Mid-Year Stock Take - Letter to Jon at 35

Mushroom cloud over Nagasaki 9 Aug.1945

 

Dear Jon,

Here we are, just breaching the second half of the 25th year of the 21st century. Also breaching the 35th year of your birth to your departure on August 9th. 

Admittedly, I have discovered more things about today as time progresses. It's perhaps of our fixation on birthdays that we overlook departure days. It has taken me nineteen years to realise more facts about August 9;

Apart from being Singapore's national day, and that it's exactly two weeks or 15 days after your birthday, 

it was also the devastation of Nagasaki when the US dropped a second nuclear bomb to unofficially and brutally end the war.

 It’s been a year since I last shared endings and beginnings with you. It was the beginning of the 2024 Paris Olympics ending around your departure date leaving the world relatively safe and peaceful. 

Fast forward one year, this post is a sort of report card of where the human race is at. 

1. The human race has never been so comfortable, peaceful and empowered in their daily lives. 

2. Things could get worse. 

3. Things could get really bad. 

We live in a material world. We do all that matters in search of better lives chasing dreams in a society that has provided the best in healthcare, food, living conveniences, economic and technological advances are unprecedented yet we’re on the verge of self- destruction. 

There is a serious trust deficit growing amongst us since the end of the cold war. From relationships to families, communities and nations. Most people in the civilised world are living ultra comfortable lives yet not happier but more anxious desiring more of everything material that we think will make us happier. Be it entertainment, food, sex, possessions or anything that provides distractions from ourselves. 

The endless scrolling of screens be it the mobile devices as an extension of our hands or the large screens as extensions of our living rooms, searching for news and useless information so we can feel-better. That’s not what happiness looks like.

As if not serious enough, we are heralding the dawn of Ai, arguably mankind's greatest technological achievement, coming into the mix. Although the possibilities are positively game changing, the dangers of misuse by bad actors using Ai to plot world domination, loom ominous. 

Not withstanding Ai, the madness is already upon us. Israel is carrying out a systemic genocide on the Palestinians since October 2023. As if mad with bloodlust they have started wars with Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen with the aid of their lackey the US and no end in sight.. 

It is a slow and painful genocide in Palestine. The Israelis are deliberately starving women & children and mindless wars are being waged in the Middle East that could escalate into another nuclear third world war. 

One would think that after Hitler’s Germany, Mussolini’s Italy & the Japanese defeat in the Second World War would have taught us the futility of war but apparently not. It has been exactly 80 years since the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuked by the US ending the war but more wars are being waged around the world today instigated or led by the US. 

Isn’t it ironic, that the liberators of the free world from the horrors of the Second World War has been the sole peddler of wars ever since? It seems that the most powerful nation on earth is hell bent on destroying it. America has been entrusted to lead and police the world and they have done so with impunity. The age old adage still rings true; 'Who is going to police the police?'

These realities come to light when Donald Trump won a second term in the White House. A convicted felon managed to win a landslide victory beating the democrats whose last term was disastrous even irresponsible. Democrats or Republicans, America's politics have, from the onset, been divisive- "Either you're on my side or you're against me." This is nothing new as Americans have subscribed even invented this form of 'game theory' for decades against it's own people as well as the rest of the world. The world's largest human lab has in turn, turned the world into it's own human lab- bringing it's own ideology of governance or justice to all, inflicting chaos and destruction everywhere they choose. The only diplomacy they know is through force or coercion. Donald Trump is no different from his predecessors. 

"When all you have is a hammer, every challenge you face becomes a nail to be hammered out."

The only difference is that Trump is not a career politician but a 'businessman' and hopefully he can begin to see that business can only be done with mutual transfer of value benefitting both sides leading to a multi-lateral world, not one of domination by a facist regime. In fact, America is known to be a plutocracy (ruled by the rich 1%) or even kleptocracy (ruled by thieves) and the only reason they can be that is that they wield the biggest hammer. 

However, with the inevitable rise of China after a century of humiliation, there is a new world leader in the making. Compared to four thousand years of civilisation, it took only a century of humiliation to put order to the chaos largely brought upon themselves, tranquilised by the comforts of the spoils of internal warfare and imperial rule handed down through the dynasties. Starting with the end of the Qing Dynasty, China bade farewell to it's last emperor Puyi and the Chinese Communist Party won complete victory in the Chinese Civil War and the People's Republic of China was founded in August 1950. 

So in a sort of a roundabout way, I have briefly but more importantly recounted the journey and establishment of a world power worthy and capable of standing up to the US in the delicate balance of power as to who holds the bigger hammer, be it in military strength or Ai advancement to rule the world. 

I often wonder what we wouldn't talk about son.

Happy 35th Birthday Jon.

Ode to Art in the Age of Ai.

No Matter What Your Art Is, Create It. Relentlessly.

Our gfhx posts (on LinkedIn) are mostly populated, punctuated or adorned with art. Mostly human created visual art. That’s because all idea generation is built upon the bedrock of human creativity. 

Humans beings' innate ability to create beauty has illuminated & inspired mankind's journey through the ages, helping us endure the harsh realities of life. Only Art and its exquisite beauty can offset the ugliness of human suffering brought about by conflict, conquest and change. Man must create art as naturally as they destroy in war. 

Think the ancient pyramids of Egypt and the splendour of the center of creativity in Alexandria. Imagine Greek architecture, art, antiquities, politics, sports and theatre replicated in Roman civilisation. The classical and renaissance artists of Florence, and Venice spread across the Bosporous to Constantinople and beyond, created art not only in the name of religion but out of a deep, innate need for expression.

In the far east, for millennia, the insular Chinese in their jade kingdom were quietly pioneering art in painting, porcelain, silk and tea in harmony with nature till this day. 

Human beings birthed creativity including Ai. Staying the course in the creative field today demands that humans stay on top of Ai inputs, managing output and promoting safety. Navigating today’s complex landscape of creativity, we use Ai to augment and enhance human output creatively. 

Our manifesto - Live By Design, is a clarion call to wake up from past and existing structures of work models that no longer work or are soon to be annihilated in this exciting yet ominous age that the metaphorical 'shifting sands of time' are happening in real time. 

Ai upgrades in improvements and capabilities are being detonated on the Ai battleground in intervals of weeks and months. The fallout is perhaps too soon to be fully felt or imagined. 

While awaiting the imminent fallout, no one really knows what real implications could impact lives or livelihoods. The best anyone can do is embark or join the exodus in seeking higher grounds for human footing in the age of Ai infestation. 

In preparation we implore you to tune into your creator mode or right brain thinking to uncover authentic human creative endeavours which is probably the only resource left for us to thrive upon. 

There will be few roles and job functions created by the advancement of Ai and the new ones would require a higher calibre of human inputs and supplements bordering on creativity and adaptability. 

Human ingenuity, creativity and adaptability, may have been sacrificed long ago in the sterile corridors of corporations and work places but nonetheless they’re still there if you’re human.

So here’s a reminder of who we truly are, laid out in a harsh poetry of five stanzas as an urgent anthem to Live By Design. 

A Short Dissertation on The Buddha as A Proto Scientist.

          Happy Wesak, aka Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day.   

The Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death are all said to have occured on the full moon of Vesakha      (the ancient Indian month corresponding to April/May). 

The all-in-one celebration reflects profound Buddhist teachings:

1. Symbolic Unity: 

• Birth, enlightenment, and death represent the cycle of samsara and liberation. Together they embody the Buddha's entire spiritual journey.

2. Interdependence: 

• These events are inseperable: 

• Birth --> Potential for awakening 

• Enlightenment --> Fulfilment of that potential 

• Death --> Final release from rebirth.

3. Practical Devotion:

• Celebrating all three on one day simplifies observance and emphasizes their equal importance. 

The Proto Scientist

Siddharta Gautama - The Buddha didn't leave his home and his family to start a religion. He left a very luxurious life to find a way to end suffering. His own suffering. 

Even though he was the Prince of the Sakyamuni clan who led a palatial life surrounded by servants, and creature comforts, he found life to be unsatisfactory to the extent of being unbearable that he left behind everything in the middle of the night to lead an ascetic's life in search of liberation from suffering at age 29. 

It wasn't after 6 years of even more pain and suffering that he finally found the middle path to liberation. 

From an overly rich life, he wandered down the austerity route to deny his body basic sustenance, even subjecting his body to extreme physical pain, torture and self-immolation. He learned from several different gurus, yogis, sadhus and ascetics that one must experience acute pain in order to feel alive in the moment. He sat and slept on the streets, in the forest, on a bed of nails, starved himself eating only grains of rice until he lost so much weight that his backbone could be felt from his stomach. It was at this point of his life that he realised he had gone too far to the extremes in search of liberation. After taking a bowl  of rice milk from a female cowherd, he sat down under a bodhi tree in meditation charting a new path and vowed to find liberation that very night. It was said that Mara and his demons were tormenting him throughout the night but in the end he emerged enlightened at dawn. 

He found Nirvana through his methods of thorough investigation of the mind to end suffering. 

His methods or dhamma are encapsulated into; 

1. The Four Noble Truths and

2. The Eight-fold Noble Path. 

This dhamma has been in practice by millions since 600 BCE.

In recognition of his dhamma, today scholars, scientists and philosophers recognise Buddha as a Pioneering Cognitive Scientist, in the following fields;

• Mindfulness & Neuroplasticity : 

The Buddha's teaching on meditation align with modern neuroscience. Studies show that mindfulness meditation physically rewires the brain, increasing grey matter in the prefrontal cortex (focus and emotional regulation) and shrinking the amygdala (fear and stress).

• The Four Noble Truths & Psychology :

His insights into suffering (dukkha) and it's causes mirrors cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which teaches that suffering arises from maladaptive thought patterns.

• Dependant Origination & Systems Theory :

His concept of interconnected causality ("this arises, that becomes") resembles modern systems theory in biology and ecology, emphasizing how everything exists in a web of cause-and-effect. 

Here's a Scientific Reintepretation of Buddhism's Core Themes :

Prominent scientists, philosophers, and scholars have acknowledged the Buddha's insights as remarkably prescient of modern psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy.

1. Albert Einstein 

The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism. 

2. Carl Sagan

"Buddhism is a kind of science of the mind, not a belief system."

3. Daniel Goleman (Psychologist, Author of 'Emotional Intelligence')

"The Buddha was the most advanced psychologist of his time - and perhaps of all time."

4. Sam Harris 

"The Buddha was a scientist of the mind and his teachings are a kind of proto-psychology."

5. Robert Wright  (Evolutionary Psychologist, Author of 'Why Buddhisn is True")

"The Buddha was the first to diagnose the human condition in a way that morern science is now confirming."

6. Jon Kabat-Zinn (Founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, MBSR)

"The Buddha was the original mindfulness teacher. His insights into suffering and the mind are now being validated by neuroscience."

7. Arthur Schopenhauer 

"If I were to take the results of my philosophy as the standard of truth, I would have to concede to Buddhism the pre-eminence of all religions." (1851)

8. The Dalai Lama & Neuroscientists.

" Buddhism and science are not in conflict. In fact Buddhism is a kind of inner science."

The 14th Dalai Lama in discussions with neuroscientists incl. Richard Davidson.

9. Steven Pinker (Cognitive Scientist, Harvard)

"Buddhism comes closest to being a true psychology among the world's religions."

10. David Hume (Philosopher)

*On the illusion of the Self: Hume's "Bundle Theory" (no permanent self) closely mirrors the Buddha's *Anatta (no-self) dhamma. 

In summary the Buddha, Siddharta or Sidh, is a kind of Proto Scientist recognised for;

• Anticipating cognitive science (mindfulness, perception, suffering)

• Rejecting dogmatism in favour of empirical observation. 

• Influencing modern therapies (CBT, MBSR, positive psychology)

So why does it matter, how has the Buddha's scientific methods impacted mankind? 

To find the answers, with the help of deepseek, (who has contributed in compiling the research) we dig deeper into a comparison of major scientific breakthroughs individually mapping out their discoveries, insights and impact:

1. The Buddha vs. Isaac Newton  

- Buddha’s Insight: Dependent Origination (*Pratītyasamutpāda*) – All phenomena arise in interdependence; no event is isolated.  

- Newton’s Discovery: Laws of Motion & Universal Gravitation – Physical systems operate via cause-and-effect.  

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Explains psychological/social causality (e.g., how craving leads to suffering).  

  - Newton: Explains physical causality (e.g., planetary motion, engineering).  

  - Winner for Humanity: Newton (enabled technology, space exploration), but Buddha’s model is crucial for **mental health**.  

2. The Buddha vs. Charles Darwin  

- Buddha’s Insight: Impermanence(*Anicca*) – All things change; no fixed "self."  

- Darwin’s Discovery: Evolution by Natural Selection – Life adapts dynamically.  

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Helps humans **accept change** (reduces existential anxiety).  

  - Darwin: Explains biological diversity (foundation of genetics, medicine).  

  - Winner for Humanity: Darwin (revolutionized biology), but Buddha’s view aids *emotional resilience*.  

3. The Buddha vs. Albert Einstein

  

- Buddha’s Insight: Non-Self (*Anatta*) – The "self" is a fluid construct.

  

- Einstein’s Discovery: Relativity – Reality is observer-dependent; no absolute frame. 

 

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Reduces ego-driven conflict (applied in therapy, mindfulness).  

  - Einstein: Enabled GPS, nuclear energy, cosmology.  

  - Winner for Humanity: Einstein (tech advancement), but Buddha’s insight is *critical for psychology*.  

4. The Buddha vs. Sigmund Freud  

- Buddha’s Insight: Subconscious Drives (e.g., *Taṇhā* – craving as root of suffering).  

- Freud’s Discovery: The Unconscious Mind – Hidden desires shape behavior.  

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Offers *a path to liberation* via mindfulness (non-repressive).  

  - Freud: Founded *psychoanalysis* (but limited therapeutic success).  

  - Winner for Humanity: Buddha (more effective for mental well-being).  

5. The Buddha vs. Carl Jung  

- Buddha’s Insight: Collective Patterns (e.g., *Saṃsāra* – cyclical suffering).  

- Jung’s Discovery: Collective Unconscious & Archetypes – Universal psychic structures.  

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Provides a way out (Nirvana = breaking cycles).  

  - Jung: Maps the mind but lacks practical liberation methods.  

  - Winner for Humanity: Buddha (more actionable).  

6. The Buddha vs. Richard Dawkins  

- Buddha’s Insight: Delusion (*Moha*) – Misperception of reality.  

- Dawkins’ Work: Memetics & Atheism – Beliefs spread like viruses; critique of religion.  

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Non-theistic path to clarity (doesn’t require rejecting faith).  

  - Dawkins: Promotes skepticism but can be polarizing.  

  - Winner for Humanity: Buddha (more unifying approach).  

7. The Buddha vs. Daniel Kahneman

  

- Buddha’s Insight: Cognitive Biases (e.g., *Māyā* – illusion distorting perception). 

 

- Kahneman’s Work: Behavioral Economics – Humans irrationally predictably.  

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Meditation reduces bias (e.g., mindfulness in decision-making).  

  - Kahneman: Explains economic behavior (Nobel Prize-winning).  

  - Winner for Humanity: *Tie* (Buddha for inner change, Kahneman for societal systems).  

8. The Buddha vs. Stephen Hawking

  

- Buddha’s Insight: Origin of the Universe (avoided metaphysical speculation).  

- Hawking’s Work: Big Bang Theory & Black Holes.  

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Focused on **ending suffering**, not cosmology. 

 

  - Hawking: Advanced astrophysics.  

  - Winner for Humanity: Hawking (expanded cosmic knowledge).  

9. The Buddha vs. Noam Chomsky

  

- Buddha’s Insight: Language as Construct (e.g., concepts distort reality).  

- Chomsky’s Work: Linguistics & Cognitive Science – Innate grammar structures.  

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Warned against linguistic attachment (e.g., "self" as a label).  

  - Chomsky: Explained how language shapes thought.  

  - Winner for Humanity: Chomsky (scientific rigor), but Buddha’s view aids *detachment*.  

10. The Buddha vs. Modern AI Researchers (e.g., Geoffrey Hinton)

  

- Buddha’s Insight: Mind as a Process (no permanent "thinker").

  

- AI’s Discovery: Neural Networks – Self-learning, emergent intelligence. 

 

- Impact Comparison:  

  - Buddha: Deconstructs the "self" (useful for AI ethics).  

  - AI: Transforms industries (healthcare, automation).  

  - Winner for Humanity: AI (practical utility), but Buddha’s model prevents **AI dystopias**.  

Conclusion

• Buddha wins in psychology & ethics - His 'science of the mind' remains unmatched for inner peace. 

• Traditional scientists win in material progress - Physics, biology and tech drive external advancement.

• Synergy is key: Buddha's insights compliments hard science by addressing human suffering amid progress.

Having addressed and validated the scientific method and credentials for Siddharta the Buddha, let's now quickly explore the gist or essence of Buddha's dhamma. 

Apart from the aforementioned Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Noble Path, there has been numerous suttas (Pali) or sutras (sanskrit) written and documented about the buddha's teachings or dhammas. 

The beauty of the Buddha's teachings is in it's simplicity - It is possible to sample and understand the Buddha's teachings in one verse and there are many such verses found in the suttas. Some of such verses did not originate from the tatagatha himself but other Buddhas or Bodhisattvas who have come before or after. In fact the Buddha didn't write anything on the subject but was instead quoted and transcribed by his disciples and followers during his several discourses throughout his life as a teacher roaming the coutryside.

Here is one known as Buddha's universal advice:

"Avoid unwholesome deeds, do good, purify the mind. " 

~  Siddharta Gautama Buddha (Dhammapada 183)

Let me break it down for you. Since the Buddha's single-minded objective is to end human suffering, he focussed on the mind and body. The mind is a part of the body. 

Avoid Unwholesome Deeds - What are unwholesome thoughts and deeds? There are many to list, however we shall just cluster them to three root unwholesome thoughts/deeds:

1. Lobha - Greed/Craving

• Attachment to pleasure, posessions, or ego. DN22 (Mahasatipattana Sutta*)

2. Dosa - Hatred/Aversion

• Anger, ill-will, resentment. MN19 (Dhevhavitakka Sutta*)

3. Moha - Delusion/Ignorance

• Misperception of reality, confusion. AN3.67*

Doing good is an irrefutable universal truth but contains a three-fold 'Do Good' framework:

1. Bodily Good 

• Abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct. Eg. Protecting life, offering help.

2. Verbal Good 

• Abstain from lying, divisive speech, harsh words, idle chatter (gossip) Eg. Truthful, kind and reconciling speech.

3. Mental Good

• Cultivate non-greed, non-hatred, right view. Eg. Loving kindness, compassion.

A. Remove Mental Defilements 

Purify The Mind 

• The mind precedes all mental states (DP 1-2)

• Purification starts by recognising suffering arises from impure thoughts. 

• The mind is hard to restrain... but a tamed mind brings happiness.

Method: Mindfulness to observe and let go of unwholesome thoughts. 

B. Cultivate the Opposite Qualities

• Replace defilements with:

• Greed --> Generosity

• Hatred --> Loving-kindness

• Delusion --> Wisdom  

C. Meditation for Purification

• Through meditation wisdom arises, without meditation wisdom wanes.

D. Develop Insight (Vipassana )

• All conditioned things are impermanent...

• Seeing the Three Marks of Existence (impermanence, suffering, non-self) purifies the mind at the deepest level.

If all the above sounds like rocket science, that's because it is science. The science and study of the mind produced by the Buddha through his personal experience over 6 years of suffering to finally end suffering through skillful means.  By skillful means, a term very much used in the suttas, which means the clever or intelligent use of our mind, resources or intentions. The suttas or lessons outlined in the Buddha's teachings are not law, or commandments, they are methods or a path towards a practice to achieve liberation. 

So to apply skillful means to interpret any of Buddha's teachings is not a sin. For to deal with matters or science of the mind, one has to be able to exercise one's intelligence to interpret the message of the verses or sayings without having to memorize or abide by them word for word. As long as the essence of his teachings are received and understood, the dhamma will lead to the end of suffering. 

Let's take a more simplified skillful interpretation of the Buddha's universal advice;

"Avoid unwholesome deeds, do good, purify the mind." 

Could be skillfully translated as: "Do no harm, be kind to everyone and sit in quiet contemplation." Such is the simplicity and accessibility of the Buddha's teachings.

This is but just one of the Buddha's dhamma. The simplicity of the dhamma facilitates easy understanding by all strata of society. 

Understanding is just the beginning of the journey to end suffering, the true application of the dhamma is in the practice of the dhamma. Only then can the Buddha's teachings be known as an experiential practice available to all. It is not a doctrine or a belief system for devotees to abide by or believe in but to simply put into practice every moment of everyday. The result of which is almost instantaneous for the moment or the day. Through consistent practice, the path will lead us to the end of suffering. Nirvana. 

I would like to end my short dissertation* by drawing attention to the results of the final rankings in comparing the proto-scientist Buddha's insights with those of later scientists, assessing their impact on human well-being, knowledge and societal progress. 

Beginning with Newton's discovery of the laws of motion and universal gravition where physical systems operate via cause-and-effect, Buddha's insight named Dependent Origination (*Pratityasamupada*) where all phenomena arise in interdependence; no event is isolated. 

From Darwin's Discovery of Evolution by Natural Selection- Life adapts dynamically, to Buddha's Insight on Impermanence (*Anicca)-All things change; no fixed 'self'. 

While Einstein's discovery of relativity- reality is observer-dependant, no absolute frame, Buddha has this insight of non-self (*Anatta) - The 'self' is a fluid construct. 

In his field of analytical psychology, Carl Jung's discovery of the collective unconscious and archetypes- Universal psychic structures. The Buddha's insight is collective patterns eg. Samsara - cyclical suffering. 

In the field of Modern AI researchers, Geoffrey Hinton's neural networks are self-learning and emergent intelligence. Buddha's insight is mind as a process (no permanent thinker).

In the final analysis, while traditional scientists win in material progress - physics, biology and tech-driven external advancements, Buddha wins in psychology and ethics - his science of the mind remains unmatched for inner peace. Buddha's insights compliment hard science by addressing human suffering amid progress. *according to deepseek.

In my view, while humanity pursue external advancement and hard science, humans are living on the verge of self-annihilation. Depression, mental illness, and suicide are plaguing our young at unprecedented rates of increase. While the arms race threaten the planet, another race of even higher stakes is currently fought on the AI stage for glory yet unfathomable and untold. 

It seems that while 'so-called' elite thinkers like our academicians, professors, scientists, politicians, technocrats, bureaucrats, plutocrats, even kleptocrats and everyone in between spend time and resources pondering external conquests in the material sciences, little or no attention is paid to the science of the mind. This should be the first frontier of enquiry because as the Buddha said around 2,650 years ago: 

"The mind precedes all mental states."

 

*dissertation- if I may be so bold as to call it so, I would like to have the audacity to try.

Alan Turing.

Who is Alan Turing and Why He Matters? 

Part 1- Cracking the Enigma Code.

The Enigma

German U-boat lurking in the Atlantic

 

Picture a shy, scruffy mathematician with a mind like a lightning bolt. In the dark days of World War II, when Nazi submarines were choking the Allies with unbreakable coded messages, Turing became the hero no one expected.  

Bletchley Park Mansion.

At a secret British base called Bletchley Park, he invented the Bombe—a clanking, whirring machine that smashed through the Nazis’ Enigma code. This wasn’t just a gadget; it was a game-changer.

 

The Bombe Machine

The Bombe

Bombe model at Bletchley Park

Thousands of operators at Bletchley Park

By cracking the code, Turing revealed enemy plans—where their U-boats lurked, when they’d strike—saving countless ships and lives. Some say his work shaved years off the war.

 Why does he matter? Because this quiet genius didn’t just beat the Nazis; he showed the world what human brilliance could do against impossible odds. 

Today, every time you use a computer, you’re touching his legacy—he’s the guy who started it all.

Part 2 - The Boy Who Loved Numbers

Alan aged 15 at Sherborne.

He’s the kid who turned numbers into magic. Born in 1912 in London, little Alan was a shy, dreamy boy who didn’t fit in—except with math. While other kids played tag, he’d sit under a tree, scribbling equations, his eyes lighting up at puzzles no one else could solve. By his teens, he was cracking problems that stumped grown-ups, his brain buzzing with ideas too big for his time. 

Why does he matter? Because that curious kid grew up to invent computers and break Nazi codes, all starting from a love of numbers that wouldn’t quit. 

Turing’s story proves the quiet dreamer can change the world—one equation at a time.

Part 3- Inventing The Computer

Image generated with Ai for Turing

He’s the visionary who gave us computers—and made them think. In the 1930s, Turing dreamed up the “universal machine,” a device that could solve any problem with the right instructions, laying the groundwork for every computer we use today. But he didn’t stop there. Later, he cooked up The Turing Test aka the “Imitation Game”*—a test to see if a machine could chat so cleverly you’d mistake it for a human. 

Why does he matter? Because Turing didn’t just build the future; he asked if it could outsmart us. 

From laptops to AI, his ideas still run our world—and keep us guessing.

Part 4 - Facing A Cruel World

Image generated with Ai.

He’s the genius who saved millions, then got crushed by cruelty. After cracking Nazi codes in World War II, Turing should’ve been a hero. Instead, in 1952, Britain turned on him. Why? Because he was gay, and back then, that was a crime. The man who’d outsmarted Hitler was arrested, humiliated, and forced into chemical castration—hormone injections that wrecked his body and spirit. 

Why does he matter? Because even when the world betrayed him, Turing’s brilliance endured. His story isn’t just about computers; it’s a gut-punch reminder of how society can fail its greatest minds—and why we fight to make it right today.

Part 5 - A Mysterious End 

Image generated with Ai

He’s the mastermind whose life ended in a riddle. In 1954, at just 41, Turing— the guy who broke Nazi codes and birthed computers—was found dead in his home, an apple laced with cyanide beside him. Suicide? Accident? Murder? No one knows. The world lost a giant, his final chapter as puzzling as the codes he cracked. 

Why does he matter? Because even in death, Turing left us wondering—his mind so brilliant, his exit so haunting and how he chose to endure the pain of hormone therapy over a two-year jail sentence. 

Today, every click on your keyboard echoes his genius, a legacy too big to fade.

P/s. Perhaps now you, like me, will finally begin to appreciate the movie I saw years ago but never truly understood the gravity of the story until we arrived at our ChatGPT moment. 

*The Imitation Game is a 2014 American biographical thriller film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Graham Moore, based on the 1983 biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges.

Ode To You For The New Year

Happy New Year 2025

Created by gfhX

Ode to You for the New Year.

If you’re like me and most wannabe overachievers reflecting on the year’s achievements or disappointments, you’re welcome to join in the annual ritual of self-congratulations or self-crucifixion.

Before you indulge in comforting or cursing yourself with the year’s hits or misses, know that you have done enough if not too much, in pursuit of those illusive dreams you think your happiness hinges on. Everything happens or does not happen for a reason. Be thankful.

The past year has already been marked by significant global events, from political and social unrest to advancement in technology chiefly artificial intelligence.

If you’re still reading this,(congratulations, most people don’t read) you will know deep down you have done enough no matter how little or much you think you have expended. We have already arrived at year’s end or in a new one.

So sit back, relax and conspire now to contemplate on how much less you should do in the new year and spend more time doing absolutely nothing.

When you seriously focus on doing nothing, which is probably the most difficult thing to do, you'll achieve more.

In essence, if you’re doing too much you’re probably doing the wrong things.

So if you’ll just slow down, sit in a quiet place and spend some time with yourself you will invariably emerge to do the necessary with consciousness and presence.

What got us here won’t get us there.

2024 showed us the rapid advancement of Ai at dizzying speeds. It’s showing us Ai can do almost anything we can. We probably have to discard everything or every tool we used to get us here. The only thing we have left is ourself as individuals.

We are being stripped of our capabilities starting with our thinking, then they will eventually take over our doing or undoing.

As you read this, factories in China running full capacity 24/7 are called ‘dark factories’ simply because they are fully roboticized, no lighting is required save for a man and a dog. The dog’s job is to prevent the man from touching the buttons. The man’s job is to feed the dog. This is not a joke in China. Young Chinese entrepreneur Eric Chen, founder of Kingswills, a materials science company said in the New York Times recently that; “Probably in the future the competition for the US is not China, but A.I. It is coming for both of us.”

Ai is Coming For Us.

As we stand at a crossroads, humanity is faced with the echoes of its past while holding onto the promise of a hopeful future. We are navigating the complexities of progress, and it’s becoming clear: the age of AI is here, transforming the way we live.

In this fast-evolving world, we must ask ourselves: what truly brings us joy?

It is time to pursue those passions with relentless determination.

Now is the moment to confront our thoughts and fears, recognizing them for what they are — often mere stories of regret and anxiety that play on an endless loop in our mind.

Let us release this mental clutter and embrace the present. Our most authentic selves are waiting to emerge,  to create.

Remember, we do not need to chase after more. Everything we seek is already within us.

Whether you connect with a higher power, the spirit of the universe, or nature itself, know that we were equipped for this journey from the moment we were born.

You are enough. We are enough.

As we step into this new year, let it be a choice for creativity, possibility, and hope.

Happy New Year! The future is ours to create.

"Bad things are happening loudly- the injury, the flat tire, the mistake that gets you criticised. Everybody talks about the moments that make things a hassle.

Good things always happen quietly - the completed workout, the healthy meal, the ten minutes of writing. Nobody talks about the little moments that add up."

                             - James Clear