I believe most of us are born anthropologists and naturalists. Nothing comes more naturally to children than observing, probing and provoking adults or worms. As I have lost none of my childhood fascinations, my early antics have blossomed into passions for social and natural sciences. Anthropology makes combing my interests into something tangible and tantalizing.

Good fortune and fortuity have exposed me to varied cultures with unique idiosyncrasies. Seeing how the Japanese would bow instead of kiss twice on the cheeks like the French do to bid farewell whetted my curiosity. I want to probe deeper. I want to know how cultures and traditions develop. Being in a traditional Chinese family, I follow conventional rituals every festival and live by the Chinese values indubitably, but now I find myself asking the simplest, yet most fundamental question: Why? Why did Chinese conform to the cultural beauty of foot-binding? Why did men once have long braids? Why do married couples have to give out red packets? Why?

If I am fascinated by the past, I am equally troubled by our future. With technologies and economic changes galloping forward in unprecedented rates, our cultures and societies will see drastic transformations. Could cultural evolution really keep pace?

I am alarmed by the downsides of unfettered technological changes, but I am even more enthused about the upsides of judicious scientific progress. I am an ardent student of sciences, mesmerized by the beauty of number theories and the mystery of special relativity. I admire the dedication and imagination involved in the discovery process, but I don’t want to be a technocrat. Technocrats of this world may bring science and technology to a new level, but with anthropology, my passion for science can be used to serve mankind, benefiting the world instead of ruining it, because of blind scientific ambition.

Anthropology embodies the past, present, future and combs my passions into one.