New Sustainable Business Model with almost no Capital Risk (The Transparent Business Model)

 Important Definitions:

1. Blockchain Technology. When a person make a transaction from one person to another person, the transaction is recorded onto the ‘blockchain’. Blockchain technology (crypto) is just an accounting ledger. A ‘blockchain’ is a series of nodes that records every transaction that happens in the network. If you make one transaction, all the nodes must record the exact same transaction. If your transaction is not recorded in some nodes, the transaction did not happen, and the assets remain in your wallets. You have to pay a gas fee to the nodes to record your transaction. Because all the transaction can be seen by anyone and everyone, you can trust that one transaction is equal to one transaction.

2. NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are units of data that are ‘secured’ by the blockchain. You can link a piece of music, picture, video, or a contract, to the blockchain. For example, I can make a picture of my girlfriend and ‘mint’ them into the blockchain. That picture will permanently be in the blockchain ledger and this is equal to be a ‘contract’. I can send that picture to another person. Anyone can see this contract when they look at the open-source blockchain ledger and track it. There are an incredible number of use cases for NFTs. For example, you can create a contract, “This picture is 1 share of this company”. So if I own this picture, according to the blockchain ledger, I own 1 share of this company. The main point is that NFTs usher in a new way to raise money and create value.

3. Transparency & Trust. The problem with anonymity in crypto is that it gives rise to scams and irresponsibility. The more transparent something is, the more trust you can earn, and that is the main point of blockchain technology in the first place and why the original investors are in it. Trust.

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Build a Million Dollar Business with little Capital Risk

First Step I: Website (3-6 months)

The only capital you need is your time, and a website to explain about your project. The website must be elaborate and the project details must be transparent. A white paper must be created. A timeline must be in the website. Each member must be doxxed and members must be International (from different countries and attached to a specific role). Website must generate TRUST.

First Step II: Business Plan & Cost Analysis Research

At the same time that the website is being created, calculate how much money is needed to start the business plan. It is good to overestimate the price because there will always be added costs. The cost of the business plan will be updated and reflected in the website.

The Project Plan Must Be Unique
-> Something that people would not, in their daily life, even think that they could own and be part of such a project. Ask the question, what would people want to brag about to their colleagues or friends?

E.g.: Theme park in Russia. The ordinary human who invest in an NFT would LOVE to brag to other people and tell them, “Hey! I own a theme park ride in Russia. Every month, I receive money from owning this theme park ride.” “Hey! I own a paper factory in Kazakhstan!” That is what we have to aim for and target.

Second Step I: Social Media & Early Marketing. (2 months)

Marketing. This is probably the most important part of the project plan, but if you have a solid website that explains what the project is and the project is amazing, it will be a lot easier. Create a Discord channel that is active with updates and talk about the project. The main founders of the project should be active in the social media channels at this point. At a later time, the team can hire a Social Media Moderator to continue to chat with the fans/ investors on a daily basis. A Twitter account must also be created with updates about the project. There will be a lot of things going on after the website is launched, so updates should be easy to come by.

Second Step II: NFT Creation

At the same time, the NFT art collection should be created. This may take some time. Teasers of how the art will look like can be leaked as part of the social media updates. An artist can be hired or be part of the founding member. Artist needs to create 9000 generative NFT art surrounding the theme of the project.

Third Step: Early Soft Launch (1 month)

Create a Whitelist marketing campaign before the soft launch. Whitelist allows people to ‘book’ an NFT before the actual launch. People who are interested in buying an NFT and being part of the project can register their interest by a first-come-first-serve basis. A limited number of early NFTs can be released, e.g. 800 NFTs out of the total 9000 NFT collection = $140,000. rarity.io shows most of the new NFT launches. 0.05 ETH per NFT is the current market norm for a new project. This will help to raise early seed capital to continue with the project AND see if there is enough interest in the project. If there is a low demand, marketing needs to be tweaked, or project plan must be tweaked. Early money raised will be used to pay for the cost of creating the website, artist time and fee, and large item capital goods (See Step 4).

Fourth Step: Walk the Talk & Hype The Project (2 months)

Use the early money raised to start the business plan. Buy/ rent the Land in the name of a registered company. Buy the main things that is needed for the business. If business is about luxury hotel tents, use the money to buy one tent first. If business is a restaurant, build it and renovate it. Each time an item for the business is bought, social media team can update on the social media. “Hey! We just bought this ____!”. Maybe creating YouTube channel would be an interesting additional revenue to document this process. It is important to start generating hype. Try to contact news articles in respective international home countries. I will try with local news in Singapore. I am confident that there will be a lot of investors from Singapore. Grow social media presence.

Fifth Step: Big Launch (1 month)

Sell 8700 NFTs = $1,500,000, keeping 300 NFTs to the team which can be sold at any time to raise more funds. Pay ourselves first and foremost. I think $500,000 spread between 5 founding members for one year of work is worth our time and effort to come to this point, especially considering living costs in Russia.

(Remember that we will also earn income by other means. -> When people buy and re-sell these NFTs, we will charge them 5-7% royalty fees for each re-sale of NFTs. If a person sell one NFT for $300, we get $21. NFTs can change hands many times and increase in value if project is a success. E.g. 1 BAYC NFT that cost $100,000, 7% fee is $7000. This royalty fees will go directly to our pockets, and not to the business. I.e., this will be the only thing that is not transparent to the public. I think this is fair and is being done by majority of NFT projects.)

Sixth Step: Go Crazy (4 months)

Remaining $1,000,000 will be used to buy remaining capital items & operational cost to sustain business for another 12 months. (Interest in the project may go down after a while. An NFT drop can be released after 4 months. This will increase the capital for the project again, and even expand the business to other things. It will increase the number of NFTs in circulation, hence, more passive royalty fees for the team. For example, if we start with luxury hotel, then we can expand to restaurant. Hence, the new NFT drop (whoever owns the NFT, will receive income from the restaurant.)

The buying process must be recorded and can again be used for good content marketing. If marketing is good, value of NFT will increase and people will want to buy the project’s NFTs. We will not earn 100% of the NFT resale, but we will earn that 7% royalty fees. Yum. Hire a social media moderator. Founding member do not want to be wasting too much time talking with the public. I would also recommend using some of the funds to buy BTC mining machines. This will create guaranteed revenue in case actual business project does not have sustainable income.

Once project is fully operational, monthly profits can be accumulated and distributed (in terms of crypto) to each NFT holder according to the NFT they hold. Why paid in crypto? Easy to distribute. Will also avoid a lot of legal issues.

Seventh Step: NFT Drop, Business Expansion (2 month)

Create another new NFT collection, give to every person who owns the previous NFTs. The team will also receive 300 New NFTs because the team owns 300. NFT drops will generate more hype and resales in the market. Remember that our salary and money is in the number of resales.
Use the new money raised to start something new, example a new restaurant meal, or a boat, or a new theme park ride.

Start talking to venture capitalists.

Eight Step: Go Crazy (4 months)

Hopefully by this point, the resale volume is good enough for us to purchase the new proposed business expansion project.

If overall project & business model succeeds, more people will try to follow this new business model, and we will start to face a lot of competition especially in trying to raise more money and expand. If project succeeds, we will also usher in a new wave of crypto investments and possibly cause the next bull run for crypto, increasing the market adoption and market cap of crypto. If project succeeds, we will be the founding fathers of a new type of business model. NFTs will move away from useless artwork to actual businesses.

If project fails, at the very least, I suspect that we will build a reputation after project concludes. Technically, we can also run away with the $140,000 that we raise in Step 3 or the $1,500,000 after Step 5. But I think that we should do something great with our lives, and don’t be a bitch. The very fact that each one of you is in Russia now tells me that there is a risk and sneakiness in your nature. At the very least, in a few years, we can say, “Remember the time we started a million dollar business in Russia?”

Singapore Science Centre: Underrated Attraction for the Family & Friends!

The Science Centre Singapore was built in 1977 on the western part of Singapore. The massive building complex spanning 650,000 square feet houses several attractions that are ticketed together or separately with visits to the centre such as the Omni Theatre, Snow City, and KidsStop.

I remember coming here as a kid with my family and on a school field trip when I was in primary school. Thus, coming back here when I am in my mid-20s was a walk down memory lane. There are certainly some attractions that had remained since the early 2000s, in particular the main atrium of the complex and the kinetic garden installation outside of the centre.

What Prompted Me To Re-Visit The Centre

In the next few weeks or months depending on when I get my visa settled, I will be moving on to my next phase in life, pursuing an overseas Master's programme on a scholarship for the next two years. Before I do so, however, I thought it would be prudent for me to re-visit some fond Singapore memories. Furthermore, I was also finding an excuse to spend my Singapore Re-Discover voucher that would expire on 31st December 2021 which I have not touched yet.

I searched Klook and Trip.com for activities and attractions where I can use my vouchers and a couple attractions caught my interest. First-and-foremost, a trip to RWS Universal Studios. It has been about three years since I went there and seeing the offers on these sites certainly warranted my attention. I will be making a trip there soon, and perhaps I will be writing a blogpost about my trip there as well. The second attraction that took my attention was the Science Centre Singapore bundle.

The offer on the Klook app was tempting. There were several bundles I can choose from: a 3 hour visit+Da Vinci exhibition, 3 hour visit+Omni Theatre, 6-hour visit+Da Vinci+Omni Theatre, KidsStop, and several others. Being the insufferable planner that I was, I looked at the reviews from past users and planned a trip where I can reap the most benefit from my visit there. Eventually, I chose the 3-hour visit+Omni Theatre experience.

Science Centre Singapore

I booked my visit two weeks before the actual trip on the Klook app and followed the easy steps to use my Singapore Re-Discover vouchers. As the voucher came in $10 denominations, I used an even $20 out of my $100 balance. I also booked a reservation for the Omni Theatre show which was a requirement due to the covid-19 situation. On the 1st October 2021, on a Friday, I left my home at 10am and made my way to the centre. As I stayed in the east and will be taking the public transport, I had to set aside two hours for my journey there and two hours back. I reached Jurong East MRT station at around 11.30am. From Jurong East MRT station, the Science Centre is only a 10 minutes walk away. I just had to walk towards JCube, and then walk past the national library, cross an overhead bridge, turn right, walk a short distance forward, and then cross a road to reach the centre.

I did not know where the main entrance was but as I entered the vicinity, I found myself inside the Kinetic Gardens. Instantly, a wave of nostalgia hit me. The Kinetic Gardens still had most of the attractions that was here 10 years ago! The same kinetic structure displays were there, and I remember the times I had ran around the garden with my young school mates trying each one of the interactive displays. I think we had been waiting for the school bus to take us back to school. Anyway, I walked down a flight of stairs and found the main entrance.

A friendly staff directed me to the direction of the Omni-Theatre. The Omni Theatre is located on an adjacent yellow building, a short minutes walk away from the main complex. While walking, I passed a telescope shop and the KidsStop attraction. KidsStop is a new attraction that was not here 10 years ago. The attraction is meant for children, thus I had no intention of purchasing a separate ticket to explore the attraction. However, from the outside, it definitely looked fun and interesting, something like a big wonderland of activities and I am pretty sure if I am a kid I would enjoy myself. The Omni-Theatre is located just to the left of the KidsStop attraction.

At the entrance, a door stood in my way into the theatre. The door is locked but a sign on the door states that if I had enquiries I could call for help. My show was at 12pm and I had arrived at 11.45am. There was a father and son pair already waiting outside the door. I waited for a short while and at around 11.50am, a staff opened the door to allow us in. I scanned the voucher on my Klook app, and the staff checked my reservation. After confirmation, I was shown the way into the Omni Theatre.

Omni Theatre

The Omni Theatre is a massive cinema of sorts. Documentary movies are showcased and cast upon the massive hemispheric screen on the inner side of the theatre, creating a jaw-dropping movie experience. 'Dinosaurs of Antarctica', a 40 minute documentary about the ecology of Antarctica from the Permian era more than 260 million years ago to present day was playing. As I had booked my tickets on a weekday, I had expected very few people and true to my expectation, there were only six other people in the theatre for the show. As it was a free seating, I had the luxury to choose whatever seat I wanted and I chose a seat nearer to the top, right in the middle. To be honest, the best seats would have to be nearer the middle as the screen does not extend 360 degrees but rather cuts off somewhere around the top. Still, the view was great and the story and visuals amazed me.

I am a sucker for interesting facts and history, so the documentary was very entertaining for me. Did you know that there was a massive extinction event before the dinosaur era, between the Permian and Triassic period, that killed about 96% of lifeforms on Earth? Did you know that one of the remaining creatures that survived was a species called the lystrosaurus, also commonly called the 'shovel lizard'? In a later blogpost or YouTube video, I am sure I will be making content about this era as this certainly fascinated me.

The show ended promptly at 12.40pm. After the show, I headed out for lunch. As I had a good 1 hour and 20 minutes before being allowed into the Science Centre for the 3 hour visit, I went back to Jem for my lunch. There were actually several food places in the centre itself, but for the variety that were available around the MRT station, I head there instead.

Science Centre

The reason I had chosen my ticket bundle was because of the timing issue. From the reviews, people did not have enough time to complete the entire Science Centre within the 3 hour period. The Da Vinci exhibit is within the Science Centre and as such, one has to visit the exhibit within the 3 hour period. Thus, I felt that if I had chosen the Da Vinci ticket bundle, I would not have enough time to see all that Science Centre has to offer. The great thing about the OmniTheatre bundle is that the theatre show can be viewed before the 3-hour Science Centre visit.

After my lunch, I walked back to the Science Centre and arrived at exactly 2pm. There were about ten or so people just entering the centre. I flashed my Klook voucher and was allowed into the centre. Instantly, I was bedazzled by the sheer number of interactive displays.

Here's the thing about the Science Centre. It is a place to learn science that is fun, and that entails the displays and exhibits to be interactive. Hence, every small display has some form of interactive input and that, I believe, is why 3 hours may not be sufficient to cover all the displays. My first instinct was to try the displays near the entrance which was themed around optical illusions. I spent a good ten minutes or so, before I realise I need to head in to get a better understanding of how much time I would actually need.

The Science Centre's layout centres around the atrium which is shaped like a cube. At each side of the cube is an entrance to one or several themed exhibit. Among the themed exhibits are 'Phobia2: The Science of Fear', 'Earth Alive' and 'Poo'. Each exhibit contains numerous interactive displays related to the theme that hopefully helps to inform visitors more about the theme. The wide variety of displays range from a simple smoke ring machine where one presses on a large circular ring to produce a circular fog that rises to the ceiling, to an earthquake simulator where one stands on a platform that shakes according to the strength of the earthquake on show.

There are some displays that would definitely take more time than others, especially those that involve playing a game on a digital screen. If I were to be asked for a preference on the themed exhibit, I would recommend the 'Phobia2: The Science of Fear' exhibit. From the outside, the exhibit seemed like a haunted house but rest assured the entire centre is kid-friendly, so do not expect it to be like a Halloween Horror Nights kind of attraction. Rather, the displays takes you on a journey to explain why fear exists. The props used are amazing, and so are the interactiveness of the displays! I shall not divulge too much about the exhibit less I spoil your experience. I have to say that it was a fun experience, and I certainly learned a lot about why people come to fear certain things and how to get rid of such fears. Unfortunately, due to covid-19 restrictions, a couple of displays were closed as they do not promote safe-distancing. Among the displays that were closed was a roller coaster ride within the Phobia2 exhibit.

Another exhibit that was pretty interesting was 'Professor Crackitt's Light Fantastic Mirror Maze'. It is a giant mirror maze where upon stumbling through the maze, you will find displays within the maze that teaches you about the properties of light and mirrors. At the beginning of the maze, a staff handed out a styrofoam prodding stick for one to use to navigate the maze. I actually got lost in the maze and had to retrace my steps several times and ended up spending a good 15 minutes in the maze. But, it was a good experience and would certainly recommend you trying the exhibit at least once!

Another exhibit I would recommend is the 'E3' exhibit. Unfortunately, the main attraction in the 'E3' exhibit, some machines and a theatre, were closed due to covid. The flying machine was available, however. The machine is manned by two staff who gives you an instruction on how to use the machine. When you use the machine, you put on a VR headset and then lie belly-first on a machine. The staff then helps you to strap your hands and legs. Instantly, you will be immersed into a flying environment, scaling the skies of a virtual city. There are wind machines that helps to simulate the flying experience better, so it really does feel like you are gliding through the skies. I am sure nobody wants to miss this display!

After going through each of the exhibit on the first floor, you should also not miss out on the exhibits on the second floor. On the second floor, there are still a few more exhibits, including the 'Future Makers' exhibit and 'Dialogue With Time' exhibit which was pretty interesting as well. And after you are done with the second floor, there is also a workshop located inside the 'E3' exhibit that you can participate in. In this workshop, called 'The Tinkering Studio', staff will give you material to make something interesting to take home! When I was there, the workshop was on how to create a card that lights up using a simple electric circuit that is made from a small battery and conducting copper strips. The staff were friendly and at the end of the day, I was glad to be able to bring home a cool card to use as a gift!

I did not interact with all the displays during my time at the Science Centre, but it was not for the lack of time, but more of choice for I gravitate towards the displays that seemed interesting to me. Nevertheless, once I am satisfied with the displays that I have played around with, it seems that I have utilised 2hours and 50 minutes, leaving me with only 10 minutes remaining from my 3 hour slot. As such, I am pretty sure if I had bought the package with the Da Vinci exhibit, I would not have time to explore to my hearts content, the displays that I wanted to try and will then have to book for another day. I am also pretty sure if one were to come with kids who may want to try and spend more time on each of the displays, it would take a lot more time and hence one cannot complete viewing the entire exhibits. And, if the covid restrictions were elevated and all the displays were open, then there certainly would not be enough time to cover all the displays. Considering this, please do consider having a time management plan before going to the Science Centre to get the best experience!

As I left the Science Centre, I made my way into the Science Centre's gift shop, The Curiosity Shop. Included in my ticket bundle was a $5 voucher for every $10 spent, not including food and beverages. It dawned to me that the prices there were a little pricey and may not be worth the $5 discount as compared to elsewhere, but I suppose they would make for very good souvenirs. As such, I did not utilise my voucher, and thus made my way out amid the announcement that the Science Centre was closing.

I left, a happy and , hopefully, more knowledgeable customer in this hugely underrated and satisfying attraction.

The Brahmi-Derived Writing Scripts: Tibetan and How to Read It

The Tibetan script. Credits: Wan Ariff

In a previous post about Devanagari, we have looked at a brief history of Brahmi-derived scripts and the two characteristics that define a writing script’s relation to the ancestral Brahmi writing script. As a recap, the two major design features that define a Brahmi-derived script are: (1) independent or initial vowel signs and (2) diacritic vowel indication in postconsonantal position. This is realised as the system of aksara and matra in Devanagari & Brahmi. In this post, we will be looking at a different Brahmi-derived writing script, the Tibetan writing script.

Thonmi Sambhota. Credits: WikiCommons.

The Tibetan writing system dates back to the 7th century of the Common Era as a syllabic script. It’s origin is not well attested, but it is widely assumed to be patterned on the Gupta script which is an offshoot of Brahmi and flourished with the great Gupta Empire until the 6th century of the Common Era. Another theory to the creation of the writing script is that it was invented by a minister called Thonmi Sambhota around the mid 7th century who had travelled to India and invented the script based off the Nagari script, a script that would eventually develop into the Devanagari writing script.

The Structure of the Tibetan Script

Yi ge. Credits: Wan Ariff

The Tibetan writing script is written from left to right. The basic functional unit of the script is the Yi ge, which is the equivalence of an aksara in Brahmi. Yi ge are basic consonant signs that each contain an inherent vowel a and there are 30 Yi ge in the Tibetan writing script. Diacritic markers are added to a Yi ge to change the value of the inherent vowel from an a to a different vowel. There are 4 main vowel diacritic markers and these are for I, u, e, and o. For example, the symbol for the voiceless velar consonant ‘k’ is pronounced as ‘ka’ when used independently. However, if we include the superscript for -I, the symbol is read as ‘ki’.

Vowels in Tibetan. Credits: Wan Ariff

Unlike other Brahmi derived syllabic script, the Tibetan writing script only has one independent vowel symbol which is for ‘a’. Hence, if one wishes to write a word that starts with a vowel other than ‘a’, one has to use the independent vowel symbol for ‘a’ and use it with another of the other vowel diacritic. For example, this is the symbol of what 'o' would look like.

The paucity of vowel letters makes for difficult reading as vowel signs take on multiple values. To exemplify this difficulty, Modern Tibetan has 12 distinct vowels and 2 tones in the language, but the Tibetan writing script only has five vowel signs that are distinguished while tones are not marked at all.

Vowel length. Credits: Wan Ariff

To compensate for the vowel deficiencies in the writing script, several innovations are introduced. The Yi ge for ‘h’ called the achung can be used as a diacritic marker to create a long vowel. For example, to make 'phaa', I can simply add the achung as a subscript.

Consonant Cluster. Credits: Wan Ariff

The Yi ge for ‘j’ can also combine as a diacritic to 7 other Yi ge to form conjunct consonant signs like ‘kya’ and ‘pya’. The Yi ge for ‘l’ can combine with 6 other Yi ge to form conjunct consonant signs like ‘’bla’ and ‘zla’. Like other Brahmi-derived scripts, the graphic syllable is a two-dimensional form to be interpreted as a whole instead of a linear string of consonants and vowels. 

In the Tibetan script, the internal structure of the ligature may no longer correspond to the phonetic interpretation. This is primarily due to the language behind the writing script changing without the writing script being reformed accordingly. A similar phenomenon can be found in French where written words often take on the form of how it was once pronounced before the language behind the script changes and in some English words such as knight where the ‘k’ used to be pronounced in Old English. Thus, in the Tibetan writing script, the prescript for ‘b’ and the postscript for ‘d’ are common vestigial remnants and are not pronounced when read.

Tsheg. Credits: Wan Ariff

A diacritic marker called tsheg, written as a superscript dot on the right shoulder of a Yi ge indicates the syllable closure. For example, ‘sa’ and ‘da’, combined with a tsheg on the ‘da’ symbol will form ‘sad’ which means ‘to awaken’ in Modern Tibetan. Two consecutive Yi ge without a tsheg to separate the symbols are to be interpreted as a consonant cluster. However, it is also possible to simply separate the two Yi ge in isolation to achieve the same result. This structural possibility would imply that technically, the Tibetan writing script can be structured more linearly compared to other Brahmi-derived scripts but as we can see from an analysis of the writing script, the functional unit of the writing script is still the graphic syllable.

Other non-phonetic markers. Credits: Wan Ariff

The Tibetan script also has a unique array of symbols and markers to represent extra phonetic elements. You may find the yig mgo that marks the beginning of a text, the sbrul shad that separates topic from sub-topics, the tshig-grub that marks the end of a section, the don-tshan that marks the end of a topic, the gter-tsheg that is used like a comma, and the gug rtags gyon & gyas that is used like a brackets. Furthermore, the Tibetan script also has a set of numeral symbols of their own that are different from the arabic numerals.

Basic Yi ge. Credit: Florian Columns

The Man Who Can See Constant {Chapter 4: What is Consciousness}

I know that many people would not believe me when I tell them that there is a man who flickers and can see Constant. It contradicts their senses and beliefs about the laws of this world. I have given some thought as to why people may choose not to believe some stories but then easily choose to believe others, and I think it is imperative that I explain it to you.

In my opinion, our beliefs are created by our consciousness. But what is Consciousness? Some people define consciousness as our ability to be aware of things. My belief is that consciousness is an inherent tool that humans possess that separates truth from falsehood. Another property of this tool is that it is social in nature; in order to validate whether a concept or object is true, you need another being to confirm its existence.

Let me explain, and I hope my explanation can be as enthusiastic and well-explained as The Flickering Man’s. We are all predisposed with sensory organs that had developed over thousands of years since the time our ancestors were primal apes in the grasslands of Africa. Eyes enable us to perceive a certain range of light. Ears enable us to perceive a certain range of sound waves. Skin allows us to perceive a certain range of temperature. Tongue allows us to perceive a certain range of taste. Nose allows us to perceive a certain range of smell. These are evolutionary developments that help the human self to receive inputs from the external environment. Our development is not unique to other life forms on this planet. In fact, some species of apes like the chimpanzees come very close in biology to humans that their sensory input could very well be similar if not better than us humans.

But sensory inputs without consciousness would render all these sensory inputs meaningless. Without the tool to determine if our sensory inputs is real and has value, we would be able to perceive, but not acknowledge or understand them. This inability would render non-humans to live by the natural cycles of the world, blindly driven by their own chemical hormones and changes in the external environment.

So now, let me try to explain how our consciousness tool work. I see a red ball lying on the sands of the beach. The ball belongs to the external environment. Red light waves bounced off the ball and is captured by the photoreceptors in my eyes. I think the ball is lying on the sands of the beach. I think the ball is red. I think gravity is keeping the ball lying motionless. I think that the ball is about ten metres away from me. This process is what humans and other organism that have similar sensory input organs experience an infinite number of times at every given second. However, without the ability or tool to comprehend the realness of the ball, these experiences never amount to something significant to me. Some people may argue and bring up the defence that animals too can comprehend their surroundings and make sense of them to manipulate their environment in their favour. I acknowledge that they are able to manipulate their environment, but I disagree in relating the similarity in how we comprehend compared to non-human beings comprehend things. Theirs is a system of acculturated motions and instincts - I do this, I get a response like this - but in humans, our comprehension is based on, first and foremost, determining the realness of something and then trial and testing more logic to eventually create an understanding.

Thus, the second part of this consciousness tool theory is the inherent truth-value tool - a social tool because you will need another being for it to work. In the example of the red ball, I can only know that the ball is real by verifying it with another person. A person can kick the ball to me. My assumptions on gravity and the weight of the ball is verified. A person can point to the ball. My assumptions that the ball exists and the distance of the ball to me is right. A person can ask for me to get 'the red ball’. My assumptions about the colour of the ball is right.

There is an interesting fact that blew my mind the other day and that is, we cannot actually know if another person perceive colours the same way we perceive colours. You see, photoreceptors in our eyes receive photons from light and these photoreceptors converts this input into electric signals that the brain interprets. However, research have shown that the number and type of photoreceptors vary from person to person and just like fingerprints, are actually unique from human to human. Thus, each person should be receiving inputs of colours differently from another person. My orange is not your orange! But there is one thing we can all agree and that is, my orange colour (the way I see it), is also your orange colour.

Thus, when I tell you that there exists a Man that Flickers and can see Constant, I dare not expect many to believe me because they themselves have not seen a man that can flicker or see Constant, nor verified this phenomenon with someone that has met such a Man. Perhaps you may have seen such a man in a sci-fi flick, and thus this plausibility is perhaps… plausibly real to you. For me, although by my definition of the consciousness tool the realness of this Man is if I can verify his existence with another person, I had verified his existence when I interacted with him whom I consider a conscious being. Thus, for me, forever, he exists. The Man Who Can See Constant.

The Man Who Can See Constant {Chapter 3: People With Compasses in Their Heads}

On Wednesday, I kind of expected to see The Flickering Man already seated at the same spot that I had left him the day before where I had my lunch. My expectation was partially right. The Flickering Man was still in the park but he was not seated. Rather, he was pacing back and forth between the fountain and the park bench where we had sat. So I made my way towards him and as soon as he saw me, I saw the widest grin that I had seen from a man in this city forming on his face.

“Hello there. I reached a little bit of a eureka moment this morning and I wish to share this fascinating discovery with you. Come, come, please take a seat,” The Flickering Man beckoned me to a seat.

I made my way round to a park bench and took a seat. After I was comfortably seated, I lifted the lids off my lunchbox and took out the ham and cheese sandwich which I had made for myself in the morning and pre-heated in my workplace’s pantry oven. I watched as The Flickering Man continued to pace back and forth. I saw that he still had on his grey Oxford shirt and khaki pants, but he had swapped out his boots for more normal dress shoes. With his shirt tucked out, he almost seemed like a typical city man on a weekend drink with his friends. The Flickering Man stopped pacing about a metre away from me and looked up to face me.

“Languages. Do you speak different languages?” The Flickering Man abruptly asked.

I can speak two languages… Although I am only really proficient in one.

“Do you think that you think differently, or feel different, when you speak in a different language?” The Flickering Man prompted me further.

I’m not sure… But I feel like I can better explain certain things in one language than another.

“What about directions? Can you tell where is North and where is South?” The Flickering Man probed me, in what appears to be a discontinuity from his previous line of questioning.

If you get me a compass, or if I observed the Sun, I suppose I can tell you the cardinal directions.

“But what if you close your eyes or are indoors. Can you still tell?”

No, of course not.

“But some people can.”

They do?

“Yes. People who speak Guugu Yimithirr in Northern Queensland in Australia.”

That is interesting.

“Indeed. They are not the only ones who can, however. People who speak Tzeltal in Southern Mexico, Marshallese from the Polynesian Marshall islands and many more across the globe. They all have the ability to tell you the cardinal directions, even if you were to blindfold them and spin them around more than 100 times!” The Flickering Man informed me.

Like having an internal compass.

“Exactly! Although… not as perfect as an actual compass.”

Why are you interested to find out about this peculiar ability of theirs?

The Flickering Man’s face turned a little serious.

“Your curiosity yesterday set me on a quest of discovering the limitedness of your beings’ perceptual faculties,” The Flickering Man explained. “I wanted to discover what exactly can you perceive and what can you not. I thought it could help me too since if I knew your being’s perceptual limits, I can better ease myself into your universe and try to be a part of it’s cycles. Thus, I had travelled the globe, met all of these amazing people and discovered this extraordinary discovery”.

You went to all of these places in one morning?

“Yes,” The Flickering Man casually replied, as if it is something un-extraordinary at all. “The people with compasses in their heads, they can perceive direction like you never could without the use of external tools. Do you know what does this mean?”

No, you tell me.

“This means that you have an internal device or system already embedded within your psyche - language - that could enable you to expand your own limited perceptual faculties,” The Flickering Man revealed excitedly.

But as you mentioned, isn’t an actual compass a lot more useful in increasing our perceptual abilities?

“Yes. A microscope, an X-Ray machine, infrared glasses or maybe even those ghost detection devices some ghost-hunters used. All these machines could, in many ways, expand one’s perceptual abilities more than a language probably ever could,” The Flickering Man agreed.

There was a pause in our conversation. During the short pause, The Flickering Man walked towards me and plopped himself down onto the seat beside me.

Is there a tool out there that could help us perceive everything?

“You mean to see Constant?”

Yes.

Another pause. The Flickering Man turned to face me and I could see now he was grinning from ear to ear again. He was practically beaming.

“There is. And it is more of a language than it is a tool,” The Flickering Man told me.

Really? What is it?

“Maths! Maths is the language of Constant. Understanding maths and using it to study the world will allow you to perceive Constant.”

I closed my lunch box. I had finished my meal. 

I know a little Maths. Why can’t I perceive Constant?

“You have to apply it to the world and see if the Maths’ integrity holds. If it holds, you would have discovered and perceived Constant,” The Flickering Man told me.

How about social constructs, like my relationship with people. Those seems pretty constant to me.

“Unfortunately, emotional attachment is perhaps one of the most un-constant-like thing in this world and belongs to the cycles of cause and effects that began when this world began. If the ones you have a relationship with abandoned you, scarred you - emotionally, physically, or mentally - you may lose your feelings of attachment for them. Some night say emotions are justna play of chemical hormones in our heads. And chemicals, they are a part of the natural cycles of this world, so it is not a Constant.”

What is a Constant then?

“You’ll have to observe the world a little deeper if you truly intend to perceive Constant. Look around you and look past the immeasurable cycles of this world. Constant is everywhere around you. It is in everything.”

I looked around the park. I looked at the trees, the leaves that had fallen onto the ground, the birds, the buildings. I hear the sound of a car horn in the distant and the sound of birds chirping. I see the thin sliver of sunlight that creeps through the oddly-shaped building.

Light. When there is light, like that sun ray over here, and I try to touch it or catch it with my bare hands, my hands will just pass right through it. But I know… I know that the light is always there and will always be there in that space. So is Light a Constant?

“A great observation. In observing and understanding Light, you can perceive a property or facet of Constant. One could describe Light as a symptom of Constant that humans are able to perceive. Did you know that Light travels at exactly 299 792 458 metres per second in a vacuum?”

I think I’ve read about it before.

“It is a peculiarity because it means that no matter where you are observing light from, be it you are travelling at a thousand kilometres per second or just standing still, light will always be observed to be travelling at the same speed. Is that not proof enough that Light is a symptom of a Constant universe out there? A universe or dimension that you are not yet able to perceive?” The Flickering Man asked me.

I stretched out my hands to touch the sliver of light in front of me. And I knew, I had closed my hands around a piece of Constant.

The Man Who Can See Constant {Chapter 2: The Blind Earthworm}

The next day as I walked to my afternoon spot on the park bench, I had a cup of instant noodles in my hand that I had bought from a 711 nearby. I saw The Flickering Man already seated on the spot I had left him the previous day. He no longer had his trench coat on, but instead, he wore a grey long-sleeved Oxford shirt. He did, however, still had on his khaki pants and heavy boots.

There had been a heavy tropical rainstorm the night before, thus the park had puddles of water everywhere and the air felt cooler and wet. Instead of taking the seat beside The Flickering Man, I decided to sit on the empty park bench just next to the one we were sitting on.

The Flickering Man was not flickering anymore and he had a rather calm expression on his face as he sat back enjoying the cool breeze that blows through the park. It seemed to me as if he had not noticed my presence at all. As soon as I was comfortably seated, I peeked under the aluminium cover of my cup noodles. The noodles were no longer hard and they had become that perfect slightly soft but also slightly crunchy texture that I enjoy. I broke my chopsticks and was about to dig in when I noticed The Flickering Man beckoning me towards him, somewhat excitedly.

I pointed to myself, as if to ask, “Me? You want me to go over to you?”

He nodded. So I got up with my cup noodles and went to sit beside him.

“I wish to apologise for not being an accommodating guest yesterday. I feared I could lose touch with this world of yours and just disappear. Thus, I was so focused in trying to make sure that I didn’t. I am usually not like that. It is not always the case that I found just the right condition to be able to interact with someone or something that has awareness such as yourself because most of the time, I live in the blind cycles of the universe,” The Flickering Man told me.

I asked him why he was flickering the day before.

“The flickering is simply me trying my best to represent myself in a way that I could be perceived by you and the other beings that have the same perceptual faculties such as yourself. I did not quite attune myself right yesterday, causing me to only appear to be flickering but I assure you that my existence is as real as you or anything else that you can perceive,” The Flickering Man explained, or tried to at least.

But humans can’t flicker.

“Well, I wasn’t flickering. Like I said, it is your perceptual faculty that makes me appear to be flickering. I am not some kind of light bug that have the ability to generate and create its own light, if that is what you are implying,” The Flickering Man pointed to me then back to himself.
Is there something wrong with my, um, perceptual faculty then?

“No, nothing of that sorts, but your perceptual faculty is limited. Everybody’s perception in this world is limited in some way or another. But if I may add on, it is probably more of a good thing that they are,” The Flickering Man assured me.

I didn’t quite understand what he meant that my perception was limited. As far as I know, I have flawless eyesight, and all my other senses are in excellent condition. Thus, in between slurping my noodles, I asked him how exactly are my perceptual abilities limited.

“How do I put it… Look there.”

The Flickering Man pointed towards the puddle at our feet. I looked at where he was pointing at. The puddle showed the reflection of the two of us sitting on the bench, the trees were swaying gently behind us, and the tall skyscrapers in the background loomed magnificently overhead. What was he trying to show?

Then, I saw it. Or rather, I saw something move. There was a small air bubble and an ever so tiny ripple near the middle of the puddle. It was an earthworm. In fact, the longer I observed the puddle, the more earthworms of varying sizes that I could spot swimming lazily in the puddle.

“The earthworms… Do you see them?” The Flickering Man asked me.

Yes.

“They can’t see you, can they?” The Flickering Man asked again.

No, they can’t. They are earthworms.

“Yes, earthworms are born without eyes. They were created that way. They never had the perceptual faculty to see or perceive light. The same goes for cave critters or many deep sea creatures that are also unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, not naturally imbued with eyes.”

But I have eyes. I am human.

“Do you think the earthworms know that they cannot see light?”

No, I suppose not.

“They don’t. They are blind to the entire world of light and colours. But are they missing out? Probably not. From their point of view, they have a universe of their own which they continue to perceive and interact through their limited senses and I’d like to think it is enough to keep them occupied. And to you, though you may think you have all the senses in the world, you don’t, and you probably aren’t feeling bogged down by that limitation anyway, are you?”

No, I suppose not.

That was the very first lesson that I had from The Flickering Man, and a very important one it was. There are really a lot of things in this world that I don’t know of, that maybe I should know, but I just didn’t. I was content, and oblivious, with my limited perceptual faculties. Just like that gently swimming earthworm.

Is there someone who can perceive everything then, or someone who can perceive more than what ordinary humans can?

The Flickering Man fell silent for a moment at my question. I took the opportunity to slurp on my cup noodles because they were getting colder by the second. I saw his eyes fell a little, or maybe I didn’t.

“Beings that can see Constant can perceive almost everything.”

Can you see Constant?

“Yes.”

I looked down at my cup noodles. It was almost finished.

The Man Who Can See Constant {Chapter 1: Meeting The Flickering Man}

My life changed the moment I met The Flickering Man. I called him that because using his name never quite seem right given the extraordinary nature of his existence.

I remember the day I met him for the first time. It was just a typical warm humid weekday afternoon in the city and I was having a satisfying lunch of overstuffed kebab in a park near my workplace.The park has a dull fountain in the middle, about five park benches surrounding the fountain, and a couple of trees lining behind the park benches. Tall towering skyscrapers loomed outside the park’s boundary, shrouding the park in perpetual shade.

I was sitting on one of the benches having my lunch while observing the pigeons shuffling on the paved floor when I felt a figure taking a seat right next to me. That day, there was only one other person in that park - an old man who appeared to be sleeping, sitting across us. Thus, it felt strange to have this person come sit right next to me when all the other park benches were unoccupied. My first thought was that it was a colleague from work that had found my afternoon shrine and decided to talk about some work. If it was, I think I would have studied the city map once more to locate the next park space to enjoy my lunch in peace. But it was not. It was The Flickering Man.

I stole a glance at the person from the corner of my eye. It was a man. He was wearing a dark blue trench coat, a pair of long khaki pants and a pair of heavy boots. A fairly odd attire for the tropical city that I live in where the temperature outside never falls below 25 degrees celsius. The man had both of his hands tightly gripped over his knees and a look of utmost concentration on his face as he stared at the pigeons ahead of us. 

Then, he flickered.

I blinked. Perhaps it is an optical illusion, so I thought. With light creeping past the cracks in the metallic buildings around us at weird angles and intensity, perhaps the light had played a trick in my eyes. 

But he flickered again.

When something noticeably strange occur, it is natural that we address the occurrence and then we react to it. The universe compels us to do so. Ignoring the strange event is simply detaching oneself from the natural cycle of this world, and in doing so we will most certainly create an even more abnormal chain reaction of events far greater than the original events. For example, when a blazing inferno erupted right in front of you out of nowhere, it is most certainly unnatural for you to continue walking into it. Someone watching you will feel compelled to scream or come rushing at you to pull you away and then they may get burnt, and when they get burnt, their family will be distraught, and when they are distraught, they will want to blame someone or get compensation from the insurance company. The insurance company will have a field day trying to paint the incident as an act of God just so they can escape having to compensate the victim. It will be an irony because technically, if you believe in a God, everything is an act of God. The point is, in your ignorance of the sudden change that had happened, you had induced a chain reaction of otherwise preventable, non-existent actions into being. It is best to just go with the flow.

Thus, I had turned to face The Flickering Man to confront this abnormal situation.

Good day to you. Is it just me, or are you flickering?

“Good day to you too! And yes! If that is what you perceive, then I most certainly am… I am trying not to, however, but it has been a while since I tried to tune myself to the cycles of a particular world and a particular moment and it definitely has been a while longer since I had to attempt to acculturate myself to the perceptual faculties of beings who are aware of the laws of their world such as yourself, but I usually get it right in the end!” The Flickering Man broke off from his staring of the pigeons and turned to explain to me. Or at least he tried to.

“Right then. I have got to get it right this time, shouldn’t I? There is just that specific narrow view of it that people can perceive. I certainly hope I do not appear like some horrendous scary all-terrifying demon,” The Flickering Man continued.

You don’t look like a demon.

“That’s a relief isn’t it? If I was, I’d expect you wouldn’t be sitting calmly beside me like you are now. You see, if I don’t get this right, I could appear like a static tree, or I could just disappear. Well… technically I won’t disappear, because I will still be here here. If that makes any sense to you,” The Flickering Man chuckled. “I can see you starting to look a little confused. Maybe I can try to explain it better some other day, but not today! If you don’t mind, I need to concentrate so that I can stop flickering!”

With that, The Flickering Man turned back to face the pigeons and continued staring intensely at them. The Flickering Man remained silent that day except with the occasional humming and grunting, and, of course, flickering.

My phone alarm beeped, indicating that my afternoon break was over. I wolfed down the remainder of my kebab, stood up, threw away the wrapper and as The Flickering Man was still busy, I decided to just leave him there. I thought my encounter with him would be the last time we met.

As it turns out, it wasn’t.

Crypto Guide Part 1 - How to Create a Wallet to Store Cryptocurrency in Singapore

Blockchain technology took the world by storm a couple of years ago and the market for blockchain-related products have grown to more than a trillion dollars. Some people consider the market as pure speculation on nothingness while others consider the market as an opportunity in terms of investment or solving real world problems. Nevertheless, to navigate this space, one needs to acquire a minimal understanding of the market and the various entry points. In this series of blogpost on Crypto Guide, I will be explaining from a user perspective the steps that I have learnt and used to navigate the blockchain technology space. After this guide, I am sure that navigating the space is not as daunting as it may first appear to be, and a whole new world and community will be revealed to you.

[Part 1] Purchasing My First Cryptocurrency: Creating a Wallet

Before you can purchase your first cryptocurrency, there are several things you have to do. First, you need a wallet to store your cryptocurrency and to make transactions. This step is optional if you just intend to trade cryptocurrency in an exchange. However, if you wish to explore the world of blockchain technology, it is imperative that you acquire a wallet.

There are two kinds of wallet: a hot wallet and a cold wallet. A hot wallet is a digital wallet that stores your crypto on the internet. A cold wallet is a physical wallet that you store outside of the internet. There are pros and cons to having a cold or a hot wallet. Personally, I trust the security of the exchanges and wallets that I use, thus I am comfortable with just using a hot wallet.

Cold Wallet

1. Less prone to hacking as the crypto is stored offline.

2. Not always supports the different blockchains.

3. If you lose the physical wallet, you lose the crypto. If you lose your keys to your physical wallet, you lose the crypto.

Hot Wallet

2. More prone to hacking.

2. Able to download various kinds of wallets that support different kinds of blockchains.

3. You only lose the crypto if you lose your keys.

Thus, the most defining aspect between the two is the security of your crypto. Another thing that I should clarify are the keys. Keys allow you to access your crypto from several different devices or even salvage a crypto wallet when you accidentally delete the wallet in your device. A key can be in the form of a password, OTP verification, thumbprint verification, or a seed phrase and this varies from wallet to wallet.

Example of a Seed Phrase. Credits: Wikipedia

The most important key for any wallet is the Seed Phrase. When you create a new wallet, hot or cold, you are given a Seed Phrase which is usually a 24 word list. Write this important Seed Phrase in two notebooks and store it somewhere safe. Do not store and type the Seed Phrase in your computer because someone can hack and steal it. Giving someone this Seed Phrase is essentially giving that person your entire wallet. There is an important saying in the crypto space which is: "Not your keys, not your crypto." I have been around in several Discord chats and people have lost their Seed Phrases and essentially their entire crypto savings when they lose their seed phrase.

Seed Phrases are also useful if you intend to use several device to access you crypto wallet. After installing the wallet in a new device, the wallet app or extension will prompt you to enter your Seed Phrase. Thus, you can simply enter your 24 words and your crypto wallet will be made available to you.

The great thing about seed phrases and the security of wallets is that someone stealing your device with your crypto wallet already installed in it do not immediately have access to your crypto wallet. For hot wallets, your crypto is stored on the blockchain itself which cannot be physically stolen. The person will either need to steal your password to the hot wallet or steal your Seed Phrase. Thus, the important number one rule: Not your keys, not your crypto.

Which Wallet Should I Use?

From here on forth, I will be speaking solely on experience. I chose to only use a hot wallet due to the efficiency of hot wallets and my belief in the security of the wallet and exchanges that I use. There are several different kinds of hot wallets in the market. It is free for you to install these wallets and usually, hot wallets simply charge a percentage fee for making transactions using their wallets.

The type of hot wallet that you need depends on the cryptocurrency that you intend to purchase or make transactions with. You have to think of blockchain technology as a network, like the internet. There is Ethereum and Bitcoin, the current two most popular cryptocurrency. They operate on two different networks. That means that if you have a wallet that supports the Ethereum network only, you would not be able to store and transact Bitcoins in that wallet.

Thankfully blockchain technology and wallet creators have developed features which allows you to transfer cryptocurrencies between blockchains. For example, you may find an application that was developed on the Ethereum network that accepts Bitcoin payment. How? Bitcoin can be wrapped in an Ethereum-compatible layer and transacted using a side chain on the Ethereum network. There are different strategies that wallet and apps use to enable cross-functionality between different blockchains, but the important thing to note is that it is possible.

Metamask wallet icon.

The most useful and widely used wallet that you most definitely must have is a Metamask wallet. You will find that almost all applications and exchanges accepts this wallet and may even be a requirement to use a lot of dapps. If this is your first time, you need to sign up for a metamask wallet account in the Metamask website, metamask.io, and follow the steps to set up an account. A Seed Phrase will be given to you, and this is the part where you write it down in a notebook.

If you are using a computer, you must get a metamask extension and bookmark it. I use Chrome and the extension will appear on the top right hand corner of the browser after you have bookmarked it. If you need to access it, you can simply click on the Metamask icon which is a picture of a fox, and enter your password. If you are using a phone, you have to download the metamask app. Making purchases or transactions through your phone is a little inconvenient as you may need to use the metamask app as a browser and this is not the most user-friendly.

There are also several other different wallets that are available but I would recommend you to only install the wallet that you need to use because the most common cryptocurrencies can already be transacted using your Metamask wallet. However, if there is an altcoin that is not supported by Metamask and/ or have its own wallet that carries more benefits for their users, then do go ahead and use it. One example is the Binance wallet that facilitate transactions on the Binance network. It is possible for you to create a Binance node in you Metamask wallet to support Binance transactions, however, if you are unfamiliar as to how to install a node, you can simply use the Binance wallet. Unfortunately, not all apps support the Binance wallet. For example, a popular blockchain game, mydefipet only allows players who have a metamask wallet with Binance nodes installed to play and does not support the Binance wallet. (Another example why Metamask is the most important wallet to have.)

In Singapore, there are currently no restrictions to downloading and installing hot or cold wallets such as Metamask or Ledger. Downloading Metamask is also free. Metamask only charges a very minimal sum which is almost negligible when you make transactions using their wallet.

Now that you know how to create a wallet, the next step is to create an account in a crypto exchange to buy some crypto. Do check out Crypto Guide Part 2 to find out how!

Crypto Guide 1: How to Create a Wallet to Store Cryptocurrency in Singapore

Crypto Guide 2: How to Purchase Cryptocurrency in a Crypto Exchange

Crypto Guide 3: How to Make a Transaction on the Ethereum Blockchain

Crypto Guide 4: How to Make a Transaction on an Ethereum Sidechain Network