[Scene: HDB flat corridor in Tampines, around 10:30 PM. Arjun is softly singing while waiting for the lift.]
Wei Ming: Eh! Arjun! Don’t sing at night lah!
Arjun: (laughs) Why? Later Ed Sheeran appear ah?
Wei Ming: Serious one, okay. My grandma always say, if you sing at night, snakes will come. Or worse… ghosts.
Arjun: Snakes? In Tampines? On the 12th floor?
Wei Ming: You joke, but last time in kampung areas, people really believed it. My grandma told me her neighbour used to sing after dinner, and one night they found a snake near the house.
Arjun: That’s correlation, not causation. Maybe the house was near bushes. Snakes don’t come because of karaoke.
Wei Ming: But why so many elders say the same thing? Cannot be everyone wrong what.
Arjun: Actually, there’s a logical explanation. Last time, before electricity, night time was dark and dangerous. If you sing loudly, you attract attention—maybe wild animals, maybe strangers. So elders create a scary rule. “Snakes and ghosts will come” sounds more convincing than “Please be quiet for safety.”
Wei Ming: Hmm. But what about ghosts? My auntie swears she heard someone humming outside her window at midnight. No one there.
Arjun: Sound travels differently at night. Less traffic noise, cooler air—sound waves travel further. Could be someone downstairs, or even from another block. Your brain fills in the gaps.
Wei Ming: You always got scientific answer ready one.
Arjun: Not trying to dismiss your grandma. These beliefs had purpose. Think about it—at night, people should rest. If one fellow keeps singing, whole kampung cannot sleep. So they scare you into silence.
Wei Ming: So you saying it’s like ancient “noise control policy”?
Arjun: Exactly! Pre-NEA regulation version.
Wei Ming: (laughs) Okay, that one funny. But still… night feels different what. More eerie.
Arjun: That’s psychology. Humans evolved to be cautious in darkness. Our imagination becomes stronger when visual information is limited.
Wei Ming: So you’re saying if I sing now, no snake will magically take Grab to my block?
Arjun: If a snake manages to book Grab and press level 12, I will personally believe your superstition.
Wei Ming: Wah, you very confident ah.
Arjun: Let’s test it. I sing one verse. If snake comes, I buy you supper for one month.
Wei Ming: Don’t play play. Later really got monitor lizard how?
Arjun: Monitor lizard is different species, Professor Wei Ming.
Wei Ming: Eh, don’t mock me okay. I respect science. But I also respect tradition.
Arjun: And that’s fair. Traditions often carry hidden practical wisdom. But we should examine whether the literal claim is true. Snakes respond to vibrations and environmental cues, not song lyrics.
Wei Ming: So my Celine Dion cannot summon python?
Arjun: Only summon neighbour complaint.
Wei Ming: Actually that one more realistic danger in Singapore.
Arjun: Exactly. The real “ghost” is your neighbour knocking on the door.
Wei Ming: Okay lah, maybe the belief started for safety or courtesy reasons. But I still won’t sing loudly at night.
Arjun: That’s reasonable. Consideration for others is good. Just don’t fear imaginary reptiles.
Wei Ming: Fine. You sing softly only. If anything slithers out, I run first.
Arjun: Deal. But if nothing happens, you admit maybe grandma’s story was metaphor, not biology.
Wei Ming: Okay okay. But you better choose nice song. If ghost come, at least let it enjoy.
Arjun: Wah, even ghosts have taste now?
Wei Ming: Of course. Singapore very high standard one.
[Arjun hums dramatically. Both wait. Silence.]
Wei Ming: Eh… nothing happened.
Arjun: See?
Wei Ming: Maybe ghosts on MC tonight.
Arjun: Or maybe… science wins this round.
Wei Ming: Don’t get too proud. Tomorrow I tell you why cannot cut nails at night.
Arjun: Oh no. Here we go again.
[They both laugh as the lift arrives.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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