I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else
Recent years progress in artificial intelligence has prompted renewed interest in a question posed by Russell and Norvig : What if we succeed? If and when AI researchers succeed at the goal of designing machines with cross-domain learning and decision-making capabilities that rival those of humans, the consequences for science, technology, and human life are …
One lazy evening, sitting by the window, I was thinking about the diplomatic, contentious statements we tend to hear all the time. Things like this – Money doesn’t buy happiness People don’t judge you based on Race (or if you are an Indian, insert ‘caste’) Looks don’t matter Parents don’t ever play favorites among their …
I rarely re-read books. One exception to that rule is Marcus Aurelius – Meditations. I find myself going back to it every time I waver or each time I am unsure of the path that I am following. It was a private notebook of sorts – not one intending to be published but it offers …
Stoicism & Living a Life beyond the Inconsequential Read More »
We hear about the term Block chain way too often to ignore it any more. And more often that not, it is referred to with negative connotations sans basis. And no I am not just talking about it in relation to Bitcoins or Cryptocurrency. I am referring to the technology driving Bitcoins – Blockchain. Blockchain …
Blockchain 101 – Explaining block chain to a 7th grader Read More »
There are some random questions I ponder about at equally random times – whilst taking a shower, nodding away at a friend trying to explain something I clearly am not interested in or while at a salon when I am supposed to focus on my freshly painted nails. I am not sure I can articulate …
Explaining Consciousness, Language and Kekule’s problem Read More »
‘Ask better questions‘ is a precept I like to think that I live by. On that note, I came across this list of ‘18 thought provoking questions that will free your mind‘ by Mark Chernoff. Naive though that sounds, I did find some of the questions making me uncomfortable (which must be a good thing). …
I finally got my act together to write about the most popular MooC of all time yesterday – ‘Learning how to Learn‘ – Powerful mental tools to master tough subjects. It is created by Barbara Oakley (University of Oakland) and Terry Sejnowski (the Salk Institute) and it focuses on how we can use neuroscience to fine-tune our abilities to …
Learning How to Learn – Confessions from the Most Popular MooC ever! [1/2] Read More »
I started re-reading this book (Drive – Daniel Pink) recently on what really motivates people and how our paradigms of learning, fulfillment and intrinsic rewards are changing rapidly. It reminded me of reinforcement learning (in the context of ML and AI). A concept I have attempted to deconstruct below. Machine Learning (ML) focuses on creating …
I was scrolling through my LinkedIn feed, when I came across this concept called the Minto Pyramid Principle. Minto Pyramid Principle, also referred to as the McKinsey’s Pyramid Principle, is a tool used to process and structure large amounts of information to convey a story, message or presentation without omitting important details. A concept which is …
Powerful communication with McKinsey’s Pyramid Principle Read More »
[Apart from questioning existence] 1] When Sci-Fi meets Reality! I have been reading John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War Sci-Fi series – one where humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce– and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To …
How Brain Machine Interfacing could turn Sci-Fi into Reality Read More »