Last weekend, I didn't publish a weekly report or any articles because I was very busy and didn't see much worth sharing, so I decided not to fill the space unnecessarily.
Recently, I've been quite fulfilled, focusing on "listening, speaking, reading, and writing." This isn't the academic sense of those terms, but rather sound/communication/reading/thinking in life. I will share my thoughts on these four aspects.
Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing | Listening#
When it comes to listening, I immediately think of English listening comprehension, which reminds me of our school's "three treasures"—morning exercises/listening comprehension/Nanhu runs—these are nightmares for most students in school. However, what I want to discuss isn't listening comprehension but rather sound.
First, I want to talk about listening.
Not long ago, I was chatting with my family on the phone, and I thought about how they no longer have to worry about my education expenses and can use that money to renovate the house, making it more comfortable for my parents. They agreed to the renovation, and I was surprised that my family cared about my opinions, often consulting me on various matters.
Even though I have no renovation experience and might overlook many details, they would think of asking me first when they encounter problems.
At that moment, I felt a certain burden shifting from my parents' shoulders to mine. The last time I felt this way was when buying a car and dealing with the orchard; they would ask for my thoughts, and then they would generally follow my ideas.
That feeling made me cautious. I don't have enough experience, I'm afraid of making mistakes, and I don't want to disappoint anyone. This pushes me to be very careful when making important choices because it involves not just myself but also my family. Maturity has many definitions, but one of them might be the ability to make independent choices and bear the consequences of those choices.
This indicates that I am gradually taking on responsibilities at home, and it also means that my aging parents realize that many choices are no longer suitable for them to make. This is a fact that brings a lump to my throat.
Regarding "listening," the second thing I want to talk about is podcasts.
I use Google's podcast app, and although it's from Google, the richness of the content amazes me, and I can even subscribe to many podcasts from mainland China.
The podcasts I subscribe to mainly fall into two categories: one is technology updates; the other is the various aspects of life. Recently, I've been listening more to the second category, which features people sharing their personal stories. The reason I subscribe to this type of podcast is that through these voices, I can feel the life experiences of others. This is a third way, besides movies and books, to enrich my knowledge and broaden my life.
For example, I recently listened to an interesting episode about a person who transports corpses—a hearse driver. He shared his journey from being a laid-off worker to a hearse driver and recounted his experiences in this unique job. What attracted me to this episode was the uniqueness of the position—it is one of the closest to death, and I wanted to see what special life experiences and thoughts he might have.
Hearse drivers mostly deal with corpses. Why do I say "mostly"? Because often they arrive at the scene while the person is still alive, such as at a car accident site. According to him, most of the transports are due to unnatural deaths, with various forms of death, and some were so gruesome that they made him vomit. Normal deaths are the easiest to handle, but life is often unsatisfactory, and even death is like this.
Personally, I have a rather indifferent view of life and death; I have mentioned in previous articles that I support euthanasia. I don't know why my perspective on death is so calm; perhaps I just haven't thought about it enough.
Finally, I want to share my thoughts on "listening" from another angle. I really enjoy listening to music, so I bought a nice pair of headphones (B&O Beoplay H9). I used to wear them around my neck, listening to music or audio on my commute. Until one day, I took off my headphones while walking and realized how interesting the sounds around me were. In the morning, there was the sound of the wind, paired with the gentle sunlight, as I watched the people walking on the road and the birds flying in the sky. I truly felt the different sensations that the environment brought me.
I would look up at the sun, turn around to greet the autumn breeze; I would look down to observe the shoes of passersby, guessing where they had been and where they were going; I would gaze at the flying birds, trying to understand their chirping. I seemed to be integrating into my environment, becoming a part of it.
In comparison to before, when I wore headphones and listened to music or audio, I was oblivious to my surroundings. I didn't even notice the little cats and dogs following me, nor could I hear the melodic sounds of traffic and crowds amidst the noise. I felt out of place in my environment.
Bluetooth headphones provide us with great convenience; with just a press, we can enter our own world. Besides isolating us from our environment, headphones also isolate us from communication with others. I see people on the street, in the subway, and at the dining table, often with headphones on, as if they are part of their bodies. When I want to strike up a conversation, this white object blocks my mouth from initiating a chat.
Without my headphones, I prefer to observe life and then reflect on it. Headphones allow me to listen to music and relax, to learn from audio, keeping boredom at bay. Yet it is this ubiquitous "fulfillment" that has stifled my boredom and also stifled my thinking.
I don't want the screen to fill my eyes while the headphones constantly stuff my ears. So I took them off and started to listen, to the sounds of nature, to the voices of people.
Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing | Speaking#
Recently, an interesting incident occurred where Luo Xiang posted a tweet and was subsequently attacked by netizens, who accused him of being a "yin-yang person" and wanted to report him... So what did he actually post that triggered such outrage? The original tweet is as follows:
Cherish virtue, but do not become a slave to honor, for the former is eternal, while the latter will soon disappear. P157 (In self-reflection)
The backlash from netizens stemmed from the fact that it was the day of the national commendation conference for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, during which people like Zhong Nanshan received national recognition, and Luo Xiang happened to post this tweet.
Does this create a connection?
However, to be honest, it took me about ten minutes of digging through the background before I gradually understood the reason for the backlash.
Here, I won't discuss politics, nor will I express my views on Luo Xiang, and I certainly won't take sides. I just want to share what inspired me from this incident and analyze the behavior of netizens.
Luo Xiang's statement can actually be analyzed from several angles:
- Unintentional connection: As he said, he didn't know about the award news that day; even if he did, he didn't think there was a connection.
- Intentional connection (benevolent): Knowing about the award news, he shared this statement with others as a form of self-reflection.
- Intentional connection (malicious): Knowing about the award news, he was subtly mocking certain award recipients who were undeserving.
From the first angle, many people find it impossible. The primary reason is that "news is everywhere; how could he not know? Moreover, he is a lawyer; how could he not pay attention to current affairs?" Luo Xiang's later response indicated that he only realized why he was attacked after someone reminded him to check the news that day, suggesting that from his perspective, he was making an unintentional connection.
Is this possible? I think it is entirely possible. For me, I also didn't know there was an award ceremony that day until this incident happened, and I happened to see the news.
From the second angle, I personally don't see much problem with this quote. If I saw it, I would likely make a note of it as well. If I were still in high school, I might even use it to fill in my essay.
The third angle is the main reason for the backlash. Netizens believe Luo Xiang was being sarcastic and mocking national heroes. However, I personally feel that this quote does not carry a mocking tone; rather, it presents a relatively neutral viewpoint. The only somewhat glaring part is the description of "slave to honor." But if you read the entire sentence, you'll find that it doesn't convey that meaning. If you don't believe it, go back and read it a few more times.
Analyzing this way, is Luo Xiang wronged? Not necessarily. Because from a single sentence, one cannot clearly ascertain his thoughts; it is difficult for others to confirm the motives of the person involved. It is entirely possible that he used the news for irony, depending on what kind of person he is and what views he holds. However, these cannot be discerned from just a few sentences; one needs to genuinely interact with a person and engage over time to understand their thoughts comprehensively.
Thus, analyzing this way, the occurrence of this incident isn't so puzzling.
How many people online truly know Luo Xiang's character? How many have delved deeply into understanding him? How many would logically assess this situation?
Very few, because many people on Weibo only want to validate their own viewpoints and cater to their own ideas. A disagreement quickly turns them into keyboard warriors; after all, arguing requires no logic and little effort, while reasoning does.
Interestingly, last week's weekly journal discussed the issue of attribution fallacy, and I lamented the environment on Weibo. I didn't expect that just a few days after posting, such an incident would occur. If you're interested, you can check it out.
This incident deepened my understanding of "speaking." The words and actions of public figures can be magnified and even distorted because not everyone agrees with you. Even ordinary people, under certain circumstances, can be misquoted and subsequently attacked.
After such occurrences, many of those who play keyboard warriors often just let it go. That's the nature of the environment; most keyboard warriors in this larger context behave this way.
So, in the face of their attacks, my strategy is not to waste time with them, read more and engage less. Time is precious; cherish life.
Looking back, there are very few friendly communities in the country where people can exchange viewpoints and ideas. Platforms don't allow writing, audiences don't allow speaking, and what's left is careful caution, which is somewhat sad.
Those who dare to express their viewpoints and thoughts are often attacked for not aligning with certain people's tastes and eventually retreat. Luo Xiang predicted that such a day would come after he became popular, but he didn't expect it to be for such a ridiculous reason, which is truly tragic.
Is there anyone left in the country who hasn't been criticized, like Teacher Li Yongle? Who else are they watching? When will it happen next? For what reason?
I am quite looking forward to these people's performances.
Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing | Reading#
Recently, I've taken some time to read books or blogs, which has been quite fulfilling. Here are a few interesting ones to share.
1. Malignant Tumor Report#
Not long ago, I watched a video by Teacher Li Yongle on YouTube titled Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther actor, passed away from colon cancer! How can ordinary people escape the claws of gastrointestinal tumors?, where he discussed some cancer data in the country:
In 2015, there were 3.929 million newly diagnosed cancer cases in China. Over the past decade, the incidence rate of malignant tumors has maintained an increase of about 3.9%.
Curiosity about the source data drove me to find this report.
Among them, lung cancer, liver cancer, and stomach cancer rank highest in both incidence and mortality rates, and the proportions are highly similar across genders and urban/rural areas.
Before university, I thought of cancer as something from TV dramas, believing it wouldn't appear around me. It wasn't until after university that I gradually heard about friends' relatives being diagnosed with cancer, and eventually, a relative of mine passed away from lung cancer, which made me realize that cancer is not far from us.
Every time I see reports related to cancer, I instinctively pay attention. After reading this report, the skewers in my hand suddenly didn't taste as good. This is because it mentioned that many causes of cancer are closely related to poor lifestyle and dietary habits. Although I knew this knowledge before, it felt different to be emphasized again here.
This is an official and relatively complete report. Readers interested in this topic might want to read it; combining it with Teacher Li Yongle's video would be even better. You can reply with "cancer report" to obtain the full PDF report.
2. The Song of Daming Palace#
Yes, I mentioned The Song of Daming Palace again. I previously wrote a dedicated article discussing this drama. After finishing the series, I was still unsatisfied and spent over ten hours reading its script.
First, let me explain the difference between the script (40 episodes) and the current online drama (37 episodes); the main difference is that many scenes featuring Wu Zetian have been cut, including her conflicts with Li Zhi and reflections of her darker side—such as dealing with the child of Chun and mistreating the descendants of Empress Wang and Consort Xiao... Overall, this doesn't affect the main plot.
Reading the script gave me a more complete and in-depth understanding of the entire story, and the lyrics conveyed a deeper and more nuanced feeling than the drama. Here are a few excerpts to appreciate:
Perhaps it's true that as I age, the temptation of longing for yesterday far exceeds the anticipation for tomorrow. The past has never been so vivid and specific; it feels like something happening right now, shaping my emotions and state of mind today.
If I were to express this, I might only write, "I have no mood to look forward to the future, only to reminisce about the past." This might be the difference between saying "Ah, how beautiful!" when faced with a beautiful scene and "The setting sun and the lone goose fly together, the autumn waters and the sky share the same hue."
Life needs poetry; reading some lyrics or poetry can help one feel the tranquility and delicacy of words amidst a busy life.
3. Miscellaneous Reading#
In addition to actively seeking knowledge, passively acquiring information is also important. Here are a few recent frequently read passive information sources:
- tombkeeper: Safety/deep commentary/new knowledge
- Wang Yin: Technology/independent thinking/arrogance/novel perspectives
- Weibo: https://weibo.com/u/6347862377
- Blog: https://www.yinwang.org/#
- @1ancet: Cybersecurity
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/1ancet
- @nishuang: Design/products/new knowledge
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nishuang
The first one, TK, is quite famous, the head of Tencent's Xuanwu Lab, and his Weibo often provides some quirky knowledge.
The second one, known as "Yin Shen," was directly admitted to Tsinghua University for a master's and PhD in computer science, later criticizing the flaws in education and dropping out, then going to universities like Cornell in the U.S. to pursue a PhD, only to drop out again. His views are extreme, and his perspectives are novel, often providing me with new directions for thought. I don't agree with some of his viewpoints, but that doesn't affect my view of him as an extremely excellent person; I read him because of his independent thinking.
The third and fourth ones have helped me learn a lot about cybersecurity and some concepts regarding product design.
This is just a portion of the information sources; there are some bloggers who don't update frequently but have high-quality content that I haven't listed. I will compile a list later, so if anyone shares similar interests, they can follow along.
I firmly believe that in this age of information explosion, we should take some time to organize our information sources, control the signal-to-noise ratio, and avoid being overwhelmed by garbage.
4. Some Miscellaneous Books#
Reading too many reference and professional books can feel tedious, so interspersing some miscellaneous books is a good balancing agent.
Recently, I've been reading Borges, who is known as the writer's writer, celebrated for his profound words and deep philosophy. His works are characterized by intricate plots, absurdity, and a sense of mystery, which seems to connect with the currently popular discussions about Nolan; it is said that many of Nolan's film design inspirations come from his books.
Understanding a person through interviews is a valid choice. Therefore, I am learning about him through "Borges in Conversation" and "The Last Interview." Since I haven't finished reading them yet, I won't make too many comments. However, from my current progress, he indeed seems to be a knowledgeable and philosophical person, filled with reflections on life.
Here are a few insights to share:
I haven't read many books in my life; most of the time, I've been re-reading.
After gradually losing his sight in 1955, he stopped reading contemporary works. I often reflect on the many reading lists I compile each year and the numerous books I read—does it really have meaning? How much have I truly gained, and how many phrases have deeply resonated and been applied in practice? Very few. What matters is reading good books, re-reading them, understanding their mysteries, and internalizing them; that is true reading.
I once had a whimsical idea that could be used for writing: we can all become someone else at a certain moment.
Look, doesn't this plot resemble "Your Name"? When I read this, I wondered if "Your Name" was inspired by his concept.
Hell is not a place; I see it as a state.
He has also explored grand themes like life and death and time, with unique insights, which I won't elaborate on here; if you're interested, you can check it out.
Another book is Hao Peiqiang's "Skills: How to Gain Ten Years of Experience in One Year." The title might seem like a self-help book at first glance, but the content is quite interesting.
I came across it entirely because I am a reader of the author's blog/Twitter. The author is an experienced engineer who has started businesses and witnessed the growth of the internet. What makes this book interesting is his experiences; those stories are very engaging. I was surprised to find that many of the people mentioned in the book are quite familiar to me, such as Feng Dahui, Huo Ju, and Chi Jianqiang, among the older generation of internet figures. And these people's friends lead to connections with Er Ye, Cao Zheng, and Chen Hao, making me feel like I was following the clues—one melon leads to another, and these melons happen to be of the type I enjoy.
I have previously read many of these people's blogs and have been inspired by their articles, so I am quite willing to sit down and listen to the "elders" share their experiences.
Interested readers can search for "Hao Peiqiang" on WeChat Reading to read this book for free.
At the end of the article, I want to share a Kindle tip I recently learned—using Kindle as a desktop clock, which is quite simple to operate:
- On the Kindle homepage, enter "~ds" in the search box and press enter to activate "no sleep mode."
- Visit the website "http://clock.sobuluo.com/" to access it.
PS. Restarting cancels "no sleep mode"; adding the website to bookmarks can save time; turning on airplane mode after switching to the clock saves battery.
Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing | Writing#
I haven't picked up a pen to write for a long time. Over a month ago, I would still write and draw on my Surface, or memorize vocabulary. However, after my pen got wet in the rain, I stopped. Recently, I tried again and surprisingly managed to resume writing, which made me extremely happy.
During the time I wasn't writing with a pen, I turned to typing.
Aside from work documents, the most I write about is my daily reading and thoughts, with my public account being one of the outlets.
In fact, it's quite challenging to keep writing, much like maintaining a fitness routine. Anyone can set a goal, and many do, but very few actually stick with it and complete it.
Those who have never written a public account may not understand the difficulties involved. I have deep experience with this.
I managed to stick with it not because I pressured myself but because I found joy in it; once I start writing, I feel a strong urge to express myself.
From my observations, there are several techniques to maintain writing that can help avoid the feelings of "it's hard to write" or "it's hard to keep going":
- Set up an inspiration collection box
- Find the most efficient time to write
- Provide positive feedback
In my Microsoft ToDo app, I have a category for my inspiration collection box. Whenever I feel inspired, I throw a topic in there and immediately jot down my thoughts under that topic. Ideas that come to me spontaneously are often incomplete, so I will gradually supplement them later. When I actually start writing on that topic, I will organize those scattered thoughts from the collection box to make them coherent and structured.
Of course, after finishing an article, I usually let it sit in Typora for a while, reading it a few times or waiting a few days before revisiting it. I often find that what I wrote still has room for improvement, and I won't pull it out until I feel it's ready.
The benefit of the collection box is that it encourages me to actively observe life and think about things in a more associative manner. Often, after a week, I will accumulate many themes I want to record, but in the end, I might only organize a few.
As I write more, I notice that during certain times, my efficiency is exceptionally high, so I prioritize writing during those times. I sit down, mute notifications, pick a topic from the collection box that I want to continue with, and then supplement and organize it.
After sticking with it for a while, I start to develop muscle memory, like a biological clock; at the right time, my brain gets triggered to write something. Sometimes it's not an article but a diary entry. I've been keeping a diary for three years, which is a good habit.
Writing, like exercising, is counterintuitive. Any task that requires a lot of energy will tire the brain, leading to gradual slackening. However, if I provide some incentives to my brain, the results will be different. It makes me want to write more and more.
This positive incentive varies for everyone; I motivate myself. For example, after completing my weekly goals, I reward myself with an ice cream after finishing an article; this is a simple form of positive feedback. Of course, there's also the appreciation from readers and discussions through comments or private messages, which similarly motivate me and make me feel that these words have some meaning.
Similarly, once you find this positive feedback for many things, the entire process becomes simpler. At least, it doesn't feel like a forced task but rather an active and enthusiastic exploration and improvement.
Maintaining the habit of writing something has shown noticeable effects after a period of persistence. Since writing something requires understanding what it is, this process has improved my information retrieval speed and knowledge summarization ability.
No matter what, let's keep writing something.