Synthetic biology, the field in which I work, focuses on trying to systematically make biology easier to engineer in order to try to tackle some of humanity's biggest problems. Early efforts focused on trying to develop BioBricks, drawing analogies to electrically engineering methodologies of having a set of connectable, interchangeable, and well-characterized parts to construct genetic …
This is not a post about Hustle & Flow, the 2005 Terrance Howard movie, although Jon Stewart's zinger of "For those of you keeping track at home, that's: Three 6 Mafia, one Oscar, Martin Scorsese, zero" after the former won for best song is one of my all-time favorite Academy Award jokes. (Marty won the next …
About four years ago, after I had finished grad school and was looking for postdocs in Europe, I came across this TED talk: https://youtu.be/-vZXgApsPCQ In it, Jia Jiang describes how upon analyzing why he wasn't where he wanted to be in life, he realized it was because he was too scared to try things that …
Last night while discussing with some friends, I brought up being a 'Type A' personality and was asked to define it. My answer amounted to something along the lines of 'motivated' and 'overachiever'. I don't remember the exact phrasing but I tend to think of it as someone goal oriented. But I realized that I …
So with less than 90 minutes before my $5 auto-withdrawal from my account, I thought I'd share something that resonated with me a while ago that I've continued to think about recently. Safi Bahcall, the physicist, biotech entrepreneur, and author, talks about how when he is trying to write creatively, he follows the mantra "write FBR". 'FBR' in this …
I'm still learning this whole website design thing, but I wanted to update the theme from what I had set two years ago. I tested out a bunch, came across this one, and then replaced the stock photo with one of my own. I think it looks much cleaner and brighter than before. I have a few …
Many people set New Year's Resolutions or goals, but it is pretty widely known that few actually stick to them. In fact, 40% of people in the US will set New Year's Resolutions and 80% will fail within 30 days. While everyone paying for gym memberships that they aren't using helps keep costs down, I didn't …
Happy Birthday to me! Today I turn 35, which puts me closer to 40 than 30. Additionally, as the terrific site Wait But Why pointed out, after Monday my birth will be closer to the 1940s than present day 🙀: While part of that is terrifying, I actually feel better about turning 35 than I …
While not officially one of my twelve challenges this year, I would like to focus more on reading. It is still a form of consumption more than production, but it requires more engagement. Additionally, I want to highlight, scribble in the margins, and make baby 'book reports' afterwards to help me retain what I read, …
I have long been fascinated with the idea of creative constraints. While I feel like we are told that we need freedom to find our way and express ourselves, I have frequently found the opposite to be true; when I force boundary conditions, either temporal or otherwise, onto a project, I can begin to explore …
Continue reading #1: 2020: A Series of Constructive Challenges
Chortles and Harrumphs 