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The "Janus Hypothesis" in psychology is the idea that the acts of remembering and thinking ahead are linked (Dudai and Carruthers, 2005), an idea suggested by Thomas Hobbes in 1651 - " imagination and memory are but one thing ". As Greg Nirshberg on his blog writes " Many researchers have noted that memories are simply imaginative reconstructions of past events; that the experience of remembering is shaped as much by a rememberer’s expectations and general knowledge regarding what should have happened, and what could have happened, as what actually did happen ". This idea is supported by experiments " the experimental subjects who produced most 'visual and sensory details' in imagining the future were just as prone to retain richer and more vivid episodic memories than low visualisers when instructed to recall the past " (Richardson, p.684). " there is a link between age-related memory deficits and future planning in older adults ...

During the time that I was practising (and even thereafter), I had not come across any instance where a Law Society representive turned up in a court to raise the issue of the competency of a lawyer to carry on with the proceedings.  As lawyers, we are hung up (more than anything else) on procedural rules.  Being mindful of procedure is second nature to lawyers.  It was, therefore, surprising to find out that Mr Wong Siew Hong (the head of the sub-committee for Member Care in the Law Society), turned up in court with a letter written by a medical professional.  (The propriety of that disclosure by the medical professional is a separate issue and ought to be properly examined by the Singapore Medical Council.  But, there might be justification based on a pre-existing direction for M Ravi to be examined by a medical professional in relation to his condition.) What shocked me the most was the fact that whilst Mr Wong might be characterised as having had "good ...

A typically 'artistic' film, of the kind enjoyed by many Poles. Maybe. Well, it's not a linguistics thing, really. It's a culture thing. And since linguists are generally highly cultured people, I'm hoping at least one of you will stick around to see what's going on here. Hey, we've got the blog, let's use it, right? O-kayyy.... So, the following is a competition-winning essay which recently won me a competition. Well, it was one of many such textual farces so awarded, and I'm pretty sure they gave me a prize because I'm a minority group here. But even so, I quite like this mad thing. The title is theirs, the text mine, the next 15 minutes all yours. Choose wisely... ;) Can a person have a more intimate, direct knowledge of living in a country, than just by living in that country? Yes, if they both live there and know her personally. In my case, I both live in Poland and know Polonia personally. I don’t mean ‘Polonia’ in the nowoczesny sense of t...

I know that for some time now, during election season, we have heard stories about residents being transported to PAP rallies and being given food and drinks.  There was even one youtube video (originating from the 2011 general elections) that appears to contain a "testimony" by a rally goer that she was asked to come to the rally and that food would be given to those that came.  When the Hougang by-election campaign was going on, I blogged about whether something similar had taken place at the rallies.  Let me be clear on this.  My question is meant for both the PAP and the WP.  http://article14.blogspot.sg/2012/05/any-food-drinks-or-vouchers-at-by.html In my conversations with friends, and arising out of some comments that I have read online, it appears that many people consider 'treating' rally goers or voters as being underhanded and sometimes comically desperate.  Many people appear not to be aware of the fact that treating a person by providing ...

Whenever the Pink Dot event comes up or whenever the discussion of s.377A of our Penal Code arises (consensual sexual acts between men), I can't help but cast my eye on the other sexual offences in our Penal Code.  I can't help but feel that there is a certain 'moral' (using the word 'moral' in a loose 'state-citizen relationship' sense rather than in a traditional or 'religious' sense) inconsistency in the state's position.  The primary objective of giving power to the state to criminalise human conduct is to maintain order in society.  There is an assumption that where an individual might cause harm to another, there is an inherent possibility of society disorder if there is no mechanism for the control of such behaviour through the machinery of the state.  Criminal laws serve the function of controling such harmful behaviour.  S.377A of the Penal Code criminalises consensual sexual relations between 2 men even though no harm may be caused ...