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Hamming Questions of Your Life

Richard Hamming was famous for asking, “Which are the most important problems in your field? Why are you not working on them?” Inspired by him, I tried to think about the most important problems in life. Here is my attempt:

  • Which career should you pursue? How hard should you work?
  • Where should you live?
  • Which friends should you surround yourself with?
  • With whom should you share your life?
  • How many kids, if any, should you have?
  • What kind of relationship should you have with your family?
  • Which activities bring you the most joy and fulfillment?
  • Should you contribute to your community? Which community? And how should you contribute?
  • What are your values and principles?
  • Which habits should you create or break to have a better life?
  • How should you maintain your physical and mental health?

And now the second question, why are you not working on these problems?