Category: Essays
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Being a minority on social media sucks sometimes
It can be a very lonely thing navigating US-centric social media platforms as a Malaysian. Due to the dominance of American narratives and my differing perspectives on topics like AI and geopolitics, I feel an immense pressure to self-censor. I long for more lasting and understanding connections but I know that I’m just one cultural…
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Pangram in Substack? I’m so excited for the AI witch hunts
Substack’s new feature for detecting AI-generated content has sparked support and frustration among its users. Critics argue that detection tools are unreliable, unfairly singling out neurodivergent and ESL writers. My biggest concern is that it will spark an AI witch hunt, and significantly worsen the uptick in bullying and harassment since Substack’s introduction of social…
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On the matter of Greek erasure in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey
Nolan’s Odyssey isn’t just a movie—it’s the latest act in a 200-year-old tradition of appropriating Greek culture while denying that Greeks should have control of their own heritage.
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The Last Generation of ‘Bananas’? How Malaysian Chinese Identity Is Transforming
More Malaysian Chinese are leaning towards their Chinese roots, and that includes having an education in Chinese.
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Substack writers, you need a website!
Substack is convenient, but treat it as a distribution tool for your content. Your content should live on an independently owned website, which has a domain name you control and own. This way, you can secure long-term visibility and control over your digital presence on the Internet.
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Of abandoning mother tongues and shame
A reaction to a fascinating essay on Substack about the cultural pressure of “leaving the mother tongue” and adopting other languages for class mobility. I reflect on the dynamics of language use among Malaysian Chinese, where the shame is about not mastering more languages or being slow at learning languages.
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Writing with AI isn’t always generating entire novels with a prompt
I’m often frustrated by the writing community’s misconceptions about AI in writing. I wish more writers were more open to AI’s potential in writing and stop crucifying those who dare to say they use AI.
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How I conduct UX copy reviews
Sometimes the challenge of UX writing is not what to write, but how we write our copy. Here I share how I streamlined the UX copy review process for my team based on Dr. Katharina Grimm’s methods, aiming to reduce cognitive friction in UX writing.
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The Writing Community’s AI Panic
A New York Times article about Coral Hart, an indie romance author that generates 200 novels using AI has gotten most of the writing community clutching their pearls. Me? I’m just tired of this cycle of unproductive outrage.
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Is it me, or is it just more difficult to find good fiction these days?
This may seem like a clickbait title, but I really wonder if this is a trend because I saw a book blogger ranting that she’s fed up with books being released today and she’s going back to read classic fiction and finding more satisfaction there. It’s kinda me too. 🤔 Currently, I am reading (extremely…
Elizabeth Tai 