Being Knowledgeable Is Sexy
Recently, I have been thinking: what makes a person interesting? And my answer is: knowledge. Let me share with you my story. Back in 2019, I started my very first term in Oxford in Teddy Hall (a nickname for St Edmund Hall, which everyone uses). I met a visiting student from China, who was doing his third year in Mathematics. We sometimes had dinner together in the dining hall, with a couple of my other friends. There were a few times where I arrived late for dinner, and met him in the queue too. Those were times where interesting conversations happen. Whenever we dined together, I always took the chance to dig his brains for information, after I found out that he was someone who loved sharing his insights on different topics in life and teaching complex mathematical concepts. Whatever topic I brought up, for example climate change, religion vs science, economics, politics.....he would have concrete stuff to say about it, and often made references to articles, books or prom...