Thursday, August 12, 2021

強辯

好勁嘅辯論技巧:

https://www.weekendhk.com/weekspecial/%e5%87%ba%e8%bb%8c-%e5%88%86%e6%89%8b-%e7%ae%8d%e7%85%b2-ctb05-cc-857894/

自問都見過下世面,但咁情理兼備又帶少少反社會人格嘅高階辯術我都係第一次見。

太過精彩,喺度留返個底
















Thursday, July 8, 2021

歷史

歷史故事就喺身邊,先至會令人覺得,原來我哋真係世界嘅一分子。

Monday, July 5, 2021

美國版科網泡沫水泡科

我哋年代升大學嘅人都知,資訊科技相關科目,2000年仍然係「神科」(一度收生高過medic同law),但隔兩年就變成 #狗也不屌 嘅水泡科。

今日偶然睇到 Hacker News 嘅討論,原來美國都有類似情況,不過當時佢哋嘅講法,係「讀嚟做咩吖,反正啲IT工都會俾人 outsource 去印度架啦」。

呢種講法,令我諗起當年升學,去港大 Business School 「面試」發生嘅事。話說,有得面試嘅,中五會考成績都唔算差,佢哋叫做睇好你,想大家互相認識下,順便借個機會 sell 下你咁。所以只會加分,唔會扣分。

Anyway,港大 Business School 面試,有個個樣勁似陳水扁嘅教授主持,大家小組討論。唔記得題目係咩喇,但好記得,佢講咗句「印度啲IT好勁」,我就多口反駁話:「喂其實印度人啲IT好廢咋喎。」

最後面試結果係:冇加分。

講真,印度人口咁多,勁人一定係有嘅,不過純粹基於人多。平均水準就真係不敢恭維嘞,唔係話工作上見過啲乜人會有咁嘅印像 (喂我當年中學雞都已經係咁覺得),而係網上啲有impact嘅軟件項目,好少見係印度人主持或參與,通常係歐美嘅人居多;至於電腦比賽 (例如 IOI、ACM ICPC 等),印度人嘅成績都係麻麻 (東亞同俄國最屈機,話說香港以幾百萬人嘅基數嚟講成績都唔算差)。前者講究對科技嘅直覺同熱誠,後者睇天份,印度人似乎兩樣都冇。所以 Business School 會話印度人勁,係從商業角度出發:印度 outsourcing 其實係好成功,佢哋以低成本接收咗好多唔太 innovative 同唔係太多技術含量嘅工作,主要好處係減低成本,而唔係增值。所以,傳統行業嘅 in-house 嘢作為一個「cost center」,outsource 得最勁。

去到最後,啲最賺錢嘅科技嘢,仍然喺美國矽谷。

某程度印度大國接嗰啲outsourcing生意,同美國矽谷賺嗰啲錢,係兩個完全唔同嘅行業嚟。前者其實係「傳統商業」嘅延申,後者係「軟件食咗全世界」嘅偉大一統天下功業嚟。我唔敢話印度冇人才,不過可能佢哋嘅人才走晒去美國 (btw 提醒大家 Microsoft 同 Google 嘅現任 CEO 都係印度人)。勁人走晒,留喺印度嘅就未必有能力去開發啲可以「食咗全世界」嘅技術。

至於「美國人」係咪真係咁勁呢? 其實又不見得。只係美國因為軍事研究嘅原因成為好多電腦科技嘅源頭,而二戰後又一直係經濟強國,喺「富者越富」嘅原理之下,吸引咗全世界最頂尖嘅人才,喺全世界最發達嘅經濟體推出新產品,先至咁成功。如果⋯ 如果 Steve Jobs 一開始喺印度賣 iPhone ,佢應該係會蝕錢蝕到pk。呢啲嘢天時地利人和,唔係話照抄就抄得到,就算你學得到,亦都未必係好事嚟。

Saturday, June 26, 2021

食油

因為早排研究 keto 嘅關係,近幾個月煮嘢用油用得刁鑽咗。

以前用啲「精鍊植物油」居多,i.e. 花生、芥花籽油等等,不過由於啲Keto大師s話啲精鍊油唔健康,我就轉咗主力用橄欖油。

橄欖油有幾千年歐洲人認證,除非東亞人體質唔同,否則就真係相對穩妥嘅。

另外我仲會用牛油(i.e. butter)、同埋偶爾用啲動物脂肪油。

用啲非精鍊嘅油嘅有個後果,就係啲油較多有機雜質,smoking point 較低,煮食溫度唔可以太高。另外,聽某醫生話,啲油高溫煮得多會製造多啲 aldehyde (有毒)出嚟。

所以,而家煮嘢食都盡量將溫度控制喺 150C 以下。要做到呢一點,唔容易架。要理解個爐、隻鑊、啲食物有幾多水份同油份,心裡面要對嗰啲傳熱速度同潛熱有個概念,諗清楚點樣喺有限溫度之下整好道菜。(至於抛鑊就基本嘢啦 :0)

而家睇返啲精鍊植物油,感覺就好似毒藥嚟咁。所以專家叫你少油少糖少鹽其實冇錯架,用高 PUFA 嘅油煮食同製毒冇咩分別

Thursday, June 17, 2021

再睇多次《濠梁之辯》

《濠梁之辯》細細個就聽過,就係「子非魚,安知魚之樂」嗰個故仔。

原文好短,不妨抄埋出嚟:

莊子與惠子遊於濠梁之上。莊子曰:「鯈魚出遊從容,是魚之樂也。」惠子曰:「子非魚,安知魚之樂?」莊子曰:「子非我,安知我不知魚之樂?」惠子曰:「我非子,固不知子矣,子固非魚也,子之不知魚之樂,全矣。」莊子曰:「請循其本。子曰汝安知魚樂云者,既已知吾知之而問我,我知之濠上也。」

聽咗咁多年,我都冇為意,原來除咗「你又點知我唔知」呢個包拗頸爭論,原來呢段對白好dense,牽涉好多我平時留意開嘅問題。

呢短短幾句嘅對答,辯術係十分之高明,可謂不分上下。最有趣嘅係,佢哋兩人都避重就輕繞過最麻煩嘅哲學問題 (i.e. 你點樣知另一個有靈性嘅動物諗緊乜)。究竟應該用主觀「我覺得佢好快樂就係快樂」吖,定係理性嘅「我推斷你根本冇可能知 Q.E.D.」,定係溝通性嘅「我咪話咗俾你知囉!」? 《濠梁之辯》開咗個頭,但冇認真探討落去。

唔知《莊子》呢部著作,當時啲人係點傳授嘅呢?究竟係循道家「行不言之教」,用從旁側擊嘅方式引導學生自己發崛背後隱藏嘅大道理 (我諗起禪宗啲公案),定係真係純粹借「點知」呢個議題去教人辯論技巧?


Tuesday, June 15, 2021

政治

總覺得,如果我唔係晨早踩咗隻腳入去做電腦嘢,而係認真走策士路線,我可能會窮好多,但可能香港會仆少幾次街。

不過我亦都可能會係死咗。始終呢啲時勢走進取路線行錯一步真係會死。

Sunday, June 13, 2021

Got nothing on me

Back in the day, we used to look up to the big whigs in banks and law firms. People doing important business. High salary. Busy life. "Study hard and one day you just might become one of them," they said.

I don't know how true it is, but I always thought people from my background are somewhat more competitive. When all your peers come from upper-middle class families and your seniors are all well-off professionals, anything less seems like scraping by.

Yet one day, I suddenly realized -- although it doesn't feel like it -- they actually got nothing on me.

Since then, they watched our industry take over the world. My job, by most reasonable measures, is apparently more appealing than those jobs they told us to study hard for. Now, they have books for studying our interviews questions. Hah.

I realized that, like it or not, the next generation of aspiring young people would look at us the same way we used to see New York city firm lawyers, VPs at Goldman Sachs, traders in hedge funds, etc. -- impressive, but possibly quite evil.

Oh yes, we, collectively, are definitely the antagonist in the new chapter. Big Brother has never been so big and powerful.