I attended a lecture in a bar and rediscovered the joy of learning so-called useless things

Upskilling and staying relevant may be getting much attention in this digital age, but CNA TODAY's Kimberly Lim explores new informal spaces that are all about making learning fun again.

Ms Ashley Chin giving a lecture in a bar on her master's dissertation topic, which delves into the history of why and how we tell ghost stories in Singapore, on Aug 30, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Kimberly Lim)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

Two weeks ago, I found myself attending a lecture for the first time since graduating from university in 2017.

I was early for class, which didn't happen often back in school. Despite that, my classroom, a cosy bar on the second floor of a Tanjong Pagar shophouse, was already packed to the brim.

There was another marked difference between this lecture and the numerous others I'd endured in my university days. I was excited about the topic: ghost stories in hyper-modern Singapore.

The lecture was conducted at Braveheart Sake Originals by Ms Ashley Chin, who did her research paper on the sam e topic as part of a master's degree at England's University of Cambridge .

Ms Chin, a curatorial research assistant at the Asian Civilisations Museum, spent the 45-minute lecture tracing a history of why and how we tell ghost stories in Singapore, from pre-colonial times to the present day.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less

One particularly intriguing example came from a 1950 article in The Singapore Free Press, which gave a blow-by-blow account of a medicine man's battle with a spirit in his house, even reporting that he had lost the fight.

Ms Chin contrasted this with how, as Singapore modernised, the media began to portray spirits as superstition.

As she talked, my classmates and I – about 40 of us in total – listened with rapt attention. Some took notes on their phones while nursing a cup of sake or a cocktail; others fixed their unwavering gaze on our teacher's PowerPoint slides.

Even after the lecture ended, the audience's curiosity took the discussion further, with questions about the rights of factory workers who experienced outbreaks of mass hysteria in the 1970s – episodes involving people screaming, fainting or entering trance-like states.

None of us really needed to know any of this. But we wanted to.

For most of us, learning has been tied to either grades in school or productivity in the workplace.

When was the last time we learnt something purely for the fun of it, with no exam paper to pass, skill to acquire or career benefit to reap – simply because we wanted to know?

WHERE ANY SPACE CAN BE A CLASSROOM

The lecture I attended was the 13th of its kind so far by Remedial Kids, which calls itself a "social community for the culturally curious".

Roughly once a month, an academic or expert takes the floor to lecture on offbeat topics such as the history of dogs in Singapore.

Communications professional Jo Lam, now 38, started the community in July 2025, inspired by the trend of taking lectures out of classrooms and universities and into more casual settings such as bars.

Perhaps the most well-known – and most often imitated – is the Lectures on Tap series that originated in 2024 in New York City, the United States.

Then there's Pint of View, held in Indian cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. The same event concept has also taken off in China, where it's dubbed "academic bars".

Dr Kade Finnoff (left), an associate professor of economics at Azim Premji University, giving a Pint of View lecture in early 2026 titled Women, War & Peace at a live music and events venue in Bengaluru, India, as audience members (right) listened over drinks. (Photos: Instagram/Pint of View)

Remedial Kids' next lecture on the ancient origins of the food we eat, happening on Oct 11, is already sold out. Clearly, there is a growing appetite for this type of event.

But why are so many people craving this type of learning experience?

At the class I attended, one participant, a research assistant, told me she welcomed the opportunity to learn directly from a subject matter expert. Another, a freelance creative professional, said she was naturally drawn to eclectic topics.

It seemed most people, including me, were not there to tick a box. They were simply, as the second participant said, "kaypoh" (nosy) or curious.

Until I attended Ms Chin's lecture, I hadn't realised just how much I missed classes.

As a journalist, I frequently speak to experts on a variety of fascinating topics. However, my brain is often racing through talking points and focused on gathering information for my articles.

I'm rarely able to sit back and listen to someone well-versed in a subject wax lyrical about their passion.

With this lecture, though, there wasn't any pressure. I didn't have to take notes for an exam or for work, listen out for quotes I could use in an essay or article, or retain any of the information for a test.

For busy working adults, setting aside time to learn with others can turn curiosity into a shared experience. (Photo: iStock)

There may also be a biological reason why satisfying our curiosity can feel rewarding. Research suggests that curiosity engages the brain's reward systems.

Associate Professor Chen Zan, principal researcher at the Institute for Adult Learning under the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), said that this sort of learning can also expand our capabilities and perspectives.

She added that the value in curiosity-driven learning is in helping individuals develop judgment and perspective, and engage more meaningfully with a world that is changing around us.

Even when knowledge may appear to have little practical value, it can still be worthwhile, she added.

"Seemingly 'useless' learning can have value – not that we can always identify a hidden economic benefit, but because human development itself is a legitimate outcome of learning."

I, too, used to think learning needed a clearly defined outcome to be worth my time. But now, I've realised I might have been limiting myself.

I've been missing out on expanding my mind, growing as a person and – far beyond any lofty aims of self-improvement – simply having fun.

MAKING SPACE AND TIME FOR CURIOSITY

But wanting to stay curious is one thing. Finding the time and energy for it as an adult is another.

For many adults, the hours available for curiosity have to compete with the hours demanded by work, family and other responsibilities.

The competing demands of work, family and other commitments can make it hard to find time for learning. (Photo: iStock)

Ms Chin's lecture on ghost stories wasn't my first attempt at learning purely for the joy of it.

On a whim in July, I signed up for a talk titled Is There Space for S pirituality in Secular Singapore. It was organised by Stranger Conversations, a community that regularly brings strangers together to exchange ideas and experiences.

I was interested in the topic. I was excited to hear what others had to say about it. I even put my money where my mouth was, paying S$15 to book a slot weeks ahead of the event.

When it came time to attend the session on a Monday evening, I elected to stay home and catch up on my work instead.

Feeling like I was falling behind on my tasks, I found it hard to justify spending the evening out.

But why had I thought of it as a decision that needed justifying at all?

After missing the event, I wondered: If the session had promised to make me better at my job, would I have sprinted there?

In practice, curiosity alone did not seem like reason enough for me. That instinct to prioritise productivity is something I have to unlearn.

I'm still working on making more space in my life for curiosity, but I have found that committing to a class or lecture with a friend gives me that extra bit of motivation to make it there.

And while in-person learning events typically require more planning and time, I think they're well worth it.

As Ms Grace Ann Chua said to me during a chat at one of her events, there's something about the energy of an in-person gathering.

She is the founder of Friendzone, a social enterprise that helps people build meaningful connections, and Steady, a community focused on learning about relationships,

There can be a sense of solidarity and community in meeting like-minded people who are curious about similar things or might be at the same life stage.

While I have not experienced this myself, organisers of such events told me that participants often end up chatting with each other, forming enduring friendships and hanging out together.

That shared experience, in particular, is something that cannot be replaced or replicated by simply looking up information online.

Seemingly "useless" learning can have value ... because human development itself is a legitimate outcome of learning.

One of the highlights of Ms Chin's lecture was when she screened a short clip from the horror documentary series Incredible Tales. In one scene, a Malay shaman tasked with cleansing a haunted nightclub declared in all seriousness: "I can’t speak their language … I don't deal with Chinese ghosts."

The room erupted in laughter. Somehow, the absurdity of a Malay shaman having a language barrier with a Chinese ghost seemed funnier when there was a room full of people hearing the same thing and laughing along.

Had I stumbled upon the clip online alone, I doubt it would have been half as funny.

There is, admittedly, some irony that the lecture I attended purely out of curiosity has now found its way into my work, as you're reading now.

But I certainly didn't walk into that bar expecting to get better at my job or pick up new writing skills.

I went because I wanted to hear about ghosts, and I now know that newspapers used to devote precious page space to ghost sightings.

The lecture made me curious enough to dig up several entertaining, but ultimately "useless" old newspaper reports on hauntings.

It's even got me thinking of finally exploring all the "frivolous" things I've been putting off: astronomy, drawing and botany, to name a few.

It was a bonus that the lecture gave me something to write about, but what came first was the joy of learning .

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

在这个数字化时代，提升技能和保持竞争力可能备受关注，但 CNA TODAY 的 Kimberly Lim 探索了全新的非正式空间，这些空间旨在让学习再次变得有趣。

2026年8月30日，陈艾希女士在一家酒吧就其硕士论文主题发表演讲，该论文深入探讨了新加坡人讲述鬼故事的历史缘由和方式。（图片：CNA/Kimberly Lim）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

两周前，我自 2017 年大学毕业以来第一次去听讲座。

我今天上课早到了，这在以前上学的时候并不常见。尽管如此，我的教室——位于丹戎巴葛一家店屋二楼的温馨酒吧——却已经挤满了人。

这次讲座与我在大学期间听过的无数其他讲座还有另一个显著的不同之处。我对这个主题很感兴趣：新加坡的超现代鬼故事。

本次讲座由 Ashley Chin 女士在 Braveheart Sake Originals 举办，她曾在英国剑桥大学攻读硕士学位期间，以同一主题撰写了研究论文。

秦女士是亚洲文明博物馆的策展研究助理，她在45分钟的讲座中追溯了新加坡讲述鬼故事的历史，从前殖民时代到今天，讲述了鬼故事的由来和方式。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小小谜题，挑战你的大脑 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少

一个特别引人入胜的例子来自 1950 年《新加坡自由报》的一篇文章，该文章详细描述了一位巫医与家中精灵的斗争，甚至报道说他输掉了这场斗争。

陈女士将此与新加坡现代化进程中媒体开始将鬼魂描绘成迷信的做法进行了对比。

她讲话时，我和同学们——总共大约40人——全神贯注地听着。有些人一边用手机记笔记，一边啜饮着清酒或鸡尾酒；另一些人则目不转睛地盯着老师的幻灯片。

即使讲座结束后，听众的好奇心仍然推动着讨论继续进行，他们提出了关于 20 世纪 70 年代工厂工人权利的问题，这些工人曾经历过群体性歇斯底里爆发——包括人们尖叫、昏厥或进入恍惚状态的事件。

我们其实都不需要知道这些。但我们想知道。

对我们大多数人来说，学习要么与学校成绩挂钩，要么与工作场所的生产力挂钩。

我们上一次纯粹为了好玩而学习某件事，既不是为了通过考试，也不是为了获得技能或职业好处——仅仅是因为我们想知道——是什么时候？

任何空间都可以成为教室

我参加的这场讲座是 Remedial Kids 举办的第 13 场同类讲座，该机构自称是一个“对文化充满好奇心的社交社区”。

大约每月一次，会有学者或专家就一些不寻常的话题发表演讲，例如新加坡的狗的历史。

现年 38 岁的传播专业人士 Jo Lam 于 2025 年 7 月创立了这个社区，其灵感来源于将讲座从教室和大学转移到酒吧等更轻松的场所的趋势。

其中最著名、最常被模仿的或许是“Lectures on Tap”系列讲座，该系列讲座于 2024 年起源于美国纽约市。

此外，还有在印度城市（包括班加罗尔、孟买和德里）举办的“Pint of View”活动。同样的活动形式也在中国流行起来，被称为“学术酒吧”。

2026年初，阿齐姆·普雷姆吉大学经济学副教授凯德·芬诺夫博士（左）在印度班加罗尔一家现场音乐活动场所发表了题为“女性、战争与和平”的“Pint of View”系列讲座，听众（右）一边喝着饮料一边聆听。（图片来源：Instagram/Pint of View）

Remedial Kids将于10月11日举办下一场关于食物古老起源的讲座，门票已经售罄。显然，人们对这类活动的需求日益增长。

但为什么这么多人渴望这种学习体验呢？

在我参加的那堂课上，一位学员，一位研究助理，告诉我她很珍惜能直接向领域专家学习的机会。另一位学员，一位自由职业创意人士，则表示她天生就对各种各样的话题感兴趣。

似乎包括我在内的大多数人都不是为了凑数而来。正如第二位参与者所说，他们只是“爱管闲事”或好奇而已。

直到我听了陈老师的讲座，我才意识到我有多么想念上课的日子。

作为一名记者，我经常与各领域专家探讨各种引人入胜的话题。然而，我的大脑常常飞速运转，思考着各种谈话要点，并专注于为文章收集信息。

我很少有机会能静下心来，聆听一位精通某个领域的人滔滔不绝地讲述他们的热情所在。

不过，这次讲座没有任何压力。我不用为了考试或工作记笔记，不用费心去寻找可以写进文章或论文里的引语，也不用为了考试记住任何信息。

对于忙碌的上班族来说，抽出时间与他人一起学习，可以将好奇心转化为共同的体验。（图片：iStock）

满足好奇心之所以会让我们感到愉悦，或许还有生物学上的原因。研究表明，好奇心会激活大脑的奖赏系统。

新加坡社会科学大学（SUSS）成人学习研究所首席研究员、副教授陈赞表示，这种学习方式也可以拓展我们的能力和视野。

她补充说，好奇心驱动型学习的价值在于帮助个人培养判断力和视角，并更有意义地参与到我们周围不断变化的世界中。

她补充说，即使知识看起来没什么实际价值，但仍然可能是有价值的。

“看似‘无用’的学习也可能具有价值——并非我们总能发现隐藏的经济效益，而是因为人类发展本身就是学习的合理成果。”

我以前也认为学习必须要有明确的目标才值得投入时间。但现在，我意识到我可能一直在限制自己。

我一直错过了拓展思维、提升自我以及——远远超越任何崇高的自我提升目标——享受乐趣的机会。

为好奇心腾出空间和时间

但保持好奇心是一回事，成年后还能抽出时间和精力去追求好奇心又是另一回事。

对于许多成年人来说，可用于满足好奇心的时间必须与工作、家庭和其他责任所占用的时间竞争。

工作、家庭和其他事务的相互冲突，往往让人难以抽出时间学习。（图片：iStock）

秦女士关于鬼故事的讲座并不是我第一次纯粹为了乐趣而学习。

七月份的时候，我一时兴起报名参加了一场题为“世俗化的新加坡还有灵性空间吗？”的讲座。这场讲座是由“陌生人对话”组织举办的，这是一个定期组织陌生人聚在一起交流想法和经验的社群。

我对这个话题很感兴趣，也很想听听大家的看法。为了表达我的兴趣，我甚至提前几周就花了15新元预定了一个席位。

到了周一晚上该参加会议的时候，我选择待在家里赶工作。

感觉自己工作进度落后了，所以很难说服自己晚上出去玩。

但我为什么会觉得这是一个需要解释的决定呢？

错过这次活动后，我不禁思考：如果这次培训能让我更好地胜任工作，我会不会拼命赶去参加呢？

实际上，仅仅出于好奇心对我来说似乎并不足以构成充分的理由。我必须摒弃那种优先考虑效率的本能。

我仍在努力为自己的好奇心腾出更多空间，但我发现，和朋友一起去上课或听讲座能给我额外的动力去坚持下去。

虽然面对面的学习活动通常需要更多的计划和时间，但我认为它们非常值得。

正如 Grace Ann Chua 女士在她的一次活动中与我聊天时所说，面对面聚会的氛围是有其独特之处的。

她是 Friendzone（一家帮助人们建立有意义的人际关系的社会企业）和 Steady（一个专注于学习人际关系的社区）的创始人。

与志同道合、对类似事物充满好奇心或处于相同人生阶段的人相遇，可以感受到团结和社群感。

虽然我本人没有亲身经历过，但此类活动的组织者告诉我，参与者经常会互相交谈，建立持久的友谊，并一起出去玩。

这种共同经历尤其无法通过简单地在网上查找信息来取代或复制。

看似“无用”的学习也可能具有价值……因为人类发展本身就是学习的合理成果。

秦女士讲座的一大亮点是她播放了一段恐怖纪录片系列《不可思议的故事》的短片。其中一个场景中，一位受命净化一家闹鬼夜总会的马来巫师一本正经地说道：“我不会说他们的语言……我不跟中国鬼魂打交道。”

房间里爆发出哄堂大笑。不知为何，当满屋子的人都听到同样的事情并跟着一起笑时，马来巫师与中国鬼魂之间存在语言障碍的荒诞情节似乎变得更加滑稽可笑了。

如果我只是在网上偶然看到这段视频，我怀疑它不会像现在这样有趣。

诚然，颇具讽刺意味的是，我纯粹出于好奇而参加的那场讲座，如今却以某种形式融入了我的作品中，正如你现在所读到的那样。

但我走进那家酒吧时，绝对没有期望自己的工作能力会提高，或者能学到新的写作技巧。

我去那里是因为我想听听关于鬼魂的故事，现在我知道报纸过去会用宝贵的版面来报道鬼魂目击事件。

这次讲座激起了我的好奇心，于是我翻出了几篇有趣但最终“无用”的关于闹鬼事件的旧报纸报道。

这甚至让我开始考虑最终去探索那些我一直拖延的“琐碎”的事情：天文学、绘画和植物学等等。

这次讲座给了我一些写作素材，这当然是个意外之喜，但首先让我感到的是学习的乐趣。

订阅我们的邮件，即可获取精选热点新闻和引人深思的文章。

订阅通知，第一时间获取突发新闻和精彩报道。

加入我们的频道，即可在您常用的聊天应用上获取当日热门文章。