關於 rational analysis ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

Interview with A Founder: Edwin Wong (Co-founder of Cloudbreakr - 亞洲網紅行銷平台)

By Ching Tseng (AppWorks Associate)

Edwin Wong is the founder & CEO of Cloudbreakr - an AI-powered influencer marketing platform in Asia. He has focused on influencer marketing & social analytics for years, with an aim to empower pioneers and brands to share the stories that influence people. The company has expanded its services from Hong Kong to Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand, servicing over 10,000 marketers in over 6 GSEA countries.

1. What is the best advice you would give to first-time founders? What is the most important question that you can ask yourself?

You need to have a strong belief in what you are doing. Before getting good traction, people will keep questioning you why you are doing this. If you don’t have a strong belief in what you are working on, you might give up easily. On top of that, I always ask myself how to be a better founder all the time because founders are the people who have the deepest impact on the company. Your management style and your ability matters. If founders can’t strive to improve themselves, then the company won’t be able to grow as well.

2. What experience made you the founder you are? And what motivates you?

In the early days of Cloudbreakr, I’m the only full time founder, and the team didn’t have a strong engineering ability. With limited work experience, I wasn’t good at arranging tasks which made our development progress sluggish; in the end, two of my co-founders jumped the boat earlier than I expected. At that moment, I realized that I might fail this startup if I kept on managing the company like this, so that’s probably the moment I became the most determined to take this company to an impactful level. Also, I’m not the type of person who gives up easily, I don’t want to let my friends and family down because they have been supporting us this whole time. All of these are what motivate me everyday.

3. What is the biggest mistake and takeaway in your founder journey?

I don’t like to fight with others; I tend to compromise. For example, when negotiating salaries with our employees, I used to accept all the requests just because I didn’t want them to leave or make me unhappy. I didn't take the company’s long term benefit into consideration when making those decisions. Later on I realized this would do long term harm to the company. In order to urge myself to do more long term thinking, I asked my co-founders to give me direct feedback whenever I’m not dealing with things from a more rational perspective.

4. What have you learned in 2020?

It’s a tough year for everyone but also a great moment for the ones with a solid base to shine. How fast you can make the right decisions is a crucial ability in 2020. For example, it’s difficult to predict things and decide whether you should keep the project ongoing or not, and how to react to city lock-down while you still want to have a great momentum of business expansion. I learned to not drown myself in the daily tasks, but to make strategic decisions at the management level, after all, being able to identify the long term goal of the company is what a leader should strive for.

About Cloudbreakr

With the vision to build the largest community for influencers and brands in Asia, Cloudbreakr provides an integrated influencer marketing platform and all-rounded solutions to connect marketers with hundreds of thousands of influencers across Asia.

From influencer discovery, profile analysis, complete campaign management to social monitoring, we empower every retail brand, shopping mall, and marketing agency to optimize the ROI on influencer marketing. The company currently operates in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand, servicing 100+ Fortune 500 brands.

We welcome all AI, Blockchain, or Southeast Asia founders to join AppWorks Accelerator: https://bit.ly/33cXkq4

請傳給你認識的外國朋友

（繼續發酵！英文翻譯上線！幫手推！）🔥 有外媒相繼報道了關於袁國勇、龍振邦兩位教授疑似因壓力而撤回《明報》專欄文章一事，有手足更花了時間，把文章譯作英文。西方社會是需要知道真相的，請廣傳給在外國的朋友：

[On Mar 18 2020, Professor David Lung at the University of Hong Kong and his colleague Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, a world-renowned expert in microbiology and infectious diseases, withdrew their op-ed in the Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao, in which they elucidated the origin and naming of the Wuhan Coronavirus, and criticized "inferior Chinese culture" for being the origin of the present pandemic. This led to allegations that the Chinese and Hong Kong governments are covering up the truth and suppressing academic freedom. Below is an English translation of this op-ed. Please spread the word and expose the truth!]

Outbreak in Wuhan shows that lessons from seventeen years ago are forgotten - David Lung and Yuen Kwok-yung, University of Hong Kong [translated from Chinese]

The novel coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan in Winter 2019, and engulfed the entire province of Hubei by Spring 2020; the number of cases in China grew to over 80,000, with at least 3,000 deaths. The outbreak in China slowed down only after a month-long lockdown, which has failed to curtail the spread of the disease overseas by March 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) was sluggish in response and failed to declare this a pandemic in a timely fashion. Shortage of relevant measures and protective gear around the world contributed to the global outbreak. Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, and the Republic of China have so far been spared of the pandemic, though cases linked to overseas travel have yet to cease.

This pandemic is caused by a coronavirus, thus named because of its shape. From 2015 onwards, the WHO has ceased to name diseases using monikers for people, places, animals, food, culture, or occupations. As such, they labeled the disease using the year of the outbreak; thus the designation COVID-19. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) used viral genome sequencing as the sole criterion for the naming of viruses; because the similarity between the genetic sequences of the SARS coronavirus and the present novel coronavirus, which therefore is not truly "novel", the ICTV designated the novel coronavirus as "SARS-CoV-2.0". Media organizations and the public call this the Wuhan Coronavirus or the Wuhan Pneumonia; this is perfectly fine because of its simplicity.

There has been heated debate over the naming of the pandemic. As a matter of fact, the disease is named by the WHO and the virus is named by the ICTV; the common name is purely a customary matter and suffices to serves it purpose as long as it is simple and clear. The official names of COVID-19 for the disease, or SARS-CoV-2 for the virus, must be used in scientific and academic discourse. However, the simplicity of the popular designations "Wuhan Coronavirus" and "Wuhan Pneumonia" are far more conducive to daily communication and conversations in the media.

The 2020 pandemic originated in Wuhan

Roughly 75% of novel diseases can be traced to wild animals; the ancestral virus from which several mammalian coronaviruses descend can be traced to bats or birds, both of which can fly over a distance of several thousands of kilometers to the location of first discovery of the virus. As such, the nomenclature of viruses may utilize the name of the location of discovery. The most accurate and objective means to identify the origin of the virus is to isolate the virus from the animal host. However, the Huanan Seafood Market had been cleared, and live wild animals vacated, by the time researchers had arrived for live samples. Consequently, the identity of the natural and intermediate hosts of the coronavirus is unclear. According to local personnel, the wild games in the Huanan Seafood Market are shipped and smuggled from various locations in China, Southeast Asia, and Africa; it remains impossible to identify the ancestry of the Wuhan Coronavirus.

Viral genome sequencing shows a 96% similarity between the Wuhan Coronavirus and the viral strain RaTG13 found in bats, lending credence to the belief that the RaTG13 strain is the ancestral virus for the Wuhan Coronavirus. This viral strain can be isolated from the bat species Rhinolophus sinicus found in Yunnan, China; thus bats are believed to be the natural host to the Wuhan Coronavirus. Epidemiological studies show definitively that the Huanan Seafood Market was the amplification epicenter, where the transmission of the virus from the natural host to the intermediate host likely occurred, before a mutation to a form that can adapt to the human body, followed by human-to-human transmission.

The identity of the intermediate host remains unclear; viral genome sequencing, however, reveals a 90% similarity between the spike receptor-binding domain of the Wuhan Coronavirus and of the coronavirus strain found in pangolins. While uncertainties remain for us to unambiguously identify the pangolin as the intermediate host, it is extremely likely that the pangolin coronavirus strain donated the spike receptor-binding domain genetic sequence, or even the entire gene section, to the bat coronavirus strain, culminating in the novel coronavirus upon DNA shuffling.

Wild animal market: the origin of numerous viruses

The SARS outbreak in 2003 can be traced to Heyuan prior to engulfing Guangdong and ravaging Hong Kong. The SARS Coronavirus was found in the masked palm civet; China has subsequently outlawed the sales of live wild animals. Seventeen years later, wild animal markets have instead grown unabashed, in flagrant violation of the law. The Chinese people have forgotten the lessons of SARS in their entirety. The glaring appearance of live wild animal markets in city centers, and the egregious acts of selling, cooking, and eating these wild animals, constitute a stunning and blatant disregard for the laws. The feces of these wild animals carry large concentrations of bacteria and viruses; the crowded set-up, the poor hygiene, and the proximity of different animal species are extremely conducive to DNA shuffling and genetic mutations. As such, these markets need to be banned outright.

Remodeling of markets is key to the prevention of epidemics. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments must promptly improve the set-up of markets by enhancing ventilation and getting rid of rats and pests. Before the elimination of all live poultry markets becomes a reality, animal feces found in these markets must be handled properly to lower the chances of genetic shuffling between viruses.

Internet conspiracies of an U.S. origin of the virus is not supported by facts, and only serves to mislead the public. The dissemination of conspiracy theories needs to stop. Transparency is first and foremost in the fight against an epidemic; we need cool heads and rational analysis in place of hearsay and falsehood. The failure to close all live wild animal markets post-SARS was a colossal mistake; to win the battle over the pandemic, we must face reality, and not repeat the same mistakes while leaving the blame upon others. The Wuhan Coronavirus is a product of inferior Chinese culture -\-\ the culture of recklessly catching and eating wild animals, and treating animals inhumanely, with an utter disrespect and disregard of lives. This inferior culture of the Chinese people -\-\ specifically the consumption of wild animals to satiate themselves -\-\ is the true origin of the Wuhan Coronavirus. If these habits and attitudes remain in place, SARS 3.0 will certainly happen in a matter of a decade or so.

以上翻譯來自：
一個窮科學家移民美國的夢幻故事

外媒報道：
https://www.nytimes.com/…/19reuters-health-coronavirus-hong…

https://www.nasdaq.com/…/adviser-to-hong-kong-on-coronaviru…

[Fuji Kindergarten]
The Best Kindergarten You've Ever Seen！
一間真正為小朋友而設計的幼稚園！作為建築系出身的我，真心希望世界各地的幼稚園也能夠如Fuji Kindergarten般，提供一個"沒有規限的生活樂園"予最天真可愛的小孩！

快聽聽日本建築師Takaharu Tezuka的TED TALK
At this school in Tokyo, five-year-olds cause traffic jams and windows are for Santa to climb into. Meet: the world's cutest kindergarten, designed by architect Takaharu Tezuka. In this charming talk, he walks us through a design process that really lets kids be kids.

其他詳細介紹(from http://www.e-architect.co.uk/)
Fuji Kindergarten, Ring Around a Tree
Design: Tezuka Architects

Around the Great Zelkova Tree

The annex to Fuji Kindergarten contains English classrooms and a school bus waiting area. A twisting zelkova tree dominates the site and while half of the building is exterior space, the footprint does not define the boundary between outside and in.

Ring Around a Tree is a small contribution to a historically complex space. Nearly fifty years ago the zelkova nearly died when it was blown over by a typhoon. Not only did it survive, but the tree has grown so large that two adults cannot clasp hands around its base. The angled trunk is perfect for climbing, with bark polished smooth by generations of small, adventuresome hands. Previously, a tree house occupied the site, so small only children could enter. Ducks lived at the base of the tree and on nice days classes were held in the cool shade.

Fuji Kindergarten, Ring Around a Tree

Each May, greenery engulfs the building. The oval-shaped plan traces the zelkova’s broad canopy making the columns and floor seem to vanish in the shimmering shadows. Existing branches take precedence and penetrate the building, and grown-ups have to crawl when ascending the stairs to the roof.

A Classroom Without Furniture

While the main building is elliptical, lacking a precise center, the annex has a clear focal point. Its original design drew inspiration from the legend of Buddha preaching under a linden tree, but the space was not used exactly as we had envisioned. Despite the openness of the English classroom, the teacher and children prefer to squeeze into tight corners and niches between floor plates. The five meter-tall building has seven levels, with clearances ranging from 600mm to 1500mm. This idea came from the school’s vice principal who requested “a classroom without furniture.” When we showed our son and daughter, they touched the ceiling with their hands, smiling. The principal, Mr. Kato, said that for children, the ceiling is like the sky – they cannot touch it. When the sky is lowered to their level, it transports them into the world of giant adults. If you visit the school on a nice day, you’ll find giggling kindergartners wedged into spaces less than 60 centimeters high.

Fuji Ring Around a Tree

Typically ceilings are taller than head height and railings secure areas where someone could fall. Here, however, the ceiling is lower than the height of a child, and there are many steps without guardrails. Before we opened the school to the kindergartners, I brought my own children here to play. Just as we had expected, there were a few small bumps and bruises, but certainly nothing serious. What we could not ignore was when my children began climbing over the handrail and out onto the branches of the tree, this was dangerous. We solved this issue by tying ropes around certain areas. For the principal, they are a safety measure, but for us the ropes capture a positive aspect of the design. If we had begun by considering safety as our primary option, the building would never have been realized in its current form. While even a 50cm height can be hazardous for children, learning about these dangers and gaining control of one’s surroundings are important parts of a child’s education at Fuji Kindergarten.

The highest platform is one meter off the ground, a step manageable for a bold kindergartner. The flooring material is a cork-like En Tout Cas that protects children when they tumble or fall, although there is no way to avoid injury 100% of the time. According to Principal Kato, children who do not learn how to avoid minor injuries can experience much more serious accidents as adults. Rather than coddle a boy with a broken arm, the principal proclaims the cast “cool” and presents him proudly to the class as a hero. Of course, a broken arm is much different from a broken neck or back. There is a difficult balance between safety and educational principles. We had to make the space first and see how it could be improved, the ropes being one example of this process. As the tree grows, its relationship with the building will change, and the positioning of the ropes will change as well.

Minimal Structure

The building’s structure is extremely thin. This was important because with rooms less than one meter high, it was conceivable that the structure could be larger than the spaces themselves. The floors are reinforced with 9mm steel ribs and most of the columns are smaller than 30mm square, almost furniture-like dimensions. At this size, the structure is even thinner than the tree branches. The ribs under the roof look like the veins of a leaf, but they were not intended to mimic the tree. Instead the form is a natural result of a rational structural analysis. The low floor-to-floor heights, allow the columns a larger slenderness ratio. If we assume a ratio of 1:40, a ceiling height of 1.2 meters allows a column width of 3cm. The horizontal loads are supported by eight vierendeel plates, four span the circumference and four align on the radii. Each column and beam is unique in section, using only as much material as is necessary. Although we are not imitating the tree per se, the result is a form that is extremely close to that found in nature. We conducted an excavation survey in order to avoid building over the zelkova’s roots. A concrete slab foundation sits on carefully placed stakes. Countless miniature light bulbs appear like a swarm of fireflies alighting on the tree – a traditional symbol of summertime in Japan.

We named the project “Ring Around a Tree,” a name suggested by Peter Cook who, upon visiting the site, recalled the English children’s song “Ring Around the Rosie.”

Ring around the rosie,
Pocketful of posies,
“Ashes, Ashes,”
We all fall down!