Essays and Thoughts
I've never used chalk until I came to Harvard. Now I've fallen in love. Chalk writing is theological for me. It presents me with that overwhelmingly devotional sensation one only really encounters in the face of great art. Chalk-writing is like hymn-singing, with letters sung rather than spoken. With the chalk treading through the black … Continue reading My First Love
I don't know whether it's Americans, Math people, or my suite mates, but people around me say "That's Valid" all the time. —Me disassembling my laptop after working on the same Pset question for 3 hours. "That's Valid." —Me feeling depressed and wanting to jump off my dorm naked. "That's pretty Valid." —My talking about … Continue reading That’s Valid
I do not condone what is written down here. Dreams are not meant to be done. Go to Mars. Become the U.S. president. Change the constitution so I can become the U.S. president. Or better, just be the general secretary of the United World Government. Make a living out of talking. Write a sui generis … Continue reading Some of My Dreams
Each joke is a short circuit. It's not meant to be. The world may not be better that it happened, but it has, and for all the destruction it causes, the world is at least more interesting Like in a short circuit, a joke can be dangerous. Things that aren't meant to touch are touching, … Continue reading Short Circuit, In Defense of Jokes
Dreams are where possibility shades into actuality. They're how the world builds and sustains itself. Realism is false because realists never make anything new or exciting. Without dreamers, the unknown and unthought-of engulfs and destroys reality. When people tell you to be realistic, tell them to dream. Dreams are made of love, made of passion, … Continue reading Dream
Love doesn't just happen. At first sight, it's at most an idealization. Idealizations are not false. They're just not true. They're like the Constitution without the constituents. Love is more the generation and preservation of attraction through reciprocal effort towards enlarging, strengthening, and losing the self. It's about the hard and beautiful work into maintaining … Continue reading Romance
It's too complicated to decide how to make the most of life. I've decided to throw all considerations away and leave only Love. Optimize for the capacity to give and receive love. That is, learn to love and be someone who's lovable. This points to... Care for others Listen Tell the truth Write and read … Continue reading Love and Life Optimization
Zen is not what you do, but who you become. In this sense, it's eminently like love. I write this because my friend proposed a paradox in Zen. The logic goes as follows: To practice Zen, you have to desire to be in Zen. People in Zen have no desires. Therefore they won't desire to … Continue reading Love, Zen, and Paradoxes
There are two types of attractiveness. This will have direct bearing on how we should mate. There are people who are universally attractive. Pretty features. Good build. Etc.. But there are also people who we find uniquely attractive. Perhaps because of their hobbies, personality, or the specific type of beauty they embody. We may find … Continue reading Attractiveness
This is a warning. I did CS50. It has turned me into my mom, in a bad way. I just can't stop organizing things. I have to delete abbreviations and replace them with full-length words. My clothes now have to be folded. My table aligned with the wall. My folders nested inside other folders (inside … Continue reading Being Changed for the Worse by Coding
Warren's Brain Dumps 