Ravit's Blog

I haven't officially introduced my YouTube channel on this blog, so I figured I might as well do it here. I started the channel in the beginning of June with the goal of spreading knowledge through Hindi lectures/videos, mainly regarding academic topics, such as math, physics, and computer engineering. By making videos, I hope to myself learn more about such topics, and to grow the channel. Thus far, the channel is performing reasonably. At the moment, I have 17 subscribers. Most of my series videos don't get many hits, so I should probably revamp my teaching style or the pertinence of the content I post.

What's up guys? Something crazy happened today. So I went on YouTube and randomly stumbled upon BPRP's live stream. During the stream, there were about 40-70 people, and not that crowded, and it was an informal discussion with Lars, one of BPRP's viewers battling cancer. I started asking questions to bprp and Lars, and asked a few questions. I've been watching the channel's videos for a while now, and I hardly thought that Steve would read aloud say the name "Underground School". Given that this guy has over 300K subscribers, this opportunity was truly a blessing. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCmLsxq4d9w Check out the timestamps where he responded to my comments: 43:19 50:50 1:21:14 (shoutout!) 1:53:55

I'm not really into posts like this, but eh...it's what Google recommends Idle for a day Lie submerged in water with an oxygen mask (maybe fall asleep) Undertaking a marathon Visiting Skydiving Undertaking a triathlon Meeting Sal Khan Moving to India Eating the world's hottest pepper Riding a jetpack

Hello there, It has been two weeks since I published my last post... I'm not quite sure why I stopped writing, but I'll try to make it a habit to continue writing. Since I've missed two weeks, I plan to post twice daily for the next two weeks to make up for missed days. To be honest, I haven't really much missed writing. But commitment is commitment, so I will continue. Part of the issue is that I don't have many topics in mind to write about daily. My day today was pretty good, nothing much out of the ordinary. It's hard to believe how quickly this summer vacation flew by! I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to both find enjoyment in my work and play a ton. I found today that one of my neighborhood friends is moving out in a few months. I have few friends like him, so it saddens me a little to see him go. *sniffle* I had hoped that we could spend more time together and watch each other grow over the next few years, but anyhow. It was fun while it laste...

Today, I learned a bit about the difference between PyTorch and Tensorflow, so why not share? PyTorch and Tensorflow are two deep learning frameworks used in the creation of neural networks; they have largely the same function and intended purpose. However, the major difference between the two is the nature of compiling and computing computation graph. TensorFlow and Static Graph Construction In Tensorflow, a symbolic graph is created first, meaning that it represents all the operations that are to be conducted. Then, following compilation, actual values can be substituted, and numerical results for output can be computed. This is advantageous because the graph only needs to be computed once, rather than dynamically every time an output is to be produced. This is known as static construction, as the graph is created once and only once. PyTorch and Imperative Programming In PyTorch, however, the graph is created dynamically, meaning that there is no need to compile the graph upon...

I also recently learned that Google AI recently developed a neural network to generate predictions regarding depth:  http://ai.googleblog.com/2019/05/moving-camera-moving-people-deep.html . Interestingly, they trained the neural network on the hundreds of videos posted on YouTube pertaining to the Mannequin Challenge. The reason was that in the mannequin challenge, objects are stationary, enabling depth measurement using deterministic algorithms. They then train the neural network to match these values for a single frame. Another slightly more complex version of the model involved passing nearby frames before and after to the neural network. I think that's freakin' cool.

Yesterday, I had the chance to attend the NASA iTech Forum, where finalist entrepreneurs pitched their companies to NASA for evaluation. This event was part of a program that reached out to local companies, inviting them to present their products, which would potentially benefit NASA. There were a couple noteworthy presentations. One was by GoRout, a company that makes on-field wearable devices, specifically designed for football. The advantage to the solution was that it was portable, and can be applicable in a variety of environments. Another presentation was by Cluster Imaging, which demonstrated technology to generate depth measurements using two cameras placed a few centimeters apart, similar to the way stereo cameras work. Not that breakthrough. Baker Street Scientific also presented how they have 6000 algorithms that are good for processing data. Not any specific kind of data, just data. I didn't find that one very interesting. Ciao for now!

I have great news! To the two, maybe three readers that actually see this post, you are witnessing history. This is my twenty-fifth post this year, meaning that I am matching my record thus far for most posts in a year. So far, it's been an engaging experience keeping this blog, as I'm able to write on topics I enjoy writing about, rather than sticking to strictly academic or formal writing, as is present in the majority of blogs prior to this summer. I struggle to find interesting and original topics to write about, but I hope to continue writing, as I see this as an effective way to not only reflect upon myself, but also develop my skills in writing about myself, which I anticipate will be a highly relevant skill as I enter my senior year of high school. Cheers!

I thought it would be a good idea to take a few minutes to reflect, so here we go... It is currently 9 PM PDT on July 9. SAT Subject Test Scores are coming tomorrow, and I'll have the chance to see my scores on the chemistry and physics exams I took, which take a surprisingly long time to be returned. I wonder why that is. Anyway, today, I studied a little for the SAT, which I'm taking in August, and I completed Reading, Writing/Language, and Math (no calculator) sections. I plan to do Math (calculator) after completing this blog. Today, I'm grateful for the opportunity to have played outside with my neighborhood friends, for about an hour to 1.5 hour. We played soccer and chased each other around (okay, we were playing tag). I'm grateful for the opportunity to have enjoyed nature and feel good about myself. I'm grateful for my library, which is about a block from my home; I went to visit today, and although I didn't get any books, I'm glad I spent time t...

In the academic setting, tests are a means of evaluating a student's understanding of a particular topic. Tests are usually written, and carried out under time-restricted and stringent environments, and have become something that students dread. In this post, I'd like to propose a different (though not necessarily more practical) method of testing students and evaluating their performance. Here's the idea: the tests are carried out orally and in-person, one-on-one student to teacher. The teacher offers a problem to the student and asks the student to walk the teacher through how one would go about solving the problem. For example, if the problem is 2+2=?, the teacher would first present the problem to the student and ask him/her to solve it. The student would then proceed to explain from start to finish, how to solve the problem. The student might start by identifying the type of problem, and choosing a particular method to solve it. If the student falters, or is unable to...

I am by no means qualified to speak on such a subject, but consciousness is a concept altogether unique. Consciousness is super weird in that it's hard to define. I may know that I have consciousness. I may know that my friend has consciousness. I may know that my dog has consciousness. But what does it mean to have consciousness? At its root, I suppose that consciousness comes down to being able to feel and to recognize how others' feel. Perhaps consciousness is an illusion. Life may as well be an intricately designed illusion, something like the world shown in The Matrix . But nonetheless, it is an illusion I believe in, that I have vested my thoughts, emotion, and energy into believing. I only know how I feel, but by observing myself and my actions, as well as others and their actions, I infer that those individuals possess similar emotions to me, based on the way they respond. Now we have come to the question, can a robot have consciousness? Now, reader, I have faith that...

I want a life that gives me happiness. I want to live in a cycle of high days and low days, exciting days and dull days, days where I'm proud of myself and days where I'm dissatisfied. I want a life where I can exercise on a regular basis. I want a life free of addictions to time-wasters. I want a life where I have something worthwhile that occupies my time. I want a wife that I can talk to and cherish as my best friend. I want to have kids that open up to me a new perspective on life. I want to keep in touch and joke around with old friends. I want to continue to self-reflect and meditate. I want challenges but also hope that I can overcome them. I want difficulty and hardship in my life. I also want happiness and satisfaction in my life. I want a life where I can see the big picture and act on my decisions.

Neuroplasticity refers to the tendency of the brain to continuously change and adapt throughout one's life. While there is a higher degree of plasticity during childhood while the brain is still developing, the brain continues to adapt even through adulthood. Cortical remapping refers to a large scale remapping of the brain that occurs in response to a loss of particular sensation. For example, following an amputation of the right leg, the region of the brain in the sensory cortex that maps to the right leg is no longer relevant, leading to cortical remapping, or the reorganization of neurons in that region of the brain. Sometimes, cortical remapping can go wrong, leading to symptoms like phantom limb pain (PLP). Neuroplasticity occurs to a greater extent during young childhood, which accounts for the fact that children who go blind before 3 years or are born blind compensate with other senses. The brain is a magical place and adapts to our lives as we go.

John is a boy just like me, living in a parallel universe. He has the same life as me: same clothes, same school, same friends, same opportunities, same everything. Except there is one key difference: John is a different person. John makes his own decisions. When faced with the same problem, John and I may choose differently. This divergence is the source of our rivalry, ever since I was a toddler. Each of us has a counter keeping track of the total number of points we have accumulated. Any time I do something good, I would get a point. However, whenever John does something good, he also gets a point. Oh goodness! Unfortunately, I have been denied access to the counter, and I must only ascertain my relative standing through my parents. Some say that John is the perfect boy: at any given time, he does what he is supposed to do (although I say that independence and making mistakes leads to a richer life). I'm always in competition with John, and I'm sure he is as well; we'v...

As I mentioned earlier, I don't particularly enjoy writing about myself, but this is a question I'll invariably have to answer at one point or another. So I might as well take a stab at it.