Curiosity

Be more ambitious

Simon: Let’s talk a little bit about the human element. A lot of people are feeling a sense of loss now that so much of what they considered to be their role in building software is being subsumed by the models. How do you think about that? How has the past year and a half changed the way you think about your own craft and the value that you add? Thariq: Cat and Boris are such good reminders that you have to be more…

I have always felt alright in my company

I was an untroublesome child who looked after herself. For a short time I went to the village kindergarten, but I didn’t feel too good there. My strongest memory of the place is of being made to have a lie-down in the middle of the day and of sitting in a tree when I didn’t want to play with the other children. But I did have a lot of freedom, which these days would be unimaginable. I used to spend a lot of time at the…

Henry Oliver on how to have good taste

When we prioritise our own reaction to art, we assume that those reactions are about the art. But if you are misreading a piece of writing, without knowing it, your feelings will be more to do with you than with the writing, and thus not a response to the writing at all. When we misunderstand what we read, our feelings make us pay more attention to what is familiar in the writing than to what is unfamiliar. Thus believing…

The infinite pleasures of diving down rabbit holes

I believe going down rabbit holes is essential to living well. When something catches my attention—a "ripple"—I follow it wherever it leads, even if it seems random or pointless. These intellectual adventures have led me to the best books, projects, and ideas in my life. A few thoughts on tumbling down weird rabbit…

I just want to know

The Importance of Curiosity in Science There are some questions that we need to ask simply because we don't know the answer. My work looks into ancient life by studying ancient enzymes and tracking their evolution over long periods of time. First and foremost, it's completely curiosity-driven discovery. I think it's important to realize that science doesn't necessarily need to serve humanity tomorrow. Ultimately, it comes…