Anyone saw me on the news yesterday (15th November 2005)? If you didn’t, then I recommend you to watch the news; you might see many people you know up there.
For those who didn’t, I was on the news because I said (in Chinese): “我们学校做了一个调查，发现一个月可以省800多块” (Our school did a survey and discovered that we can save 800 dollars plus per month). My school took part in the “Enviro-Innovate” competition open category, as part of the Clean & Green Week 2005 Schools Carnival organised by the National Environment Agency. Apparently, our school won First Prize and Most Innovative Award for designing an automatic air-conditioner switch that is based on the detection of motion within a room.
Up to this point, for those who have watched the news, or only saw the brief summary above, what role do you think I was playing in this competition?
1) The team leader
2) A passer-by
3) A group member
4) A presenter or representative
5) The clip was played wrongly
For those who think the answer is 5), you might wish to make another deduction since answer 5) doesn’t relate to the question at all.
For those who think the answer is 1) or 3), you made a politically correct guess. In fact, I would have thought so if I were in your shoes in the past. However, the truth is that I knew little of this project before yesterday and was never directly, or indirectly related or belonged to that group.
For those who think the answer is 2), maybe try making another guess; though by know you would know the answer already. I was wearing a tie and the news reported me not as a passer-by but as a representative (if memory doesn’t fail me either).
For those who think the answer is 4), you have made a smart supposition, and I am guessing that it was inferred from the title or you must have watched the news extremely closely. In fact, this is the right answer!
I am making an assumption here that a majority thinks that I was actually part of the group and that I won the competition. Please correct this assumption by giving comments if you think that this assumption is invalid or valid.
The news is often treated as an objective and unbiased source of information reporting only on facts accurately. While this is not untrue, it tends towards entertainment and this leads to the dilution of certain facts. For the benefit for those who didn’t watch the news or forgot, it dramatically shows a hand waving vigorously in front of the switch then panning towards a simulated air-conditioner (a fan) which started to spin. After this exciting demonstration of how the switch works, it showed me as a “学生代表” (student representative).
The use of the phrase “student representative” was suggested by the reporter and I agree to it because I fear that it would appear as “group member”. Then again, it was so inconspicuously small that I doubt few would have read it on the subtitles yet read out so fast by the reporter that few would have caught it. Thus, if I were the viewer, I would gladly assume that the person on the television is part of the group. But as you well know by now, this is not the case for me.
So what was I doing there in the first place, since I wasn’t part of the group and was not involved in the project at all? For those who are curious, this project was actually done as representing my CCA (robotics club) for the Singapore Science and Engineering Festival (SSEF). However, since it is also related to the environment, this project was submitted for Enviro-Innovate competition too.
It is such a coincidence that:
1) I am the only IP (Integrated Programme) student in the CCA
2) All the JC students are having mathematics lecture in the morning
3) The reporters + prize-giving (which I also went) + introducing the project to the minister (which I also acted as a representative) all happened in the morning
4) IP students do not have lecture in the morning of holidays which started 3 weeks ago
5) My teacher allowed me to take the role of a representative since he could have done everything himself
I listed some self-reflection questions below:
Q: Given another chance will I act as a representative again?
A: Maybe, if for some reason, I am the only one available and have basic knowledge of what is going on. Nevertheless, I hope that the next time would be that I really won an award.
Q: What have I learnt from this experience?
A:
i) The person appearing on television might not be involved with what he/she seems to be involved in doing.
ii) The mass media is very influential; many people have told me that they saw me on television
iii) Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, is a very friendly and sincere person
iv) Some news reporters are rather pleasant people to work with
v) You can fix a Canon lens on Panasonic video cameras
vi) Video cameras used by the television uses large tape; be glad to use mini DV tape when you can
vii) Watch the news closely
One more thing to add before I end, the video clip that we see on the news, which shows the simulated air-conditioner being switched on after a hand is moved across the automatic air-conditioner switch, is not activated by the switch as the simulated air-conditioner was affected by infrared-red signals maybe from hand phones. Although the real thing works, the demonstration on television was actually controlled by an air-conditioner controller that was brought there.
For more on the Clean & Green Week 2005 Schools Carnival: http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=2634
For those who are interested, I was at Suntect Exhibition hall 404 booth c26.
