THE word "straight" has positive connotations. The thesaurus says its synonyms are fair, trustworthy and frank. Conversely, the antonyms represent words with negative meanings, such as devious and crooked.
I love Mathematics. It was my favourite subject in school. Accounts and Physics were the other subjects that I liked most in school as the basis of these subjects is mainly Mathematics.
I am an engineer, and my job requires measurements and mathematical calculations.
Excel is my favourite software. I am not good in art and I find it a difficult subject. In school, I used a ruler and included measurements in my drawings.
For an assignment about drawing nature, I drew two triangles representing mountains, a straight road and one geometric-shaped kampung house.
The only part that I liked of that class was when we learned to draw parabolic curves with multiple straight lines.
That was a revelatory moment. Straight could also be defined as logic and linear. Logic means linking one variable to another with clear understandings, formulas or algorithms.
In my university years, I excelled in linear algebra, but struggled in my signal and system as in the latter, the concept of logic and linear was no longer "straight"-forward or, in fact, non-linear.
One would agree that life would be less complex if everything was straight, logic and linear.
We would get to our destination quicker if all roads were straight.
Machines would produce products with precision if the products were in geometrical forms.
The understanding of concepts and ideas would be much easier to comprehend if there was no such thing about illogical and non-linear elements.
Non-linearity allows you to grasp a full understanding of an idea only after going through certain processes, step by step, with elements of assumptions.
When we were young, there were some things that our parents did that were illogical, but much later in life, we realised that what they did was justified and logical.
A trip to Cameron Highlands would be faster if the roads were straight, but this isn't pragmatic.
The long and winding roads would allow us to arrive at the top safely.
Along the way, we would be able to see the beautiful scenery. Straight steep roads won't allow us to do that.
Most arguments are caused by misunderstanding due to a lack of accurate information. This leads to assumptions – the fundamentals of nonlinearity.
Nonetheless, being frank or straight with each other may also lead to arguments as the truth hurts. A straight approach may not lead to a positive outcome after all.
In fact, even when information is available, what is right to one person could be seen differently by another person, and what is perceived as a right decision today may be criticised by others tomorrow.
A profound decision may in the future become a regret.
Let us not judge others. Respect each other's opinions and principles, or at least agree to disagree.
The writer feels one should be open minded and have a give-and-take mentality when facing challenges