Hi Ya! I'm Brandon. =)


What people know me for:


What I'm working on now:

  • discovering how language models can be valuably useful in the real world as intelligence augmentation tools
    • hypothesis #1: scale domain expertise: augment accessibility to tacit knowledge
    • hypothesis #2: data processing augmentation: process complex information and generate useful insights at higher throughput
    • hypothesis #3: creativity augmentation: identify patterns that are tediuos and not immediately obvious to humans
  • running more and improving my mobility
  • more genuine and thoughtful conversations

Some things that inspire me:

  • creating more positive sum games
    • creating more research, open source knowledge and (sometimes) startups compound the value of existing quantities
    • consumption by one party does not diminish the availability nor potential value available to be accrued by another
    • contributing to these causes gives me energy to work hard
  • ambitious projects that changed the world
  • hardworking underdogs that disrupted their field

Some things I value:

  • moving fast creates energy and momentum
    • doing things fast is a forcing function to focus on what's most important
    • action and progress creates energy
    • this repeated cycle creates momentum to keep going for prolonged periods of time
  • personal growth
    • working on difficult and ambitious goals has proven to be one of the most effective ways to grow fast and holistically
  • truth seeking always
    • removing the bullshit layer from how I perceive the world changed my life significantly
  • being genuine
    • bad information compounds; saying what you actually think supercharges relationships
    • bad news can be communicated truthfully with a careful choice of words, sometimes reversing the outcome even
  • less is more
    • simplicity and minimalism
  • conducive environment
    • mimetic behaviour is real and insidious - we severely underestimate how we unknowingly pick up bad habits from people around us
    • positive habits, energy and intuition in a high performing environment naturally rubs off on us

People who have influenced my thinking the most, whom I'm grateful for:

  • Lei Xu
    • the opportunities he gave me at Workstream changed my life. Of the many lessons, he inspired me to be relentlessly resourceful, that I could learn anything I needed to and be a genuine person
  • Hasan Sheikh Faridul
    • his story and mentorship at EF fuels my belief that I could possibly create a dent in the world one day
  • Lee Yeow Leong
    • his lessons on software engineering and dedication to helping me understand difficult programming concepts influences the way I write code till today