Ten-Year Questionnaire

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 Zone/Renren era, it was very popular to "call out" someone, and the person called out had to answer some simple questions. The last time I played was in 2014 on my friend circle, 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.

The night Dr. Li Wenliang passed away on February 7, 2020. I was at home that night, and I think everyone was at home. The situation of the virus was still unclear at that time. 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 the mountains and the sea. I could feel something resonating strongly. It has been two years, and COVID-19 has profoundly affected the world, but people's adaptability and forgetfulness have amazed me. Actually, I can't be sure if people have really forgotten. His Weibo is still there, with new comments and messages 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, 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 my university major 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. Before adolescence, I was always a very introverted, passive, and even somewhat timid person. I didn't know how to express my desires and didn't know how to make friends proactively. I am 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 am still in contact with my elementary school friends. I have less contact with old friends, but the connection is very enduring.

Has your career path changed from the beginning? What made you choose your current industry and profession? What does your hobby mean to you?#

Career choice: Internet, product, entrepreneurship. During my university years, I interned in various industries. The high-end financial consulting industry was not suitable for me, while the grassroots internet and the humble Toutiao were more to my liking. I still remember the first time I went to Zhonghang Plaza's low-rise building. The height of more than ten meters and the lighting made me decide to accept the offer immediately. I originally interned at CICC, squeezing into the subway to Guomao's office building before dawn, taking a taxi home at ten 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 naturally, 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 outstanding in sports. In comparison, I was always 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 being a complete beginner to being able to ski, carve, and go down any slope in Chongli. I can say that I have encouraged myself. 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. I write for fun in my free time, 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 huge advantages. 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 ten years?#

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, even if they are amazing, are still far behind Zuckerberg. We are all comparing ourselves to others, so why worry? Some time ago, I had dinner with a senior who is both a teacher 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 enthusiasm and good physical strength, there is nothing else. But at the age of 50, you have experience, resources, and knowledge of what is right. Is the body getting older? Who said you have to do it yourself? With the leverage of management, you can leverage ten times the young people. In early 2018, I watched an improvisational big band performance at Bluenote Beijing. The musicians took turns to be the protagonist, the main melody. Sometimes it was the saxophone, sometimes the drums, sometimes the piano. No one had a predetermined 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 core (important) thing/problem in life?#

In human history, there have been many simple inventions that have had a huge impact, and the most impressive one for me is the stirrup. Before the invention of the stirrup, horses were just a means of transportation, and the main method of combat for cavalry was archery, which had limited killing power. Therefore, nomadic tribes would come on horseback, plunder, and then run away. Want to use a sword or a spear? Sorry, the force is mutual, and the huge reaction force will knock the cavalry off the horse first. At that time, agrarian civilizations could still form large infantry corps through organization, using the total force/population advantage to make up for the mobility and disadvantages in local battles, and forcibly push the Xiongnu to the wolf's den (btw, the logistics and combat attrition costs of this tactic are huge, so 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 war. Cavalry could charge with spears, using their feet in the stirrups 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 amazing is that cavalry can carry their own supplies, horses can eat grass on their own, and they can fight and plunder at the same time, with unlimited endurance. The infantry wants to fight but can't catch up, and wants to run but can't escape. Metal single stirrups appeared in China during the Wei and Jin dynasties, and double stirrups appeared during the Eastern Jin dynasty. Coincidentally, during the Little Ice Age, the nomadic tribes in the north moved south with their horses, and the Chinese civilization ushered in a great integration of ethnic groups. Later, Genghis Khan launched three westward expeditions on horseback, giving rise to the knight class in Europe, the Crusades, and the translation movement in the Middle Ages, which brought back ancient Greek preserved by the Arabs, 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 huge impacts? When human civilization encounters bottlenecks, when all advanced production tools are universally popularized, and everyone's productivity is leveled, the factors that affect 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 mankind.

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 review process is too strict. (I don't like WeChat partly because I had my WeChat account banned before, you can read the story A Month Half Detached from WeChat). So I am very clear that this newsletter will not be used for content recommendations. You can just throw content recommendations on Telegram. In these few months, I have experienced some low points. At that time, I didn't feel that bad being in it, but now looking back, I realize that my state was really bad. 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 barely updated it.
Feel free to follow or unfollow, because it is a communication, I actually don't want it to be widely spread, but more private, 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 newsletters: What do 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 wishes

btw, if you are interested, you can also write a ten-year questionnaire. The process of writing it is quite interesting.

2021/12/19 @Beijing