Hung Truong: The Blog!

Science Sez: Most People Think They Are Above Average; Are Wrong

I found this interesting article via digg.

It basically argues that, while most people believe they are above average in competence versus everyone else, it’s impossible for that to be true for the majority of people. It also concludes that people who think they are superior are actually unaware of their incompetance, and the more competent people might sell themselves short, because they are better able to assess their shortcomings as well as others’.

In short, the study showed that the researchers’ predictions were spot-on. Participants scoring in the bottom quartile grossly overestimated their test performance and ability, and analysis confirmed that this miscalibration was due to deficits in metacognitive skill (the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error).

This sort of begs the question: Would you rather be a confident idiot, or an unsure genius? I guess thinking about it damns you either way.

It also reminds me of the Japanese saying, baka wa kaze wo hikanai: Idiots can’t catch colds (because they’re too stupid to realize they have them).

Of course, the people who did the research could have just been overestimating themselves when they assumed they were running the experiments correctly…

Super Michael Jackson Brothers!

So quite randomly, I was reminded of this crazy flash animation starring Michael Jackson in Mario World. If you’re an old school gamer, you’ll remember Super Mario Brothers as well as the ill-fated Genesis game, Moonwalker, starring Michael Jackson himself.

This animation just has Michael going through Super Mario Brothers using his own special skills. There are other crazier animations (with awesome music, BTW) that have him saving the world from a giant Zangief from SF2 that’s trying to drop kick it. No joke!

Mr. Michael Jackson sprite creator, I salute you. If it weren’t for your efforts, we wouldn’t have these insane flash animations to look at today. Your work will be remembered for decades into the future!

Guilty Gear Isuka: I Think I’m Getting Too Old For This…

So today I decided to take a somewhat dusty, unopened version of Guilty Gear Isuka (that I bought from Amazon.com for $10) off the shelf and actually play it! I’m something of a crazy game buyer (I buy them when they’re cheap), and I have way too many to actually play them all. Anyway, I popped it into my PS2 and was immediately confused.

Guilty Gear Isuka is a sprite-based fighter, kind of like Street Fighter 2. It’s also probably one of the last in a dying breed of games. This Guilty Gear is actually the first one I’ve ever played (though I’ve seen it being played in the Genshiken anime!). The graphics are top notch, and the cool factor is definitely there.

I figured, “if it’s cool enough for hardcore otaku, it’s cool enough for me!” I think I’m getting old. Sure, the moves are all fireball/hold back forward type moves, but there’s other complicated things built in. The game supports 4 players at once, which is kinda cool, but that means you have to do your own turning.

Also, I found that in the middle of a battle, the game’ll say something like “Joker has appeared!” and throw you into a two on one battle. Totally not fair! I have a feeling that in my youth, I’d have probably spent more time on this game (memorizing moves, continuing a billion times after dying), but I just don’t have it in me anymore.

Give me my tried and true Tekken fighting style, and I’ll get Heihachi on your ass!

Calamine – Dreamy Pop

Whilst at Digg, I found an article about how London and New York will be underwater by the year 2100. This reminded me of that show on Adult Swim, Sealab 2021. Then I started thinking about the words to the theme song, but I could only remember “at the bottom of the sea…” So then I looked up “Sealab 2021 theme” on google, and found the official Calamine website! They’re the band that did the theme, and they offer a free MP3 of it for download! Pretty cool how stream of consciousness web browsing works, huh?

They’ve also got some other clips of their songs too. The singer has this cool sultry voice, and the music is in a new genre that they define as “Dreamy Pop.” I especially like the song “Trampoline,” though I wish the clip was longer. They seem like a fairly indie band, so maybe I’ll buy their CD.

Japanese Catch Up Time!

So during my basketball band absence, I missed a lot of class. In fact, I almost forgot which room one of my classes was in when I came back. Seriously. Anyway, I’ve got tons of Japanese homework to make up, so here I am, writing a blog about it!

Actually, I’ve already done 2 of 6 required homeworks, and my brain is pretty much dead. Learning languages takes quantity studying, not quality. That is, it’s better to study Japanese 3 times for 20 minutes than once for 60 minutes. So I’m gonna slowly catch up.

Also, I don’t think our teacher really cares if I turn stuff in somewhat late. She didn’t even realize I wasn’t there on Monday! Of course, she also routinely mixes me up with another Asian that’s in the class, so whatever. You’d think she could tell our kind apart, what with her whole field of study being ASIANS!

Am I ranting now? That means it’s sleepy time!