Looking Behind and Looking Ahead: 2019 and 2020

Here it is: the annual retrospection for 2019, along with the things I’m looking forward to in 2020.

A lesson in speed and math abstraction

When simulating a model, it is easier to take a teleological perspective. It is easier to approach the problem with the end in mind and work backwards, writing code how we would describe the model in words. This is definitely a good start. Sometimes though, as you may have guessed, this does not give the most efficient code.

Looking Behind and Looking Ahead - 2018 and 2019

Here it is the end of the year post. I must say, even though I don’t write here often, I am at least consistently completing this ritual. This time, I’ve decided to combine the retrospective and future into one single post.

Estimating the Number of Free Bike Racks

If you have ever carried your bike on a RTD bus in Colorado, or even if you have just travelled in one, you will know that each bus has two bike racks at the front. Placing and retrieving your bike from these racks is almost effortless. If these racks are full, then you will have to store your bike in the storage compartment. Now, this can be really messy. Especially if someone else stores their bike after you (so your bike gets pushed back) and you get off before them (so you will need to take their bike out; take your bike out and; put their bike back in).

The Cost of Privacy

UPDATE 4/24/2018 I am pleased to say that our paper was selected as a Meritorious Winner (one of the top 10%)!

Every year, the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP) hosts an international contest for high school students and college undergraduates where the participants get to work in teams of upto 3 to analyze, and propose solutions to open ended problems. COMAP releases 6 problems (3 of which are mathematical, and the other 3 incorporate interdisciplinary ideas) at the beginning of the contest. The contest itself takes place over 4 days, and at the end, the teams submit a 20 page report on their work.

The Number Guessing Game

Let’s play a game. I think of 5 numbers from 1 to 100. A friend, who has no idea what my 5 numbers are, then tells that you can pick a number from 31 to 60. You win the game if the number you picked is one of the 5 numbers I thought of. Assume that I had no idea that you were going to be restricted to guessing only a number from 31 to 60 (otherwise it wouldn’t fair!). What are the odds of you winning the game?

2018 Goals

Last year (2017), I had set three long term goals. It focused entirely on computer science. It didn’t entirely go well. Perhaps that could be attributed to the naiveness of the goals. This year, I will once again set three goals for the year. But, this time, I want to make sure that these are not focused only on computer science.