new thread
Hi Jarkko
This is on behalf of all your fans? Please post your new pics atleast for our sake
Thanks
Sam
Hi Sam,
I just noticed that Jarkko has removed his hair pictures from his site, but he states that his hair is still long.
In his Finnish homepage, he still lists "hiukset" (hair) among his interests.
--- Jarkko, we all hope you are doing great, and may your hair grow on forever! Hope you are reaching knee length soon.
Hans-Uwe
I like quality more than length. So the knee length is not gonna happen (my terminal length is way less than that, I believe). Waist length is best, although midback and shoulder lengths can be nice too.
My Finnish homepage is lagging in updates but basically all things are still valid. I'm more concentrated on programming than my hair these days.
Good luck to you all! I like this site for its civilized and varied discussions on all topics.
Jarkko
Hi Jarkko,
it's great to see you around again. Life can be quite busy and has many fascinating things to offer, and hair is just one of them. Just let me say that, looking at your hair site when it still was up, I really admired your pictures and your creativity - and it's too bad if some visitors did not respect ownership and copyright issues. (I'm a bit envious, since my terminal length is shoulder length - but I agree, quality is at least as important).
One off-topic remark: A lot of people in Germany have been taking note of the top performance of the Finnish educational system in the international PISA comparison. I suspect, that the Finnish school system has helped you to enhance your inborn creativity in many fields, including hair styles and computer programming.
Good luck with everything!
Hans-Uwe
Hi Hans-Uwe,
I think that creativity and arts are about experimenting with combinations of old things. That is basically what I do with my hair.
I'm not nitpicking about references to pictures or a few pictures provided as examples. Fair use is fare use.
I haven't been part of any educational system for 5 years now (if University can be compared to elementary school). I think Finnish students excel because the school is compulsory, publicly funded and going through it is a respected tradition. The net result is equity (it is also criticized because the system also forces different people to the same level).
Another thing worth noting is that Finnish society is slightly more open in self expression than most other countries. It may feed artistic creativity and individualism. Another factor may be that the competition among pupils/students is less fierce than
in, say, USA (this claim I base on some Web reading). Competition drives individuals to get good at competing in the respected skills. Doing something else gets less effort as a result. I think American students are pressed to learn social skills, marketing and business well, as those may be most valued among peers. Skills in natural sciences, technology and creativity may suffer as a result? There is no time to think out of the box solutions, if one is struggling to survive.
I personally believe that Linux was created in Finland because our academic life allows one to invest a lot of free time to personal projects and hobbies. But it also encourages laziness and enjoying life. :-) It is somewhat alarming that the more "efficient" the society tries to become, the less happy people are. I find idleness the most valuabe asset in life. It is a requirement for democracy and creativity, not to mention mental health and happiness.
Take care,
Jarkko
Hi Jarkko,
I think you said something absolutely important about leisure. The ancient Greek word "scholé" (ss-kholé) means "leisure". Thus, our words for "school" (école, escuela, skola, koulu, Schule) are derived from "leisure". No wonder, early precedents of democracy developed in ancient Greece, where the concepts of leisure and education were entwined.
Unfortunately, "school" means the opposite in many countries today. If a university curriculum is heavily reglemented and planned out in detail, we describe it in German with the adjective "verschult", or "schoolized".
From what I read about the success of the Finnish school system, I suspect indeed that Finnish students learn well because they are encouraged to relax and to develop a genuine personal curiosity about a subject. Interestingly, the American society still welcomes European-trained scientists and other specialists, even though there are many excellent high schools and universities in the US.
Having said that, one of the good things about the US educational system is that, for several decades now, US teachers and professors have been evaluated by their students on a regular base. Therefore, in my personal experience, they tend to be a lot more responsive to student needs than many of their counterparts in Germany.
All in all, I couldn't agree more with you, competition is not everything, it's just one of the many facets of life, and it fosters efficient standard solutions rather than creative and innovative solutions. Linux is indeed a good example for the association between noncompetitiveness and creativity. - As a scientist, I should perhaps invest a bit of my leisure time to learn some Finnish and take a look at the Finnish society myself ;-)
If you have further comments, you can also use my e-mail address (Uwe dot Heide alt+64 gmx dot net), so we can save this board some bandwidth)
Best wishes,
Hans-Uwe
Hi Jarkko,
I'm Charles in Malaysia and I've been an fan of you hair.
Besides that, I'll risk getting a bit off-topic on the subject of education.
My cousin who worked for a Finnish firm Wartsila in Singapore told me how well-educated most Finns are and I think the of that pudding can be seen in the Wartsila's intelligence in the design of their engines, the phenomenal success of Nokia phones, Benefon phones to a lesser extent, many less publicised Finnish products, Finlandia & Koskenkorva vodkas, Sofor mobile solutions, Radionet and many many more.
I understand there's much installation of broadband wireless in Vantaa -- is that where you live?
I tend to agree strongly with you on that. After all historically speaking, the artists were sponsored and supported by royal or rich benefactors and art and music thrives where the state sponsors it -- like in Vienna, Austria where I saw so many stat-sponsored music halls and art galleries.
I believe the Anglo-Saxon "technopreneur" concept adopted by Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor arose in Stanford University but its adoption hasn't produced very much results in the form of "technopreneurs" (technology-entrepreneurs) from the Multimedia Super Corridor as is wished.
The University of California at Berkerly has a much better approach of the scientist or engineer being a scientist or engineer but he or she can team up with a marketing person to make their business a success -- ie focussing on each one's core competencies.
Like Richard Stallman for instance? Well I find most Linux enthusiasts have full time jobs which gives them time to invest in other pursuits like Linux.
Yeah man! At times it's nice to step out and enjoy life.
Like Singapore south of Malaysia for example -- super efficient, super clean -- but people are stressed out, students cram to get top marks in their studies put the country has little in the way of creativity -- people are happy to work for the government, some multinational willing to set up a regional office or factory.
We're not that much better by the way, so may Jin spare me his wrath.
Cheers and take care
Charles
moreira_charles@yahoo.com.sg