Re: Life / on biology, improvisation, and serendipity

My life condensed into variably interesting posts on the internet

Welcome to Re: Life!

I’m Aaryan—currently a freshman at Stanford with a passion for biology and hardware.

You’ve stumbled on that weird corner of the internet where I chronicle my life, thoughts, research, and the random things I create (from wind turbines to medical devices).

Let’s begin!

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What I’ve Been Up To

:// After nearly three maniacal months of preparation, shopping, and box-moving, I finally moved into my dorm at Stanford (go Cedro!) and began taking classes here.

One thing I immediately noticed (and loved) after arriving here is how accessible everyone was, and how open they were to sharing their knowledge.

In one course, we sat in on a lecture from Dr. Alvin Roth (2012 Nobel Laureate in Economics) on his work designing kidney transplant exchanges and school matching algorithms.

With a few more cold emails, I was able to have lunch with Dr. Paul Bollyky, one of the world’s top researchers studying phage therapy.

Long story short, I’m having a lot of fun :)

:// Designing an independent virology project, likely in Stanford’s Uytengsu lab. Can’t go into all the details right now, but stay tuned!

:// Rode a train to San Fransisco with friends, then competed in a live-action scavenger hunt.

(Among many things, we may or may not have ran through the entirety of Chinatown and orchestrated a public flash mob).

Was it one of the more unconventional team-building activities I’ve indulged in? Probably. Was it worth it? Yeah.

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Thought of the Week

UChicago philosopher Eugene Gendlin on perceiving reality:

What is true is already so; owning up to it doesn’t make it worse.

The world is the world, regardless of what you call it. Look it in the face.

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