We are closer to 2050 than to 1990
I saw this ten-year questionnaire on Pepper and Salt Ostrich's blog and found it interesting, so I decided to write one too. I remember during the QQ Space/Renren era, "calling out" was very popular, where the person called out had to answer some simple questions. The last time I played was in 2014 on my Moments, which was already 7 years ago... I don't know if people really don't play anymore or if I'm just too old. So let me "chat about my youthful madness".
Can you briefly describe your recent situation in three sentences?#
I work on product during the day, write in the evening, and go skiing on weekends.
Share one of the most memorable things (moments) from the past decade.#
On the night of February 7, 2020, when Dr. Li Wenliang passed away. I was at home that night, and I think everyone was at home. At that time, the situation of the virus was still unclear. But I remember that even though it was just on the screen, I could feel the hearts of countless people who were concerned, like a roar of mountains and seas. I could feel something resonating strongly. Two years have passed, and COVID-19 has profoundly affected the world, and people's adaptability and ability to forget have amazed me. Actually, I'm not sure if people have really forgotten. His Weibo is still there, with new comments every minute, like a contemporary crying wall. But on the other hand, there is no longer any discussion in the public sphere. The system has responded well to the crisis, and coupled with the strong contrast of the Western "beacon," the public has become more firmly supportive of this machine, injecting fuel into it, stepping on the accelerator, and accelerating again. The content of the university major courses was quickly forgotten after work, but I still remember the content of a philosophy course I took as a minor: knowledge is equivalent to justified true belief. Pure true belief may just be epistemic luck.
Do you feel that you have changed a lot compared to yourself ten years ago?#
I have completely changed as a person. If the me from ten years ago saw me now, I would probably feel scared. Maybe it's because my childhood was too happy, and before adolescence, I was always introverted, passive, and even a bit cowardly. I didn't know how to express my desires and didn't know how to make friends proactively. I'm still not outgoing now, but if I put on the Sorting Hat, I would definitely be sorted into Gryffindor.
Do you still keep in touch with the people around you from ten years ago? Can you still have deep conversations with friends?#
Not to mention ten years ago, I still keep in touch with my elementary school friends. I have less contact with old friends, but the friendship is very enduring.
Has your career path changed from what you initially chose? What made you choose your current industry and profession? What does your hobby mean to you?#
Career choice: Internet, product, entrepreneurship. During university, I interned in various industries and tried them all. The high-end financial consulting industry didn't suit me, but the grassroots internet and the humble Toutiao were very appealing to me at the time. I still remember the first time I went to Zhonghang Plaza's low-rise building. The 10-meter high ceiling and natural lighting made me immediately decide to accept the offer. I originally interned at China International Capital Corporation (CICC), squeezing into the subway to Guomao's office building before dawn, taking a taxi home at 10 o'clock, and not seeing the sun all day. My family bought a computer in 1998, and I started using computers very early, but I could only use it for 2 hours a week. After entering university and having my own laptop, I truly felt the superpowers that computers could give me. Enter the internet industry? Software development? Building apps? I couldn't seem to find the right words to describe what we were doing. Everything fell into place, and I naturally chose my current industry.
Hobbies: skiing and science fiction novels. I was weak and not good at sports when I was young, and my cousins were all outstanding in sports. In comparison, I was constantly discouraged and lacked confidence in any sports. After graduating from university, I tried skiing for the first time, and I was fascinated by the feeling of skiing. So I started learning from scratch, relying on friends' guidance and self-study through videos (I recommend Huang Jialan). From falling like an idiot to pushing off, gliding, and carving, I can now ski down any slope in Chongli. I can encourage myself in a pretentious way. I have many strange ideas, predictions about technology, and fantasies about the future world. (At first, I didn't realize that those ideas were strange, but I only realized that most people don't think that way when people kept telling me I was strange...). I work in the technology industry and also love literature. Maybe I can stand at the "intersection of technology and humanities" too. In my free time, I write for fun, but my writing skills are too weak now...
How has your relationship with your parents changed compared to ten years ago?#
Like a kite flying far away.
Do you plan to have children? (What are your views on family?)#
Zero or many. When no one is having children, having more children can have a huge advantage. The family planning policy actually prevented China from forming a hereditary aristocracy, but now that it has been relaxed, does anyone want to be Sima Yi?
Do you want to go back to ten years ago?#
No.
In 2011, my ability to access information was very limited, and Nanchang was a closed and relatively backward city. But the world is so big.
Are you afraid of getting old?#
No, I'm not afraid. I used to be very anxious about my age because I have seen many young people who have achieved great success at a very young age. Zuckerberg took his company public at the age of 28, and I know I can never catch up. But then I thought, those young people around me, no matter how amazing they are, are still far behind Zuckerberg. We are all comparing ourselves to others, so why worry? Recently, I had dinner with a senior who is both a mentor and a friend, and we talked about age. He told me that 50 is the peak state of a person and should be the peak state of a person. What's the big deal about being 25? Besides having enthusiasm and good physical strength, there's nothing else. But at the age of 50, you have experience, resources, and knowledge of what is right. Is the body getting old? Who said you have to do everything yourself? With the leverage of management, you can mobilize ten times as many young people. In early 2018, I watched an improvisational big band performance at Bluenote Beijing. The musicians took turns being the protagonist, the main melody. Sometimes it was the saxophone, sometimes the drums, sometimes the piano. No one had a fixed score, and they cooperated with each other in competition to create a wonderful performance. No one is always the center, and no one is always the accompaniment. It's all about timing.
What do you think is the most essential (important) thing (object/problem to solve) in your life?#
In human history, there have been many simple inventions that have had a huge impact, and the most impressive one to me is the stirrup. Before the invention of the stirrup, horses were just a means of transportation, and the main combat method of cavalry was archery, which had limited killing power. So usually, nomadic tribes would come on horseback, loot, and then run away. Want to use a sword or a spear? Sorry, the force is mutual, and the huge reaction force would knock the cavalry off the horse first. At that time, agrarian civilizations could still form large infantry corps through organization, using the total military strength/population advantage to compensate for the mobility and disadvantages of local battles, and forcibly push the Xiongnu to the wolf's den (btw, the logistics and combat attrition costs of this strategy were huge, so Emperor Liu Che had to turbocharge the national machine through salt and iron taxes and unlimited coinage, benefiting one hole in the world, and the people of the strong Han Dynasty actually lived very miserably). The invention of the stirrup completely changed the way of warfare. Cavalry could charge with spears, using their feet on the stirrup to counteract the huge reaction force from the charge, and the infantry phalanx was like candied haws in front of the cavalry's straight charge. What's even more buggy is that cavalry could carry their own supplies, and horses could eat grass on their own, looting while fighting, with unlimited endurance. The infantry wanted to fight but couldn't catch up, and if they wanted to run, they couldn't escape. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, China had single stirrups made of metal, and during the Eastern Jin dynasty, double stirrups appeared. Coincidentally, during the Little Ice Age, the northern nomadic tribes moved south with their horses, and the Chinese civilization ushered in a great fusion of ethnic groups. Later on, Genghis Khan launched three Western expeditions on horseback, and Europe produced a knight class, the Crusades, bringing back ancient Greek preserved by the Arabs during the hundred-year translation movement, inspiring the Renaissance movement in medieval Europe... All these changes are intricately linked to the invention of the stirrup. So, what other simple inventions can bring about significant impacts? When human civilization encounters bottlenecks, when all advanced production tools are widely popularized, and everyone's productivity is leveled, the factors that influence human development may be the most basic and overlooked—time. I want to use useful tools and good methods to allow more people to use their time more meaningfully, thereby improving the productivity/happiness of all humanity.
Some other things#
This newsletter was set up at the end of July, but I haven't figured out what to use it for. Initially, I wanted a place to write, update my recent situation, and easily communicate with everyone. I don't like Moments or WeChat IM, and public accounts are okay, but the censorship is too strict. (I don't like WeChat partly because I used to have my WeChat account banned, you can read the story here: A Month Partially Detached from WeChat). So I am very clear that this newsletter will not be used for content recommendations. Content recommendations can be sent directly through Telegram. In the past few months, I have experienced some lows, and at the time, I didn't feel that bad being in them, but now looking back, I realize that my state was really poor. There are many reasons, 99% of which are my own problems, and I am a very dull person... So Ventuss Communication has been delayed until now, and I have barely updated it.
Feel free to subscribe or unsubscribe because it is a communication, and I don't really want it to be widely spread. It is more personal, like the friendship between ancient gentlemen, sending messages like carrier pigeons. At that time, mail and transportation were very slow... And I have already figured out the content of the next few communications: what we talk about when skiing; about no results; a science fiction story: the last Coca-Cola on Earth; why I do Polytime; some recent updates; the annual year-end summary...
Thank you for reading this, best regards.
By the way, if you are interested, you can also write a ten-year questionnaire. The process of writing it is quite interesting.
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2021/12/19 @Beijing