Beta NYC Alumni Chapter Inaugural Event
Beta NYC Alumni Chapter Inaugural Event, a set on Flickr. Beta Theta Pi, one of the nation’s premier fraternities, is starting up its NYC Alumni Association. The association’s inaugural event took place tonight at the Alpha Alpha Chapter at Columbia University (click to view full post to see pictures).
A Random Walk Down (Occupy) Wall Street
The title of this post is inspired by the well-known investment book, A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel (1973). I’ve never read the book, but the idea that Malkiel tried to convey is pretty easy to summarize:
Since stock prices cannot be predicted in the short term, argues Malkiel, individual investors are better off buying and holding onto index funds than meddling with securities or actively managing mutual funds. Not only will a broad range of index funds outperform a professionally managed portfolio in the long run, but investors can avoid expense charges and trading costs, which decrease returns. [...] His witty, acerbic style and persuasive arguments will delight readers but, alas, leave Wall Street unmoved.
- Amazon.com
In honor of the Zuccotti Park eviction, below are pictures of my random walk downtown about two weeks ago. Hope you enjoy.
[Updated] You Sure You Still Want to Use That iPhone?
At 4:11pm today, I received an email from the University entitled “Security Alert 11.12.11″. Below is the email message:
We have been notified by the NYPD, that on November 12, 2011 at about 7:30 p.m. two males were the victim of an attempted robbery in the lobby of a brownstone on W. 114 St. between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave. The suspect [...] was sitting on the steps of the brownstone and followed the first victim into the hallway. He displayed a gun and demanded the victim’s I-phone [sic]. When the victim stated he didn’t have an I-phone, the male gave it back to him. The second victim entered the hallway and the suspect demanded his Iphone. Once again the suspect handed it back when he found out it was not actually an Iphone. The suspect left the building and fled on foot down Amsterdam Ave.
For your information, “W. 114th St. between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave.” is exactly where I live. The robbery might as well have taken place in my building.
This is about the third or forth crime reported this year around the school, but I am particularly shocked at this one.
The robber was already pointing a gun at somebody, committing a crime, and left empty-handed because the phone wasn’t an iPhone. He basically said no to the watch (~$120), no to the TI-83 (~$100), no to the laptop (~$1000+), no to the iPod (~$200), no to non-smart phones (~$100), and no to every other smartphone ever invented besides the iPhone!
I’m not sure if I should be laughing at his failed criminal act or admiring his steadfastness to the iPhone. Steve Jobs would be proud. Perhaps secretly.
Regardless of how I resolve my cognitive dissonance, if you have an iPhone, consider putting it back in the box and take out that Blackberry you retired from last year.
Watch out RIM, here’s your chance.
(Not really.)
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Update Nov. 21, 2011:
You’ve got to be kidding me. This guy (or his good friend) came back!
Security Alert today:
On November 21, 2011 at about 11:50 p.m., a student was the victim of an attempted robbery on W.114St. between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. The student accompanied by another person was accosted as she was walking on the north side of W.114 St. towards Broadway. The suspect pushed the victim against a fence, threatened her and demanded her I-phone [sic]. When the suspect learned she did not have an I- phone, he fled east towards Amsterdam Avenue without taking any property. The suspect is observed on video walking back and forth on W. 114 St. prior to the crime. Moments earlier, he followed a student into Ruggles Hall but left the building immediately. If you have any information about this crime or this suspect, contact the 26Pct Detective Unit at 212-678-1351 or contact the undersigned. If you observe this person on the street, call the police immediately by dialing 911.
The incident is so serious that the University’s VP Public Safety wrote a letter addressing this issue:
In the past few weeks you have received several Security Alerts regarding crimes in our community. In particular, there has been a series of robberies and attempted robberies on W. 114th Street. I am writing to let you know that the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff, as well as others in our community, is our top priority. I would also like to share with you some of the things that the Department of Public Safety is doing to safeguard our campus, and the 114th Street area in particular, in order to help allay any concerns that you may have on the issue of safety here at Columbia…
I’m looking forward to the “iPhones Cause Crimes on Ivy League Campus” article in the next edition of the New York Times.
Why Dog Lived and 2-Year-Old Girl Died
Before reading anything, please watch and contrast these two videos:
As you can probably expect from the videos, the injured dog lived, and the 2-year-old girl died on October 21st, 2011.
Enough has been written about the Chinese incident online. The WSJ reported that Chinese observers and journalists have blamed the apparent apathy on “everything from the trauma of the Cultural Revolution to fear of legal action to Chinese culture itself.”
In observing Chinese culture, James McGregor, former CEO of Dow Jones & Company China and one of GCC’s Senior Advisors, gives a revealing explanation in his book, One Billion Customers:
Firm control from the top has always been considered the only path to peace and prosperity in China. One reason is that China is a shame-based society, very different from the guilt-based West. In the West, with society’s religious orientation, many controls are internalized. Guilt, which is ultimately the fear of sin and eternal damnation, puts a check on bad behavior. In China, it is the fear of exposure and the accompany shame that tarnishes the entire extended family. As a result, the Chinese can feel pretty good about doing almost anything as long as they don’t get caught. In that atmosphere, the only efficient form of law and order is a strong and omnipresent government that increases the likelihood of getting caught if you do something wrong.
- One Billion Customers (McGregor, 2005)
If we borrow McGregor’s frame and project it onto a gross generalization of the whole Chinese population and all of their possible actions, it is a scary thought that people aren’t killing each other and stealing each other’s money only because they don’t want to be caught doing so.
An equally depressing blogger concluded that “China seems to have become so utilitarian that it can’t understand or even tolerate people who do things for altruistic reasons” (emphasis added).
But even with an ultra-utilitarian system, not everyone’s sociopathic or else we wouldn’t have the society we have today. Altruism isn’t nonexistent in China, and utilitarianism isn’t the main problem. The Chinese may be overtly obsessed with money and wealth, but even that doesn’t warrant the actions witnessed in the first video.
The problem, in my opinion, is trust. And there is none.
Chinese cities are infiltrated with deceptive and malicious schemes aimed straight at your wallet: phone calls, texts, and even strangers calling for “help.” This accompanied by the media whose job is to sell these stories that keep people on their feet. Take a look at Baidu’s Top Ten search items daily and you’ll learn what catches the Chinese people’s attention – not how to make money (surprise!), but what to watch-out for in China: poisonous food & beverages, corrupt government officials, ineffective legal system, natural disasters, prostitution, even random stranger stealing your new-born child from the hospital. Scared? Me too.
There are few Good Samaritans in China not because people have no faith or belief or have lost their souls, but because the Good Samaritans have either been tricked in the past or have heard too many horror stories to maintain their confidence in strangers.
The basic rule to survival, as anyone who has traveled the country would quickly learn, is to not trust anyone. People are constantly living in an environment where they feel unsafe. It didn’t need to be a 2-year-old girl; it could’ve been a full-grown adult lying there. People would need to start gathering around him, starring from a distance, muttering conjectures in each other’s ears; finally, when enough people have gathered around to make it feel “safe,” when it feels like there are enough witnesses and no one is going to hold you responsible for what has happened, someone might jump in and do the right thing – help. That’s typically what you’d see if someone is dying on the streets in China. Populated streets with many pedestrians.
In China, you can expect help from a friend, a colleague, a distant relative, or anyone that has the slightest knowledge of who you are or who you might be. But don’t expect the help of a stranger.
