So I asked my professor for recommendations for a book to read this summer and he gave me this excellent read. An unexpected blockbuster, it has 638 reviews on Amazon.
Author: Chip
[Day 43] Of course my professor reads Wikipedia for fun
Before we go on, allow me to introduce my new favorite professor Mykel Kochenderfer. He did his BS and MS at Stanford, then did his PhD at University of Edinburgh (he finished his PhD in 3 years), then worked at that fancy lab MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and wrote this fascinating book called Decision Making Under Uncertainty. Other than being extremely smart, Mykel is also my professor and the father of my new four best friends. FYI, today, our class went to museums with his family and he and his wife left their four kids, aged 2 to 10, with me for an hour. They trusted me with their kids. Can you believe that?
When I found out that Mykel read Wikipedia for fun, I was fascinated. It’s like when someone asks you what you do for fun and you say: “I work on my PhD” or “I solve equations.” How amazing does it sound? So I asked him for the list of his favorite Wikipedia pages–I was procrastinating and was looking for something interesting to read over the weekend. He was very kind to give me his list.
Continue reading “[Day 43] Of course my professor reads Wikipedia for fun”
[Day 42] 10 amazing landscapes I have seen
In the last few years, I have been very fortunate to have seen some truly magnificent landscapes. No, I’m not rich. I just really like traveling and I work hard to be able to travel. Sometimes I take the photos and just put them away. Today, I was cleaning my hard drive when I found these photos and thought to myself: “Let’s make a list.” Below are my 10 favorite places for landscapes. Most of the photos are taken by me or I hold copyright, and I have to admit I didn’t do these places justice.
1. Bagan, Myanmar
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[Day 41] Durians to Westerners is like cheese to Asians
A couple of weeks ago, I was walking around London’s Chinatown with an American friend when we noticed a distinct, pungent smell. I was delighted–I hadn’t smelt that for so long.
“Did someone just poop here? This is disgusting,” my friend said.
“It’s durians.”
“What?”
“The fruit. We eat them all the time in Vietnam.”
“You eat them? Eww.”
That’s pretty much the generic reaction you can expect from a Westerner who has never come into contact with durians before. I always find it ironic considering that they eat equally disgusting things like cheese.
Continue reading “[Day 41] Durians to Westerners is like cheese to Asians”
[Day 33] How they arrived
This essay is about those from a poor country who get scholarships to attend university in the US. I was inspired by the transition theme of NoViolet Bulawayo’s “We need new names”. The style of “How they arrived” mirrors the style of three short stories in the book: “How they appeared”, “How they left” and “How they lived”. I love the way NoViolet used the third person voice in those short stories. Her “they” sounded impersonal yet emerged to be oddly personal, with a face, a voice, even a personality I can sympathize with.
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[Day 32] London vs Silicon Valley
Disclaimer: I live in Palo Alto and even though I make frequent trips to San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley, and the surrounding cities, a lot of things I mention below might only apply to Palo Alto.
It’s always fascinating for me to get out of Silicon Valley. I have been there for so long that I have almost forgotten how ridiculous it must be like to people outside the bubble. Even though both London and Silicon Valley are multiracial, they are like two different worlds.
[Day 31] The British and their puns
Oh my goodness the British love their puns. Obviously, the UK pun championships are a thing.
[Day 30] Human history is a sad history
As a tourist in London, of course, I went to see some of its hundreds of museums. They taught me a lot about the arts, nature, and human history, but they also made me really sad. We all try to create happy memories, but have you ever thought about how our history is made up almost entirely of sad ones? When we learn about history, we learn about wars, crusades, holocausts, slavery, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, epidemics, sultans murdering their younger siblings to consolidate power, powerful nations imposing their rules on the less powerful.
Changes are not driven by happy people dancing in the village squares. They are driven by people in chains, in pain, in famine. Revolutions are not driven by people who still have a lot to lose. They are driven by people who have lost everything.
[Day 26] Chip in Tinderland
Mom, Dad, before you read this, I just want you to know that Tinder is a nice, award-winning, exclusive app that brings together people of mutual interests to work on something meaningful and change the world. Only straight A students get invited. Continue reading “[Day 26] Chip in Tinderland”
[Day 25] Things that I have to stop saying
Spoiler: This post might make you hate me.
It’s the end of another academic year so I thought I should reflect on the kind of person I have become through the year. Going through my notes, emails and online conversations, I realized several alarming patterns. I have become a person of excuses. I need to stop using them.
Continue reading “[Day 25] Things that I have to stop saying”
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