we feel that music today is not relevant to us only we can make the change and in order to do that if we care about our culture then we should care about our minds and what we have to do is vote with our ears right and I think to sum everything up


music these days can be frivolous but in order to stop certain types of music to move move ahead like the ones who bring in some negative connotations or even , uh the ones who talk about certain nuances that we do not agree with uh what we have to do is stop uh building such formulas and stop pay paying the industry or agreeing to pay for certain uh you know songs like that and we might get real music back into our mainstream uh I guess uh


you know mainstream listening in the time to come and I think one way to do that, uh despite I guess common sense in the in that sense is well is because uh is that songs aren't played because they're popular and they're made to and they're make to be popular in that sense because they're played to make them popular


and in order to make them popular I think viewers like us or even listeners like us should be discerning in terms of the type of music that we play and thus I feel that there's still a lot of improvements I guess in this point and this age in time uh for music


uh there are different nuances and I guess uh for the industry players as well uh we really need to take a step back and re-evaluate how uh we're portraying certain groups of people, certain themes in our lives uh through the musical and with that I think I conclude my statement


debate topic one


so okay ya I hear you that censorship is uh you agree that censorship is important in the arts and society however I would like to bring out that the censorship for for arts right there there shouldn't be any like right or wrong in terms of uh expressions in terms of different art forms and that art is actually a form of uh if you look at it art is actually a form of conversation starter is is where people actually gather and discuss based on the different kind of arts uh that you're bringing for example like whether it's in terms of music arts or or uh or illustration or drawing


and one one of this uh issue with censorship is that it actually limits uh people's opinion people's thoughts about the uh different approaches and it also limits on creativity what the artist or or the person who is bringing out the art what is he trying to express


and one one of this example is actually by the director of the uh, national festival #ong keng sin#, uh #ong keng sen# he's actually the one who uh hosted with the singapore international festival and the point that he brought out during the festival is that it all these restrictions actually cost a lot of uh troubles for artists many artists around in terms of sharing their arts


the the troubles can range from like discouraging them from showcasing their arts cause of the the content that they're bringing as well as like to uh payments the amount of payments that they have to make just to bring the arts out to be exposed to the public or to even experts


so having all this kind of censorship really brings down the, the the thoughts and opinions that can be brought up by many people and I understand from your point just now that you said that censorship is actually uh a way of showing respect to different cultures different religions but however


without this censorship an uh artist or someone bringing out the art right is able to to bring out maybe like uh uh expression of a particular culture that is also actually a form of respecting it's a form of uh recognising this kind of culture and bring it out to the public to let uh public know of uh of of of these cultures


yup, so that's why I would say censorship is actually uh not a right thing for for arts in society because art is actually a form of expression it's meant to be shared to be uh appreciated be let known to the public so that there is a voice for for uh any content for every content out there


it might be wrong it might be right but at least there is still a topic people can still share on one and each other's opinion, yup


so from your point I understand that you're uh you're encouraging restrictions cause it actually foster on creativity but however I myself as a uh graphic and product designer, so designing is actually also a form of arts just that it's it's more functional wise and I understand you as a writer writer is also another form of arts


but however from our uh design experience wise, usually uh rather most of the time we actually did not give any restrictions restrictions at all because that will allow one to actually uh broaden out different ideas all sorts of ideas and then as time pass through the projects that's where you slowly initiate down to to more specific more uh appropriate or or or correct products


so that's why I would like to say that restriction isn't actually the first thing that we would do when it comes to creating when it comes to in in when it comes to art, because restriction would then be be limiting on your creativity restrictions would then be limiting on on what you're seeing for the problems or for the issues


so as for restrictions for example like the one that you mentioned about the Mediacorp, if there is censorship then there wouldn't be like that issue that we we face but however all that beyond that the issue doesn't come with Mediacorp not being able to uh have a censorship Mediacorp not uh limiting or shifting this uh kind of scripts to be in the the drama the issue actually comes with how the artists or the director actually interpret the uh the script wise how the the script writer actually interpreted the LGBT how it's like


so, it's not about restricting this kind of act so that people won't get confused or get wrong uh the wrong idea of this uh LGBT but it's more of whether the scriptwriter in the first place actually went into uh trying to understand how is this uh LGBQ uh LGBT uh culture like how do they actually uh


behave all those and that that's why it actually leads to this kind of uh issues that we see online so if the scriptwriter actually go and uh do some research and do a proper uh uh a thorough planning on the scripts and making sure that it it gives the correct uh understanding


people all then won't be, making a fuss out of this uh this issue and that, the in fact having this kind of LGBT or this kind of uh abnormal that's what people would say abnormal uh behaviour inside drama that is uh brought online or those would even uh help out with uh bring this awareness out to the public so that they would be


able to understand better in this kind of cultures that we have in singapore or be it any other countries uh out there so that's why it's uh to sum up is actually not about this err, censorship that is helpful it's more of


whether the person is expressing what they want to express correctly in the first place, so that's why having censorship in the uh having censorship would actually prevents people it will actually prevent people from understanding more about different cultures understanding more from uh the opposition from the other other people out there and and that's why I would strongly uh


uh, point out that censorship is actually not a good thing in terms of uh, uh, showing arts into the into the society, yup


so ya I agree to a certain extent with with all that restrictions the importance of having restriction in all the content or different form of arts but however I would like to bring you to the point whereby it's actually not the issue isn't with whether this uh particular uh point shouldn't be brought up public shouldn't be shown to the public it is actually more of whether is there someone else in there who is able to uh


provide like a second point of view to make sure that this uh whatever points or content that they would like to bring out is actually correct in the first place because, this kind of err this kind of concept of bringing like uh all these LGBT or or any other contents uh any other sensitive contents out to the public to the drama shows


, the the the entire concept of it is actually good it actually brings out uh recognition of different kind of cultures to the public but, if we do have to restrict then people out there won't be able to even know about like like who is this people what's this uh new culture in singapore for example so all we need actually is just if someone is actually bringing all these content the all we need is really just have a group of people or or extra uh manpower or someone who actually is uh part of this culture


to be uh checking through checking a thorough check through what they're trying to uh, film out what they're trying to uh showcase regarding this culture all we need is someone out there who can make sure that we are showing the correct kind of uh correct interpretation of the culture


yes twenty


debate topic two


okay I understand that for your point of view especially when you are uh a writer yourself that reading is the best hobby that you can have during your past your your your pastime but the point I want to bring out is that for hobby wise hobby is actually an interest


is a uh a passion that each individual has and different people would have different point of interest uh different things that they love to do especially in their past time so saying reading is the the most wondrous thing you can do during your pastime


would be more of uh individual thoughts and, that's why and each each hobby itself it actually provide it will also provide a set uh different set of skills uh different insights that you can gain from uh from different hobbies and it also has different level of expertise and difficulties along with it


so, so saying that reading is the best hobby it's uh it's really brings down to personal opinions, there are many different ways to achieve what reading uh this this hobby can achieve so for example like for me myself I am uh a designer I like to draw so for my pastime I think what would be the best uh thing that I can do during my pastime


is actually to draw to to draw also it helps with building up creativity it helps with boosting your critical thinking in your brain and if you hear before in research shows if like someone has this insomnia all those, what people actually advise you to do is actually do colourings that's why there's like covering books for people who have insomnia they can actually like paint all those because not only are you doing something that is uh


and that is using like critical thinking to like point of which colour to fill et cetera, the colours itself uh and the and the action of colouring actually improves on on like making sure that, you know you can cope with your insomnia


and that's why reading is not only the the, not the best or most wondrous thing to do, and by wondrous you also mean like it gives a inspiring or delightful feeling and there are many other hobbies out there other than drawing which also gives this kind of feeling so people might be into photography


so taking photo out there during your past time having some people would actually feel like you know they see a nice picture they will feel better they'll feel more like more insightful more inspiring and that's why you get to see like Apple all these wallpapers


those are like photo taken from professional photographers, who actually treat their treat it as their hobbies, and some people might even say sports is their best hobby that they can do in pastime whether they uh whether it's night time before they sleep they just love to exercise because


uh it does shows that exercise does improve on your body in every single way be it like having enough brain juice or keeping your health and uh keeping your health, fit and, healthy up there


so that's why I would say that, reading is not the best hobby but it's more of the individual like where uh their interest is in or where they are uh expert in


so that's why I would like to point out that, all hobbies are actually, uh the same in in every single way


okay so I understand that what you're trying to say is that reading is actually the most not only the most uh wondrous things to do in your pastime but it is also the most, efficient efficient way of uh


moving along with your pastime uh efficient things to do, but however I want to bring out that at the start you said that the uh we actually start reading or listening to music or or listening to someone who reads at at like three to four years old but at that point of time it's also where we actually start on doodling in the first place doodling and drawing and colouring also so not only do we just uh read some people they might actually be more uh more interested into drawings into uh colourings all those


so, in terms of exposure to to reading, they are we are all equally exposed to many other kind any other forms of hobbies, so at three years old you could be drawing three years old you could be playing sports like just kicking the ball around that's probably where you start like being interested uh in in in sports being uh having soccer as a hobby


and also, other hobbies might be more costly than reading but when it comes to hobby wise, individual every individual would actually go uh through the furthest extent to make sure that they uh are really into this hobby so for photography yes one might be spending thousands of dollars in a DSLR or expensive camera but there are also other people who actually just use their daily phone because what's more important is not just about the quality but actually the content of the photo that's making them more delightful more insightful and normally when it comes to photography for drawing wise in fact drawing wise you won't even uh really need to spend a lot too it's just paper and pens


some people like me when I go to starbucks I'll just use like the napkin the napkin is pretty good quality, you can just use like free products out there and eventually we can still move on with this hobby that we love so, and if it comes to reading wise some people might spend hundreds of dollars just to get this uh exclusive book just to read it for maybe like


twenty or fifty pages, and some people might go all the way to the furthest library of that that furthest away from their home just to borrow this uh exclusive book that's only in that particular library, so what I'm trying to say is that that every hobby is actually equal in in every aspect uh it's not about whether it's efficient or not


every individual will make their hobby the most efficient out of uh out of their pastime, and on top of that, when it comes to whether reading is the easiest or not like I said before different hobbies do have different level of expertise


and if you have this hobby at the start already, for that particular person he wouldn't even feel that this is uh he might even feel that reading is actually more difficult and and harder to actually focus than like him maybe like playing sports or going out there to uh take photo or to draw or even to sing so


that's why I would say hobby in terms of hobby wise it's really up to the individual, and that, we also have to look into people who have difficulties in reading in the first place, for like for example for those people with uh dyslexia


the difficulty in reading yes, so, for those people they would definitely have other terms of uh other kind of thing that they would do, uh as their hobby so by saying like uh reading is the best hobby we have to really look into everyone out there whether they have difficulties or whether they they have any other forms of uh uh uh uh uh illness all those


there are many other different ways and it it caters to every individual differently


yup yup, definitely I'll agree with like what you say that reading can actually complements with other hobbies but having this statement that uh reading is the most wondrous thing in the pastime is like uh it's like recognising reading as a top priority in terms of hobbies out there to the people so what I would bring from my uh point of


uh standpoint is that, every hobby stands equally and that you can complement with each other but reading is not the only thing that is beneficial it's not the only thing that's uh uh most beneficial to everyone out there every hobby caters to every individual differently


and that, other hobbies out there should actually get the equal amount of recognition to to just your reading uh, to not just reading so that's why I would say hobbies are all equal and it is defined by every individual themselves


debate topic three


yup so the topic is that uh pop music today is actually frivolous and and a way of saying is it with the uh the study shown that it is frivolous but however I would like to point out that there are still actually uh we cannot just say pop music today is frivolous cause there are still actually good


pop music out there and that is still inspiring and is still well appreciated by many out there so to to say that it's frivolous we are actually like just uh closing our eyes ignoring all these good uh musics out there


so so example would be like ed sheeran's beautiful people uh which actually plays uh has a good lyric and it does inspire people and and make people appreciate themselves more all those then there are definitely many out uh


uh many other pop music out there that is more uh inspiring and that, if you are saying about the pop music in terms of uh raps all those that's what most people might uh might say that, might use it as a reason why pop music today is frivolous like those uh uh uh rapping songs like gucci gang all those it might play a part in in in this research but however


there are still many good songs in different pop uh music genre for example like justin bieber's intention it is even though it's a rap, if you see the lyric wise there is still many good things inside the rap which is also inspiring in the first place


and there I'll bring out uh to you that music actually changes along with the time, and we might say for today the pop music might be, frivolous might be useless doesn't add value


but if you look into the past there are there are some song that we listen to right now that is from like maybe nineteen eighties and we might think that ya it's normal is is okay it make sense all those but in the past the definition of frivolous might change the interpretation of frivolous


probably change over time, and for example one of it would be like the the the song uh, there are a few songs out there which is kind of it which is bad in the first place so for example like charlie brown or like cuddle me we might think that all these songs are okay but back then there is different uh interpretation of frivolous


and that's why we cannot say that today's pop music is uh useless it doesn't add value it does add value to some extent where be it whether it's in terms of the lyrics or in terms of the music it was produced as many people out there are still enjoying and still appreciating it


so I think yup oh yes, ya so for for your point I think what most people uh today having a wrong idea is that music is uh not just meant to be meaningful music is actually also a form of art


and and it and it has a lot of aspects uh aspects in in terms of music it can be in terms of your script your your lyric writing in terms of how you create the music in the first place and if you think in the past back in the olden days there weren't even something called a song


the music back then or the pop music back then, would just be music instruments whereby it's just different tunes different uh uh forms of playing all those so when it comes today even to today, music should not be uh interpreted as a useless or or whether it add values or not just based on the lyric itself because music today actually also adds value


but in terms of the culture that we give out uh the culture that we we bring out to the people today so if you you can say that back in nineteen eighties, music uh actually changes the culture not based on the lyric is also based on uh uh the the the kind of music that they produce and that


it music was the the tune and the instruments that they use or how they play it how it sounds like is the thing that changes culture is the thing that changes how our music today is and is not is not just the lyrics itself, and that's why by saying whether it it uh it add values or not it's actually it does add value and in fact


it is a main thing that, keeps the music changing keeps the music uh evolving as time pass, that's why I would bring out that that uh music actually the pop music today is actually not frivolous it is the the the is not just the lyric itself it's the background it's the tune that is


adding value that is changing the culture the the pop culture that we have today and without this, if we just look into the lyric itself then people won't be there won't be any changes to this uh uh to how the music sounds like uh in the future all all those


that's why I would say uh I would disagree that uh music today is not frivolous


so yes I agree to a certain extent what you're trying to say but I would like to bring out when it comes to technology wise yes technology that we have today is a reason why people are exposed to all these negative songs to songs with all this inappropriate uh uh lyrics or content


but it's also because of the lack of technology in the past that's why not many people are aware of uh uh all these negative songs out there back in those days, and and that's why I would say it's the exposure to the the song that is making people feel like uh the pop music today is frivolous


if you if you put yourself into the past whereby there is no YouTube there's no social media there's no uh form of like uh way you can, reach out to music that were made in like other countries so you will never know whether there are actually uh many other negative or provoking songs out there just that it is not brought out or not spread out as fast or as quick to to many people unlike like today


and on top of that I would like to say that , I would like to sum up that this uh concept whether pop music is frivolous or not it actually boils down to individual's opinion, how they interpret it how they interpret music as frivolous or not if they're looking into lyrics or if they're looking into how the music is made like the song the sound how it sounds like cause music actually has different aspects and that's why people


we can't just say music is pop music is uh frivolous there are many other aspects and that's why ya


yup so agree but uh although that I would say that I will bring out that we should not restrict all those because music at the end of the day music is still a form of art


and it is really up to the individual to feel whether they would like to see this as a negative or provoking song or they would like to see it as a song that adds value so I would like to conclude from my stand that uh, music cannot be said to be uh pop music cannot be said to be frivolous or not it is up to every individual


part one debate topic one


[orh] so I can okay, okay


I can start at seventeen minutes right, so hard hor I'll be talking about how far is failure an essential part of success, in today's world everyone is running behind success and away from failure but however the irony is they fail to understand that failure is an inevitable aspect of success journey


running through failures one can develop skills and learn not to repeat their mistakes for an example will be jordan who's one of the greatest basketball player, he was once told he is not good enough for the school team team but without giving up if he try to


uh improve his skills that he was lacking and became one of the best proving his coaches all wrong who say he will fail, so does bertrand talk back to me or


then


, there are numerous I just I just are you asking that, one classic example would be thomas thomas edison's light bulb, he had failed nearly thousand times there's a a very good quote, and succeeded to get a light bulb if he had given up in middle we wouldn't even have a light today


then there's also, , uh ford who found the car he actually went bankrupt twice and still was able to come up with a car in, shorter period of time


from ninety hours of making a car it became a ninety minute to make a car and he became successful and to even today his cars are running in the road if you can see, and also uh


failures will, develop your character and not let, us take success for granted an example for this would be J K rowling who had a really abusive relationship had a miscarriage after her uni but still was able to come up with the very hot series known as harry porter which was famous


do you have anything to say for this bertrand


okay


I think we're being too specific just towards startups but the question is generally, for all the human races like for generally humans you and me and others so I think, if you say it in a way of startup


then I should agree yes there are unsuccessful but if you look into unsuccessful, maybe you are like quite pessimistic sorry but you are yes you are pessimistic


help them, ya go ahead


so they didn't learn from their mistakes, did they try to improve from themselves from there, they didn't that's why they failed, if they have taken this failure as an essential part they could have gone to success, but instead, they failed an another example I can give you is barack obama who was not even a


given a class leader during his school days but now was a president, for u s for two times, and also uh, it will also improve your great resilience and determination as you've said they had their problems if they had the resilience and determination self discipline they could have become better


and also you said uh Apple's all a very successful but once steve jobs actually, or got uh, nearly he thought of his own company because of his other stakeholders, but he didn't give up he bounced back so actually you must not take your success for granted also so there's a good example to show that success is not for granted and failure is not the end you still can learn from your failure and failures will not define you


so bertram, again


yes I agree but can you learn anything from success, only when you fail you would start to strive hard, don't tell me like if you get a very good marks in your test you will be like going to study harder, you will just like to enjoy right but only when you fail you will know the importance and you will have something to study for and look out for when you have gotten good marks you won't have the drive sometimes


it's like human nature it's not I'm not specifying anyone but it's human nature and they have success easily they will start to be complacent, and they might lose very soon, ya that's what one of my uh teachers will say success leads to complacency complacency to failure it's a cycle it just goes round


I I said success leads to complacency I never said success doesn't lead to complacency


ya so only failures can teach you this is what I'm trying to say


well you said that if you score high marks you will have that pressure to continue with it


well it's true if you are like, uh like to study a lot and you are very focused on results only but for those who failed, they need to prove to this world people will like looking down at them then they have the pressure also but for people who have scored well and they just drop they can


people will be like quite forgiving others in other point of view so for those who fail they need to like prove them that they can do it and must at least get back to the passing mark or an average, so through this failure actually I'm I'm coming back to my same point is is your character mah your character decides how you go on


just because you failed you give up then I think you will continue to fail so you must have the grit and resilience and determination


(mmhmm) yes


well you were talking about hormones uh being secreted then when you are feeling there will be a depressing hormone and, also more than us you said some more


but I, I think it's as a human, you are a growing we are having evolved from a being a monkey to become now a, uh human, so I think it's an evolution, and you should learn how to face failures


if you do not face to learn to face your failures at a young age then as you get older by seeing small failures I, think you might collapse and you might not know what to do so I think it's better to learn how to face failures like from school like failing a simple test than rather than losing your money in a business when you're growing older


and not knowing how what to do and just because you are stress hormone got released then you are just stuck there life should move on, and for that it should be taught since young, never be mild


say to your point


I'm not sure what do you define failure as for me what I defined failure as is failing to meet your expectation you feel like expecting a seventy five in your test and then you still get around, sixty or sixty five you still pass


but still then you need to work harder towards your goal that's what I mean as failure the way you would meant failure is like not doing your test properly failing in school then I think your life will not move on you will not learn anything, people need to uh push you towards


and there'll be a harder journey for them and when they grow old they will regret their decisions of, not, not learning from their failures


if they never learn from their mistakes they will not be, not


why not, it it it can be success, but it depends on what kind of success you're looking into uh, uh nope it's not


thank you, so so it's not a, so I I have heard people say they need some luck


they need uh some, something to work for them some fortunate or something some money to start a business, but even if they have all this and they don't learn, I think it will lead to a major failure rather than small successes they might get with luck or with with a startup money they held anything


so I think learning from mistakes is very important and you can only learn a lot from your failure so failures an essential part of the success


failures doesn't define you it teaches you and you should accept the teachings, is what I'm trying to say I never say you are a failure if you'd just make a small mistake, I think you would be a bigger failure if you never learn from your mistake and repeat to do the same mistake


when he before he became a best player in the world, he was quite bad he was not even selected to for his school team so that that's the place where he actually concentrated and played very hard and never and he never enjoyed his successfully he always worked hard for his next game


he always never uh celebrated he never showed off his uh best player but he always worked hard day and night he always go to gym all the seven days if you had seen his uh biography or something video, so


part two debate topic two


okay


okay, so the hi all today the topic is experiences are more relevant than material possessions, so for this topic I actually uh I I also agree that experiences are more valuable than material possessions


life in twenty first century is fast paced and consumer oriented with media dominating us with the idea that we must buy the best only then we can be happy and maintain our status in the society


uh clothes, are not worth it, but after you buy something expensive I think you'll be using it for one or few times like example uh trendy clothes like expensive jeans you'll be wearing for the first few times maybe you will remember but as time goes on I think you will forget there's a new one because it'll be starting to fade


same for the, any other expensive possession you will have but however, memories and experiences like with your friends having dinner or your family I think it'll be always fresh in your mind whenever you think about it you will be happy


and you would actually even have the hormones of uh happiness secreting in you to make you feel better, so bertrand do you have anything to say or do I continue


(mmhmm)


last week, and if you are going to talk like that just for the sake of arguing then I can actually say that


uh, it's not really about remembering exact things what happened to each and every time but, how many times have you uh, eaten with your family I can ask you the same thing again then


so how does that feel for you


so you say uh we need to have camera to capture so it's good but do you even have the experiences of going out with your family or friends, did you even have the opportunity to take pictures at first place if you are already spending so much money or time on trying to buy the best in the town like your


shoes camera or your some soccer jerseys or anything do you will you have the time or will you have the money after you buy all this to spend with your time your time with your family and your loved ones


but do you think it's always possible to record things everywhere wherever you go, some things it's tangible it cannot be recorded it must be felt, you must go through the emotions you must get the feeling so next time you go through a similar uh experience


like next time you have your own children then they do something you have done when you were young you will get the emotions back uh what have been happening or done what have you been doing with your, parents and will it will bring back your memories you it's not necessary that you must remember each and every second but it's the emotions that will


that will bring you back to your previous memories with your parents or your loved ones your friends, so I think and also you will like also saying about uh having camera diaries are all material possessions


I think here we must make make a point clear what we mean by material possession, are we referring to a expensive thing or uh just a simple book like a diary is a material possession, so any material possession we have


uh, if it is going to help towards having good experiences then I would say why not we can have a material possession but however here in today's uh, culture material possession actually refers to some expensive extraordinary stuff like uh


uh expensive car but for our age group of people is the gadgets we are buying often, or like for boys is the uh jerseys where they will be only like wearing once or twice when it's like so hot wearing those you see will actually even make us more hotter they buy the


and for girls or female I'm not making to be more specific maybe it's your makeup kit or anything, so here what I'm trying to say is experience is more valuable because with experiences are things like you can feel


not I mean you can uh have feelings for it's not touchable so an example is since you say about camera and books, I think why not uh with a material possession you can actually do some learning that learning is a experience it's what I mean like you said you'd like to capture things so if you learn to do photography it'll become a lifetime experience and you can become a better photographer and also teach others


but whereas your camera even if your camera fails you you still can buy a good camera or, or just a normal camera and still like be able to capture those moments when you but you must have the photography uh skills it's what I mean


so do you have anything for that learning is lifetime even if your material possession fails you with your learning you can use anything and you still can continue to learn, learning is a experience


ya if you don't learn and just depend on your material possession I think uh, after it fails you will just look for another material that's what I meant


yes, I shop in general I don't uh trust online shopping but what does this do to this topic


I was happy, but after one week I dropped it I was a bit sad then after that I was dropping it often and it became a normal thing for me so I think that happiness is a short short while it's like uh


like you are giving a treat to your, an example your pet likes to see you you will come and lick your face and your dog will lick your face but it's only for a short time after that it'll get tired and it'll just go off


something similar to that for the first few moments our hormones will be like quite high we'd like to have the thing we like to show off, but after some time we will get bored we need to move on with life, the next good thing will come into a society then everyone will start to move towards that trend than the best possession you just now had will become quite old to you and you will keep on going for another one


that's what I'm saying instead of buying for yourself if you like buy for others like those needy like example the six hundred or three hundred dollars, uh you said during lockdown uh you will not able to spend time so you went to shop, but some people uh in the society actually they donated the three hundred dollars the cash-out they got


to the government back so that the needy can get it so that is giving so giving is better, than receiving that's also experience now they will feel better and they have a more happier time longer than those who had the material possession is what I'm trying to refer to what do you think about it


uh here I'm referring to the people who got the money, and they donated it back to the government that's the person I'm referring I'm not referring to the person who's getting the extra money from the others who are donating it back if you don't understand


do you get it, like


well, if you take it like that I was actually referring to service service minded if you help the needy people like those who, who are in the homes in uh, what do you call that old folks home or in childcare centres you go there and like buy for them some chocolates or gifts then you give them that is happiness


that one is also helping to stimulate the economy of the government at the same time you're also making others happy by making others happy it'll, give you a better feeling I think you I'm not sure if you have experienced it but it'll be a very, good feeling of helping others and seeing them their smile will always actually make you feel better and you also want to repeat the same thing you will become addictive to you rather than your material possession


after you get uh something new or and it gets old I think uh you are starting to look for something else you cannot be like, you won't be looking back at it and you will be throwing it away or you will be selling it away but experiences cannot be sold I meant


you have anything for that, uh oh okay, no I didn't say ice cream, buying a food or gift for children or some old people who are uh needy and making them uh meeting their needs helping them to meet their needs is good


will make it a good experience for you, but not for you not for you for others your gifting it to others giving it to others that's what I meant


here we are talking about self experiences and material possessions, yes


makes you happy as well, if you have the heart to do, but you're not possessing the material


if you read the question properly experiences are more valuable than material possession yet they're actually referring to the person who's having experienced a material possession, they're not referring to generally everyone having material possession or experiences it's you they're referring to


us to the individual, so so another thing ya so another


I think I can say is uh, you to feel good you can go and get some uh, you can go for a very good haircut or colouring your hair and stuff, to make yourself feel good


but if you go and get a gym gyming membership and keep your yourself fit and healthy that's better that experience is better rather than uh going for some haircut or some makeup or, anything uh that is expensive like a spa or massage every friday or thursday


rather than that doing yoga and as well as some uh membership in a gym will make you, look good ah wait feel good rather than looking good, so ya that's also a experience, you should


feel good ah wait look good rather than feeling good let me make up my mind, ya


part three debate topic tree okay


so I will start okay


so , the topic is countries experiencing conflict should be left to settle their own problems how far do I agree I totally agree with this, ,S., because, uh only those countries involved in a conflict will know what is their problem and how to solve it it is best to solve within themselves rather than allowing other countries to interfere in theirs


because when other countries interfere it's just for their own good and for their own propaganda, and for their own benefit other countries like to come and uh mind the other people's business like the other countries an example I can give you is


the yemen war crisis in in the middle east, it was actually a small conflict which started three years ago within the country into having internal conflict, but, other people came inside the like other countries like the foreign powers like US and saudi arabia came in and brought the military power which now is leading it to worse


and it's still ongoing until today until now, so I think uh, it's better for the their own countries to deal with their problems rather than allowing other countries to interfere, which will will never benefit for their own countries is my first point


bertrand do you have anything against it


so may I know how does the country what do you think the country was helping the other country which is in under conflict why do you think what is the purpose of helping, can you explain I am very sure there will sure having some propaganda or some uh hidden agenda that they wanted in the end


that's why they are even actually involved in it from the point I was saying about middle east US and the other countries are involved in it because middle east is very well known for its oil uh oil production, so by helping them they can actually ask for cheaper price of oil that's one of the main biggest reason that bigger forces are actually helping the middle east


so like that what is the what why do you think someone else's helping korea or not helping korea, and if you said no one was actually even like trying to help korea, because they don't see any benefit in helping korea come out of the conflict


is my take so do you have anything to say for that, oh okay, well do you have


like you were talking about korea right, uh that no one is helping korea because korea is isolated, but what I said uh pardon


, even if, but my point is I think even if they're allowed others to help them


I will don't think any other country will be interested to help them because in korea there's nothing uh beneficial for other countries they can like ask for or help get help from, I think that's one of the reason why uh others are not trying to them and the korean leadership is a bit shaky


it's not really uh, it's quite, not up there so uh I don't think either countries will see there are any benefits from helping them that's one of the reason why no one is helping them and they have no choice that korea must try uh to practise isolationism


it's mu own take, ya, ya


no what I meant was the country itself will have solved the problem, there was no necessary of foreign powers to come into uh into this conflict, and it had actually made a problem go longer and it's still going on I don't know why


like we are talking about countries which is politics in today's politics, everyone is helping just for something in return you should understand that first actually


ya, ya, (uh huh)


they didn't did okay ya finish


well firstly for your taiwan uh taiwan is trying to become separate from china so for that taiwan is actually getting help from US army and uh navy is actually trying to uh help taiwan


uh indirectly and just to make sure their relationship grows that was one of the main reason why they actually even uh give masks to US, or else should taiwan give it to specifically to US and not other countries in africa or maybe even more poorer countries like why mainly to US


it's just to build their a diplomatic relationship so that they can get together against china even more stronger, it's one of the reason and then uh as you said for bush fire and COVID, yes for bush fire actually australia was


was helpless and they were asking for international help aid and that is when new zealand uh when a new zealand japan and malaysia and singapore also went into help if they have not asked for help, I don't think we will be even uh offering our help maybe new zealand might help but there was no incentive for malaysia and singapore to actually uh


uh able to help them and it's actually a policy or something they called a rule that other countries cannot go and help unless they ask for the help, uh for search like bush fires and stuff, so that and then for COVID you were saying that uh


people were uh countries are helping with giving out masks and stuff may I know which countries were you referring to, which countries were you referring to as helping others during COVID, can you


yeah that's what I I had already explain it's for your own diplomatic relationship for the army to be against china so they are trying to grow their relationship stronger against china and also uh, another uh example I can give you is actually the south china sea since you were brought up taiwan


in south china sea I think uh, US is actually uh, trying to play its part quite a lot, they actually saying they want to help others but the actual


I think the actual reason is a they actually want to make people go against china, so there's one of the main uh role US is actually trying to play there and if you know only last month or, this month earlier uh mike pompeo said china is wrong it is taking the south china sea unlawfully


if you noticed it so they had actually took taken a stand against china and they have uh defined they are going to go against china, so in this world they're actually trying to get the support of other countries in the asean to go against china which will help them in their trade war


so that's the purpose of them going to help in such as it's not for other countries in asean to claim the south china sea islands if you noticed it


so ya, so I'm just pointing to you out why is US helping in the south china sea if you think south uh US is helping just to, help people out of problem no they are actually trying to get benefits from helping out and so


I don't think you can generalise in this question you must have specific examples so that you can talk about this problem even better


otherwise uh tell me uh how else uh


can the problem in south china sea be uh solved if you take it that what an example, and how do you think china and the other countries which are smaller than china, can uh solve this problem


so you ya you do not agree with my view about, about which one so you said uh countries uh experiencing conflict


<Z?, can get help from others is it, ya


so since you are always like trying to take up the korea


so is anyone else trying to help them, if not why why are they not helping them aren't they humanitarian enough to help them they know that people are dying in korea then why isn't other countries helping them can you give me a reason


see so, other countries understand that going towards helping korea doesn't benefit them instead it will be a problem for them that's why they are avoiding it so they're actually looking what what is that benefit and what would happen if we help this country or not help


if it if there's no uh benefit then they will not really go and help other countries that's why the countries should be left to sort out their own problems


that one it totally depends on their government I mean if their government and leadership changes, they can find a solution to help their problem to end, but an example I can give you is singapore itself when it got its independence


when we were kicked out of malaysia we were still able to uh help ourself we didn't need anyone else's help, we build it slowly and steadily actually many people thought we will die off but we proved them wrong, so that's uh one good experience uh example is just our own singapore


part one debate topic one


other than michael jordan can you give me some other examples of those that failed and succeed


could thomas edison have built a massive company in today's climate when there is stiff competition from every sector, would failure allow his competitors to pull ahead and become a number one leader, thomas edison could be likened to an entrepreneur and his companies beginning more like a startup


startups you you have heard many stories from the media talking about successful startup such as Microsoft Apple and in singapore's context Grab and Lazada but how many companies have you heard that did not make it or failed


believing that failure is a necessary part of success falls under the availability bias which means that people often judge the likelihood of an event or frequency of its occurrence by the ease at which examples and instances easily come to mind


as what I said we frequently hear stories about startups that had rough beginnings but made millions in the end, these stories are very common and you hear about them in the media, but do you know that actually ninety per cent of startups fail according to small business trends means they do not last longer than three years


so do you think that actually failure is a good thing for everyone or is it for those that are lucky


and you are too optimistic in believing that failure can lead to success


how how how can you argue with the trend that ninety percent of startups fail when there is around one million startups being born every day, some of them


some of them failed due to several factors such as incompetence lack of experience personal problems like family pressure and failure to innovate these these problems are basically I mean not


no they didn't


I totally, agree with your sentence that failure is important, but is not the only factor right there are some factors that come into play like being hardworking that allows you to be successful so you cannot just base your argument on the fact that failure is the only factor


so you're saying that, if you, if you are very successful you're not complacent and from there you may do have some actions that lead to failure


success leads to complacency


but success can also lead to more innovation as if you if you for example if you do well in exams won't you have the added pressure to continue doing well especially if, everyone knows about it like if I scored ninety for this exam won't I won't it serve as an indicator to do better but on the other hand if I failed my exam like a forty five


would would I learn anything at the moment no I would feel very disappointed, and that may actually not cause me to do anything because there is a study that has been done that, that said that students who were


students who were told that they failed actually could not focus for quite a quite amount of time, so, I I I would say that, failure is not a motivator for success but success is


an encouragement for me to do better


I see you have raised a great point there, and


how about learning from failure, how, how is it when you've experienced failure you know when you've experienced failure you have some sort of anxiety


okay, a study published in the journal emotion in twenty eleven showed that when a group of students told that they displayed increasing interfering thoughts they were more more likely to doubt about its implications which was what I said earlier


it showed it also showed that when we experience failure our brains released a stress hormone that do not leave us with feelings of acceptance how would that how would knowing that, not having that feeling of achievement be a positive reinforcement for me too for success if I succeed from the beginning there will be this


strong urge to continue doing what I do best what, do you agree


so you are saying that by failing since young especially for young children you're telling them it's okay to fail so they will have the mindset that when they grow up it's still okay to fail like if I I don't do well I don't do


anything though up to my expectations it's okay because I've been taught since young to fail so when it continues to adulthood, these small failures may snowball into greater and greater issues and hinder what they may actually be capable of if they were hardworking and capable and successful from the start isn't that true


so what you are saying is that those people that, according to my definition uh are a experienced failure like fail in school does that mean that, they would not be successful


which brings back to the, so you mean that failure plus learning from your mistakes will equal to success


okay


(mmhmm)


that doesn't mean that making a mistake equals to failure right


that if you made a mistake in life you are already considered a failure


so, bringing it back to michael jordan, how in what way did he fail in order to succeed since I mean as an athlete he was already making a lot of money so what is failure to him, and what is success to him he has the name he has the money what what will a few mistakes do to enhance his career


part two debate topic two


uh I agree to a certain extent that spending time with loved ones and your family like going out with your family and friends right, they actually, serve as a way serve as a source of happiness but consider this as singapore went under lockdown


we didn't really have the time to go out with friends or basically we weren't allowed to right during circuit breaker, so as more and more people stayed home, it there has been a growing trend in online shopping


and actually works studies show that sixty two percent of shoppers purchase something to cheer themselves up and another twenty eight percent of the put uh, uh had purchased something as a form of celebration, given that everyone is stuck at home during lockdown right


what is the only source that can make you happy, is buying stuff online, and you said that, uh bringing back to your previous point you said that spending is spending time with your loved ones can make you happy


how okay let me ask you when was the last time you actually ate with your family, do you do you remember did you record exactly what happened


not often, it feels, bad that I cannot remember when I actually ate with my family but this brings me to my next point there are such objects called experiential experiential objects which are a physical objects


like cameras that actually , serve to their serve to, capture these memories with your family by buying okay having this material material object like a camera right


you can actually use it to record your family dinner or any meetings with friends and anytime when you are feeling down you can just press replay and relive that moment again what, if you live your life based on experiences alone how can you relive those happy happy memories


okay bringing back to your statement about


buying soccer soccer equipment or all these and cameras, I do not need the I do not need to have the best equipment before I can use it to like record my family or friends and by buying a soccer ball


can I I can use it to invite my friends to go down for a round of soccer and that that way I can make good memories with them and have fun so you cannot it's you cannot deny that , material possessions are actually


one of the main factors that, are more is more valuable than experiences because like just by okay , you know buying a diary, and writing stuff in it


this is sort of like a, time capsule on your experiences like the book itself so, do you not agree that keeping a diary or any form of recording device serves as an


uh like a time capsule of the past and you are able to relieve it every moment other than rather than experiences when you, you might forget very very frequently like me I I cannot even remember what I had for dinner last week


but if I had if I had a camera I could have recorded it down, and I know I had done


but but, it's an experience


but isn't that okay if I feel happy after buying something


can I ask you a question, do you online shop or do you shop in general, what how do you feel when you buy a brand new spanking item like a phone how did you how did you feel when you have your phone for the first time


a new phone


so so what you are saying is that, those that actually receive the money are more happier about the more happier about the person giving them the money rather than the money itself, so it's like oh thank you to this person who kindly send me the money but I actually don't care about the money I care more about the person give me the money


I mean where uh


, sorry I do not understand donate to the government, do you mean like do you mean by donating to the government you spend your money on items to actually to help stimulate the economy because if that is the case


it actually brings me back to my point that buying stuff it makes you feel happy cause what what they use money for to buy stuff and what does buying stuff make you happy


come quick


I'm sorry did you mention that buying ice cream makes children happy


so, , you you understand that actually food and gifts themselves are actually material possessions and when you say that when you said no


ya and it, and it, it doesn't refer to self experience it's experiences and when you say that buy buying buying goods buying all the foods and buying food and giving gifts to others makes them happy


and it, so it goes back to the fact, it goes to back to the fact that material possessions itself right like the food and the gift you


sorry


I see, but you do have to , but you ya please please carry on


okay


part three debate topic three


I disagree with your, with the notion that countries experiencing conflict should be left to sort out their own problems, firstly countries that, practise isolationism do not do well economy economically


examples of such countries include bhutan china japan and korea, why history has told us that such such countries that such countries experiencing conflict should not be left to look after themselves


one example of that is korea when korea embraced isolationism during the mid eighteen sixties they did not permit several things including trade and treaties and help from japan, when such reforms to modernise and innovate their economy were declined korea was slowly turning into a hermit kingdom paving the way for japan to take over the leader in the region


an IMF report also states that countries experiencing conflicts have quote large economic costs and the consequences that results from conflict such as destruction of infrastructure, human capital and institution can impede investment and economic growth


if there are no countries to, help, those countries experiencing conflicts solve their problems that country undergoing that conflict, we'll have a drop in GDP per capita of fifteen to twenty percent, would how imagine how would that imagine how the how would that would be for the citizens of that country


I do actually, sorry could you repeat the the last question please


yes, not really, sorry not really isolated they're practising isolationism uh which is not allowing other countries to help them


sorry please carry on


so, but what you are saying is that, that you were talking about the situation in middle east right, and that, they so in an enemy yemen right, so what you are saying is that


if no one came to their help, and solve their internal conflict, eventually the problem will just go away everyone will just forget it without any foreign intervention okay when


if, okay firstly if they could solve their problem there wouldn't have been a conflict in the first place and when you are okay and when the country's undergoing a conflict such as a war right


when someone comes to help you you don't immediately assume that you don't just assume that they're out for out to get something in return for example if you if you are facing trouble, and someone takes the initiative to come and help you you don't assume that the guy actually will ask you for something like money after that right you first you first take his offer


okay so let me ask let me let me say another point


do you you know about the COVID situation right, and that, earlier on there was a masks shortage, okay so the US centre for disease control and prevention had announced that there was a shortage of masks and related medical supplies


so, taiwan actually established a task force to build mask production lines as efficiently as possible and pledged to give the US hundred thousand masks per week, so


imagine if the if actually one came to help them, and actually the US had a mask shortage, the this internal conflict that the US is already have with COVID right is so severe due to their policies will become more and more worse that is absolutely not allowed to happen


and its citizens should not be treated to that, so how can you, how can you uh say how can you assume that conflicts only relate to war it can be, like the australian bush fires that itself is a conflict COVID is a conflict if other countries if they cannot help themselves other countries


will are able to help them


okay so, sorry could you repeat the question, uh I give you the example of taiwan and US


so how does that go back to the fact that your stand is that countries experiencing conflicts should just mind their own business


I I feel that you are just cherry picking cherry picking an example instead of generalising the question there are there are many other, benefits of


can okay you have you have raised a good point there


sorry I do not understand the question you are, it it does not it does not go back to your stand of countries experiencing their internal conflict, ,S., you're just saying that, what should other countries do when they're being attacked and what I will say is that which is a which uh which is according to my standard


countries with allies, have more, have more uh capability to overcome what you said like china which don't really have much much


friendly friendly friends, so I do not, agree with your view


ya and they should because first of all you as a citizen living in a conflict zone, when your country is already in chaos and your government doesn't know what to do


what what would what would be the first thing you you need, for example like the philippines floods, family lost homes, their family members, should and their and their government


was focusing more on the rebuilding efforts leaving their citizens, to fend for themselves for awhile, so many countries came and gave them foreign aid, give them food money water look at north korea they're shuttered off from the rest of the world


and the only source of foreign aid came from china and look at their citizens they're starving, so you cannot, you cannot just generalise that say countries that isolate themselves are doing so for the benefit of the government but must look at their people also you must pay more attention to the people cause that's what makes a country the wellbeing of its people


because because korea is the one giving conflict to others, so, okay


okay so can you give me certain ways on how let's give a specific example north korea should actually settle their hunger crisis


without if they if they are adamant that they do not need help from outside


actually, actually the the singapore armed forces was initially train by the israeli army and wasn't it wasn't developed by themselves you know


in early days so they actually had had helped and before the british left they actually taught the singaporean soldiers some soldiering skills so there's another example that that our allies actually help us develop this nation


debate topic one


okay , sure so just now you also mentioned you you mentioned that you know it is subjective, uh yea I I also think it's very subjective and personally I really think that uh you know art sometimes can be uh bad


to my opinion that the art can be sometime very terrible uh it could be bad because , uh it doesn't go with my tastes because I I just don't like it you know and it's bad because uh it's a painting with uh


uh lines and you know with uh uh scratches and you know especially like modern art sometimes it's very difficult to understand and then I, sometimes really find it terribly ugly you know so ugly that I it really turns me down


I can give an example sometimes when you know a graffiti for example you go to europe right you go to europe they think that is fantastic art bouquet it they draw whatever nonsense onto the wall and some of them are really really or demoralising, and some of them are when you look at it is uh some of them is like depressing in his so I'm actually


it's it's you can see that somebody is a very dark and some of them are are trying to you know you can see there is full of anger and frustration, okay I understand that it probably wants to give a message but to me you know if you you are showing this publicly like that you know you you are actually you you want attention yes but


but I just find that you know they are not everybody agrees with you uh not everybody can you know appreciate your type of uh frustration that you wanted to show to the society so so but uh, that's art that they think that they know is uh able to convey a very very big message which I'm I think I I don't really agree to it


so and and some this uh the art for example uh when uh artist is trying to mimic the natural uh proportion of a human body


now we come to some of this uh art that uh we come to daily life when people are trying to draw an object lets say a human body, the if they are fantastic artists fine but you know sometimes they are they are really poor at these they do it in a a very poor proportion and make


the whole uh the whole person the the model you know look, grotesque and look like it is like uh the an ugly creature so that turned me down and I really think that that kind you cannot say is is good art


uh for me is definitely a very very bad piece of art and also the colours if you choose you know uh, colours that don't blend to each other uh it can be very disturbing and uh it it when it comes you know into your eye is not that soothing and uh it it kind of like make you think that's garbage already is


you know uh the kind of uh vivid colour sometime they try to project you know turns out to be something that is uh annoying I would say and uh, and I do think that art okay maybe they're trying to convey some messages that they convey messages in


uh wrong way you know and uh uh people just uh think that uh uh okay you know uh they are trying to tell people that, this is the message you want to give but instead that that piece of art was actually telling people in other different messages uh that uh you know people uh misunderstand


so I I think that this is for a way you know uh uh you can consider that as as a very bad art also, frankly speaking so no matter how I know that they're just now you mentioned uh you know the beauty is in the eyes of you know the the person that actually like it and


uh no doubt if this is true uh I think uh the beast is also in the, eye of uh anybody that think that that is not appealing so in my opinion uh there is such thing as bad art


and uh in many ways as well, yes so for this I think , uh in order to appreciate art you need to choose you know the right type of art to appreciate and not just uh you know jump to any piece of art can be a piece of junk


you know and and people will think that is a piece of art but the in fact it's just a piece of a junk ya so that's my point that I I think there is such thing as bad art


so what do you think I I you know I uh I don't agree with you though Ching


okay wait frankly speaking if let's say let's let's uh define okay wait what I mean uh the word bad first so uh is is a is a failure to reach an acceptable standard


and uh morally object to both are uh objectionable and then inadequate or uh it is uh unsuited, to a purpose and and I would say it's also unpleasant so


you know whether there's uh such thing as a bad art and to me that's definitely bad art


okay uh you know it can be two people going to museum and then, you know one of them them saying that uh this uh this piece of art is junk and the other one would say that uh this piece of art is you know uh uh as a fantastic piece of work


now so but to to one if this piece of art it doesn't appeal okay to the person, then it's a piece of bad art and personally especially if you were to look at a piece of art


you know that uh uh it is actually making you feel uh you know you uh you know you just uh and offended especially, uh let's say you look at a piece of art and then that piece of art is uh has written okay uh uh with some uh act you know like uh some uh


uh character inside okay that is actually trying to insult you okay then when you look at it you know is uh, you know uh which it's just you know very frustrating and uh and


uh you you cannot possibly endure to keep this piece of art you just look at it you just want to burn it and all because it's so exciting and, then I think uh this is not a piece of good art you know if is a piece of good art you want to keep it you know you want to make sure that uh you can cherish it but if it's a piece of art that you cannot


keep it then is a piece of bad art frankly speaking ya, so and uh I also have another point is I hate okay people trying to do imitation okay there are many people who will okay to draw


make some this uh art and uh uh like this uh, uh what's that the that very famous uh piece of art uh core uh


okay actually I I I you know I uh I browsed it and then the this uh a piece of art by leonardo da vinci, okay uh he drew a piece of art uh call the little uh madonna okay (hmm) in this piece of art okay uh there are many people who


made the imitation out of it and try to sell for like uh big bucks and the I I personally they will think that okay if they tried to imitate it and imitated in such an ugly way, okay then then is a very poor piece of art you don't really can call that good art anymore ya that's what personally I thought so


but people call that art but people call that art and it's like uh oh ya I remember now the mona lisa mona


mona lisa okay the one that they put in the louvre in in Paris the very famous uh museum the louvre, mona lisa okay so a lot of people also try to imitate it okay and then claim it that you know is a fantastic piece of art to them and uh


I I just you know feel that is is not right any more morally do you know to imitate piece of art, and it's it's not a good art anymore it's just is bad art is not your own original


right


debate topic too


okay rob, the topic that we're gonna discuss today about singaporeans uh appreciate the appeal of theatre uh dance or music in our society, uh I totally agree maybe we're talking about some twenty years ago no but uh now definitely I agreed to it


the arts play uh highly significant role in nurturing and enriching singaporean society so, I I really think that the arts are vital in uh educating singaporeans use uh holistically and uh and


increased number of education institutions on programmes have uh allocated significant resources towards promoting the arts in students you'll see that lately we have uh so many uh of these uh arts institution we have


uh our our government actually err spend uh a lot of uh, uh money in actually uh cultivating all this uh art are in singapore uh we have uh you know we we made the entire


the hall uh into uh they are arts gallery the national art gallery and then uh we have also uh you know uh, that uh st joseph institute that they change into uh art gallery as well okay and then uh also you will see that uh along this


uh the old national library what's that road near to, eh sorry ah


is near to uh #Bras Basah# that side MRT there they they have uh uh many of this uh art galleries as well so this shows what you know with this art galleries they sell art though


you know people go there to buy art okay so I I really think that uh uh because there are people you know singaporeans appreciating the art so uh


we have all this uh besides that obviously uh today we're talking about the theatre dance uh music in our society so look at our esplanade okay our big durian esplanade okay is definitely an appeal uh for the theatre dance and music


uh the concourse there okay uh always have this uh uh free performance and then , (ppc) we have the beautiful sunday sorry I don't know if you are aware that we have this uh beautiful sunday at the


uh esplanade that uh is the the theatre there uh I think it can accommodate thousand six hundred audiences uh is uh once a month I think on the uh one of the sunday of the the the month


they will have for one hour free orchestra the case so the orchestra can be uh brass sometimes is even a chinese uh traditional uh chinese orchestra uh they perform free you just need to walk-in though


you know you don't have to buy any tickets you just need to walk in and you can sit there and and enjoy the music for one hour one hour and you'll be surprised that they uh there are usually full there are very full, they have to actually uh put you in the circus in on the second floor and then uh we have uh all the famous dance group


you know uh uh in uh from the world to perform in singapore as well where there is uh you know uh, from russia okay from india uh traditional music or modern arts or modern dance or for they would have belly


or uh even the we have a modern dance as well they are they are here you know to to perform, now besides uh esplanade we also have uh many small little uh theatres uh here and there uh that accommodates like a few hundred that people uh


one of this is the at one star at the #Buona Vista, theatre there I think our coming uh NDP right is going to be held there if I'm not wrong for I think only like one thousand people so so I know we have what's


you know that the government has actually uh put in I want to highlight that the commercialisation of the arts has also contributed significantly to the employment of singaporeans with others are in the growth of many local businesses and


are related industries such as events management exhibition characters and advertising agencies so, a , I I think it in in recent years in recent years that I were government funding uh we have more government funding and involvement in nurturing the arts uh


I see the growth and development of many talented local practitioners will have uh more artist uh and uh actors actresses you know musician singers who have contributed significantly to developing in the, arts culture uh inform uh by authentic singaporean values themes and voices


ya so I basically think you know uh uh that that is a really wonderful , I'm very very happy you know that uh uh many of our singaporeans have uh actually uh appreciate the this uh theatre dance


and music uh in our society uh otherwise you know uh life will be so boring here uh and I seriously you know if we don't have all these sound I, I don't know how to live my life uh what play mahjong or what uh you know so that I think that they should be you know uh put


further into uh uh growth and uh make it to you know uh uh that making in such a way that all singaporeans you know will be able to uh appreciate this theatre dance and music in our society


well I I I still think that uh perhaps, you know there there uh there's a portion of uh singaporeans who, uh will only go to all this performances in the theatre's dance you know or concert


uh when there are free tickets uh, uh, uh probably many singaporeans like the the idea of having free stuff you know uh why not everything is free but for really good production we're talking about let's say musical okay you're talking about


phantom of the opera okay and cats for example uh where they are performing at the uh uh sands okay the marina bay sands, people for paying a few hundred dollars for a piece a a ticket


you know and you you paying like two hundred and forty eight dollars you are sitting way behind I think three quarter from the stage, okay but I people still buy ticket and go you know why because they they do appreciate then they uh they don't think that you know is worthwhile to go and see uh


uh a great performance uh we're talking a musical uh people don't is unlike uh movies you know when you go, it is uh live uh orchestra there uh orchestra there is there to really uh give the sound effect there


and uh uh when you go for the for the musical okay you are also , you know having direct contact with the artist you know the the artist especially before and after the performance they do come out and then the you get ahead had a chance to maybe take picture with them so


uh uh the kind of uh you know the presence and the life, effect you know is uh something very very appealing and I also think that uh uh more and more uh singaporeans uh uh enjoy the different types of music so we have


uh uh lots of uh, live concert okay and you will find that the the famous one when they come to singapore to perform the tickets are sold right half a year before you know is not like you know they cannot sell the tickets


and the what what does that show that show people really appreciate you know and the, is not easy to especially you know you run after your fans uh uh is not easy that uh when they come to singapore


all the way you know from one end to the other end the perform so so you know they will grab their opportunity to to go and watch, especially the the concert that I think and I personally think that the the art is uh is uh very important to singapore


uh for us to grow as well so, having singaporeans to appreciate you know all this uh theatre dance and music, we're also uh directly help singapore to grow to be a true uh global uh


city and the economic and financial uh success I think it has to go hand in hand uh with a vibrant cultural scene personally I think,


!wah! I I I think singapore is no actually I'm has embarked on the right track already and we just need to you know keep it going on , definitely uh government our


you should educational system is playing a very important role in it in educating uh our young singaporeans to appreciate art uh by giving them more opportunities because art as a form of uh, uh


education uh is I think is really, crucial , it is actually uh, , the influence I I feel that arts influence to society also by uh changing opinions instilling values as uh and translating experiences across uh with space and time so


and , in fact I think research has also shown you know to a certain extent that art is uh affects the fundamental sense of self, uh like using painting and sculpture music literature all these you know that is is uh another form


you know in uh uh I, it to to in in you know is, uh uh uh help people to to appreciate art, and


we have also community art artists right so yeah and and all these actually helped to develop long term uh partnerships and coordinate services and what else, among community organisations so definitely you you know


even the the those are street stage in all those, uh, uh <mandarin>歌台:ge tai</mandarin> all these you know all this in singapore is very unique in singapore is is a type of uh, live theatre you can say that is a live stage you know so uh no doubt is free but I don't think is totally free because the organiser actually paid for them you know uh one song like one hundred dollars right when they come and sing so


it actually uh give jobs to, artist as well and then people do appreciate and go to watch as well yeah, personally I really think that uh singaporeans are right track, and the they really appreciate it


debate topic tree


okay I I'm the opposition uh I may I start first


ya can start


well I I definitely do not agree with you for my stand I think art is definitely a necessity it is important art in our lives I don't think we can live uh without art


in many many forms you know art is in our life uh art influences uh uh the our society by changing uh opinions uh instilling values and also uh translating experiences uh across space and time


uh in fact uh uh, as what I I I've actually highlighted the I you know before uh, that the uh they are also research that show that show uh there has shown art affects the fundamental uh sense of self


uh you know in the form of painting sculpture music literature so all these you don't need a lot of money though you know is not like uh you had to spend uh okay I like musicals they were talking about you know earlier on that the to go to a musical the that tickets are expensive


but uh we have uh many other forms of art, and performances that are it don't cost you a lot uh and uh some the basic uh in fact uh do you know that uh to go to the uh museum nowadays uh singaporeans have


free you just need to you know pick up your IC and you can just walk in free all our museum in singapore are free to go so, I think this is a fantastic you know one uh uh


we are also having uh a lot of our CC you know in singapore that the uh, do you provide a lot of uh, this kind of free art activities uh in fact have uh drawing uh painting uh before uh actually you just need to go and queue and then they'll give you


uh the tools and you know brushes and paint that then you can just paint it ya, uh I think uh ya is free of charge anyway so and I seriously think that this is uh uh necessity for us


uh in form of relaxation you know when you you're saying that you know uh when, at the end of the day you know you're already the uh tired at home uh, you know then art it in order to go and appreciate art you probably have to spend but not necessarily watching TV okay TV also have is a kind of uh


that gives you uh uh some art leisure as well uh and the, for me okay if you say in form in the form uh in you know that it is as necessity I think art give some of means


for us to discover the world actually uh , while same time fully enables us to extend ourselves it's a tool for uh creativeness you know creative expression


and tapping on ordinary uh life you know and and art and art, actually uh besides being and necessity actually satisfies our uh cognitive and aesthetic needs


uh and uh takes us to a self, uh uh realisation so I I really think art is undoubtedly a necessity, frankly speaking as very important in our lives


yeah so the , okay art in any form can give people uh emotions and can lift up uh uh our spirit and uh make us more driven than


never in many ways and and theuh the only reason is why eyes is important in our life daily life I think for the expect, so now when you classify arts okay we set out it's actually surrounding us all the time


anywhere anytime like uh painting okay music, or or even videos okay uh uh is also a a a very you know it also give us huge impact into uh our mood and emotions so is is in our daily life it's definitely a necessity in our life


oh frankly speaking do you know the the you the way you put it right it's like okay uh uh


uh you know we we we you know don't depend on art to live because uh is is not a necessity, in the past history even during war okay so that the we have uh still people singing you know


like uh we still have uh a lot of uh singers okay who became very famous during war time okay and why is it so because uh you know people still need leisure, even during very hard time okay a lot of people are very very poor okay uh their house their houses you know were being bombed they


they did not have these houses to live in when they live in a refugee camp that kind of thing when they fit in old soldiers you know military people, they get their leisure from all this uh uh music as well people sing you know to entertain as well so this is you know definitely you know is is is important because you


life is so boring you know when sometimes it's hot so hard uh terrible hardships that people need to have some relaxation and uh, in singapore okay just now you were saying that if government is not giving free to to people you know then people will not go


that's not true in in in the other hand it's actually people are given free to encourage people, okay uh we have our government like SOTA okay encourage self-reliance and individualism in, uh ideation in coursework and performance spaces to showcase public uh publish a showcase publicity


and then uh also government sponsored uh competitions like golden point award, okay and uh all these are actually to cultivate creativity and innovation the young, which is uh essential and often overlooked this actually uh shapes the kind of leaders we wish to see in the future as well you know so you know if if not a necessity our government will not do that


our government's dumping so much money in this field why you you're talking about twenty years ago no, okay twenty years ago people live is so boring and then you know all the tickets are sold off when you have like those overseas singers coming to singapore to perform


K now why because we don't have, we don't have our homegrown musicians to entertain us okay or to to give leisure to us and , and so we'll have to depend on overseas uh uh celebrity you know to actually entertain us and to give us a more in in our society


but uh now we we have a lot of our homegrown artists and musicians uh who like uh uh <mandarin>Sun-Yan-Zi</mandarin> right okay and uh also we're would have J J for example first who became very famous worldwide now