I won’t really talk about academics/research on this particular page (you can find that on my CV and research pages already). Instead, what follows is an assortment of some of the other things I enjoy.

Some Things I Enjoy

• Books: I love reading! A large part of who I am today has been shaped by some of the books I’ve read. The way I tend to put words together, the way I put thoughts together - right down to some of my core axioms - have been fundamentally changed by some of the books I’ve read. I’m primarily a fiction enjoyer (although I have brought myself to read and enjoy a couple of non-fiction books), and there are quite a few genres that I am inclined towards. If you have any recommendations do let me know!

• Music: i.e. my bit of joy and whimsy in this daily mortal existence I’ve dabbled a fair bit in music theory, and I thoroughly enjoy all sorts of wacky, creative, whimsical songs and pieces. I generally listen to a lot of classical/instrumental-heavy music, interspersed with metal, rock, jazz, swing and a lot of other genres. I’ve even been part of a couple of bands in college :D

• Cooking: Very therapeutic. 10/10 would recommend. One can prepare anything according to their whims and fancies, and provide themselves with some (hopefully) wonderful sustenance. I try to experiment with different cuisines as much as possible whenever it is logistically feasible.

• General Nerdery: As opposed to specialised nerdery, of course. Topics spanning all kinds of fields: physics, quantum mechanics, the natural sciences in general, all kinds of history, sociology, philosophy and all the various and wonderful forms of mathematics. Of course I’m omitting many names here because there are so many cool and awe-inspiring things to know and learn. Things that are both natural and things that are engineered by humanity with careful thought and precision. So much to know, and so little time to learn it all…

A Note on Mathematics and Theory

I know I said I won’t talk about academics, but this here is about math/theory as a hobby rather than as a study, so there’s a loophole for you.

One of the best things college has done for me is exposed me to what mathematics actually looks like. Topics like:

• abstract algebra
• complexity theory
• information theory (aka A Man Named Claude Shannon Formalises A Whole Domain)
• general tomfoolery with vectors and spaces of all kinds
• topology (it’s more than just counting holes and donuts)

and so on.

Never did I think that being rigorous could be… fun! Sure, much of this may not sound useful at first glance, but really, that isn’t the point! It’s so cool! Abstractions help you connect concepts from wildly different areas, help you discover new properties, help you figure out what the underlying structure of any problem is without getting lost in the details. It’s the equivalent of taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture.

If you would like to talk or nerd out about anything from the above (or in general), you can reach me on Twitter!