TA Notes | Problem solving session for Advanced Operational Research, taught at SUFE 2024 Spring/Summer semester. Inspiration taken from EE364a I took 2023 Summer at Stanford. There are basically three ways to establish convexity of a function $f$: verify definition (rarely used) if $f$ is twice-differentiable, show $\nabla^2f(x) \succeq 0 $​ NOTE: only recommended for simple enough functions. a function is simple enough iff. it’s ‘manual-computationally tractable’ for you...

The original Chinese version of Nocturnal Narratives: 《选妃》 不敢说博学，但我蛮喜欢读书的：因为晚上做题， 解题目到了兴头上容易失眠，床头就得常放着一两本书，睡前翻两页，也就有困意了。 选书也有技巧。太有趣不行。之前从书店买了套阿西莫夫的小说集，好几本。读到《神们自己》， 以为还是短篇集，每一晚上读几篇，可多可少，困了就睡。结果这本是中长篇，写的还不错，忍不住一口气看完，天就快亮了。 太硬也不行。有一次选了范里安的《微观经济学现代观点》，实在是太抽象。索性躺在床上发呆，又想起来刚刚没解出来的题，更睡不着了。 内容还有讲究。蔡澜的散文和杂文很合适，但他的美食评论是坚决不能睡前看的，写的太好。 最后，也会强迫自己多少读读哲学和心理学的书， 我不喜欢，但经不住朋友喜欢，还乐意借给我。不过这些书最催眠，也就爱屋及乌了。 住在宿舍不比家中舒适。但每天挑书陪睡，像翻牌子。常告诚自己少专宠，要雨露均沾，要节制，不要在新欢旧爱之间觉得力不从心一一要早点睡。

As midnight descends and my dorm dims to whispers, my overactive neurons find solace from bedside books–nestled between the sheets and a stack of eclectic reads, here’s how the allure of knowledge brings sweet lure of slumber. Excerpts (translated) from my scholarship personal story nocturnal narratives | whispers from my nightstand shelf I wouldn’t claim to be a polymath, but I’m quite fond of reading: mainly because solving problems at night gets my brain too wired to sleep....

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) stands as Argentina’s most celebrated musical innovator, the man who single-handedly transformed the tango into a global phenomenon. Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) is Argentina’s most famous musical name—the man who has almost single-handedly brought the passion, thrill and beauty of the tango to a worldwide audience. Would the composer and bandoneon player have been able to achieve this without years of studying in Paris with the great Nadia Boulanger?...

Plants vs. Zombies (2009), crafted by PopCap, is more than just a game. Sure, I could wax technical about how it’s essentially a finite Markov Decision Process (MDP) with a tightly defined set of actions and stochastic outcomes. But really, it’s about strategic greenery and quirky zombies invading your lawn in an oddly delightful dance of sunlight and survival. If I frame it as an MDP, I might sound nerdy… Just kidding, the game is a blast....

Ever stumbled upon a track that plays like a secret everyone knows but no one talks about? Well, Ariana Grande’s unreleased single “Communicate” fits that bill perfectly. It’s an intriguing piece about the dance of words and silences that happens right before a relationship officially starts. And here’s the kicker—it’s somehow popped up officially on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify, but not under Ariana’s name. Instead, it’s credited to “Who Do We Blame....

Welcome to our holiday music series! As the days grow shorter and our playlists longer, we’re embarking on a delightful musical escapade. Grab your favorite headphones (or earplugs, if Aunt Carol starts singing again), and let’s dive into some sounds that make the season bright. Let’s start with some classical––hit. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major, K. 545, famously dubbed the “Sonata Facile” or “easy sonata,” is anything but straightforward for performers....

I caught an interesting bookz-roughly translated as Lam Chua’s weibo Sharp Comments. Chua Lam, alongside Jin Yong, Ni Kuang, and Wong Jim, is renowned as one of the ‘Four Great Talents’ of Hong Kong. He is also a celebrated filmmaker, author, and gourmet. Chua has a playful, iconic blend of amusement and innocence that effortlessly wields with perfect balance of playfulness and perceptiveness–an attitude that inspires and amazes his readers....

This week, Chenhao Zhang from Northwestern University visited ITCS and gave a talk on Regulation of Algorithmic Collusion, based on his ongoing collaboration with Prof. Jason Hartline. Here’s a background of the topic, summary of the talk and their work (hopefully), and some discussion afterwards. Regulation of Algorithmic Collusion ABSTRACT Consider sellers in a competitive market that use algorithms to adapt their prices from data that they collect. In such a context it is plausible that algorithms could arrive at prices that are higher than the competitive prices and this may benefit sellers at the expense of consumers (i....

Over the past few days, we’ve explored the cyclical dominance of nostalgic hits, scrutinized the peaks and pitfalls of Taylor Swift’s illustrious yet controversial career, and delved into the power struggles over master recordings. Each narrative underscores the immense influence of stardom and its complex interplay with the music industry’s mechanics. Music, inherently a personal form of art and enjoyment, has no right or wrong when it comes to individual taste....