#27 The World Doesn't Change Without Your Proper Farewell

Hello my friend! ??

Last week, I was too busy with my work and personal projects to update my newsletter. This week was equally hectic, but over the weekend I was jolted by two pieces of news. First, former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang unexpectedly passed away at the age of 68 due to heart disease. The next day, Matthew Perry, the actor best known for his role in “Friends,” also died unexpectedly by drowning at home, at just 54 years old.

The latter hit me a bit harder. “Friends” was a show I repeatedly watched throughout my university years and early career. Looking back, it represented a certain phase of my life—full of aspirations for the future, cherishing meaningful moments, and resolving setbacks with a hug from a friend.

Matthew Perry’s passing feels like a symbol that this cherished era is waving goodbye. But it also serves as a poignant reminder that the schedules and tasks we hold dear can be disrupted by unforeseen events in an instant. Be it an unexpected cardiac arrest or a few gulps of water while swimming, life can be cut short.

I’ve come to realize that in the pursuit of my goals, I’ve often been more focused on the exhilarating sense of completion rather than on meeting specific metrics. From this perspective, I find myself quite happy. If whatever I’m working on were to stop abruptly without a proper farewell, it would probably be okay.

However, news of these unexpected deaths do remind us to not only pay attention to our health but also to reevaluate our priorities. Those tasks we obsess over, thinking that not completing them would mean the end of the world—what would happen if they were to stop suddenly due to some unforeseen event? Perhaps the world wouldn’t change much. Shouldn’t we then reconsider the true significance of these tasks?

Here’re a few things I’d like to share with you today ??

• My Top Three AI Tools in Regular Use
• Book review: UNIX: A History and a Memoir
• Doodles vs. AI: The Unique Human Touch in Sketching
• Dad Man Walking

My Top Three AI Tools in Regular Use

I started genuinely using AI-native tools about three months after being bombarded by various AI since February, primarily relying on ChatGPT, Notion AI, and MidJourney. Here’s what I’ve observed so far:

1. ChatGPT significantly boosts productivity.?It has saved me around 50% of my communication time. For modern knowledge workers, a substantial portion of communication is asynchronous, and ChatGPT has been a huge help in this aspect.
2. More importantly, it creates more opportunities for communication.?I now initiate communication on matters I would have ignored in the past due to time, attention, or energy constraints. This has, in turn, enhanced my competitiveness in the industry.
3. Regarding the integration of design and AI,?I currently use ChatGPT for Research and Ideation with effective results. Although I don’t have exact data, my efficiency in corresponding tasks has undoubtedly improved (leaving me with some extra free time).
4. For personal projects, AI offers noticeable value.?I’ve been producing bilingual content, but time and energy constraints previously limited my output. Now, I can practically make all my creative works bilingual (I’m still figuring out the best techniques for this).
5. After evaluating, ChatGPT Plus offers the best value for money,?while NotionAI is merely convenient (especially for quick translations). I’ve already discontinued NotionAI (saving $10 per month). Meanwhile, MidJourney doesn’t currently enhance my productivity; it’s more of a toy but worth keeping at a basic account for $10/month.

In the AI era, I feel there should be more emphasis on hands-on design and creative work.

Book review: UNIX: A History and a Memoir

?Finally, I finished reading “UNIX: A History and a Memoir”, marking another peak in the technology-related books I’ve read this year. The author, one of the founding fathers of UNIX and a veteran staff member of Bell Labs, collaborated with Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and others to create the first version of the UNIX operating system. They not only popularized this system but also conceived the C language, essential for rewriting system kernels.

This book not only delineates the framework and unique features of UNIX and explains why it is user-friendly and popular, but also shares tidbits about its invention. As a non-programmer, I find these insights fascinating.

The atmosphere at Bell Labs reminds me of the academic ambiance depicted in the TV series “The Big Bang Theory”. There, a group of geeks gather without the constraints of traditional academia, freely exploring fields they are passionate about.

What’s astonishing is that the first version of UNIX was completed solely by Ken Thompson during a three-week vacation when his wife took their children to visit their grandparents. This story resonates with the experience of Linus Torvalds, who crafted the Linux operating system alone in his dormitory decades later. These tech enthusiasts were not only proficient in coding and playing chess but also piloted planes, with Thompson even flying a Soviet-made MiG fighter jet at one point.

During the era when UNIX was founded, Bell Labs was a stable entity amidst turbulent times, equipped with abundant resources, genius minds, and an academic environment where “almost anything goes”. Does a conducive environment necessarily birth high-quality systems? Not really. The subsequent development of UNIX indeed relied on collective efforts and contributions from the broader community.

Another reflection is on the significant role individuals can play in the software industry. Thompson almost single-handedly created UNIX, Ritchie conceived the C language essentially alone, and Google was established by merely two individuals. These instances demonstrate the tremendous value one or two individuals can generate, perhaps making this one of the greatest fortunes of living in this era.

Doodles vs. AI: The Unique Human Touch in Sketching

Currently, most of the AI tools enable you to pop in a basic idea, and it churns out a detailed result. Like, type some text, get a video. Sketch something rough, get a detailed image. But the reverse? Not so common. Ever wondered why?

We began our journey with art in dimly lit caves, sketching with simple strokes from the flickering light of a fire thousands of years ago. Humans can instantly grasp the meaning behind a basic doodle and fill in the gaps with our rich imagination. Machines, especially AIs, can’t quite tap into that. If you dive into how these text-to-image tools work, it’s more like watching a chemical reaction — transforming noise to an image. It’s less of a genuine creative process and more of a formulaic one.

Turns out, turning detailed stuff into basic sketches isn’t easy for AI. Those simple doodles we draw? They’re not as “simple” as we think. It’s a human gift to simplify complex things into symbols everyone gets. It’s our imagination at work. And right now, machines can’t quite nail that.

So if you can doodle or sketch, keep at it! That’s one skill that sets us apart from machines… for now at least! ??

Dad Man Walking

Reading this book, “Dad Man Walking” by Toby Morris

I just finished reading a picture book by New Zealand artist Toby Morris titled “Dad Man Walking” - such a coincidence, I used to call myself a “Walking Dead(Dad)” ?? In short, this book humorously chronicles snippets from the life of a father.

I’m genuinely fond of this style of illustrated books. Each page narrates a brief moment in the life of a parent(dad), which I found particularly resonant.

A few scenes deeply resonated with me: for instance, the way the daughter sleeps in her bed, surrounded by toys in a topsy-turvy manner. Or the transition from active to exhaustion during lockdown – a total reflection of my own experience. What touched me the most are those tiny, beautiful moments in life; picnics by the beach as a family, or a few words from your kids that you will remember for the rest of your life. These fleeting moments, if captured, become cherished memories.

Have a great one and see you soon!

Bear Academy Newsletter@2023

Bear Academy Newsletter

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???Bear Who?

Hi there ??, I’m Bear, a seasoned Product Designer with 15 years of overall design experience and six years in product design, transforming the user experiences for millions ??

As an Apple Award-Winning Podcast Host at BearTalk and a Design Mentor at Springboard and CareerFoundry, I apply my self-taught design skills and science background to solve complicated problems and mentor budding designers ??

In my downtime, you’ll find me reading, drawing, podcasting, and making videos about everything from tech to design and productivity ????

???Work

• ???What I do：Product Designer at Xero
• ???I also do：Design Mentor at Springboard and CareerFoundry / Founder at Bear Academy
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