Book Recommendation:
The Mahฤbhฤrata (โso many versions youโll never be boredโ), Read, Write, Own by Chris Dixon
Music Recommendation:
Classic Rock growing up (โTop 100 bands, all of them, including U2, not just 60s and 70sโ), evolved to include Carnatic (esp. M.S. Subbulakshmi) and Jazz (Coltrane and Miles Davis)
Movie Recommendation:
Patton (“I re-watch it every few years”), The Godfather series (โespecially 1 and 2โ), The Lord of the Rings (โExtended Cutโ)
Favourite Podcasts:
Conversations with Tyler, Dwarkesh Podcast, Ideas of India, GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution (โI never miss a single episodeโ)
Favourite Philosopher:
Sri Aurobindo (โwithout hesitation, but if there was an Aurobindo who incorporated math and scientific thought, heโd be my first favouriteโ)
Go-to news sources:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Google News, CNN (โif something huge happens tend to scan, readโ), Twitter (โfor an hour a day, itโs curated and knows how to interact with meโ)
Research Tip:
โSome of the most stimulating thinking is being done on Substack, blog posts, and podcasts. Be ready to move beyond traditional ideas of doing research, even online. If you know how to use Twitter and are in tune with the right conversations, you will find cutting-edge pieces relevant to your researchโฆThere has to be a motivation for you to go into journals, you donโt go into journals motivation-free.โ
Advice for Aspiring Profs:
Teaching discussion-based classes is like jazzโyou don’t know how the class will go. Hone the art form of going off into a tangent, then coming back and connecting it with past/future sessions.
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