Character Amnesia

Like most people who study Chinese, I recognize them better than writing them.

I depend on a dictionary -- online no less -- so that I can write it down correctly -- for almost every other word.

But for those, especially young people where Chinese is their first language, many are forgetting how to write the characters thanks to their dependence on software programs on their computers and mobile phones. Through typing in the pinyin, they can choose from a selection of characters instead of having to write them out by stroke, though there are a few programs that use stroke recognition.

The phenomenon of forgetting how to write Chinese characters is called "character amnesia" or tibiwangzi 提筆忘子 "take pen, forget character".

Many young people realize this problem is getting chronically worse and with it they lose bits of their own culture.

The problem is that learning characters must be done through rote memorization -- you cannot "spell" out a character; you just have to know it.

Siok Wai Ting, assistant professor of linguistics at Hong Kong University says forgetting how to write could eventually affect reading ability.

"Through writing, we memorize characters. Reading and writing are more closely connected in Chinese," she said.

Interestingly her research has found Chinese reading even uses a different part of the brain from reading the Roman alphabet -- a part closer to the motor area which is used for handwriting.

What's also worth noting is that the internet and mobile phone technology have led to the development of new words and forms of writing. This also reflects the age group of the users, the vast majority of whom are under 40 years of age.

So perhaps if people are forgetting Chinese characters, they can create new ones instead to replace them... but will they remember how to write those ones too?

The Joys and Perils of a Walkable City

What I like about Hong Kong is that everything is pretty much accessible by public transit or walking.

Just a few minutes' walk and you are in another district.

However, it really sucks when you have an injury, and in my case a pulled calf muscle -- which reminds me I need to ice it.

OK I'm back with the ice.

Now instead of walking briskly through the streets, I'm shuffling along, or limping along more like it, and getting around is a real drag.

I have have to rely on the tram to get to work, when before it would take me 15 minutes to walk there, though I have to admit, there was less perspiration involved with transit.

It seems that I pulled my calf muscle over a week ago and thought it was fine and then yesterday afternoon as I ran across the intersection because the light was about to turn red, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my leg and I grimaced and yelped.

So now I'm sidelined from cardiovascular exercises for a while until my leg gets better. I'd just signed up for a year-long membership at a gym and was intending to use it as much as possible. But now it looks like I won't be doing any swimming or running for a while...

Rats.

Another Side of Hong Kong

This afternoon I checked out a small massage place near where I live, and when I walked in, the masseuses were sitting in the chairs where clients should be sitting, reading the newspaper which was a bit unprofessional but not uncommon.

I inquired about full-body massages like the ones I used to get at Bodhi in Beijing and they did have them -- at HK$188 ($24) for 50 minutes. The place is a bit cramped with low ceilings and upstairs there is a small room with three massage beds. The enthusiastic owner warned me that there might be other customers coming into the room which was a bit disconcerting. But he gave me a free bottle of water.

He also gave me a T-shirt and long shorts to wear and it made me wonder if someone else had worn them before but I didn't want to think too much of it. Then a young woman who had been sitting in the chair in front came up to give me a massage.

Her Cantonese accent wasn't very good so I tried to speak to her in Mandarin. At first she kept trying to speak in Cantonese but then gave up and we spoke in Putonghua even though her accent wasn't very clear. She is originally from Guizhou and came here almost two years ago with her six-year-old daughter. I asked her if she liked Hong Kong and she said it was a step up, as she was originally tilling the fields in her hometown. It was in Shenzhen where she learned how to massage people, and I have to say she did a pretty good job relieving the tension in my body.

It turns out most of the masseurs are from China, and she said they were from all over the country. I asked her if she liked Cantonese food and she laughed and said not really. She explained that Guizhou food is mostly steamed too, but has more spicier flavour.

Then I asked her if she lived nearby and she replied that she lived in Tin Shui Wai, which is deep in the New Territories. It takes her a good hour and a half to come to Sheung Wan, three hours of the day eaten up by commuting.

She didn't elaborate too much on how she got here, but it sounds like she came to Hong Kong to give her daughter a better life, though it seems the child isn't too pleased about being in a new place where she doesn't know the language and culture very well.

Hopefully she will come to understand her mother's sacrifices and will study hard in order to get a good job.

The Chinese are know for their heavy investment in human capital, especially as they are betting on an exponentially brighter future for the next generation.

Electronic Distractions

I recently read a New York Times article about how we spend too much time using electronic gadgets, whether it's a BlackBerry, video games, TV and computers.

Hong Kong is no exception. In the elevators people are on their BlackBerries checking for the latest messages -- even those who are on their way to yoga class.

But trying to stimulate our attention or relieve boredom with these gadgets may not be such a good idea.

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco found that if rats have a new experience, like exploring a new area, their brains show patterns of activity. But it's when they take a break from exploration are they able to process it to create a persistent memory of the experience.

And the scientists think this conclusion applies to humans too.

"Almost certainly, downtime lets the brain go over experiences it's had, solidify them and turn them into permanent long-term memories," said Loren Frank, assistant professor in the department of physiology at the university, where he specializes in learning and memory. He said he believed that when the brain was constantly stimulated, "you prevent this learning process."

However, games now have the pause button available to stop at anytime or now they are being designed so that you can play them for "micro-moments", says Sebastien de Halleux, a co-founder of PlayFish that was bought out by gaming giant Electronic Arts.

I can understand people using things like BlackBerries for business, but does a taitai really need to check her messages every five minutes?

At the gym there are people who have to watch TV or listen to music in order to work out. And some gyms even offer movies on DVD for people who need to watch a two-hour movie to get enough exercise. How you can run and concentrate on a movie I don't know.

If you need entertainment as motivation to work out, then you're not really exercising for your health but just to pass the time. Not really constructive.

For swimmers like myself, there are no distractions. It's just us and the water.

It's a good place to be.