School

For centuries, people have been interested in dream interpretation. So much so that we have oneirology, the scientific study of dreams.

Finding yourself back in your old school in the dream has special meaning, for instance. That means you have to learn important “life” lessons.

Oh, and it’s not a dream. My daughter and her classmates recently came up with a plan to visit their former teacher at their primary school. For me, that’s the best reason to take a half day off. For the kids, they decided to skip formal lunch to save time for such a jovial event.

Way back in the all-too-familiar campus today, we were fortunate to meet their favorite teacher. As we stood talking, we quite enjoyed reminiscing about good friends we once knew. A few minutes later, we were in such high spirits that two basketball teams were lined up: grown-ups against students. What could be better than an afternoon holiday spent with kids shouting and laughing?

By the time we were to say adios, my sweat (okay, puffing) were more than I like to admit.

Chickadee

Medical school year-end examination is no place for sissies. Inasmuch as the event is the final hurdle to overcome before a student can add the title "Dr." in front of their name, this has haunted many doctors-to-be, year after year.

If, however, I am the examiner instead of being the candidate, I would say this is probably good way to learn medicine. Student examination is for students. Yes and no. It's also to benefit teachers, because we are all vulnerable. A cardiologist might forget most of the lessons taught by a neurologist. A kidney disease specialist might need to brush up the knowledge in digestive system. Who won't?

One of my favorite stories about brain's use-it-or-lose-it hard disc space is scientific study of birds' memory. You've probably heard that our feathered friends somehow remember exactly where thousands of different clumps of seeds are buried without a single yellow sticky note. Incredible memory, huh? In one fascinating study of chickadees, however, wild-caught birds lost a staggering 23 percent of their hippocampal volume just five weeks after being brought into captivity. Caged birds had less need to remember and track down cached seeds than their wild counterparts, and then ended up with shriveled brains. 

Specialist doctors, by the same token, can be "caged" in our own turf, and literally lose our head. We'd better challenge the idle hippocampus before it shrinks too much.

Hair-Raising

Can you believe I finished reading Christopher McDougall's book (okay, second half of the book) at Ocean Park?

I did so today.

I spent two hours standing because the queue for roller coaster ride was incorrigibly long in the theme park. But, as my daughter puts it, our time spent queuing is worth it. Two of us had front-row seat, thrill-charged experience of Hong Kong's fastest roller coaster Hair Raiser.

Being truly honest, I am not a big fan of thrill rides.

This time, though, was different. I knew this is the first time my daughter is tall enough (more than 140 cm) to scream her heart out at the floorless roller coaster. I knew that she had looked forward to the experience. You never know. Nobody can tell when his daughter is going to choose her twist-and-dive trip with another alpha male. So, hold on tight, I told myself, and enjoy as much as I can.