Today my guest is Dr. Bill Mak of the ISF Academy, Hong Kong. We talk about how he ended up doing two PhDs, one in Beijing and another one in Japan and how he has learned 20 different languages! He also explains that reading the basic primary sources is one of the most important things you can do as a scholar, and that every time you read a manuscript you are bound to discover new things. He argues that it pays to become the top authority in a specific niche, however small that might be, so that you are useful for colleagues and other scholars. Finally, he advices young career scholars to learn through interacting with others.