Nasi Goreng and Functional Fixedness

My husband prepared Nasi Goreng (fried rice) for breakfast on the 3rd day of Eid. It was a delicious, palatable dish. My kids and I enjoyed it very much but I had to refrain myself from rolling my eyes at the sight of how he prepared the dish.

Fried rice is technically best prepared in a pan or a wok. It’s a pleasant sight to see the rice being fried along with the protein and vegetables on top of the raging flame. Hence, it was to my dismay to see my husband prepared it in a sauce pan. He is not entirely wrong but it does come across as an eyesore because the frying pan was in the cabinet just above him. But he chose the pot because it was already on the stove. I had just cleaned it last night and left it to air dry.

That morning I had to overcome Functional Fixedness.

Functional Fixedness in Psychology is a form of cognitive bias upon solving a problem where one is limited to a traditional way of addressing the matter. This prevents a person to be holistic and look for novelty or creative ways in settling an issue. It can be daunting when you are trying to work through a problem as a team and some members refuse to delve into something new because they cannot see past ‘biasanyer kita buat mcm ni’. In a way, they are also trapped in a Confirmation Bias because they would only listen to those who supports their initial idea.

Once, my Emergency Physician got so pissed off with people telling her ‘the normal way of doing things’ that she doesn’t want to hear us say, ‘selalunya’ or ‘sebelum ni’. We had to support our clinical decisions with evidence and facts. Not because someone did it before and it worked. Functional Fixedness is not a negative connotation altogether. Re-using the same solution to solve a similar problem is commendable because it saves time and we know it works. It’s in cases where it doesn’t work, that we have to think outside the box.

In my simple case, my concept of making nasi goreng is limited to just using the wok to cook it whereas I could use a pot if I wanted to. At the end of the day, I will still have the same nasi goreng to eat. In a way it taught me that there is no one way to fry rice, boil soup or cook maggi mee. We must learn to be resourceful and adaptive to our surroundings to survive.

Slow Study Tempo in May

Evidently, a very empty month in May. I have signed up for my subjects but classes have yet to be open. I just wish for at least the module handbooks to be available. I am so restless at the thought of being in the dark with regards of what I need to know for each subject.

In the meantime, at work – it has been proposed that Klinik Kesihatan (KK) will be operated based on the shift system. Currently, it is still in an evaluation and survey phase to see if we could cope seeing the same amount of patients before MCO with the current restrictions. Namely factors like social distancing and such. A blogger, DianaIshak coined a term ‘syarat puteri gunung ledang’ to describe a situation where a person lays out the most ridiculous rules and request with the hope of deterring the opposite party’s intentions. I think that term fits our circumstances too. Either way, shifts will start eventually in KK, it is only a matter of time for it to be initiated fully. So, be open and prepared for the possibility. I think most of us are thinking about child care.

Busy bee week

I had a lot of time to do some reading on my Kindle this week. I managed to finish Ichigo Ichie by Hector Garcia within 24 hours. Ichigo Ichie is in a way about mindfulness and reinforces the idea that each moment is precious and each great opportunities must be seized. It is not an entirely new idea for me but it is a great book all the same when you need some light reading and a ‘pick me up’ sorta mood. Remind me to update my GoodReads shelf.

I am also reading a textbook related to my course so that I wouldn’t forget the many psychological theories, having had this long 2 week break after exams. It is called Essentials of Psychology Concepts and Applications by Jeffrey S. Nevid. I have no idea if it will be a great read but it seems to have the chapters that I need.

I like how in the introduction they give one useful study tips as a student. Apart from prepping before class and being punctual, the author also suggested that for every hour of class should be backed up with 2 hours of extra studying. I thought that was a good statement cause sometimes I am clueless at how much I need to study for a module.

I feel that in a course using a lot of words, I need to read up more so I could explain the concept in my own words using explanations that resonates best with me. I found this textbook online although I actually prefer reading from a hard copy. If only, a university bookstore is nearby.

I am also organizing my notes and resources. For now, I am following Dr Alizi Alias on Facebook because he is the only person I know that is ‘certified’ in proper psychology. I have yet to explore on other credible mentors within this field. If possible, a non clinical psychologist. Shoot me names!

Recently, I enrolled in an online course due to InsyaAllah happen in June. This course is organized by a Syeikh Hasan and is held over the weekend with about 3 hours each session. The early bird fee is 15GBP. An investment of ilm!

I hope to gain more insight on this subject from an Islamic perspective. In fact, I have bought a related Islamic related psychology book but it has yet to arrive by post. It is apparently quite famous in the psychology world especially among muslims.

To be honest, I had no idea that as muslims we would be facing dilemmas in this field. So, I guess this is good to know. I really have to thank my bookworm friend for finding this gem for me even though she doesn’t take psychology. I hope the book arrives next week. I can’t wait!

Registering for 2nd semester

My semester is supposed to start in May 2020. however, with COVID-19 still at large and CMCO ongoing, classes have yet to start. I have sat for my TITAS exam last Monday and am awaiting results for my 1st semester as a whole. No idea when it will come out. I am quite anxious to know as it will somehow help me know whether what I am doing right now is on the right path or otherwise.

These are the subjects I am taking for May 2020.

In other words, it translates into;

Sejarah dan Falsafah Psikologi

Principles of Management

English for Written Communication

Registration is still open. It is from 10 March 2020 – 07 June 2020. My fees for this semester is RM1602.00. Alhamdulilah.. I have more than enough to pay for it. Keeping the Study Fund going. Saving what I can.

I am hoping other part time students are doing OK too. It can be a challenge to work and study at the same time especially if you have other family commitments be it to your parents, siblings, partner and kid/s. Yet, there is no day in which you learn something is a complete loss. Good Luck.

A Glimpse of my TITAS notes

I’m afraid my notes for TITAS ain’t as diligent as the ones I did for my Psychology subject. Perhaps it is because I am at loss at how to translate the paragraphs into mind maps or bullet points. I ended up printing the pages off my handbook instead.

I tried rewriting my notes for the Tamadun India (Indian Civilization) chapter but I got a headache after that trying to sort which rajah goes into which dynasty. I did a boomerang on that on my IG Hobominci. This is where tutorials help but we didn’t manage to have any during this MCO. So, I had to depend on online lectures. Thankfully I have watched Shah Rukh Khan’s Asoka movie. In a way, I could kind of imagine how it theoretically looked like in that era with the costumes, makeup and social hierarchy.

I suppose with studying history, you have no choice but to read and memorize the facts. And do sample questions if there are any. InsyaAllah, everything will be well.