Bolyn Weekly is published every week, where I write about what happens to me, what I see, and what interests me—most of the time, it might just be some nonsense.
2025-04-05
Ever-Changing, Yet Constant
Observations
I saw a Moment expressing a fondness for one’s alma mater and praising its holistic education, while at the same time disparaging Hengshui High School’s purely exam-oriented system. I can understand the thought process, but from my perspective, the words are laced with unrecognized arrogance.
I emerged from an exam-oriented education system—I was both a beneficiary and a victim of it. If I had the chance to go through it again, I would still choose that path.
Holistic education and diversified education remain a luxury in many places; where basic facilities are lacking, how can one talk about diversified development? Expressing opinions apart from one’s background is just a façade—a misguided sense of superiority that blinds one from the truth.
I know people from developed regions like Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, as well as from remote areas like Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. Everyone got to where they are through hard work. No system is absolutely good or absolutely bad; the only thing one can do is seize the present.
Before drawing any conclusions about an issue you haven’t experienced or understood, it’s wise to research a bit and think it through instead of concocting views out of thin air, fueled solely by arrogance.
Good Ideas Never Expire
From the steam engine three hundred years ago to today's AI, many technologies have been abandoned, with only a few standing the test of time. In contrast, profound ideas and writings have continuously influenced us, and they will undoubtedly continue to shape future generations.
So, read more books—read good books, read useful books, and even read books that seem useless.
Managing Energy, Not Time
Manage your energy rather than your time. Our ultimate goal is to solve problems. Managing time only shows how long you’ve worked—that’s not what we need. In contrast, managing your energy helps you solve problems efficiently, and that is the key.
Focus your energy on the right tasks, and you can solve problems efficiently while having more time to rest, thereby fostering even more productivity. Worrying over time leads to endless, unproductive internal competition, which only results in meaningless internal strife.
Change and Constancy
As technology constantly evolves, something that takes you a long time to learn today might be quickly mastered by a major company tomorrow, rendering your efforts futile. In an era of rapid technological advancement, recognizing what changes and what remains constant is crucial. Otherwise, if you continually follow the lead of large companies, you will eventually be replaced by them.
• Rather than chasing the latest technology on the supply side, it’s better to accumulate knowledge on the demand side. The supply side evolves rapidly, but the demand side endures. When there is a need, the supply side serves that need—that is the path to survival.
• It isn’t so much about how advanced AI becomes, but rather which problems in your life remain unsolved—and whether AI can help address them. AI’s development is an unstoppable trend; embracing the latest technology is always the best strategy.
• Creativity is a more powerful ability than intellect. Consider what can be innovated and what can be accomplished with the help of AI. You might not need to remember everything, but the little details of life require you to notice and solve them.
GPT 4o
Let me share a bit about GPT 4o—it is truly impressive, especially its drawing capability. I used to have it explain some abstract physical concepts and processes using examples to help me understand; now it can go a step further by drawing diagrams to clarify ideas. I provided several papers from our field and asked it to create descriptive illustrations. I believe it captured the core of the articles quite well. If you have the chance, definitely give it a try.
Below is an iterative method I used for my graduation project, which I will also include in my thesis. I think it sums it up—the formulas and procedures are crystal clear. Of course, you shouldn’t use them verbatim, since it’s academic work (just kidding)—you need to draw your own flowchart based on the process.
Exercise
I didn’t go running last week; the only exercise I got was playing table tennis for four hours yesterday (Friday). I hadn’t played that long since my junior year—time and energy are scarce—but I made it happen yesterday, and it felt great. I remain as strong as ever.
Graduation Project Progress
Unless something unexpected occurs, all experiments for my graduation project will soon be completed. There are still two sets left to run, which I expect to finish by next Tuesday. After that, the remaining task is to diligently study various academic papers, extract their essence, and discard the dross (just kidding).
On a serious note: once the experiments are done, I’ll copy what needs to be copied, compile what needs to be compiled, and finish my thesis.