Preface
This piece is a record and reflection of my life from November 13 to November 21, 2023.
This week had quite a bit of discussion and development at work, maintaining a normal rhythm. My days were largely occupied by work, study, and additional reading, giving me a sense of fulfillment. As I plan to spend more evenings reading books, I hurried to finish the few dramas and anime I was watching. Over the weekend, I took a stroll in the Temple of Heaven Park and discovered a delicious mushroom hotpot in the evening. I also gave two 4-hour Solidity Bootcamp sessions for OpenBuild, and the preparation process was quite interesting. Next week, I’ll be participating in a podcast recording as part of the 2023 Podcast Festival, which I’m looking forward to. There were many other interesting happenings as well.
A Stroll in the Temple of Heaven
Autumn in Beijing is fleeting, but perhaps the only truly pleasant season of the year. It’s cool but not cold enough to require layers of thick clothing, perfect for a leisurely walk.
Before setting out, my senior suddenly suggested I leave my camera behind, adding, “Every time you bring the camera, you’re not as relaxed during the stroll.” I paused, realizing she was right. It seems that after developing the habit of documenting, I tend to think more about capturing or writing down moments I find joyful or interesting, sometimes neglecting to fully enjoy the present beauty. Like when we went to Aranya, walking on the beach as dusk fell, I was so focused on getting good shots quickly that I spent a long time photographing each scenic spot. In the end, I did get some nice photos, but I missed out on the true essence of a “stroll”. The 55mm focal length of the camera inadvertently created a sense of distance.
This time, I went without any particular purpose, just for a walk. We followed the park visitors doing tai chi, competed to see who could throw pine cones into a circle made of grass, and watched a few chickens with feathers as vibrant as peacocks scurrying about in the woods, perhaps in courtship. Though I’ve always thought of myself as someone not particularly drawn to natural landscapes, preferring themed street photography, this leisurely stroll in the company of others brought many pleasant surprises. It helped alleviate some of the recent tension and anxiety, making time feel especially slow.
Afterwards, we ate at a Yunnan mushroom hotpot restaurant called “Tang Ba Shi” that I had been craving for a long time. Highly recommended!
Rediscovering Reading
Recently, I’ve spent most of my dinner and post-dinner time watching or rewatching some TV series: “Reply 1988”, “Nirvana in Fire”, and “Prison Playbook”. While enjoyable and relaxing, time seemed to slip away quickly. So, after making an effort to finish these, I decided not to start any new series and instead return to reading.
Last year, I read many books, accompanied by my Kindle during subway commutes. Despite the harsh environment, I found joy in it, sometimes reading 1-2 books a week. However, in the past six months, without the need to commute, I lost some of that reading mindset, mainly focusing on reference books. These past few evenings, as I started reading again, I found I could once again enjoy it. While it might not be possible to complete my reading goals set at the beginning of the year, rediscovering the pleasure of reading is a greater gain.
I first finished “Building A Second Brain” and “PARA Method”, the latter being a supplement to the former. Both are about personal knowledge management, with the former focusing more on concepts and methodologies, and the latter on specific practical methods. Being tool and practice-oriented, they were not difficult to read, and provided some additions to my current system using Logseq + Readwise + Heptabase.
A colleague in our group chat mentioned “Homo Deus”, reminding me that I had read this and “Sapiens” a few years ago. Personally, I’m not as fond of such grand narrative topics compared to literary works, but this series is exceptionally engaging. I considered revisiting them, but then noticed “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” on my bookshelf and decided to read it first, having gone through the first few chapters.
The Feynman Technique
Recently, I’ve been involved in teaching a course called “[OpenBuild Bootcamp] Solidity from Beginner to Expert”, responsible for two sessions. As it’s during after-work hours and weekends, I’m using the Chinese version of the training materials from the previous Chiang Mai Workshop.
I seem to be quite enthusiastic about participating in education and sharing, which is also a practice of the Feynman Technique. Its core lies in:
When you prepare to learn new knowledge, you must stand in the position of a teacher, assuming you need to explain this knowledge to others.
So, especially when I’m still in the learning stage myself, I cherish opportunities to share and teach. Last May, I gave a technical presentation for Chainlink and wrote several blog posts. This year, I was a mentor in Chiang Mai and participated in a workshop. Compared to before, I now have a more solid grasp of core concepts.
Speaking of my learning path for Solidity, I’ve completed all three of Patrick Collins’ Solidity tutorials on YouTube, each lasting several dozen hours.
The first was the Brownie (Python) version, which I watched in June 2021 while in quarantine after returning to Shenzhen from Hong Kong. At that time, I didn’t understand many concepts and had little practical experience. I chose it over Truffle, which I had used for my graduation project, mainly because Python’s syntax for writing tests seemed simpler. I roughly went through it in about a month, managing to handle a few smart contract development job interviews. Later, as I started working on consortium chains, I didn’t use it much.
The second was the Hardhat (Javascript) version, which I watched in May 2022 while in home quarantine. By then, I had a better understanding of smart contracts and had written quite a few practical ones, so it was more of a reinforcement. It took only about half a month, and I produced several blog articles. Patrick himself noticed and contacted me, leading to many subsequent opportunities.
The recently completed Foundry (Solidity) version came after I had already worked on quite a few projects and was familiar with most concepts. However, it took nearly two to three months, with much of it watched in parts. I feel that as I’ve written fewer technical blogs, there’s been a noticeable decline in my concentration and state of learning knowledge. I need to pick it up again.
Interesting Things and Objects
Podcast Festival
This week, I have the opportunity to record a podcast, which will be part of the “2023 Tech Podcast Festival”. Other participants include podcasts I really enjoy like “Maple Syrup”, “Beyond Code”, “Jinjinledao”, “Kernel Panic”, and more. Last year, I listened to various themes from this event, and I never imagined I’d have the chance to participate this year. It’s quite amazing.
Input
Although most interesting inputs are automatically synchronized on the “Yu’s Life” Telegram channel, I’ll still select a few to list here, making it feel more like a newsletter.
Books
- Building a Second Brain, I’ve actually already learned about and practiced the methods mentioned in the book through other blogs. I was more interested in understanding the author’s thought process and practical methods, but found it to be more theoretical.
- The PARA Method, compared to “Building a Second Brain”, this book is more concise and easy to read, with a strong focus on practical methods. The principles regarding using a system across multiple platforms and the flow of information between PARA have significant reference value for my current system.
- 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, the last book in the trilogy
- Uniswap V2 Book | RareSkills, I’ve always wanted to understand Uniswap in more detail
- ZK Book | RareSkills, learning about ZK
Articles
- Stability, It’s Not the Technology That’s Difficult, But…
- Effective Neovim setup for web development towards 2024
- Exit games for EVM validiums: the return of Plasma
- The Architecture of a Web 3.0 application
- A comprehensive guide to the ERC721 standard and related security issues
- Great Library #9 Book Review of “Streaming Systems”
Videos
- Learn Solidity, Blockchain Development, & Smart Contracts | Powered By AI - Full Course (12 - 15)
- study vlog #38 | Enjoying the tranquility and reflection brought by evening reading | A female programmer’s learning routine | TEDxTalks: The power of introverted personalities / About sleep | Homo Deus | English learning
- How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media | Luis Von Ahn | TED
- Ilya: the AI scientist shaping the world
Anime
- Pluto, an anime about robots and humans that I came across on Netflix. I’ve always been interested in this genre. I finished it during lunch breaks and weekends. It deals with hatred and love, with the hatred aspect being quite grand, running through the theme “hatred leads nowhere” and a heroic protagonist group. What left a deeper impression on me was actually the love between the law enforcement robot and his wife, and between Gesicht and Helena at the beginning. For them, simply choosing to remember was already the most difficult and great choice.
- Spy x Family Season 2, Anya is the best!
TV Series
- Prison Playbook, a work by the same director as “Reply 1988”, which I chose for after-dinner relaxation. It’s funny while maintaining its style. Although it’s a male-led script, the presentation is a group portrait that I really like. Many of the supporting characters, even with limited screen time, leave a deep impression. Another aspect I appreciate is that the series doesn’t deliberately beautify human nature, like the drug addict who immediately returns to drugs after being released. It also doesn’t pursue perfection, such as the male lead not winning his first comeback match. It’s more about showcasing the diversity and growth of people.
Music
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