diff --git a/content/about/cv.md b/content/about/cv.md index f55e8b8..71fbde6 100644 --- a/content/about/cv.md +++ b/content/about/cv.md @@ -19,30 +19,23 @@ I am a third-year undergraduate, and have found interests in pure mathematics, c ### University of California, Berkeley -_**B.A. Computer Science** - In progress_\ -My favorite fields are distributed systems and systems programming. +_**B.A. Computer Science, minor in Mathematics** - In progress_\ +Finding abstract overlaps at the intersection of these fields makes the essence of mathematics tangible in a form that does not underplay its purity, which allows practical applications to remain faithful to the beauty of fundamental objects. -> {{< collapse "summary"="Completed courses..." >}} +{{< collapse "summary"="Courses..." >}} -* `CS 61A` _Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs_ -* `CS 61B` _Data Structures and Algorithms_ -* `CS 61C` _Great Ideas in Computer Architecture (Machine Structures)_ -* `CS 70` _Discrete Mathematics and Probability Theory_ +>* `CS 61A` _Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs_ +>* `CS 61B` _Data Structures and Algorithms_ +>* `CS 61C` _Great Ideas in Computer Architecture (Machine Structures)_ +>* `CS 70` _Discrete Mathematics and Probability Theory_ +>* `CS 170` _Efficient Algorithms and Intractable Problems_ +>* `CS 186` _Introduction to Database Systems_ -> {{< /collapse >}} +>* `MATH 1A` _Calculus I_ +>* `MATH 1B` _Calculus II_ +>* `MATH 54` _Linear Algebra and Differential Equations_ -{{< brk >}} - -_**B.A. Mathematics** - In progress_ \ -I love mathematics, in particular the study of algebraic structures. - -> {{< collapse "summary"="Completed courses..." >}} - -* `MATH 1A` _Calculus I_ -* `MATH 1B` _Calculus II_ -* `MATH 54` _Linear Algebra and Differential Equations_ - -> {{< /collapse >}} +{{< /collapse >}} --- @@ -54,7 +47,7 @@ Menlo Park, CA -- May 2023 to Aug 2023 {{< collapse "summary"="Details..." >}} \ -I contributed to the [Meta Ads](https://www.facebook.com/business/ads) platform. I specifically worked on a pre-alpha feature related to [ad bidding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_bidding) which will help advertisers express granular adjustments to the value they attribute to different audiences based on various user dimensions, and which will be a part of the [Ads Manager tool](https://www.facebook.com/ads/manager) once released. I cannot delve into minute details, but this would be best described as full-stack product work. +I contributed to the [Meta Ads](https://www.facebook.com/business/ads) platform. Specifically, I worked on a pre-alpha feature related to [ad bidding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_bidding) which will help advertisers express granular adjustments to the value they attribute to different audiences based on various user dimensions, and which will be a part of the [Ads Manager tool](https://www.facebook.com/ads/manager) once released. This was full-stack product work. {{< /collapse >}} @@ -127,14 +120,14 @@ No meal is complete without the bread, and no CV is complete without fast food e Berkeley, CA -- Jan 2023 to now -This group researches methodologies for strongly solving abstract strategy games and develops the infrastructure to do it (and to make the solution sets available through a few types of interfaces). +We research computational methods for strongly solving abstract strategy games (and make the solution sets available through a few types of interfaces). I am personally interested in the computational modelling of coalitional games, and in developing infrastructure to solve this type of game generically across player count. {{< collapse "summary"="Things I am working on..." >}} -> * Re-writing and re-architecting [GamesmanClassic](https://github.com/GamesCrafters/GamesmanClassic), the group's seminal project, in Rust. -> * An [ACID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACID)-compliant and more performant re-implementation of the database we use to store our solution sets, which will provide the needed infrastructure to implement... +> * Creating a re-architected version of [GamesmanClassic](https://github.com/GamesCrafters/GamesmanClassic), the group's seminal project, in Rust. +> * Modelling [_N_-player transferrable-utility coalitional games](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transferable_utility#:~:text=Transferable%20utility%20is%20assumed%20in,enjoy%20the%20same%20total%20utility.) in cases of complete information and turn-based play with the objective of computing their strong solution sets. +> * An [ACID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACID)-compliant and more performant re-implementation of the database engine we use to store our solution sets, which will provide the needed infrastructure to implement... > * A [lookup table](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lookup_table) based database compression scheme. -> * A [model based](http://mattmahoney.net/dc/mmahoney00.pdf) database compression scheme (memorizing using neural nets). > * Parallelized solving algorithms. {{< /collapse >}} @@ -163,9 +156,9 @@ This is the FIRST Robotics Competition group from one of the high schools I went ## 🚀 Skills -### GPPLs I know and love +### GPPLs I `know && love` -The list of programming languages I can "code" in is longer, but if you ask me to make something great, I will pick one of these. +I can learn a programming language in about a week; if you ask me to make something great though, I will pick one of these: * Python * Java @@ -174,20 +167,9 @@ The list of programming languages I can "code" in is longer, but if you ask me t {{< brk >}} -### General Aptitudes - -Here are a few activities I am skilled at doing because I fundamentally enjoy them. - -* Organizational work (leadership, coordination, advising, etc.) -* Written and verbal communication -* Creating software systems -* Programming in Rust - -{{< brk >}} - ### Technical Toolchain -A lot of the work I have done has been enabled by different technologies, and this is some of what I have picked up along the way. +A lot of the work I have done has been enabled by different technologies, and this is some of what I have picked up along the way: * General purpose scripting (Bash, PowerShell, ActionScript) * Workstation and device management (BigFix, MDM systems, Active Directory) @@ -198,10 +180,13 @@ A lot of the work I have done has been enabled by different technologies, and th {{< brk >}} -### Interpersonal Specialties +### General Aptitudes + +Here are a few activities I am skilled at doing because I fundamentally enjoy them: -These are the personal qualities and intents I have worked the hardest to foster. +* Organizational work (leadership, coordination, advising, etc.) +* Written and verbal communication +* Designing software systems +* Programming in Rust -* Emotional intelligence -* Individual advocacy -* Transparency +{{< brk >}} diff --git a/content/about/intro.md b/content/about/intro.md index 17f9e54..751414f 100644 --- a/content/about/intro.md +++ b/content/about/intro.md @@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ draft: false showtoc: false --- -The world seems to think that the universal set can be partitioned into two subsets (a _self_ and an _other_) in reference to every person, and that their boundary is the best definition of who that person is. I disagree. I do not think that there exists a correct way to describe a surface which effectively encapsulates (or isolates) us in our entirety. I think that we all contribute to a single collective experience which our bodies can only feel locally. When our egos collide, our experiences ache to equalize much like temperature does when very hot and cold metals touch. +The world thinks it can be cut into two subsets (a _self_ and an _other_) in reference to every person, and that the boundary between them is the best definition of who that person is. I disagree. I do not think that there exists a correct way to describe a _surface_ which effectively encapsulates (or isolates) us in our entirety. I think that we all contribute to a single collective experience which we interface with individually. Our experiences ache to equalize much like temperature does when very hot and cold metals touch. -I want this page to expose as much of myself as possible so that you may understand me, and so that I may understand you (insofar as your having read this allows me to understand you). To me, communion is one of the greatest joys of life, so I thank you for the chance of being understood beyond superficially. +I want this page to expose as much of myself as possible so that we both have the same idea of who I am, in order to become more similar with each other. Communion is one of the greatest joys of life, so I thank you for the chance of being understood beyond superficially. ## Biographical facts and preliminaries @@ -18,21 +18,21 @@ I was born in August 18th, 2003, in Houston, Texas (in the United States) but ha My given name was Máximo Fierro García, but now (for non-profound reasons) it is Maximo Fierro, and I go by Max. I am the son of Eduardo Fierro Torres and Delia García Becerra, both of whom are from Mexico City. I have one sibling, María Luisa Fierro García, whom I look up to very much. -I am Mestizo, but unlike some of my peers in the United States, race has never been something I have considered relevant to my identity. I believe that my upbringing was the most consequential factor in shaping who I am. Hence, I must also acknowledge that I have had a fortunate life; my parents made sure I did not worry about financing during my childhood and early adulthood, and my family has always provided genuine love and support. I think their greatest gift was the teaching of pure love, which I understood well enough to know to pay it forward instead of back (but I do love them back, of course). +I am _Mestizo_, but race has never been something I have considered relevant to my identity. I believe that my upbringing was the most consequential factor in shaping who I am. Hence, I must also acknowledge that I have had a fortunate life; my parents made sure I did not worry about financing during my childhood and early adulthood, and my family has always provided genuine love and support. I think their greatest gift was the teaching of pure love, which I understood well enough to know to pay it forward instead of back (but I do love them back, of course). It would also be unfair not to mention the role my friends have had in my personal development. I do not know who, where, or how I would be without them, so they certainly help constitute a few biographical facts of mine. Being around them has brought me some of the greatest joys I have experienced. ## Tendencies and ethics -At my core, I am not a very pragmatic person. As you might have been able to tell from my introduction, I quickly gravitate towards the abstract and stay there if given the chance. I rely on my body's checks and balances to realize my will and interface with the world, but I stay in my mind for the most part. +At my core, I am not a very pragmatic person. As you might have been able to tell from my introduction, I quickly gravitate towards the abstract and stay there if given the chance. I rely on my body's checks and balances to realize my will and interface with the world, but I "stay" in my mind for the most part. -However, I listen to what my body asks of me. I make my decisions understanding that I should not expect my body to conform to my ideals, as it is limited by chemical imbalances, fatigue, the principle of locality (have you ever wished you could be in two places at once?), and other simple things with no absolute solution. +However, I listen to what my body asks of me. I make my decisions understanding that I should not expect my body to conform to my ideals, as it is limited by chemical imbalances, fatigue, the principle of locality (have you ever wished you could be in two places at once?), and other simple things with no absolute solution. -This has led me to one of my most important results -- that it is okay to believe that something is wrong, and still do it. This is not to say that I am _okay_ with the most heinous of crimes happening, but it does mean that I do not blame myself when I do not have the energy to wake up early for work. I may believe that it is the right thing to do, but I do not lose any sleep over making these kinds of decisions. +I am comfortable with the fact that we sometimes cannot avoid doing things which we believe to be wrong; in my eyes, `contradiction` is human to an extent. This is not to say that I am simply _okay_ with the most heinous of crimes happening, but it does mean that I do not blame myself when my imperfect self does not have sufficient resources to bring whatever variant of `perfection` I had previously conceived into existence. -Understanding this (which took a lot of work) has allowed me to live a life free of torment from myself and has greatly impacted my ethics, especially when placed in the context of a collective _self_. Having said that, I do not grow complacent with the status quo because it is what my body asks for. I still work towards a solution, and repay all my moral debts where appropriate. I simply accept and allow myself the ebb and flow of being human. +Understanding this (which took a lot of work) has allowed me to live a life free of torment from myself and has greatly impacted my ethics, especially when placed in the context of a collective _self_. Having said that, I do not grow complacent with the status quo because it is what my body asks for. I still work towards a solution, and repay all my moral debts where appropriate. I simply accept and allow myself the ebb and flow of being human, and factor in the possibility of `imperfection` into my practice of existence. -As a result, I am also very lighthearted and generally a positive person. My mood only ever darkens for no apparent reason. When it does, I apply the same reasoning and am very open about it, saying that I am just not having a great day. With emotions and with everything, I am a person who truly believes in communication, and who is open to being wrong (because I do not know much). I do not feel challenged or in attrition when put in otherwise uncomfortable situations with others, because from my point of view, there is never anything to challenge. +As a result, I am also very lighthearted and generally a positive person. My mood only ever darkens for no apparent reason (science still cannot answer why I woke up feeling down today). When it does, I apply the same reasoning and am very open about it, saying that I am just not having a great day. With emotions and with everything, I am a person who truly believes in communication, and who is open to being wrong (because I do not know much). I do not feel challenged or in attrition when put in otherwise uncomfortable situations with others, because from my point of view, there is never anything to challenge. ## Beauty and aesthetics @@ -40,6 +40,6 @@ As I mentioned, my mind gravitates naturally towards the abstract, or in other w This appreciation often finds itself at odds with the intent of having a tangible impact on my surroundings. However, even within functional processes, I have been able to draw abstract parallels with pure forms, which I find very stimulating. This has allowed me to blur the lines between what I do out of need, good, and affection. -I have indeed cultivated the belief that form and function are not very different, and that the way they present themselves to us is defined by our aesthetics. I believe that function can be synthesized through aesthetics by finding motivation in the beauty of form. This is to say that we can sometimes notice patterns first, and only then come up with useful functionality to fit into them. This differs from the usual understanding of function, where it is believed that people should train to understand it, and then force reality to conform to the structure it would otherwise present itself in. +I have indeed cultivated the belief that form and function are not very different, and that the way they present themselves to us is defined by our aesthetics. I believe that function can be synthesized through our aesthetics by finding motivation in the beauty of form. This is to say that we can sometimes notice patterns first, and only then come up with useful functionality to fit into them. This differs from the usual understanding of function, where it is believed that people should train to understand it, and then force reality to conform to the structure it would otherwise present itself in. I think that individuals are capable of producing novel results if their aesthetics are sufficiently developed, and if they are given enough time to follow the drive that is born therefrom. At least for myself, coming up with functionality to inject into beautiful patterns is something deeply personal. I also enjoy it the other way around; noticing patterns naturally arise from desired functionality (and then creating solutions accordingly) is, in my opinion, the beauty of modern problem solving.