Just Like That

Published: 2017-01-28

Preface

This is the first post on my personal blog, intended to serve as a sort of foreword. I will briefly introduce the site's content layout and product positioning, and in subsequent posts I will, based on my life experience, explain from a higher perspective the value this product should deliver, along with my expectations and vision for it. Overall it may read more like a casual essay.

A gentle telling

The idea of writing a blog probably sprouted about a year ago. At first I simply wanted to write technical posts like some predecessors and publish them on platforms such as CSDN—both as a review and deepening of existing knowledge and as preparation for my future career. As my technical skills grew, my perspective broadened, and I retained that university-era impulse to express and argue passionately, I eventually decided to create my own website. Only by building my own site could I fully express a personalized voice and naturally establish a consistent style in how content is organized.

The process was fairly long. I come from a backend engineering background, so a year ago I knew very little about web technologies. From building technical reserves, choosing tools, and setting up systems, to later UI design, along with several iterations of ideas and a few articles written, I invested much of my spare time over the past year. Gradually I decided to treat the site as a complete product, which starts with understanding the phrase “personal blog.” The noun “blog” denotes a form that carries content; different authors produce posts with distinct tastes and styles—each flourishing in its own way. Putting one person’s articles together reveals a unified value orientation, conveying the author’s character and intellectual depth. That is the blog’s strength, so the adjective “personal” should be the soul of the product. That is why the phrase “independent personality” appears in the page header.

There is also a conspicuous timer in the site header. It does not record the site’s creation time but counts from the day I began studying programming seriously and systematically and decided to make it my livelihood. On the day the site launches this will read 1 year, 10 months, and 23 days. Compared to this site, my profession has had a more profound impact on my life, and I want to create a sense of urgency to motivate my future self.

The original intention for this product was to gather a group of like-minded friends—people who share similar attitudes toward life and the world. What drives me to do all this may be a rather negative force: loneliness. “Everyone is lonely,” Zhang Xiaolong’s success with WeChat powerfully illustrates that. Aside from daily communication among acquaintances, another way to address solitude is public expression—what we call sharing. Sharing enables deeper communication, building a broader circle for collisions of thought and spirit and exchanges of knowledge and skills. Finding such companions is perhaps one of life’s greatest joys.

Among the personal blogs I’ve seen, the one I admire most and that aligns closest with my thinking isRuan Yifeng’s WeblogRuan’s blog has been read by many in the tech community, and when you explore his site in full you’ll be surprised by the breadth of his interests and the depth of his craft. Below is a screenshot of the page—take a look at the category column on the right and see what you think…

I really like this online appraisal of Ruan:

He has a wide range of knowledge, a deep curiosity and a scholarly way of investigating things, and a fondness for beauty and emotional depth.

My impression is that he is modest, reserved, and understatedly elegant; his writing feels comfortable and down-to-earth—tangible, interesting, and substantial. His blog is the direction I will continually strive toward.

By contrast, on my blog, limited by personal ability, I will only present the technical and business topics I find most interesting. The idea of writing about business actually came back in university—I’ve always loved economics and management and once had a “finance dream,” but I ultimately entered the IT industry. In this respect I may be the opposite of Ruan: before joining Alibaba in 2014, Ruan’s major was finance while IT was his amateur pursuit. Still, I very much like my current career, partly because of warnings from people like Ruan:

In this country, if you want not to lie, not to do bad things, and to be treated justly, programming may be one of the few viable paths.

Another reason is personal interest. Programming is one of the few learning-based professions, like law or medicine—you must keep recharging to move forward. I enjoy the cycle of exploring, trying, and validating; it brings occasional surprises and pleasure to otherwise monotonous work.

A group of people

As I mentioned earlier, through this blog I want to bring together a group of like-minded people. I’ll state the conclusion first, then explain. I hope my blog can gather people who share these traits: bold and interesting, valuing knowledge and self-driven effort, and rejecting loser culture.

Bold and interesting

First, what does it mean to be bold and interesting. Many people as children clearly knew what they liked, but as they grow up they get used to choosing what they should do over what they want to do. Their world becomes filled with useful, obligatory tasks, squeezing out the things they enjoy that may seem useless. They might say they simply don’t have time for what they like. Look at children: no matter how tired their studies, they always find time for what they want to do—building with LEGO, listening to stories. Why can’t adults do the same? Gu Dian, author of The Walls of Thought, observed:

Boring people (those uninterested in anything) are often not incapable but rather lacking in courage.

For many reasons, most people cannot do the work they love, but after completing what they should do and taking on responsibilities, they should still leave some time and space for what they love. As John Keating says in Dead Poets Society:

Indeed, medicine, law, business, and engineering are noble pursuits that can sustain a lifetime. But poetry, beauty, romance, and love are the reasons we live.

What you are willing to do may be where your talent lies. You might think it’s a waste of time, but life is worth experiencing precisely because of these beautiful wastes.

Esteem knowledge

Have you ever seen a graduating high school student, after the college entrance exam, tear up textbooks in rage and hurl them out the window to savor the release? It’s hard not to lament how such education fails to ignite passion; how many sparks are extinguished by this torrent. I won’t debate education here, only note that society has produced many people who resent or profane knowledge.

Can knowledge really change destiny? Can it reduce social inequality and increase social mobility? For some people, yes. For ordinary individuals, beyond instrumental advantages, knowledge enriches life experience and broadens the mind. The greater significance of knowledge lies less in specific content or practical skills than in a way of thinking and an attitude toward life. It is not an accessory but becomes part of you.

Self-driven effort

I once read a story: a young woman, several years after graduation, got into an argument with a shop owner over a few missing slices of beef in her bowl of noodles and ended up crying. She wasn’t crying over the meat but because, as she said, “This is not the life I wanted.” After years of struggling post-graduation, she did not expect to still be arguing over a few pieces of beef.

I want to explain this behavior using an economics concept. Opportunity cost refers to the maximum value of what you must give up to obtain something. For example, on the weekend you can play games or study; if you choose to study, the enjoyment you would have gained from gaming is the opportunity cost. People act rationally; under given conditions they choose what they perceive as optimal. If the pleasure from gaming exceeds the satisfaction from studying, you will choose gaming to maximize utility. But utility-maximizing choices are not necessarily value-maximizing, nor do they minimize opportunity costs. That is why the woman, having made life choices, still expressed her denial of her current state and past through tears.

A person’s level or character can be judged by their choices. If you lose your temper with your boss over a few overtime instances, your future is worth only that overtime pay; if you punish a child for breaking a cheap vase, the child’s curiosity becomes worth that vase. Conversely, if you forgo indulgence and persist in effort and improvement, the value you place on pursuing success will exceed the immediate dopamine of desire.

To judge a person’s stature, look at what angers them and whom they choose to confront. People overwhelmed by work have no time to fuss over whether the lunch has more meat or vegetables. The woman in the earlier example may have had only a house and a man in her world, with no greater responsibilities or social engagement to distract her, creating a disconnect from society.

Only through continuous effort and progress can one push trivial matters aside and immerse oneself in the positive feedback loop generated by self-driven struggle. I like this line:

Only with inner richness can you escape the surface sameness of life.

Opposing loser culture

Loser culture must be discussed in the context of the internet industry where I work. After several phases of rapid growth, the industry inevitably accumulated some bubbles and dilution, resulting in widely varying skill and self-awareness among practitioners. Lowering the barrier to entry has attracted many who do a poor job, dragging down the industry’s overall level—especially apparent compared to other intellect-heavy, mature fields like finance.

Similar to the American hippie movement, after material abundance new life problems emerged, and young people became entangled between boredom and a growing sense of social responsibility. Some resort to a product of Western decadent subculture—loser culture—adopting self-deprecation to release pressure and treating a pessimistic, passive lifestyle as normal without guilt. Self-mocking as “losers” may be playful, but if taken seriously this powerful negative energy not only hinders personal development psychologically but also damages broader social culture. Therefore, I firmly oppose loser culture.

These are the people I hope to gather. Finally, whatever choices society makes or what outcomes ensue, we are simply this kind of people.