Mandarin update 1

 mandarintemple has a handy list of characters. Easy to review the confusing or similar looking ones. I have been watching some youtube videos like this from Mumu Chinese. Watching it on repeat along with reading the Compact Mandarin dictionary is making me retain some words. The video I listen to highlights the word in a different color. But along with it, I am now able to focus on the words that are not highlighted too. Bonus if the previous highlighted word appears again in a new sentence later.

For example, here 转弯 (Zhuǎn wān - turning) is highlighted but I recognise 前面 - Qián miàn - ahead from mandarintemple.com hsk-1.

This is one of the first Chinese language videos that made me believe that I could learn Chinese, while learning Japanese and probably that it is easier, contrary to popular belief, probably because of the simpleer sentence structure and no conjugation kind of changes.

Riverside Code At Qingming Festival from the 3D view of a painting.

Astra zeneca - 阿斯利康 - Ā sī lìkāng 

I can see how the sounds get translated like that.

Korean update

y goes with an extra sign

Japanese update -1

 Yesterday in a video I learned 始 is part of hajime yesterday, you can imagine my surprise when I found 初めて as hajimete in example 9 (here again the win is being able to read so many sentences and comprehend.. not all of it.. but not feeling bogged down and topping. The sentence structure is simpler too). I was trying to understand toki (special) and came across that page.

kanji-distinctions of
始 vs 初

I feel like I have reached a stage where I learned a kanji, remembered it, recalled it and was able to engage more with it.

Multi language

도서관 입구에서 만나요

doseogwan ibgueseo mannayo

Meet me at the library entrance

図書館の入り口で会いましょう

Toshokan no iriguchi de aimashō

在图书馆入口处见我

Zài túshū guǎn rùkǒu chù jiàn wǒ

Foreign Languages helping out

 1.  I saw a post on Japan's economy in English. In the same format I saw it another language. fishy or not.

2.  Sometimes some isms or sentiments are well taken in the language that they are related to.

3.  I watched Jiro dreams of Sushi after a long time. I was able to recognise some words like work, vacation and so on. I wanted a good definition of shokunin. Found it in Thai

4. Long ago, when I saw this question of which button of an air conditioner, to press on a certain weather day, I dont think I figured I could learn to read it. 

5. second language is supposed to make your thinking logical. If you are getting anxious in your first language, then you know what to do now.

Practicing

1. If you know some material that you are training on, you can use another language that you understand some, to increase your comprehension

2. multi language Surveys 

3. These days so many electronic products, health documents come in many languages.

Japanese Language study material

 Japanese Language study material

JLPT study plan

Derobotization

Initially demographic decline will be countered with lots of robots. May be there will be a cap (demand side be - to match what the need would be based on the 2.1 fertility ratio, the reason for the yearly cadence or it could be done daily as it is currently based on the number of births and deaths. What would be the reasons for front loading? Is there a concept of overcrowdedness? other than perception of people. How will the infrastructure change? Is there a need for commute if the software can be wirelessly transferred. Communication vs intelligence. Do you need regular maintenace check if there is a monitor all the time.) on how many robots can be released into action (this could be supply constrained). Maybe some credits that let you increase more. You then keep on working at how to make more productive robots so that you can get the work done with fewer. There could be buyers for the outdated ones keeping the count lower than the allowed limit.

How resilient are these. When do some of the problems stop mattering. eg a forest fire resistant robot. Ofcourse, it makes the area off limits for humans. Every human life gets more precious.

Imagine a vending machine with drone capabilities like the kitchen mix stand.

Then people wont wish for pandemic or plague for population control.

Its history somewhere in the world, if you have a hankering for the past.

glutinous constraints

space

 Internal spacex documents show the sweet stock deals offered to investors like a16z gigafund

spacex will be better 1 trln bet than tesla 2024

ishares bitcoin trust etf worth the gamble..

Korean

 particles

Sejong Korean book series

way too much abbreviation

I had fun watching parts of this Springtime movie. I kept looking up the words in Google translate. Recognised more of the Korean letters on traffic signs. The sounds seem different from what I hear or expect from the Romaji. It is a differnt experience to deeply take in foreign words like this. slow but effective.

words for pharmacy, necklace

While watching this movie, I was reminded of a nytimes video on WhatJapan teaches its kids.

The Chemical History of a Candle

 

The Chemical History of a Candle inspired Nobel laureate Akira Yoshino.

Is there some capillary action at work in this lighting of the Christmas tree. I see the strings connecting them.

It is hard to understand the original book without the demonstration, good that there are videos and a companion modern book.

That one thing

 

 "All great events hang by a single thread. The clever man takes advantage of everything and neglects nothing that may give him some added opportunity. The less clever man, by neglecting one thing, sometimes misses everything." - Napolean

Totally agree about this. So many times, one more try and things work.

Also echoed in

"The most important ingredient is the one that's left out." - Sean Feeney

 

Inevitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles

Jim Farley on a decade ago China bet on EV

Building out supply chain by Bob Gaylen

Northvolt missteps

Musk on BYD

Wang Chuanfu

Stella Li

Learning language as a kid

9yo is learining Hindi this weekend feverishly. She learns Telugu every week. She compared the two and asked this question about skipped ah sound at the end of a word in Hindi.

Language acquisition is similar as an adult or a child

 

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Physical & Cognitive abilities of humans

AI - connectivity and Updatability

Infotech with biotech

I saw a video of an FSD waiting on the side, with an emergency vehicle going on the other side, the traffic light changung to green didnt inspire it. How many times have you seen a green turn arrow and the sudden release and assertion of the brakes from those on the straight path, still waiting to turn green.

At an intersection with the light changing to yellow, I slowed to a stop while the driverless car zoomed ahead, changed lanes and entered a parking lot on the right. It must have been on a higher speed and knows precisely where it will be, given the time and speed data it knows.

During driving, so many assumptions are made. When contradicting assumptions are made, then things don't end well. 

In transport and healthcare, human lives are at higher stake than the jobs themselves.

Case by case basis

With each new technology, lot of communication is necessary to ensure that all the involved know the right way of using the application. While AI won't have this issue due to its connectivity and updatibility, the downside is when the conclusion is wrong or when different conclusions need to be reached based on a case by case basis. The "It depends" case. Inflexibility of AI is one of the reasons of resistance to AI that covers the case of unexpected outputs. We need a case of "go reflect on your actions" or a safeguard before reaching the conclusions.

worst of both worlds - high unemployment and shortage of skilled labor.

AI and humanity when we let AI make decisions and are better understood by them. Our mentors and guides are smarter than us. How are we not manipulated by them? 

Silk Road

 The Real Impact of the Silk Road

recurved bow

socketed arrowhead

military discipline for

cavalry 

the stirrup at 32:39 of the above video - stirrup technology

Reconfiguring the Silk Road

Wagon technology

Yamnaya culture

guest-host institution

World History Cultures States and Society till 1500

domestication of grain

domestication of animals through selective breeding

State of the art

 Elon's 5 step

Latin Grammar

“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.” - John Adams

Chinese in VLSI

部分 - bùfèn - portion, part

全面 - quánmiàn - comprehensive 

系统 - xìtǒng - system

HSK1 Standard Course

Compact Mandarin Chinese dictionary