When shit gets critical, the most important device is actually a laptop — not an iPad or iPhone (supplemental).
Category: Posts
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More Koreans should immigrate to America
If Koreans want a brighter future, they should actually immigrate to America, if they have the option.
My thought is that the future for Korea is very grim.
Also note how Samsung is working with America to build a massive semiconductor plant in the states. The theory is this is an opportunity to build more military enabled chips for the states.
Also, it looks like the big export for Korea is Samsung, Kia, Hyundai, and LG products to the states.
Also apparently American consumers get a lot of tax breaks for electric Hyundai and Kia vehicles, whereas local Koreans do not. A very bad sign.
Parents still send their kids to English speaking school
Also, a huge focus for Koreans is to ensure that their kids are fluent in English. Isn’t it just easier to send them to the states?
Who are major shareholders in Kakao talk?
Kakao talk, which is essentially the super app here in Korea, I believe has gotten a foreign investment from the Chinese company Tencent a while ago. Note, if you own the communication platform, you own the people.
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Why is BTS more popular than BLACKPINK?
A funny observation; in terms of pop culture, here on the ground, BTS is far more popular than BLACKPINK. Why is this?
Perhaps my thought is that the new aesthetic is actually more about men who look feminine, rather than women.
Abroad, the appeal of Blackpink is that they are a group that looks girly, but can perform in a more aggressive in masculine way. For example, Jennie and Lisa being good at rapping. Also, BLACKPINK is a lot more international, as a lot of their lyrics are actually in English.
BTS as mostly Korean.
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Lululemon should open up more stores in South Korea
Korea used to be very very traditional and conservative when it came to looking too sexy in public, but now, it looks like women who wear leggings and tights is kind of normalized.
Therefore, Lululemon should open up more stores in South Korea, if they want to capture this market.
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How to conquer Self Consciousness
I promise, I’m so self-conscious
How to overcome this? Just think to yourself;
You is what you is.
Or, “I am what I am.â€
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Korea Critique
Problems in Korea
First, way too many old people. It looks like 80% of people I see are over the age of 70.
Also, lack of kids. It looks like the average family has either one kid or zero kids. And kind of like of America, a lot of young married couples or middle-age couples up to not have any children, only a dog. Therefore, a huge proliferation of boutique dog stores. And pet hospitals.
It looks like in Korea, the greatest luxury is still beef.
Things I am very impressed by
The new Lotte shopping malls and grocery stores are insanely nice. Koreans make very very good shopping malls, and centers. For example we just visited a new Lotte mall the other day, and it was at least 1 billion times better than any mall I have experienced in Japan, America, etc.
Korea is doing a very very good job with the subway system. Very great integration with the new Subway lines, digging ever deeper underground. And even the Korean city suburbs, like Migeum, are very very well developed.
Also, a very good thing with Korea is the reverence towards the elderly. For example, people either over the age of 65 or 70 could ride the subway for free. Even my mom was able to ride the subway for free the other day.
Coffee culture
Also, a new trend in Korea is coffee. Coffee could either be two things; you there pay six dollars and babysit one coffee and talk with your friends for three hours, or you could grab a Takeaway coffee for two bucks, if you’re busy and on the go.
Also, it seems that you’re the integration with LCD screen ordering screens are very good.
Korea does not look like K-pop
The funny thing is that when you watch BLACKPINK, BTS, K-pop, Korean dramas etc., the reality of Korea is very different from what you see on the screen.
First of all, it seems that the hype over plastic surgery is a little bit overblown. Most people seem to have natural faces.
In terms of physique, it looks like most people look very very soft. Most people are kind of skinny fat, and there is not really yet a gym culture here in Korea.
Korea is very very good for photography, and street photography
In the short two days that have been here, I have been incredibly prolific with my photos. It is insanely great for street photography, walking around, and exploring.
How does South Korea or Seoul compared to Japan? Koreans are much more warm and friendly, and seem much happier. Also, Korea is far more bilingual in English. Also currently the upside of Korea is that getting in here is relatively easy, but to my understanding Japan still has lots of restrictions when it comes to tourism.
Korean aspirations?
What is the Korean dream? It involves buying a house or some sort of nice apartment clothing and shopping culture, and getting a nice car.
I no longer believe it is an aspiration for people to have kids. People either have kids out of some sort of filial duty, for people to please their parents and produce at least one grandchild, but for the most part, it seems that people are more interested in fashion and food.
The future?
What will be the future for Korea and South Korea?
Let us consider this big problem: once all of the old people die, there will be a huge population vacuum. Korea is not as bad as Japan, but still, there will be very very few kids and young people.
Then, what will happen to all of these empty apartment complexes? Also, will there be an impetus to build new apartment complexes?
Also in the future society with very few people or young people, where will all the consumers be?
My thought is that in order for Korea to fight this problem, they probably need to import in more foreign labor, and foreign people. They should allow in more South east Asians, Cambodians, people from Thailand, Vietnam, etc.
Koreans are really really good at English now
It seems that “kongliah“, the combination of English and Korean is now well integrated. I could just say lots of common words or phrases in English, and people understand.
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iPhone Titan Concept
Why the new iPhone Pro is not interesting to me:
The hilarity is that actually, the iPhone Pro is actually not for professionals. Rather, for the average person who just wants to make really good photos.
I already have my Ricoh GR 3X, which is insanely good. Even if I had an iPhone 20 Pro, I am certain that the image rendition of any iPhone would never be as good as a Ricoh GR digital camera, in terms of shooting black-and-white, and making artistic and creative photos.
Therefore, from a marketing perspective, the iPhone pro should not strive to target professionals. Rather, the average person.
Then the question is this; what should real professionals care for?
An idea: make an iPhone Titan, which will cost at least $1999 USD. Make it out of titanium. Make it insanely light and thin, and make it very very exclusive. It will become the new Rolex for the average Silicon Valley tech person.
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A critique of Korean thinking: inability of independent thinking.
Being Korean American, this is what I have observed; why are there so few interesting innovators and entrepreneurs from Korea?
My thought is that Korean society is all about conformity.
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JEFF BEZOS IS HIGHLY UNDERRATED.
Great quotes:
- Your margin is my opportunity.
- Build infrastructure the hard way.
- Invent and be patient.
- “Divine discontent†knowing that things could be done better.
- If you cannot tolerate critics, don’t do anything new or interesting.
- Communication is a sign of dysfunction. We should figure out how we could communicate less, not more.
- To invent you need to experiment, and if you know it will succeed it is not an experiment.
- Skeptical view of proxies.
- Focus on cash flows.
- Will you be a cynic, or a builder?
Invent and Wander book:
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Why and how do the Japanese make such good clothing?
Note MUJI and Uniqlo.
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Assume insanely slow internet
Prioritize a text-first approach. Images are supplemental.
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Do more stuff on the cloud, less with apps.
I prefer just using iCloud.com for email instead of having the offline “Mail†app.
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FEWER OPTIONS.
A critique on the new iOS —
Too many options.
For example, after you take a screenshot — there are now two options in red. Two options is too much.
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Cambodia is Too Small for My Ambitions
I love Cambodia and Phnom Penh, but the ultimate thought:
The city is phenomenal, but ultimately too small for my ambitions.
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Body Purpose?
What is the purpose of a body?
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A LIFE ON THE ROAD
A life in transit — a transitional life, a perpetually transitional life as best.
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I love the marketing more than the thing itself.
The ethos and concept of the thing is what I love most.
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It doesn’t matter who innovates it first.
What matters is who does it best. And who makes the marketing the most sexy.
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If you kill your pain, you kill your growth potential
In order to grow, you need pain. The more pain, the more growth.
I wonder if caffeine holds us back, as caffeine is a pain killer.
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Don’t block your pain receptors.
Why? Pain receptors are the signal to stimulate your growth.
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HOW TO LAST
To last for a long time — the only robust way to measure “successâ€.
Long lasting
It seems we like things which are long lasting. For example, long lasting batteries. Even right now, I hate my old 2017 MacBook Pro 13 inch touchmark, because the battery might only last five minutes now. Compare this with my new iPad Pro M1 chip, which lasts an insanely long period of time. Even the iPhone SE I have has a pretty robust battery life.
What is tenacity?
Tenacity means to hold onto, for a long time. Tenere — to hold onto. Like “tener†(to have, to hold onto) in Spanish.
For example, it seems that the number one attribute for becoming a successful entrepreneur is tenacity. To keep on going, even though things may not be going your way.
Also a random thought I had; why is it that decentralized things last longer? Also, why open and open source things will last longer?
The reason is this; it is more natural. For example, if you think about biology, it is technically all open source. Any genus of creature or biological life form is allowed to steal or copy from one another, and evolve and mutate in unique ways.
Nations and religions which will last?
An interesting prediction I have is that nations which are too centralized will not last. For example, China as a centralized state, will not last in her current form.
Perhaps the most decentralized state, or a nation in Switzerland. Switzerland will probably last for very long time as a concept, because Switzerland as a nation doesn’t have strong centralization.
How about America? It seems that America will last a long time, because it seems to be more of a federation of states; each of the states run relatively independently of the nation of America. For example, how Texas, as a state can exercise her own authority, even though Texas is a part of America.
Durable actors and entertainers
in terms of actors and entertainers, it seems that men typically have more durability than women. Why is that? With men, the more the age, the more interesting they become, like George Clooney. However typically with women, the older the age, the less prowess they have.
For example, highly unlikely that Beyoncé will ever make an album as good as lemonade. I predict that moving forward, you will just see a slow decline in Beyoncé and her ability to make waves.
The same goes with Kim Kardashian; when she is perceived as being “too old“, she will also lose her cachet.
However, I think Kanye West has a bright future, as well as Elon musk. They will continue to build their prowess and influence, because their innovations are age independent.
Fame is not what we seek
Also, one thing to consider is that we as artists, photographers, entrepreneurs and innovators, we do not seek fame. Rather, what we seek is to last. Ideally, to evoke antifragile, which means as time goes on, we will become more influential.
How to last
The first thought is it is a philosophical mindset and approach thing. Is durability or to become a long lasting even a priority of yours?
It is my personal aspiration that I keep staying inspired, to make photos and share thoughts until I am 120 years old. Also, I want to be still being able to do deadlifts at 120.
This then changes the calculus a bit; rather than seeking impressive short-term gains, better to think long-term, and think about long-term gains.
Long-term health, and long-term games
I think it’s human nature to want to have indefinite gains. Then perhaps the goal should be to seek to have indefinite gains very very slowly; I do believe in a kaizen approach to life, in which perhaps year over year, you could gain at least one percent, indefinitely.
For example, who is happier? Somebody who starts off at life poor, but keeps getting richer steadily overtime? Or somebody who starts off life very rich, but slowly becomes poor over time?
Or another example, who is happier? The person who is able to add 5 pounds every week to his deadlift every week, or to the person who starts off being able to deadlift 1000 pounds, but slowly loses his power over time?
Why athletes are so miserable
This is the big problem with athletes, in many sports, once an athlete has reached his peak, what means overtime once he gets very very old, he slowly loses his prowess. For example, I’m sure Michael Jordan could have still played basketball very very well into his 40s 50s and maybe 60s. But Michael Jordan would probably be less good at basketball at age 100.
Maybe this is why it is a good idea to pursue a path in life in which in theory, the older you get, the better at it you could become. This involves making music, production, art, philosophy, etc. Entrepreneurship, building businesses, building yourself.
Durability
For example, stainless steel is far superior to plastic, in terms of durability. Also, abrasion resistant fabric will probably last longer than natural fibers. The tricky thing is at least with fabrics and materials, they are at best robust, and durable. Most fabrics do not get better overtime.
Even “Wabi Saabi†materials like leather; in theory if you use a leather couch for 100,000 years, it will not last.
The same goes with wood; a lot of Japanese aged wooden things are beautiful, but wooden structures do not last. A Zen wooden temple will not last for another 10,000 years.
Why last?
I think it is because of this; to last a long time is optimistic. I like the idea that a year from now, two years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now, 30 years from now, 50 years from now, something will be better than worse. Especially with ourselves. I like the idea that in my 40s 50s and 60s, I will be stronger and more muscular than I am now.
Also, some future predictions; centralized things will not last. Maybe this is why in the very very long term, the Catholic Church as a centralized entity will not last, but the decentralized notion of “Christianity†will last. The fact that there is 1 billion protestant sects means that in some ways, Christianity is open source.
For example, I think that Buddhism will last a very long time. Why? Technically, Buddhism could be both a religion and a state form of government, but Buddhism can also be a loose concept; consider all the yogis who adopt “Buddhist“ practices, even though they are not religious.
In praise of open source
The reason why I like notions of open source is that I believe this type of information to be valuable, and I want it to be spread widely, and I also want it to last. A simple strategy as a photographer, if you want to last, and continue to be relevant far into the future, just open source all of your photos. Make it easy for people to download your portfolio as JPEG images, as simple .zip files.
For example, my most valuable page on my website is probably my “downloads†page.
Perhaps android will last longer than Apple iOS
The fact that android is open source, means that in the long run, it will probably outlast iOS. Why? Because android is open source, it could be edited and modified by anybody. However with iOS, it is still predicated on the fact that we will be on planet earth, with factories in China.
Also with crypto and cryptocurrency; the only ones that will last are the truly decentralized ones. For example, Bitcoin. My critique of Ethereum is that it looks like Ethereum, especially Ethereum 2.0, is too centralized. My simple thought is this; do not trust any form of cryptocurrency which has an official 2.0 version.
Also, any cryptocurrency which is pegged to Fiat currency or the US dollar will probably not last in long-term.
Also, I think companies and things will last in which it does not require an charismatic leader.
Also, a sign of a robust thing:
Id the founder or the CEO of the company abandoned it, can it still thrive?
The Internet will last, and so will email
The nature of the fact that the Internet is decentralized will mean that it will last. Also, email as an open protocol will continue to last.
What will not last? My prediction is that Facebook will not last, as it is too centralized.
Telegram is a cool platform, but telegram will probably also not last, because it is a centralized platform.
Perhaps the future form of technology and communication and identity is some sort of mishmash between email, and phone numbers.
I believe Twitter will last, as Elon Musk is planning to open source the Twitter algorithm. Perhaps then Twitter might be a good long-term investment.
Another thought about cryptocurrency; or crypto technology, it should not need a “brand awareness teamâ€. It should also not require marketing, as it spread organically word of mouth.
Longevity as a creator
Just think yourself; how can you be inspired to keep making photos until you are 120 years old? Or doesn’t even need to be photography, how can you stay inspired to be creative until you’re 120 years old?
LAST LONG!
ERIC
Respark your passion for photography
Respect your passion for photography at an upcoming ERIC KIM EXPERIENCE:
Shoot forever
- HENRI NECK STRAP MARK IV: Legends never die.
- ERIC KIM NECK STRAP MARK II: Shoot more fearlessly.
Long thoughts
- “Ars longa, vita brevis†(Art is long, life is short). Seneca quoting Hippocrates I believe.
- Titanium will last a very very long time. My titanium frame Lindberg glasses has lasted me very well over a decade.
- All digital cameras and technology will not last long; maybe the best strategy is to just keep buying the newest Ricoh GR digital camera.
- Also, even the newest iPhone Pro will not last long, because the processor is not detachable from the device. Therefore, just buy the cheapest iPhone with the best processor; currently the iPhone SE.
Share the ideas
All the information here is open source; feel free to translate, republish, or forward or share to a friend!
No need for credits.
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Amazon won’t last?
Neither will Facebook.
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Invest in Google
Gmail is still 1000x more reliable and secure than any other email and just works better. Also Google Authenticator as the GOAT.
