Farren's Opinion Corner

  This is an article about the world’s most addictive drug, Caffeine. More importantly where Caffeine is most abundant in, Coffee. Everyday a billion people consumes at least one cup of coffee each day. If we assume that all 1 billion people drink a 500-millilitre cup of coffee every day, then every year, the world consumes around 182 trillion millilitres of Coffee or about 64 million tons of coffee. Making it the second most consumed drink on the planet behind Water and in front of Tea, Orange Juice and Beer.  I was 10 when I drank my first cup of coffee, in an IKEA by the way, and now I am hooked on it, I’m like a puppet under his rule and I seriously can’t shake this addiction off. I don’t think I can go a week without this drink. So I dedicate this article to the drug that is coffee.  Chapter 1 - A Brief Introduction to the type of Coffee There are more than a 100 different species of Coffee but we only domesticate two of the hundreds of coffee. They are called Robust...

  Going COVID-Free until 2022 Wow. It has been 20 months since COVID-19 began and I am getting frustrated. This COVID-19 news flash has been so painful to watch unfold. I’m not just pissed at the handling of COVID in Singapore right now, but the amount of news being shoved down my mouth, deteriorating my Mental Health. So from September 26, 2021, I am prepared to go COVID-Free until 2022.  To go COVID-Free is to try (keyword: TRY) not to hear news regarding COVID-19. But see that keyword there, ‘try’, that’s because its impossible not to hear the word COVID-19, its the top priority for most Governments in the World. While some nations are trying to move on from COVID-19 as the top priority (including Singapore), it’s going to be at least 2-3 years before COVID is just another news story lurking in the background.  So allow me to introduce to you Project Unplug . And to execute this project, I will use the three rings plan,  Social , System and Surroundings .  S...

  The ‘Stress’ Generation (Part 2) Last time, we talked about School Hours, Productivity and Mental Health of our Students. But instead of rambling on about the cracks in our Education System, let’s take a peek into the country with the World’s Best Education System. Chapter 1: Education, Finnishing First Finland. Home to the World’s Best Education System. In front of other’s you have probably heard of, Canada, Singapore and China. But unlike Finland, these countries also have some of the highest stress and depression rates amongst teenagers. But Finland seems to be the country that has perfected their Education System. So what are some tricks that Finland have on their sleeves. 1. Money and Fees — Well for starters and the best selling point, Public Education is 100% Free! All the way up to University! Parents don’t pay a single cent for their children to go to school every day. Schools are also forbidden to cheat the system and ask parents for funds and donations privately. Inst...

The ‘Stress’ Generation (Part 1)   Two full months from the date this article was published, I stumbled upon a TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson who died in 2020 from cancer.  The talk was done in 2006 and is one of the most viewed talks in TED’s history. From that first talk, I continued watching more of him, talking at various conferences across the world. What I didn’t know was that that first video would lead me down a month-long rabbit hole that included reading books, watching videos and analyzing research studies by universities and so so much more.  This Generation, more specifically, those born between 1990 and 2010 is one of the most stressed generations in history. Suicide and Dropout rates have been at its highest, Academic Inflation has never been more prominent and the way society works has never been so stressed before. In this four-part series, Farren will take you through time and to different parts of the world. To explore and explain the world of Education a...