About Me

At a Glance

Who is Solomon?

Hi, maybe you've noticed, my name is Solomon, or maybe you haven't because the big banner at the start of the page isn't big enough for you. Nevertheless, my name is still Solomon. Knowing my name is not sufficient to understand me (hopefully), so it's rewind time.

Will Smith: "Ahh, that's hot."

(Those rolling tape scene that movies use to roll back time)

It's May 2025, 7 months since I graduated high school. All my friends have already gotten their admission letter for their desired university, leaving me there alone with a single rejection letter (why NTU, why) and hoping for an acceptance from my other applications. It was a long wait, but I finally got it. Fortunately, it was an acceptance letter from NUS and not a rejection letter that I planned to reject (UNO reverse). I am now a Year 2 student majoring in Artificial Intelligence, with a second major in Statistics and a minor in Japanese Language Studies.

(Rolling back again)

Going back to February 2023, this is when me and books intersect, it's when I started my reading journey. As an avid reader, I must say reading is a great way to transform your life, it let you learn way more then you expected, from history to science, from culture to philosophy, and much much more, all within pages.

Personally, I mainly read nonfiction, books about history like Guns, Germs, and Steel, or culture like The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, and also science books. I also like biographies, books about Oppenheimer or Napoleon for example. Occasionally, I dip into some fiction like The Setting Sun. Now, I love to read books on philosophy and self-help, for instance, The Let Them Theory and The Courage to Be Disliked. These are all great books that influenced my life and my view.

(Rolling back thrice)

The start of the year 2019, was a whole new chapter to my life, I started my 6 year non-stop grind at Foon Yew High School (It's named High School but in reality it's a middle school, why). Dreams sprouted, growth happened, changes occurred, this was a crucial period in my life, I met my friends, I picked up reading, I contributed to my classes and club, I learnt under the teachings of such great teachers. There were laughs, sorrows, friendships, memories, and youth. Great times, huh?

(Rolling back like how Sisyphus did)

2014, the year of ice buckets (did they chopped up North Pole or smth), I was 8 years old. What happened was my dad installed Minecraft on our family computer, it may not be the legit version, but it's 100 times better than the real one, in my heart. I had been a Minecraft fan since I was like 5 or 6 (maybe 6 or 7), watching Minecraft legends like PopularMMOs and Ssundee everyday after school, it had always been a dream to play the game myself, and my dad made it come true (thanks dad). Now that I'm an adult, I have the legit version to support them, I still enjoy playing the game, but nothing can ever replace those time.

(Rolling in the deep~ again)

2 December 2006, a clinic in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, has a woman whose been carrying a baby for months, finally gave birth to her son (thanks mom). The infant was given the Chinese name 柯胜钧 or Koh Sheng Jun in Malay and English. Yup, it's me (obviously). This is the story of me, at least for now.

Believing Beliving

I believe in trying, not just trying hard, but trying new stuff. Life comes down to how much you have to tell, how many stories, how much new experiences. That's why I'm always keen to trying, learning new technology, acquiring new skills, or researching in a whole new unfamiliar field.

I might be somewhat of a Jack of all trades, but I'm not a master of none; I am sure I'm at least a master of trying. I don't find knowing wide areas of knowledge is bad, as long as I've gotten deep enough in those areas to know how to use them.

This is me: always learning, always trying.

Hobbies

Reading

I mainly read Chinese web novel and nonfiction across history, culture, science, biography, philosophy, and self-development, with the occasional literary fiction. Here are some books I recommend:

1. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. (self help)

The book introduces two catchy and easy phrases, "Let Them" & "Let Me" which are two effective ways of analyzing and solving all of our problems. It opens up a clear view to difficult situations where we're controlled by our emotions and lose control over our reactions. I'd say the underlying philosophy aligns with the book "The Courage of being Disliked" (which is also in this list) being they both highlights the idea where we have no control over others, and have ignored the always existing controls of ourselves. Definitely worth reading.

2. The Courage of being Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga. (philosophy, self help, psychology)

This book introduces a core philosophy of Alfred Adler to help us navigate social life better. It proposes the idea from Adler, "All problems are interpersonal relationship problems," which is quite true in my opinion. What I learnt from this book is to never expect from others as expectations equals disappointment, we don't hold true control over others. Furthermore, we should keep a suitable distance from others, meaning not intervening others' stuff, as that's where a lot of our issues come, you bothering me, me bothering you, people being too controlling, etc. This doesn't mean being indifferent, it's just we should give space for others, while being at a distance where we can offer help if they need to.

3. The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama. (philosophy, self help, psychology)

This is the first book that opened my mind to the true meaning of happiness. I find the philosophies of Buddhism, Stoicism, and Alfred Adler have quite similar ideas in some areas. This book like "The Let Them Theory" and "The Courage of being Disliked" also mentions the letting go of our tight grip over our lives, just from a Buddhism sliced view. It is just like its name, a general all in one guide to happiness. Although knowing the theory doesn't equal living it, it provides a lot of examples for the readers to connect and resonate with.

4. The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama & Desmond Tutu. (philosophy, self help, spirituality)

Again, another book about happiness, the general idea is quite similar with "The Art of Happiness" just that it comes from not only Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, but also Desmond Tutu, a South African Anglican bishop. Despite coming from different backgrounds and religions, they are great friends and share a lot in common in the idea of happiness. What caught me most about this book is actually the meeting video that it is based on, which shows how two highly spiritual leaders both possess the pureness of a child. And that state is what I see as the final state of happiness, entering a child-like state, filled with innocence and joy.

5. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. (popular science, world history)

This is definitely a must read for the human history lovers, it might not be the most accurate, but the perspective it exposes is quite interesting. From how geographic differences result in the habits of civilizations, to how these habits structure the modern world.

6. The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai. (literary fiction, historical fiction, Japanese literature)

The first Japanese literature work I've read. Honestly speaking, I don't really understand the whole thing, though a creeping sense gone throughout the whole read through. The story was interesting but too deep for me. You can't expect a man born in peacetime to fully understand a story set in post war times.

7. More Frustrating More Brave: Kazuo Inamori Autobiography by Kazuo Inamori. (autobiography)

This is a book about the life of Kazuo Inamori, how he built KDDI from scratch and saved Japan Airlines from bankruptcy. His philosophy of customers should be the orients of companies made reading this book worthwhile. A great book to learn about him and more importantly learn about his business philosophy.

Singing

I love singing, it is a way for me to express emotions and relieve stress. I mainly sing songs in Cantonese, Hokkien, English, and Mandarin, with occasional Japanese songs.

Vibe Coding

Duh. Codex the best. Drastically boost my productivity by leveraging the speed and ability of AI. Though code quality is a worrying issue.

Cue Sports

I love to play pool, mainly 8 ball and 9 ball. The main attraction of pool is the requirements of me controlling the cue ball carefully just to play it how I intended. I may not be that good of a player, I still enjoy and try my best to improving. I love the feel of pool strokes and the sound of balls colliding.

Currently using D1THEONE APEX billiard chalk by D1 & Taom and Taom V10 chalk by Taom. Aim to get my own playing cue one day.

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