Toby Lam
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  • Ending 2025 in HK: Exotericism/esotericism

  • An Autumn in Hong Kong: Input/output

  • Finding English Classics in HK and Shenzhen

    tl;dr: Buy books on TaoBao, browse books at Eslite.

  • Final term at Oxford: Truth-seeking and Storytelling

  • Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

    “They turn 20 or 21 and all of a sudden they start having these concrete ideas. They get super- realistic. And when that happens, everything that seemed so sweet and loveable about them begins to look ordinary and depressing.”

  • War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

    “Natásha and Pierre, left alone, also began to talk as only a husband and wife can talk, that is, with extraordinary clearness and rapidity, understanding and expressing each other’s thoughts in ways contrary to all rules of logic, without premises, deductions, or conclusions, and in a quite peculiar way.”

  • An Easter in UK and HK: Bookshops and Cinemas

  • Intersection - Liu Yi Chang

    A stream-of-consciousness short novel on the inner worlds of a man and a woman over the course of a day in 70s Hong Kong.

  • Tenth Term at Oxford: Fleeting Present

  • A collection of music videos that I like

    There’s just something about these music videos that hits different.

  • A Summer in Hong Kong: Adapting to Change

  • Third Year at Oxford: Exams

  • From Immigrant to Inventor - Mihajlo Pupin

    An autobiography about a physicist who emigrated from a small Serbian village to the US. Having won a Pulitzer Prize in 1924, its relevance still shines a century later. It’s comically hair-raising how some aspects of academia haven’t changed at all.

  • A Brighter Summer Day

  • Third Easter in Oxford: Extended Essay

  • Perfect Days

  • Eighth Term at Oxford: Reading and Thinking

  • Third Christmas in Oxford: Professional vs Personal

    Christ Church Meadows

  • The Creative Act - Rick Rubin

    An exceptionally inspiring book by Rick Rubin. Here are some quotes I’ve found particularly inspiring.

  • Running a mathematics society in secondary school

    Having been in charge of a mathematics society at secondary school, here are some of my thoughts on the role of a mathematics society.

  • Seventh Term at Oxford: Maths Applied

    Maths Institute

  • Second Summer in Oxford: Bristol and Cambridge

    Reservoir

  • Networking to network - Phil Agre

    Recently came across an article by Phil Agre on the significance, process and morality of networking in an academic setting. I’ve found it to be substantial, convincing and helpful. Here’s some quotes I found particularly inspiring.

  • Second Year at Oxford: Ring binders

    Sunset over South Park

  • Second Easter in Oxford: Writing and Walking

    Blossom

  • I Want to be a Mathematician - Paul Halmos

    A book written by Paul Halmos, I’ve very much enjoyed it and have found the following excerpts particularly inspiring.

  • Opportunities learning maths beyond the syllabus in HK

    Hong Kong is filled with institutions that one can utilize to advance your learning in mathematics. I’m going to share a list of opportunities pursuing mathematics that I’m aware of.

  • Fifth Term at Oxford: 9 to 5

    Greenwich

  • The Art of Doing Science and Engineering - Richard Hamming

    A book written by Richard W. Hamming, it has slowly became one of my favourite books of all time. I would mention a few snippets I’ve found particularly inspiring.

  • On Stun-locks

    Very often, I get stunned by something unexpected and feeling unable to do anything about it. The solution is often a healthier mindset.

  • Second Christmas in Oxford: Walking

    University parks in frost

  • DIY Pin Board of Tools and More

    Recently I’ve been trying to make my room feel like home without resorting to consumerism and with function in mind. Here are some results.

  • Technical aspects of tobylam.xyz

    Below is a document of the technologies this website uses. It's mostly for myself but also for anyone curious on making their own websites.

  • Fourth Term at Oxford: Lectures and Routines

    Sunset

  • Tackling Oxford Mathematics Interviews (Undergraduate)

    Oxford Mathematics Interviews may feel daunting. Beyond the basic format of the interviews, here are some of my advice on tackling them.

  • First Summer in Oxford: Sunlight and Heatwaves

    Sunset

  • Making a mathematics personal statement personal

    The personal statement needs to be more personal than the facts that you know. How can one make facts "personal"?

  • Audience and Tone of tobylam.xyz

    Having maintained this website for over 2 years, I’d like to mention some of my thoughts on tobylam.xyz and where I would like to take it in the future.

  • Inspirations for tobylam.xyz

    It has been two years since my first post and I’d like to share some of my thoughts on what made this blog a reality, and my thoughts on the direction of this blog. After all, the inspirations for this website heavily affect the direction I would like to take it.

  • First Year at Oxford: Urgency and Importance

    Balliol Clock

  • Second Term at Oxford: Skipping lectures

    River

  • First Term at Oxford: Work, work, work

    Balliol College Masterfield

  • Tackling the Oxford MAT

    Some advice for the Oxford Maths Admissions Test

  • Choosing a college at Oxford (Undergraduate)

    While the official advice is mostly solid, it shies away from discussing the more serious disparities between colleges.

  • Applying to Oxford Mathematics (Undergraduate)

    Balliol College

  • Why start a website?

    There are a few reasons why I am starting this website/blog.