Nothing is so practical as a good theory; nothing is so theoretical as a good practical problem.” These are the maxims of social psychology, my home discipline. When I venture into unfamiliar territories in my own pursuit of knowledge, I can’t help marveling at the wisdom in these maxims, which are inscribed along every single path and at every turn of the intellectual trails I’ve blazed.

Every scientific fulfilment raises new questions; it asks to be surpassed and outdated.

“Study what you love, and love what you study. Social science remains my life-long passion because it is the scientific inquiry of social life. If science is collective knowledge, then social science is collective wisdom.”

The ancient Greek aphorism “Know thyself” has always appealed to me. Understanding our desires, fears, strengths, and weaknesses is key to our well-being.

Learning to observe, understand and appreciate the nature, which cannot be harnessed but to be in harmony with, plus one’s imaginative faculty, we can come up with creative solutions to many social issues.

Nobel economist Milton Friedman once said: “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.” What I find economics fascinating is its comprehensive use of quantitative and scientific methods in identifying the impact of different social policies, and very often the results obtained from these methods suggest something very different from what most people would imagine.

Good listening is a virtue.

Mind the gap between knowledge and action! Social science is inseparable from social innovations. Social innovators think outside the box to accelerate the pace of social change. I strive to reimagine innovations in the field of mental health and promote wellbeing in society by building bridges to the community.