Latin abbreviations - e.g., i.e., a.m., etc!

Have you ever wondered what do abbreviations such as e.g./i.e./a.m. stand for?

These abbreviations that we always use are actually Latin. Some of the most commonly used ones are:

• e.g. (exempli gratia) - for the sake of example; we usually read this as 'for example'
• i.e.  (id est) - 'id' means 'that' and 'est' means 'is'. Yes you're right. It means 'that is' (meaning ''which means'). Some people always confuse this with e.g., which has a totally different meaning.
• etc. (et cetera) - 'et' means 'and' and 'cetera' means 'the rest'. We know how it is used.....and we normally read this as 'exactra'
• a.m. (ante meridiem) - 'ante' means 'before' and 'meridiem' means 'midday', this is why we call 9 o'clock in the morning 9:00a.m.
• p.m.  (post meridiem) - same as the previous one, but 'post' here means 'after' apparently
• et al. (et alii) - 'et' means 'and' and 'alii' means 'others'. This is similar to etc., but this is used for a list of names. For example when I study psychology we always have to use this word as a research was done by many researchers but they will only show the leading researcher when crediting them, for example Hofling et al.
• Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum) - if you have studied mathematics you probably have come across this abbreviation which means 'what was to be demonstrated'

Currently I can only think of these most common ones. If there are any other common Latin abbreviations that we always come across please feel free to comment below.

Although Latin has already been classified as a dead language, I have always been quite enthusiastic about Latin ever since I knew its existence. In fact, many of our English words indirectly come from Latin words. Here are some extra Latin phrases that I like (not abbreviations):

• Carpe diem - seize the day (watch the film 'Dead Poets Society' if you haven't)
• Cogito ergo sum - I think therefore I am
• Audere est facere - To dare is to do

So when these words/phrases have their English form, why Latin? Nothing, it just sounds cool. I used to remember more Latin words than I do now....it's just simply an enjoyment of learning something others don't.

Twin Paradox

I've discovered an animation which explains what is the Twin Paradox very thoroughly. The video is 5 minutes long but I swear it is not boring. You will get it even if you are not a science-y person. Enjoy!

What is Pancake Day?

Yesterday was Pancake Day and we had some tossing fun at home!

Pancake Day, a.k.a. Shrove Tuesday, is the last day before the period which Christians call Lent. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday (which is today), which is 40 days before Easter. During these 40 days Christians are supposed to give things up (like, to 'improve' their lifestyle) and to fast. It is traditional on this day to have pancakes, as pancakes are made up of fat, butter and eggs, which are traditionally forbidden during Lent. So Pancake Day is the last chance to indulge ourselves!

The reason why it is also called Shrove Tuesday is that the word 'shrive' means 'confess'. During the middle ages, people confess their sins on Shrove Tuesday so that they were forgiven before Lent began.

It is a day celebrated prominently in English-speaking countries so before I came to Macau, I actually didn't know there was a pancake day! The day is also named differently in different countries:

• UK, Ireland, Australia - Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day
• Brazil - Fat Tuesday (which is also the final day of Brazilian Carnival)
• USA and France - Mardi Gras (which means Fat Tuesday as well)
• Iceland - Bursting Day

Pancake races are also held nationwide in the UK to celebrate this day. The tradition is originated when a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake.

Image from Gazette Live 

Did you have pancakes yesterday? What did you have it with?

Where/what is Macau?

I want to start my first post with something I can relate myself more to. So the question is - where is, or even (which I wouldn't blame), what on earth is Macau?

You probably would not have heard of this place, but in fact, normally when you scroll down the list where you're asked to select your country of origin, the name 'Macau' appears. I haven't figured out how to explain things in the easiest way. Bullet points is going to be my first attempt.

Things you need to know about Macau:

• Obviously it's a place, but not a country
• It's part of China but not exactly part of China, the next point explains this
• The official name for Macau is Macau SAR (Special Administrative Region);  it is *somehow* under the rule of China - it has its own sets of rules, but then somehow it's controlled by China's central government. They call it 'One country, two systems'.
• It's next to Hong Kong (which is also an SAR)!
• Macau is extremely small. You cannot see its physical continent on a world map. Hong Kong, which is also small, is 38 times larger than Macau 
• Its currency is Patacas (MOP)
• Reason why Macau is an SAR: Macau has been colonised by Portugal since 1557, until its handover to China in 1999
• People born before 1999 hold a Portuguese passport - which means many people in Macau are actually EU citizens, although many of them haven't even been to Europe
• Language spoken: Cantonese (which is a dialogue of Chinese)
• What Macau is famous for - its gambling industry, which started to flourish since mid-2000s.
• Add a bit of personal touch: people in Macau don't normally tell foreigners they live in China! We are from Macau, but most people normally do accept that they are Chinese. When some want to be specific they call themselves Macanese, but this is rare
• Good old Wikipedia explains its geographical location as well as size: 

Some more interesting facts about Macau....

• Macau has one of the world's lowest unemployment rates
• According to CIA factbook, Macau has the highest life expectancy in the world
• Macau is the most densely populated region in the world, with a density of over 47,000 per km sq
• It is also the world's second largest gambling areas in the world, second to Las Vegas

There are so many things I can tell about Macau obviously because this is the place I've lived for 17 years. But if anything you want to know more, or if there are any mistakes or suspicions among the things I've written, please feel free to leave a comment below.

And please also tell me whether this bullet point method works or not? And do you think it should be even shorter?

It is so important to know at least something.

I am the kind of person who needs to know (almost) everything. I just want to know. It's not because that could make me sound more smart in front of others or something. Knowing more means that I am more familiar to the world I am living in. Just a couple of days ago I realised I didn't even know where Oregon was. I immediately googled a map of the United States and within two days, I memorised all the states as well as their location. Sometimes I feel ashamed of myself for not knowing something, for example, now I still haven't figured out how did the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico happened.

My strange desire to know everything perhaps comes from my father, who is like a living encyclopedia himself. Not only does he speak many languages, whenever you gave him a topic, literally anything, he could have something to tell you (not anything quite mathematical though - just like me - we are both genuine maths haters).

It is quite shocking to witness how many people of our generation do not know what is going on. Many people nowadays have locked themselves up in their own social circle, carrying the horrid 'don't care' attitude. The Internet is here, for the purpose of sharing information, but thanks to Facebook, such a limited amount of knowledge is actually shared.

Yet don't take me wrong for boasting myself as an extremely knowledgeable person. Even though I occasionally find myself in a position where I know more about than my peers do, there is still a whole lot of things that are unknown to me (which I want to know!!!). And I do understand why most people cba to research something they don't understand. First, news articles are something monotonous and long; second, sometimes it gets so complicated so we give up; third, you're in the middle course of the news and you don't know what have previously happened; fourth, you just don't know where to start! But for those who think that they don't have to know because 'it doesn't have anything to do with me', I just have to feel sorry for them and hope they could leave their Facebook or Twitter or whatever for a while and come and have a look.

It sounds like things I am going to include in this blog will be just news. But I actually want to cover everything. From Tutankhamun to Kim Jong Il, from relatively to the Academy Awards (sorry they are just so random!) - literally ANYTHING we want to know. Einstein once said that if you can't explain something simply, then you don't understand it thoroughly. So here I challenge myself to explain these things in the simplest way and everything that is explained can be understood within 5 minutes.

So here I am, aim of this blog:

• To motivate myself to learn more about something that I've been wanting to know
• To help people who struggle to know something that they want to know
• To try and make something boring and tedious more interesting and understandable
• To create a informative platform for anyone who can explain something quite simply
• To let us all realise what the world is like and what is going on!

Lastly, if there is anything you find difficult to understand, send me a message or comment below. I will try my very best to create a post for it ASAP!