FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. DINING ROOM - DAY
Having breakfast with KAJI, the family pet, PETER reads phone notifications.
PETER (V.O.): A Quoran asks me: why people completely lose track of time when they do something interesting to them...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I'm doing professional work or when I'm creating something, I lose track of time all the time.
Peter continues reading the answer request.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And the other part of the question is: ...but they never lose track of time while studying.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't do formal education anymore. But as a student decades ago, I can understand that.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In my non-university days, there're always something better to do than studying.
Act 2
INT. STUDY - DAY
Peter begins typing on his phone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When people find something interesting, there's the intrinsic emotional appeal to satisfy the curiosity. They want to check if they can do it too.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When we study a subject, we are studying most of the time the particulars of a knowledge system eg Philosophy before we can understand their higher levels ie structure and concept.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They're very complex eg the particulars of the Philosophy of Aesthetics. And hardly any particulars are expressed in exciting and delightful ways - no dramas or games.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So, how can such information be interesting and captivating?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): Now, I've observed some changes in the knowledge transfer via social media.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Probably because of the objective to attract traffic, informal education via social media can be pretty interesting.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): When I was in primary school, I only liked the music class. But there were no music classes above Primary 3. It wasn't a public exam subject at Primary 6.
Smiling.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): And so, I didn't study. I played all the time.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Before class, I'd go to a hillside pool to play with water. After school, I'd fly kites in the fields. I lost track of my time most of the time.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): When I begin secondary school, I initially liked playing table tennis and didn't prepare even before examinations.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I became feverish with hit songs in the late 1960s, my academic performance was poor. And it was just months before the public exams at Form 5.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I regretted later. I began studying hard. But in an input-and-output fashion.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I became very aware of time. About how many hours I had spent studying a subject.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): But I didn't ask myself how much knowledge had I actually gained.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I believe when one feels having done something obligatory for a while, one expects rewards.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The obvious one is to do something different - anything but studying - at least for awhile.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I had a false belief that I studied well.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): My public exam results were telling. In subjects I thought I should score distinctions, I only got credits. In subjects I had expected to get credits, I got bare passes.
Act 3
INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT
Peter is dining with his family MEMBERS.
PETER (V.O.): Three of my children are registered with overseas educational institutions. And now, two of them are studying at home.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The pandemic has brought worldwide changes, including formal education.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although I've studied long enough, I still want to gain more knowledge.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): I can learn almost anything online. There's a difference between learning and studying though. Learning is meant to apply the knowledge in real situations.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Thus learning is inherently more interesting than studying.
FADE OUT.
THE END

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