Opis
Guru Banavar, VP and Chief Science Officer at IBM, wrote an album called Rise Eight Times, inspired by a Japanese proverb: fall seven times, rise eight times. A friend visited Japan after the 2011 tsunami, photographed the devastation, and returned two years later to find the same place entirely rebuilt, as though nothing had happened. That image became the song. In Chinese, 八次 (bā cì) is eight times: 八 (bā) is eight, a character that looks like a tent where an army camps overnight, and 次 (cì) is the counter for times, the measure of how many moments something happens. Eight also carries the luck of a lifetime in Chinese culture: in Cantonese, it sounds like a fortune falling from the sky. One number, three layers of meaning.
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*⏰ TIMESTAMPS:*
0:00 - Introducing Guru Banavar and the phrase "eight times"
1:00 - 八 (bā): the number eight, a tent, and why China loves it
2:00 - 次 (cì): times, and the ancient army origin of the character
2:45 - 八次 (bā cì): eight times and building the full counter system
3:30 - The Japanese proverb, the tsunami, and the song Rise Eight Times
4:30 - 每次 (měi cì): every time, and 再說一次 (zài shuō yí cì): say it again
5:30 - Guru on AI, art, and why only humans can speak to the humanity of another person
Eight is lucky in Chinese because in Cantonese it sounds like sudden fortune. The number became a symbol not through superstition, but through sound, which is exactly how meaning works in this language.
*📖 KEY VOCABULARY:*
Eight times: 八次 (bā cì)
Eight: 八 (bā)
Times: 次 (cì)
Seven times: 七次 (qī cì)
One time: 一次 (yí cì)
Three times: 三次 (sān cì)
Every time: 每次 (měi cì)
Say it again: 再說一次 (zài shuō yí cì)
Sing it again: 再唱一次 (zài chàng yí cì)
Do it again: 再一次 (zài yí cì)
*👤 ABOUT THE GUEST:*
Guruduth Banavar is the founding CTO of Viome Inc and former VP and Chief Science Officer at IBM. As founding VP of the Watson AI Research team, he led hundreds of researchers and collaborated with MIT, RPI, and other leading universities. He delivered the 2017 Turing Lecture, has spoken at the Nobel Prize ceremony twice, and holds more than 35 US patents. He is also a musician who released the album Rise Eight Times.
📱 *Connect with Guru Banavar:*
🌐 http://ibm.biz/GuruduthBanavar
🐦 @Banavar
🔗 http://guruvasist.com
🐦 @guruvasist
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Talk Chineasy is a daily podcast hosted by ShaoLan, creator of the award-winning Chineasy method featured on TED. In each 7-minute episode, ShaoLan and a guest explore Chinese characters, culture, and language through stories that make Mandarin unforgettable. 300+ episodes available.
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