「道沖而用之，或不盈。淵兮似萬物之宗；挫其銳、解其紛、和其光、同其塵，湛兮似或存。吾不知誰之子，象帝之先。」
The Dao is an empty vessel;
It is used and never fills up.
It’s so deep that it is like the origin of all things.
Blunt the sharpness;
Untangle the knot;
Soften the glare;
Merge with the dust;
Invisible and formless, it always seems to be present.
I have no idea who gave birth to it.
It seems to have existed before the Lord did.
Continue reading Daodejing Chapter 4: the invisible and ineffable source
Monthly Archives: May 2017
OCF at Computex, CES, Asia , and Automotive Linux Summit Japan
Computex is just over a week away. During the show, I’ll be speaking at a half-day seminar being held by III (Institute for Information Industry) and OCF (Open Connectivity Foundation) aimed at accelerating the development of a common smart home framework for Taiwan.
Continue reading OCF at Computex, CES, Asia , and Automotive Linux Summit Japan
Daodejing Chapter 3: leadership through effortless action
「不尚賢，使民不爭；不貴難得之貨，使民不為盜；不見可欲，使民心不亂；是以聖人之治，虛其心、實其腹、弱其志、強其骨。常使民無知無欲，使夫智者不敢為也。為無為，則無不治。」
Do not single out the gifted for praise,
To ensure that the people never contend;
Do not prize rare goods,
To ensure that the people never steal;
Do not display objects of desire,
To ensure that the people’s hearts will never be restless.
That’s why the sage rules his people by:
Emptying their minds;
But filling their stomachs;
Weakening their ambitions;
But strengthening their sinews.
Always keeping the people free from knowledge and desires,
To ensure that those with knowledge will never dare act.
By acting with effortless action,
There is nothing that he cannot govern.
Continue reading Daodejing Chapter 3: leadership through effortless action
Daodejing Chapter 2: effortless action
「天下皆知美之為美，斯惡已。皆知善之為善，斯不善已。故有無相生，難易相成，長短相形，高下相傾，音聲相和，前後相隨；是以聖人處無為之事，行不言之教，萬物作焉而不辭；生而不有，為而不恃，功成而弗居；夫唯弗居，是以不去。」
When the whole world knows to regard beauty as beauty, there is ugliness.
When the whole world knows to regard good as good, there is evil.
Thus, something and nothing nurture each other;
Difficult and easy complete each other;
Long and short give form to each other;
High and low depend on each other;
Note and sound harmonize each other;
Front and rear follow each other.
That’s why the sage:
Conducts his affairs with effortless action;
Spreads his teaching without words;
Lets all things unfold without initiating them;
Lets them grow without claiming possession of them;
Gets things done without expecting any gratitude;
Achieves his goals without claiming any credit.
It is precisely because he does not claim any credit,
That it stays with him forever.
The Dao doesn’t place any arbitrary labels on anything. It draws no false distinctions between beauty and ugliness and good and evil. It simply allows everything to unfold, without ever attempting to intervene, in the knowledge that opposing natural forces will remain in balance. Continue reading Daodejing Chapter 2: effortless action
Daodejing Chapter 1: the gateway to all secrets
「道可道，非常道，名可名，非常名。無名天地之始，有名萬物之母。故常無欲以觀其妙，常有欲以觀其徼，此兩者同出而異名，同謂之玄，玄之又玄，眾妙之門。」
The way that can be spoken of is not the constant way;
The name that can be named is not the constant name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth;
The named is the mother of the myriad things.
Therefore, by always remaining free of desire you can observe its secrets;
While by always remaining full of desire, you can observe its manifestations.
The two emerge from the same source,
But they have different names;
Call them both mysteries;
Mystery upon mystery;
The gateway to all secrets.
Continue reading Daodejing Chapter 1: the gateway to all secrets
New VPai website
We’ve just launched our new and improved VPai website featuring the latest news and information about our 720-degree camera platform. Continue reading New VPai website
The universal basic income: magic bullet or Pandora’s Box?
Even if the political class manages to summon up the will to fund a Universal Basic Income, this will be only the start of its problems. Implementing an efficient and equitable system for distributing it will be a nightmare. Continue reading The universal basic income: magic bullet or Pandora’s Box?
VPai Clip 720-degree camera at Longshan Temple
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As one of the most famous and popular temples in Taipei, I decided that the Longshan Temple would be an excellent testing ground for our VPai Clip 720-degree camera platform last weekend. Continue reading VPai Clip 720-degree camera at Longshan Temple
Robots and taxes: how to fund the universal basic income?
One of the most daunting challenges of introducing a Universal Basic Income is figuring out how to fund it. If millions of people are going to be thrown out of work by automation and AI, government budgets will already be hit by the double-whammy of a precipitous decline in tax revenues caused by a dramatic rise in unemployment combined with a huge increase in expenditures to cover the resulting additional welfare costs. Where would the money come from to fund such a significant new initiative at the same time? Continue reading Robots and taxes: how to fund the universal basic income?