The culture must satisfy tribal instincts. If a culture exists, it must have a reason for existing. The only valid reason for a particular culture is that it provides a value for its members perceived by them to be greater than that offered by any other culture. It must differentiate in some manner. If a member of a culture is not loyal to that culture, he should move to a culture in which he is comfortable or abandon all culture. Remaining in a culture (or being allowed to do so) while antagonistic to it is not acceptable in any culture. If many members rebel, the culture collapses, as can be seen in the American culture today. The only successful cultures in America today (if there are any) are the subcultures. Only there can the tribal instincts be served.

A History of Human Culture

It’s been fourteen months since I switched to Mac, after being a PC user for almost two decades. I’ve been keeping track of how long it’s been since I made the switch because I had planned to write this big glorious post on the one year mark. It’d be a post about how much I love my iMac. Not just iMac, but also how much I love my iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro and the wonderful UI/Marketing Apple creates. It’d be a post that would generate tons positive comments from other Mac users, and a few anti-Apple ones from PC users. There would be a big flame war in the comment section and I eventually have to turn commenting off.

In other words, it’d be a post just like thousands of others out there, and one that has very little value.

I think it’s more interesting to make observations about the culture instead. Not just the Apple culture, but sub-cultures in general. Over the year I’ve heard, read and participated in many debates on “X vs. Y.” In most cases the debate got to the religious level, and at the end they were no longer about objective views. Is our association with a product, a tool, or a piece of clothing a symbol of individuality or a mere tribal mark? Is it ever about if tribe X is better than tribe Y? Maybe our caveman instinct tells us to grow bigger as a collective group so we can feel safer about ourselves?

Occasionally, I get emails from people asking me what my site logo is and what it means. I use the same ☵☲ for my gravatar too. Some assumed that I was a big fan of Snake Eye or Storm Shadow from G.I. Joe since they have the same symbol on them. I am a fan, but that’s not the reason why I use it though.

My long time readers are aware that I started this blog originally with the intention of translating Taoism books to English. While I have stopped writing about the philosophical Tao, its teachings are still dear to me. There are sixty four chapters in I-Ching(易經 Book of Changes) and each chapter is associated with a hexagram. A hexagram is comprised of two trigrams.

Trigrams

A trigram is made up by three lines. Each line is either solid or broken. Together, the two lines symbolize “Yin” and “Yang,” or any two opposing forces. Balance through opposites is one of the main themes of the philosophical Taoism. There are total of eight possible trigram combinations and each trigram has an element assigned to it.

Did you know the trigrams were the earliest known binary counting system? Broken line = 0, solid line = 1. 2³ = 8 possible combinations. Hexagrams have 8² = 64 combinations. From above, you can also see the opposing forces have opposing line makeup as well: ☰ sky v.s. ☷ earth, ☵ water v.s. ☲ fire.

After Completion

Speaking of water and fire, ☵☲(water over fire) is the hexagram of chapter 63 in the book I-Ching. The designer in me loves the minimalist aesthetics of these symbols, and the geek in me is intrigued by their logic operands. Every chapter of the book describes a situation and how we should handle it. Chapter 63 resonates with me the most. The title of the chapter is 既濟, roughly translates to “after completion,” or “end of sailing.” The gist of the content is: even though you have a achieved success or completed a journey, you should remain cautious. Things may be at a perfect equilibrium right now, but any additional disturbance will ruin it. Avoid being complacent or arrogant. Now it’s time to reflect and welcome a new phase.

The water over fire symbolism fits this theme perfectly too:

When water in a kettle hangs over fire, the two elements stand in relation and thus generate energy (cf. the production of steam). But the resulting tension demands caution. If the water boils over, the fire is extinguished and its energy is lost. If the heat is too great, the water evaporates into the air. These elements here brought in to relation and thus generating energy are by nature hostile to each other. Only the most extreme caution can prevent damage. In life too there are junctures when all forces are in balance and work in harmony, so that everything seems to be in the best of order. In such times only the sage recognizes the moments that bode danger and knows how to banish it by means of timely precautions.

source

Finding balance in life is also the teaching in chapter 2 of Tao Te Ching, another Taoism book I love. I translated the chapter it a while back. The other parts of I-Ching are worth reading too. You may just find a chapter that’s most relate-able to you. Keep in mind though, I’m talking about the philosophical Taoism, not the religious one. The two are polar opposites, and almost have nothing in common in essence.

I didn’t realize how hard it is to shoot candid shots until I attempted my first photo journal. It’s more than just pressing the shutter thoughtlessly. If you’re interested please take a look.

I’m sure by now you’re probably sick of hearing about the iPhone4 antenna issue. Don’t worry, I won’t talk about that, much. Instead, I just want to clear something up. First of all, I’m left-handed. It seems the biggest publicity us lefties have ever gotten in the history of known civilization has been this whole antennagate ordeal .

Many sources have reported this issue affects left-handed people.

The engineers at consumer reports whipped up battery of tests for the iPhone and had successfully proven that the raging complaints are indeed true. Three iPhones got scrutinized and were found to suffer from signal degradation especially if the lower left part of the phone was covered—no wonder lefties are in a rut.

- techgenie.com

I think it’s righties that should be in a rut. We left-handed people actually don’t hold phones in our left hands when talking. We need our dominant hand to be freed as much as possible. See the photo above, it proves my point. Confused? I hold camera body with my right hand since it doesn’t do much dexterity work besides keeping the camera steady. Left hand is used to do more intricate work such as focus, zoom, aim etc. I do however hold the phone with my left hand when I’m using apps or surfing the web. In which case, the signal is a none issue.

Think about when you carry a brief case, a purse, or putting on a single strap backpack, which side does it go on? Chances are it’s the opposite of your dominant hand.

Just wanted to get that off my chest. And for the record I haven’t experienced the signal drop issue much, because I get one bar of signal in my house regardless. Thanks AT&T.

I’ve taken a position as the creative director of Stack Overflow. It’s been a surreal experience so far. I wrote about the usefulness of Stack Overflow Q&A sites before, and now I’m part of the team. I’ve been a fan of Jeff‘s blog for years and quoted Joel‘s philosophy on UI design multiple times. They’re two tech personalities I look up to. I’m also thrilled to be working with some of the best programmers out there. When I say best, I’m not exaggerating. Joel already runs a successful software company Fogcreek and he knows how to hire top programmers. The Photo above is their beautiful NYC office. I had the pleasure of visiting there for a couple of days back in May.

The past two months have been very busy for me, in a wonderful way(this also explains the inactivity on this blog). I plan to write more about some of the cool projects I’ve been working on shortly. For now, you can visit Area 51, Stack Overflow Careers, and newly launched public beta of Web Apps Q&A site proposal.

Besides the people and projects, another thing I love about the new job is that I get to work from home. My previous job’s commute was over one hour by train each way. Now I get to spend some more time with the family.

Circumstances can cause you to question who you are.

A boss writes you a stinging performance review.

A reader leaves a bitter comment on your blog post.

A vocal audience member questions your authority in the middle of your presentation.

[...]

When you fall into this deep pit of treachery and despair, you need something to pull you out. An image, a word, a note. It helps when this object reflects both the love you have for yourself as well as the love someone has for you.

If life is letting you down right now, please go read this beautiful article. It is short and powerful. Remember who you are.

P.S. I haven’t had a single reader leaving a bitter comment on this blog. Thank you, you’re great.

You know the way to be interesting to others is to be interested in them. (Why is this so hard for self-promoters to understand?)

Derek Sivers

My faithful Sony TV/Alarm clock went off to ABC morning news. As usual, I laid in bed for ten minutes before I truly woke up. I didn’t get too much sleep the night before. I went to bed at 5am, working on a web site that was due. also I spent a lot of time with my then Fiancée talking about our Vegas wedding, which was in eleven days. We talked about my new job that I was starting once we got back from our honeymoon, and our first born that was on the way. It was an exciting and scary time for me. I was about to become a new husband and father.

Back to the tiny 1.5″ TV screen on my nightstand, I saw the one of the Towers on fire, with people running frantically. I thought it was a trailer for a movie of some sort. I remember thinking how realistic the CG looked. Then the second tower got hit. It didn’t take me long to realize what was happening, even though it was so surreal.

America lost her innocence that day.

I’d like to share this video with you. It’s Blue Man Group tribute to 911. The papers flying around in the backdrop are the ones that were found near Ground Zero in the aftermath.

Where were you, and what were you doing that morning?

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Gundam franchise, 18-meter-tall (59-foot-tall) RX-78 was built in Odaiba’s Shiokaze Park, Japan last month.

I wish I was there right now.

My love for Gundam started when I was very young. The whole giant robo genre always mesmerized my best friend and I. As I grew older, many of my old hobbies and interests faded, except for Gundam.

It’s hard to explain this particular obsession of mine. Sometimes even I wonder why I act like a little boy when surrounded by my robot toys and figures. I just turned 33 years old. After some soul searching, I’ve concluded that the affinity I have for Gundam will always be there. Gundam, and other robots I love give me a sense of comfort. This sense of comfort has varied at different phases of my life.

When I was a kid, I didn’t have any Gundam toys and the cartoons weren’t available. In fact, I didn’t have a lot toys at all. My childhood best friend and I used to collect Gundam stickers and comic books. We’d use our imagination and made up our own giant robo fighting scenes. We spent hours talking about how cool it’d be if we were Gundam pilots, fighting evil.

When I got older, having watched most of the Gundam series, I gained appreciation for the plot, beyond the battle scenes. Most Gundam series share the same plot: the struggle between two political forces, neither is good or evil, but both are driven by pride and power. There’s always one dangerously idealistic vigilante who tries to achieve greater good by committing an atrocious act. He/she of course, gets stopped by the heroic and often troubled Gundam pilots. I enjoyed the subtext and political overtone.

During my college years when I started making money from freelance web work, I fulfilled my childhood dream: owning a lots ‘n lotsa of Gundam models and toys. Gundam at the time, symbolized my financial independence and served as my muse while I worked.

For two years, I received a package from Hobby Link Japan hlj.com every single week. Every week was Christmas. Here’s the result(a portion of my final collection, photo taken in my college apartment):

All together, I have a backlog of 300+ model kits, ranging from high grade to the massive perfect grade. I still remember one year when my friend Jess bought me a hard to find Perfect Grade Zeta from Canada. He hand-delivered the giant box all the way home. He mentioned the stares he got from people at the airport when they saw the label “A.E.U.G. Attack Use Prototype Variable Form Ver 2.0.”

Gundam modeling is probably the most fun hobby I’ve ever had. The sheer amount of engineering behind the models is incredible. I used to spend 40+ hours on one model. It involved a lot of patience when it comes to cutting, sanding, puttying and airbrushing. Some photos of the making of my master grade Zeta Gundam:

I seriously doubt I’ll ever be able to finish all the Gundam models I’ve collected over the years. After my first son was born, most of my Gundams were put in storage. Now that my kids are older, I think it’s time to bring them out for some father-son projects. See, Gundams keep on giving.

Perhaps, the reason I’m so attached to Gundam is the memories it’s associated with: childhood, friendship, care-free single days, painting late at night and now, enjoying it with my kids.

Do you have a childhood obsession that you never grew out of? I think there’s a Peter Pan side in all of us.