Saturday, December 28, 2013

Bias: mengapa orang pintar sebenarnya tak sepandai yang mereka pikirkan

Tiba-tiba tak ada angin, tak ada hujan, tak ada petir menggelegar - dan tak ada cowok cakep lewat - , muncul hasrat untuk menulis tentang bias. Bukan. lstilah bias yang kumaksud bukan istilah bias yang lagi ngetren di kalangan remaja yang biasanya berarti anggota favorit dari boyband, girlband, maupun band Jepang & Korea. Walaupun sebenarnya masih ada benang merahnya juga sich.  He he he.

Berdasarkan kamus, bias berarti "simpangan", kecenderungan untuk percaya bahwa suatu ide, orang, dll lebih baik dari yang lain dan biasanya menyebabkan orang menilai/memutuskan sesuatu secara tidak adil. Makanya anggota favorit dari band Jepang atau Korea disebut bias, karena kita lebih menyukainya dibandingkan anggota yang lain sehingga perlakuan kita terhadap member lain jadi kurang adil. Lebih memilih merchandise dari anggota favorit kita misalnya. He he he. Back to the topic, bias yang kumaksud disini adalah bias secara umum, terutama tentang cognitive biases. Kenapa ini penting? Dari pengalaman, aku mendapati bahwa memang terkadang bias membuat kita jadi tidak dapat mengambil keputusan yang benar. Bahkan para ahli pun bisa bias.

Sebenarnya aku sudah ingin menulis tentang hal ini sejak tahun lalu. Sejak aku membaca buku "Thinking, Fast & Slow" karangan Daniel Kahneman, profesor psikologi Princeton University yang juga peraih nobel di bidang ekonomi tahun 2002. Tapi berhubung kesibukan yang menyita waktu akhirnya hal ini tidak jadi kulakukan. Keinginan ini kembali muncul setelah membaca buku "The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty" karangan Dan Ariely, profesor psikologi Duke University. Mempelajari soal bias itu ternyata sangat menarik.

Salah satu jenis bias yaitu hindsight bias. credit to: Nicholson of "The Australian" newspaper http://www.nicholsoncartoons.com.au/

Manusia sangat rentan memiliki bias terhadap suatu hal. Salah satu jenis bias yang paling berbahaya adalah secara alami kita selalu berpikir bahwa orang lain lebih rentan membuat kesalahan dibandingkan kita. Kecenderungan ini dikenal sebagai "bias blind spot". Seperti kata pepatah, "gajah di pelupuk mata tak tampak, semut di seberang lautan tampak". Kita mahir dalam menemukan kesalahan orang lain tapi tidak mampu melihat kesalahan yang sama pada diri kita. Contohnya? Tidak usah jauh-jauh. Lihat saja ibu-ibu yang suka bergosip dengan topik sekitar kesalahan dan kejelekan orang lain. Ho ho ho. Singkatnya, kita gampang mengabaikan kesalahan kita tetapi bersikap lebih kritis terhadap kesalahan orang lain. Akibatnya kita menilai pendapat kita terlalu tinggi dan menganggap pendapat orang lain yang bertentangan dengan kita lebih inferior.

Menariknya, suatu penelitian tahun 2012 menemukan bahwa orang dengan kemampuan kognitif yang tinggi (alias orang pintar) cenderung memiliki "bias blind spot" yang lebih tinggi dari orang biasa. Semakin pintar, semakin besar "bias blind spot"nya. Hal yang mungkin pertama-tama terdengar lucu, karena bukankah ada pepatah yang mengatakan bahwa orang yang semakin banyak belajar (dalam hal ini aku asumsikan berarti orang pintar) justru semakin mengetahui bahwa dia tidak tahu apa-apa? Tetapi jika dipikir lagi, tampaknya memang mungkin hal ini ada hubungannya.

Mungkin aku bisa menceritakan pengalamanku sendiri soal "bias blind spot". Tahun lalu aku mengikuti suatu pelatihan dimana peserta dibagi dalam beberapa kelompok untuk memecahkan kasus yang berbeda-beda. Aku sempat berdebat sengit dengan salah seorang peserta (Ph.D candidate dengan latar belakang Kimia) tentang cara menghitung dosis maksimal yang aman digunakan dari suatu senyawa toksik. Aku sendiri memiliki latar belakang Farmasi, dan kuakui bahwa meskipun aku tidak pernah menyombongkannya, dalam hati aku selalu merasa sebagai orang yang pintar dan kompeten. Farmakokinetik dan penentuan dosis merupakan salah satu kompetensi apoteker. Dengan cepat aku dapat menemukan kesalahan sistematis dalam cara perhitungan peserta tersebut. Sejujurnya perdebatan tersebut juga dibumbui dengan perasaan superior ("tahu apa sich dia soal perhitungan dosis dan farmakokinetik?", kira-kira begitulah suara kesombongan dari salah satu sudut hatiku). Perlu diketahui bahwa dalam pelatihan tersebut tidak ada kunci jawabannya. Yang penting adalah bagaimana kita bisa mempertahankan pendapat kita dan aku menang. Tapi setelah kupikir-pikir lagi, sebenarnya pemikiran peserta lain tersebut juga ada benarnya. Malah mungkin ada kekeliruan dalam perhitunganku karena tidak mempertimbangkan faktor yang disebut peserta tersebut. Akhirnya aku menyadari bahwa waktu itu aku terlalu kritis terhadap kesalahan orang lain dan gagal melihat kesalahan dalam pemikiranku sendiri. Hal ini membuatku berpikir bahwa orang yang merasa dirinya pandai ternyata tak sepandai yang dipikirkannya. Siapapun rentan membuat kesalahan pada bidang yang mungkin dianggap sudah dikuasai.

Yang bisa aku simpulkan dari pengalamanku sehari-hari adalah orang-orang dengan kemampuan kognitif tinggi cenderung menganggap dirinya pintar dan oleh karena itu tanpa disadari menjadi kurang awas dengan kesalahan sendiri. Beberapa kali terjadi, peneliti mengabaikan suatu efek atau fenomena yang dianggap sebagai "noise", "coincidence" atau "irrelevant". Hanya untuk menemukan beberapa tahun kemudian bahwa hal tersebut ternyata merupakan sesuatu yang penting. Sejauh ini, hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa meskipun kita aware dengan adanya "bias blind spot", hal ini sulit untuk dihilangkan. Analisis tambahan juga menyebutkan bahwa meskipun kita bebas dari "bias blind spot", ternyata tidak membantu dalam menghindari cognitive bias lainnya. Akar dari bias sebagian besar berasal dari pemikiran alam bawah sadar. Oleh karena itu tidak dapat dilihat melalui self-analysis dan tidak dapat dicegah dengan intelegensi.

Waduh. Sepertinya cuap-cuapku kali ini menjadi sangat panjang. Inti dari yang ingin kukatakan adalah penting adanya kesadaran dan kemauan untuk menerima bahwa mungkin ada kesalahan dalam sistematika berpikir kita. Bagi yang merasa pintar, berpikiran terbuka dan tidak cuma memasang kacamata kuda mungkin membantu dalam mengurangi bias ini. ^^. So, what's your opinion about this?

Thursday, December 26, 2013

47 Ronin (Review)

Some of my friends say that this movie is bad. The others say that this movie is good. That's why after swimming in an apartment that luckily near Epicentrum XXI, I went there to see it for myself.


If you ask me about my impressions, I would say that this movie have a potential to be a good movie. The cinematography is good. The acting is generally good. I love Shibasaki Kou and Rinko Kikuchi in this movie. Ah, and also Hiroyuki Sanada. The CGI is quite good but looks really fake in some scenes. I'm pretty sure the depiction of Tengu in this movie is far from the depicted images from Japanese literature. The first half of the movie is too boring, which fortunately become more interesting in the latter half. But I had become lost interest at that time. Furthermore, I don't like the music score and the story went too far from the original. It doesn't have emotional punch that I've expected from a story as classic as 47 Ronin.

In the end, you could say that I have a mix opinion about this movie. I won't recommend you to watch it in the cinema. Maybe just rent it later. But I won't said that you better not watch this movie. It's not my cup of tea, but maybe it's yours. Have you watch this movie? Do you agree with me?

Dhoom 3 (Review)

Actually, I never intended to watch Dhoom 3. But because all 47 Ronin show time in Mal Kelapa Gading was sold out, I quickly decided to pick this movie in the cinema. It's been so long since the last time I watch an Indian Movie. The last one that I've watched was 3 Idiots and I really like it.  Coincidentally, those movies have the same main actor, Aamir Khan. So, is this movie as good as 3 idiots?

the movie poster. Credit to: www.santabanta.com
Fairly speaking, Dhoom 3 is an enjoyable movie. I might say that it's a great movie..... if you abandon your logic and accepted all that was shown in front of you. The acting is good. There's a blend of touching story, humour, romance and over-the-top action scenes. Ah, and the music is quite good too!

I have a few complaints about this movie. First is the over-the-top action scenes. You know there's something wrong with a film if the action scenes makes you shake heads, face-palmings, and laughing (because of the ridiculousness) rather than make your tension arise. Second, the story is somewhat predictable. Well, I've watched several heist movies and several movies about magician too. And from the moment they show the teleportation magic, I was quickly remember "The Prestige" and rightly guess that it has similar trick. That's why I didn't surprise at the revelation. But well, maybe it's just me.

Besides all of my complaints above, Dhoom 3 is really entertaining. So, just give it a shoot. Okay? Have you watch it? Tell me your opinion about it below.

Monday, December 16, 2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Review)

Okay. So last weekend I watched The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 4DX  3D format. In case you don't know what 4DX is, you could read the description here4DX allows a motion picture presentation to be augmented with environmental effects such as motion, scents, mist and wind, outside the standard video and audio. So basically there's a plenty of motion, breeze and water mist in the theater. This is not my first time to watch something in 4D. My first experience was in Batu Night Spectacular Malang and honestly it had more impact to me at that time, compared to when I watched The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I think the main reason for this is because the movie that I've watched in Malang is specifically design for 4D while Desolation of Smaug isn't. That's why I think it didn't add more experience than watching that movie  in other format.

The poster. Credit to: fansided.com
If I'm allowed to be blunt, honestly I'm a little bit disappointed by this movie. Sure it is still a really good movie. But maybe my expectation is too high or maybe because I read the original book and feel this movie is stray far beyond the original story. Now I will tell you what I love about this movie first.

First of all, I love the acting. In my opinion, Martin Freeman is the best Bilbo you could ask for. He portrayed the dark side of Bilbo where he gradually attracted toward the darkness of the one ring perfectly. I love Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey too. Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lily are kick-ass as Thorin, Legolas, and Tauriel. On the other side, I think Martin Freeman is underused in this movie. He didn't have that much scene because there's so many different story within this movie. As usual, the CGI is awesome. Not as awesome as usual though cause some background looks obviously fake. But I really like the production design. The spider scenes, the barrel scenes are interesting and excited. Really creative. The conversation between Smaug and Bilbo is a highlight in this movie. All hail to the dragon. I love Benedict Cumberbatch here. But honestly, the conversation between Bilbo and Smaug is not exactly went on  like in the book. It's longer. Oh. And I love Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman.

What I don't like is the music score of this movie. You know that there's something wrong with a movie as extravagant as this franchise if you don't remember any piece of music score in it. At least Song of Lonely Mountain from the first hobbit movie still linger in my head. Then, I don't like some additional story in this movie too. If you read The Hobbit book, surely you will know that Beorn have more role than that. They also make the time span of the dwarf taken prisoner by the elf shorter. It doesn't looks like they're in elf's prison for more than 2 weeks. And why they have to introduce love story between Thauriel and Kili? For the sake of making Thorin and the dwarfs look badass, this movie also add fighting scenes between them and Smaug, which is not really impresive. And what about the unsatisfied ending?

Forgive me from blabbering too much. Well, with all that's said, I still recommended you to watch it thought. This movie still have many scenes that would make you excited.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Frozen (Review)

Honestly, this year there wasn't any animation movie that satisfy me. I kind of expect that there will be no notable animation movie for 2013. That's what I thought. Until I've watch Frozen 2 weeks ago. After read several favorable reviews of this movie, I thought I might give it a shoot and didn't regret it.


Frozen is Walt Disney Animation's follow-up movie after Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph. A lovely tale based on Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. The movie tell the story of 2 princesses, Elsa and Anna, in which the older sister (Elsa) has power to create ice and frozen things. Because she can't control it, in one occasion when they were a child, Elsa accidentally hurt Anna and finally decide to distance herself from everyone. Just read the synopsis here.

I would tell you what I love about this movie. The visual is amazing! The scene where Elsa build her ice castle in the mountain is breath-taking. It also emotional. I don't know why, I cry while watching this movie >////<. The music is spectacular and convey the emotional tone in this movie really well. The story is too simple and somewhat predictable, but since it's a family movie, I don't mind. Overall I really like this movie. I recommend you to watch it :D.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is one of the movie that I can't wait to see this year.  That's why with fiery spirit, last weekend I watch it in the cinema. Most show was sold out! Wow! This movie is pretty popular here in Indonesia. So, is this movie live up to expectation? I would tell you my opinion about it!

Have I ever told you that I'm a fan of Jennifer Lawrence?
Honestly, for me Catching Fire is a gloomy movie. Of course it is, since war is brewing in Panem. In this movie Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) was having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to her experience in The Hunger Games. She didn't realize that her act against the will of Capitol would spark rebellions in 12 districts of Panem and she would serve as a symbol of rebellion. She experience sad and terrifying things, hence the tone of this movie become somber.

Being the 2nd part of a trilogy is problematic because it neither had the advantage of starting the story nor finish it. So it generally become the weakest in the trilogy. Well, maybe except The Empire Strikes Back. Speaking of Star Wars, I don't know why many 2nd part of trilogy movies fells like it try to follow the path of The Empire Strikes Back. Catching Fire is not an exception, which mean this 2nd film is darker than the first film, with cliffhanger and unsatisfied ending. Why almost second part of a trilogy that I saw follow the “darker before it gets lighter” mentality? But I must say that I love Catching Fire and the first movie equally.

I would say things that I love from this movie first. The production design and the CGI is good. They do a good job in create Panem. The costumes are good and beautiful. The acting is good. Jennifer Lawrence bring the frail side of Katniss Everdeen perfectly. And she's really cool with the way she use her bow and arrow. Stanley Tucci as Caesar and Elizabeth Banks as Effie are scene stealers. The addition of Phillip Seymor Hoffman, Jena Malone and Sam Claflin as Plutarch Heavensbee, Johanna Mason and Finnick Odair are refreshing. The things that I don't really like are the movie score and some story telling. It doesn't really show how Katniss's feeling shift from Gale to Peeta. I think Katniss-Peeta's love story lack its deep in this movie.

Overall, I think Catching Fire is a good movie and I enjoy it. I even would say that this movie is better than the book. But my opinion might be biased because I only read the translated book in Bahasa Indonesia. Sometimes when a book is translated to another language it lost some feelings or nuances because the translated version fails to relay it properly. That's my opinion. How about you?

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Hellofest 9, 9 November 2013

So on 9 November 2013, beside watch Thor: Dark World and Ender's Game, I also managed to went to Indonesian Book Fair in Istora Senayan and Hellofest 9 in Senayan Swimming Fool's field. There's a lot of stand that sell manga and anime's merchandise. I want to buy  Mikasa Ackerman's key holder but by the time I return to the stand that sell it, it's already sold out T^T. That's why I bought a Star Trek key holder instead. Here are some of the pictures that I took there:

The wall

L and Amane Misa. Where is Yagami Raito?

Another cosplayers

Shingeki no Kyojin Cosplayer
Weekly Shonen Jump that I  bought in this  event
Unfortunately, due to the time limitation I only be there for about 2 hours and didn't managed to watch any performance (only bought some merchandises and sight seeing). But I enjoy to watch a lot of cosplayer there. One woman even cosplayed as Mak Lampir, one of the famous wicked witch in Indonesia. Wkwkwkwk.. By the way,  I accidentally dropped my Star Trek Key Holder on my way home T^T. Silly me. On November and December, I guess there's a lot of Japanese Festival held in Indonesia so maybe I will try to buy Mikasa Ackerman's merchandise next time.  Wish me luck!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Ender's Game (Review)

I watched this movie after Thor: The Dark World. So glad that I did. A science fiction and action movie that isn't mindless! I haven't read the book at the time I was watching this movie, but some people said it's not as thought-provoking as its book. Really?? I think this movie is entertaining and thought-provoking. The book must be so awesome if it's more thought-provoking than this. That's why as soon as I get out from the cinema, I search Google Play Book and buy it without hesitation *laugh.

The Theatrical Poster
So Ender's Game is a science-fiction movie where children is trained to be the next commander of Earth fleets. Some years in the past, humanity encounter attack from bug-like alien known as "the Formics" and lost a great deal of population and land. Never want that to happen again, the International Fleet created the Battle School, a program designed to subject children with the best tactical minds to rigorous training. The movie follows the story of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, one of the trainee that eventually chosen as the commander.

The movie is quite faithful to the book, with some changes and a lot of cut to the story. The main difference is the book tells more complicated story about the relationship of Ender and his siblings, Peter and Valentine. The Wiggin siblings are extremely smart and while Ender is busy in the battle school, Peter and Valentine has prominent role in Earth's affair. The movie only follow the story about Ender without much said about his siblings. It made this movie lacks the deep of the book. For example about the process where Ender finally gain respects from his fellow trainee that really short and about his relationship with Valentine. But aside from that I'm still think the movie is good. I recommend you to watch it!

Thor: The Dark World (Review)

At first, I was reluctant to watch this movie in the cinema as I expected that it would only made me see another superhero movie without any deep meaning and lots of "bangs" and "explosion". The only reason I finally watch this movie is because I'm somehow a fan of Loki <3. Turn out I'm not entirely wrong. It was a 2 hours meaningless fun movie.

The Theatrical Poster
This movie title is Thor: The Dark World, but the opening and ending scenes are about Loki. Made me think that maybe Loki is the star of this movie. *peace*. Many people said that this movie is funny with lots comedy in it, I disagree. I didn't laugh my ass off, only smile or chuckle at some scenes. The best scenes in this movie are the one where Loki looks devastated after losing one of the important people in his life and the bickering scenes between Thor and Loki. The chemistry between Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston is great. What I like too is the way that Natalie Portman has a big role in the action scenes of the movie, not just as "Damsel in Distress". Kat Danning's performance as Darcy, Jane Foster's co-worker is very refreshing too. The special effects are good. The cinematography and the music score are so so.

There are 2 complains from me for this movie. First, the villain. Maybe it's just me, I don't like the villain. I found him to be uninteresting and not intimidating at all. As I believe that a hero is only as good as his/her enemy, I found Thor to be a little interesting in this movie. I must admit that I found Thor in the first movie more interesting. The second is about the ending. I mean all those scenes where Loki give his life to save Thor and in the end he turn out to be like that?? Really?? Marvel better not said that this ending mean he has killed Odin or I'll be pretty mad. The ending credit scene drop some hints of the next Marvel movie as Sif and Volstagg give aether to a collector whose name I don't know and start talking about "the infinite stone". What is that? I guess I will find that out in the next Marvel movies.

Well, that is my opinion. How about you? Comment below and let me know :D.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Gravity (Review)

So last week I went to cinema to watch Gravity after hear many people hail it as one of the best movie in 2013. Moreover, the movie is about space (if you don't know, I'm pretty much a fan of everything about the space. My former obsession was to become an astronaut). That's why I was eager to watch it even though some people say this movie is boring. Here are my opinion about this film:


This movie tell us a story about how Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) must survive in space and attempt to come back to earth after her space shuttle mission fail. Honestly, this movie didn't bore me at all. People who said this movie is boring probably are the one who had particular interest in action movie or dramatic movie. But it's pretty short so I don't have any time to be bored.

The main point of this movie is the special effect and the cinematography. It's superb! Make me feels like I was in space and the pictures are really beautiful. I watch it in 3D and when the debris of space object move towards Sandra Bullock, I unconsciously held my breath. The acting is good too. There are only two main actors here, Sandra Bullock and George Cloney (Btw, he is charming, naughty, and funny as Mark Kowalsky). There are thrills and tensions in this movie but personally it's not thrilling enough for me. Strangely, I cry in the middle of this movie. It's not a sad movie. It's a survival movie. But I can't hold back my tears when Dr. Ryan Stone is in a desperate situation, thinking about her life and how she doesn't have any motivation to live anymore, then attempt to commit suicide through hipoxia. It made me contemplated and gave afterthought to my whole live and the fact that I don't really have strong motivation to live. Ho ho ho. Why suddenly I talk about something sad?

By the way, I recommend you to watch this movie in 3D. I bet Gravity will win Oscar for Best Special Effects. Have you watch it in cinema? What do you think about this movie?

Museum Nasional (The National Museum of Indonesia)

The National Museum of Indonesia is a very renowned museum near National Monument and probably my favorite museum in Indonesia. It is also called "Elephant Museum" because it has a bronze elephant statue located in front of the museum. This statue is a present from King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), a king from Thailand that visited it in 1871.

The museum collections is grouped and arranged according the certain subjects like ethnography, archaeology, ceramics, etc.  It consist of 2 buildings, Gedung Gajah and Gedung Arca, that is connected through a glass walled bridge gallery. Here are some photos that I took when I went there:
































The reasons why I love this museum is because I can learn about the cultural diversity in Indonesia through its collections. It makes me respect other regions culture and want to travel all over this lovely country. I even learn more about Balinese Culture in this museum. Surprisingly, through its collections I became aware that my knowledge about Bali is limited even though I'm a Balinese >///<. I recommend those who want to see the history and cultural diversity in Indonesia to visit this lovely museum.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Museum Bank Mandiri

Museum Bank Mandiri is located at the left side of Museum Bank Indonesia. I often go there because sometimes I teach street children there (I'm a volunteer of Sahabat Anak, a Non Government Organization that is established to help street children). Here are some pictures that I took when I was there:















Unlike Museum Bank Indonesia, this museum is a little bit dirty and spooky. I hope Bank Mandiri could make it more attractive.