The best science book ever!

Maybe this post is to be read with an impression of 'it's so nerdy' but you really should read Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. It is a MUST if you are doing geology, palaeontology, physics and sciences as to make your academic learning more fun! 

This is the book needed if you are doing the courses mentioned and still have not fallen in love with them. Speaking from past experiences, I can tell you that this is one of the books that made me fallen in love with geology and particularly palaeontology. Sounds nerdy, but whatever since I am grateful to say that I love studying those subjects. So what? (I know it sounds very defensive).

So back to the book, great appreciation should be given to the author, Bill Bryson. Have you ever read a science book so thrilling full of wits and imaginable descriptions put on science concepts?

It's like a very fun teacher in front of you when you slipped through the pages. It was really a page turner and for me, I read it for at least 3 times from start to finish. And the pages covered by topics I liked get more attention-probably more than 5 times of reading.

Who would not like the descriptions of Snowball Earth in a funny, meaningful and most importantly without the jargons used in research journals. I really read the book before reading Paul Hoffman's research on Snowball Earth theory. Although the latter is much more informative with tonnes of informations and concepts to be grasped the former seemed to give me fun and smiles. 

Not just the theories explained by looking from a non-scientist's view was important but the author's abilities to capture our imagination to the concept in a meaningful and profound way. Who would not love fictions? The author put accounts of scientists (and their personal lives) and their journeys to discoveries. What is important is that the author did not start with "Einstein was born in Germany to a bla bla...boring" but he started to tell stories in beautiful ways. No other books can match the sexy nerdy accounts of scientists covered in the book.

Oh the Cambrian Explosion which was my favourite palaeontology topic made me to really want to go to the epoch and his account of one of the scientists' discoveries of Trilobites made me jealous of him. Why? He went for a walk on an outcrop and found the fossil. So easy! Of course I would be jealous of him. What I found here are mostly (actually all of them) Myocene's or at best Pleistocene's. To geologist-muggles, they are the period of time which are very recent. Our Miri outcrops are mostly 'young' with the ages of around just 15 million of years.  

I heard a 5 year old girl found an ammonite weighed 60kg using a sea spade accidentally while following her father (who happened to be a palaeontologist!) on an excursion. Again, I was jealous. Let's pray I will find a rare trilobite in Chukai. Nay? Phylum Arthropoda, Class Trilobita, Species Faidhinesis. No? Haha!

Well, if you want to feel this fun of reading a science book (in which our textbook writer should read) like me, grab it in the bookstore and you will surely want to bring it to the toilet bowl. But DON'T. 


It really was a 'short' history of nearly 'everything'!-The Chukai Insider

KK Stories: Mt. Kinabalu

These photos are taken on my way up to the Kinabalu Park. Our trip was heading towards Ranau to go to the Poring Hotsptring. While on the van, I got to capture some of the best views of Gunung Kinabalu in the morning. 

My friends and I were able to see some shiny surfaces on one of the sides of Gunung Kinabalu. We inferred that it was the reflection of the sunlight onto the wet surfaces of the mountain. For those who do not know, Gunung Kinabalu is the highest peak in Southeast Asia.

This is not the view of Gunung Kinabalu. It is actually the mountain ranges that connect the Crockery mountainous region that build up the Gunung Kinabalu. It was formed by magma which made igneous rocks and the place was uplifted to form the orogeny of the place. That was what I heard from the seniors doing Geology. If Allah SWT gives my friends and I the opportunity, we will be going to Kota Kinabalu again to do our field trip. What is the best thing for a geology student here is the existence of three types of rock; igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic at almost the same places. I got myself some crystals and marble while my friends brought back a granite filled with hornblende minerals. Very nice. 

My friends and I have made a commitment to climb the mountain before we graduate. From what we have heard, it should cost us around RM800. More or less, I need to get at least RM1200 to get to the peak comfortably. Let's save and travel to see the greatness of Allah SWT's creations. Travelling does bring me closer to Allah SWT and you should try too.- The Chukai Insider

Questions Part 1

I still remember questions that I always ask my teachers. About the questions, they cannot really answer specifically or as I should say ‘accurately’. I still remember some of the questions chronologically since I was in Form Three because until now, no one has ever satisfied me to explain about them.

Form Four

Have you ever remembered a diagram in your textbook; a cutaway diagram showing the Earth’s interior as it would look if you cut into the planet with a very large knife and carefully withdrew a quarter of its bulk? My attention did turn in a more scholarly manner though to the scientific import of the drawing and the realization that the Earth consisted of discrete layers, ending in the centre with a glowing of nickel and iron. But, how do they know that?

Form Five

Do you still remember your Physics teacher telling you about the gravity? Do they have significant change to a particular place when earthquake happens?

Form Six

While diving under the sea, a question popped up in my head. How do the geoscientist know where, when and how to extract the fossil fuels under the layers of seabed?
Will the multinational oil company that sponsored my studies ever worked closely with environmental agencies in reducing carbon footprint?

Question, argue and seek answers; I have always been doing that in debate tournament. It is super effective in learning and broaden my horizon of thinking. I once used these techniques when I got so bored in Physics class. Do you always feel that the scientists are all liars when they just explained the theory in textbooks without telling us how do they arrive to that principles or laws? Well, I did. It turned to be very interesting to see you and your teachers seek for the answers together. Being challenged by your teachers to explain the subject he is not used to was totally amazing; you have to be good in explaining natural phenomenon though. Raw materials from the net and images from encyclopaedia was my saver at that time. Nothing could compare my pleasure of explaining the whole thing in class after hours of researching. I remembered this event vividly when I browsed the internet looking at General Paper classes were always mind-stimulating. There he stood in front of the classroom; Mr Liebenberg explained the way we argued things differently. I loved being in his class; discussing issues and raising endless questions regarding universal principles. Argument was the best part, made your mind goes around finding evidences to support your judgements. Seeking solutions was and adventure as we never knew the possibilities. But I know we can predict.

Earth Science, Anyone?

My own starting point, for what it is worth, was a school science book that I had when I was in Standard Five. The book was a standard issue school textbook – unloved, dull, plain- but near the front it had an illustration that just captivated me: a cutaway diagram showing the Earth’s interior as it would if you cut into the planet with a knife and withdrew a wedge representing a quarter of its bulk. Gradually my attention did turn into a more scholarly manner to the scientific import of the drawing and the realization that the Earth consisted of discrete layers, ending in the centre with a glowing iron and nickel, which was as hot as the surface of the Sun. Thinking with real wonder, I asked myself: How do they know that? I could not work out what spaces thousands of miles below us, that no eyes had ever seen and no X-ray could penetrate, could look like and be made of. That was how I engaged myself with Earth science.