goodness_

I personally believe that there are many reasons why human beings are willing to help each other, but it is the combination of these reasons that make human beings willing to help one another. The reasons I shall discuss are altruism, and what people get in return for helping others, and the combination of both.

Firstly, I think that altruism or blood relation is one critical factor that helps us decide whether we help others. Most of us would agree if faced with a situation where two people are in danger and one of them is related to you, you would help the person related to you. This behavior is also evident in bees. Why do bees work so hard and sacrifice themselves? It is because of blood relations, and to ensure the survival of their own kind.

Secondly, another factor which affects us to decide whether we would help someone else is what we get in return. Why do people help beggars on the street who are unrelated to us? I personally feel that people have a mindset that goodness begets goodness and kindness begets kindness, something similar to karma. They help beggars on the street because they hope that the god above or fate will grant something good in return for their act of kindness.

However, I do not view points as factors on their own. I think that the combination of both these two factors helps us decide whether or not to help someone. This is proven in Hamilton’s Rule, which states that altruism evolves whenever Relationship times the benefit received would be more than the cost of the act of kindness. This has been proven in thousands of experiments in both nonhumans and humans alike.

Therefore, I believe that the combination of factors: altruism and what we get in return for an act of kindness helps us decide whether to help someone else.

_In Class Commentary

Central Issue
This issue is about youngsters who have their eyes glued to their cellphones or absorbed in the music from their earphones. Some of these youngsters are oblivious to their surroundings, and some even sms when they are doing dangerous things like crossing the road, or even when driving. Some view this as an accident waiting to happen, while others think that it is boring without iPods or fancy gadgets to keep them occupied. Even people who have jobs that require high levels of alertness still listen to music from their mp3 players. Should we risk the safety of others or even our lives for the sake of entertainment?

Commentary
He lay in a pool of blood, with is white earphones still loosely attached to his ears. A crowd gathers around his lifeless body, as this innocent person had just become the next victim of the many car accidents that happen every year. The driver had banged on the horn to alert the jaywalker about the accident that was about to happen. Had he not been blasting the music through his noise cancelling earphones, he would have been able to step back and save his own life.
Look around when you step out into an MRT, or even when you walk on the streets, and you will find many eyes glued to handphones, fingers rapidly pressing and punching on the buttons of their handphones and ears stuffed with noise cancelling earphones. Most of these people are young people. They are all oblivious to their surroundings, and they are occupied when doing even the most dangerous of things. In this essay I will prove that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert. The factors I shall discuss are, have your attention taken away from you whilst doing dangerous things, boredom whilst walking on the street, and being distracted while doing high risk jobs.
Firstly, I think that having your attention taken away from you when you are doing dangerous things is an accident waiting to happen. These dangerous things I am talking about are crossing the road, and driving etc, where your life or others lives can be put in danger. When crossing the road, if you are text messaging, your eyes are not on the road, and by the time you notice the speeding car racing toward you, it might just be too late. Tan Jin Thong, president of the national safety council of Singapore said that plugging into music will certainly increase the risk of accidents. Also, drivers who are texting while driving can also be distracted and put other’s lives in danger. The RAC foundation found that sending messages and driving simultaneously reduced reaction time by 35 percent. Even the USA track and field team barred marathon runners from using headphones and portable audio players. Therefore this supports my point in saying that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert.
However, I feel that another point to note is that youngsters in general think that it is very boring without the company of others to talk with, and so they turn to technology to keep them occupied. Esni Abimanjyu said, “Sometimes I can’t hear bicycles coming from behind me but I don’t think it’s dangerous. I’d be bored without my iPod. Young people enjoy entertaining themselves when they’re out and about. Seah Jia Hao, 17 said that he didn’t think that it was dangerous to listen to music while walking on the road, as he thinks that it is the driver’s responsibility to look out for him because the driver is in front of him. Ms Farhana said that muic sets the mood and would rather listen to music even though she knows that it is dangerous, and this does not support my poin in that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert.
Lastly, I personally feel that many people who do jobs that require alertness should not listen to earphones as they will distract them and put others at risk. Mr Patrick Wong, assistant managing director for Top Guard Security Agency, said that while his firm does not ban earphones during work, it is not encouraged. Even though the jobs such as security guards may be boring, I feel that it may put other’s safety at risk, and this therefore supports my point that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert.
In conclusion, I think that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert.

_Improved introduction

As I walked down Orchard Road last week, I was greeted by the "Grr Grr Grr" and "Ting Ting" of the construction work that was in progress. There was also constant horn sounds coming from the cars of frustrated drivers, as there was a ceaseless jam which went down the entire stretch of Orchard Road. After the numerous traffic jams and the unbearable noise of the Orchard Road makeover, Orchard Road is finally complete! However, the recent changes to the world famous shopping icon of Singapore, does not match up to the expectations of the locals, especially with that 40 million dollar pricetag. I think that the 40 million dollar makeover to Orchard Road was not worth it. The three things that I will discuss are firstly, that locals did not notice the changes in Orchard Road or that it did not seem like the government had spent 40 million dollars on it. Secondly, that the government spent on things that were not superficial, and lastly, that the government would have made a better use of their money by spending on other things.

Firstly, I think that the results of the makeover does not match up to the hefty 40 million pricetag. The changes are extremely subtle, and few notice it. Mr Nicholas Poh said "For $40 million, they should have built a bridge across the road." Haryannie Hasshim also reiterates the point, saying that the changes look like they are worth about $1 million only, a huge contrast to the money spent. The money was, in my opinion also spent on unecessary and unessential items, like flower totem poles in the middle of the road, and the glass panels that depict nature. The flower totem poles block the road, especially because Orchard Road is extremely crowded. The glass panels also pose a problem and a potential threat to the passers by, as it could break easily, and could be broken by drunk people. This supports my stand in saying that the makeover of orchard road was not worth it, because the changes were unnecessary, and in some cases and impetus to convenience.

However, the $40 million dollars spent on the makeover was not only spent on superficial things. The Singapore Tourism Board's Andrew Phua explained that the 40 million dollars spent on the makeover included the state of the art lighting, power upgrading, landscaping, repaving works and consultants' fees , etc. This could probably used to save energy and make the energy usage of Orchard Road more efficient, enabling the government to save money, and maybe even breakeven. This does not support my stand in saying that the makeover of Orchard Road was not worth it, because the changes could help save money, and in turn make the spending of the hefty amount worthwhile. However, I think that it is highly unlikely that they will save enough money to make the spending worthwhile anytime in the near future, and that the bulk of the spending was on useless items like the flower totems in the middle of the road, and thus I still think that the massive spending of the money to revamp Orchard Road was not worth it.

Lastly, the 40 million dollars spent on the revamping of Orchard Road was spent on the wrong things, like the giant glass panel and the useless flower totems. Locals also express their concern about the cleanliness of orchard road, and think that the money would be more well spent on other aspects they think are more important, especially during this financial crisis. Rosy Ong, said,"You spend so much money and look, all the dead leaves on the floor." Housewife Jenifer Symons-Leith said, "They should spend more money on cleaning up and maintaining the place instead. I was just walking down here and I was thinkin to myself 'Clean up, guys'. The pavement looks so dirty, I thought it was flooring from three decades ago". Therefore this last point also supports my point in saying that the spending on the makeover of Orchard Road was not worth it.

In conclusion, I think that the hefty 40million pricetag on the Orchard Road was not worth it because the money was not wisely spent and was spent on useless things, and the general public did not feel that the makeover was worth 40 million dollars.

xP.

_Orchard Road 4 Million dollar makeover!

After the numerous traffic jams and the unbearable noise of the Orchard Road makeover, Orchard Road is finally complete! However, the recent changes to the world famous shopping icon of Singapore, does not match up to the expectations of the locals, especially with that 40 million dollar pricetag. I think that the 40 million dollar makeover to Orchard Road was not worth it.

Firstly, I think that the results of the makeover does not match up to the hefty 40 million pricetag. The changes are extremely subtle, and few notice it. Mr Nicholas Poh said "For $40 million, they should have built a bridge across the road." Haryannie Hasshim also reiterates the point, saying that the changes look like they are worth about $1 million only, a huge contrast to the money spent. The money was, in my opinion also spent on unecessary and unessential items, like flower totem poles in the middle of the road, and the glass panels that depict nature. The flower totem poles block the road, especially because Orchard Road is extremely crowded. The glass panels also pose a problem and a potential threat to the passers by, as it could break easily, and could be broken by drunk people. This supports my stand in saying that the makeover of orchard road was not worth it, because the changes were unnecessary, and in some cases and impetus to convenience.

However, the $40 million dollars spent on the makeover was not only spent on superficial things. The Singapore Tourism Board's Andrew Phua explained that the 40 million dollars spent on the makeover included the state of the art lighting, power upgrading, landscaping, repaving works and consultants' fees , etc. This could probably used to save energy and make the energy usage of Orchard Road more efficient, enabling the government to save money, and maybe even breakeven. This does not support my stand in saying that the makeover of Orchard Road was not worth it, because the changes could help save money, and in turn make the spending of the hefty amount worthwhile. However, I think that it is highly unlikely that they will save enough money to make the spending worthwhile anytime in the near future, and that the bulk of the spending was on useless items like the flower totems in the middle of the road, and thus I still think that the massive spending of the money to revamp Orchard Road was not worth it.

Lastly, the 40 million dollars spent on the revamping of Orchard Road was spent on the wrong things, like the giant glass panel and the useless flower totems. Locals also express their concern about the cleanliness of orchard road, and think that the money would be more well spent on other aspects they think are more important, especially during this financial crisis. Rosy Ong, said,"You spend so much money and look, all the dead leaves on the floor." Housewife Jenifer Symons-Leith said, "They should spend more money on cleaning up and maintaining the place instead. I was just walking down here and I was thinkin to myself 'Clean up, guys'. The pavement looks so dirty, I thought it was flooring from three decades ago". Therefore this last point also supports my point in saying that the spending on the makeover of Orchard Road was not worth it.

In conclusion, I think that the hefty 40million pricetag on the Orchard Road was not worth it because the money was not wisely spent and was spent on useless things, and the general public did not feel that the makeover was worth 40 million dollars.

xP.