Essays
The ability to think in abstractions is among humanity's most distinctive traits—and there is no abstraction, no collective fiction more universal than money. At the dawn of civilization, a numbered piece of paper had no practical use. You can neither eat it nor plant it, and it
Essays
On May 12, 1797, the Doge of Venice, Ludovico Manin, abdicated. The Great Council, the primary legislative body, voted overwhelmingly to dissolve the Most Serene Republic. Two days later, Napoleon marched in with his troops and raised the French tricolor over the Piazza San Marco. After 1,100 years, Venice,
Essays
Singapore's literacy challenge is often overlooked, being neither a pressing economic concern nor a matter of fundamental rights. Given our national focus on pragmatism, these issues of literacy can seem peripheral. Singapore consistently ranks among the world’s best — with one of the highest GDPs per capita, exceptional
Essays
This post contains major spoilers for The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima. That being said, the plot is simple and secondary to the themes and symbols. Continue at your own discretion. What does it mean to strive for glory, for greatness? What passions lie
Essays
One of the most mind-bending books I've been reading is The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I had decided to start reading it due to its iconic stature in 21st-century non-fiction; it seems as if every other book references some aspect
Essays
Most people I know had a reading era in their childhood. Borrowing books from the library and engaging in discussions surrounding popular series is a fond memory I have of my childhood. It's hard for me to forget receiving Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on release day
Essays
I've recently finished reading The Age of AI, by Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Daniel Huttenlocker. While it was a mixed bag on the whole, there were some new insights I had gleaned from the book, and I can't help but appreciate a book that at
Essays
Civilization is an iconic video game series created by Sid Meier where you take control of one of the great civilizations across history and manage its growth from a Bronze-Age agricultural settlement to a vast nuke-wielding, internet-surfing empire. As can be guessed from the description, a large part of the
Essays
I'm wouldn't consider myself an artistic person, and my appreciation for art is differentiated from the common denominator in only my taste of music, which is dominated by Metal and other alternative genres. Regardless, I've been thinking a lot about the arts lately, especially
Essays
I first read 12 Rules For Life in 2017, and I've recently finished a re-read of it, in 2024. I re-read it to know whether it holds up to this day, and whether there is anything new I can glean from the long-winded, spiritually charged writing so indicative
Essays
In my previous post on the ethical concerns surrounding AI, I referenced the fact that the rise of social media has caused us to lose ownership of our data. As the wisdom goes, if the product is free, then you're the real product. Companies such as Meta and
Essays
Back when I started my programming journey, AI was what I had the most superficial interest in just because it seemed cool and primed for innovation. Over time, as I became more and more exposed to different facets of computer science and engineering, I realized that AI was indeed very