April 2012
9 posts
7 tags
Sunk Costs
We often find ourselves disappointed by immediate results. If the returned investment in the nearest time window is bad enough, it can make us back out from the investment altogether. When we take out our money—or more valuably, our time—from an investment because we’re not seeing swift positive returns and then value our venture based on previously incurred costs that went into the labor,...
7 tags
Your Organic Bicycle is Still Powered by Gasoline
After listening to the most recent episode of Roderick on the Line, I started thinking about how people, including myself, frequently tend to cry out on their little soapboxes: “screw the system”, “fight the man”, and other anti-establishment declarations. I don’t think we really know what we’re talking about when we say stuff like that. I don’t think we...
6 tags
The Cost of Creating Abstractions
As a software engineer, I’m required to understand most, if not all, of the software stack. From high level source code down to—at least, hopefully—the assembly language level, the steps in-between should pose no threat to my understanding. However, as new software-based technologies emerge everyday (Ruby on Rails, Cocoa, Jekyll—just to name a few), the ladder of abstraction is getting...
6 tags
It's Okay to Suck at a lot of Things
Most people forget that the ones who are really good at what they do—writers, engineers, artists, photographers, etc.—weren’t always as good as they are right now. They were pretty bad at their trade once. In fact, they sucked at it. But what we see now is their product after years—if not decades—of practice, making mistakes, and doing that all over again. And the amazing thing is that...
8 tags
Teachings of Tea
For most of you who know me, you’re well aware of the fact that I love brewing and drinking tea, and enjoy doing so in good company. The effect of the elixir is empowering and relaxing at the same time, and few beverages—let alone consumables in the world—retain that magical ability.
But I didn’t always love the humble drink as I do so now. In fact, I used to dislike it. Before I came...
6 tags
F.A. Porsche on Design →
F.A. Porsche:
Design must be functional and functionality must be translated into visual aesthetics, without any reliance on gimmicks that have to be explained.
6 tags
Controlling Knowledge
As a current university student, I hear a lot of talk about getting into med schools these days. I’m no stranger to the usual “sorry, I have to study for the MCAT” or “I’ve been doing nothing but studying for the MCAT!” liners from friends and strangers alike. Problem is: med school acceptance rates are and have always been very low nationwide. That means a lot...
4 tags
This is Why You Spent All that Time Learning to... →
James Hague:
I don’t have to follow the familiar standards of whatever kind of app I’m building. I don’t have to use an existing application as a model. I can disregard history. I can develop solutions without people saying “That’s not how it’s supposed to work!” That freedom is huge. There are so many issues in the world that people complain about, and...
4 tags
Convergence of Problems and Paths
A couple of weekends ago, I attended a financial conference at my university because I wanted to learn more about the nuances and dynamics of finance (especially the market), even though my major is academically unrelated. While the workshops I attended didn’t offer much value, I learned a great deal about how the rating agencies—Moody’s, S&P, Fitch—exacerbated the financial crisis...
