Baby steps

Baby steps

It’s all about baby steps

I still remember these words from

my grade 8-9 basketball coach

1% better every day


1% better every day

Don’t worry about being a millionaire overnight


Rome wasn’t built in one day


Different circumstances



Children lived in mansions which houses up to 14 kids

The school where they took classes looked more like a tiny college

And there was just so much free land and greenery

But the students at MHS all come from underprivileged communities

Which is good and bad








Not everyone is fit for school


Knowledge Gaps

Closing knowledge gaps lead to more insightful discussion

More innovation

Better ideas


and levels the playing field

Education is the cornerstone of today’s society

Information is what we get out of education

But what is truly important is the application of that information

Information is becoming cheaper and cheaper

While excitement for education and ability to connect the dots is becoming more valuable


How do we know anything is real…?

Descartes brings up the question of dreams and reality: how do we know what is truly real?

Do we even know anything?

What if what we perceive as “reality” is simply a dream–and when we supposedly “wake up” from our dreams, we simply wake up into another dream? Inception???

Elon Musk believes we live in a simulation. But I find it ironic that humanity also developed Sims 3. Is that video game just some sort of sick way of the universe designer mocking us?

What about universal power. Who is the designer of this world? Is it the religious orthodox approach of an omni-God? Or is God amoral? Or is he multiple designers? Or was the world simply constructed out of a mix of convenience, chance, and miracle?

I believe reality is real, insofar as we are able to interact with one another. While in a dream, we are unable to conceive the thoughts of other people, nevertheless interact with them. In reality, we are. The fact that I am able to question my own reality, while also conveying that to other people who may have that exact same question, refutes the concept that I am living a dream. Or else we are all somehow living the same dream?

Life could be a simulation. But insofar as we are able to have free will, we are thus not in a simulation. To accept that life is a simulation would have to refute humanity’s ability to have freedom and free will. You can only choose one, and I choose the fact that I have free will.

And what about religion and deities?

I believe that the universe does not have an omnipotent-omniscient-omnibenevolent God in the traditional sense. I believe the designer of our universe is either amoral OR is benevolent but NOT omnipotent. If he were, however, omnipotent & omnibenevolent, then there are too many contradictions. Evil exists in our world, insofar as humanity knows. Thus, God is either not omnibenevolent, because he created evil, OR he is not omnipotent because he does not have the power to remove the evil in this world. And God cannot be comprehended as omniscient because only another omniscient being can say another is all-knowing–knowledge proceeds. I suppose the real question here is how does religion play into all of this, and whether or not this amoral God is worth worshipping?

The only way I know how to live life is as an agnostic in every sense of the word. I must remain skeptical about all of life’s questions, thus, I can remain curious and continue to seek knowledge in this finitely infinite universe.



Diversity leads to greater ideas

Diversity leads to greater ideas

It leads to collaboration among people with different cultural and life backgrounds, allowing better perspectives when tackling certain problems

But the issue is that humans are inherently afraid of diversity

We would rather talk to and spend time with people who are like us

Diversity leads to more conflict because it inherently means discussion with people who have different views than you

But this conflict, again, can lead to more intellectual debate, and help us avoid groupthink or conformist behaviors.

The key here is to understand that diversity is not easy. It does often have tension. Don’t resist it. Don’t challenge it.

Embrace the conflict. Embrace the dialogue.

If every member of the group understands that this conflict is not malignant, and is in fact due to a common desire for achievement, then we can all better embrace diversity and conflict caused by it. (See Ray Dalio’s “Principles” book where he discusses how he built a multi-billion dollar hedge fund based on diversity and embracing conflict and radical transparency)

Although we may fear being in a group where everyone is different, understand that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, diversity is essential for this globalizing world if we wish to challenge the Earth’s biggest issues.

The powerful benefits of diversity should be stronger than your fear of talking to someone who is ethnically and superficially different from you.


Knowledge is power

How much do you value education? Books? The internet?

And how much do you value your knowledge?

Knowledge is power. It’s an overused aphorism that remains true.

The 21st century saw the world enter into the digital information age, propelled forward by the internet, the smart phone, and soon, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Those with access to this overload of information should be utilizing it as much as possible. Obtaining knowledge left and right.

IN a world where everyone is trying to connect the dots, sometimes it’s instead the time to collect some dots.


The paradox of the information age is that now more then ever, if you have access to the internet, it is quite possible to become self-taught at anything you wish. Knowledge is readily available. But the paradox is that now more then ever we see people have become infatuated with certification.

Someone needs to approve of our skill. A college degree. A recommendation letter. A diploma. A certificate of some sort. A medal to show achievement.

The issue with this paradox is that we often fall into this rut of only completing tasks wherein we can be recognized for.

Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is almost frowned upon by some people. The initiative for self-knowledge is lacking.

In a world where knowledge is so readily available, let’s take advantage of it. Share information. Spread knowledge. Education is important not only for the sake of graduating, but also for the sake of producing educated people. Let’s not forget to learn for the sake of learning.

Good luck to everyone during finals season!

Knowledge Gaps

What makes a person more qualified or capable of doing something than the next person?

Usually it’s because of a knowledge gap.

The role of a professor is to close that knowledge gap. The role of a student is to apply that knowledge and further their own skill. The role of a university is to connect knowledgeable people with passionate students.

If I told you how simple the method of some of the magic tricks I performed, you’d be much less impressed by the magic.


Because I’ve closed that knowledge gap.

A huge part of why magic seems magical, or impossible, is because us magicians are fully aware of this knowledge gap.

Knowledge is power. 

In academia.

In life.

In magic.

In the spirit of closing knowledge gaps, I sometimes do reveal the simplest tricks to spectators to explain why knowledge is so powerful. How in one instance, a trick seems impossible. And in showing the spectator again and giving them the knowledge of the trick, which I can explain in two sentences, the magic isn’t as magical, but instead, it becomes something both the spectator and I can enjoy. In reality, knowledge IS magic. Knowledge connects us and created a bridge from performer to spectator.

Knowledge and education is one of the most important things in my life right now. How can I close these knowledge gaps I have with the people I admire most? Books. Lectures. Application. 

Let’s close these knowledge gaps and start sharing the magic.