Day 1 reflections

Earthquake research on the Coral Reefs of Sumatra:

One of the key points I learnt from this Plenary session was that Earthquakes had patterns or cycles. Also, I learnt that each earthquake or tsunami would be “recorded” by nature in the land.

I found this Plenary session the most interesting out of the three, because I found it the most easy to understand, as we had basic knowledge of the geography of the landforms that were mentioned. This also gives me a better understanding of how I can use applied learning in the future. After listening to the talk, I am also inspired to study beyond our curriculum, as this topic really interests me. I also want to propose to our school, to work closely with NTU to find out more than what we’ve learnt today.

The most fascinating thing about this Plenary session, is how they studied coral reefs to find out the rise and fall in sea level. I found this very interesting, because firstly, I have never seen corals as big as those in the pictures shown. Secondly, I thought corals never grew so close to the surface, so that was really an eye opener for me.

Next, is the bat caves and deposits. I always thought that tsunamis or earthquakes wouldn’t leave or bring anything but destruction. The Plenary session, has actually taught me that the tsunamis wash in, the bat cave, layers of material and minerals. These are then divided by a thin layer of bat poop.

Finally, what I found the most educational about the talk, was the personal experiences that the speaker shared with us. He said that what we study, might not necessarily be what we work as. Other than that, he said, “ I don’t want to graduate just to work and earn money. I want to graduate so that I can contribute to society.” (or somewhere along that line) I find this very inspirational. 

Animation:

In this talk, I learnt about the different forms of animations there are. There is 2D animation, 3D animation, and a form of animation which requires people to act.

The first ever movie produced through 2D animation, is Sailor Moon. When 2D animation first started out, it was a very tedious process and needed a lot of people to draw out every scene and character. Nowadays, those animation processes are not that common anymore, but can still be found in some parts of Japan and China.

The first movie in 3D is by Pixar, “Toy Story”.  The animation process is not only more tedious that 2D animation, but also much more costly. Every frame is drawn and perfected on the computer. 

The other form of animation, is used in the movie “Avatar”, the one with the blue people. I found this animation pretty interesting, because just with the movie set and some models, they were able to create such an amazing movie. This is one animation that I would like to try out for myself.

Nano Tech:

I have heard if Nano-technology before, but not a detailed talk like this one. I’m surprised as to how such little things can affect the world so greatly. 

Questions: I would like to ask if we would have a chance to work with NTU for similar projects(Animation)