🌱 Seeds of Spring (#12)

Immersed in the world of Richard Powers's The Overstory, a novel about trees that weaves together the narratives of characters from a computer programmer to a participant in the Stanford Prison Experiment, I find myself reflecting on the ways nature portrays and intersects with human lives. This read is part of my thought-provoking "Limits of the Human" course, which I introduced in my January newsletter.

Spring break brought me back home, where I caught up with my former colleagues at my neuroscience lab. As we reminisced, they noted a newfound confidence and maturity in me. Although I hadn't grown taller (we finally added my height to the lab doorframe), I felt a profound sense of personal growth.

The respite of spring break provided a welcome opportunity to reconnect with friends, spend some quality time with my sister, and dive into personal projects. I started training for an upcoming half-marathon with Yale Club Running team and gave my roommate a tour of the gems of South Florida.

Returning to Yale, I'm struck by the peculiar way time seems to warp within the college bubble. A mere week back from break feels like a month, and it's no wonder that students might appear transformed over the course of a year. In The Overstory, the growth of plants, from delicate seedlings to majestic trunks, can serve as a powerful metaphor for our personal evolution. As I sought such growth in my college experience, I can't help but acknowledge the valuable self-discoveries I've made.

As April marks the final full month of this semester, I eagerly anticipate the opportunities and lessons it holds!

🚀 Updates

Friday became a finalist for the Miller Prize at Tsai CITY’s Startup Yale! It was super fun to pitch at the finals last Friday and be a part of Yale’s burgeoning entrepreneurship scene.
The Yale pre-orientation program I’m helping start, LAUNCH, has recruited leaders and is finalizing its schedule – I’m excited to welcome some baby bulldogs this fall.
I organized the Yale Entrepreneurial Society Incubator’s annual retreat, which took place this weekend and was a blast!

💭 Thoughts

(things I've been thinking about this month)

An Objective Ranking of Yale’s 16 Dining Halls: My meticulous, thoughtful, not-sarcastic-at-all, extraordinarily unbiased ranking of places where you can eat at Yale.
Should AI Policy Be Determined By Tech Billionaires?: I discuss the ethics of allowing tech billionaires with conflicts of interest to dictate AI policy in DC.
Tress's "Shower Thoughts”: I talk about shower thoughts, the novel “Tress of the Emerald Sea”, and how we can use our time more wisely.

👍 Recs

(2 articles, 2 novels, 2 videos, 2 tv/movies)

🗞 Attention is all you need – not boring
🗞 Bill Gates – The Age of AI has begun
📗 Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI by Reid Hoffman (and GPT-4)
📘 The Overstory by Richard Powers
📺 Why we say “OK”
📺 How a 5-Person Team Made an Oscar-Winning Movie's Effects
🎬 “The Lord of the Rings” (all of them) by Peter Jackson
🎬 ”Cocaine Bear” by Elizabeth Banks

Thanks for reading :)

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