Indeed, it was *because* I was not from the aerospace industry that SpaceX made such radical breakthroughs. Same for Tesla.
Those in the industry would have if they could have.
Life is amazing:
> you can start a company from your laptop
> clean water comes out of your sink
> there’s a gym five minutes away where you can get stronger whenever you decide to
> you can invest in businesses, real estate, stocks, whatever you believe in
> you can marry someone you actually love and build a family on purpose
> you can book a flight, plan a golf trip, go skiing, hit a concert, fish at sunrise
> you can order a large pizza at 11 p.m. and track it like it’s a military operation
> you’re not breaking your back in a mine for a dollar a day
There are guys our age who will never walk again.
Guys who’ve buried their parents.
Guys in countries where “opportunity” isn’t even a word people use.
And you’re hesitating?
Not learning.
Not building wealth.
Not calling your friends.
Not asking for the promotion.
Not taking the shot.
Not betting on yourself.
You’re alive on a rock flying through space with access to freedom, recreation, upside, and pepperoni pies on demand.
The odds of you existing at all are ridiculous.
You’ve got health.
You’ve got options.
You’ve got time, at least for now.
Time to get up and get after it. Let’s fucking go.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin Taught Limits Using Zhuangzi’s One-Foot Rod.
In November 2001, then Chinese President Jiang Zemin visited Beijing University of Technology.
During an impromptu stop in a calculus class discussing derivatives, he picked up chalk and wrote on the blackboard: Zhuangzi said: "A one-foot hammer (or rod), take half of it each day, and it will never be exhausted through eternity." (一尺之棰,日取其半,万世不竭。)
He then wrote a mathematical formula to precisely capture its meaning, explaining: "This is our ancestors' extremely important idea of limits."
This ancient paradox from Zhuangzi's "Tianxia" chapter beautifully illustrates the concept of infinite division and the limit approaching zero — a profound insight predating modern calculus by over two millennia.
Families are cutting back while Congress keeps spending like there is no limit. Billions of taxpayer dollars funded these refugee programs and no one has been held accountable. My amendment stops the flow of funds.