Headspace

Thinking about:

• Cognition / consciousness / wisdom: pre-verbal things & neuroscience
• Identity -> behavior: I think I’m an okay thinker, but that’s maybe less than half of who I am
• Creating a being vs creating a product: the role of critical thinking, utility
  • e.g. Replicants in Blade Runner or fabricants in Cloud Atlas
  • Can’t be too smart for your own good
• Things unique to humans to increasingly differentiate: risk-taking & boundary-pushing

A note on imposter syndrome

I’m really grateful to work among the dense cluster people who lived and breathed STEM, did lots of research, and won international competitions. When I first got interested in AI, I’d wanted to be a sci-fi writer. Part of my bridge-building is to help aspiring folks feel like they belong. Please feel free to reach out on X if you’d like to chat.

Favorite books in no particular order

• Foundation’s Edge by Asimov
• Contact by Carl Sagan
• Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
• 1984
• When asked for Chinese book recs, I suggest 文化苦旅, or A Bitter Journey through Culture. Though obscure, it was maybe half of my personality through middle school

My Goodreads

Favorite musicals

• Elisabeth (a German musical about a romance with der Tod aka Death… you must check it out at least once in life)
• Frozen
• Wicked
• Hadestown