A Little Better than Being a Dog
Ajahn Chah, a renowned Buddhist master from Thailand, frequently pushed the buttons of his students to the point of infuriating them. One student visited Ajahn Chah and proclaimed that he…
A Spider on LSD and a Journey to Build the Perfect Web
One day, a spider decides to weave the best spider web in the world. "I'm going to build the greatest web ever. It's going to be unique. But first, I…
The Farmer and the Philosopher
There’s an old story about a farmer who goes to seek advice from a philosopher. “We’re so poor, our house is tiny, and my family is constantly at each other’s…
Poverty isn’t a lack of character, it’s a lack of cash.
When I started my first job, I made some poor decisions with my financial planning and couldn’t afford to pay my rent one month. I had to borrow money, and…
How to Erase Your Brain: Sleeping Pills, Alzheimer’s, and Car Crashes
When I was on the university rowing team I had to face a grueling two hour practice every morning, six days a week. This meant I’d go to bed at…
Revenge of the AI Nerds: How Blockchain Will Save Our Lives and Pay You for Your Data
“I think it will take 15 years for a big chunk of jobs to be displaced. ” — Kai-Fu Lee on the automation threat In the sci-fi movie Her set in a…
3 Miles and 7 ATMs
A few months ago I was visiting my friend in Chennai, a city of 7 million on the eastern coast of India. Her office was smack-dab in the center of…
Wax on, wax off
I just completed my first “Dhamma service” at the newly constructed and secluded Dhamma Mutta meditation center in Hong Kong. While you wouldn’t normally think of the financial capital of…
The boy and the teacup
There is an old Chinese story about a boy who visits a Kung Fu master in hopes of becoming his student. Back in those days, you would sit in front…
Pulling a Black Ball from The Urn
One way of looking at human creativity is as a process of pulling balls out of a giant urn. The white balls are net positive inventions with few negative consequences,…