When I sent out my university applications it was as if my entire country was against me, no one wanted me to leave the traditional circle of the native student, and yet, here I am. I believe I owe this story to many people, but especially to that little girl with dark curls who, as soon as she set foot in the United States for the first time, felt a calling, felt totally a daughter of the American dream.
We must confess that artificial intelligence has changed the planet. Once upon a time, the man was surprised by the discovery of fire, then metal, cultivation techniques. Then we arrived at more scientific realities such as during the Middle Ages when extraordinary cathedrals were built using heavy tools, pulleys, a form of engineering, right? With the Enlightenment, the greatest scientific discoveries were made such as light with Edison or more specific analyses at an anatomical level.
I just finished reading the new book Star Bound by Emily Carney and Bruce McCandless III (shoutout to my friend Paige Kaufman who released a podcast interview with the authors yesterday – Space Spiels, wherever you get your podcasts). In the book, the authors discuss – among other things – how we have successfully grown plants in lunar regolith brought back from the Apollo missions. This is especially relevant now, as Artemis is aimed at establishing a permanent base on the surface of the Moon.
Caltech is, by most accounts, a demanding place. Students work too hard; professors stress too much. Lunchtime should come as the universal comfort blanket to us all. A chance for our basement-ridden folk to remember what Vitamin D feels like; an opportunity for Caltech students to practice a social encounter; a time to sing Katy Perry to both halves of my grilled chicken sandwich. And yet, it is my frequent jaunts into the Browne dining hall that prove the most demanding of all.
we build rockets, not firefighters, but we are still talking about fire…right? A combination of abnormally dry conditions and powerful wind gusts have fueled Los Angeles with destructive wildfires.” This was the subtitle of the first article published by the L.A. Times, and I think you have all read about what is happening, which areas are affected, and how hard they have tried to put out the fire and contain it, but it is a machine that does not stop.
Cast of Earth Data, from left to right: Kathryn Bikle, Ellis Spickermann, Cai Tong Ng, Jocelyn Argueta, Joony Kim, Anya Janowski, Armin Kleinboehl, the author, Maria Azcona Baez, Eric Smith, Joey Jefferson, Julian Wagner, Solvin Sigurdson, Jessica Kilgore, Josef Svoboda, Leslie Maxfield, Boyuan Chen, Maat Braaten. Just out of frame are Joži McKiernan and Michael Gutierrez.
It is now Monday January 13th 2025 and the Eaton Fire is 14,117 acres and 27% contained. 3,155 firefighting personnel are assigned to this fire. The Eaton Fire is one of the worst natural disasters in United States history, and Southern California’s deadliest wildfire disaster. Ten miles of foothills from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Santa Anita Avenue is just destruction. Caltech students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community have been impacted by this traumatic and devastating fire. At least 200 Caltech community members have lost their homes to the fires. Thousands have been displaced. Ash contamination, poor air quality, and loss of power and water utilities remain to be additional issues we face.
Contrary to what our pseudonym suggests, we are but college students. Thus we spent all of this past fall hoping and praying for a single miracle: Caltech’s Three Week Winter Break. This break is a time of rest, a time of relaxation, and a time of rejuvenation. During these three weeks, we slowly gather back up the energy needed for the upcoming winter term, whether that be through spending time with friends and family, going out and having fun, or simply just doing nothing. For this reason, we wanted to share with you how our respective winter breaks went.
I promised you Plato, and here we are. I would say that, after a period of rest where we fantasized about the future and especially about what we should and could have done during the following term, the philosopher I am going to write about fits perfectly. A Mediterranean illumination that I had trying to understand how to find a connection, but it allows us to see the world of Platonic ideas as a parallel reality truly capable of transforming the simple idea of thought, with the intellectual search for being. Mamma mia! What big words—well, let’s delve into the connections that can be seen between the world of science and research with Plato.
Nintendo is arguably the largest gaming company in the world. From the Legend of Zelda to Mario, it’s amassed an impressive repertoire of successful franchises. Even more so, the success of these franchises becomes even more impressive considering how they are only available on a Nintendo console.
