Irving Ruan

Cultivation

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:28:00 -0800

A once great visionary once said:

Technology alone is not enough—it’s technology married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing.

This is perhaps one of the most important points to keep in mind when we engineers—makers of stuff—are designing and building products. If not for ourselves, who else are we creating it for? It’s quite easy for many of us to fall into the trap of worrying about this small technical detail or that really fast algorithm, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it can greatly hinder our ability to see the bigger purpose of the product. This may not be starkly apparent for many engineers, though, surprisingly. In fact, many get caught up with the technicalities. And this becomes a much more grave problem when the product has a direct connection with the customer.

Cultivating passions beyond any discipline of engineering is imperative for understanding what you’re building: by dedicating and immersing yourself in the humanities, which include but are not limited to, philosophy, poetry, art, literature, and music, you will gain a very deep appreciation and awareness of the human condition, in all its glorified and sinful nature. Its flaws, aspirations, fears, dreams—the way we see the world affects the way we would change it.

By gaining a wholehearted understanding of who we are, we can, as a society, create the sublime.

Photo

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:48:54 -0800

What the Hell Happened to You, Google?

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:01:53 -0800

Remember back in the day when everyone was enamored by Google? Its “Don’t Be Evil” mantra was echoed across the Internet, respected and loved by all. That slogan was coined back in 2006. Nonetheless, the slogan’s guiding principles served at the core of its foundation in the early days when it was only Larry, Sergey, and a couple of other engineers.

Now, look at what has happened: Search Plus Your World, the “Don’t Be Evil” bookmarklet, and Page’s “new” direction for the company. Oh, and don’t forget all those creepy and anti-privacy Eric Schmidt has made in the past year or so. You remember those, right?

So, I say this to you, as a former champion of your creed: what the hell happened to you guys? I remember when I first started using your search engine and how awesome it was. I remember when I started using Gmail back in 2004 when it was still invite-only and knew how it would change webmail forever. But you guys have been gradually (and slowly) spiraling down on a directionless path. I was hopeful when Schmidt stepped back down earlier this year—reeling ole buddyroos Page and Brin back to more influential roles—therefore ringing in a new era of the nerd-awesomeness that once breathed life and energy into the company. But after the recent SPYW announcement, you’re no longer about relevancy anymore when it comes to searches, your chief product.

Honestly, it would make me happy—and not to mention countless others—to see your once fresh and empowering ideas of a Better Internet resurface. But it might be too late now.

Profits and Revenue

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:00:47 -0800

Apple announced its Q1 2012 earnings today. Here’s a re-cap:

$46 billion in revenue
$13 billion in profit
37 million iPhones sold
15 million iPads sold
5 million Macs sold
15.4 million iPods sold

Google, for Q4 2011, posted $10.6 billion in revenue. Apple’s profits this quarter beat the former’s revenue. Talk about perspective (this quarter is a new record for Apple).

So, yeah. Android is “winning”.

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted. —Aesop

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:58:00 -0800

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.

—Aesop

"The Meaning of Life"

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:25:00 -0800

One often whimsically muses over the “meaning of life” as a means to either pass by time or engage one’s self in a spiritual joust with the mind. The epigram has undertaken a rather philosophical connotation throughout the past millennia, inspiring some to even go travel around the world in search of the catchphrase’s significance. What remains curious, however, is the ironic nature of the proverb and what most—if not all—people ponder about when confronted with such a benign saying. The strange bridging of two life-affirming words by the most common preposition harbors an usual yet comforting feeling of universality, as if the meaning should bear the same fruit of epiphanic elation for everyone. To say the Person A has, through some metaphysical hokum, found the “meaning of life” will and should not necessitate that the meaning of it will be the same for Person B. Yet, this mindset seems to be inexplicably ubiquitous in today’s society. For what reason, I do not know. Needless to say, my contention is that we are constantly catapulted with fanciful ideas and crazy concepts each day that we can never be in an objective state to formulate our own meaning. In fact, many of our world views consist of a variety blend of other people’s world views, all molded to our own moral compass’s liking.

The original prompt stands as a testament to our insatiable curiosity for the unknown. That we should apply our knowledge to understand the world around us is indeed admirable; however, there are some things we cannot comprehend through the lens of science. To witness a caterpillar courageously emerge from its imprisoning cocoon as a magnificent butterfly can most surely be studied, explained, and understood in biological terms. But what of its nature? Its essence? It seems to me, and probably to you, that it becomes exponentially harder when it comes the task of quantifying nature. Or, to put it in another perspective: understood by the narrowness of our mind. Is this where it ultimately begs the question presented herein? To diligently inspect it on said premise would not reveal anything apparent but what is defiantly obvious is the philosophical inverse of the platitude itself: to give life a meaning.

I leave the rest for you to reflect on.

Photo

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:04:41 -0800

Here’s to 2012.

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 10:11:48 -0800

Here’s to 2012.

First, go grab some headphones. The best ones you’ve got. If the...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:26:40 -0800

First, go grab some headphones. The best ones you’ve got. If the best ones you’ve got are these suckers (or something similar), you should really go buy new ones, but use the best you’ve got for right now.

Take a break from whatever you’re doing for 2 minutes and listen, but just listen to the whole thing, even if you have to multi-task.

Headphones on? Ok. Good.

Now, press play.

“Upular (3D Audio Version)” - Pogo

The Vision

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:49:21 -0800

Steve Jobs’ Vision of the World:

When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and you’re life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money.

That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.

Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again

Three Graphs Are Worth a Thousand Words Source: asymco.com

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:16:56 -0700

Three Graphs Are Worth a Thousand Words

Source: asymco.com

The Crazy Ones (Narration by Steve Jobs)

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:53:48 -0700

The Crazy Ones

(Narration by Steve Jobs)

"Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes..."

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:33:00 -0700

“Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.”

- Anonymous

brycedotvc: via nxtgn

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:00:28 -0700

brycedotvc:

via nxtgn

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, Movement IIISimply the most...

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:38:04 -0700

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, Movement III

Simply the most moving and sublime classical piece I have ever heard by Rachmaninoff, or any composer, for that matter.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:41:00 -0700

So, I recently finished Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. I figured I could share my minute sentiments on the matter.

Did you know that I used to almost always mix up The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and The Picture of Dorian Gray? Although entirely different works of fiction (the former is somewhat semi-biographical), the books’ authors were both of Irish descent, and perhaps one of the greatest writers to hail from the Potato Country. Though I barely have the mental aptitude to comprehend James Joyce’s style, Oscar Wilde’s witty prose is simple and understandable, which is what made The Picture of Dorian Gray fairly enjoyable.

The Picture of Dorian Gray tells the story of a once innocent and admirable young man who—by adhering to some morally ambiguous ideas hidden in a book—hastily decides to trade his conscience for eternal youth and beauty. The catch: all of his sins and vices are embedded in a portrait of himself created by one of his close friends. The mystic allure of the whole plot is that as everybody ages, Dorian has been able to maintain his ineffable beauty even whilst committing the most heinous crimes. And so, the portrait showcases the ugliness of his soul and naturally rots in color, hue, and quality over time. Despicable and uncompromising, Dorian underwent a moral metamorphosis, and Wilde playfully narrates his journey all the while parodying the social rigidity of English society during his time.

So. Yeah. Go read it. It’s Wilde’s only novel and was written close to his unfortunate demise.

It’s pretty damn good.

marginallyontopic: To Steve Jobs. You were a great man.

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:17:55 -0700

marginallyontopic:

To Steve Jobs. You were a great man.

Photo

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:41:33 -0700

Two Goals

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:32:19 -0700

I suppose it’s rather silly of me to list down “goals” for the new school year but I feel it’s better for me to have some written reminder since I usually tend to forget these things.

I basically have two goals for the new school year: read and write more.

For the first goal, it boils down to reading at least something for leisure per day (since the school year started, I have already finished Candide and I’m already half way through The Picture of Dorian Gray—hopefully I can keep this pace up).

For the second, it means to write at least one blog post, or some short piece, per week.

It’s going to be difficult as my academic workload starts to pick up again but I think I can do this.

If you don’t seem me doing this and are keeping tabs on me, call me out on it and I’ll buy you a beer.

Classically Trained

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:43:51 -0700

For the first time in awhile, I opened the cover lid to my old black Pearl River piano that my parents bought for me when I was in the 4th grade. It has always been dormant in my house when I left for college. It still has the same fine black paint on it, without any visible dents, and this is mostly due to my mother’s impeccable care for my possessions, especially objects holding great financial and sentimental value.

Before I touched the keys, I just sat there. I started questioning why I approached the heavy instrument in the first place. So, I just sat on the piano bench and stared at the keys, analyzing the valleys formed by the black and white pairings whilst my mind started to wander off to comprehend how a piano made music (I know, a rather stupid thought one ought to not mull over, right?).

And then it dawned upon me. After a couple of minutes, I remembered why I advanced toward the black behemoth in the first place. I felt strangely compelled to reminisce on why I wanted to learn how to play the piano when I was young.

I’m rather a sucker for nostalgia at times, especially when it comes to hobbies I was decently talented in. I started to remember that music on the piano helped my mind envision incredibly beautiful thoughts when I was a kid. It gave me an outlet for school when I would hate doing my homework. It allowed me to relax. Unfortunately, all of that changed during my last couple of years in high school when social anxieties and the workload started to weigh me down. And then, college started.

But as I have matured throughout the recent years—by appreciating the finer things in life—I could not be more grateful than I am now. Because of my classical training in piano, I have an immeasurable amount of respect for classical music. Even though trashy and misogynistic music viciously pervade our society these days, I will always have the melodious beacon of Brahms’ concertos to feel safe near, or the melancholy forests of Chopin’s nocturnes to camp in, or the empowering tour de force of Beethoven’s symphonies to move me.

There’s nothing pretentious about listening to classical music, as many people will absentmindedly assert nowadays. On the contrary, it’s extremely humble. It makes man feel like he’s nothing, yet everything. It gives him hope, when there is none. It gives meaning to the meaningless.

It makes us feel human again by illustrating our frailty and strength with little innocent notes.