Natalie Feng
Eloquent Musings
Author: Natalie Feng
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Recently, in a certain book, I once again read that famous story: the Spartan army was long known for its iron will. On one occasion, a young soldier tried to secretly hide a fox in his arms while standing in formation; by the time he collapsed, his heart had already been torn out by the…
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Howard Gardner, in Frames of Mind, proposed several branches of human intelligence in his theory of multiple intelligences. One of these is intrapersonal intelligence. This form of intelligence enables a person to perceive the laws of the external world, to notice and reflect upon the phenomena of their own body and mind, and to analyze…
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For decades, businesses have relied on a simple assumption:If you want people to perform better, reward them. Bonuses, commissions, rankings, and performance-based pay are treated as common sense. The logic seems obvious—tie rewards to outcomes, and effort will increase. But behavioral science tells a very different story. When tasks require creativity, judgment, or problem-solving, incentives…
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At first glance, happiness appears to be a scientific problem—something psychology or neuroscience might eventually explain with enough data. Yet beneath the measurements and models lies a quieter question, one that philosophy has always asked: what kind of experience can last? It is not accidental that the world’s most enduring beverages—coffee, tea, and cocoa—are bitter.…
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Spirograph drawings may look beautifully unpredictable, but there’s a clear mathematical structure underneath every curve. Once you understand a few simple ideas—gear ratios, prime factors, and pen offsets—you can predict what your design will look like before you even start. This transforms Spirographing from a nostalgic activity into a precise and creative design process. 1.…
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Introduction The rise of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini has transformed the AI landscape. But behind these innovations lies a single fundamental breakthrough: Transformers. Originally introduced in the groundbreaking 2017 paper Attention Is All You Need, Transformers have since revolutionized natural language processing (NLP), speech recognition, and even computer vision. But…
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“Idealism,” in its original sense, should actually be understood as “formalism.” (Incidentally, the term materialism—which is often used as the opposite of idealism—should more accurately be translated as hylomorphism or material formalism). In ancient Greek philosophy, form (or idea) signified the true essence of a thing—something that exists eternally, without birth or decay. Greek philosophers…
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Most people’s self-confidence is built upon external validation. In reality, everyone you encounter is a reflection of yourself. There is a Buddhist saying: “When a Buddha sees a Buddha,” which means that if you truly understand this principle, those deeply rooted feelings of inferiority will disappear in an instant. Let’s first consider a common phenomenon:…
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Can You Accept Living an Ordinary, Even Mediocre Life? Many people underestimate themselves. This statement isn’t intended to urge you to achieve great feats, amass wealth, or chase after fame. Rather, it’s to highlight how easily we diminish the vastness of our own being, eroding parts of our true selves in the process. The concepts…
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Why Are Kind-Hearted, Simple People Often Disliked? Human interactions are driven by three core motivations: These three motivations—affinity, achievement, and security—form the foundation of all social interactions. Unfortunately, individuals described as “kind-hearted, simple, and without ulterior motives” often fail to align with these three motivations, which is why they may be less favored in social…
Natalie Feng 