The Purpose of Education

About 2 years ago I picked up one of these beautiful clothbound editions of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and since then I’ve made it a point to buy another one of these clothbound novels every few months or so. In fact, one of the reasons why it took me so long to finish writing up my DPhil thesis was that I had to finish reading Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace first! Talk about procrastinating…

My latest purchase was the novel Hard Times, again by Charles Dickens. The story itself was interesting, but a few lines from the Introduction really caught my eye:

…it operates as a critique on certain forms of education, particularly those that set out to fill a child full of ‘useful facts’ rather than to introduce them in any way to the world of the imagination, to concepts of aesthetic pleasure removed from functionality, and to the idea that compassionate understanding of the lives and circumstances of others is of infinitely more use than the accumulation of knowledge.

I love the phrase ‘compassionate understanding of the lives and circumstances of others’ because it accurately sums up what is often missing from today’s classrooms. Even in Malaysia, I see a lot (too much?) emphasis being put on exam results, as if schools are factories for producing A grades. I hope this trend will not continue.

Brain Dissection Week 2024

Alhamdulillah, saya telah dipelawa sekali lagi untuk menyertai program ‘Brain Dissection Week’ anjuran Kelab Sains MCKK pada tahun ini.

Dalam ucapan ringkas yang saya berikan pada permulaan program semalam, saya telah merakamkan jutaan penghargaan kepada bekas guru Sains saya di MCKK dahulu, Allahyarhamah Cikgu Aznisham Abdul Ghafar, yang telah banyak berjasa dalam memupuk minat untuk mempelajari bidang Sains dalam diri saya.

Dalam sebuah hadis yang diriwayatkan oleh Abu Hurairah R.A. bahawa Rasulullah S.A.W. telah bersabda (maksudnya):

Apabila mati seorang manusia, terputuslah daripadanya amalannya kecuali tiga perkara: Sedekah jariah, atau ilmu yang dimanfaatkan dengannya, atau anak soleh yang mendoakan baginya.

(HR Muslim)

Saya mendoakan agar arwah cikgu (dan juga semua bekas guru-guru saya) dikurniakan ganjaran pahala setiap kali saya manfaatkan ilmu yang diajar suatu masa dahulu untuk merawat pesakit yang berada di hadapan saya.

Tujuan kami para fasilitator menganjurkan program BDW ini adalah untuk memberikan ‘exposure’ kepada adik-adik mengenai bidang neurosains. Untuk berjaya dalam bidang ini, tentunya memerlukan pengorbanan yang besar. Maka, kami kongsikan juga perjalanan menuntut ilmu kami di dalam dan luar negara supaya adik-adik tidak cepat putus asa ketika berhadapan dengan apa-apa cabaran.

Terima kasih kepada sahabat baik saya Dr Khairun Mispan dan isteri yang bertungkus-lumus membuat segala persiapan untuk program kali ini. Semoga kita semua dapat bertemu kembali dalam majlis ilmu seperti ini pada tahun-tahun yang hadapan, inshaAllah.

Oxford in Midsummer

I recently went back to Oxford for my DPhil viva. Naturally, apart from preparing for the viva itself, I spent most of the remaining time capturing memories of what the place feels like in midsummer.

Here’s a selection of those moments (check out individual pictures for further details):

DPhil Diaries #8

Left to right: Professor Sarah Pendlebury, myself, Professor Masud Husain, Professor Hugh Markus
Location: Front Quadrangle, New College, Oxford

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah SWT for by his Grace and Mercy I have finally passed my DPhil viva!

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip back to the United Kingdom last month due to the fact that I’m now back at work as a full-time Consultant Neurologist at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. On the 15th of June 2024, I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai, and thence to London. After clearing immigration, I took a taxi straight to my hotel in Summertown, Oxford.

The next few days were spent meeting old friends and preparing for the viva, in that order.

On the day of the viva, I met up with my supervisor Professor Masud Husain at the Red Room in New College. My examiners arrived soon after and they were:

  • Professor Sarah Pendlebury
    Professor of Medicine and Old Age Neuroscience
    University of Oxford
  • Professor Hugh Markus
    Professor of Stroke Medicine
    University of Cambridge

There’s always a certain amount of trepidation at the start of any exam. Thankfully, my examiners were very kind and began by telling me they enjoyed reading my thesis and that it was well-written. We settled into a discussion about my research work and before I knew it, 2.5 hours had passed and I was asked to step outside briefly while they conferred together. A few minutes later, I returned to the room and was informed by my examiners that I had passed with minor corrections! Alhamdulillah…

I intend to write a much longer post about my DPhil journey, but that will have to wait another day. For now, I am just very relieved to have finally gotten over this process, and I want to move on to other things that I’m passionate about e.g. my clinical practice, charity work etc.