Random Walk Newsletter, Issue 10#
Observations & Insights#
About the Epidemic
- Previously, most of the country's focus was on Shanghai, and I have seen a lot of good and bad things. In fact, the epidemic has entered its third year. Fortunately, it has not had a significant impact on my life. However, the epidemic in Beijing has become serious this week, especially near my home. The sealed-off area happened to include the neighboring community a few days ago. As a result, this morning at around six o'clock, the community group notification was sent out, stating that there was one preliminary positive case and no one is allowed to enter or leave.
- Let's make the best of it. It's a bit coincidental that I was still contacting the leader of the company to explain the situation in the community, and it turns out that the company has also been designated as a sealed-off area. Everyone is working from home. It's too coincidental, almost synchronized, not even a day apart, not even an hour.
- Because there is the latest news on the epidemic every morning, I have been waking up early these past two days. Working from home has its advantages, saving commuting time. Since I have free time, I decided to go downstairs for a run (actually, I'm worried that this case might be in our unit, otherwise I won't even be able to leave the building). After relaxing my mood, I felt good and ran 5 kilometers. It's been a long time since I ran 5 kilometers. Usually, it's about 3 kilometers. Because I don't have that much time in the morning, if there really is a 14-day lockdown, the distance I run recently will likely increase significantly, especially with the warmer weather, running becomes much more comfortable.
- There is also an embarrassing point. I had some plans in another direction recently, and I have already taken the first step. But now, because of the epidemic, it's probably going to fall through. What can I say? This is fate. If I miss this opportunity, I will probably be at ease. At least this year, I won't think about changing the status quo anymore.
Audiobooks & Books#
Super Thinking
This book discusses different ways of thinking. It lists many strange-looking questions, and although some of the questions are indeed strange, the focus of the discussion is not on the questions themselves, but on how to approach and solve these problems. Here's a relatively normal question that was asked in a Google interview: "How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?" Many people might panic or not understand the significance of this question when faced with it. Who would know the answer to such a question? But in fact, the interviewer is not looking for the answer, but for your problem-solving approach. This is called scientific thinking. People with scientific thinking will try to solve it. For example, you should first know how many people there are in Chicago, and then how many people own their own houses, because people who rent houses are unlikely to have pianos. Then, how many of those who own houses have pianos, and how many times does a piano need to be tuned in a year? You also need to know how many pianos there are in places like schools, bars, and training institutions. With the above information, you can estimate a rough value. If you can explain a similar approach and reasoning, regardless of the final answer, you have already demonstrated your scientific thinking.
In addition, the author also talks about humanities thinking. He says that people in the humanities generally approach things with expressions of admiration, disdain, and so on. On the other hand, scientists care about seeking the truth and don't spend too much time discussing good and bad or beauty and ugliness. They prefer to weigh the pros and cons and make the most advantageous choices.
The best approach is to think with a scientific mindset and express with a humanities language. This may be the most comprehensive demonstration of abilities.
That's all for this issue of the Newsletter. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Thank you for reading.