Below are some observations and findings from my attempts at root causing a bunch of problems in society and tech.

Would love to hear from you if you have any counter points or extensions!

• kevin [dot] yd [dot] zhu [at] gmail [dot] com

Education

• University is a vehicle for accelerated specialization. Those who don’t know what they’re excited about (most HS grads) shouldn't go straight to university - they should experience the world by getting 10 jobs to first learn what they don’t know. Then specialize knowing what specifically it is they want to get out of university (i.e. their specialization; their degree). In other words, university degrees are an answer to a question that HS grads don’t have…
  • People are very malleable from the ages of 15 to 25, mostly informed by the people around them. For societal and cultural change to happen, this is where more influence and disruption needs to apply in helping shape people’s trajectories for the rest of their lives.
    • Before 15, the population often don’t have enough experience to know what they should want.
    • 15-18: people start having an idea for what they want to do for the next 5 years (finish HS, uni/trade school) informed by the people around them.
    • 18-22: people focus on the present - and look a year or two into the future.
    • 22-25: start to specialize in a job - learn the ropes, go through the first round or two of career progression
    • After 25 (or their quarter life crisis) - they start having notions about settling down and stability.
• People scam themselves when they go to university because university never pitches themselves as a institution to get a job. We solved this problem 100 years ago: trade schools and apprenticeships have worked for centuries… It’s amazing that we have unsolved the problem of higher education.
• education: what went wrong

Jobs/Career

• It’s sad when people work harder (per unit time) in university doing work that has no impact than after they graduate.
  • In university, in addition to 25 hours/week in classes, many spend an additional 20-30hrs/week doing assignments, homework, preparing for exams .etc. AND then spend another dozen hours on society work. They are rewarded for the all nighters they pull. I know of people who, on top of their university work, spend 70-100 hrs some weeks doing engineering projects…
• Most people think the most important part of an internship is doing the work and getting a return offer. However, the most important part of an internship is validating your career path and understanding if the people 10/20 years ahead of you on your career path are the people you want to be. The first 3-6 months of ANY job will be exciting. Too many overindex on that.
• Most people think that job interviews (also work trials/internships) are an examination. They are dialogues between two entities to establish whether there is a mutual fit. Disasters happen and time is wasted when either side does not show their true selves (e.g. when companies give a task/test with criteria irrelevant or not representative of the expected qualities of a good candidate; or when candidates lie about what they stand for/what role is for them)
• The most important thing senior professionals (engineers, analysts .etc.) bring to the table is an opinion. That is what they are paid for.
  • Opinions that see around corners.
  • Opinions that lead to better scale.
  • Opinions that are more fit for purpose.
  • As a junior, develop opinions early and self correct fast to become a better professional.
  • Note also that opinions valid in one role may not be opinions valid in another role - a senior engineer at a startup that moves super fast demands very different opinions/compromises than a senior engineer working for the military/large bank.

User interfaces

• on the evolution of interfaces and vision pro

Blockchain

• The blockchain fundamentally works on paranoia - e.g. Bitcoin post-2008. It’s built in a world where trustlessness is important. That is not the world our biology/culture raises us to live in - For dozens of millenia, we’ve been trained to trust our tribe.
  • Additionally, we fallback to trusting the judiciary when institutions fail. E.g. civil courts award damages if fraud happens. That is not the case for the blockchain - trustlessness doesn’t only apply to the transaction itself, but is also projected to apply pre-transaction and post-transaction.
  • It is hypocritical to demand trust pre- and post-transaction (ie if something goes wrong), yet demand trustlessness on the transaction itself…
• Governments deserve the right to adjust inflation when times demand it (e.g. inflation during a war/conflict). Large market share of blockchain challenges the sovereignty of governments.